Free Republic

SINGAPORE— Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time since the start of the Ukraine war, likely after he visits Moscow next week to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin , according to people familiar with the matter. The meetings with Messrs. Putin and Zelensky, the latter of which is expected to take place virtually, reflect Beijing’s effort to play a more active role in mediating an end to the war in Ukraine, some of the people said. "The meetings with Messrs. Putin and Zelensky, the latter of which is expected to...

Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a bitter speech to the Israeli parliament on Sunday condemning Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s mediation efforts with Russian President Vladimir Putin as an attempt to mediate “between good and evil,” the Ukrainain leader reversed course and said his country was “grateful” to Israel’s prime minister.

As precursors to possible nuclear war go, fistfights and stone throwing aren’t exactly the first things that come to mind. But along India and China’s long, contested border, that’s exactly what has been happening for the past month, prompting President Trump on Wednesday to offer to mediate what he called a “now raging dispute” between Asia’s two major military powers. Tensions along the 2,000 mile stretch have been high for decades, with the Indian government reporting more than 1,000 mostly minor incursions by Chinese troops between 2016-18. But hostilities have increased over the last several weeks following large Chinese troop...

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, (1 Tim. 2:5) There is no way to adequately explain priesthood without reference to mediation. A priest is a mediator between God and Man. From time to time over the years, I have had the verse from 1 Timothy pointed out to me with the argument that there cannot be any mediator other than Christ, and, thus, there cannot be any such thing as a “priest” within the Church. Sometimes the argument becomes even more pointed: I do not need to go to a...

Renowned activist’s message of nonviolence, mindfulness suffuses Copley SquareWhen the 86-year-old Thich Nhat Hanh was introduced to his audience in Copley Square on Sunday afternoon, he began by saying nothing for 25 minutes. Hanh, a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk who is an internationally respected peace activist and author, was in Boston as part of a US tour. And as he sat in meditation in front of the crowd of about 2,000, he managed to do something seemingly impossible: He made the city center quiet along with him, to the point where any noise — a skateboard, a car horn, a...

Last week, when discussing the next steps for the company, and specifically the hope that mediation may resolve the epic animosity between management and workers, we stated that "What makes a mediation improbable is that the antagonism between the feuding sides has certainly hit a level of no return: "Several unions also objected to the company's plans, saying they made "a mockery" of laws protecting collective bargaining agreements in bankruptcy. The Teamsters, which represents 7,900 Hostess workers, said the company's plan would improperly cut the ability of remaining workers to use sick days and vacation." Sure enough, moments ago we...

Family squabbles are almost inevitable. As the warm Washtenaw County weather begins to seep into our lives and the longer winter and soon-to-be spring sunlit days become longer and longer, the family visits and the accompanying ritualistic arguments are just around the corner. You know what happens. You are going to prepare the kids and the spouse for what seems to be a “we’re-finally-out-of-the-house weekend visit with the first in a rotation of family siblings and their kids or irritating brother-in-law or “know-it-all” sister-in-law. Been there and seen it before? Well there are a number of ways that this can...

Ave Maria! In the Tuesday-Wednesday, July 30-31 Italian Edition of the L'Osservatore Romano on page 4 an article appeared called Enamored of The Virgin by Fr. Giovanni Velocci which gave a strong promotion of Marian Coredemption and Mediation of all Graces. This breaks a five year silence on the issue and ... is so resoundingly positive.Based on St. Alphnoses de Ligouri's The Glories of Mary Fr. Velocci argues on a thomistic basis relating and conjoining Mary's participation in the redemption to her Divine Maternity and specifically as Mother of the Redeemer. Here are my rough translations of excerpts from the...

Many postmoderns seek time and space for quiet and contemplation. How might Adventists and other Christians effectively incorporate these into their worship services?

Will Agreement Shake Cooperation Between Seoul and WashingtonThe second part of the fourth round of the six-party talks, which reconvened on Sept. 13, went through considerable ups and downs prior to the announcement of a joint statement Monday. The South Korean government spent the last week engaging in last-moment negotiations to find an agreement over the light-water reactor issue, which North Korea would not abandon to the end, despite considerable tensions between Seoul and Washington. Some, however, are wondering whether Seoul’s assumption of a mediating role between the United States and North Korea might become a burden on South Korea-U.S....

The original article appears to have disappeared from the Times-Union's website, but it read in part: [Sharon] Witbeck also questioned the [Diocesan abuse mediation] program's independence since it and [sprogram system administrator Howard] Levine's $350-an-hour salary, are funded by the diocese. For more details see previous post: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1224106/posts

ALBANY -- Retired Court of Appeals Judge Howard Levine announced today an assistance program for victims of clergy sex abuse aimed at mediating issues with the church, rather than litigating them. Levine worked for 10 months on the program that is funded with $5 million from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. In addition, Mary Jo White, the former federal prosecutor who recently cleared Bishop Howard Hubbard of sexual misconduct allegations, donated $225,000, carrying out her pledge to directly assist victims with a portion of her fee. Levine said the focus of the program is on healing and reconciliation, and...

OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian schools are meant to be magically free of bullying when students go back to class on Wednesday after the summer break. But pupils say the landmark "zero tolerance" campaign for name-calling, hitting, hair-pulling, arm-twisting and other playground nastiness is about as realistic as the plot of a "Harry Potter" novel. Even Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik admits the two-year scheme launched in 2002 is optimistic in its goal of eradicating bullying from the start of the school year Wednesday. "There will be cases of bullying but zero tolerance is our target," he told Reuters of a...

FYI--Al-Rubay'i Heads for Al-Najaf To Mediate Between Al-Mahdi Army, Government GMP20040812000105 Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic 1124 GMT 12 Aug 04 [FBIS Report] Doha Al-Jazirah Television in Arabic at 1124 GMT on 12 August carries the following "urgent report" as a screen caption: "[Iraqi National Security Adviser] Muwaffaq al-Rubay'i heads for Al-Najaf to mediate between Al-Mahdi Army and the interim government." Further as warranted. [Description of Source: Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television in Arabic -- Independent Television station financed by the Qatari Government]