Free Republic

New Ways Ministry Praises German Church’s Unprecedented Vote for LGBTQ+ BlessingsToday, the assembly of the Synodal Way in Germany formally and overwhelmingly approved a document that calls for the church to bless same-gender couples. 92.6% of the assembly’s members, which include both bishops and lay leaders, voted for the document, including 80.1% of participating bishops. The document, which you can read more about here, also objects forthrightly to the Vatican’s ban on such blessings, too. Bondings 2.0 will offer further reports on the Synodal Way’s final assembly now underway, including discussions of a document on gender identity, in the coming...

Some Dem tech investors who have spent millions of dollars currying favor with the Biden administration are furious about what they call the White House’s utter lack of help over the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank. One of the deep-pocketed venture capitalists told The Post that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s statement Sunday throwing cold water on the possibility of a bailout was “pathetic.” Others said that unlike the financial crisis of 2008, when bankers and government officials were in constant dialogue, there doesn’t appear to even have been much communication to date between the administration and Silicon Valley as to...

A group of at least 1,000 migrants rushed the Paso Del Norte bridge linking Mexico to the U.S. in El Paso, Texas, on Sunday, to gain access into the United States, video shows. Crowd control measures were used when the group of mainly Venezuelan migrants continued to press forward, though according to sources at the border, the efforts were thwarted. Videos show migrants of all ages pressing toward the fenced border, with some putting their hands in the air to encourage others to continue moving forward. Another video shows the moment the migrants pushed onto the bridge and began running...

A San Francisco Bay area teacher went viral on Twitter last weekend after posting a lengthy thread arguing that sex between a child and an adult is not “intrinsically harmful.” Zara Degeneres, a self-described “pagan witch,” faced widespread condemnation from parents. According to her LinkedIn page, she specializes in “teaching sex-positive values to middle and high school students through sex education. On Friday, Degeneres wrote, “Sometimes in education, a student hits you with what can only be described as a ‘curveball.’ In my case, as a provider of consent-awareness and sex-positivity-oriented courses, I often find myself getting pulled towards some...

*snip* Assimilation There are other important ways in which Russia is putting its stamp on Mariupol. For example, local residents are under pressure to obtain Russian passports. Ivan, the Mariupol city councillor I spoke to (not his real name), said locals often formed "huge queues" trying to get Russian passports. They were required if you want to find formal employment, especially with government agencies or in the public sector, he explained. Also, they made it possible to travel to Russia without additional stringent checks known as "filtration", he added. "So they have deliberately created a situation where you get problems...

The Biden administration said Sunday that it would guarantee all deposits at the now-shuttered Silicon Valley Bank but insisted the move was not a taxpayer-funded bailout, while regulators closed a second institution, New York City’s Signature Bank, amid fears of an unfolding economic crisis. Some business leaders warned that it might be just the beginning of a national reckoning with institutions that value left-wing politics over sound investing.Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seemed earlier Sunday to rule out a bailout of the California-based bank but said the government would work around the clock to find solutions ahead of Monday morning’s opening...

"Bank records in hand how Biden family accepted money from CCP."

The United Nations announced Thursday it signed an agreement to purchase a very large vessel that can transfer more than 1 million barrels of crude now stranded in a rusting tanker off the coast of war-torn Yemen. The deal is the first step in an eventual operation to evacuate the cargo and eliminate the threat of massive environmental damage from a possible oil spill or explosion. Achim Steiner, administrator of the U.N. Development Program, told a news conference that the deal was signed with Euronav, the world’s largest independent tanker company, to secure the purchase of a large crude carrier...

The FBI has been accused of doctoring evidence against a defendant who was involved in the Capitol incursion. The controversy erupted last week after an attorney for Ethan Nordean, a Proud Boys member facing charges over the events of Jan. 6, 2021, said “hidden” messages between FBI agents had been found in a document presented to the court by FBI Special Agent Nicole Miller, according to Newsweek. “[A] close examination of the agent’s sheet revealed over one thousand hidden Excel rows of messages,” a court document said.

Academy Awards Show has started...Jimmy Kimmel did mention Hunter Biden...He also joked about Tom Cruise...Something about Ron Hubbard...

On Monday, March 13, the average price of electricity in Spain falls by an astounding 54.3 per cent. The average price of electricity for regulated rate customers linked to the wholesale market in Spain will fall by 54.3 per cent on Monday, March 13, compared to today, Sunday 12. Specifically, it will stand at €36.84/MWh. According to the operator of the Iberian Energy Market (OMIE), in the auction, the cost of energy in the wholesale market – the so-called ‘pool’ – will stand at €36.84/MWh tomorrow. Monday’s cheapest time will be between the hours of 3pm and 6pm, at €4.16/MWh,...

Today's Sermon looks at the woman (all of us) going to the well in our wayward search for happiness. And how it is we find a different well in Christ. Very insightful 13 min. YouTube link below:The Thirsty Soul

A handful of Saturday Night Live sketches have been appropriated by time and loss. The long-running sketch comedy show has seen more and more casualties from the ranks of the hundreds of cast and crew members who’ve walked the stages and hallways of Rockefeller Center’s Studio 8H and has chosen to memorialize their deaths with representative pieces from their time on the show, with unerring acumen. Steve Martin responded to the death from cancer of original Not Ready for Prime Time Player Gilda Radner during his 1987 monologue, the emotional comic introducing a 1978 sketch where he and Radner, as...

In the end, it was Eddie Murphy who murdered Buckwheat. OK, so the Saturday Night Live superstar had help in assassinating one of his most popular recurring characters, the grown-up version of The Little Rascals' Billie “Buckwheat” Thomas. But it was Murphy who, tired of being accosted by fans eager for him to do Buckwheat everywhere he went, told producer Dick Ebersol that enough was enough. Ebersol, to his credit (and taking into account the immensely popular Murphy’s importance to SNL), didn’t try to talk Murphy out of the idea, instead suggesting his star sit down with his two favored...

It’s not just silicon valley folks, a very large pension plan in Sweden was invested heavily in the Silicon Valley Bank. The fallout from Silicon Valley Bank has spread to Sweden’s largest pension group after the fund more than doubled its holdings in the Californian bank during the past year. Stockholm-based Alecta, which oversees more than $104 billion in assets, was SVB’s fourth-biggest shareholder at the end of last year with a holding worth $605 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Following a 60% plunge in SVB’s stock on Thursday, the value of the stake was worth only $279...

Dozens of migrants are feared to have drowned after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean sea en route from Libya to Italy with the Coast Guard allegedly not turning up. According to the NGO Alarm Phone, dozens of migrants are feared to have drowned today, Sunday, March 12, after their boat went adrift in the Mediterranean sea. “We are shocked. According to various sources, dozens of people from this ship have drowned,”, the organisation wrote on its Twitter account. “As of 2:28 a.m. on March 11, the authorities were informed of the urgency and danger of the situation. The Italian...

Our Troops Rock! Thank you for all you do! For the freedom you enjoyed yesterday... Thank the Veterans who served in The United States Armed Forces. Looking forward to tomorrow's freedom? Support The United States Armed Forces Today! ~ Hall of Heroes ~ Donald Sloat Info from here. Donald P. Sloat (February 6, 1949 - January 17, 1970) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the Medal of Honor, United States military's highest decoration. His award was made posthumously in 2014 for his actions in the Vietnam War. Rank and organization: Specialist Four, United States Army,...

BREAKING: Our contact in Juarez, MX tells us a massive group of at least 1,000 migrants just attempted to rush a port of entry in El Paso in an effort to get into the United States. Video shows them pushing past the Mexican side of Paso Del Norte bridge. Awaiting CBP comment.

"When you’re not working, what do you do to de-stress?” That was the last question Greg Becker, CEO of Silicon Valley Bank, fielded at an investor conference on Tuesday this week. “Cycling is my advice,” he replied. “Living in Northern California and being on the peninsula. That’s just—I think it’s the best bike-riding cycling in the world, period.”Three days later, Becker’s bank is in receivership. We’ve talked before about the interest rate risk that lurks on banks’ balance sheets and how the industry manages it. During the pandemic, banks took in record volumes of new deposits. Between the end of...

The Federal Reserve on Sunday night announced that all those with money in collapsed Silicon Valley Bank will get their money back, as a second bank was revealed to have closed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Cooperation on Sunday held an auction of Silicon Valley Bank's assets, hoping to secure the bank before the market opened on Monday. CNN reported that no buyer was found. Shortly after, the Federal Reserve issued a statement saying they would step in. 'After receiving a recommendation from the boards of the FDIC and the Federal Reserve, and consulting with the President, Secretary Yellen approved actions...