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1. Embed this notice
   Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:29:00 JST Tim Mak

   Good morning, readers: Kyiv remains in Ukrainian hands. But, last night the city endured its first air raid in 12 days. As Ukrainians deal with the 493rd day of war, some turn to escapism in the form of tabletop role-playing games. http://counteroffensive.news

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:39 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Editor’s note: This week we posted a story highlighting a trans activist in Ukraine; after all, Russia cited LGBTQ+ rights as a reason for the war.

     We didn’t anticipate the negative reaction: more than 1,000 readers unsubscribed, and we lost paid subscribers as well.

     goatsarah repeated this.
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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:40 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Today's Dog of War is this skeptical beagle Tim saw in Warsaw.

     Read the rest of our Sunday newsletter at: http://counteroffensive.news

     goatsarah repeated this.
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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:41 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     The Counteroffensive staff are based in Kyiv and if the plant suffers a catastrophic explosion, we have a plan:

     Shelter in place and make use of our subscriber funded (THANK YOU SO MUCH) equipment!

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:42 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     So what’s going on? The Russians could be planning either an area-denial attack with a limited contamination zone that will then tie up personnel, resources, and money—and take the ZNPP offline, perhaps indefinitely—in a scorched earth retreat.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:43 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     "If an explosion caused the cooling pools to vaporize, the fuel rods in the plant could melt down in seven to eight days for reactors on cold shutdown, a hydrogen explosion could cause further structural damage."

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:44 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     The Counteroffensive spoke with our friend Oleksandr Selyverstov, a former nuclear engineer at the nuclear power plant in question.

     His analysis is heart-stopping.

     Read it at: http://counteroffensive.news

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:45 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     There’s no doubt that an explosion, one powerful enough to breach the almost 4-foot (1.2 meters) thick containment walls, would be damaging to the immediate environment around the plant. But how bad would it actually be?

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:46 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     However, Ukraine’s State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said the Russians had prevented the No. 5 reactor from being put in cold shutdown mode.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:47 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Five of the ZNPP’s six reactors were put into so-called “cold shutdown” in September last year, while the sixth was left in “hot shutdown” to supply power to the plant itself. Cold shutdown is normally used for maintenance purposes. http://counteroffensive.news

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:48 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     "There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a (radiation) release," Zelenskyy said on Saturday at a news conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
     https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraines-zelenskiy-says-serious-threat-remains-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-2023-07-01/

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:49 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     President Zelenskyy said the Russians had mined the plant, and Ukrainian intel officials say that Russian troops are leaving the area and telling Ukrainian civilian workers to clear out by July 5.
     https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/01/zelenskiy-warns-russia-could-be-ready-to-provoke-nuclear-plant-explosion

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:50 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     It’s been one week since the attempted Wagner coup, and their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin has not been heard from in several days. A camp is being built in Belarus and Russian state media is rewriting the history of the Wagner group in front of Russia's eyes. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/01/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war.html

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:51 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Around 2:30 am, Shahed drones and Kalibr missiles attacked the capital while air defense responded. The Counteroffensive’s writers were also awakened by another air raid siren around 7:20 am. It was an eventful night and morning.
     https://kyivindependent.com/ukraine-reports-taking-down-all-8-drones-3-missiles-fired-overnight/

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:52 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Read more about Tasha and how TTRPG's are helping out on the homefront at: http://counteroffensive.news

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:53 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Today, she is an accomplished Game Master with her own YouTube channel, Idearoll, started in 2019. Her favorite game is Call of Cthulhu, based on H.P. Lovecraft’s dark tales of cosmic horror. https://youtube.com/@idearoll

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:54 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     “We were not aware that there are [formal] books, there was one guy who traveled to Kyiv and bought the original dice set, but we were only allowed to look at it, not actually roll it because it was super expensive,” Tasha said.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:55 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Official Dungeons & Dragons rulebooks and figurines are expensive in Ukraine, thanks to regional licenses that tend to lump all post-Soviet countries into a single, Russian-dominated region.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:56 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Dashkyevich is 37, and from Simferopol in Russian-occupied Crimea. She started playing sometime in 2008 after moving to Kyiv, she said, with a “crazy homebrew” hodgepodge of paper and imagination.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:57 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Ukrainian gamers are harnessing the power of these games to heal scars of trauma, build fortitude, foster communities, and preserve their unique cultural identity.
     http://counteroffensive.news

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:58 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     But Dashkyevich says that her community has thrived since the Russian invasion began — a small interlude from the trauma and realities of the war.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:28:59 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     Tasha Dashkyevich could be forgiven for engaging in a little daydreaming and escapism. Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games are often considered the pastime of nerdy basement-dwellers in suburban homes, not by displaced people seeking a respite from war.

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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:29:52 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     For a publication that is just two months old, it was devastating. We work seven days a week to grow our audience.

     However, we believe that subscriber numbers don’t mean anything if we don’t hold true to our values.

     goatsarah repeated this.
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     Tim Mak (timkmak@journa.host)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 01:31:10 JST Tim Mak

     in reply to

     We will continue to highlight marginalized communities and the people you don’t hear about in other outlets. 

     Send a message if you agree with us: sign up as a free or paid subscriber today.

     Counteroffensive.news

     goatsarah likes this.
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     Robert M (rob11563@mastodon.coffee)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 03:52:15 JST Robert M

     in reply to

     • Cathy Gellis

     @cathygellis @timkmak Sorry, but whenever I see BlueSky mentioned I can't resist posting this :)

     clacke likes this.
   • Embed this notice
     Cathy Gellis (cathygellis@mastodon.cloud)'s status on Monday, 03-Jul-2023 03:52:16 JST Cathy Gellis

     in reply to

     @timkmak Would you like a Bluesky invite? I'd be happy to hook you up.

     goatsarah repeated this.
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     Nick Stefanski 🐦‍🔥 (tzarfenix@dice.camp)'s status on Tuesday, 04-Jul-2023 14:10:10 JST Nick Stefanski 🐦‍🔥

     in reply to

     @timkmak it’s great to see a hobby that I love giving people a small respite from the war. Thanks for all your reporting, Tim, I can’t wait to see part 2! #ttrpg #ttrpgSolidarity #SlavaUkraini

     clacke likes this.
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     Patrick McLaughlin (mcpatrick@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 04-Jul-2023 14:10:15 JST Patrick McLaughlin

     in reply to

     @timkmak

     Escapism in a hellscape.

     Hell YES.

     And I could make long lists of doctors, clergy, engineers, nurses, teachers, lawyers, etc, etc. who play D&D or some other RPG. Without the need of a war zone to “justify” it.

     clacke likes this.
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     clacke (clacke@libranet.de)'s status on Tuesday, 04-Jul-2023 14:10:17 JST clacke

     in reply to

     • Rev. GothAlice
     @alice @timkmak Nerdy escapism: Best escapism.
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     Rev. GothAlice (alice@marrow.haus)'s status on Tuesday, 04-Jul-2023 14:10:18 JST Rev. GothAlice

     in reply to

     @timkmak Roleplaying is a creative outlet, and those in the midst of war certainly deserve a little escapism. Don't bring people down for their creative endeavours. This isn't nerdy.

     It's an outlet.