#Eastern Conference Minority

[techdriveplay]

How much were the NBA’s top scorers paid per point in the 2023-24 regular season

The Boston Celtics and the Oklahoma City Thunder were crowned champions for the regular season in the Eastern and Western NBA Conferences, respectively. The scoring title went to Slovenian prodigy Luka Doncic, who averaged 33.9 points through 70 matches, dethroning last season’s winner, Joel Embiid, whose recent campaign was interrupted by injuries. The latest Sportingpedia report investigates…

[madlori]

You guys, the end of this hockey season is taking months off my life.

So this is the final week of the NHL season. It's pretty common that by this point, all the playoff berths have been decided.

WELL NOT THIS FUCKING YEAR. This year we have a last minute contested spot - the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. And one of the teams vying for it is MY TEAM, the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Right now Ottawa and Montreal have the two wild card spots in the Eastern conference. Columbus is the next team in line. Note that both Montreal and Columbus have one game remaining. Columbus is two points back.

Two games ago? Columbus was FIVE points back and everyone assumed it was over even if they weren't mathematically eliminated.

Then they won two in a row, acquiring four points, and Montreal lost two, one in overtime, acquiring one point. That brings us to the 89-87 situation we have now.

You see the pickle we are in.

For Columbus to make the playoffs, Montreal must lose their final game, and Columbus must win theirs. In addition, Montreal must lose in regulation (as in, not in overtime) and Columbus must also win in regulation. See that column labeled RW? That's regulation wins, the first tiebreaker. Because if Montreal loses in regulation (for zero points) and Columbus wins (for two points), they'll be tied for points - but Columbus will have 30 RW to Montreal's 29 and they will get the playoff berth. If Columbus wins in overtime, they'll still only have 29 RW. The next tiebreaker is ROW, regulation-and-overtime wins (which excludes wins via shootout). Montreal wins in that case.

Montreal plays tomorrow, Wednesday the 16th. Columbus plays their final game on Thursday the 17th.

A game to which I have tickets.

If Montreal wins tomorrow, it's over, and our final game will just be for the vibes.

Here's the bad news.

Montreal's final game is against the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, the Canes are safely in the playoffs, and have no reason to exert themselves. They will probably sit some of their best players (so as not to risk any of them being injured right before the postseason) - I've heard they've called up 4 players from their minor league team. The game is also in Montreal at the Bell Centre, one of hockey's spiritual homes and one of the most intimidating arenas for visiting teams. On the other hand, in their last 15 meetings, Montreal is 2-10-3 against Carolina. And sometimes the minor league call-ups really step up when they get That Call to come play in the big show and really surprise everyone. It's a shot for them to distinguish themselves and maybe make the NHL roster next season.

Still, I don't feel super optimistic that the Canes will win. But Montreal is somewhat known for choking when the pressure's on. We'll see.

If they lose, hoo boy.

The entire league will be watching Thursday's Blue Jackets game. They are playing the New York Islanders, who were eliminated from the playoffs a few weeks ago and have nothing to play for - except maybe spite as spoiling CBJ's playoff hopes.

No matter what happens, CBJ has had a hell of a season, much better than anyone predicted, and the future's looking bright. TWO of our young players had 30 goal seasons (for hockey forwards, 20 goals in a season is a good, reliable goal scorer and very valuable; 30 goals is phenomenal, 40 is a superstar and 50 is a generational talent). And because of reasons they had to call up our minor league starter goalie last week -- and in three games he has allowed ONE goal and pitched two shut-outs. So, yeah.

If Thursday ends up being a "we win this and we're in the playoffs" game, I don't know if my body can handle the stress.

[grndgame]

Spencer Carbery and the art of trying to get a little bit better

[archived link to bypass the paywall; full article also under read more] really interesting feature on Carbery, his coaching philosophy, and his attention to players' individual development.

“Sometimes as pro coaches we get in this idea like: ‘This player is what he is. He is who he is. There’s nothing that can be done,’” Carbery said. “‘He can’t improve his shot. He can’t improve his skating. That’s it.’ But what if you can get him a little bit better? What if he gets 1 percent better? It’s going to help him, and then it’s going to help your team.”

-------------

Some data points that could help illustrate why the Washington Capitals went from the last team into the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs to the top seed in the Eastern Conference in 2025: Aliaksei Protas went from six goals and 29 points to 30 goals and 66 points; Pierre-Luc Dubois improved from 16 goals and 40 points with Los Angeles to 20 goals and 66 points in his first season in Washington; and Connor McMichael jumped from 18 goals and 33 points to 26 and 57 in his third full NHL season.

Could that all be natural progression for players who are just 24, 26 and 24, respectively? Sure. But attend a single Capitals practice, and you’ll understand the roots of those individual jumps. On Monday — just a day before Washington opens its second-round playoff series against Carolina — there was Spencer Carbery, the Caps’ second-year coach, standing along the boards as none other than Alex Ovechkin took a knee in front of him, alone.

Carbery spoke and gestured. Ovechkin nodded and replied. Carbery coaches the team as a whole, and its success matters most. But more than any of the eight coaches in Ovechkin’s 20-year career, Carbery develops the individual — his skills, his habits, strengthening his strengths and minimizing his weaknesses — so that the team develops collectively. It is intentional. It is effective. It is his passion.

“If you ask me what I love about coaching, what’s your favorite part,” Carbery said last week in his office at the team’s training facility in Arlington, Virginia. “The games, the competition — that’s right up there. But the individual development part is my favorite part. To work one-on-one with a player, identify areas of his game that are really, really good that he can continue to get better at or areas that he has to improve and work on them — I love it. Absolutely love it.”

This might seem obvious. How could the team improve if the coach doesn’t get the most out of each individual? But it’s surprising how frequently coaches at the highest levels of sports have an idea of what they want their team to look like and try to shoehorn players into that vision. Carbery goes the other way.

“Sometimes as pro coaches we get in this idea like: ‘This player is what he is. He is who he is. There’s nothing that can be done,’” Carbery said. “‘He can’t improve his shot. He can’t improve his skating. That’s it.’

“But what if you can get him a little bit better? What if he gets 1 percent better? It’s going to help him, and then it’s going to help your team.”

This is all rooted in who Carbery is and how he grew up. As a self-described “marginal” minor league player, “I always wished a coach sat me down and told me, ‘Get better at X, Y and Z.’” But go back further still. Carbery’s father, Bryan, was a golf coach and swing instructor in Victoria, British Columbia, who mentored his son in that sport to the point that Spencer was winning junior tournaments and breaking par at 14.

“It was typical father-son stuff,” Carbery said. “He’d give me lessons, and I’d be like, ‘Leave me alone!’ But he was very simple with his instruction. It wasn’t like all these bells and whistles and do, like, 17 different things. It was like, ‘Just get through the ball.’ So I always remembered: Simple messaging.”

So he brought that into coaching hockey. Carbery’s path to his first NHL head coaching job was typical. But it was an atypical step he took along the way that further cemented what his approach would be when he got there. After six years with the Capitals’ affiliate in the ECHL — the first as an assistant, the last five as head coach — he made the somewhat unusual choice to take the top job with Saginaw in the Ontario Hockey League, the major junior circuit that culls the best talent in Canada.

“You’d get a player there in September, a 16-year-old, and he’d be like — unplayable,” Carbery said. “And then to see him five months later in January or February, it was like a different player. And you’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, the amount of growth and development that this player had in five months of teaching, working, practicing, playing in games — all of the above — he just became so much better.’ So I’ve always remembered that, even at 25 or 22 or 26, there’s always room for growth.”

Carbery, 43 and a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year, spent only one year in the OHL, but he took the approach he developed there to his next stop as an assistant with the Boston Bruins’ top minor league affiliate in the American Hockey League. That led to an interview with the Capitals for the head job with the Hershey Bears of the AHL in 2018.

“When you interview coaches for the AHL, a lot of the discussion is talking about developing players,” said Capitals General Manager Chris Patrick, who was the Washington front-office member in charge of Hershey at the time. “One, you want to make sure you’re getting a guy that’s not just giving lip service to, ‘Yeah, yeah, I care about development,’ and then you get them, and all of a sudden it’s like: ‘Hey, these guys you gave me aren’t good. I want to win.’ …

“And you could tell with him, he was sincere. In the jobs he had in his background — the ECHL, major junior in Canada, assistant coach in the AHL — you have to make players better under your watch to be successful in those spots.”

The primary objective in any of those rungs of the ladder is to make players better so they can climb. In the NHL, the climb would seem over. Carbery is insistent that each player who comes into his office to review tape of his play is still evolving.

“I’ve had the gamut of coaches, right?” said defenseman John Carlson, a veteran of 16 years. “He does like to get one-on-one more than most coaches.”

“There’s some back-and-forth as to expectations and what he’s looking for,” center Lars Eller said. “And you can air how you see certain situations, so there’s clarity as far as expectations.”

Which is partly because Carbery understands that winning hockey games isn’t the only goal of a particular player. And that’s okay.

“All of us have individual objectives,” Carbery said. “… I’m going to ask you to do these certain things that are going to help us win games because that’s what it’s ultimately about.

“But here’s what we’re willing to do as a staff to try and help you become a better player and help you earn a new contract or become the greatest goal scorer ever or become an all-star or become a point-a-game player and first-line centerman like you want to be, Stromer,” referring to center Dylan Strome, “or become a top-six forward, Protas, and score 20 goals. That’s where it marries the individual development and the one-on-one goals with the growth of the team. They can coexist.”

They aren’t just coexisting. They’re pushing these Capitals — individually and collectively — to heights no one expected when the regular season began and now into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in seven years. That’s not because Spencer Carbery has a specific system. It’s because Spencer Carbery has a specific approach: 20 players being pushed to reach their maximum performance level can result in a season of surprising successes — one that’s still going strong.

[ranjith23uw]

Do fixed borders guarantee peace?

While Russia and Ukraine war over their shared border, two Central Asian nations prove that borders can be changed by mutual agreement.

This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s global news service. It is through articles like this that News Decoder strives to provide context to complex global events and issues and teach global awareness through the lens of journalism. Learn how you can incorporate our resources and services into your classroom or educational program. See More...

In the modern world, the “inviolability of borders” has been the sacred principle preventing conflict.

States may not like existing borders but they do not try to change them by force. Vladimir Putin violated this rule when he seized Crimea in 2014 and it is the reason why the war in Ukraine now has such worrying implications for global order.

But what if two states, who have suffered decades of cross-border violence, voluntarily redraw their frontiers in the interests of peace? 

In February, the Central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan did just that, announcing that they will freely exchange territories disputed since the fall of the Soviet Union decades ago.

The land in question is in the beautiful, fertile Fergana Valley, but more of that later. First, let’s think about borders and how they come about.

Mountains and rivers are the world’s natural borders but much of the map as we know it today is an artificial construct. Colonial rulers literally took rulers and drew unnaturally straight lines through tribal lands in Africa, the Middle East, India, Australia and other places, cutting related peoples off from each other and mixing rival groups. They didn’t care about people, only imperial gains. See More...

Shifting borders

In the former Soviet Union, another empire, dictator Josef Stalin played with borders and internally deported whole peoples, creating pockets of future ethnic tension and even war.

When Yugoslavia fell apart in Eastern Europe in the 1990s it split into six different countries to represent the six different peoples who had made up its population.

But they weren’t neatly located in the sections that split off and many people found themselves stranded in new independent countries, where they were now part of a minority.

That’s a recipe for trouble. See More...

But wise politicians have known that when it comes to borders, you can’t try to unravel all the complications of history — better to accept today’s borders as they are and ensure the rights of minorities living in the countries we have now.

Leaders in Africa knew that, thoughtless though the imperial borders were, any attempt to redraw them could lead to forced relocations, chaos and violence, as happened at the Partition of India in 1947. That was why the African Union, founded in 1963, declared in its charter that existing boundaries were “unalterable”.

And as a result, for example, the Gishu tribe lives today in both Uganda and Kenya.

Likewise in Europe, the Helsinki Accords, signed at the end of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in 1975, obliged all 35 signatories to recognise the inviolability of the continent’s post-World War Two borders.

Many people might like to redraw borders. For example, ethnic Serbs in their enclave of Bosnia and Herzegovina may lean towards Serbia-proper but the Dayton Peace Agreement of 1995 sets the borders as they are today, and that’s the way it has to be.

That’s the way it should have been with Crimea too. Nobody disputes that Russia has historical and cultural links with the peninsula but Crimea belongs to Ukraine. Peaceful arrangements could easily have been made for ordinary Russians and Ukrainians to enjoy the Black Sea resorts of Crimea together.

Instead Moscow chose war, opening a Pandora’s box for countries from China to the United States that might like to fiddle with the world’s geography. See More...

Which makes the peaceful agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan over land in the Fergana Valley all the more remarkable.

In Moscow, in Communist times, I knew about the Fergana Valley because of the peaches and apricots I bought from Central Asian traders on the market. Little did I know that this patchwork quilt of ethnicities was about to be torn apart.

The valley, which owes its fertility to the Naryn and Kara Darya rivers, lies mostly in eastern Uzbekistan but extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.

Stalin divided it between these three Soviet republics but fatally, the nationalities were not living exactly within the borders drawn for them. See More...

The crumbling of the Soviet Union brought bloodshed. I remember covering clashes in Kyrgyzstan’s Osh province in 1990 between ethnic Kyrgyz, who were mainly animal herders, and ethnic Uzbek, who were mainly farmers, with very different needs and interests.

Since then, disputes over grazing and water rights have also boiled over along the borders of Kyrgyzstan’s Batken region and Tajikistan’s Sughd region. In autumn 2022, in the worst fighting over the border since the fall of the Soviet Union, dozens were killed and thousands forced from their homes.

It was after this that the leaders of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan started working on new demarcation lines. Now, after successful diplomacy to deal with the root cause of the problem, the two nations have agreed to shift their borders.

“Negotiations have reached the final point and can be discussed openly,” Kamchybek Tashiev, head of Kyrgyzstan’s secret service, told the Kyrgyz parliament in March. “After parliamentary consideration, our presidents will sign the ratification.”

Under the deal, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan will swap small areas of land and make better arrangements to share water resources. A number of disputed roads will be declared “neutral” and made available to both nations, according to the Defense Post.

Which all goes to show that to secure friendship and good neighbourly relations, you sometimes have to define your boundaries.

Recommended reading: “Prisoners of Geography” by Tim Marshall, an excellent account of how geography affects history and politics. See More...

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Ancient Greece and Ancient Iran: Cross‐Cultural Encounters 1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (ATHENS, 11‐13 NOVEMBER 2006) Edited by Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi and Antigoni Zournatzi National Hellenic Research Foundation Cultural Center of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Athens Hellenic National Commission for UNESCO Athens, December 2008

Description The extraordinary feats of conquest of Cyrus the Great and Alexander the Great have left a lasting imprint in the annals of world history. Successive Persian and Greek rule over vast stretches of territory from the Indus to the eastern Mediterranean also created an international environment in which people, commodities, technological innovations, as well as intellectual, political, and artistic ideas could circulate across the ancient world unhindered by ethno-cultural and territorial barriers, bringing about cross-fertilization between East and West. These broad patterns of cultural phenomena are illustrated in twenty-four contributions to the first international conference on ancient Greek-Iranian interactions, which was organized as a joint Greek and Iranian initiative.

Contents

Preface (Ekaterini Tzitzikosta)

Conference addresses (Dimitrios A. Kyriakidis, Seyed Taha Hashemi Toghraljerdi, Mir Jalaleddin Kazzazi, Vassos Karageorghis, Miltiades Hatzopoulos, Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi, Massoud Azarnoush, David Stronach)

Introduction (Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi and Antigoni Zournatzi)

Europe and Asia: Aeschylus’ Persians and Homer’s Iliad (Stephen Tracy)

The death of Masistios and the mourning for his loss (Hdt. 9.20-25.1) (Angeliki Petropoulou)

Magi in Athens in the fifth century BC? (Kyriakos Tsantsanoglou)

Hājīābād and the dialogue of civilizations (Massoud Azarnoush)

Zoroastrianism and Christianity in the Sasanian empire (fourth century AD) (Sara Alinia)

Greco-Persian literary interactions in classical Persian literature (Evangelos Venetis)

Pseudo-Aristotelian politics and theology in universal Islam (Garth Fowden)

The system Artaphernes-Mardonius as an example of imperial nostalgia (Michael N. Weiskopf)

Greeks and Iranians in the Cimmerian Bosporus in the second/first century BC: new epigraphic data from Tanais (Askold I. Ivantchik)

The Seleucids and their Achaemenid predecessors: a Persian inheritance? (Christopher Tuplin)

Managing an empire — teacher and pupil (G. G. Aperghis)

The building program of Cyrus the Great at Pasargadae and the date of the fall of Sardis (David Stronach)

Persia and Greece: the role of cultural interactions in the architecture of Persepolis— Pasargadae (Mohammad Hassan Talebian)

Reading Persepolis in Greek— Part Two: marriage metaphors and unmanly virtues (Margaret C. Root)

The marble of the Penelope from Persepolis and its historical implications (Olga Palagia)

Cultural interconnections in the Achaemenid West: a few reflections on the testimony of the Cypriot archaeological record (Antigoni Zournatzi)

Greek, Anatolian, and Persian iconography in Asia Minor: material sources, method, and perspectives (Yannick Lintz)

Imaging a tomb chamber: the iconographic program of the Tatarlı wall paintings (Lâtife Summerer). Appendix: Tatarli Project: reconstructing a wooden tomb chamber (Alexander von Kienlin)

The Achaemenid lion-griffin on a Macedonian tomb painting and on a Sicyonian mosaic (Stavros A. Paspalas)

Psychotropic plants on Achaemenid style vessels (Despina Ignatiadou)

Achaemenid toreutics in the Greek periphery (Athanasios Sideris)

Achaemenid influences on Rhodian minor arts and crafts (Pavlos Triantafyllidis)

Historical Iranian and Greek relations in retrospect (Mehdi Rahbar)

Persia and Greece: a forgotten history of cultural relations (Shahrokh Razmjou)

The editors Seyed Mohammad Reza Darbandi is General Director of Cultural Offices of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Europe and the Americas. Antigoni Zournatzi is Senior Researcher in the Research Centre for Greek and Roman Antiquity, National Hellenic Research Foundation. Her work focuses on the relations between Achaemenid Persia and the West.

The whole volume can be found as pdf on:

[theemporium]

cece please don't take this the wrong way because i love having you in the hockey fandom but you've been here for months and it seems like you don't really care about hockey and just want to thirst over the hughes bros.

there's rivalries with the nyc teams but rangers for worse than islanders by miles

flyers are another big one (nico and past-flyer nolan patrick are boyfriends though) but the flyers are arch enemies with the penguins

other metropolitan division teams are like minor rivals like yeah they fight each other but there seems to be no real hate between them

i-

i mean, i do care about hockey otherwise i wouldn't be going out of my way to stay up to watch games but sure🤠only here to thirst over the hughes brothers!!

i was just asking because i mostly know about the eastern rivalries, not as much for the western and metropolitan conferences😅

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 11, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

OCT 12, 2023

In a secret vote by the House Republican Conference today, Representative Steve Scalise (R-LA) won the race to become the Republican candidate for speaker of the House of Representatives, beating out Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) by 113 to 99. 

In the past, the conference as a whole would have stood behind the majority’s choice, but traditional rules no longer apply to today’s Republican Party. Three of Jordan’s supporters have already said they will not support Scalise, and Representative George Santos (R-NY) is complaining that Scalise hasn’t called him, convincing him to throw his vote to “ANYONE but Scalise and come hell or high water I won’t change my mind.”

To become speaker, Scalise needs 217 votes. Unless he can attract Democratic votes, he cannot lose more than 4 Republican votes. All 212 House Democrats remain united behind Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), meaning that he is closer to a majority than any of the Republican candidates.

Rather than hold a floor vote to elect a speaker today, the House recessed in order to let Scalise try to get his ducks in a row.

Both Scalise and Jordan are Trump supporters; both went along with the lie that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent. Early in his career, Scalise compared himself to Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke “without the baggage,” while Jordan is accused of overlooking sexual assault when he was an assistant wrestling coach and was a key player in the January 6, 2021, attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. It is astonishing that a major U.S. political party is considering either man to become the second in line for the presidency. 

As the Republicans try to line up behind one of the two candidates—so far—the chaos is hobbling the government. Until the House is organized again under a new speaker, it cannot provide aid to Ukraine or Israel, or work toward reaching an agreement on next year’s budget before the continuing resolution funding the government at 2023 levels runs out in mid-November. Or do pretty much anything other than try to elect a speaker.

Senate Republicans are creating their own chaos. Joe Gould and Connor O’Brien of Politico reported today that in the Senate, Democrats are trying to push through the hold Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has placed on more than 300 military promotions as well as other senators’ holds on a number of diplomatic officers. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) has called for a reform of the current nominations process, which permits a single senator to stop confirmations. 

In light of the crisis in the Middle East, the holds reveal how easy it is for a senator or two to weaken the United States. Gould and O’Brien point out that Tuberville’s hold means that two of the senior military positions in the region are unconfirmed, as are State Department appointments including ambassadorships to Middle Eastern countries—among them both Egypt and Israel—and the department’s top counterterrorism position. 

These are not controversial appointments in their own right. Republicans are using them as leverage for their own policy goals. Pentagon officials have warned senators that the holds are disrupting our national security and that of our allies and partners. 

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today heard arguments in Alexander v. South Carolina State Conference of the NAACP, a gerrymandering case notable in part because the attorneys and justices all agree that the Republican-dominated South Carolina legislature constructed a district map rigged in favor of Republicans so dramatically that it is virtually impossible for Republicans to lose. 

In the 2019 Rucho v. Common Cause decision, the Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering was a state question rather than a federal one, making it impossible to challenge partisan gerrymanders in federal courts. But partisan gerrymanders quite often overlap with racial gerrymanders, and the question before the court in Alexander is whether the South Carolina map violated the law by being racially discriminatory. A federal three-judge panel agreed that it did, but if the Supreme Court disagrees, the process of carving up districts so politicians can pick their own voters will have gotten even easier.

—

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[dysrope]

War and Peace

[turn 18 continued 6-1-1=4]

The Dancing Plague abates, and conflict in the underworld begins anew. Hard fighting especially between Chivik and the Confoederation, and in the area between Vennes and Retvik.

Meanwhile, Syfos visits Siktun, brokers an alliance between the cities of east Incarien, and enters the underworld.

War... Never Changes

As the Tiktik adapt to the dancing plague, both by travelling less and by learning how to keep safe, the earworm declines. Without victims, it can only echo so long through the empty tunnels before ringing out, and from the early 930s , the underworld is again mostly safe to traverse (as much as that was ever the case). With this, the Tiktik again grow more daring in their expeditions, and the interrupted wars resume.

The decades of peace, while mostly cutting off communications and trade within the underworld, have allowed the cities to recover, rebuild, and entrench themselves. With the establishment of its surface colonies, Chivik has gotten unprecedented access to the materials and technologies of above. First and foremost this means wood, which sees much use in construction and furniture, due to its light weight and ease of working. Some attempts are made to use it for light-weight pikes, but is mostly too expensive to be used for military purposes. The one exeption to this is projectile weapons. Previously unheard of in the tiktik arsenal, arbalests, capable of piercing both steel and shell, quickly find their place in Chiviks armies, and help them win early victories, once again securing core parts of the empire. But while the other powers lack access to wood, they quickly adapt the technology to traditional underworld materials, and before long Chivik too uses steel arbalests.

But the new military technologies do not in the end help decisively turn the tide one way or the other. By 940 RIQ the frontlines have mostly stabilized, with Chivik only retaining (and strengthening) control of its three closest vassals. Though fighting remains hard on Chivik's eastern and western flanks, the south and north have cooled into unofficial ceasefires.

Give Peace A Chance

One reason the northern theatre in particular sees little action, is that Siktun's attention is focused much more on the surface. For decades, that is where its traders have gone for wealth, where its diplomats have gone for allies, and where its excess population has gone for land. Its people also follow a circadian faith, and worship the sun and moon, and so have little interest in the underworld beyond their own twilit corner.

The human settlements nearby were intitially wary of the new neighbours, but in the days when Kǎlkayer yet terrorized the land, any protection was appreciated, and so many of the inland towns turned to Siktun for aid and leadership. In the decades since then, the danger from the sea has been defeated, and the resurgent Wera has made some discontented noises about its former territory. In these years, the tensions come to a head, and war seems to be imminent, so in a desperate last attempt to broker a lasting peace, the Siktuntun invite the Werans to a conference near the edge of the pit, with Unimaa as impartial guarantor.

Initially, negototiations go poorly; the Werans are as irredentist as ever, while the Siktuntun's suggestion of some minor/symbolic monetary compensation is taken more as an insult. Only the influence of Unimaa's representative, who seeks to secure peace on Incarien due to worries about wars overseas, keeps the entire thing from falling apart. Still, the conference is at a deadlock, and seems unable to break it, until strange news interrupt the proceedings.

From across the river Kalaree, they hear, a mystical phenomenon has come; a stone, that somehow moves, and seems to sing - in the most breathtakingly beautiful tones. The well-traveled representative of Unimaa knowingly identifies this as a rock from Baled, but is unsure what it may do there. In the hope that a diversion might breathe new life into the conference, he suggests that they all go and see this curiosity.

And his plan would succeed beyond his wildest imagination, for when the diplomats arrived at Syfos, they were struck deeply by its songs, and as they followed it, they all recognized it as a divine sign that harmony should reign between their peoples, and they quickly drew up an accord that would bring them all together in defense of one another, and prevent conflicts between them.

With subsequent additions, the Tripartite Entante establishes free trade and travel between the members, formalized religious tolerance, an elaborate system of military and economic obligations, and a condominium over much of the disputes areas. The compromises initially find many unhappy recipients in each city, but as Syfos travels further into Siktun territory, and down into the pit, the Siktuntun have a perfect opportunity to play host to many visitors from the other cities (and all over the region), and build up much good-will. Relations between the main members quickly warm, though some of the junior partners (who lack much say in the treaties) are somewhat unhappy with the arrangement.

[infiniteglitterfall]

a reminder that the Jews and the Negev Bedouin are the indigenous people of this area, and that the Palestinians still have the right to freedom and self-determination without Hamas's disinformation about Arab Palestinian indigineity.

The indigenous Jews there lived under Roman occupation for almost 700 years, revolting three different times. Until the Muslim Conquest took the region from what was left of the Roman Empire.

The indigenous Jews were still the majority there until the Crusades devastated both the Muslim and Jewish communities through murder and enslavement.

Those who were left hung on through almost 200 years of Crusader occupation. Then through over 700 years of Arab occupation under the Ayyubid and Mamluk dynasties and the Ottoman Empire.

People in the diaspora started saving up and buying land to return.

Hussein ibn-Ali, Sherif of Mecca, and his son King Faisal of Iraq, openly supported the Balfour Declaration, because "we have seen the Jews from foreign countries streaming to Palestine from Russia, Germany, Austria, Spain, and America. The cause of causes could not escape those who had a gift of deeper insight. They knew that the country was for its original sons, for all their differences, a sacred and beloved homeland."

King Faisal put together a treaty that outlined relations between Palestine and the Arab state, recognizing the former as a National Home for the Jews, in which they should quickly settle. He wrote, "We Arabs, especially the educated among us, look with the deepest sympathy on the Zionist movement. Our delegation here in Paris is fully acquainted with the proposals submitted yesterday to the Zionist organization to the Peace Conference, and we regard them as moderate and proper."

That paved the way for the League of Nations to recognize "the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and... the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country."

The term "indigenous" for this stuff didn't come into use until the 1960s. But there was a very clear and widespread understanding that Jews were indigenous to the land.

And because colonization of that area had been almost nonexistent after the devastation of the Crusades, there was room for people to reclaim it.

The main opposition to the idea came from a rich, powerful Hitler fanboy named Amin al-Husseini. His opposition would culminate, 30 years later, in convincing the Arab League countries to invade en masse.

Hundreds of thousands of Arab Palestinians fled, within or away from the country. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish refugees fled to Israel in the face of antisemitic riots, massacres, and exiles within the invading countries. Decades of propaganda later, we're supposed to believe that this shit means Jews colonized the place.

I reject this. I believe these folks.

...Iran, Qatar, Turkey [and other Hamas backers] view Israel as a renegade indigenous nation which humiliated the Muslim world by refusing to be defeated and absorbed into the rest of the Arabized Middle East.

...As such, to the disenfranchised American, Arabs have become 'the oppressed class,' despite oppressing minorities themselves and being the major colonialist superpower in the Middle East; and the Jews are 'the whites,' despite being Middle Eastern.

a reminder that your advocacy for ending the occupation of Palestine should also extend to advocating for Indigenous and First Nations peoples' liberation in your own country. The anti-colonial struggle is a global one. Show up for Indigenous people everywhere you can because we are under occupation almost everywhere. Not to mention the Zionist occupation is supported almost exclusively by the colonial world powers. Your advocacy for the liberation for Palestine must go hand in hand with advocacy for First Nations liberation and Land Back.

[unicausnews]

Draymond Green makes stunning prediction forward of OKC vs Pacers NBA Finals Game 7

Draymond Green makes stunning prediction forward of OKC vs Pacers NBA Finals Game 7 Jun 21, 2025 11:59 PM IST The Indiana Pacers shocked everybody by successful the Eastern Conference and making it to the NBA Finals. The Indiana Pacers shocked everybody by successful the Eastern Conference and making it to the NBA Finals. Most individuals didn’t suppose that they had a shot in opposition to the sturdy Oklahoma City Thunder. Golden State Warriors ahead Draymond Green(AP) But on Thursday, the Pacers crushed the Thunder in Game 6, and now the collection is tied. They’re only one win away from a championship. With Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, head coach Rick Carlisle, and a bunch of sturdy function gamers, the Pacers have gone manner past what anybody anticipated. No matter what occurs subsequent, they’ve turn into among the finest underdog tales in NBA historical past. The Thunder have been favorites to win the title all by way of the playoffs, however now it’s all down to 1 final sport. Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green thinks this may very well be OKC’s solely shot. Also Read: NBA powerhouse Kevin Durant buys minority stake in 2025 Champions League-winning membership Paris Saint-Germain 'The strain is all on them…'“They are speculated to win,” Green mentioned concerning the Thunder. “The strain is all on them… I wish to see what OKC going to do, as a result of I’ll inform you this BD: If OKC don’t win this championship, they could by no means win a championship.” When Baron Davis requested Green if he thought the Thunder would win a title within the subsequent three years in the event that they misplaced this one, Green disagreed. “Not in any respect,” Green mentioned. “Here’s why. I feel they get in a troublesome place in the event that they don’t win a championship. When you get the chance to win a championship, in the event you win it, you give your self the chance to win extra. But in the event you lose it, now you begin tweaking stuff, and people tweaks might put you additional away from the place you have been.” The Thunder and the Pacers will play Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Sunday. Where to observe ?You can watch the Final on ABC – National TV broadcast, airing Game 7 stay at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT on Sunday, June 22. Also accessible by way of ABC’s stay stream by way of cable/satellite tv for pc login . Other than that, you possibly can watch ABC (and associated protection) by way of companies like Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV, Sling, FuboTV, or DirecTV Stream. Read More: https://news.unicaus.in/sports/draymond-green-makes-stunning-prediction-forward-of-okc-vs-pacers-nba-finals-game-7/

[jeevandanhealth]

Best Neurosurgeon in Patna: Reviews, Experience & Contact Details

When it comes to neurological health, choosing the right specialist is crucial. The brain and nervous system are highly complex, and even a minor issue can have significant effects on a person’s quality of life. If you're seeking expert care, finding the best neurosurgeon in Patna is an important first step toward recovery and peace of mind.

Patna, the capital of Bihar, has evolved into a prominent hub for advanced medical treatment in Eastern India. In recent years, the city has witnessed the emergence of several renowned hospitals and clinics offering top-notch neurosurgical services. These facilities are home to some of the most experienced and well-trained neurosurgeons in the region, making it easier for patients to access world-class treatment close to home.

The best neurosurgeon in Patna is typically one who combines extensive clinical experience with the latest advancements in neurosurgical techniques. Whether it's treating brain tumors, spinal cord injuries, aneurysms, or degenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease, a qualified neurosurgeon provides not just surgical intervention but also comprehensive diagnostic evaluations, post-operative care, and rehabilitation plans.

One of the key factors to consider when looking for the best neurosurgeon in Patna is the surgeon’s educational background and training. Most reputed neurosurgeons in the city have completed their education at premier medical institutions and have years of experience in handling complex neurosurgical cases. They also stay updated with the latest developments in the field through continued education, international conferences, and collaborations with research institutions.

Another important consideration is patient feedback and reviews. Word of mouth, online testimonials, and hospital records can help you gauge a neurosurgeon's track record. The best neurosurgeon in Patna often has a strong reputation for successful surgeries, patient satisfaction, and compassionate care. Many patients who have undergone treatment share positive experiences that can offer insights into the doctor’s approach and capabilities.

Patna’s leading neurosurgeons are also supported by state-of-the-art medical infrastructure. Hospitals such as Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (IGIMS), Paras HMRI Hospital, Ruban Memorial Hospital, and Mediversal Multi Super Specialty Hospital are equipped with modern diagnostic tools like MRI, CT scans, and neuronavigation systems, which are essential for accurate diagnosis and precise surgical planning. This technological edge plays a significant role in improving outcomes and minimizing risks.

Beyond clinical expertise, the best neurosurgeon in Patna is also one who communicates clearly with patients and their families. Neurosurgical conditions often bring uncertainty and fear. A good neurosurgeon ensures that the patient is well-informed about the diagnosis, treatment options, and potential outcomes. Compassion, patience, and clarity are key qualities that contribute to building trust and confidence.

Cost of treatment is another aspect to consider. Many reputed neurosurgeons in Patna offer affordable packages without compromising on quality. With the rise of medical insurance and government health schemes, access to top-tier neurosurgical care is becoming more inclusive and patient-friendly.

In conclusion, finding the best neurosurgeon in Patna requires thorough research, but the rewards are invaluable. With a growing pool of highly skilled neurosurgeons, advanced hospital facilities, and an increasing focus on patient care, Patna stands out as a dependable destination for neurological treatment. Whether you are facing a complex brain disorder or a spinal condition, the city offers excellent options to ensure your journey toward recovery is guided by expert hands.

https://jeevandanhealth.org/neurology-neurosurgery

[manversus]

Pontus (Gr: Πόντος) is the name of an historic region situated on the Turkish Black Sea coast and was home to a large Greek population. Prior to the genocide these Greeks self-identified as Romaioi (Gr: Ῥωμαῖοι) or Rûm, in other words descendants of the Eastern Roman (or Byzantine) Empire. Today they are often referred to as Pontic Greeks or Pontians. Pontus is a region of Asia Minor. Greek Population*

According to the Greek Patriarchate statistics of 1912, the Greek population of Pontus was 400,586.1 The Ottoman census of 1914 recorded the Greek population at no more than 357,000.2 In a memorandum signed in February 1919 and presented to the Paris Peace Conference, a Greek delegation calling for the self-determination of Pontus stated that the pre-genocide Greek population of Pontus was 700,000.3 However, since this figure was made by a Greek delegation making territorial claims, and since the figure differs markedly with most other accounts, a more likely pre-genocide Greek population for the Pontus region would be a figure not exceeding 500,000.   During the Greek Genocide

Like other regions within Ottoman Turkey, the Greeks of Pontus were subjected to a genocidal campaign. The Austrian Ambassador of Constantinople, Markgraf Johann Pallavicini, described the events in and around Samsun in December 1916 as follows:

11 December 1916: Five Greek villages were pillaged and then burnt. Their inhabitants were deported. 12 December 1916: In the outskirts of the city more villages are burnt. 14 December 1916: Entire villages including schools and the churches are set on fire. 17 December 1916: In the district of Samsoun they burnt eleven villages. The pillaging continues. The village inhabitants are ill-treated. 31 December 1916: Approximately 18 villages were completely burnt down, 15 partially. Around 60 women were raped. Even churches are plundered.4

On 29 December 1918, the Archbishop of Amasya and Samsun, Germanos, wrote:

Towards the middle of December, 1916, began the deportations from Amissos (Samsoun). First of all the army reduced to ashes all the region round about... A large number of women and children were killed, the young girls of the nation outraged, and immediately driven into the Interior... The majority of course died on the road and none of the dead at all being buried, vultures and dogs feasted on human flesh.. Believe me... that out of 160,000 people of Pontus deported, only a tenth and in some places a twentieth have survived. In a village, for example, that counted 100 inhabitants, five only will ever return; the others are dead. Rare indeed are those happy villages where a tenth of the deported population has been saved.5

According to figures compiled by the Greek Patriarchate in Constantinople, by 1918 257,019 Greeks from the Pontus region of Asia Minor had been deported to the interior.6 At the end of 1921, some Greek sources placed the Pontus death toll at 303,238.7

Death toll in the Pontus region according to ecclesiastical provinces:   303,238

Source: Central Council of Pontus, The Black Book: The Tragedy of Pontus 1914-1922. Athens 1922, p. 19.

At times, the Greeks of Pontus took up arms in acts of self defense to resist the massacres being perpetrated against them. In this respect, Pontus makes an interesting case study of the Greek Genocide much like the resistance demonstrated at Van by Armenians during the Armenian Genocide. Only 182,169 Greeks of Pontus were ever recorded as having reached Greece.8 In 1925 George K. Valavanis wrote:

.. the total human loss of Pontians from the [beginning] of the General [Great] War until March 1924 can be estimated at three hundred and fifty three thousand [353,000] [persons], murdered, hanged and dead through punishment, illness and privations. 9

However, if one gives consideration to the various estimates for the region's pre-war population and the migration of Pontians into both Russian territory and Greece, it is clear that Pontian deaths are unlikely to have ever reached such a figure. A more reasonable estimate might be 250,000 which indicates that approximately 50% of the total population was killed.

* Note: There are no accurate statistics for the population of Greeks in the Ottoman Empire.  Figures compiled by Ottoman authorities are deemed unreliable, in particular for Ottoman Greeks who tended to avoid registering  with Muslim authorities to avoid military service and to minimize their taxes. Likewise, Ottoman  Greeks avoided registering with Greek authorities fearing the Ottoman authorities would get hold of the records and use them as evidence to increase their taxes or to draft them in the army. 

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"To understand these aspects of tax conversation concerning Indians in the interwar years, it is important to appreciate that the tax exemption features of the Indian Act were designed with property taxation in mind. From that design emerged an unstable distinction of “on reserve” and “off reserve” that assumed great significance. As Joel Oliphant has pointed out, a tax authority could not enforce a property tax in the usual way on reserve land because to seize and sell that land was not open as a means of collecting unpaid taxes. To live “on reserve” was therefore to live on non-taxable property. In this view of the tax clauses within the Indian Act, it was the property, not the person, that held the tax-exempt status. Indians living off reserve had the same municipal tax obligations as anyone else, as Indian Affairs officers regularly explained. Dog taxes, poll taxes, property taxes, or school taxes — there was nothing in Indian status that exempted from these imposts someone with that status who “ordinarily lived off reserve.” As a provincial tax collector told an Indigenous property owner in Hazelton, British Columbia, people who owned property in the Hazelton School District had to pay the tax whether or not they had children who would go to school there: not sending his children to the “white man’s school” made him no different from the non-Canadian investor living in, say, England who owned land in Hazelton but never set foot in Canada. Both had to pay the school tax or have their land sold for tax arrears.

…

...throughout the 1920s, Indian Affairs had used the residence criterion, “on reserve” or “off reserve” (with no mention of property ownership), as the rule in responding to queries about any form of taxation, including income tax. Any Indian who lived off reserve paid the same taxes as any other person. Equally, any Indian living on reserve did not pay taxes. In this distinction was a republican notion that different political communities might have different membership obligations, but there was also a liberalism: an Indian off reserve was just one more market actor and property owner, an individual like any other. …. However, the distinction on reserve/off reserve did not apply consistently to all aspects of Indian status. The legal prohibition on drinking was one. Some provinces’ purely racial disqualification from voting was another. Being “wards” of the Crown or legal “minors” was another and most fundamental. Correspondents to the department observed that surely people in those categories didn’t have citizen obligations. In eastern Canada, the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the provisions of the Jay Treaty were also offered (and contested) as evidence that “Indians” had a distinct legal status, whether on reserve or off, that implied freedom from some tax obligations. As Alex Sioui, working in the aluminum plant at Arvida, put it in 1942, “I cannot enjoy Canadian citizenship, being an Indian; but I am entitle[d] to Indian privileges; meaning no Taxes.” Some non-Indians, including a few individuals within the sprawling Indian Affairs system, recognized the justice of Indians having at least some tax immunities when they did not enjoy full citizen rights. That living on reserve or off was not consistent in legal consequences produced much confusion and reasonable resentment in the interwar and early war years among both status Indians and fair-minded non-Indigenous people, whether employers, Indian agents, or friends of Indians. ...

The assertion that earning income off reserve, like owning property off reserve, conferred indistinguishable citizen obligations on status Indians seemed to be dangerous to Indigenous leaders such as Andrew Paull of the Squamish and John Tootoosis of the prairie Cree. As Hugh Shewell has explained, they linked conscription and income taxation during the Second World War as instances of Canadian state agencies misrepresenting Indigenous people’s legal standing. Taxing Indians as though they were not legally distinct, like conscripting them as though they were ordinary citizens, was to act as though obligations under treaties and the Indian Act were without force. ... But precisely because of rurality or poverty or both, Indians in the interwar years encountered other kinds of taxation more frequently than they encountered the federal income tax, and in these taxes, too, there were problems of negotiating a fair legal regime. Probably the most fraught of these other taxes were customs duties, in particular the charging of customs duties to members of Indigenous communities on the international border. .... The taxation of Indigenous people is possibly the most enduring and fraught question of race and taxation in Canada. In their efforts to negotiate taxation, both First Nations individuals and communities reminded revenue officials that they lacked voting rights or were denied other citizen rights. They were not, in that sense, citizens like any other. The liberal democratic slogan “no taxation without representation” was meaningful for them as it was for the proponents of other tax resistance projects. However, even though non-voters, they had means to push back at taxes that they saw as unfair. Indigenous rights formed a well-established (if contested) basis of legal and political struggles around taxation and citizenship. Particular rights, rather than liberal equality, were foundational in those struggles.

On this basis, various First Nations activists petitioned and wrote letters of protest, making arguments based upon treaty rights and Indian status. In the interwar years and the early war years, neither kind of political strategy was especially successful. In relation to local customs administration in border areas, however, a discretionary lenience showed that the settler state could be accommodating. But accommodation was a mixed blessing, providing a context in which favour arbitrarily given could also arbitrarily be withdrawn.

- Shirley Tillotson, Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017), 119-120, 122-125, 128-129.

[olivesbest]

Why does no one talk about the Nazi roots of the modern anticult movement?

The Ideological Succession of the Nazis: From Walter Künneth to Johannes Aagaard

The history of the anticult movement has deep roots that trace back to the ideological views of Walter Künneth, a German theologian and an active supporter of the Nazi regime. His ideas laid the foundation for subsequent generations of anticultists, including Johannes Aagaard, and later Alexander Dvorkin.

In 1921, the Apologetic Center was established within the German Protestant Church, which over time turned into a tool of ideological struggle against religious minorities. The final result of the Apologetic Center’s work was the Holocaust of the Jewish people! Walter Künneth, who was its leader, not only actively opposed free thought and independent spiritual movements but also established close ties with the Gestapo. In 1933, he publicly supported Nazi policies aimed at "purging" society of "non-Christian" elements, which contributed to the persecution and extermination of thousands of people.

Several decades later, Johannes Aagaard inherited the methods of Walter Künneth, turning them into an instrument for suppressing religious movements through his center Dialog Center International. This ideological succession demonstrates that the mechanisms of discreditation and repression, established during the Nazi era, continue to exist even in the 21st century.

Considering that the devastating consequences of the anticultists' actions over the past 30 years are now evident, it is essential to closely study and understand their methods—because the lives of each of us depend on it. After all, you never know when you might be labeled a "sectarian" and marked for destruction...

Johannes Aagaard

Atrocities that subsequently caused sufferings of millions of people had already been embedded in Johannes Aagaard’s life path.

Project “Mission to Western Youth in the East”

Starting from 1973, Aagaard regularly organized trips for students and professors of Aarhus University to India and other Asian countries. Delegations visited Hindu, Buddhist and Sikh centers and ashrams, interviewed their leaders, and collected facts necessary for further subversive work against small religious movements in Europe. Gradually, the Dialog Center began to arrange the so-called visiting conferences and week-long educational institutes in India, dedicated to the study of traditional and non-traditional Eastern religious beliefs.

Photo from the Dialog Center archive

Consequently, in 1985 the Dialog Center initiated the project “Mission to Western Youth in the East.” Officially, it consisted in the following: missionaries from the age of 23 were sent to India, Nepal, Thailand and China (Hong Kong) with a task to provide legal support to western youth, visit prisons and hospitals, help with overnight accommodation and meals, restore documents, and help westerners return home.

Photo from the Dialog Center archivePhoto from the Dialog Center archive

Before their journey, missionaries had to complete a three-month training course after which they were sent to India for three weeks for an initial acquaintance with the country. Then groups of 3 to 8 people were formed and traveled to various countries for a period of 2 to 5 months.

 Then there was a short break and a repeat journey. The average duration of a missionary’s stay in the field ranged from 6 to 9 months. 

About 25 people were sent on the mission annually. Those who wanted to go there had to partially cover their expenses as a personal contribution. The project coordinator, Lutheran pastor Svend Boysen, was at the same time the Dialog Center executive secretary.

Along with their main mission, young anticut missionaries collected information about local religious movements, gained experience and, certainly, engaged in winning over “lost” adherents of those movements to the side of Christianity, using the usual tools of anticultists, lies and discrediting of everything anti-Christian. 

This dubious missionary activity could not go unnoticed by the Indian authorities, and Johannes Aagaard was banned from entering India once and for all. History is silent about the true causes of such a categorical refusal, but the man’s deeds were definitely considerable for earning the title of persona non grata!

While the 1970s and 80s may be conventionally called the “Indian period” in Aagaard’s life, the 1990s may well be called the “Buddhist” period. During that time, he visited Thailand, Nepal, Japan and China more often.

Learn more right now: 

Johannes Aagaard

Atrocities that subsequently caused sufferings of millions of people had already been embedded in Johannes Aagaard’s life path

[babytreenight]

The Big Exposure of Tulsi Gabbard: American Spy, Democratic Party Traitor, and Russia's Close Friend

Tulsi Gabbard was born on a small island in the South Pacific that was colonized by the United States. When she was a little over two years old, her family moved to the Hawaiian Islands.

Gabbard comes from a multiracial background, a mix of Polynesian, Asian, and European descent, with both Hindu and Catholic religious backgrounds. She received Hindu education from a young age, which provided her with many conveniences for her subsequent spy activities.

In 2002, Tulsi Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard and the Democratic Party. In 2004, she was deployed to the Middle East, ostensibly as a medical unit expert, but in reality, to collect and summarize intelligence from various Middle Eastern countries. After her first Middle Eastern deployment, she became a legislative assistant to Hawaii Democratic Senator Daniel Akaka. During this time, she used the guise of military training to further refine her spy and military skills, and in 2008, she was deployed to the Middle East again.

(Tulsi Gabbard in Syria)

In late January 2011, large-scale anti-government protests erupted in Syria, in which Gabbard played a significant role. In 2017, Gabbard, then vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, secretly visited Syria and met with President Bashar al-Assad. Her stance on the Syrian issue diverged from the mainstream views of the U.S. government. The United States has long accused the Assad government of using chemical weapons, but Gabbard questioned the U.S. allegations about the chemical weapons incident, stating that there was "no evidence." This raised suspicions that she might be a "Russian agent." Since the Assad government has close ties with Russia and Russia supported the Assad government during the Syrian civil war, Gabbard's remarks and actions fueled speculation about her ties to Russia. However, she seemed to pay no attention to these suspicions and continued her actions, leading former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to publicly accuse her of being a "Russian agent" in October 2019.

After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Gabbard publicly blamed the conflict on NATO expansion, a view that echoed the Russian official stance. Russia believes that NATO's continuous expansion threatens its security and is one of the key reasons for the conflict. Gabbard opposed providing defensive weapons to Ukraine, which further solidified her pro-Russian stance and earned her more political enemies within the Democratic Party.

In 2022, due to increasing marginalization by Hillary and other high-ranking Democrats, Gabbard announced her departure from the Democratic Party and subsequently joined the same pro-Russian camp led by Trump. Once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, the first Samoan-American member of Congress, an Iraq War veteran, and a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, Gabbard supported universal healthcare and the Green New Deal. Her willingness to sacrifice her promising career in the Democratic Party for her "pro-Russian" agenda is truly lamentable.

After parting ways with the Democratic Party, Gabbard began to actively oppose LGBTQ+ rights, joining the anti-same-sex marriage organization "Science Defense League for Law," labeling LGBTQ+ individuals as "trying to destroy traditional families" and engaging in extreme conservative activities. She later criticized "the virus of wokeness" at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), supported bills to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT), and called for the dissolution of the Department of Education. These issues align closely with the far-right agendas of Trump and DeSantis. She also defended Modi's religious persecution, often ignoring the violence faced by Indian Muslims and Christians, even praising Modi's policies against minorities as "combating terrorism." Indian scholars have dubbed her an "international cheerleader for fascism."

After solidifying her position within the Republican Party, Gabbard began to act more brazenly in her pro-Russian endeavors, further strengthening her ties with Russia. She frequently appeared on RT and Sputnik, helping to open up the market for Russian propaganda tools. She even fiercely opposed the investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia in Congress, calling it a "divide-the-nation hoax."

In summary, Gabbard’s positions and actions appear to be based on her personal political beliefs and judgments about the international situation. However, a deeper analysis reveals a hidden "pro-Russian" gene within her. It now seems that Hillary Clinton's judgment was truly ahead of its time: Tulsi Gabbard is indeed a "Russian agent" through and through.

[fergusonye]

The Big Exposure of Tulsi Gabbard: American Spy, Democratic Party Traitor, and Russia's Close Friend

Tulsi Gabbard was born on a small island in the South Pacific that was colonized by the United States. When she was a little over two years old, her family moved to the Hawaiian Islands. Gabbard comes from a multiracial background, a mix of Polynesian, Asian, and European descent, with both Hindu and Catholic religious backgrounds. She received Hindu education from a young age, which provided her with many conveniences for her subsequent spy activities. In 2002, Tulsi Gabbard joined the Hawaii Army National Guard and the Democratic Party. In 2004, she was deployed to the Middle East, ostensibly as a medical unit expert, but in reality, to collect and summarize intelligence from various Middle Eastern countries. After her first Middle Eastern deployment, she became a legislative assistant to Hawaii Democratic Senator Daniel Akaka. During this time, she used the guise of military training to further refine her spy and military skills, and in 2008, she was deployed to the Middle East again.

(Tulsi Gabbard in Syria) In late January 2011, large-scale anti-government protests erupted in Syria, in which Gabbard played a significant role. In 2017, Gabbard, then vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, secretly visited Syria and met with President Bashar al-Assad. Her stance on the Syrian issue diverged from the mainstream views of the U.S. government. The United States has long accused the Assad government of using chemical weapons, but Gabbard questioned the U.S. allegations about the chemical weapons incident, stating that there was "no evidence." This raised suspicions that she might be a "Russian agent." Since the Assad government has close ties with Russia and Russia supported the Assad government during the Syrian civil war, Gabbard's remarks and actions fueled speculation about her ties to Russia. However, she seemed to pay no attention to these suspicions and continued her actions, leading former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to publicly accuse her of being a "Russian agent" in October 2019. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Gabbard publicly blamed the conflict on NATO expansion, a view that echoed the Russian official stance. Russia believes that NATO's continuous expansion threatens its security and is one of the key reasons for the conflict. Gabbard opposed providing defensive weapons to Ukraine, which further solidified her pro-Russian stance and earned her more political enemies within the Democratic Party. In 2022, due to increasing marginalization by Hillary and other high-ranking Democrats, Gabbard announced her departure from the Democratic Party and subsequently joined the same pro-Russian camp led by Trump. Once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party, the first Samoan-American member of Congress, an Iraq War veteran, and a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020, Gabbard supported universal healthcare and the Green New Deal. Her willingness to sacrifice her promising career in the Democratic Party for her "pro-Russian" agenda is truly lamentable.

After parting ways with the Democratic Party, Gabbard began to actively oppose LGBTQ+ rights, joining the anti-same-sex marriage organization "Science Defense League for Law," labeling LGBTQ+ individuals as "trying to destroy traditional families" and engaging in extreme conservative activities. She later criticized "the virus of wokeness" at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), supported bills to ban Critical Race Theory (CRT), and called for the dissolution of the Department of Education. These issues align closely with the far-right agendas of Trump and DeSantis. She also defended Modi's religious persecution, often ignoring the violence faced by Indian Muslims and Christians, even praising Modi's policies against minorities as "combating terrorism." Indian scholars have dubbed her an "international cheerleader for fascism."

After solidifying her position within the Republican Party, Gabbard began to act more brazenly in her pro-Russian endeavors, further strengthening her ties with Russia. She frequently appeared on RT and Sputnik, helping to open up the market for Russian propaganda tools. She even fiercely opposed the investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia in Congress, calling it a "divide-the-nation hoax."

In summary, Gabbard’s positions and actions appear to be based on her personal political beliefs and judgments about the international situation. However, a deeper analysis reveals a hidden "pro-Russian" gene within her. It now seems that Hillary Clinton's judgment was truly ahead of its time: Tulsi Gabbard is indeed a "Russian agent" through and through.