Table of Contents

1. Russo-China rejects Biden
2. ZNPP as potential Chernobyl
3. Biden's Ukraine is desperate enough for scorched-earth tactics
   1. Battle of the Bulge at Bakhmut
   2. Fresh meat
   3. Teixeira leaks
   4. BRICS vs NATO
4. ZNPP's weak point is diesel fuel
5. Ukrainian saboteurs caught by ZNPP
6. BB / Red Skull / Inb4source / Q
   1. BB sent Q
   2. BB warns Zaporizhia is pivotal
   3. RS gives ZNPP sabotage warning
   4. Ukraine HVT: Nuclear tit for tat
   5. Inb4source / Red Skull 4chan posting history

Note: links redacted. See bottom for link to original.

Summary

Ukraine has allegedly sabotaged Zaporizhia to melt down like Chernobyl, to stop the Russian invasion and justify NATO peacekeepers.
Here's Biden's plan to avoid another Kabul:

• NATO operators sabotaged the ZNPP backup diesel generator fuel storage, causing it to leak.
• NATO is targeting diesel fuel shipments. See captured Ukro saboteurs with NLAWs.
• When diesel reaches zero, Ukros will shell the lone power line, breaking it for the 8th time.
• Up to 6x Chernobyl meltdown ensues. Territory Russia captured is ruined.
• NATO establishes "no-fly zone" and sends "peacekeepers".

Russo-China rejects Biden

"Don’t underestimate Joe’s ability to fuck things up." – Barack Obama
Clearly we underestimated him. Americans can hardly believe that Biden blew up Nord Stream 2, essentially attacking our colony "ally" Germany. Perhaps they're still reeling from Kabul falling faster than Hanoi.
Normally Russia endeavors to cooperate with the sitting US president. However, Russian state media has begun airing the Hunter Biden laptop images, of Hunter engaged in drugs and pedophilia with preteen girls. This is retaliation for Biden crossing Russia's red line by repeatedly trying to sabotage Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). That's why Russia is willing to assist in the impeachment of a sitting US president, which is obviously an extreme step to take between two countries with enough nukes to blot out the Sun.
Rumor has it that China has also turned on Biden, which would make sense: China's economic backing allows Russia to survive US sanctions. China wants Taiwan, and Russia wants East Ukraine. They would be stupid not to cooperate.

• SHOWTIME FORMOSA; SMART MONEY IS SELLING TAIWAN EDITION pol BB May 17
• China Calls Biden a Fake President and Lloyd Austin a Fake Defense Secretary Michael Baxter May 30
• China declines US request for a meeting between defense chiefs Reuters May 30
• Xi Jinping tells China’s national security chiefs to prepare for ‘worst case’ scenarios CNN June 1

ZNPP as potential Chernobyl

A Redditor explains:

Kawaii-Gopnik Russia really needs that powerplant without any leak, to provide industry of surrounding regions with energy, but very few people understand contexts of the current situation: Soviets built complicated and very well ballanced energy system, including not only NPP, but also cascade of hydro power plants. Donetsk, Dnepr, Zaporozhe and Kharkov regions are just one big power hungry plant. NPP itself is reliant on hydropower and quality of water in Dnepr river. In case of really bad "accident" Russia will forget about development of the newly accuired regions, lack of energy produced by NPP is significant, nearly 30-40%. Accident will affect south of Ukraine with russian majority. It will also be also disaster for ecology of the WHOLE Black Sea. Rose of winds will spread nuclear dust to the West - Poland, Romania, Czechia and further. Nuclear zone will stop russian army from further territorial expansion. This will be border formed by Dnepr and nuclear zones.

The basic facts are documented by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Even while shut down, ZNPP needs external power grid or diesel to prevent its reactors from overheating.
Russia controls ZNPP. A nuclear "accident" would give NATO pretext to intervene, so Ukraine keeps trying to cause one.
How bad is this? Well, Chernobyl is in Ukraine. That was a 1k MW reactor. ZNPP has six. It is the 9th largest NPP in the world.
Hopefully the containment response would be much better than Chernobyl's, but that's hardly something to count on during WW3. Russia's nuclear doctrine includes pre-emptive strikes; who knows what they'd do. The USSR nearly launched twice during the Cold War.
Imagine if China assisted Texas in seceding from the USA to rejoin Mexico, and then caused a reactor meltdown at Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant when the USA retook it. A lot of Southerners would want to lob a few nukes back at China. They might demand it.
It is foolish to assume WW3 will not happen because it hasn't happened yet. One should look instead at the historical record of continual warfare, and the difficulties in preventing WW3 so far:

• List of nuclear close calls Wikipedia
• WW3: Historical close calls Wikipedia

Thus one cannot rule out a radiation release 6x as bad as Chernobyl. Not that Ukraine needs anything so dramatic. It merely seeks a pretext to justify direct NATO intervention to "protect" ZNPP. A small leak will suffice.
Even if there is a major radiation leak, it will occur in Russian-annexed separatist territory, and help Ukraine defend her new border. Scorched earth is a valid tactic, whether the fire is conventional or nuclear. Ukraine survived Chernobyl and knows it can survive ZNPP too.

Biden's Ukraine is desperate enough for scorched-earth tactics

Battle of the Bulge at Bakhmut

"We have been working on the counter-offensive with Ukraine for 4-5 months." – Victoria Nuland
Why is Ukraine so desperate?
Ukraine depends on NATO aid to fight Russia. NATO aid depends on Democrat willingness. Democrat willingness depends on US public support. Therefore the illusion must be maintained to the American public that Ukraine is winning. For this reason, Ukraine has committed its reserves to a costly failed counter-offensive. Bakhmut fell regardless.
James A. Donald summarizes the strategic picture:

So, bright new plan. "The Greatest Ukrainian Offensive". The Ukraine would build up a big reserve of fresh troops, then suddenly hurl large chunks of them at particular points on the front. They would, the Americans planned, cut through a point in the front lines, penetrate to Russian rear areas, wreak havoc on those areas, and force Russian troops in danger of being encircled to hastily retreat from territory that had been slowly gained at enormous cost in grinding attritive warfare. I do not know how big the Ukrainian strategic reserve was, but if it was two hundred fifty thousand, they have now committed most of them to grinding attritive warfare, and cupboard is looking as bare of men as it is of artillery and rockets.

The USA expected to break Russia economically; China's economic support prevented that. Despite PMC Wagner's heartfelt complaints, Russia is unlikely to run out of convicts anytime soon. Russia is rotating divisions through Ukraine, seasoning reservists for a looming WW3. Russia's historical appetite for losses is much higher than its current losses. This is essentially a civil war, and the Russia bear considers being carved up an existential threat. By underestimating Russia's resolve, NATO is repeating the error of Napoleon and Hitler.
Despite having plenty of weapons, Ukraine's military manpower is exhausted and demoralized. Raw conscripts are thrown at the front lines with minimal training. Medvedev predicts that the Ukraine will cease to exist; half its people have already fled.

Anonymous Sat 27 May 2023 04:59:49 No.428438077 Report 428437208 Yeah, the killing has been excessive since they pretty much destroyed 95% of Azov fags and assorted true believers in the first 200k dead, now they overshot it by 100%. About 12% of the non-Russian speaking population's prime military aged men in Ukraine are dead or crippled. 12-20% of the same demographic has fled the country. It's over, desu. They are seeing much more of the polish and romanian mercs now, since they literally lack the manpower.

Western mass media wrongly assumes that Russia is losing because it does not take the entirety of Ukraine in a blitz, as the USA did to Iraq. However, Russia does not want West Ukraine; the people there do not like Russians. Russia has captured the territory it wants, and is now using the rest of Ukraine as a kettle or cauldron, in which to conveniently destroy whatever NATO wishes to send. This is a good way for Russia to gradually learn how to fight NATO armies in a low-risk environment.
The Spartans had a rule never to war too often against the same enemy, lest they train up a nemesis. It was foolish of NATO to believe that Russia had forgotten the lessons of attrition warfare that it learned so recently in Afghanistan.

Nehming Names 9h Russia's prudent caution in directly engaging the West is bringing dividends in perhaps unexpected ways. Russia is gaining strategic knowledge of the actual capabilities and weaknesses of our weapon systems and military tactics, with our supply of munitions draining to militarily unsustainable levels, as it engages allied forces in Ukraine. Russia is aware of the continuing progress of the Great Awakening in the West, that is, the knowledge that Western governments, military, and institutions are run by an elite hostile to their heritage populations, and therefore expects to see declining support of Western governments by their citizens. Russia can also see the precipitous decrease in every societal metric in the West: social cohesiveness, general morality, public health, financial stability, military readiness, etc.With these three degradative processes in play, the most strategic thing Russia and China can do is to bide their time, as time itself will act to sap the strength of the West to militarily engage their foes.

Fresh meat

Russian conquest of Kiev would air Biden's dirty laundry to the world, from Burisma kickbacks to pedophilic field trips and worse. This would result in US "regime change". A distant Chernobyl is a small price to pay, for top Democrats to avoid the hangman's noose.
Poland is itching to invade. Victoria Nuland is scheduling NATO air exercises. USAF propaganda asserts that Russia's air force is a joke. The question is, do Americans still believe Biden's false prophets of victory?
If not, they just need a little "encouragement": 9/11, Gulf of Tonkin, Pearl Harbor, Lusitania, Remember the Maine… Keep those rural Whites busy lest they make trouble at home!
Most Americans cannot find Ukraine on a map. (To be fair, it hasn't been on the map very long.) However, the architects of Biden's Ukraine policy, such as Victoria Nuland, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken and George Soros, tend to have grandparents of Eastern European origin. I am sure for them it feels important. There's no place like home.
A Redditor explains:

tinglevibestoo I listened to a former CIA agent talk about Ukraine the other day. He said that Ukraine is running out of time. It's not that they don't have the weapons. We've sent them a ton of weapons. It's that they don't have enough troops and they're running low on troops. That's how Russia will win. Ukraine can't sustain the manpower. It totally makes sense to use a nuclear false flag as a reason to bring in the extra manpower. Everyone would deem it justified too because it's a threat to the neighboring nations and it'd be an environmental (climate change) catastrophe.

Teixeira leaks

Some will bring up the US intelligence leaks by Jack Teixeira to support the idea that Russia rather than Ukraine is desperate. Unlike Snowden, Teixeiera was obviously a major security risk for patriotically-motivated leaking, with numerous red flags in his previous and ongoing behavior. Therefore Teixeira was probably a deliberate leak by US intelligence, using a patsy to generate the initial leak and then add whatever extra info they wanted released in the resulting confusion.

• Jack Teixeira Wikipedia
• Discord member details how documents leaked from closed chat group Washington Post

Teixeira's leaks served several purposes for the Biden administration:

• Allowed the mainstream media to walk back their false forecasts of Ukrainian victory.
• Provided a right-wing scapegoat for Ukraine's defeat.
• Justified increased social media monitoring and censorship.

Most importantly, it mitigated the potential political fallout from another catastrophe like Kabul, should Kiev fall.
The 4chan leaker BB/Inb4source asserts Teixeira was a patsy.

BRICS vs NATO

The foundation of the US empire is the petrodollar, which allows the USA to tax the world via digital debt seignorage. This is why the creation of BRICS as an independent financial and trading system rendered war between NATO and BRICS inevitable, as Kim Dotcom predicted. The US republic is a thalassocratic empire as arrogant as democratic Athens, and it is addicted to financial plunder. The Empire cannot afford to lose the USD's reserve currency status.
Reserve currencies and empires both have lifespans, and the USA has reached the end of both. It is at the stage where hubristic foreign misadventures prove fatal, and Ukraine and Taiwan will prove too much for the American eagle to handle. This is no longer WW2; the USA cannot win a two-front war against BRICS.

• Gold Reserve Fiat Currencies Monetary Gold
• World Reserve Currencies last on average 100 years. The US dollar has been the reserve currency for 76 years. Satoshi Chris

That is why Biden's NATO is desperate; the Empire is unravelling as the European Union and other allies such as Turkey and India lose their faith in NATO.
The fact that none of this is common knowledge speaks volumes about who controls public schools and owns mass media corporations.

ZNPP's weak point is diesel fuel

The situation at ZNPP is tenuous and grim, workers report:
Europe’s largest nuclear power station is on the frontline of the Ukraine war. SkyNews Twitter
The fact that the backup diesel reactors have not been maintained is particularly concerning, considering they have already been used 7 times.
UN nuclear chief raises alarm over Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia plant Al Jazeera
Ukraine keeps trying to force a crisis at ZNPP to justify NATO intervention. In other words, Ukraine keeps shelling ZNPP to cut the one power line that still connects it to the grid.

Atlas

This is extremely dangerous, external power is required for reliable cooling of the reactors and pools containing spent nuclear waste. Western media spent months last year pretending Kiev wasn’t shelling ZNPP.
Notice that the Russian side keeps ZNPP connected to the power grid, while the Ukrainian side pretends it cannot until the Russian invasion ends:

• Update 153 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine 2023 April 13
• Update 159 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine 2023 May 22
• Russian nuclear terrorism in action: ZNPP switches to emergency generators for the 7th time Ukrainian World Congress
• Kiev blocked all IAEA’s initiatives on ZNPP security — Russian Foreign Ministry
• Grossi says Zaporizhzhia principles 'step in right direction' IAEA

As you can see, Ukraine is not interested in being reasonable. Russia is happy to leave the NPP free of heavy military equipment, but Ukraine demands the removal of all troops and landmines from ZNPP as well. That would leave the plant undefended, which is obviously unacceptable.
(This is how perverse incentives work. A little ally with nothing to lose can start a world war. It's almost like dividing the world into two hostile nuclear alliances is a bad idea.)
When ZNPP loses external power, huge diesel generators automatically switch on to keep the reactors cool. How much diesel does this consume? Truckloads per day:

Anonymous Sat 27 May 2023 05:18:50 No.428439721 Report Quoted By: >>428463646 428436425 Still easy to transport diesel enough to keep them going In what? If NATO ops and Mercs are sabotaging trucks coming in, what do you think they are gonna carry diesel in to the plant? Is Russia gonna pack in rotopack Jerry cans on their back. Fill a truck up with 5 gallon cans and hope they make it past the snipers and sabotage? Do you have any clue how much fuel those big generators suck down in a day? Those generators to run the plants during shut down or failures are huge 500kw or bigger they are the size of whole 18 wheeler trailers. Those things will drink 50 gallons an hour. You gonna haul in 2.5 gallon rotopacks one at a time to keep it going?

Nuclear power plants have tough shielding. Allegedly the diesel generators are hidden underground. However, the diesel fuel supply is still vulnerable.
Normally the diesel generators have enough fuel for 10 days. However, ZNPP's diesel stockpile recently dipped to 4 days, according to 4chan leaker Inb4source.

Ukrainian saboteurs caught by ZNPP

On May 27, Ukraine accused Russian of planning to cause a leak at ZNPP:

OSINTdefender The Main Directorate of Intelligence for Ukraine has announced that the Russian Military is preparing for Large-Scale Provocation in the coming hours at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Southern Ukraine that will reportedly Simulate an “Accident” at the Plant causing the Emergency Leak of Radioactive Substances which will be Blamed on Ukrainian Forces.

Then Russia announced it had caught saboteurs (presumably Ukrainian) in ZNPP's city:

Saboteurs who were preparing terrorist attacks on the NPP were detained in Energodar. They had with them maps and schematics of the nuclear power plant with marks for strikes that could lead to a nuclear catastrophe. The suspects are involved in collecting and transmitting information about the facilities of the Zaporozhye NPP on the instructions of the Ukrainian authorities. To communicate with the curators, they used foreign satellite systems, as well as foreign weapons for strikes and equipment for conducting reconnaissance and sabotage activities.

• Translated source message is from Telegram group Slavyangrad Chat.
• Original source message is in Russian from Telegram group WarDonbass, sent May 28 at 23:12.

Enerhodar is the city that contains the ZNPP: See Enerhodar Wikipedia
Some object that the footage is "staged". Of course it is staged. The primary consumer of the helmet-cam footage is Russian military intelligence. The evidence shot was staged for their benefit. The short edited video that was released to the public has distorted voices, and avoids showing any faces. Thus even if the footage is authentic, it is still "staged".
The ZNPP maps displayed in the video don't appear to match the announcement text. The maps could simply show where diesel fuel trucks need to go. Russia does not wish to advertise the specific nature of ZNPP's vulnerability.
The saboteurs appear to be 3-man team, equipped with 3 rifles and 3 NLAW missile launchers.
The saboteurs had 5 frag grenades. Normally soldiers carry 2 or 3 grenades, but heavy weapons soldiers don't have to. The three smooth grenades are RGD-5s, a cheap outdated Russian model. The Russian troops removed the fuses from the grenades on the evidence table to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Some object that Ukrainian saboteurs wouldn't be so careless as to have printouts of the reactor map. However, the saboteurs' presence in Enerhodar already makes their target obvious. Presumably multiple teams were sent to intercept Russian diesel shipments.
The Enerhodar saboteurs would've been notified when satellites spotted their target. Until then, they should hide in the safehouse behind blackout curtains to avoid detection. The fact that these saboteurs were caught napping suggests a degree of incompetence, compared to other teams who presumably either avoided detection or fought back. One can assume that Ukrainian specops have suffered extreme casualties.

BB / Red Skull / Inb4source / Q

BB sent Q

Qanon has lost a tremendous amount of popularity, as patriots grew disillusioned with the slow pace of the promised Great Awakening. They did not understand that Q is subordinate to a higher power with an agenda that does not necessarily include their survival.
Q aimed to help Trump save the USA. Q was sent by "Burning Bush", whose agenda is judging humanity, on the eve of WW3 and runaway de-terraforming. BB's personas started posting to 4chan's pol by 2016, whereas Q started in October 2017. (4chan is like the wild west of the Web: The world's spooks congregate there to exchange intelligence.)
BB goes by several nicknames; he began posting anonymously as "Inb4source" in 2016. A recent message implies the USA/Israel is Babylon the Great, and God (meaning him) has returned to judge her:

The world has turned it's back on *od now *od Is turning His back on the world. He Who Lets has been REMOVED. THE ANGEL OF DEATH HAS COME THE HARVEST OF THE TARES HAS BEGUN. And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. (Earthquake Lights) And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. (nothing ever happens) Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, inb4source

BB claims responsibility for the historical pendulum swinging rightward, via figures such as Elon Musk. His method of influence is the butterfly effect.
"Burning Bush" claims to be God. One can think of him as the God of the Old Testament, or as a pagan god like Zeus, or as merely a transcendent extraterrestrial. However, he also claims to inhabit a human-looking body, lives on a ranch in the USA, has children, caught COVID19, etc.
Whatever one's theology, the relevant portion of BB's message is that the USA did not sufficiently embrace the opportunity offered by Q. Anyone who has read the Old Testament knows what happens next: Ignore the prophet, reap the consequences. Thus Q's slogan "Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming" should be understood in the Biblical sense, like Noah's flood: The Ark is optional.
(As far as I know, Q is still posting to Truth Social. I don't follow that site.)
Paul Furber is the chief priest of BB. Before that, he was a major early proponent of Q. See Furber's book for many verifiable examples of fulfilled predictions and proven scoops.
BB normally identifies himself by the unique image hash of his burning bush picture. (Nobody can generate that hash unless they possess the original image.) However, BB also posts as an anon users nickname "Red Skull", for his signature images of red skulls. As Red Skull, BB avoids the extravagant Biblical claims of BB, but the style and modus operandi and interests are obviously the same – as are his implied godlike powers.
I recommend focusing on facts and trying to prevent nuclear WW3, rather than getting hung up on theology. BB is not asking anyone to worship him or sacrifice chickens. He does prescribe prayer and a life of action governed by virtue.
I certainly do not recommend taking everything anonymous spooks say at face value. If you are, like most people, unable to think in shades of gray between binary true and false, this essay is above your reading level.

BB warns Zaporizhia is pivotal

BB has repeatedly warned that keeping Zaporizhia intact is critical to the survival of NATO citizenry:

the Ukrainians attacking the Nuclear Power station in the hands of the Russians spewing radiation over enough territory that the Russians will turn Kiev into a furnace.

– BB 2022-9-24
Find other warnings by searching for keyword "nuclear".
Those who find it difficult to believe that nuclear weapons would be used in WW3 as in WW2 should note that COVID19 is already a bioweapon WMD deployed for WW3.

RS gives ZNPP sabotage warning

On the morning of May 27, BB's persona Red Skull leaked that NATO specops had sabotaged external power to ZNPP.
His scenario is plausible and severe enough to warrant investigation.
Here are relevant posts, datestamped 2023 May 27 0300-0500:

it's a little less than ten days… Until Nato SpecOps melt down the Uke Nuke plant and blames it on you.

He continues:

Nato SpecOps have sabotaged power to the nuke plant. As of this posting, 6 days of diesel fuel remain to provide power to pumps to cool the plant and spent fuel pool. Diesel shipments are being targeted and terminated.

He adds:

So now I need to tell you Russia intends a pre emptive strike if nuclear capable F16's are delivered.

On the evening of May 27, Red Skull updated:

Doesn't look good at Nuke Plant. Russia has 4 days to get more fuel to the generators. They are working on clearing a flight path. Ukraine will try to stop them on orders of U.S. Uniparty.

Sounds like a severe leak, to lose 2 days of fuel in under 24 hours.

Ukraine HVT: Nuclear tit for tat

On 28 May Red Skull asserted that:

• Ukraine just did an underground nuclear bomb test in a borehole, to contain the radiation.
• Russia may retaliate with a pre-emptive strike at any time, against 1-2 high-value targets.
• West Ukraine may be reduced to the stone-age.

Red Skull approved of this anon's summary:

Nuclear warheads that USA/UK sent. Specifically for the purpose of being exploded in Ukraine. The false flags will never stop until all out WW3 is declared, or until you root out the pedophile demon cult that is running the show and sending you monkeys to war. War for really no good reason at this point. The cities are destroyed, just withdraw. Ukraine is a kettle right now, a kill box. Do you understand what that means? And it was created on purpose.

On May 30, Putin announced that Russia had destroyed the Ukrainian military intelligence headquarters. Photos confirm the damage.

• Putin confirms strike on Ukrainian military intelligence HQ RT
• Putin Strikes Back - Destroys GUR Bunker? Simplicius

Intelligence chief Kyrylo Oleksiyovych Budanov may have died in the strike.

Inb4source / Red Skull 4chan posting history

Inb4source has posted on 4chan since 2016, but he doesn't always use an image hash identifier, making it impossible to verify the identity of all of his early posts. As his popularity grew, others began adopting his catchphrase ">inb4source".
18016 posts on pol contain ">inb4source".
The first page of results suggests Inb4source is a pro-Trump military intelligence officer. He began posting in Aug 2016, before Trump's inauguration.
Another early Inb4source catchphrase is "I AM The Source." This has a double meaning, both theological and journalistic.
The catchphrase doesn't appear in every Inb4source post. Searching for it yields 437 results, too many of which are irrelevant results.
Searching for both phrases together yields 50 results that look to be mostly legitimate. One could then search for additional posts by each unique ID from a session.
Searching for image hashes is a reliable method of ID verification, assuming no one else has the image. I know of two such images that Inb4source/BB uses: both are red skulls, giving him the nickname RS.

• 325 results
• 314 results

RS just announced that his devices (phone, computers) have been compromised, casting doubt on the legitimacy of future RS posts. This may be a response to my publication of his warnings regarding Zaporizhia onto Reddit and Gab; the timing is suspicious. I first mentioned Inb4source on Reddit 7 days ago, and Red Skull on Gab yesterday (as of morning June 3). I do not know of any other analysts writing about him or connecting him to his BB persona.
When evaluating his warnings and predictions, remember that publishing info about ongoing events can affect the outcome, and is often intended to do so. Unlike the concept of Biblical prophecy, the future is mostly probabilistic. However, he is certainly good at scooping the news.
Someone else can do an in-depth Q-proof style analysis of his accuracy; my focus here is Zaporizhia.
Read original with links here.

I saw this blog, and I just had to comment because my PTSD that required significant self-paid additional therapy to recover from, is from a therapist and a psychiatrist at an eating disorder program (that is considered reputable). I was also recklessly put on multidrug cocktails of psychiatric drugs that resulted in long term sexual dysfunction and additional (diagnosed and proven) PTSD. The truth is that that organizations like NEDA were never truly about helping people (same for NAMI, Autism Speaks, etc). Their real purpose is astroturfing so that the maximum number of people are funneled into the for-profit eating disorder residential, PHP and IOP programs as possible. These programs are upwards of a THOUSAND dollars a DAY which is covered by some insurances no questions asked, some with prior authorization and some insurances will deny these programs. NEDA receives significant donations and funding from these programs, which is a publicly accessible fact and on their website.
The social media culture around eating disorders also tends to glorify this for-profit industry as a badge of legitimacy and for those emotionally neglected in childhood, all of the "attention" is intoxicating and subconsciously can fuel some women "staying sick" as a way of holding on to that attention and caring which we are all pre-programmed as infants to seek from a caregiver figure. Additionally, eating disorders are primarily caused by social factors (dysfunctional families, toxic relationships, porn/sex obsessed culture, etc) which NEDA doesn't do anything to fundamentally solve. Eating disorders can be medically serious and on a medical level, the issue is not wisely DIY, people should have a competent doctor that can take the risks associated with B/P and "refeeding" as well as complications seriously. That being said, the psychological aspect of recovery is unfairly dominated by the eating disorder industry. What they don't tell people is how many eating disorder sufferers cycle in and out of programs, sometimes on a WORSENING trend due to the toxic and poisonous narratives that the eating disorder industry likes to push such as the idea from Life After Ed (if it works for the author, cool, but it's a disempowering idea) that the "Ed" is like a separate voice in someone's head and the only solution is to give eating disorder professionals all your money forever. Oh and you don't just get one, you are supposed to maintain a relationship with a nutritionist, a therapist AND a psychiatrist... for years and years (that's like $2000 a month billed in appointments alone). Anecdotally, people find psychological and spiritual recovery in many ways. Some find support in things that are actively damaging to others (for example, some people really resonate with yoga, going vegan, religion/spirituality etc, while others find this actually fuels their eating disorder and obsessions.
Most women I met in these programs had been systematically brainwashed to act like helpless children and believe that they had no power over changing their lives, other than to depend on the therapist to inform what they were allowed to think, feel, do, say, eat and believe. Due to the possible medical danger of eating disorders, this is evil and causes deaths when some women understandably spiral and relapse after leaving the structure of the program. Some go to programs over and over again. Anti-science philosophies are pushed in these programs as well (the idea that there are "no bad foods", when other eating support programs like Eating Disorders/Overeaters Anonymous recognize the known "trigger" element of white flour and sugar to kick off the urge to binge and/or purge).
I could really go on and on, because this is a pet topic for me. I might post a book list later. Nowadays I do eat regularly and healthfully! I recovered in spite of the ED industry, not because of it. -Mod Kara
A Union Busting Chatbot? Eating Disorders Nonprofit Puts the 'AI' in Retaliation Labor Notes
A Union Busting Chatbot? Eating Disorders Nonprofit Puts the 'AI' in Retaliation
May 04, 2023 / Abbie Harper. Picured: Four members of Helpline Associates United on Zoom.
Two weeks after they voted to unionize, workers at the National Eating Disorders Association were told their jobs were being replaced by a chatbot. Photo courtesy of author
Is artificial intelligence a new union-busting tool? For the leadership at the National Eating Disorders Association, it would seem the answer is yes.
Two weeks after the Helpline Associates at the NEDA won our vote to unionize and join Communications Workers (CWA) Local 1101, NEDA interim CEO Elizabeth Thompson made a surprise announcement: the Helpline was being eliminated and replaced with a chatbot. Every newly unionized employee would be jobless as of June 1.
The National Eating Disorders Association is the largest nonprofit organization dedicated to eating disorders. Its programs and services raise awareness, build communities of support and recovery, fund research, and put essential resources into the hands of those in need. The NEDA Helpline, the organization’s only direct service arm, provides hundreds of thousands of people every year with person-to-person support via phone, online chat, and text, staffed by a small team of full-time associates with the help of hundreds of volunteers.
Three out of four of us in Helpline Associates United are former NEDA Helpline volunteers. Some of us have personally recovered from eating disorders and bring that invaluable experience to our work. All of us came to this job because of our passion for eating disorders and mental health advocacy and our desire to make a difference. Our primary responsibility as Helpline Associates is training and supervising Helpline volunteers, in addition to interacting with contacts ourselves. This includes monitoring every emergency situation that arises on the Helpline, and taking over the conversation if needed.
ONE EVERY 52 MINUTES
Thirty million people in the United States have an eating disorder, and 10,200 people a year will die as a direct result of an eating disorder; one person every 52 minutes. The Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating impact: the number of new diagnoses and the severity of symptoms experienced increase at alarming rates. Since the start of the pandemic, the Helpline has reported a 107 percent increase in contacts. Suicidal, self-harm and child protective services calls nearly tripled.
That’s why the Helpline and the humans who staff it are so important.
While NEDA has informed its staff and volunteers of their decision to end the Helpline program, they have yet to make a public announcement that they are shuttering this vital service. Unfortunately, the specifics have not been shared with us, but operations have started winding down, and it looks like service will be eliminated beginning June 1. Our Helpline volunteers, to whom this work was extremely meaningful, have been presented with other opportunities to volunteer with NEDA, including being “testers” for their chatbot replacement (Tessa, a “wellness chatbot”), but not with an opportunity to provide one-on-one peer support.
NEDA claims this was a long-anticipated change and that AI can better serve those with eating disorders. But do not be fooled—this isn’t really about a chatbot. This is about union busting, plain and simple.
RETALIATION
Prior to winning union recognition and affiliation with CWA, we petitioned NEDA management last summer for a more equitable, dignified, and psychologically safe workplace. We asked for adequate staffing and ongoing training to keep up with our changing and growing Helpline, and opportunities for promotion to grow within NEDA. We didn’t even ask for more money.
After NEDA refused to make meaningful changes, we collected a super-majority of signed authorization cards and asked for voluntary recognition of our union around Thanksgiving. When NEDA refused, we filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board and won on March 17. Then, four days after our election results were certified, all four of us were told we were being let go and replaced by a chatbot
Helpline Associates United has filed unfair labor practice charges at the National Labor Relations Board over NEDA management’s refusal to engage in good faith bargaining and their retaliation against workers looking to form a union. We plan to keep fighting. While we can think of many instances where technology could benefit us in our work on the Helpline, we’re not going to let our bosses use a chatbot to get rid of our union and our jobs. The support that comes from empathy and understanding can only come from people.
Abbie Harper is a member of Helpline Associates United.

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Developed by Hangar 13, DICE, Ripple Effect Studios, EA Gothenburg, and Criterion Games and published by EA.
Additionally former EA Black Box and Ghost Games employees who would help access game assets and code from previous NFS titles to streamline the development)
Cartel (or alternatively as “Cartel: Palm City” or "Cartel: Miami" ) would be an open world title based on the Mafia Games, the GTA games and the Saints Row games, with elements of Battlefield: Hardline thrown in with an array of weapons and vehicles based on their real life counterparts.
Gameplay wise the driving would be like Need for Speed titles, and on foot and shooting mechanics like BF: Hardline and Saints Row. Plus you can customize your cars and weapons to the same extent in BF: 2042 and some cars would allow for mounted weapons,on foot you can execute people with your equipped weapon like in The Godfather games. On foot would be an FPS view (you can change to a third person view as well) same with having an FPS view in your car.
There would an single player experience point system (like in BF Hardline single player) you gain XP from killing gangsters, and cops blowing up or capturing enemy vehicles and completing main missions, side missions and activities also there will be 15 levels to achieve with each level up unlocking new weapons, vehicles and customization for your weapons and vehicles. As well as a New Game Plus (NG+) where everything you unlocked is carried over and you can also play on the higher difficulties through NG+.
Also there would be five wanted levels for police and five vendetta levels for the gangs should you reach level five gang vendetta you start a Gang War there are three ways to stop a Gang War either bribe the feds, blow up a gang stronghold, or hide out in a safe house. Police wanted levels one and two local units would come after the player, at police wanted level two or three the state police would come after the player. At wanted level four and five the feds would come after the player. The military will only come after the player if they trespass in Fort Rockport or the Palmount Naval Shipyard
The Storyline
In Cartel: Palm City; in a different universe and timeline where there's a total prohibition of all narcotics in the United States in 2010; tells the story of Jack Rourke (the player character) a hardworking rideshare driver at day and a street racer at night who's scraping by in Palm City circa 2019. One fateful night, Jack Rourke has an inadvertent brush with the Blackwell Syndicate (mainly Carl Stoddard and that showcases a life of reward too big to ignore. As he joins the Blackwell Syndicate who are fighting for control of Palm City against five other criminal groups and take the city for the Blackwell Syndicate including recovering evidence that could not only convict the Blackwell Syndicate, as well as a network of crime lords in many countries, (including the other gang’s backers) including the Blackwell Syndicate's backers the Mob and it would also directly implicate the CIA in Palm City’s drug trade with Jack Rourke earning the nickname “El Sicario” for his efforts in driving the other gangs out of Palm City. When he learns how much the drugs were hurting the people of Palm City and all over the country as well as learning that the Blackwell Syndicate had gotten into the drug trade themselves, he contacts FBI agent Chase Linh who relays the story to her and offers the evidence and his testimony in exchange for full immunity for him and his associates, and the evidence on the computer was enough to convict everyone form all the five gangs, but also their crime lord backers from at least half a dozen countries, as well implicating the CIA in this as well as lobbying efforts to keep all narcotics prohibited, leading to a new administration repealing the Narcotics Prohibition law and legalizing low level cannabis. However six months later after the repeal of the Narcotics Prohibition Jack Rourke would be gunned down by Russian Mafia hitmen, Dimitri "Dima '' Mayakovsky and Henry "Black" Blackburn.
The Cast

• Sean Faris - Jack Rourke
• Erik Armando Alvarez - Marcus Blackwell
• Kieth David - Julian “Julius” Little
• Philip Anthony-Rodriguez - Nick Mendoza
• Kelly Hu - Khai Minh Dao
• Travis Willingham - Carl Stoddard
• Eugene Byrd - Marcus “Boomer” Boone
• Adam J. Harrington - Tyson Latchford
• Jack Derges - Tyler "Ty" Morgan
• David Ajala - Sean "Mac" McAlister
• Jessica Madsen - Jessica "Jess" Miller
• Ramon Tikaram - Ravindra "Rav" Chaudhry
• Brooke Burke - Rachel Teller
• Josie Maran - Mia Townsend
• Jonny Cruz - Lucas Rivera
• Ana Marte - Ana Rivera
• Maggie Q - FBI Agent Chase Linh
• Bentino Martinez - CIA Agent Julian Dawes
• Coolie Ranx - Benny King
• Jason Michael Zumwalt - Roman Barkov
• Michael Andrew Hollick - Niko Barkov
• Fred Tatasciore - Tony Alpert
• Josh Coxx - Frank Mercer
• Shontae Saldana - Eva Torres
• Josh Collins - Danny Shaw
• Moti Margolin - Dimitri Glebov
• Jack Yang - Chan Wu
• Graham Shiels - Leo Ray
• Mark Rolston - Neil Roark
• Dean McKenzie - Jonathan Cross
• David Rees Snell - Gregory "GMAC" MacDonald
• Heather Fox - Rose Largo
• Joshua Alba - Zack Maio
• Kurt Caceres - Hector Maio
• Lawrence B. Adisa - Brad Rogers
• Dominique Tipper - Lina Navarro
• David Palffy - Caleb Reece
• David Menkin - Hector "Ming" Domingo
• Bruce Johnson - Wes "Webster" Allen
• William Roberts - Joe "JV" Vega
• Jun-Yamazaki - Toru "Bull" Sato
• Derek Hamilton - Clarence "Razor" Callahan
• Chuck Norris - Chief Norris
• Paul Pape - Jack Keller
• Christina Hendricks - Sam Harper

List of activities

• Story Mission: Missions that advance the plot
• Side Mission: Missions that do not advance the plot but earns extra experience/money
• Street Race: Just like it is in Need for Speed, finish first.
• Combat Race: Just like Street Race, but weapon use is allowed.
• Mayhem: Cause as much destruction as possible and get the highest Cost to State score.
• Car Snatch: Steal a car from the cops or one of the four gangs and bring it to a chop shop and also unlock the car you stole for free.
• Drug/CigaWeapon Trafficking: Deliver drugs/military-grade weapons/Cuban cigars to dealers and avoid the cops and rival gangs.
• Car Delivery: Deliver a load of high-end cars to car dealers.
• Assassination: Find and kill a named character, bonus if you fulfill a special condition

Vehicles
Civilian

• Acura NSX '17, Acura RSX-S '04,
• Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio '16,
• Aston Martin DB5 '64, Aston Martin DB11 '17, Aston Martin DB11 Volante '19, Aston Martin Vulcan '16,
• Audi R8 V10 Performance '19, Audi S5 Sportback '17,
• BMW i8 Coupé '18, BMW i8 Coupé K.S. '18, BMW i8 Roadster '18, BMW M2 Competition '19, BMW M3 '06, BMW M3 '10, BMW M3 Evolution II '88, BMW M3 GTR L.E. '06, BMW M4 '18, BMW M4 Convertible '17, BMW M4 GTS '16, BMW M5 '18, BMW X6 M '16, BMW Z4 M40i '19,
• Buick Grand National '87, Buick Cascada '16
• Chevrolet Bel Air '55, Chevrolet C10 Sidestep Pickup '65, Chevrolet Camaro SS '67, Chevrolet Camaro Z28 '14, Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 '17, Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport '17, Chevrolet Corvette Z06 '13, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 '19, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (2020), Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible (2020), Chevrolet Corvette ZO6 (Cross’ ZO6)
• Dodge Challenger SRT8 '14, Dodge Charger '69, Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat ‘18
• Ferrari 458 Italia '09, Ferrari 458 Spider '11, Ferrari 488 GTB '15, Ferrari 488 Pista '19, Ferrari F40 '87, Ferrari FXX-K Evo '18, Ferrari LaFerrari '13, Ferrari Testarossa Coupé '84,
• Ford F-150 Raptor '17, Ford F-150 SVT Raptor L.E. '17, Ford Focus RS '16, Ford GT '17, Ford Mustang '65, Ford Mustang BOSS 302 '69, Ford Mustang Foxbody '90, Ford Mustang GT '15, Ford Crown Victoria ‘08
• Honda Civic Type-R '00, Honda Civic Type-R '15, Honda NSX Type-R '92, Honda S2000 '09,
• Infiniti Q60 S '17,
• Jaguar F-Type R Convertible '19, Jaguar F-Type R Coupé '16,
• Koenigsegg Regera '16 (Roman’s Regera)
• Lamborghini Aventador S '18, Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster '17, Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Coupe '19, Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster '19, Lamborghini Countach '89, Lamborghini Diablo SV '95, Lamborghini Huracán '18, Lamborghini Huracán Performante '18, Lamborghini Huracán Performante Spyder '18, Lamborghini Huracán Spyder '18, Lamborghini Murciélago SV '10, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4 '08
• Land Rover Defender 110 '15, Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR '15,
• Lotus Exige S '06,
• Mazda MX-5 '15, Mazda MX-5 '96, Mazda RX-7 Spirit R '02,
• McLaren 570S '15, McLaren 570S Spider '18, McLaren 600LT '18, McLaren F1 '93, McLaren P1 '14, McLaren P1 GTR '15
• Mercedes-AMG A 45 '16, Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé '18, Unlocked at REP LVL 18, Mercedes-AMG C 63 Coupé K.S. '18, Mercedes-AMG G 63 '17, Mercedes-AMG GT '15, Mercedes-AMG GT R '17, Mercedes-AMG GT S Roadster '19
• Mercury Cougar '67
• Mini JCW Countryman '17
• Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX '07, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X '08, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X K.S. '08
• Nissan 180SX Type X '96, Nissan 240SX '98, Nissan 350Z ‘03, Nissan 370Z ‘09, Nissan GT-R ‘07, Nissan Fairlady 240ZG '71, Nissan GT-R '17, Nissan Silvia Spec-R Aero '02, Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R '71, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec '93, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec '99, Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec '02,
• Opel Astra '09
• Pagani Huayra BC '17
• Plymouth Barracuda '70
• Polestar 1 '20
• Pontiac Firebird '77, Pontiac Firebird '99, Pontiac GTO '05, Pontiac G8 '08
• Porsche 718 Cayman GTS '18, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS '18, Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet '18, Porsche 911 Carrera RSR 2.8 '73, Porsche 911 Carrera S '97, Porsche 911 GT2 RS '18, Porsche 911 GT3 RS '19, Porsche 911 Targa 4 GTS '18, Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet Ex '18, Porsche 911 Turbo S Exclusive '18, Porsche 918 Spyder '15, Porsche Cayman GT4 '15, Porsche Panamera Turbo '17, Porsche 911 Carrera S (991) '12
• SRT Viper GTS '14
• Subaru BRZ Premium '14, Subaru Impreza WRX STI '06, Subaru Impreza WRX STI '10,
• Volkswagen Beetle '63, Volkswagen Golf GTI '76, Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport '16,
• Volvo 242 DL '75, Volvo Amazon P130 '70

Military

• Light Vehicles: M1161 ITV, VDV Buggy, LYT2021, MRAP, SPM-3, ZFB-05, Quad Bike, Dirt Bike. Desert Patrol Vehicle. Skid Loader
• Infantry Fighting Vehicles: LAV-25, BTR-90, ZBD-09, AAV-7A1. AMTRAC
• Main Battle Tanks: M1 Abrams, T-90A, Type 99 MBT, HT-95 Levkov
• Anti-Aircraft Vehicles: LAV-AD, 9K22 Tunguska-M, Type 95 AA
• Mobile Artillery: HIMARS
• Helicopters: AH-1Z Viper, Mi-28 Havoc, Z-10W, AH-6 Little Bird, Z-11W, KA-60 Kasatka, UH-1Y Venom, Z-9 Haitun
• Naval Craft: DV-15 Interceptor, RCB-90, RHIB Boat, PWC, ACV
• Emplacements: .50 Cal, M220 TOW Launcher, 9M133 Kornet Launcher, HJ-8 Launcher, Centurion C-RAM, Pantsir-S1, LD-2000 AA, Schipunov 42. Launch Pod

Weapon attachments

• Optics (Pistols): Iron Sights, Improved Iron Sights, Ghost Ring, Mini (RDS), Deltapoint (RDS), Comp M4S (1X) Magnum Scope (2x)
• Optics (Rifles): Short Range; Barska Reflex (RDS), Kobra (RDS), Coyote (RDS), EOTech Sight (1x), PKA-S (1x), HD-33 (1x), F2000 (1.6x) (F2000 only). Medium Range; M145 (3.4x), PK-A (3.4x), PRISMA (3.4x), Mark 4 HAMR (3.5x) ACOG (4x), PSO-1 (4x), JGM-4 (4x). Long Range: CL6x (6x), PKS-07 (7x), Rifle Scope (8x), Hunter (20x), Ballistic (40x), IRNV (1x), FLIR (2x)
• Accessories: Canted Iron Sights, Magnifier (2x), Variable Zoom (2x-14x), Flash Light, Tactical Light, Laser Sight, Tri Beam Laser, Green Laser Sight, LaseLight Combo, Range Finder, Target Detector, Stabilizer.
• Barrel: Standard Barrel, Heavy Barrel, Light Barrel
• Muzzle (ARs/Carbines, DMRs, LMGs, PDWs, and Sidearms): Muzzle Brake, Compensator, Suppressor, Flash Hider, Flash Enhancer.
• Muzzle (shotgun): Duckbill, Full Choke, Modified Choke
• Underbarrel: Underslung Rail (M320, GP-30, M26 MASS), Bipod, Ergo Grip, Angled Grip, Stubby Grip, Vertical Grip, Folding Grip, Potato Grip
• Auxiliary: Straight Pull Bolt, Bipod
• Ammunition: Shotshells, 12 Gauge Buckshot, 12 Gauge Dart, 12 Gauge Frag, 12 Gauge Slug

40mm Grenades, 40mm HE, 40mm Incendiary, 40mm CS, 40mm Dart, 40mm Flashbang, 40mm LVG, 40mm Smoke, 40mm 3GL.

• 25mm Grenades - 25mm Airburst, 25mm Dart, 25mm Smoke.
• Arrows - Broadhead Arrow, Bullet Point Arrow, Explosive Tipped Arrow (Tek Arrows), Poison Arrow

Weapon list
Key: Base weapon (special variant)

• Melee Weapons: Blunt Weapons, Knives, Collapsible Baton, Machete (L.S 16 Machete), Breaching Hammer, Sledge Hammer, Axe, Inquisition Sword, Shovel, Bayonet, ACB-90, Shank, Machete, Bowie, Carbon Fiber, Scout, Survival, Trench, Boot, SEAL, Dive, Tactical, BJ-2, Precision, Baseball Bat, 2x4, Lead Pipe
• Light Pistols; P226, M9, QSZ-92, MP443, G17 (Street Racer Special), FN57. Machine Pistols; CZ-75. G18, TEC-9, MAC-10, MP9, 93R.
• Heavy Pistols: M1911, Compact 45, SW40, DEagle .38, DEagle .357, DEagle .44, DEagle .50, DEagle .501, DEagle .700, 45T (Mercer’s 45T), .40
• Revolvers; Unica 6 .38, Unica 6 .357, Unica 6 .44, Unica 6 .50, Unica 6 .501, Unica 6 .700, .38 Snub, .38 Special, .357 RS, MP412 REX, .44 Magnum (.44 Magnum Force), .501 Magnum Enforcer, .700 Magnum
• Short Rifles/Shotguns; Mare's Leg, Lupara, Shorty 12G (Modern Lupara)
• Personal Defense Weapons/SMGs: MP5, MX4, PP-2000, UMP-45, CBJ-MS, PDW-R, CZ-3A1, JS2, P90, UMP-9, MP7 (Combine MP7) , AS VAL, SR-2, MPX, Groza-4, K10 (Dillinger II), M1A1, M1928 (Dillinger), MP5SD
• Shotguns: QBS-09, 870 MCS, M1014, Hawk 12G, Saiga 12K, SPAS-12, UTS-15, DBV-12, DAO-12, USAS-12, AA-12, 870P Magnum, 37 Stakeout (Cross’ 37 Stakeout), Double-Barrel Shotgun, KSG12, M26 MASS
• Carbines: AK5C, ACW-R, SG553, AKU-12, A-91, ACE 52 CQB, G36C, M4, ACE 21 CQB, Type-95B-1, MTAR-21, Phantom, Groza-1, RO933, AKS-74U, CAR-556, ACWR.
• Assault Rifles: AK-12 (Shovak AK-12), SCAR-L, SCAR-H, M416, SAR-21, AEK-971 (Russian Dillinger), FAMAS, AUG A3, CZ-805, QBZ-95-1, ACE 23, L85A2, F2000 (SC-20K), ARX-160, Bulldog, AN-94, M16A3, M16A4, AKM, L85A2, ARM, MDC, SAR-21, AUG A3, HCAR, SA-58 OSW, HK51, FN FAL, SG510.
• Light Machine Guns: U-100 MK5 (Modern Dillinger), Type 88 LMG, LSAT, PKP Pecheneg, QBB-95-1, M240B, MG4, M249, M60-E4 (M60-ULT), AWS, L86A2, RPK, RPK-74, RPK-12,
• Designated Marksman Rifles: RFB, Mk11 Mod 0, SKS, SVD-12, QBU-88, M39 EMR, ACE 53 SV, SCAR-H SV, M39 EMR
• Sniper Rifles: R700PPS, TRG-42P, CS-LR4, M40A5, Scout Elite, SV-98, JNG-90, 338-Recon, M98B, SRR-61, FY-JS, Dragunov SVD, L115, GOL Magnum, SR338, CS5, .300 Knockout, M200 Intervention, M82A3 .416, M82A3 .50, M82A3 .501, M82A3 .700, M82A3 .900, M82A3 20mm Vulcan, AMR-2 .416, AMR-2 .50, AMR-2 .501, AMR-2 .700, AMR-2 .900 AMR-2 20mm Vulcan, HVM-II, M136 CS, Vidhwansak, Rorsch Mk-1, Rorsch Mk-4, 20mm Vulcan Grenares: M67 Frag, V40 Mini, RGO Impact, M34 Incendiary, M18 Smoke, M84 Flashbang, Hand Flare, CS Gas Grenade, Molotov, AA Mine, AT Mine, SLAM, C4 Explosive, M18 Claymore
• Launchers: M32 MGL, M203, M320, GP-30, M26 MASS, RPG,MBT LAW, FIM-92 Stinger, RPG-7V2, SA-18 Igla, Mk153 SMAW, FGM-148 Javelin, FGM-172 SRAW, XM-25
• Gadgets: Defibrillator, First Aid Pack, Medic Bag, Repair Tool, Ammo Box, Ammo Pack, M224 Mortar, MP-APS, XM25, UCAV, Ballistic Shield, MAV, Motion Sensor, PLD, Radio Beacon, SOFLAM, T-UGS, SUAV, RAWR M240B, RAWR M203, XD-1 Accipiter

Other: Nail Gun
Mission Structure
Prolog (2019)

1. The Birth of Art - After winning a big race, Jack Rourke collects the winnings at the Palm City Historical Museum
2. An Offer you Can't Refuse - Jack Rourke must evade Volk sicarios with Tyson Lachford and Carl Stoddard members of the Blackwell Syndicate
3. Race Day - After the events of the last mission, Jack Rourke partakes in a race day event and wins three events with his Porsche 911 Carrera S (991) '12
4. Running Man - Volk sicarios Niko and Dimitri crashes the race day and Jack must get to the Blackwell Garage

Chapter 1 (2019-2021)

1. M34 Party - Jack Rourke joins the Blackwell Syndicate and gets acquainted with everyone before going with Tyson in a Pontiac GTO '05 to burn the Volk's cars with M34 Incendiary Grenades as well as stealing GMAC's Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4
2. Standard Routine - Jack Rourke rolls with Tyson, Stoddard and Jonathan Cross to collect protection money but things go south when they collect from a hotel out of town and Jack Rourke chases after the hotel owner in Cross' car.
3. Fair Play - Jack Rourke is tasked with stealing Ryan Cooper's Nissan 240SX and sabotaging it on the eve of the biggest Speedhunter race of the year, the SpeedHunter Championship Finals and in a last minute swap Jack Rourke has to race in place of Tyler Morgan
4. Mia Townsend - Jack Rourke is tasked with taking Mia Townsend out for a night at the city... until a gang of Wraith street racers led by Caleb Reece hassles her and Jack Rourke takes them on in a fight
5. Get Used To It - After the events of the previous mission Jack Rourke and Tyson Latchford are sent to teach the Wraiths a lesson But Caleb Reece makes it serious and Caleb Reece is wound up being killed by Tyson after a chase around the city alongside Danny Shaw.
6. The Saint and The Sinner - It's revealed thtat Caleb Reece was Chief Norris' best friend, and Danny Shaw survives the crash however Stoddard would handle Shaw as Jack Rourke is tasked with infiltrating the Elmore Plaza Hotel and has to kill the manager, Nikki Morris and bomb the hotel before escaping to a funeral and confronts, Danny Shaw and Frank Mercer who are also in attendance. Jack Rourke kills Shaw and nearly kills Frank as well. But Frank tasers Rourke and escapes. It would be revealed that some of the Volk sicarios recognized Sotddard and had to deal with them, then the two escaped in a hearse.

Chapter 2 (2021)

1. A Trip to the Countryside - In order to get a large supply of cannabis from Mexico, Jack Rourke takes a team to retrieve the Mexican from Mexican smugglers only to be ambushed by Los Zetas L.S 16 and Volk sicarios, then it's revealed that Roman had paid off the FBI to go after Rourke and his teammates then they came off with the cannabis killing their pursuers in the process.
2. Code of Silence - The evidence that Tyson and Stoddard had ripped from the Volk had fallen in the hands of Hector Maio who cut a deal with the FBI, total immunity for the evidence and Jack Rouke is tasked with killing him and retrieving the evidence
3. Visiting Rich People - Jack Rourke is tasked with sabotaging a federal proscutor's case against The Mob, the Blackwell Syndicate's backers as well as killing the federal prosecutor in charge of the case.
4. Visiting Powerful People - Jack Rourke is tasked with meeting and protecting a powerful member of Palm City's elite, the owner of Prefered Outcomes Julian Daws... though he more than meets the eyes of Jack Rourke
5. Agent Dawes - Julian Daws is revealed to be a CIA agent who is tasked with keeping the flow of drugs to Jack's surprise and that he is backing the Blackwell Syndicate through Prefered Outcomes.
6. The Drug Trade - Julian Daws walks Jack Rourke through Palm City's drug trade and how the illicit street racing scene is used as a cover to smuggle drugs.
7. Great Deal - Tyson Lachford scores a major deal with a drug farm in Georgia who promises to supply them with large amounts of drugs in exchange for access to databases concerning highway patrol routes; however when the deal goes down at a parking garage, the Volk and L.S 16 ambush them.
8. Bon Appetit - Jack Rourke drives Eva Torrez, Marcus Blackwell and Julian Daws to the rebuilt Elmore Plaza Hotel for brunch only for Niko and Dimirti with a Volk hit squad to blast the entire lobby with gunfire and C4 explosives, Jack Rourke vaults over with Eva Torrez, Marcus Blackwell and Julian Daws, there Jack Rourke and Eva Torrez rush out through the side entrance and confronts the hit squad with Jack Rourke killing both Niko and Dimirti. However Blackwell wants Jack to confront Jonathan Cross at a doughnut store and reveals that the Volk threatened to turn him over to IAD and is chased throughout the city with Marcus Blackwell putting Cross on permanent retirement by killing him with a Lupara.

Chapter 3 (Finishing the other gangs and downfall of Jack Rourke) (late 2021)

1. Happy Anniversary - Jack Rourke is tasked with completing a contract hit against Frank Mercer at the fifth anniversary of the formation of the High-Speed Task Force by firing a sniper rifle stashed in a bathroom
2. You Lucky Bastard - After a failed attempt to kill Razor; Roman's personal driver and #2 of the Volk, Jack Rourke is given the contract to kill Razor, first by car bomb but ends up killing Deputy Chief Jack Keller. instead of Razor. Jack Rourke, Tyson and Stoddard would later find Razer at a Burger King. In this Rourke can choose to kill or spare Razor. Rourke would spare him after he tells him that the CIA is deeper in Palm City's drug trade than Jack Rourke is led to believe
3. Creme de la Creme - Marcus Blackwell plans to kill Roman, Niko, Demintri and Chan Wu in front of the city's Creme de la Creme, the mayor, the police chief, the FBI director and even the city's richest elite. However things go south and Jack Rourke chases Roman and Niko at the airport where they get to a private jet but is shot down and crash lands on the Cross Mermeroral Bridge Chan Wu is still alive and Jack Rourke executes him and leaves before the cops show up.
4. Plugging the Chief - After the events of Creme de la Creme; Chief Norris places to take on the Blackwell Syndicate and to dismantle them, and a contract hit is placed on him where Jack Rourke accepts the contract and kills Chief Norris.
5. Election Campaign - The State Governor had launched his reelection bid with the promise get tough on the cartels that had plagued Palm City and like Chief Norris has a contract hit out on him which Jack Rourke is tasked with taking, using a sniper rifle
6. Just for Relaxation - Marcus Blackwell tells Jack Rourke about a shipment of Cuban cigars as well as a hidden shipment of diamonds (hot ice) straight from Africa however and Jack Rourke takes a crew to retrieve the shipment from federal customs however it's revealed that instead of diamonds it's Cold Shot... the same drug being pushed by the other gangs.
7. The Truth - Jack Rourke and Kahi Minh Dao eavesdrop on Marcus Blackwell and Julain Daws and they learn the truth.
8. Moonlighting - Jack Rourke after knowing about the truth takes Tyson to rob the Palm CIty First National in order to retire from the sicario lifestyle and gets into a massive shootout with the PCPD Heat-style.
9. The Death of Art - After the heist of Palm City First National Jack Rourke finds Tyson dead and meets Stoddard at the museum only to find out that Stoddard knew about the heist, and used his share of the drug money and clout at Prefered Outcomes to buy out The7 as his personal hit squad, however Jack Rourke manages to kill every member of The7 but spares Stoddard (the player can also kill him but canonically Jack Rourke spares him)

Epilogue (2022)
After the trial and the repeal of the Jack Rurke is placed in the Witness Protection Program in Lakeshore City but six months later after the repeal of the Narcotics Prohibition Jack Rourke would be gunned down by members of the West Side Club, Dimitri "Dima" Mayakovsky and Henry "Black" Blackburn.
The Gangs of Palm City
L.S 16 (Los Salmos 16) - Also known as The Salmos. Backed by the most powerful Mexican drug lords and the most powerful arms traffickers in the world, L.S 16 once ruled all of Palm City In fear until The House stepped in. They’re also the strongest gang in the game with access to military grade weapons and vehicles and each gang kill from them awards 500-1,500 XP depending on the enemy type. They are led by Neil Roark.
The House - The House is a gambling gang with strong ties and backed by the Sicilian Mafia; they run the street scene and the casinos in Palm City. They’re pretty strong but weaker than L.S 16, and they have access to military grade weapons and vehicles each gang kills from them awards 250-800 XP depending on the enemy type. Headed by Lina Navarro.
The Volk - The Volk is a Chinese-Russian gang led by Roman Barkov with Niko Barkov as their enforcer backed by the Triads (Chan Wu), the Russian Mob (Dimitri Glebov), and GMAC's crew (Gregory "GMAC" MacDonald, Rose Largo) for cars who control the weapon smuggling and arms dealing in Palm City. With this backing and access to military grade weapons. They are a mid tier gang and each gang kill from them awards 200-600 XP depending on the enemy type. They are also the ones who go after the Blackwell Syndicate the most.
Palm Kings - The Palm Kings (PKs) is a Black gang made up of Black nationalists who controls Palm Harbor’s rackets and extorts store owners. Led by Benny King, they’re equipped with police-grade weaponry and has strong ties with the PCPD despite this, they are the second weakest gang in the game and each gang kill from them awards 150-500 XP depending if it's a regular to elite
Dixie Paladins - The Dixie Paladins are a white supremacy gang and a militarized version of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) who controls the Gold Coast Mountains in the mountainous regions of Palm City. they’re the weakest gang in the game and each gang kill from them awards 100-250 XP from regular to elite members. They are led by Tony Alpert
Blackwell Syndicate - The Blackwell Syndicate is a underground criminal organization based in Palm City and is led by Marcus Blackwell with Julian “Julius” Little as underboss, Hector Maio before "Code of Silence" and Zack Maio after "Code of Silence". Nick Mendoza. Khai Minh Dao and Carl Stoddard are caporegimes and Tyson Latchford, Tyler "Ty" Morgan, Sean "Mac" McAlister, Jessica "Jess" Miller as soldiers. Other members include Ravindra "Rav" Chaudhry as the gang's car expert Rachel Teller as the gang's customization expert, Marcus “Boomer” Boone as the gang's weapon experts. The Blackwell Syndicate would be the gang that the player would join. In Act 1, they're an outside and fast tracked to soldier, but in Act 2 the player would be a capo until the end of the game. They are secretly backed by both The Mob and the CIA through Agent Dawes. Jonathan Cross and Mia Townsend are also on the gang's payroll until "Bon Appetit" where Marcus Blackwell executes him with a 870P Magnum to the head. Also Mia would also go with Jack Rourke as well
The police/military force
PCPD - the police force of Palm City/Miami if the player does hostile acts (killing civilians, firing unsuppressed weapons in public, etc) will attract police attention and each kill from them awards 50 XP for regular members and 100 XP for armored members, However the player can bribe the PCPD to look the other way or will even help the player fight the other gangs but would be the target of higher level police forces. (Sort of like it was in The Godfather game) The player can also buy favors from them as well. Also they’ll deploy stronger units at higher heat level alongside the FBI. The cars PCPD drives are the Ford Crown Victoria, Dodge Challenger, Pontiac GTO, and the Chevy Grand Sport
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) - The state police force and Only appears in wanted levels 3 and above, Each kill from them awards 75 XP for regular state troopers and 150 XP for tactical state troopers. Regular state troopers drives Ford Mustang GTs tactical state troopers drives Nissan GT-R
FBI - Only appears in wanted level 5 the FBI will be called in if the player continues to retaliate against the PCPD. Each kill from them awards 125 XP for regular agents, 250 XP for FBI SWAT and 375 XP for FBI HRT, Like the PCPD the player can bribe the FBI to look the other way, or even help the player fight gangs, or the PCPD but at the second highest price. The FBI also has the second widest array of favors the player can buy. regular agents drives the Nissan 350Z or Porsche 911 GT3 RS, FBI SWAT drives the - Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster or Ford F-150 SVT Raptor L.E. and FBI HRT drives the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X or Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR
Military - Only goes after the player if they trespass in Fort Rockport or the Palmount Naval Shipyard. Each kill from them awards 200 XP for regs, 400 XP for experienced troops and 600 XP for elite troops. Like the PCPD, State Police and the FBI, the player can bribe the military to look the other way, or even help the player fight gangs, the PCPD, State Police or even the FBI but at the highest price and The military also has the widest array of favors the player can buy in large part due to Agent Dawes’ connections in Washington.
Multiplayer portion of the game would take place during the five cartels war where the Blackwell Syndicate, The Volk, Palm Kings, Dixie Paldines, Los Salmos 16, and The House (basically where Jack Rourke glosses over saying "It was non-stop chaos for weeks")
Also there would be a free ride mode where the player can explore the city at their leisure or pick a fight with either other cartels or the cops.

**plan was to apply to as many t20-t25s in hopes of getting into at least one. didn’t rlly work out! committed to Tulane; but wasn’t truly happy. scroll to see the happy ending!!!!”
Demographics: White, female, Jewish, NY public school with about 1000 students (fairly diverse ethnic background, neither parents born in the US)
Hook: First generation
Intended major: Biology
ACT: 34 composite. (35 Science, 32, math, 33, reading, 35 english)
W GPA and Rank: 4.5 weighted GPA, no unweighted, top 10% of class
Coursework:
AP Euro, AP Seminar, APUSH, AP Lang, AP Lit, AP Comparative Gov, AP Biology, AP Statistics College Anatomy, College International Business, College Spanish
All other classes were honors where offered.
Awards:
RIT Computing Medal Seal of biliteracy for Spanish All-county art award Certificate for pre-calc from my school A few certificates of determination and effort from my school Silver, bronze and honorable mention in the national Spanish exam
ECs:
Head editor of the tech section for my schools newspaper, as well as secretary Business Honor Society, Science Honor Society, National Honor Society, Foreign Language Honor Society (secretary) Volunteer lifeguard Tutoring in my community 100+ hours of community service Self taught guitarist All womens robotics team Varsity soccer team manager Student I.T. leader (help students who struggle with technology) Camp counselor during the summer Small random ones
Essays: Given that my extracurriculars were kind of all over the place, I worked really hard on them. Spoke a lot about my interests in Biology and struggles I faced as a woman in STEM and in my religion. I also had an adviser who helped me out a bunch.
LORs: They were all good I would say, one sticks out because supposedly the teacher is very good at writing letters (she was my teachers for two years, adviser for a club)
Rejections:
WashU Vanderbilt NYU Emory UPenn
Waitlists: Cornell Boston University Northeastern UVA George Washington University UofMichigan
Acceptances: Tulane University (originally committed) UMD Penn State Ohio State Binghamton Stony Brook UDel UIUC
Final decision: TAKEN OFF OF UMICH WAITLIST AND COMMITTED!!! YAYYY GO BLUEEE

How’s it going!? I’m a 31-year-old, 6’1” tall, light-skinned Black guy living outside the Atlanta, GA area, looking for and hoping to find a woman to date long-term! I’m ideally looking for someone who is open to a serious relationship (of course with time after getting to know one another and dating) eventually if things go well and connect between us. More on that below but a bit about me first.

About Me:

• I’m agnostic, liberal (Covid vaxxed/boosted, BLM, LGBTQIA+, women's rights, etc.), single and monogamous, childfree (I have no kids and never want any - looking for that D.I.N.K. lifestyle - Dual Income, No Kids), not a smoker, and a rare drinker.
• I'm a chill, laid-back, mild-mannered, inquisitive, easy-going introvert with mostly "chill" hobbies.
• Cosplay - I cosplay and attend local anime/comic conventions. Recent cosplay photos here and past photos here. I don't consider myself an anime or manga nerd anymore, but cosplay has pretty much been my thing for a while.
• Books/Writing - Occasionally, I read from my book collection, do some creative writing and journaling, and complete word searches and crossword puzzles. I’m also a big fan of Game Show network shows.
• Art – I collect a variety of art posters, prints, and other wall art.
• Movies - Horror, thriller, and (crime) dramas are my go-to genres.
• Gaming – Casually, I play video games on my Xbox Series S and Switch.
• Wrestling – Semi-casually, I watch pro/indy wrestling shows, docuseries, and biographies.
• Recreational Athlete - I enjoy activities like bowling, swimming, playing billiards/pool, mini golf, air hockey, laser tag, and go-kart racing. Would love to have a plus one/player 2/rival in any of these!

About You and What I’m Looking for:

• A woman aged between 24 - 40 (trans/non-binary women are welcome too.)
• Is childfree, monogamous, politically liberal, and non-religious. These are non-negotiable.
• Is communicative, supportive, adventurous, and considerate.
• Shares a few similar interests with me. I’m not expecting us to have every single thing in common as separate interests are fine, but having a few similar hobbies is welcome.
• Either located in or near the state of Georgia. I’m not opposed to long-distance (within the USA) but do want an in-person connection.
• Has individual hobbies and is open to participating in activities together.

If you like what you read, fit what I’m looking for, and think that we could be a match for each other, go ahead and send me a DM or chat message!
Please shoot me a selfie or photo of you and a short bio when you message me.
How about we go out for coffee, ramen, a game of mini-golf, or explore a convention together?

How’s it going!? I’m a 31-year-old, 6’1” tall, light-skinned Black guy living outside the Atlanta, GA area, looking for and hoping to find a woman to date long-term! I’m ideally looking for someone who is open to a serious relationship (of course with time after getting to know one another and dating) eventually if things go well and connect between us. More on that below but a bit about me first.

About Me:

• I’m agnostic, liberal (Covid vaxxed/boosted, BLM, LGBTQIA+, women's rights, etc.), single and monogamous, childfree (I have no kids and never want any - looking for that D.I.N.K. lifestyle - Dual Income, No Kids), not a smoker, and a rare drinker.
• I'm a chill, laid-back, mild-mannered, inquisitive, easy-going introvert with mostly "chill" hobbies.
• Cosplay - I cosplay and attend local anime/comic conventions. Recent cosplay photos here and past photos here. I don't consider myself an anime or manga nerd anymore, but cosplay has pretty much been my thing for a while.
• Books/Writing - Occasionally, I read from my book collection, do some creative writing and journaling, and complete word searches and crossword puzzles. I’m also a big fan of Game Show network shows.
• Art – I collect a variety of art posters, prints, and other wall art.
• Movies - Horror, thriller, and (crime) dramas are my go-to genres.
• Gaming – Casually, I play video games on my Xbox Series S and Switch.
• Wrestling – Semi-casually, I watch pro/indy wrestling shows, docuseries, and biographies.
• Recreational Athlete - I enjoy activities like bowling, swimming, playing billiards/pool, mini golf, air hockey, laser tag, and go-kart racing. Would love to have a plus one/player 2/rival in any of these!

About You and What I’m Looking for:

• A woman aged between 24 - 40 (trans/non-binary women are welcome too.)
• Is childfree, monogamous, politically liberal, and non-religious. These are non-negotiable.
• Is communicative, supportive, adventurous, and considerate.
• Shares a few similar interests with me. I’m not expecting us to have every single thing in common as separate interests are fine, but having a few similar hobbies is welcome.
• Either located in or near the state of Georgia. I’m not opposed to long-distance (within the USA) but do want an in-person connection.
• Has individual hobbies and is open to participating in activities together.

If you like what you read, fit what I’m looking for, and think that we could be a match for each other, go ahead and send me a DM or chat message!
Please shoot me a selfie or photo of you and a short bio when you message me.
How about we go out for coffee, ramen, a game of mini-golf, or explore a convention together?

Dear Professor Peterson,
I realize that your schedule probably won’t allow you to read this letter, least to reply. I am not expecting either of these and will not be offended. Why do I write it, then? Well, most probably because in the past several years you have been for me the voice of reason from abroad. Too many things are going in a crazy and disastrous direction, and listening to your lectures and videos have been very inspiring. It always amazes me how deeply you investigate the problem and how thoroughly you analyze it. In many cases listening to what you say have been like hearing what I always felt was true, but could not formulate and justify it myself. Thank you for that experience.
During the past year, which not only attracted the whole world’s attention to a conflict in Ukraine (at last, I’d say, war started there in 2014), but also demonstrated the unwillingness of countries and people to hear each other, I felt the growing urge to share Russian understanding of current situation and of the events that lead to it with someone who could probably be able to hear. Your name was the first to come to my mind. I hesitated until some time ago I came across the interview that you have recorded – “Israel, Russia, China, Iran: The World in Conflict” and it actually triggered me into writing. It occurred to me that, objective as you are, you may be unaware of some facts and interpretations, partly because modern media have mastered the art of being silent about some facts while shouting about the others, partly because you were born and raised in Anglo-Saxon civilization, with all embedded ideas and principles.
A bit about my background. Master’s degree in English language and literature, spent one year as a student in Connecticut, worked in American-owned companies for 17 years. That allows me to a certain degree to understand both sets of values.
I wanted to offer for your attention the view from the other side on what’s happening now between Russia and Western European civilization. I don't say that it is correct, I just say how Russians see it.
Very briefly, just point by point:

• Currently many people in the West are speaking about Russia as about a threat. But what makes you think that we see you differently? We see you as a growing threat. We don’t trust you. And we have plenty of reason for feeling this way.
• We see the West is regularly breaking its own rules and demonstrating double standards, so we can’t rely on its words.
• It has been clearly shown to us, that we will never be accepted by the West as an equal partner, so to us the West is neither a friend, nor a partner, but a competitor at best, an enemy at worst.
• We have seen what the West does to regimes that don’t obey and how the West does it, so West is a serious threat. Don’t come any closer.

3 basic principles of western foreign policy
Looking at the international events of past 30-40 years, we may see 3 basic principles of international policy that the West is utilizing.

1. Democracy is the best possible society model.

Hard to argue – there is the strongest correlation between availability of human rights in society and its prosperity. Let’s accept it as it is, although it is much more complicated and there are other factors that should be taken into account, like, for example:

• Pure democracy is limited to small communities, and is impossible in big countries. Once a certain threshold is passed, democracy is either a burden to every decision made, or is executed via representatives. And representatives, being people with all their imperfections, gradually start spoiling and corrupting the idea.
• Democracy tends to evolve, or, I’d rather say, degrade into oligarchy. Examples are numerous. Ancient Greece and Rome, Novgorod Republic (XII-XV cc), medieval Poland, etc. Even now – with all our experience, we keep hitting the same wall. Legal practice of lobbying in USA is the desire of big money (oligarchs) to have more influence on country policy. In Russia lobbying is illegal, so the same goal is achieved by other means, but without digging deep into details, it is the same – democratic form of power, spoiled by natural human desire to grab more for oneself on the expense of others.
• The most prosperous regions now (North America, Western Europe, Scandinavia, New Zealand, Australia) are the ones where capitalism appeared and developed earlier than in other parts of the world. That boosted production, country strength and wealth and eventually allowed them to have colonies in other parts of the world. Owning some overseas land gave enormous economic advantages. Remember “British East India Company”, which at its peak of wealth had an army of 160 thousand soldiers (more than some counties had!). The importance of having colonies can be best illustrated by the simple fact – one of the core reasons of the WW I was the desire of Germany, who was late to the table, to have its share of a pie. And even though political power of metropolises over colonies seized in mid-XXth century, economic bounds stayed much longer. If, let’s say, a uranium mine in Uganda belongs to French company, then which country benefits more from it? And to what extent the modern wealth of Europe and North America is due to other parts of the world?
• I doubt that democracy and human rights priority are possible in every country of the world. This idea just occurred to me, so I did not dig deep into finding the proof, but mentality (to put it narrower – religion) could prevent the society from accepting ideas that are just natural for another society. There are some facts I immediately recall that support this idea.

a) Majority of Noble prize winners are from protestant countries. Disproportional majority if you look at country population or wealth or other factors. Why? Maybe because Protestantism urges its followers to read the Bible on their own, whereas in Catholicism you study Bible under the priest’s guidance. Encouragement for independent research must have some effect.
b) After the ancient Rome fell, and Europe lived through the Dark Ages, Arabian countries preserved much of knowledge and science. At that time Arabian East was much more cultural and civilized than Europe. What happened to them later, why they stopped developing science, how could Europe overtake them? One of the explanations is that at some point of time Muslim theologians declared that “Koran has everything”, so scientific research stopped. The legend says that under this slogan the Library of Alexandria has been burnt by Arabian conquerors.
c) There is an interesting correlation between the agricultural conditions in a certain territory and some national traits of character. That’s more than a coincidence. For example, wheat was the main crop in Europe. It doesn’t require any special irrigation, so you can well grow and harvest it alone. That means you are less dependent on other people. Hence smaller states (Germany before mid-XIX century consisted of dozens independent states), hence more independent opinions. Compare it to China. Rice requires serious irrigation works, you’ll never do it alone. In order to harvest rice, you need to organize a fairly large group of people to do a job together. And as the population grows, you need to perform those works at a larger scale, also because the easiest-to-work fields are already busy. As a result, we see that Chinese value the society more than they value an individual. A single person sacrificing his wishes for the good of the others is more acceptable for them than for Europeans.
This idea needs further thinking but it is quite possible that the liberalism and human rights developed in Western Europe to the extent we see due to a unique combination of religion, natural conditions and other factors. And it can’t be copied in other parts of the world. It can be brought to other parts of the world by immigration of people with European mentality, of course. But otherwise it can be done only by complete mentality change of local inhabitants. Not an easy task, could take generations and mean death of local culture.

1. All people are seeking freedom and democracy, so it is our duty to help them achieve this goal. If some part of the society resists this help, it is the tyrannical part and it should be eliminated.

Yeah, really. Take up the White Man's burden… This idea is not dead yet, with all its prejudices.
In some part such understanding is based on the theory that appeared in history (history as a science!) in the UK in 18th century. This theory states that the process of human society development over time is a) linear and b) goes through the same stages in every society of the planet. One of the consequences of this theory was the statement that every society started from matriarchate – researchers came across some primitive society, ruled by women, and made their conclusion. This theory has long been proved wrong, but its influence is still alive.
Even if we accept that all countries, all societies are aiming at maximizing human rights, how justified will interference be? Good intentions are the pathway to hell. How long it took Anglo-Saxon civilization to reach modern state of human rights? Setting the Magna Carts as the starting point, it is a bit over 800 years, roughly 30 generations. Looking at the world history, we see how slowly societies change their organizational forms, evolving one into another. And you can’t forcefully speed it up. Imagine that our modern “crusaders of democracy” take time machine and show up at Hastings early in the morning on October 14th, 1066. “William, Harold, there is no need to fight. You need to run democratic elections, and everything will be ok…” Will they even understand the idea??? And what will happen the next day after they are left alone?
You have shown significant interest in Russian culture. If you care spending some more time on Russian books, I’d recommend you brothers Strugatsky (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arkady_and_Boris_Strugatsky). The form of what they have written is science fiction, but the contents is all about ethics, morale, responsibility, conscience. Try «Escape Attempt», «Hard to be a God», «Overburdened with Evil».
Why I am mentioning them now is because among others they are exploring the topic of “progressors” – people from Earth of XXII century who try to speed up the history of other planets, to solve their problems, stop wars, etc. And it doesn’t end well. As one of their heroes says, “You can’t break up the natural course of history without breaking the spine of humanity.”
It’s hard to find examples of good revolutions when they are initiated from abroad. Change of regime should be supported by majority within the country – it is the guarantee that society is ready for it. What Anglo-Saxons and NATO frequently do is supporting the angry minority in its aspirations for power. And instead of peace, freedom and prosperity it brings chaos. The classic example is Libya. Over 10 years ago the country was “spared of Gaddafi’s tyrannical rule”… How do they live now? The GDP is still around 50% of what it used to be, the country is still not at peace, there are two major forces each claiming to be the legal power. How many lives it did cost already and how much time it will take free Libya to recover? Can such liberation be called anything but a disservice? In Russia we call it “bear’s help”. I don’t say that everything was good in the country when Gaddafi was alive, but aren’t they in the worse situation now?
The whole series of Arabian spring looks like a great mess, not a great success. I rely on the opinion of an expert – below is the brief translation of an article published in 2015-2016 by Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli scholar of Arab culture and a lecturer at Bar-Ilan University. I can’t find the original, unfortunately.
December 2015 was the fifth anniversary of the events known as an ‘Arabian spring’. The world applauded the heroes of the streets in Tunis, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain. Now, five years ago, those countries are still battlefields, with no light ahead. What problems have prevented them from positive development? Most of them have developed over centuries and they still prevail in mentality, remaining the dangerous rudiment.

1. Tribalism*, that was always a survival factor in harsh natural conditions of the region. Now the conditions are different but mentality is still the same, when each person thinks of himself as a member of the clan first (family, tribe, tape, whatever…), not the citizen of the country.*
2. Violence*. Resources are scarce, so anyone who is not the member of my clan, is a deadly threat. And the first reaction to a threat is violence.*
3. Honour*, understood very specifically. Dishonoured person will seek revenge. It is not uncommon for a person to kill members of his own family if they dishonoured him. Honour is of primary importance in relations between countries and nations, sometimes more important than economics and healthcare.*
4. Nepotism*, which has its roots in tribalism. Promoting your relatives to administrative positions is illegal in the West, but is part of normal practice in the East.*
5. Corruption*. An office holder will invest in projects and regions where his tribe and supporters live, not otherwise. He feels financially responsible to his family, not to the country.*
6. Multiple ethnic groups*, which protect their own languages and traditions. Marriages outside of a group are rare, coexistence with other groups is tense and hostile.*
7. Islam*. Islamic extremists are sure that people who believe otherwise, are deserved to be killed.*
8. Sunnites vs*.* shiites*. This conflict started back in 7th century as a conflict for control over Islam. Non-Islamic people see them analogous to Catholicism vs. Orthodox church, but in reality now, after centuries of religious wars, these are two separate religions, and the dialogue between them is very difficult.*
9. Predominant culture*. Three main groups are Bedouins who live in deserts, fellahs who are the peasants, and inhabitants of the cities. Each group thinks stereotypically of other two, cross-marriages are rare.*
10. Country borders*. British, French and Italian administration have been drawn the borders straight, just by a ruler and a pencil, paying no attention to the real borders between various groups which differ by religion and ethnicity. People who never thought about themselves as about having anything in common, are now the citizens of one country. And they don’t feel it this way.*
11. Power change*. This is something which never happens peacefully in Arabic countries. The ethnic or religious group at power holds to it by all means.*
12. Israel*. Arabs and Muslims don’t acknowledge Judaism as a live religion, Jewish people as a people. So for them the very existence of Israel is illegal. Plus Israel is very convenient as an external enemy, a good target for the aggression of the masses.*
13. Oil has turned the countries of the Gulf into societies which don’t produce, but do consume without limits. The difference between wealth of the Gulf and poverty of other Arabian countries is shocking.
14. West that interferes into the region to solve its own problems. Oil, gas, weapons – all is targeted to use natural resources of Middle East.
15. Al Jazeera as a catalyst of social and religious unrest.

Throughout the XX-th century Europe tries to solve myriads of cultural problems of the Middle East, trying to create modern Arabic states that will fit Europe’s needs. The brightest example of Western misunderstanding of the East is the belief that Middle east can easily adopt democracy. Western democracy is based on western culture with equality of religious and social groups, minority rights, freedom of speech and opinions. Add to it religious freedom and free elections and you will get the list that is absolutely alien to Middle East.
Here’s an article by the same author on the same topic – https://fathomjournal.org/why-we-keep-getting-the-middle-east-wrong/
Here’s an interview with him – https://chicagopolicyreview.org/2015/07/28/americans-still-dont-understand-the-middle-east-this-man-wants-to-help/
In one of your interviews you discussed the competition between China and the US for influence in Africa. And your opinion was that China wins due to corruption of local elites. Let me offer another reason for your consideration. It is the same reason that allows Russia to gain influence in Middle East, Africa, South America. When China or Russia come to some country to cooperate, they come to cooperate, not to teach, not to judge, not to interfere into the internal affairs of the state. And people appreciate this.

1. We have the right to decide who is democratic and who is not.

This one is undoubtedly wrong. As a psychologist, you can diagnose it, I guess. What will you call such mental blindness, when a person considers himself flawless and assumes the right to judge and punish others, like in “The House of Pride” by Jack London. And here we see a group of countries that consider themselves the best in the world, that judge other countries and feel it righteous to interfere into their life, to change it without being asked. I understand why leaders of these countries have that blindness, but I wonder how many people in these countries actually understand that it is not a radiant crusade for democracy, but a destructive raid of Normans.
De furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine.
One of the principles of democracy is separation of three powers – legislative, judicial and executive. So why then countries that consider themselves “leaders of democratic world” forget about this principle in international relations. They make the rules, they judge and they punish.
One of American diplomats said recently that USA supports international rules-based order. Sounds good, sounds undoubtedly right. But why USA and NATO forget about the rules when it is convenient? Or is it “We support international rules-based order, but our own actions should not be limited by these rules”? What immediately comes to my mind without web search:

• Kosovo, 1999. Civil war or genocide or whatever it may be called. How it should have been handled according to the rules? UN Security Council makes the decision, ‘blue helmets’ move in and stop the hot phase of the conflict. How it was done? NATO forces moved in without UNSC mandate. Forget the rules.
• Iraq, 2003. USA and its allies invaded Iraq based on false claims that Saddam had mass destruction weapons. The Center for Public Integrity stated that the Bush administration made a total of 935 false statements between 2001 and 2003 about Iraq's alleged threat to the United States. International lies-based order?

Double standards
Speaking more about the rules… We are tired of seeing double standards. As an illustration, I will use just one aspect – the principle of integrity of the state vs the principle of the right of nations to self-determination. It looks like the West supports integrity of the state, when this state is allied or friendly to the West, and supports nation’s self-determination when the state is not. Let’s go through some examples.
- Chechnya (an autonomous republic within Soviet Union) wanted to become independent after 1991. It quickly started to use terrorism to achieve this goal. It took a lot of effort to stop the war and bring the region back to safety. Reaction of the West – support of chechens, their leader fled to London and was not deported to Russia despite all requests.
- Abkhazia (an autonomous republic within Georgian republic which was part of Soviet Union) wanted to become independent from Georgia when Georgia became independent from Russia. Resulted in a war. The conflict is still not solved. Abkhazia now is an independent state which is acknowledged by very few countries in the world. Reaction of the West – they still consider Abkhazia as a rebellious part of Georgia. Same situation about South Osetia – another region, that was an administrative part of Georgia until 1991 and that also seeks independence.
- Donetsk and Lugansk wanted to become independent from Ukraine after 2014 coup. Ukraine tried to subdue them by force and failed. Then the workplan has been signed in Minsk – what the parties of the conflict agree to do to settle. The result should have been – Donetsk and Lugansk return to Ukraine but have extended political rights, etc. Ukraine did nothing of its promises. Reaction of the West – support of Ukraine.
- Catalonia is seeking independence. And I remember that leaders of independence movement have been under political and criminal pressure.
- Scotland had a referendum about independence. And even though results were in favour of the UK, I remember how nervously London reacted.
Russia – NATO relations after 1991
This is best said by Vladimir Pozner, a journalist who spent years of his work in the USA, Russia, Europe and is one of the most known journalists of the old school (comparing to modern propagandists). Here’s the link to his speech in Yale University on September 27, 2018 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7Ng75e5gQ&t=2556s.
His speech takes around forty minutes, the rest is the Q&A. To save you time, I’d summarize it here in just a couple of phrases. After Soviet Union collapsed, there was an illusion that we aren’t enemies anymore, that the world is open now, and that we will be partners or even friends. Russia dismissed the Warsaw Treaty union and agreed for Germany to unite, that looked just right – why keep a military union when we aren’t enemies anymore? Sometime later Russia made an offer to join NATO to provide world security together and was denied. Russia offered to join the EU, and was denied. Russia was promised that NATO would not expand eastward and less than 10 years later this promise was broken. Since then, we’ve been witnessing NATO getting closer and closer to our borders, inviting countries that are our neighbours and aggressively supporting those candidates to country leadership in East Europe who declared anti-Russia views. So now the illusion is over. We are enemies. And what’s worse – we don’t trust US anymore, so negotiating some new principles of coexistence will be problematic.
Ukraine.
Briefly about history, in more details about recent times and present situation.
In 16-17th century the territory of modern Ukraine was controlled by two forces with no clear border between them. Northwest (where the city of Lvov is now) was under Polish rule, center and the region along river Dnepr – under control of “kazak military democracies” – gatherings of all people, who fled from Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Crimea and who with time formed Ukrainians as a nation. They were ruled by elected chieftains and made their living largely by either joining some military campaign for money and loot, or by robbery raids to Poland, Crimea, Turkey. They were allied to Russia due to same religion – Orthodox Christianity.
As Poland grew stronger, its pressure on the territory grew, which led to periodic rebellions. Poland is a Catholic state, and people of Orthodox Ukraine were severely oppressed. Seeking protection, Ukrainian chieftains asked Russia to include those territories into Russian state. First request came in 1591. Russia rejected this request and several others. Only in 1654 part of Ukraine, controlled by kazaks, was included into Russia. Consequences – war with Poland and tens of thousands orthodox people fleeing from Polish-controlled lands into Russian-controlled lands.
From then on Russians and Ukrainians were really ‘brother nations’. Well, it was not heaven, but it was the best available option. Same religion, very close language and mentality. And forget about oppression. Ukrainians were oppressed as much as Russians themselves.
When the WW I started, Germany and Austria-Hungary were looking for collaborators in occupied territories of Russian Empire. They promised independence to nationalists in Western Ukraine, and found people who bought the idea. Not surprisingly, the most dedicated nationalists came from the least developed region of the country. Ukraine did not become independent at that moment, but the ideas stayed and gave their fruit during WW II, when Ukrainian collaborators actively participated in Nazis’ crimes. In one of your videos you described what Unit 731 of Japanese army was doing and you warned your listeners that they will never forget it. If you will find and read witnesses’ accounts of Volhynia massacre, you will never forget it either. I read it once long ago and I never want to read it again. It was a shock to me that people are capable of such things.
In the period between 1945 and 1991 Ukraine had the same rights as any other republic. There were no impediments to preserving and developing local culture. If you lived in any republic, you learned two languages – Russian and local. National literature was actively translated into other national languages of the Soviet Union, there were no impediments to education. Soviet Union with all its flaws, really tried to unite all of its nations into one big family. (What surprises me though is why antisemitism remained. You could come from Georgia, Uzbekistan or Yakutia and pass exams to Moscow university, no problem if you are smart enough. But it could be problematic for a Jew…)
After 1991 Russia and Ukraine remained friendly states, tightly bound by economic, cultural and even family ties. Ukraine tried to get the most out of relations both with Russia and with the West and it worked fairly well for 30 years. But with time attempts to elevate significance of their own nation led Ukrainians down a dangerous path. They started to slowly eliminate all other cultures that were present in the country. This process sped up dramatically in 2014, when after a coup the nationalist forces gained influence on the government.
Official Kiev denies being nationalistic, but don’t trust what the person is saying, see what he is doing.

• Open Kiev map and you will find two prospects – one named after Bandera, another after Shukhevich. Those two stand behind Volhynia massacre and numerous other crimes. Now they are heroes.
• During WW II Ukrainian nationalists were gathered by Nazis into the division “Galicia”. Collaborators and traitors, they did not show much on the battlefield, but were always victorious in the punitive raids against civilians. Now they are heroes.
• Ukraine is banning and denying Russian language and Russian culture. And it did not start last year. It started much earlier, when bit by bit Russian-speaking people had more and more difficulties teaching their children in Russian, buying books in Russian. It even shows itself historically – famous writers, artists, musicians, etc. of the past are proclaimed Ukrainians if they were born or lived on the territory of modern Ukraine. Aivazovskiy was Armenian by nation, lived in Crimea which was Russian at the time. Repin was Russian, Kuingi was Greek. Gogol and Bulgakov called themselves Russian and wrote in Russian. Shevchenko wrote in Russian, and now his books in Ukraine are translated from Russian.

I live in Moscow region, so all these processes for me were just an echo of a far-away thunder. My friends who lived in Crimea, Kiev, Donetsks, Kharkov many times said how difficult it was to live in a country that is so obsessed with its own magnificence that it becomes absurd. Massive renaming of streets, destruction of monuments that signified joint Russian-Ukrainian history, rewriting of history, when traitors and criminals become heroes, heroes become butchers. Anne, daughter to Yaroslav the Wise, wife to Henry I of France is known as Anne de Russie or Anne of Kiev. But now there are attempts to call her Anne of Ukraine, even though the very term Ukraine appeared at least a hundred years after she died.
We see those nationalistic ideas demonstrating themselves in a number of ways, and we have seen them before and we know what threat they can bring if left unattended. Pay attention to a dragon when it is small, you may be unable to win when it grows up.
I don’t say that our perception is correct, I just say how we see it. And to us modern Ukraine is like a younger brother who joined a bad company and who is becoming dangerous.
Now combine these two. Ukrainian nationalism plus NATO. Two threats, one well known historically, another the most dangerous rival of the past 70 years. We see them uniting and it is really an existential threat to us. In such circumstances could we afford being blind to it, just sitting and waiting what comes next? We tried to settle it peacefully. Many times Russia said that we are worried by NATO expansion, that we are worried by Western support of nationalistic movements in our neigbour countries. No effect. The last attempt was made in autumn of 2021, when Putin offered a negotiation that should have resulted in guaranteed safety. No reply.
If there is a conflict and your rival refuses to talk, he is asking for a fight. I don’t say that war in Ukraine is the right way to solve the conflict, but who can say that we did not try to set it by negotiations?

19 hours ago (since writing this post), a post pertaining to the Coyotes demonstrating their support of Pride Month and Hockey Is for Everyone made its way to the top of our sub. In that time, there were 10 reports submitted against the post, 116 downvotes vs 247 upvotes, 7 bans for trolling/hateful opinions/etc, and a metric shit ton of bad-faith arguments and division.
It's crazy to me that the phrase "Hockey is for Everyone" can be so divisive. So, for the people in the back, just because you havent experienced prejudice in hockey doesnt mean that it doesnt exist.
Let's take a look at some examples of how hockey still IS NOT for everyone:
From the highest levels of the game-
2018 - Chicago Fans chant "Basketball, Basketball, Basketball" at Devante Smith-Pelly in a Penalty box (https://www.npr.org/2018/02/19/587122774/chicago-fans-bounced-for-racist-taunts-aimed-at-capitals-devante-smith-pelly)
2011 - Fan Throws Banana at Wayne Simmonds (https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/7007219/fan-throws-banana-philadelphia-flyers-winger-wayne-simmonds)
2005 to Present - Akim Aliu Details years of Neglect (https://www.theplayerstribune.com/articles/hockey-is-not-for-everyone-akim-aliu-nhl)
2020- K'Andre Miller Receives Racist Taunts During Presser (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/17/sports/hockey/rangers-kandre-miller-zoom-racism.html)
2020 - Mitchell Miller drafted by the Coyotes, despite a long history of serious bullying against a handicapped black student (https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nhl/coyotes/2020/10/26/arizona-coyotes-top-draft-pick-bullied-black-disabled-kid-4-years-ago/3735555001/)
2022 - Then the Bruins sign the same kid after he is cut, b/c he shows promise, yet never showed remorse (https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/bruins/2022/11/06/boston-bruins-cut-mitchell-miller-who-had-bullied-classmate/8290404001/)
2019 - Don Cherry Makes Racial Comments on the air (https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2019/11/11/don-cherry-fired-racist-anti-immigrant-comment/2566800001/)
2010 - Kyle Beach is raped by a Video Coach. Team burries it and wins cup (https://www.nhl.com/news/kyle-beach-reveals-himself-as-accuser-in-blackhawks-investigation/c-327302872)
2016 - Hot Mic picks up example of homophobic language that has permeated the game since it's inception (https://theathletic.com/3205344/2022/04/19/nhl-lgbtq-pride/)
2023 - Pride Night Controversies (https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/nhls-pride-nights-collide-lgbtq-political-climate-rcna78158)
2023 - The Conn-Smythe trophy is literally still named after a man who "offered $10,000 to anyone who could turn Carnegie's skin colour to white" (https://torontosun.com/sports/hockey/simmons-its-the-right-time-to-rename-the-conn-smythe-trophy)
Rape Culture in the NHL (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cqURgg1eslU9Ky7NOUHlvM0PJ5rVX-FHZuacYBUL77o/edit?usp=sharing)
That's a brief list of examples at the NHL level. Now for minor leagues and below:
2023 - Hockey Quebec receives complaints about ongoing racism (https://theconcordian.com/2023/04/a-never-ending-pattern-of-racism-in-junior-hockey-in-quebec/)
2022 - Juniors Player suspended for racist gesture (https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/33370764/junior-hockey-player-suspended-alleged-racist-gesture)
2018 - Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal with so far zero repercussions (https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/news/hockey-canada-scandal-sexual-assault-2018-world-juniors-team/hhc54xdapaqx5l29kuimp09g)
2003 - Another Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_Canada_sexual_assault_scandal#:~:text=2003%20and%202018%3A-,2003%20incident,team%20won%20a%20silver%20medal.)
2022 - Brock McGillis states "There's a homophobic slur or some type of slur said every time a team enters a locker room" (https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/hockey-canada-discrimination-brock-mcgillis-1.6672832) (https://www.thestar.com/edmonton/2018/07/03/a-deeply-personal-story-of-anti-gay-attitudes-in-hockey-comes-to-edmonton.html?ref=blueshirtbanter.com)
2022 - Antisemitic Bullying Lawsuit (https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2022/03/30/lawsuit-youth-hockey-leaders-didnt-stop-antisemitic-bullying-tried-to-cover-up-evidence/)
2021 - A report from Hockey Canada finds "900 documented or alleged incidents of on-ice discrimination at all levels during the 2021–2022 playing season. Sixty-one percent of the 512 penalties called by officials last season involved insults based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition to those penalties, 415 allegations were investigated after the fact. Off-ice incidents were not included, which makes the likely number of incidents much higher." (http://cdn.hockeycanada.ca/hockey-canada/Corporate/About/Downloads/2021-22-discrimination-report-e.pdf)
2019 - Homophobic language persists in USA hockey. Punishment increased (https://www.outsports.com/2019/10/31/20940627/usa-hockey-policy-gay-racist-language-slurs)
2022 - Bullying in USA Hockey (https://www.usahockey.com/news_article/show/1243934)
2022 - More bullying (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/kitchener-hockey-academy-lawsuit-by-family-1.6525152)
2023 - More racial bullying (https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/racist-bullying-of-black-teen-allowed-to-fester-in-quebec-hockey-program-mother-alleges-1.6280570)
2022 - More bullying (https://www.reddit.com/hockeyplayers/comments/ym4r9e/the_bullying_started_up_again/)
2023 - Quebec launches hearings into allegations of 'horrific' abuse in major junior hockey (https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-launches-commission-into-horrific-recounts-of-abuse-and-violence-in-quebec-hockey-league-1.6755470)
2019 - Oh look, more bullying (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/article-no-one-should-go-through-that-comtois-responds-to-cyberbullying-in/)
2023 - Harvard Womens Hockey Coach under fire for racist comments (https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/katey-stone-harvard-hockey-coach-abusive-allegations-1.6732019)
2015 - Sexual harassments in college hockey (https://www.si.com/more-sports/2015/03/11/ohio-state-womens-hockey-coach-resigns-sexual-harassment#:~:text=Ohio%20State%20women's%20hockey%20coach%20Nate%20Handrahan%20resigned%20Wednesday%20after,according%20to%20The%20Columbus%20Dispatch.)
2023 - Juniors coach loses job after pulling his team from a game that they were being racially targeted in (https://globalnews.ca/news/9671762/surrey-hockey-coach-fired-racism-allegations/)
In 10 minutes of googling, I was able to find hundreds of examples of why hockey IS NOT for everyone. Keep in mind, these are only the examples that get reported on. There are thousands of examples and testimonies depicting racism, homophobia, sexism, etc in hockey, from juniors to college to the NHL.
Next time you are about to coin the counterargument, "but hockey is for everyone," stop for a minute. Sure, hockey may have always been for you, but what about the hundreds of kids who have stopped playing and been bullied out of their respective leagues. Think of the victims of the countless abuses from active players that never received justice, because their abuser happened to be good at the game.
IF A RAINBOW LOGO MAKES YOU ANGRIER THAN THE THOUSANDS OF EXAMPLES DEPICTING WHY THAT LOGO IS NECESSARY IN THE FIRST PLACE, IT IS TIME TO TAKE A LONG LOOK IN THE MIRROR. From Pride Jerseys to "Hockey is for Everyone," they are symbols that we see and acknowledge the thousands who have been pushed out or kept out of this great game.
If you are a true fan of this game, you should want nothing more than everyone else, regardless of race/gendesexual orientation/etc, to be a part of it, and when you make the comment "hockey is already for everyone" you are burying your head in the sand and spitting in their faces.

(Here's a new faction I created, please tell me your thoughts about this!)
The story takes its roots in north North Carolina in the year 2245, near the pre-war city of Fayetteville. For about 30 years, the settlement of Nemington, inhabited by roughly 300 men, women and children, had been flourishing thanks to local trade with very close farms. But around this time, raiders started getting bolder and bolder despite the makeshift turrets surrounding Nemington.
And one day on the 12th of May 2245, tragedy struck the peaceful settlement as a group of raiders stormed the city and killed a total of 30 people before being killed by the very loose and untrained militia that was not prepared for such an attack.
The next day, after burying their loved ones, the town's council, led by Jeremy Cross, decided on a plan to reinforce their militia and secure the future of Nemington. The town's strongest would set out towards the pre-war Fort Bragg, one of the biggest military compounds in the US, which was guarded by automated defenses set on preventing raids and never got turned off due to no military presence occupying it anymore. But while everyone had tried brute force to their way in, Cross had another idea: stealth.
So a group of 20 men set out, led by Cross, towards Fort Bragg to claim it for themselves. They arrived at the fort's gate at night, since the machines relied mostly on solar light to see. Working through the gate and corridors, they quickly reached the main control room without being spotted, until someone from the group sped up towards the main control panel, which triggered the entire system's alarm. It woke up an Assaultron in the room, that quickly lasered through the man's head, making him fall to the ground. Cross then went on to work through the control panel and disable the infrastructure, all while the group jumped towards the Assaultron, trying to keep it steady against a wall. It took Cross a minute to disable the entire grid of robots, but the surge of power this caused made the Assaultron able to shove away the men holding it down, and fire a laser beam straight to Cross, before shutting down.
The group returned in triumph in Nemington, though carrying the body of their leader who died seconds after the laser hit his throat. The people buried Jeremy Cross and gave him a farewell ceremony, and the next morning, an expedition comprised of 30 men and women was sent to Fort Bragg to secure it properly. They reactivated the defense systems but whitelisted themselves to make sure they wouldn't get shot on sight, and soon enough they started making inventories of everything they found in the Fort, including undergrounds networks filled with T-60 power armors, hundreds and hundreds of them, stacked there with an incredible stockpile of Fusion Cores.
With this, they found something a lot more valuable: relics of the pre-war era. Laws, texts, recipes, blueprints, everything that made the pre-war world what it was and what this world lacked. Some people started studying these texts, while some others found texts that were directly related to the US military, including the reason there were so many Power Armors underground. Near the beginning of the War, the US were feeling there could be a possibility that they would be destroyed, and so designed a massive amount of Power Armors to be used in the eventuality of Mass Destruction. This protocol was named Protocol I, the core directive of the United States' Protocol of Reconstruction, which is as follow:
"In the event of nuclear annihilation, the remaining US military is to assume temporary control over the United States by using the Power Armors and supplies stockpiled at the 5 main US bases to maintain stability in the United States until the leaders of the US arise from The Whitespring Bunker."
But as it appeared, none ever came from these vaults, since they never came to retrieve the Power Armors. The council held a meeting in Fort Bragg about the future of Nemington, and after a bit of arguing, it was decided that Nemington would move over to the Fort, turning it into New Nemington. A broadcast was established thanks to the Fort's high tech antenna, advertising the settlement and threatening all who would want to harm the New Nemingtonians.
Over the course of ten years, a new leader was found in the newly 20 years old daughter of Jeremy, Melinda Cross, deemed the most viable as leader of NN. All men and women who didn't have children were given basic training in weapon handling and Power Armor use, turning them into a proper military force to keep the children and the disabled of the town secure in time of crisis. The settlement grew in population as more and more people came to NN for the safety of living inside of the walls. Farms were established both inside and out of the walls and the sources of food and water were secured properly.
Then, Cross called for another meeting after the town's population reached the 500 people both in and out of the walls affiliated with NN. it had come to her attention that the Protocol was meant to be an unification of the United States, and she had the ambition to get the nation's powers together. She wanted what was right for her people, and uniting the USA again was the best thing that could happen to them, especially with the armors and weapons they had discovered years prior and had been using to keep everyone safe.
So on the 28th of August 2255 was created the Protocol of the United States, a military force led by Melinda Cross. This Faction had a few key principles that Cross was very adamant were never broken. Firstly, they were to never attack first. Melinda wanted the Protocol to be a peacekeeping army, not a conquering army. The rule was to "only open fire if the people were to feel threatened for their lives". This applied to all creatures, but mostly for humans, as she also added that "Humans are to be reasoned with if. If the Humans start to attack as an offensive, selfish mechanism, and cannot be reasoned with, lethal force can be used against them", this rule applying mostly to raiders who were armed, and anticipated angry citizens who would attack them simply out of fear and paranoia, which wasn't as dangerous as a tribe of raiders opening fire.
Another pillar of the Protocol's ideology was that all non-creatures are deemed "to protect" until they attack and are deemed uncivilized. The Protocol was also meant to be kind and compassionate, and as there were multiple sightings of sentient, peaceful ghouls around NN, she wanted all to feel welcomed by Protocol.
The last pillar of Protocol's ideology was that all first contacts with factions encompassing more than one settlement are to be set with an attempt at peace, with a truce. No Protocol Soldier is allowed to attack first in the possibility of another Faction running into them, so that self-defense can be claimed and Protocol's image can remain intact. Protocol doesn't seek war, but will wage it for the good of the Commonwealths.
After setting their core ideas, they had to decide where to go first to establish their presence. Thankfully, when the settlement of Nemington was first founded, the original settlers had received a transmission from hundreds of miles away from a faction called the Minutemen, claiming to be a unifying faction in the Commonwealth and inviting all others to join them to help them in the unification of the US. Before, they were too scared and underequipped to do anything, but now? They had the power to help rebuild. I mean, how civilized could the rest of the world be?
So in October, the Army of the Protocol started marching. Going through swamps and forests and nuclear deserts, protected by their Armors and carrying their supply all through the Commonwealth, leaving their Settlement behind. About 200 men and women were enlisted into the army, using the vehicles and aircrafts found all throughout Fort Bragg and its surroundings to mount an expedition towards Washington, from where they picked up broadcasts of another powerful faction.
The expedition as a whole took 2 weeks to complete, as even with all the vertibirds and trucks carrying supplies like food, water and weapons they had, they had to stop regularly, both because of the threats out in the wild and because of the fact that most of the armors had to be carried by people walking inside of them. Thankfully, Fusion Cores were to hold power for about 100 years, but still it was tiring for the people walking in them.
When they arrived in the Capital Wasteland, they found the Brotherhood of Steel. An attempt at a truce was tried, but as the Brotherhood of Steel offered to absorb the Protocol to help maintain peace with all of their technology, Melinda Cross refused politely, stating:
"Our mission is to save the Commonwealth, and we will do so as the United States Pre-War protocol dictates. We are the force that will bring peace to the Commonwealth. You wage war, we keep peace. We cannot co-exist unless you give us access to your resources and let us absorb you. Then, you will be able to call yourself peacekeepers. Until then, keep out of our way, and we will keep out of yours, as we are only looking for peace, but we can wage war to protect our peers and protect the people."
The Elder of the Lyons' chapter was so mad at this refusal, that war was officially declared against the Protocol. Unfortunately, at this time the Brotherhood had lost many members due to the Brotherhood's pointless war against the Super Mutants, and so the only battle that was waged between them, the Red Battle, that was held at the Red Racer Factory, was completely in the favor of the Protocol, due to their weakened state but also to the fact that the Brotherhood had taken about 20 soldiers due to their shortage, while the Protocol had brought about 50 soldiers with them.
The Brotherhood was utterly dominated, and no losses were taken for Protocol, instead making this battle a breaking event for the Elder's reputation, triggering, with the refusal of salvaging Fort Independence, the departure of the Brotherhood Outcasts. The Protocol shortly left the Capital Wasteland after this victory, furthermore securing Melinda Cross as the ideal leader and general of the Protocol and strengthening the loyalty of all that follow her.
It took the Protocol another three weeks to arrive in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, surviving through their supplies and business deals with local farms they met on the way, helping anyone they met in fending off any potential threats they faced, and mostly taking the time to circle around the massive area glowing in green and yellow, that seemed to be filled with Deathclaws and Radscorpions.
When they finally arrived into the Commonwealth proper, they secured the Federal Stockpile after killing the raiders that occupied it (after having tried to negotiate first). The place was secured and properly fortified by placing the trucks all around the settlement, pre-made turrets placed in the gaps to make sure that all the corners had been properly fortified, and the first official outpost of the Protocol in the Commonwealth was founded. The vertibirds started flying through the airs of Boston, scouting the areas and locations that could be used as additional outposts, and after hearing rumors from travelers and farmers surrounding the outpost, the first expedition to Diamond City was put into planning stage...

Bally disclosed these numbers in a bankruptcy court yesterday as they tried to lower TV rights payments due to 4 MLB teams. While the NHL is not involved in this Bally-MLB dispute today, Bally's implosion could soon impact the 12 NHL teams whose local games they produce and broadcast - Arizona, Detroit, Florida, Tampa Bay, St Louis, Minnesota, Columbus, Anaheim, LA, Carolina, Nashville. Bally has not said they will pay 100% of the TV rights money due to NHL teams next season, so the NHL could be in the same position the MLB is in as soon as October. Also, Bally only owns the local streaming rights for its NHL and NBA teams for 1 more season and losing them would kill Bally Sports+ even as they continue to hold local TV rights for those teams.
The big questions for the NHL this summer:

• Will Bally miss any rights payments due to NHL teams next season?
• If yes, is the NHL prepared to move production and distribution in-house as the MLB did? NHL teams reportedly are considering it.
• What does the NHL do with the local streaming rights of the 12 Bally teams for the 2024-25 season?
• What is the impact on the salary cap from any lost local TV money?

How and where many fans watch NHL games in the US could change drastically within the next year.
Sources:

• https://theathletic.com/4573494/2023/06/01/mlb-diamond-sports-group-bankruptcy-court/
• https://theathletic.com/4569671/2023/05/31/mlb-diamond-sports-bankruptcy-hearing/
• https://theathletic.com/4565630/2023/05/30/diamond-sports-padres-broadcast-mlb/

Background - Why is this happening and how did we get here?

Bally Sports (formally Diamond Sports Group aka DSG, part of Sinclair Boradcast Group) in 2019 bought the former regional Fox Sports Networks and broadcasts local games for 12 NHL teams. As people cut the cord and move to streaming, the entire Regional Sports Network (RSN) business model has begun to collapse, resulting in DSG hemorrhaging money. Bally isn't the only one impacted - Warner Bros announced in February they are shutting down their AT&T Sports RSNs this year, causing Vegas in May to announce a new TV and local streaming partner for next season.
RSNs rely on 2 major sources of revenue: monthly fees paid by every TV subscriber with their channel and advertising. The channel rights fees are worth way more than the advertising since everyone pays it regardless of how many people actually watch the channel. RSNs began to demand ever higher channel fees from cable, satellite, and streaming TV companies (Comcast, Dish, Cox, YouTube TV, Sling TV, etc) to pay for ballooning rights fees demanded by sports teams for the past 2 decades. Fees are up to $7 per month per TV subscriber as of 2021. The TV companies saw how few customers actually watched sports and decided the RSNs weren't worth passing the increased costs to all of their customers, so they started dropping RSNs left and right in the last several years. That has made it harder than ever for fans to actually watch games, drastically cut RSN revenue, and why so few streaming TV plans include local sports channels today.
RSNs have responded by trying to go "direct to consumer" (DTC) with streaming plans like Bally Sports+, NESN 360, and MSG+. ESPN is doing the same nationally with ESPN+. The problem as shown by Bally Sports+'s dismal subscriber numbers is that the number of people willing to pay for RSN streaming plans is so far too small to offset the losses in their TV subscriber base. RSNs are stuck in a paradox - they are locked into long-term TV rights contracts they can no longer afford, but canceling those contracts removes the only content they have that people will pay to watch.
This financial chaos resulted in Bally declaring bankruptcy in March and trying to force MLB to re-negotiate some of their contracts so Bally could keep showing games but pay less to do so. Fast forward to this week as the MLB and Bally have argued their positions in bankruptcy court. The judge ruled yesterday against Bally and in favor of the MLB and 4 teams who Bally was refusing to fully pay for their TV rights. Bally now must either pay the full amount due or give the 4 impacted teams their local rights back. Bally already did this with the Sand Diego Padres earlier this week and the MLB immediately announced they will produce and distribute future games.

https://volunteers.girlscoutsrv.org/2023/06/01/the-cookie-press-edition-21/

Earlier this cookie season, we gave you the opportunity to provide feedback on your experience with the online-only Raspberry Rally Girl Scout Cookie. This feedback was provided to Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA). We wanted to share an update from them on this cookie. Raspberry Rally Girl Scout Cookies will not be available next season for purchase in-person or online. No online-only cookie will be offered, and no new cookie flavor will be introduced in 2024.

RV says this is national. I have no reason to doubt Tammy and the team at River Valleys, who suffered a lot on this thing this year and who are super-awesome.