Speculation runs that Dimi has been told by the Tsar that if he acts like the tough guy he isn’t with enough bravado, he’ll be allowed to sit in the big boys’ chair and pretend to be president again.

Here’s a post with more details - yes, seems like the post I quoted is just people making a joke out of the original Latin phrasing of the payroll, which for some years was written “to the custodians and the cat” rather than the presumably intended “to the custodians for the cat”.

True haha. Here’s a post with more info - I take it the original wording from the Mastodon post I quoted was just being cheeky about the cat technically being on the payroll. One supposes that the cat’s human aide took the money on behalf of their illustrious master ;)

Good point. I’d call it poetic justice, if his reckless decisions hadn’t also claimed the lives of others.

Agreed. It sounds like both the viewport — its manufacturer wouldn’t guarantee it past 1,800m the way they had it installed — and the hull itself were both potential liabilities.

I hope they nail the CEO to the wall, frankly. [edit: okay, maybe posthumously] The more info comes out, the more this disaster looks entirely foreseeable. He refused to have the sub certified despite being warned of potentially catastrophic results, fired his own director of marine operations for blowing the whistle on serious safety risks, and is on the record denouncing regulations for tourist subs for having, quote, “needlessly prioritized passenger safety”.

Not a pretty picture.