Brutal: Biden Just Took a $90 Million Hit

The words "Greek hot dog" might conjure images of feta cheese and tzatziki. However, we're talking about a meaty sauce that may remind you of chili.

by Tom Luongo, Tom Luongo: Having now done literally hundreds of interviews/livestreams/podcast over the past seven years, I’ve learned a few things about media. The first is that this is a lot harder than it looks. I’ve done it the very hard way, limited success through repetitive failure. It’s who I am. I’m neither a […]

by Rhoda Wilson, Expose News: In October 2019, a tabletop exercise called Event 201 was held to simulate a coronavirus outbreak.  Six months later, the World Health Organisation declared a covid pandemic. In October 2024, a Bird Flu Summit is being held to prepare for the response to a potential bird flu pandemic.  As has been proved […]

from World Alternative Media: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

from ZeeeMedia: TRUTH LIVES on at https://sgtreport.tv/

Pope Boniface VIII went down in history as one of the most controversial popes of all time. His conflicts with the state, particularly the French King Philip IV, led to a posthumous trial against him for heresy. Here, we delve into the events that laid the groundwork for his trial, the accusations levied against him during the trial, and its outcome. Medieval painting of Pope Boniface VIII Political Conflicts During Boniface VIII’s Pontificate While the separation of church and state has been an enduring ideology, Pope Boniface VIII was one of the boldest and most politically involved church leaders. He often expressed his political inclinations in his office and tried to influence monarchs.  When his pontificate began in 1294, there were two important and ongoing global wars. One was between England and France regarding the dominion over Flanders and Guyenne. The second was between Aragon and Naples regarding the island of Sicily. It was a turbulent time for the Mediterranean island of Sicily. Peter III of Aragon had just died and his son, Frederick, was due to succeed him. Though Boniface tried to coax Frederick not to accept the throne, Frederick accepted the responsibility and Boniface was forced to accept Sicily’s sovereignty under the new king. Boniface also tried to end the conflict between the English King Edward I and the French King Philip IV.  Meanwhile, he found himself in the middle of another issue. The mounting taxes on the clergy were mandated by the two kings without the pope’s permission.  In 1296, Pope Boniface VIII responded by publishing Clericis laicos. This was a bull that prevented the monarchs from imposing taxes on the clergy without papal consent. Failure to get the pope’s express license would result in a king’s automatic excommunication. England followed the rule under the Clericis laicos to some extent. This was mainly due to support from Robert Winchelsey, the archbishop of Canterbury. However, it did not have much effect in France as there was no strong support from the region. Increasing Friction Between Boniface VIII and Philip IV In 1301, another conflict erupted between Boniface VIII and Philip IV. This time it was over the false accusations, trial, and imprisonment of Bernard Saisset of Pamiers, a French bishop.  In return, Boniface VIII issued the bull Ausculta fili, expressing his strong disapproval of the king’s actions. He also asked for amends, particularly the bishop’s release from prison. Pierre Flotte, the king’s chancellor, circulated an altered extract of the papal bull, steering public opinion against the pope. A year later in 1302, Philip IV’s new councilor, Guillaume de Nogaret, led an anti-papal royal policy. Philip IV found many allies for this policy, including the French canon lawyer Jean Lemoine aka Johannes Monachus. During the same year, Philip IV and his aides raised many false accusations against the pope at a hush-hush assembly at the Louvre in Paris. Some of the accusations included the pope’s illegal entry into the papal office and heresy. These accusations later became the basis of the pope’s posthumous trial by Philip IV. During the meeting, Nogaret called for the pope’s condemnation by a general council of the church. Soon after the gathering, Nogaret traveled to Italy to instigate a revolt against Boniface VIII which was unsuccessful. Manuscript illustration of Boniface consulting his cardinals Boniface VIII’s Capture and Death In 1303, Nogaret received news that Pope Boniface VIII was planning to issue a bull declaring Philip IV’s ex-communication.  Learning that Boniface VIII was in Anagni, Nogaret immediately approached a few cardinals. He went to Sciarra Colonna — a member of the influential Colonna family — and Anagni’s local leaders for help. Together, they seized Boniface VIII at Anagni and asked him to resign. However, Boniface VIII told them that he would rather die than resign. He was released after three days. During Boniface VIII’s captivity, he was subjected to ill-treatment. Physically and mentally shattered, he passed away on October 11, 1303, just one month after his release. Posthumous Trial Against Boniface VIII After Pope Boniface VIII died, Philip IV and his allies pressured Clement V, the new French pope, to instigate a posthumous trial against the pope’s memory.  After the pontificate was shifted to Avignon, Pope Clement V felt increasingly embarrassed and burdened by the material against Boniface VIII that came from the previous pope’s accusers. He ultimately relented to Boniface VIII’s trial in 1309. During the judicial investigation which lasted between 1303 and 1311, Philip IV and his aides hurled many accusations against Boniface VIII. Some accusations were that Boniface VIII supposedly made many bold statements that were considered nihilist or hedonist and partially even critical and freethinking. According to them, he supposedly declared statements to the effect of: Christianity is invented by human beings like the religions of the Arabs and the Jews. The dead will not rise just like my horse that expired yesterday. When Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, she was not a virgin just like my mother wasn’t when she bore me. Just like washing one’s hands, sex and satisfying natural desires are not a sin. Heaven and hell exist only on Earth. For the healthy, happy, and rich, this is heaven on Earth while for the sick and the poor, this is hell on Earth. The world will last forever, only human beings don’t. All religions, particularly Christianity, have a few truths and many errors. Christian untruths include the trinity, Jesus Christ’s divine nature, the virgin birth, the transubstantiation of bread and wine into Jesus Christ’s body and blood, and the resurrection of the dead. Understandably, scholars remain divided about the authenticity of these statements, especially since there is no proof that Pope Boniface VIII said them. End of the Trial On June 28, 1310, Clement released a mandate expressing his concerns about the testimonies’ quality and the accusers’ and witnesses’ corruption. He went on to declare that people committing perjury in future examinations would face ex-communication. Meanwhile, an ecclesiastical consistory held a judicial investigation against Pope Boniface VIII’s memory at Priory Groseau near Malaucène in France. It consisted of preliminary examinations conducted in August and September 1310. It gathered testimonies regarding Boniface VIII’s heresy and offenses, which included sodomy. However, this accusation lacks substantive evidence. It is also possible that Philip IV used it as a common accusation against his enemies as the Templars also faced the same charge. Meanwhile, despite many accusations put forward by Philip IV and his aides for eight years, Boniface VIII was not condemned in the end. In 1311, the trial was abandoned without reaching any verdict. That the Catholic Church meddled in the affairs of the state certainly wasn’t anything new. However, few church leaders went to the extent that Pope Boniface VIII did. His struggle for power against King Philip IV was aggressive and eventually led to his demise. The post The Most Controversial Pope In History: Pope Boniface VIII first appeared on History Defined.

Roman ruins with old buildings in Plovdiv. Source: Needpix   Considered the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, Plovdiv in Bulgaria has a history and prehistory that dates back 8,000 years. The original inhabitants are unknown, but from its beginning as a small town of hunter-gatherers, it saw enormous growth throughout the millennia, becoming home to the Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, and of course, the Bulgarians who live there today.   It is no wonder that Plovdiv forms an important part of the culture and history of the region. The city reveals clues to the early history of European peoples as well as the vicissitudes of the ever-changing quest for power from the ancient to the modern era.   Prehistory of Plovdiv A settlement mound near Plovdiv, Source: Visitplovdiv.com   On the banks of the Maritsa river in what would become the historical region of Thrace, a settlement began to take shape in the Neolithic Period around 8,000 years ago. Evidence for this is found in what is known as the “settlement mounds” in and around the city. These small hills contain rich layers of archeological evidence of habitation that stretch back into the Neolithic Era.   In several of these mounds, the remains of dwellings were found. These first houses were built upon stilts and had clay floors. The walls of these dwellings were also coated with thick clay plaster. Each house had a fireplace and was filled with a myriad of equipment for farming, fishing, cattle breeding, and hunting.   Like most European settlements during the Neolithic, wheat and barley formed the basis of agricultural efforts in early Plovdiv. Sheep, pigs, buffalo, and goats were all domesticated along with dogs. With such a varied choice of resources, this Neolithic settlement stood an excellent chance for growth and success.   The Maritsa River today bisects the modern city of Plovdiv, Source: Wikimedia Commons   Figurines depicting people and animals have been found in abundance. These items were made from various materials such as clay, bone, and even marble.   This early culture was known as the Karanovo culture and it extended throughout the area that is now Bulgaria. The people of the Karanovo culture were likely the ancestors of the Bronze and Iron Age Thracians.   The city of Plovdiv today includes a massive naturally fortified hill known as Nebet Tepe where evidence of habitation stretches back to 4,000 BCE. While relatively little is known about the early inhabitants, the site grew during the Iron Age to become a significantly powerful entity within the socio-political makeup of Thrace. It is believed that this fortification was a base of power for the local Bessi tribe.   Plovdiv During Antiquity Roman ruins in Plovdiv, photo by Adam Jones, Source: Wikimedia Commons   During the period of the Greco-Persian Wars, Plovdiv was part of the Persian Empire. From 516 BCE, it was incorporated into the empire of Darius the Great. Power fluctuated back and forth as Persia launched successive invasions of Greece. In 492 BCE, Thrace was subjugated under the Persian general Mardonius. It lasted as a vassal state until 479 BCE when the Persians withdrew after being comprehensively defeated by the Greeks.   Thereafter, Plovdiv formed part of an independent Thracian state known as the Odrysian Kingdom. This kingdom was conquered by Philip II of Macedon in 342 BCE, and Plovdiv came under Macedonian rule and was renamed Philippopolis. Over the next few centuries, Plovdiv (or Philippopolis) changed hands a number of times. Under Alexander the Great, a Thracian revolt led to the establishment of a semi-independent Odrysian Kingdom, a suzerain of Alexander’s empire. Macedonian power was gradually eroded, but before Thrace could exercise full control, a wave of Celtic invasions saw Philippopolis destroyed somewhere around the 270s BCE.   In 183 BCE, Philip V of Macedon conquered Philippopolis, but the city was taken back by the Thracians soon after. In 72 BCE, it was taken by the Romans but recaptured by the Thracians who kept control of it until 46 CE when Thrace was added to the Roman Empire. Philippopolis served as the capital of this province.   Philip II of Macedon, by Richard Mortel, Source: Britannica   Under Roman rule, Philippopolis experienced a golden age. It was an important trading hub, and attracted many immigrants, boosting the population and economy of the city. Huge public works were built across the city, including water works, city walls, and a sewerage system.   This period could not last forever, and the waning power of the Roman Empire gave the barbarian tribes on its borders the impetus to grab power for themselves. In 250 CE the city came under siege by the Goths. Unable to withstand the assault, Philippopolis capitulated and was sacked. Tens of thousands of the city’s inhabitants were slaughtered and many more fled.   After the Goths left, the Romans assumed control once again, and it would take a century before the city grew to the size it had been before the Gothic invasion. This hard work was undone again by the Huns under Attila in 441-442 CE and again by the Goths under the command of Theodoric Strabo in 471 CE. The Roman period came to an end with death and destruction for the city of Philippopolis.   The Middle Ages  A preserved medieval street in Plovdiv, photo by Dan Lundberg, Source: Wikimedia Commons   After the fall of the Roman Empire, other peoples and cultures moved in to fill the void that was left behind. In Thrace, that void was filled by Slavic tribes who moved in relatively peacefully. Inherited by the Byzantine Empire, Thrace formed a frontier province on the northern border and a buffer zone to Constantinople (now Istanbul).   In the 7th century, however, the Kingdom of Bulgaria was established and the frontier between the Slavic tribes and the Byzantines became the Balkan Mountain Range which runs horizontally through modern-day Bulgaria. The southern half contained Philippopolis, which became a vital fortress town near the edge of Byzantine control.   Throughout the centuries that followed, the city changed hands many times between the invading Bulgars and the Byzantines. In 970, it was also conquered by the Kievans under Prince Svetoslav I who sacked the city and had thousands of its inhabitants impaled. The city was soon recaptured by the Byzantines. This state of affairs lasted until the Third Crusade from 1189-1192. Holy Roman armies under the leadership of Frederick I Barbarossa took the city from the Byzantines and gave it to Bulgaria with whom the Holy Roman Empire had a political union.   Although the Byzantine Empire was Christian, it fell prey to the Crusaders who viewed the Orthodox Church as a heretical construct that existed in opposition to Catholicism. As such, it was targeted during the subsequent Fourth Crusade. Byzantium as well as the European lands of the empire were captured by the Crusaders at the beginning of the 13th century. These lands constituted the “Latin Empire” which was intended to replace the legitimacy of the Byzantine Empire as the rightful successor to the East Roman Empire.   The Byzantine Empire in 1025 with the location of Philippopolis/Plovdiv marked, original by Cplakidas, highlight by the author, Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Latin Empire was threatened not only by the remains of the Byzantine Empire to the west and to the east, but by the Bulgars to the north, and in the early 13th century, Philippopolis was captured by Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria, and handed to his successor Boril upon the death of Kaloyan in 1207. The Latins defeated Boril at the Battle of Philippopolis and returned control of the city to the Latin Empire. Philippopolis was then captured again by the Bulgars under Ivan Asen II before 1230. The ruins of Tsar Ivan Asen II’s fortress are still standing today, and constitute a tourist attraction ten miles southeast of the center of Plovdiv.   The fortress of Tsar Ivan Asen II, located in the town of Asenovgrad a short distance from the city of Plovdiv, Source: Needpix   When Constantinople was taken, the Byzantine empire fractured into three rump states in addition to the Latin Empire. The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of these states and existed to the east of the Latin Empire, further east, on the coast of the Black sea was the Empire of Trebizond. To the west of the Latin Empire in what is now northwestern Greece, was the Despotate of Epirus.   The Nicaeans under the rule of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes exterminated all hope of the Latin Empire returning control of Philippopolis when the Nicaeans waged war against the Latins, capturing vast swathes of former Byzantine land, including much of the lands of Epirus. Philoppolis was returned to Nicene/ Byzantine control during this conflict, and in 1261, Constantinople was recaptured and the Byzantine empire was restored.   From 1341 to 1347, the Byzantine Empire endured a civil war, and Bulgaria, on the side of the victors was awarded Philippopolis along with several other cities as payment for the services it provided in helping draw the conflict to a victorious end.   Transition to the Modern Era Aerial view of Plovdiv, by Irenè Lazarova, Source: Pexels   Around 1363, Philippopolis was captured by the Ottoman Empire and renamed Filibe. It remained under Ottoman rule for 500 years until the Russo-Turkish War of 1877 to 1878 when the city was captured by the Russians. Thereafter it became the capital of the region of Rumelia. Although under nominal Ottoman rule, Rumelia was for all intents and purposes, autonomous, and it joined the Bulgarian state in 1885.   During the time of Ottoman rule, Plovdiv/Filibe was a center of national pride for the Bulgarians, and its cultures and traditions were preserved. The influences on the people of Plovdiv, however, could not be ignored. The city attracted many immigrants from different cultures, including Jews, Roma, Vlachs, Armenians, Greeks, and Arvanites. It became a melting pot of culture, and the city was subject to major Hellenization and Turkification efforts.   In the end, however, Plovdiv became part of Bulgaria, and its status today is firmly as a Bulgarian city with no other claimants. Plovdiv also played a major part in the re-establishment of the Bulgarian Church, a vital pillar of the Bulgarian national revival.   By the end of the 19th century, Plovdiv was, and it remains today, Bulgaria’s second biggest city after the capital, Sofia. Food and tobacco were two industries that became highly developed in Plovdiv, and the city underwent a boom in construction during the communist era.   Plovdiv Today The Roman theater in Plovdiv which is still in use today, by Edal Anton Lefterov, Source: Wikimedia Commons   With successive waves of immigrants woven into the fabric of the city, people of Turkish, Greek, and many other foreign descent, now consider themselves Bulgarian, and those identifying as such in Plovdiv represent more than 80 percent of the population. Indeed, there is much for the inhabitants of this ancient city to be proud of.   Plovdiv is recognized as a major cultural center in Eastern Europe. It has 200 archeological sites with ancient ruins and buildings dotting the cityscape. Of particular note is the Roman theater which is still in use.   Medieval walls and towers still stand and are accompanied by old Ottoman baths and mosques. With many old buildings converted to museums and art galleries, the city is a paradise of culture, attracting tourists from all over the world.