Stroomschok

Because Putin seemed to everyone to be a bully and an asshole that liked to make threats, but not being so irrational to do something as foolish as actually invading the Ukraine. There simply is no way Russia can succesfully occupy it and it will never ever be able to make up for the consequences of completely antagonizing the rest of Europe.

It has the hallmarks of a dictator feeling his end is near and wanting to make one last big move to put him above his predecessors.

I disagree. Nobody believed Russia would actually invade Ukraine because it makes no sense strategically. Putin was getting lots of the concessions (and attention) he wanted by bullying and threatening, but it was foolish of him to actually invade. Ukraine is much better defended and has closier ties to Western Europe than Georgia and it was never going to be a simple blitz like with the Crimea.

Also it turns European countries from reluctant customers into adversaries that will heavily speed up their weaning off Russian gas and will start actively supporting Putin's enemies and turn his cronies against him by taking their riches abroad. This alone should have been enough reason to leave Ukraine alone and just stick to the behind-the-scenes support for the Donetsk rebels.

Taking the Crimea should have been enough to meet Putin's strategic goals for the region. Russia simply can't win the long protracted war the Ukraine was destined to become. Not only are the days of the might of the USSR gone, but war has also changed to favor asymmetric warfare over expensive traditional armies. And Russia won't be able to afford theirs for long.

You think Border Collies bred today are superior in intelligence and applied instincts to when the breed was established? Do you feel like there is still room to further improve their genetics much in this regard?

Yeah the Interstellar vibe is strong with this trailer. :)

I saw a documentary about whale carcasses a while back. Here they somewhat implied that blue sharks are above all whale scavengers traveling long distances between feasts, eating very little in between. Looking at its slender frame for a pelagic shark and lacking specialist hunting features (like say a thresher's tail) it at least seems somewhat plausible.

So is this actually true?