Free Republic

HONG KONG (CNS) — A Hong Kong Court fined Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, 90, and five others for failing to register a humanitarian fund set up to help people arrested in anti-government protests pay legal fees. Cardinal Zen, retired bishop of Hong Kong, was fined 4,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$512) for failing to register the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund. He was a trustee of the fund, and four other trustees and its secretary also were charged under the Societies Ordinance, a colonial-era law dating to 1911 that has since been revised. The ordinance says “any club, company, partnership or association...

'Unsurprisingly, the Russians have once again chosen hateful propaganda' OTTAWA — The federal government will summon Russia’s ambassador to respond to widely criticized homophobic tweets by the Russian embassy in Canada made barely one week after a deadly shooting in an American LGBTQ bar. A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly confirmed to National Post that the minister demanded on Saturday that the government take the extraordinary step to summon Russian ambassador Oleg Stepanov for a meeting. "Unsurprisingly, the Russians have once again chosen hateful propaganda,” Joly’s deputy director of communications, Emily Williams, said in a statement. “This is...

The Taliban returned to power last year - but have since failed to live up to their promises when it comes to women's rights.Large crowds gathered in Afghanistan to watch the first public flogging gathered at a football stadium in the country since the Taliban were ousted more than two decades ago. In scenes described by one commentator as “just history repeating itself”, three women and nine men were beaten in front of hundreds of spectators at the orders of the religious extremist organisation, which returned to power in August. The office of the governor of Logar province, south of...

Showdown between Archbishop Thazhath and laity may aggravate ongoing liturgical dispute in a Syro-Malabar Church archdiocese The Vatican-appointed administrator of the Ernakulam-Angamaly Archdiocese of the Syro-Malabar Church was denied entry to a cathedral by his opponents over an ongoing liturgical dispute. Archbishop Andrews Thazhath arrived at the St Mary’s Basilica Cathedral Church for Sunday Mass on Nov. 27 but was stopped from entering its premises as the protesting laity from the archdiocese locked the gates. The prelate had earlier announced that he would be offering Mass ushering in the liturgical celebrations of Advent in the mode approved by the Synod...

Upcoming sanctions on Russian oil are set to be “really disruptive” for energy markets if European nations fail to set a cap on prices, analysts warned.The 27 countries of the European Union agreed in June to ban the purchase of Russian crude oil from Dec. 5. In practical terms, the EU — together with the United States, Japan, Canada and the U.K. — want to drastically cut Russia’s oil revenues in a bid to drain the Kremlin’s war chest following its invasion of Ukraine.However, concerns that a complete ban would send crude prices soaring led the G-7 to consider setting...

Country cannot survive unless people who cannot naturally create children are given same protections as heterosexual couples, US senator opines.WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) – A self-described “Christian” and “conservative” senator said that Congress needs to pass a federal law enshrining a right to same-sex “marriage” in order for the United States to have a chance at “survival.” Wyoming Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis joined on Tuesday with 11 other Republicans and all of the Democrats except Georgia’s Raphael Warnock, who is campaigning for re-election, to pass the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which would require the federal government to recognize any partnership called...

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday on CNN International’s “Amanpour ” that a “great majority of Americans” believe the conservative majority on the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and Republican-led state legislatures have gone way too far on abortion bans.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday on CNN International’s “Amanpour” that the Biden administration should not negotiate with Iran. Anchor Christiane Amanpour said, “So on Iran because clearly the whole world is watching the very brave women and girls there stand up for their rights. And we’ve also seen the crackdown. We also know that this is all sort of complicated for the United States with all sorts of other policy, trying to get Iran, you know, to come back into the nuclear accord, which, by the way, it was a US president who brought the world out...

When Christendom learned to fight fire with fireRaymond Ibrahim's Defenders of the West: The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam, chronicles the lives of eight great Crusaders who defended Christians against Islamic extermination, savagery, occupation, and slavery. These heroes demonstrated great courage on the battlefield and a fierce devotion to their Christian faith. Raymond Ibrahim, an expert in Islamic history and doctrine and a frequent contributor to American Thinker, spotlights Duke Godfrey of Bouillon, France; El Cid (Roderick Diaz of Spain); King Richard the Lionheart of England; St. Ferdinand of Spain; St. Louis of France; John Hunyadi of Wallachia; Skanderbeg,...

A task force was set up in California to make proposals for slavery reparations Descendants of slaves in California could receive $223,200 each, it speculated That would total $569billion - more than the entire state expenditure in 2021 Nearly 6.5% of California residents - 2.5M - identify as Black or African American A focus of the task force has involved reimbursing for 'housing discrimination' The task force was formed due to a bill signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2020 ~ A reparations committee in California has suggested that descendants of slaves in the state could be compensated $223,200 each...

Andy Puzder is a former CEO of CKE Restaurants, chairman of 2ndVote Value Investments, Inc., and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation If you are among the tens of millions of Americans with a 401(k), you'd better pay attention. The Biden administration is putting your retirement money at risk in pursuit of their woke leftist agenda. The evening before Thanksgiving to avoid unwanted attention, Biden's Department of Labor released an Orwellian new rule misnamed 'Prudence and Loyalty in Selecting Plan Investments and Exercising Shareholder Rights.' Don't let the mind-numbingly bureaucratic gobbledygook distract you. The rule interprets a law that...

Controversy about Qatar hosting football's World Cup has mostly focused on LGBT rights in the country and around same-sex relationships being criminalised. Transgender Qataris can be detained for "violating public morality", which requires no trial or official charge. BBC News has spoken to two trans Qataris about their lives. "I am very afraid, but I just want people to know that we do exist," Shahd says about her decision to speak out about life as a transgender woman. Like the other person in this article, we have changed Shahd's name to protect her. We have been messaging her over an...

~Favorite Songs that have Inspired You~ Leonard Cohen - Hallelujah*Video*Eric Clapton - My Father's Eyes *Video*

Hansi Flick said German football will "head into a different direction, and very soon" after the four-time world champions suffered a second successive World Cup group stage elimination, described as an "absolute catastrophe" by forward Thomas Muller. Despite a 4-2 win against Costa Rica at Al Bayt Stadium, Japan's 2-1 victory against Spain in Doha ended Germany's hopes of qualifying from Group E. A 2-1 defeat against Japan in their opening game at Qatar 2022 ultimately proved costly for Germany, who are due to host Euro 2024 in just over 18 months. And with that tournament looming large, Flick, who...

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., called for revoking a tax exemption for a conservative group for not masking up and socially distancing during the pandemic, insisted on a slew of investigations of other conservative groups, and pressed for the Internal Revenue Service to expand its reach. A total of 176 pages of correspondence from and to Whitehouse was obtained from the IRS by the conservative watchdog group American Accountability Foundation through the Freedom of Information Act and shared with The Daily Signal. “It’s abundantly clear that [Whitehouse] is trying to take the 87,000 new IRS agents and put them to work...

We are still talking about the evil men, “Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness. Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked” (Proverbs 2:13-14 KJV).

While cats are known for bringing unusual objects home, one ambitious kitty took the cake after dragging a — wait for it — whole alligator head into a house in Wisconsin. Photos of the hairy headhunter’s ghoulish trophy are currently going viral as paw-struck viewers scratch their heads in disbelief. “He was very proud of himself,” owner Wendy Wiesehuegel told Fox News of the “unexpected” discovery, which occurred Sunday in Waukesha county.

Russian authorities have banned public discussions of a wide range of non-classified military subjects that activists say will effectively prevent the public from learning crucial information about the Armed Forces. The 60-point Federal Security Service (FSB) order, which enters into force Dec. 1, lists information that is not classified as a state secret, but which “can be used by foreign states, organizations and citizens against Russia’s security.” Among the subjects banned from discussion are the structure and size of the Russian Armed Forces. Other off-limits areas include weapons, troop deployments and training, as well as troop morale and crimes committed...

Plaintiffs say county did not properly notify hundreds of voters about ballot issuesA candidate and 30 voters have filed a complaint with the Hawaii Supreme Court asking that the results of the Maui County Council’s Wailuku-Waihee-Waikapu residency seat race be voided and a new election be held over alleged violations of duties and state law by the county clerk, including improperly notifying those with deficient return envelopes. On Friday, council candidate Noelani Ahia and 30 Maui County voters filed the complaint involving the race between first-time candidate Ahia and current Maui County Council Chairwoman Alice Lee, who reclaimed her residency...

A new poll finds 69 percent of Democrats surveyed believe that Arizonans were denied the “sacred right to vote” due to the Election Day polling site problems that happened in Maricopa County leading to hours-long lines. Further 65 percent of Democratic respondents in the Rasmussen Reports survey agreed it likely affected the outcome of the U.S. Senate race in Arizona between Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly and Republican candidate Blake Masters. Overall, 71 percent of the likely U.S. voters thought it likely affected the outcome, including 40 percent who said it “very likely” did.