Free Republic

Address to Owners of Weapons Owners of weapons, We know that you are the most moderate and responsible part of the Ukrainian society, which so far did not participate in the standoff. Unfortunately, however the conflict transitioned to the armed stage. The control over the situation is effectively lost. Now each one of us bears personal responsibility for his own safety and the safety of his family, and in this difficult time, also for the safety of his fellow countrymen. Weaponry in the hands of responsible citizens has been in all times the bet peacemaker. We call you to act,...

Why communism didn’t have its own Nuremberg? translation: fb.com/SayNOtocommunismThe Nazis were trialed during the Nuremberg Trials, while communism, the most criminal system in the history of human kind still remains with impunity. Who is to be blamed? The Soviets? The Americans? Or maybe Western media and universities, dominated by leftist thinking? Prof. Andrzej Nowak replies to these and other questions.The efforts of realising the communist ideology ended up with annihilation of at least 100 million people/IstockphotoTony Judt, an American historian and a disappointed intellectual who died short time ago noticed in his last book (which was written as conversations run...

A shooting at a Russian Orthodox cathedral has left a nun and a churchgoer dead. Six other people were injured. It happened in Yuznho-Sakhalinsk on an island off Russia’s eastern coast. The gunman was detained at the scene said officials adding that the suspect worked as a security guard in the city. There was no immediate motive behind the attack. The cathedral is on the island of Sakhalin almost 8,000 kilometres from Sochi. Security forces are on high alert over possible attacks on the Winter Games. Most of the people who were injured in the shooting – which happened in...

The demonstrations mobilized in Paris and Lyon grow in strengthBy Les Echos | 02/02 | 1:13 p.m. | updated at 18:29 LDCs, GPA, gender theory and "fiscal overkill families" were the menu demands of protesters. In Paris, the organizers speak of 500,000 demonstrators, the police 80,000. In Lyon, of 20,000 to 40,000 protesters marched. As the tradition requires, the battle of numbers looks tough at the parade held in Paris and Lyon on Sunday by the AKI group for all. "We were more than half a million" in Paris, jubilated the association, while the Parisian crowd was not dispersed by...

Escalation in UkraineDigest by Annalex Two significant recent developments are: 1. First fatalities, apparently from live ammunition, among the demonstrators. Injuries, including serious injuries are in the hundreds if not in the thousands. The rubber bullet can gouge an eye and therefore, at a right angle can be itself fatal. The sun grenades reportedly rip through flesh if the explosion is next to it. Ironically, neither of the two confirmed fatalities are Ukrainian: one is an Armenian from Eastern Ukraine; the other is a Belorussian resident of Ukraine. One fatality (linked content here and below is rather graphic); I suspect...

This a collection of articles reflecting the developing news from Russia. The short of it is that a popular theologian, professor and thinker Deacon Kurayev decided to publicly condemn homosexuality and possibly pedophilia in his beloved Orthodox Church, to which he has every intention to remain faithful. The accusations take the form of a series of publications in Kuraev's blog; the accounts from the victims are published and the peculiar pattern of careers blocked or promoted based apparently on the intimacy of the candidate to a gay sponsor. The abuse itself is rarely criminal (other than grounds for a harassment...

How to find your bearings in a mosque Find corresponding letter on the plan for the definition, and name the element when necessary.   Definition Letter on the plan Name 1 Wall indicating position of Mecca D the qubla 2 Niche symbolizing Mohamed's presence F the Mihrab 3 Tower from which height the Muezzin calls the people B minaret 4 The place where the faithful congregate to pray C the praying hall 5 The seat from which the Imam directs the prayer A the minbar 6 Basin where the faithful can purify themselves before the prayer E the ablution basin...

Introvigne: the persecution of Christians do not stop, at least 70 thousand killed in 2013 On December 26, the Church remembers St. Stephen, the first martyr, who died stoned asking God not to charge this sin to his murderers. Not only in past centuries but even today many Christians are killed because of their faith. As regards the year 2012, there was talk of around 100 thousand Christians were killed. To take stock of the situation in 2013, Debora Donnini talked to Massimo Introvigne, coordinator of religious freedom in Italy: [Massimo Introvigne] - The statistic is very controversial. There was...

Sacred Art Class at TMC by David Clayton on December 30, 2013 A chance to learn sacred art whatever your level, and to subsidise TMC students so that they can attend for free. I will teach this and it is offered free to Thomas More College students (who have to pay just the standard weekly charge for room and board in the dorm. Even though I am Artist in Residence at the college it is difficult for the students to get intensive tuition. To learn art properly needs blocks of time and this is difficult to organise in the packed...

Bedouin Princess Bedouin Arab Story Reflections (written)… Today’s story is for the Second Sunday after Christmas and also for the Feast of the Epiphany. Epiphany, or Twelfth Night, or the Feast of the Three Kings -- a feast of the Western Church -- celebrates the manifestation of the sacred from a historical perspective in Matthew’s story of the Magi. It is about how the presence of God in the midst of Israel is shown to the all nations through the visit and adoration of the Magi. The Second Sunday after Christmas presents a more philosophic and doctrinal perspective. It focuses...

Peonage for the Twenty-First Century The Common Core exists only because we have forgotten that parents have a right to educate their children. The state has no educational authority of its own apart from what parents delegate to it. A young man and woman arrive at the office of the town clerk to procure a marriage license. They're all smiles, until the secretary hands them a document to sign, wherein they read this remarkable sentence: “The State, conceding to the parents the making of their children's bodies, asserts its primacy in the making of their minds.” [...] I've lately been...

Pope Francis: Silence Reveals the Mystery of God's Plan Vatican City, December 20, 2013 (Zenit.org) | 1216 hits Mary, with Her example of silence, shows us how to guard the mystery of God’s path for us. This was Pope Francis' reflection this morning during his homily at Mass in Casa Santa Marta.Today’s Gospel recalled the Annunciation, when the Angel Gabriel announced to the Blessed Virgin Mary that She would give birth to the Savior. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you,” said the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary. Reflecting on...

On the Soviet ChurchIvan Ilyin(unidentified excerpt, noticed here) ... Some went to martyrdom. Others fled into exile or underground - the forests and ravines. Others went underground – the underground of the personal soul: they learned silent, unobtrusive externally, secret prayer, the prayer of the intimate fire. But there were - the fourth. These decided to say to the Bolsheviks: "Yes, we are with you," and not just to say, but actually to act and to speak, and to affirm by their acts; to help them and to serve their cause, to fulfill all their requirements, to lie with them,...

The religious leaders march for dalits. Archbishop of Delhi Arrested For marching in favor of Dalits Police have charged and beaten protesters with violence Fides, December 11, 2013 at 17:28 His Excellency Archbishop Anil Couto, Archbishop of Delhi , was today arrested by the Delhi Police, along with other bishops of other faiths. This was confirmed Chinnayyan Father Joseph, deputy general secretary and spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. The archbishop was involved, along with other leaders and lay faithful of the Christian churches, in a peaceful march to protest for the rights of Dalits . The...

A cross atop Mount Soledad in California is an unconstitutional religious display on government land and must come down, a federal judge in San Diego ruled late Thursday. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns ordered the cross, which honors veterans, must be removed within 90 days -- a decision that could result in the case being sent back to the U.S. Supreme Court. Burns immediately stayed his order pending an expected appeal.

PRESS FOR MUSIC The Boer and his gunAnton MyburghTranslation by Piet Smith (YouTube). Put your hand on the plough In the sun you will sweat Because the Boer and his gun never grow tired. Because the Boer and his gun never get tired to plough When he stands, he stands firm as a rock If you put chains around his language The devil will get you Leave his land, you are playing with a bomb's fuse. Carry on farming, Boer son No one will take your land away Because the Boer and his gun never grow tired. Because the Boer...

ZAGREB: A majority of Croatians voted in a referendum Sunday to ban gay marriages in what is a major victory for the Catholic Church-backed conservatives in the European Union´s newest nation. The state electoral commission, citing near complete results, said 65 percent of those who voted answered "yes" to the referendum question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?" About 34 percent voted against. The result meant that Croatia´s constitution will be amended to ban same-sex marriage. The vote has deeply divided Croatia. Liberal groups have said the referendum´s question infringes on basic human...

MARY, MOTHER OF EVANGELIZATIONexcerpted from EVANGELII GAUDIUM II. MARY, MOTHER OF EVANGELIZATION284. With the Holy Spirit, Mary is always present in the midst of the people. She joined the disciples in praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14) and thus made possible the missionary outburst which took place at Pentecost. She is the Mother of the Church which evangelizes, and without her we could never truly understand the spirit of the new evangelization. Jesus’ gift to his people285. On the cross, when Jesus endured in his own flesh the dramatic encounter of the sin of the world...

Istanbul monastery to become mosque The Monastery of Stoudios in Istanbul will be converted into a mosque. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL The largest Byzantium monastery in Istanbul will be converted into a mosque after its restoration next year. The Monastery of Stoudios, also known as the İmrahor Monument, will be turned into a mosque and be titled İmrahor İlyas Bey Mosque. The renovation of the mosque, which forms part of the Hagia Sophia Museum, will follow the same fate as that of Hagia Sophia churches in Trabzon and İznik, which had been already turned into mosques. “I wouldn’t like...