Nechung Monastery, Nechung Gompa (Tibetan: གནས་ཆུང་དགོན་པ།, Wylie: gnas-chung lcog, ZYPY: Naiqung Gönba) or Nechung Chok (Tibetan: གནས་ཆུང་དགོན།, ZYPY: Naiqung Jog "the small dwelling", Chinese: 乃琼寺), is the seat of the State Oracle of Tibet.

It is also referred to as Sungi Gyelpoi Tsenkar, the "Demon Fortress of the Oracle King."

It is about 10 minutes walk down from Drepung Monastery, and was the residence of the three-headed, six-armed Pehar, the chief protector of the Gelugs (Yellow Hat sect) and the seat of the State Oracle or Nechung Oracle. It is medium-sized temple which used to house about a hundred monks.

It was the seat of State Oracle until 1959 when he fled with the Dalai Lama to India who now lives in exile in Dharamsala, India. The Dalai Lamas traditionally always consulted him before making an important decision.

It was the residence of the Protector Pehar, a deity of the Horpas, who lived to the east of (Lake) Kokonor. According to tradition, he is held to have been originally brought to Samye Monastery by Padmasambhava who bound him to protect the dharma. An alternative story is that he was brought back by a Bon general, Tara Lugong, who took possession of the meditation school near Kanchow of the Bhaţa Hor, a tribe of Uighurs, about the end of the 8th century CE. Pehar was regarded as the guardian deity of the treasures of Samye Monastery and, later, as the 'protector of religion'.

The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Sino-Mongolian word далай (dalai) meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ་ bla-ma (with a silent "b") meaning "chief, high priest".

In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who are considered to be manifestations of the bodhisattva of compassion, Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, the Dalai Lama is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the leader of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence. The line of Dalai Lamas began as a lineage of spiritual teachers; the 5th Dalai Lama assumed political authority over Tibet.

For certain periods between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. The 14th Dalai Lama remained the head of state for the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile") until his retirement on March 14, 2011. He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female. The Chinese government was very quick to reject this and claimed that only it has the authority to select the next Dalai Lama.

Thubten Gyatso (Tibetan: ཐུབ་བསྟན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: Thub Bstan Rgya Mtsho; 12 February 1876 – 17 December 1933) was the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet.

During 1878 he was recognized as the reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. He was escorted to Lhasa and given his pre-novice vows by the Panchen Lama, Tenpai Wangchuk, and named "Ngawang Lobsang Thupten Gyatso Jigdral Chokley Namgyal". During 1879 he was enthroned at the Potala Palace, but did not assume political power until 1895, after he had reached his majority.

Thubten Gyatso was an intelligent reformer who proved himself a skillful politician when Tibet became a pawn in The Great Game between the Russian Empire and the British Empire. He was responsible for countering the British expedition to Tibet, restoring discipline in monastic life, and increasing the number of lay officials to avoid excessive power being placed in the hands of the monks.

The Dalai Lama was born near Sam-ye Monastery, Tak-po province, in 1876.

Agvan Dorzhiev, (1854–1938), a Khori-Buryat Mongol, and a Russian subject, was born in the village of Khara-Shibir, not far from Ulan Ude, to the east of Lake Baikal. He left home during 1873 at nineteen to study at the Gelugpa monastery, Drepung, near Lhasa, the largest monastery in Tibet. Having successfully completed the traditional course of religious studies, he began the academic Buddhist degree of Geshey Lharampa (the highest level of 'Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy'). He continued his studies to become Tsanid-Hambo, or "Master of Buddhist Philosophy". He became a tutor and "debating partner" of the teenage Dalai Lama, who became very friendly with him and later used him as an envoy to Russia and other countries.

Dennis John Kucinich ( /kuːˈsɪnɪtʃ/; born October 8, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 10th congressional district, serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections.

The district includes most of western Cleveland as well as suburbs such as Parma and Lakewood. He is a member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

From 1977 to 1979, Kucinich served as the 53rd mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, a tumultuous term in which he survived a recall election and was successful in a battle against selling the municipal electric utility before being defeated for reelection by George Voinovich.

Through his various governmental positions and campaigns, Kucinich has attracted attention for consistently delivering "the strongest liberal" perspective. This perspective has been shown by his actions, such as bringing articles of impeachment against President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, and being the only Democratic candidate in the 2008 election to have voted against invading Iraq, although eventual nominee Barack Obama had also opposed the Iraq War at the time it was started, even though he had not been in Congress at the time.

Mount Shasta (Úytaahkoo in Karuk or "White Mountain": the origin of the name "Shasta" is vague, perhaps from Russian (Чистая, means "white, clean, pure" or Счастье, means "happiness, luck, fortune, felicity") from the early Russian settlers in California) is located at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California and at 14,179 feet (4,322 m) is the second highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth highest in California. Mount Shasta has an estimated volume of 85 cubic miles (350 km³) which makes it the most voluminous stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc.

The mountain and its surrounding area are managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Shasta-Trinity National Forest.

Mount Shasta is not connected to any nearby mountain and dominates the northern California landscape. It rises abruptly and stands nearly 10,000 ft (3,000 m) above the surrounding terrain. On a clear day, Mount Shasta can be seen from about 150 miles (240 km) away. The mountain has attracted the attention of poets, authors, and presidents. Mount Shasta was described by the poet Joaquin Miller: