AFAIK they didn’t – instead they said they were an entertainment org instead of a news org.

Ok, but have you heard of kamikaze bullets?

Not quite – to keep domestic discontent low, they’ve had conscription. Legally, conscripts aren’t allowed to be deployed outside Russia except in case of war. Mobilization means that they can forcibly draft people and seize things.

Important notes:

1. There is no war, just a special military operation
2. It’s possible that the declared annexation was to be able to send conscripts into southern and eastern Ukraine since they’d be “Russian” as far as Russian law is concerned
3. Conscription could previously been dodged by paying a small fine, which many did. The government has noticed and has been steadily increasing the penalty.
4. No chance like a war to nationalize your neighbor’s house

I’ve been wondering why bridge strikes tend to make tiny holes compared to when they hit buildings. Is it because they’re penetrating the surface and exploding under, or just that the bridges are much tougher by construction?

Imagine being the grad student who has to go out and collect real training data because your advisor thought it might be interesting

IMO it’s also about not looking like the boss of NATO – a lot of tankies in Europe like to complain that they’re just puppets.

Is a Patreon or something similar in the works for people who want to support this transition?