@LazyVic27@710BatzTow@Rei_Rei_47 The elites in Sotoan society are obsessed with their nomadic image, so this is definitely a reward. I assume that the yurts on the lower spokes of the Megafloat are for officers, while the really large field at the top is reserved for the highest commanders.
China has been extorting Africa with predatory loans and deals for over a decade now and you don’t hear anything about it from activists who are apparently against imperialism
Today, Russia begins its parliamentary “election.”
The only registered anti-war party was kicked off the ballot. Opposition candidates have been jailed, exiled, or disqualified. And Moscow is conducting voting in occupied Ukrainian territory.
Putin wants to present this election as proof that the Russian people support his government and its war. But the people can’t “speak” through an election when the Kremlin systematically silences dissent.
@ITADORIlS Same way Ernst Röhm did with Hitler: being a useful kiss-ass. Unlike Röhm, she ended up in power instead of ending in a ditch because she didn't have a rival in a higher position that found her politically inconvenient.
@Matjtq@Nanek_4@melancoptimist "Keeping things running" doesn't count as "benevolent". No superpower-scaled dictatorship could last a decade if it went 100% on blind, directionless oppression.
@AceCombatGames If I was in Strangereal, I would put a wall at the end of these tunnels and just wait for the planes to crash inside like mosquitos attracted to a bug zapper lamp
"I have nothing to hide"
Yeah? Except:
Your medical info.
Your search history.
Your financial history.
Your location patterns.
Your relationship "data."
Your habits and routines.
Your banking information.
Privacy isn’t about secrecy.
It’s about refusing to be inventory.
@Whitby55Fan@Osinttechnical The planes served as bait, since Ukrainian fighters have shorter-ranged missiles compared to the Russians and don't want to risk being hit. The Patriot system on the ground was the lynchpin to reduce the danger as much as possible, a tactic called "SAMbush" and used for years now
@BTimberley "No one is attacking us", says the Briton who forgot about the Falklands. Nukes are the last step on the escalation ladder, not the first, and while you demonize defense, you excuse the aggressor in another comment. You are an imperialist disguised as a pacifist.
@D162Michele Chinese companies receive subsidies from their government so they can sell their cars at a loss, just to increase their market share, before raising prices once their percentage is high enough. It's the same strategy used by Walmart/silicon valley companies to create dependence.
@israelh8er You can't deploy nukes on a peacekeeping or counter-insurgency operation. The concept of escalation ladder has steps before you default to nuclear war. Drones are also cheaper than missiles, manned vehicles, or coffins/disability payments for your troops.