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Several Iranian missiles were intercepted by Qatar’s air defence systems overnight, triggering air raid alerts and emergency measures in Doha and surrounding areas. 

The missile interception prompted an air raid alert across Doha and nearby areas, and authorities implemented emergency measures. In some neighbourhoods, buildings were temporarily evacuated to minimise risk to civilians.

Shortly before the evacuation announcements, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a broad warning on social media, urging employees of major U.S. technology companies in Gulf countries—including Dubai, Riyadh, and Doha—to leave their offices and tech hubs.

The Qatari government emphasised that the country is prepared for potential supply disruptions and that strategic reserves are sufficient to meet the population’s needs. Authorities also urged residents not to panic or spread false information.

Meanwhile, Qatar Airways announced that since early March, it has delivered nearly 300 tons of essential goods to Qatar, including medicines, baby formula, fresh food, and medical equipment.

Several countries in the Persian Gulf region have heightened security measures amid fears of further attacks.

In a guest article published in the German newspaper Die Welt, PM Viktor Orbán of Hungary wrote that European citizens have been bearing the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war and rising energy prices for four years, while EU leaders are unable to address these challenges effectively.

For the past four years, Orbán explains, European politics has been dictated by the logic of war; the conflict in Ukraine, misguided sanctions, and Brussels’ flawed decisions have plunged Europe into a severe economic and geopolitical crisis—a situation now further exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in the Middle East: 

Humanitarian aid turned into helmets, helmets into firearms, and these ultimately into tanks and missiles.

The European Union’s policies, he said, do not take into account the real interests of Central and Eastern European countries, and the patience of Europeans cannot be taken for granted.

EU policy toward Ukraine, he said, is currently shaped by a small circle of leaders in Brussels and Berlin, in agreement with Ukrainian President Zelensky, which makes meaningful adjustments to European strategy impossible:

We must regain the sovereignty of the European Union. Because Europe has been taken hostage.

This is also evident in relation to the Druzhba pipeline, which has not been transporting oil to Hungary and Slovakia since January. According to the two EU member states, all of this aligns with Ukraine’s political objectives. Under current circumstances, Hungary sees no reason to support EU decisions or financial packages benefitting Ukraine. Orbán has previously faced criticism from the EU for frequently blocking or delaying the Union’s common positions, but he sends a clear message: Hungary will not back down. 

Orbán also prominently addresses the issue of mass illegal migration. The EU’s common border protection policy is not effective enough, he said, and the EU is overly lenient toward migrants. This poses a threat to internal security and social stability, bringing “all the conflicts of the Middle East” to “our own territory.” The Hungarian leadership therefore intends to continue maintaining and supporting strict border protection measures while disputing the application of common migration mechanisms with Brussels.

To protect the continent’s peace, economic stability, and energy security, Europe must reclaim political autonomy and make decisions that protect the continent’s peace, economic stability, and energy security, Orbán said.

After a photograph showing a senior figure from Hungary’s opposition Tisza Party performing a Nazi salute triggered a fresh political controversy on Friday, on Saturday, a second problematic photo has emerged, just weeks before the country’s parliamentary election.

The image that initially caused a stir, published on Friday, March 13th, by Hungarian weekly Hetek, shows Zsolt Tárkányi, the party’s press chief and a parliamentary candidate, marching among football ultras while raising his arm in a gesture widely associated with Nazi symbolism.

The photograph was taken in 2006 during a procession by the DVSC football club supporters’ ultra group Szívtiprók Ultras Debrecen.

The group has previously drawn criticism for extremist behaviour in the 2000s and 2010s, including antisemitic chants heard in football stadiums. In the image obtained by the Hungarian publication, several participants raise their arms, while Tárkányi partially covers his face with a scarf.

The weekly said it had verified the image with three separate artificial-intelligence detection tools, all of which suggested with more than 90% probability that the photograph had not been digitally manipulated.

The Tisza Party later acknowledged that Tárkányi is indeed the person shown in the photograph but said that the gesture visible in the picture was not a Nazi salute but a common gesture used by football fans.

Neither the party nor Tárkányi apologised, and the episode could prove damaging for the opposition alliance led by Péter Magyar, whose relatively new Tisza Party has emerged as the main challenger to conservative prime minister Viktor Orbán ahead of Hungary’s April 12 election.

On Saturday, a second photo of Tárkányi emerged, raising new troubling questions about his ideological affiliations. In this one, from 2016, the opposition party’s press spokesman is wearing a shirt from the German clothing company Thor Steinar, which has been associated with neo-Nazi and white nationalist subcultures. 

German domestic intelligence agencies in several states have described the brand as an identifying mark for right-wing extremists. The brand has been banned by the Bundestag and a number of state parliaments, as well as by football stadiums and schools. The company has repeatedly denied direct extremist ties.

In a short social media post on Saturday afternoon, Tárkányi said, “Of course I’m not wearing a Thor Steinar shirt”—despite the fact that the company logo is clearly visible in the photo. 

Tárkányi, who previously worked as a journalist at RTL, was appointed the party’s press chief in 2025. He is also running as Tisza’s candidate in Debrecen, a major eastern Hungarian city traditionally considered a stronghold of Orbán’s governing Fidesz party.

The photos come at a sensitive moment for the opposition movement, which has already faced scrutiny over scandals surrounding its leadership.

Earlier this year, Magyar himself became embroiled in a political storm after acknowledging he had attended a party where “drug-like substances” were present, though he denied consuming them.

In 2024, he was involved in a late-night altercation at a Budapest nightclub, during which he forcibly took a mobile phone from a man filming him and later threw it into the Danube—an incident that led to a police investigation.

He has also faced repeated allegations of aggressive behaviour towards former partners—Evelin Vogel and his ex-wife, former Justice Minister Judit Varga.

Despite these controversies, the Tisza Party continues to receive strong backing from Europe’s centre-right establishment. The party is a member of the European People’s Party (EPP), the largest political group in the European Parliament.

Magyar’s political allies in Brussels have proven reliable. In October 2025, the European Parliament—dominated by the EPP and its liberal partners—voted to keep his parliamentary immunity intact, blocking Hungarian authorities from pursuing multiple legal cases against him.

EPP president Manfred Weber has publicly expressed confidence that the party could defeat Orbán’s government in the upcoming vote. Speaking earlier this year in Brussels, Weber said he had personally encouraged Magyar to join the EPP and described the Hungarian opposition as having a realistic chance of victory.

Weber said at the time

I’m proud that the EPP party is today the party who has a chance to win in Hungary

before adding that the EPP works only with partners who are “pro-Europe, pro-Ukraine, and pro-rule of law.”

April’s vote is widely seen as a defining contest over Hungary’s political direction, with Viktor Orbán framing the choice as one between national sovereignty—something his party, Fidesz, strives for—and deeper alignment with European Union institutions.

Orthodox Marketplace is the official e-commerce platform of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America—built to connect parishes, ministries, and families with trusted, faith-centered resources, from GOARCH ministry materials to carefully curated liturgical and devotional goods from across the Orthodox world. In this conversation, Director Dimitris Katsiklis—who also serves as Master Chanter at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine—speaks with Dr. Stratos Safioleas about how Orthodox Marketplace has evolved from its early roots into a growing “bridge” between Orthodox craftsmanship and the day-to-day needs of Church life in America, and what it will take to scale that vision with quality, access, and ecclesial integrity.

You’re both the Director of Orthodox Marketplace and a Master Chanter at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine—how do those two vocations shape each other, and what’s your personal story of coming to the U.S.?  

The pairing of my vocations did not happen by strategy. It happened by formation of my life by the providence of God.

My life has unfolded along a path where faith and responsibility have always moved together. I began serving in the Church as a reader and chanter at a young age at St. Nicholas, the Metropolitan Cathedral, in my hometown of Volos, Greece. As a teenager, I found myself shaped not only by parish life, but by the guidance of respected spiritual figures in my hometown, Mt. Athos and the United States. Those years were not simply devotional; they were formative. They taught me discipline, accountability, and a sense that the Church is both sacred and deeply practical.

Before moving permanently to the United States, my life was already an immersion in what Scripture calls the vineyard of Christ. That work continues, just on a different scale.

I remain deeply grateful to His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America, our Spiritual Father, who in his pastoral discernment recognized whatever few gifts God has granted me and invited me to serve as Master Chanter of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church and National Shrine at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

When the Church calls, Christ calls. Through His Archbishop, the invitation to serve is not a career move; it is an act of obedience. From a young age, that has been my understanding of vocation — to place one’s life at the disposal of the Church.

With that invitation, my family relocated from Arizona, where we had originally settled, to New York City. The move was not merely geographic. It marked a new level of responsibility, one that carries both national visibility and spiritual weight.

Long before stepping into this role, however, I had been formed by another world: ecclesiastical commerce in Mt. Athos. For more than two decades, my family has operated Bookstore Pantanassa in Karyes, Mount Athos, under the leadership of my father, Ilias D. Katsiklis along with my younger brother Rev. Fr Theofanis Katsiklis and myself. Growing up in that environment shaped my understanding of what it means to work within the Church’s material culture.

Liturgical goods were never treated as simple inventory. They were understood as instruments of worship. Every item carries theological meaning.

Every detail matters. And every person matters. The one who purchases is not merely a customer, but a faithful soul who will pray, serve, and seek salvation with what you provide.

That was the ethos of the monks who crafted and sold their handwork on Mount Athos. It is the business ethic we inherited — reverence first, transaction second.

That background became essential in preparation for the Consecration Services of St. Nicholas on July 4, 2022. Working closely with Archdeacon Fr. Dionisios Papiris and the Archiepiscopal Vicar of the Shrine, Protopresbyter of the Ecumenical Throne Fr. Andreas Vithoulkas, we helped equip the Shrine with the ecclesiastical and monumental elements required for a temple of such significance. This was not only a matter of procurement. It was project management under sacred pressure: timelines, logistics, quality control, coordination across teams, all executed with precision and reverence.

The skill set required was not limited to Byzantine music or theology that was my job. It drew heavily on two decades of business ownership in Greece, not only in commerce but with deep experience deals management, corporate finance and investor relations that I had developed with my team and my company. Chanting in the morning, reviewing spreadsheets in the afternoon, teaching Byzantine music, and lecturing in MBA classrooms are not competing identities for me. They are expressions of the same formation.

The Orthodox Church has long been sustained by men and women who brought worldly competence into sacred service. In the United States, the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese offers visible examples: the Philoptochos, Leadership 100, the AHEPA, the Archons, the Parish Councils etc. These organizations demonstrate that professional excellence and ecclesial devotion are not opposites. They are partners.

As Director of Orthodox Marketplace, the goal is to extend what we accomplished at the National Shrine to parishes across America. At St. Nicholas, we not only equipped the liturgical life of a national shrine, but also helped establish and operate a gift shop with the outmost qualitative products that functions successfully as a business while serving a spiritual mission. Under the vision and guidance of His Eminence, that model can grow.

Orthodox Marketplace is not simply an online store. It is the structured application of experience — liturgical, theological, and commercial — in service of the Church and the communities. If we do it correctly, it will strengthen parish life and their local culture in practical ways while offering alternatives of faith based merchandised to all Christians in the English speaking world.

For someone who’s never clicked the site: what is Orthodox Marketplace, in one clear sentence—and what need in the Church/community is it meant to serve?  

Orthodox Marketplace is the official e-commerce platform of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, created to provide trusted, faith-centered resources and liturgical goods to parishes, ministries, and families. At its core, it exists to meet the practical pastoral needs of Orthodox communities across the United States and beyond — with clarity, reliability, and ecclesial integrity.

Take us back to the origin story: when was the Marketplace first conceived (and what was happening in parish life that made it feel necessary), and what changed with the 2021 relaunch?  

Orthodox Marketplace was first launched in 2006 as an online bookstore, created to distribute materials produced by the Departments and Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese for pastoral and missionary use in parishes and communities. That core mission has never changed. It remains the foundation of everything we do.

In 2021, under the Department of Religious Education, the platform underwent a comprehensive relaunch. The website was redesigned, and the back-end systems were modernized to support greater efficiency, improved access, and long-term growth. The update was not cosmetic. It was structural — ensuring that the Marketplace could serve the Church with the professionalism and reliability that today’s parishes require.

Today, Orthodox Marketplace has evolved into a true marketplace platform. We have opened it to carefully selected vendors from across the Orthodox world, allowing them to present their distinctive craftsmanship and make it directly accessible to the faithful.

Drawing on logistical systems refined during the COVID-19 era, along with longstanding relationships developed over decades with trusted vendors in the United States, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Romania, and Ukraine, we are building more than an online store. We are creating a structured, reliable point of access.

The goal is simple but ambitious: to connect high-quality Orthodox craftsmanship with the growing demand from parishes and communities, and to do so in a way that is efficient, transparent, and from the check-out cart to your doorstep.

Who is the Marketplace truly “for” day-to-day—parishes, parents, ministry leaders, clergy, seekers—and how do you decide which audience gets priority when tradeoffs happen?  

Orthodox Marketplace is for everyone — clergy, monastics, laypeople. The platform exists to provide access, clarity, and trusted resources. Orders are fulfilled on a straightforward, first-come, first-served basis, subject to availability by the vendors, but the deeper commitment is access without unnecessary barriers.

Our audience has grown organically over nearly two decades. Brand awareness was not built through aggressive marketing, but through consistency and trust to our Archdiocese and its leaders. That trust is now one of our strongest assets.

The vision is comprehensive. We aim to support the full spectrum of parish life: liturgical worship, educational programming, missionary outreach, home devotion, and the theological and cultural formation of every age group. If the Church exists for all people, then our responsibility is to serve all people — and to make the path toward Christ more accessible, not more complicated.

You’re selling both GOARCH-created ministry materials and selected outside items—what are your standards for curation, theological/educational fit, and quality control so shoppers trust what “Orthodox” means on this platform?  

As a marketplace, we operate across multiple categories — liturgical items, educational materials, publications, devotional goods — each requiring a different level of expertise and discernment. Curation is not accidental. It is built on institutional memory and long-standing relationships with established vendors and publishers who have shaped Orthodox life in the United States and abroad.

“Orthodox” on our platform is not a marketing adjective. It is a standard.

Our clientele is both domestic and international and not limited strictly by denomination. At the same time, our vendors are carefully selected. They include Departments and Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, recognized Orthodox theological publishing houses, Christian Orthodox artisans producing liturgical artifacts and handcrafted items for church use, monastics and monastic communities, and families who have worked in ecclesiastical production for generations.

We do not position the Marketplace as closed or insular. Orthodoxy, by definition, is offered to the world. But we are deliberate about who represents that voice on the platform. Theological integrity, liturgical appropriateness, production quality, and reputational trust are non-negotiable. That consistency is what allows shoppers to understand that when something is presented here as “Orthodox,” it carries both ecclesial responsibility and practical reliability.

The blunt question everyone has: why should someone shop here instead of Amazon—what’s the unique value proposition you want people to feel the minute they land on the site?  

Well, some may ask, why not create our own “ecclesiastical” Amazon? A true one-stop shop for the Orthodox world.

The reality is that Amazon, particularly in the United States, has reshaped consumer behavior. It has made purchasing fast, predictable, and simple. That expectation now exists everywhere, including within Church life.

But most Orthodox vendors — especially those abroad — are not structured to operate within that ecosystem. The Fulfillment by Amazon model requires scale, warehousing, capital, marketing infrastructure, and continuous volume. It is not realistic to expect a monk on Mount Athos to navigate international logistics, U.S. compliance standards, digital advertising, and inventory forecasting simply to sell incense or prayer ropes in America. Even if technically possible, the marketing barrier alone would be formidable.

The Orthodox Marketplace was never created to compete with Amazon on its terms. It was established more than twenty years ago as the official portal of of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America publications and ministry materials supply. Over time, clergy, parish staff, and faithful have returned to it consistently because it is trusted. That trust is its infrastructure.

It serves as a bridge. Now, it may connect, for example, Athonite products to American parishes and communities. It connects specialized liturgical artisans in Europe to clergy who may never have the opportunity to travel abroad.

Traditionally, a priest seeking a specific liturgical item might have waited for the rare opportunity to travel overseas, identify a vendor, commission the piece, and personally transport it home. Not every priest can travel. Not every parish knows where to begin. Access has often depended on personal networks.

Orthodox Marketplace changes that equation. It centralizes access. It offers visibility. It reduces distance.

In Europe, there are established annual exhibitions and catalog fairs where Orthodox publishers and artisans present their work. Relationships are formed there. Orders are placed there. But once the exhibition ends, visibility often disappears until the following years.

As we prepare for Clergy–Laity 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio, we are working to ensure that participating vendors are not present only for the duration of the conference. Our aim is to integrate them into Orthodox Marketplace so that their presence continues long after Clergy–Laity concludes. The conference becomes the introduction. The Marketplace becomes the ongoing connection.

Our goal is beyond of merely building an “ecclesiastical Amazon.” We are building a sustainable infrastructure that supports craftsmanship, strengthens parishes, and makes the resources of the Orthodox world accessible in a structured and responsible way.

Where is it not yet where you want it to be—catalog breadth, search/UX, marketing reach, shipping speed/cost, parish bulk ordering—and what are the biggest constraints holding you back?  

Transforming Orthodox Marketplace from a simple online bookstore into a fully developed e-commerce platform is not a cosmetic update. It requires design, strategy, technological development, and phased execution. What exists today is, in many respects, a beta version — functional, growing, and already hosting numerous vendors across multiple categories, yet still evolving.

The user experience and the underlying software architecture are areas of continuous refinement. Digital infrastructure is never truly finished. It demands sustained investment, thoughtful iteration, and resources proportional to the scale of the vision.

As the platform matures, the catalog is projected to exceed 7,000 SKUs, representing vendors from across the Orthodox world. That diversity carries its own momentum. When artisans and publishers from different countries are represented, relevant ethnic and parish communities naturally take notice. Word of mouth becomes a powerful form of organic growth.

At the same time, growth is not left to chance. We actively promote new arrivals and featured collections through social media and targeted email campaigns, maintaining consistent communication with our audience.

One of our most practical contributions is helping parishes manage bulk ordering. Anyone who has coordinated large ecclesiastical purchases understands the logistical complexity involved — multiple vendors, international shipping, customs, timelines, and budget constraints. We have streamlined this process on the retail level and are positioned to offer structured solutions for parishes ordering in volume. In many cases, we are not simply supplying products; we are reducing administrative friction.

Like any ambitious endeavor, the primary constraint is time. The project operates across multiple layers — vendor relations, technology, logistics, marketing, ecclesiastical oversight — and each demands attention. There are days when twenty-four hours are simply not enough. But growth in phases, with discipline and clarity, is preferable to expansion without structure.

This is not a short-term experiment. It is a long-term build.

Zooming out: where do you want Orthodox Marketplace to be in 12–24 months, what “best practices” are you borrowing from modern e-commerce, and how will you measure success beyond revenue (impact on ministry, parish formation, repeat trust)?  

With the blessing and steady guidance of His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros, we see Orthodox Marketplace growing into something far more substantial than a retail platform. In the next 12 to 24 months, our goal is for it to become a pillar that shapes and elevates the worship and engagement experience of Orthodox life in America.

That means quality. It means access. It means intention.

Imagine with me for a moment a home prayer corner furnished with icons crafted  in the ultimate level of artistry, incense burning that’s made in Mt. Athos with age old recipe bringing heaven on earth, and devotional items that draw a family into prayer rather than serving as decoration. Imagine altar table built from materials worthy of the glory of the Lord — not items that deteriorate quickly and require constant replacement. Imagine prayer ropes made by monastics, not by mass-produced substitute factories in Asia. Imagine clean beeswax candles and high quality textiles for liturgical purposes available for all the needs in the parish and community life.

Continuing from earlier, it also means intellectual depth. Access to serious theological books, liturgical texts, and educational resources from trusted sources — not fragmented theology shaped by social media clips and passing trends. It means connecting parishes with skilled professionals whose expertise in iconography, metalwork, vestment making, publishing, or liturgical arts has been refined over generations.

We are borrowing best practices from modern e-commerce: improved user experience, clear categorization, intelligent search functionality, consistent communication through targeted campaigns, data-informed inventory planning, and streamlined logistics for both individual and bulk parish orders.

But success will not be measured by revenue alone.

We will measure it by repeat trust — parishes that return because the product quality met expectations. By ministry impact —because the right materials were accessible. By formation — families building prayer lives at home and getting connected deeper with their cultural rules, Greek or other, with resources that endure. By reputation — becoming the first-place clergy and lay leaders turn when they need something essential.

Ultimately, the vision is simple: equal access. Orthodox Christians in America should have the same access to ecclesiastical items, books, and services that support their faith as Orthodox communities abroad. If we can remove barriers and connect people to the depth of their tradition in a structured, reliable way, then Orthodox Marketplace will be fulfilling its purpose.

We are not just distributing goods. We are carrying forward what helps faith take visible form and lasting impact.

Visit the Orthodox Marketplace HERE

 

Protesters attacked the local offices of the Communist Party of Cuba on Friday night into Saturday in the province of Ciego de Ávila, about 460 kilometers from Havana, to protest against power outages and shortages of basic goods.

According to videos circulating on social media, demonstrators stormed the building in the city of Morón, removing documents, computers, and furniture, which they later burned in the street.

According to the local newspaper Invasor, five people were arrested following what authorities described as “acts of vandalism.”

🚨BREAKING —> The people of #Cuba have just set fire to the Communist Party’s Headquarters in the eastern town of #Morón.

The Cuban people have had enough of the brutal dictatorship! pic.twitter.com/q9j6unDFh3

— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) March 14, 2026

Cuba, which is already experiencing a severe economic crisis, is currently facing widespread fuel shortages and prolonged power outages. Many Cubans have begun expressing their frustration through nighttime protests, often involving the banging of pots and pans in the streets.

Authorities say the island has not received petroleum shipments for several months and blame a U.S. energy blockade for worsening the situation.

Meanwhile, relations between Havana and Washington remain strained. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recently confirmed that his government is holding talks with the United States amid the deepening energy crisis.

🚨🇨🇺 Protesters in Morón, Cuba, torched a Communist Party headquarters after months of fuel shortages and rolling blackouts.

No gas. No electricity. No patience left.

The party building in Ciego de Ávila was also stormed, taken over, and set on fire.

Turns out no fuel for 3… https://t.co/TzEwo54SYZ pic.twitter.com/PvRS93dAsc

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 14, 2026

Cuba has also announced the release of some political prisoners as part of an agreement mediated by the Vatican, which has historically played a role in facilitating dialogue between the two countries.

 

The Islamist extremist group “Ashab Al Yamim” claimed responsibility for the attack on a Jewish school in Amsterdam early Saturday morning, even releasing a video allegedly showing the detonation of the explosive device.

The city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, described the attack as deliberate and targeted against the Jewish community, noting that it caused limited damage to the building.

The incident comes after a similar explosive attack outside a synagogue in Rotterdam caused a small fire and damage, and four suspects were arrested by Dutch police.

The Islamic extremist group appears to be linked to several anti-Semitic attacks in recent days in the Netherlands.

An earthquake measuring 4.5 on the Richter scale occurred on Saturday afternoon (March 14) off the coast of Chania.

The focal depth of the quake was 14.2 kilometers, and the epicenter was located 36 kilometers southwest of Paleochora, Chania.

In the heart of the Sacred City of Messolonghi, time seems to stand still before the iconic figure of “Greece” by Eugène Delacroix. On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the heroic Exodus, the famous painting Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi traveled from the Museum of Fine Arts of Bordeaux to be exhibited, for the first time, in the place that inspired its creation.

The presentation of the work at the Xenokratio Archaeological Museum caused deep emotion. The oil painting, measuring 2.13 × 1.42 m, depicts a wounded yet dignified woman kneeling among the ruins, serving as a timeless symbol of the Greek struggle for freedom.

“The arrival of the painting by Eugène Delacroix carries particular historical and emotional weight,” said Minister of Culture Lina Mendoni during today’s press conference marking the reception of the iconic artwork.

Describing the painting’s allegory, Mendoni said: “She is wounded, yet she stands. She is humble, yet dignified. The bloodied hand emerging from the ruins reminds us of the cost of the people’s sacrifice.” She added that the dramatic and metaphysical tone of the work makes it one of the most powerful messages of European Romantic art, noting that “even today, the philhellenic movement always holds in its consciousness the sacrifice at Messolonghi.”

“Today is a very important day for Messolonghi and for our country as well, because the arrival of a significant work of art always carries special importance for the cultural life of the nation. However, the arrival of a work of art that is connected to such a significant anniversary—an important milestone of modern Greek history—automatically gives the work itself a different emotional and historical weight,” the minister added.

The painting was loaned by the Museum of Fine Arts of Bordeaux and will be hosted at the city’s museum from today, March 14, until November 2026.

The French painter, one of the most well-known philhellene artists, created the work in 1826, just a few months after the Third Siege of Missolonghi and the dramatic Exodus of Messolonghi, which shocked Europe. The official opening of the thematic exhibition surrounding the work has been scheduled for April 3. It offers a rare opportunity for the public to see up close a piece that is not merely a monument of art but, as the minister said, a “timeless symbol of resistance, hope, and rebirth.”

For his part, the mayor of the Sacred City of Messolonghi, Spyridon Diamantopoulos, expressed his warm thanks to the Ministry of Culture and the Bordeaux museum, emphasizing that for the people of Messolonghi, Delacroix’s “Greece” is not only art but the living personification of their history. He invited all Greeks and friends of history to visit the city and see up close the work that moved the world two centuries ago.

Also present at the event were the Regional Governor of Western Greece Nektarios Farmakis, the Deputy Regional Governor of Aetolia-Acarnania Thanasis Mavrommatis, the ND MP for Aetolia-Acarnania Thanasis Papathanasis, the Metropolitan of Aetolia and Acarnania Damaskinos of Aetolia and Acarnania, journalist Nikos Aliagas, and other representatives of local authorities and institutions.

For unknown reasons, [redacted, irrelevant, insert whoever is applicable] will not engage with the debate about whether we have been deceived about the nature of disease and specifically the matter of purportedly “viral” illnesses or about claims for “contagion”.

Normative narratives respond, effectively, with

“Everybody knows…” that the official narrative is absolutely true.

Think about it.

These narratives are perfect for controlling everything, such as quarantining, masking, mass testing, high priests of modelling and ultimately up to and including injecting untested materials into you and into all animals, both livestock and companion animals.

Attending all this is the necessity of recording everybody’s status and this requires a 24/7 connected surveillance system.

All good, right? Anything to save us from a disease!

So be mindful, before you respond to questioning of the narratives by reflex, saying “Everybody knows…” and disparaging serious minded sceptics.

Don’t you think this matter is important enough to warrant careful consideration of what is claimed and what is real?

Unless you create the stillness in which proper consideration can happen then, in the event that you are being deceived, how would you ever know?

Best wishes

Mike

The claim :

Anyone who seriously examines the history of and “evidence for” Germ Theory and in particular Virology discovers them to be without any basis in reality.

Corollary:

Those of good faith who claim there is no pink elephant in the room have simply not been in the room and are stating received certainties and not a rational analysis of the evidence.

This is a natural response. We have been taught our whole lives from every trusted angle – parents, school, news, Horizon – to witness healing phase “symptoms” as disease caused by external pathogens.

We have looked through a contagion lens.

As if wearing pink glasses, we have seen the pinkness as part of reality. We’ve been wearing these glasses all our lives.

Especially when strong childhood “contagion” experiences have created an emotional connection. This is a very difficult idea to question.

Because as Mike is keen to stress

It’s fair to say that the illusion of contagion isn’t ONLY to do with having been instructed to regard colds and flu as infectious and contagious. It is also that we make observations which are indeed CONSISTENT with contagion.

The mistake we make when the received wisdom is challenged is to mistake “consistent with” equivalent to “proof of”. I’m afraid it’s not proof. It’s merely consistent with the possibility.

What could possibly induce anyone to consider there are may even be any distorting glasses to take off?

“So science can’t demonstrate contagion, science isn’t everything, I’ve seen it I tell you!”

For 50 years scurvy was “known” to be a contagious disease.

“Everybody knows”

Rough treatment was meted out to those who suggested otherwise.

Why did “everyone know this”? For all the exact same reasons we are convinced we caught a cold. All the exact same reasons.

What does this show? It shows that using “observed consequences” (personal experience) to “prove” a theory which implies them is logically incorrect.

Presents under a tree do not confirm the Santa hypothesis just because they follow from it.

Looking through the Santa lens, each appearance of presents appears to be yet more confirmation of the Santa hypothesis.

Point 1 is really just a shot across the bows of the contagion certainty. It allows comprehension of how it could be that our certain experiences of contagion may possibly be mistaken.

The real slayer of the contagion certainty is the following question which I encourage everyone to give serious and honest consideration.

If indeed it is true that catching a disease is a common place real world occurrence and not a recent pair of pink glasses, then how is it that no culture anywhere in the world – including thousands of years of methodical observations on Chinese and Indian medicine – ever managed to “notice it” anywhere in the world at any point for 6000 years?

Warm wishes

Tim

I have suggested that the mistake we make when received wisdom is challenged is to mistake “consistent with” equivalent to “proof of” when it’s merely consistent with the possibility.

Here’s the crucial follow-on part. Whenever anyone formally attempts to demonstrate contagion in practice, they have on all occasions been unsuccessful.

The perpetrators know this. They’ve been lying to you for many, many decades if not longer. They know that people believing it means that people remain easily in their grasp. They absolutely love this power to scare, to use this fear to restrict, manipulate, destroy and to inject. This deception is at the dark heart of so much horrifying behaviour, from both the perpetrators and those who believe their deceptions and are frightened.

This is not some fringe issue let alone a PsyOp. This a simple truth of vital central importance.

Mike

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“Today we honor the memory of Evagoras Pallikaridis, 69 years after he was executed by hanging at the age of just 19. His sacrifice is an emblematic example of the bravery of our Cypriot brothers and sisters in their struggle for freedom.”

This is what the Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias wrote in a post on the social network X.

Evagoras Pallikaridis was a Greek-Cypriot fighter of the EOKA fighting for the unification of Cyprus with Greece, a hero of Cyprus and a poet.

For his actions he was arrested by the British forces and executed by hanging at the age of only 19.

He was the youngest but also the last fighter to be hanged by the British.

His grave is in the Prisoner’s Memorial in Lefkosia.