Idk if this is “a reason” but leaving the launcher running without actually playing the game does count as playtime for steam, which may result in folks not being able to refund it if they don’t like it, and increases overall hours played.

Whether that’s part of why these games have useless launchers, or whether those things actually pan out that way, who knows.

It’s simple, just don’t get shot

This was nice

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

I mean you can’t withdraw if you get encircled

But the article says they thinned out the front line for this operation, whatever that means.

Ukraine also had to thin out its own frontline troops to launch the operation in Kursk. Even before the incursion, those troops were vastly outnumbered.

I feel like there is a well-earned reaction to the lemmygrad and hexbear folks that makes any opinion questioning Ukraine get obliterated, and on balance that’s probably fine, but I want Ukraine to win. I am just a little confused about why they did this. Russia has hundreds of thousands of troops in Ukraine. Sending a couple thousand Ukrainian troops into Russia feels like desperation, not strategy

Yeah I mean this is true for both. Ukraine moved troops off the front, where they are slowly losing ground, to make this assault. Unless they can hold that territory and the line in the east I dunno if this was worth it

Oh I didn’t know that. The Ukrainians and Russians have more or less mutually agreed not to mess with the gas supply thus far, since it benefits them both

How? Did they shut off gas to the EU?

I don’t know that I agree about air dominance. Ukraine has been bombarded by glide bombs, and Russia is getting a lot of value out of artillery and air support to soften positions before rolling in their conscripts.

I’m not saying that invading or counterattacking is definitely a mistake. I’m worried that those troops would be better utilized at the front. Either way we will see how this plays out as Russia repositions troops over the next week or so. Hopefully Ukraine can hold the line and keep from getting encircled

It’s also air power. I think we’re all kind of ignoring that Russia IS gaining ground in the east. The long delay in getting Ukraine more ammo and matériel let Russia overrun entrenched positions.

I think the most positive way of looking at this is - you attack where you can and not where your enemy expects you to. Ukraine has never been able to reclaim territory in large amounts. So maybe in a peace deal they can “trade” territory instead.

I sincerely hope they accomplish those things, too

You’re not allowed to come here, it’s private property \s

Other than lines on a map what objectives have been achieved?

I’m no general so of course I have an opinion that means nothing. The analyses I’ve read also suggest the same thing - but caution that Russia already has a huge manpower advantage. If they can more effectively fight on two fronts than Ukraine then in a little while I worry that we’ll see these Ukrainian soldiers isolated and cut off, encircled, and captured or killed. Then Ukraine is worse off than they started unless the gains they make in the east while Russia is distracted are immense and war-ending.

Idk. It just seems like a desperation play.

I think we should be cautious. In the first days of Russias offensive four years ago they made huge gains quickly. The Russians will move assets and warplanes to the area and Ukraine will be stretched thin in more fronts.

I’m not pro-Russia by any stretch. I love to see Ukraine getting wins. I am just worried that they would have been better off being this aggressive on their existing fronts

No. We exchanged eight Russians held in non-Russian prisons for 16 prisoners (some Russian, some not) held in Russian prisons. After Navalny’s death the concern is that people imprisoned for opposing Putin will die in prison.

https://apnews.com/article/russia-gershkovich-whelan-prisoner-swap-354df585ad321ecdbea4c0f2c557f0aa

Your username is not the best ever. Why are you lying?

Never do the math on how old the classics were when you were a kid. My first concert ever was Tom Petty when I was under 10. I recently saw Tool live. When I saw Tom Petty in the early 90s he was newer than Tool was when I saw them last year. I am oldening.

Yes, this is probably the real motive. “Arrest and execute my political opponents” cannot be ignored by the military without a coup or being in dereliction of duty. I think another nefarious change here is not that the actual power has changed but that the Supreme Court has given face value validity to illegal acts. The President has always has unmitigated pardon power for federal crimes. They could order the military to commit illegal acts and pardon them preemptively so that they were not punished. A reason why that hasn’t happened is that the optics of that are horrifying - the President and military must admit to a crime being committed to pardon that crime. With this ruling there is no admission, no face value legal wrongdoing, and plenty of plausible deniability.

SCOTUS knew precisely what they were doing. This is a significant expansion of presidential power, yes. But they know that the real issue is political. What they want is the President to be able to argue that illegal things are legal because the President did it, instead of arguing that illegal things are not punishable because the President pardoned the criminals.

The President can literally shoot someone in cold blood, in public, and as long as they can deem it an official act it is de jure legal.

You might be asking why the right isn’t worried that Biden will abuse this - the answer is because they know he doesn’t have the balls. The left still thinks we’re in 1968 fighting for rights with mostly peaceful protests. We’re in 1938 and we’ve already lost.