I don't think it makes sense to say futures are analogous to threads by the standard definition of the word [1]. threading as implemented in C has primitives of "fork" and "join", whereas Futures are a different metaphor altogether, one analogous to Promises in JS.

1. https://www.google.com/search?q=define+analogous

what is the significance here? are there resources to be gained in the west? is Russia looking to split the country into US-controlled / Russia-controlled?

it appears the majority is to the west

Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA)

If someone has had a gap of 10 years in insurance because they are a young and healthy freelancer, does that mean an employer would have to pay 3x the insurance costs of hiring them over someone who has no gaps in coverage?

Background information aside, this seems to be the crux of the article — there's a difference to be made between folks individually engaging in civil disobedience, no matter how subversive or disloyal it is to the official power structure, and a group spanning institutional affiliations coming together to create an extensive off-the-record governing body.

(to the new device, encrypted with the new keys provided by Facebook's servers)