I skipped a lot of parties too. The benefit is that if you do show up, people are pleasantly surprised that you came.

I think you might be right! Exhibit A:

Step 4: pray it doesn't rain.

The money is frozen in a Belgian institute, EuroClear IIRC. So Belgium is fine with giving the money to Ukraine. They just don't want to be the ones holding the bag if, after the war, Russia starts a lawsuit to get the money back and wins. So they want guarantees. Which, fair.

It's not always hard: X is a cesspit, Google search sucks, (especially after this new AI feature), most people have other options than Amazon, Facebook is also a mess.
The point is that most oligarchs make their stuff worse in the chase for unrealistic profit expectations.
Alternatives exist.

I would need about 0.1 seconds: Oh, somebody is still alive, who is close enough to provide assistance?
Not hard, is it?
Of course I wouldn't have been in the room anyway. I have no aspirations to visit The Hague.

Dit voelt en beetje als voor beiden de slechtste uitkomst. Marco is niet echt gezuiverd en het slachtoffer heeft geen gerechtigheid gekregen.

I saw someone describe this face as "The face your golden retriever makes when you fake throw the ball". Now I can't unsee that.

His wife is not lucky. Apparently she has a wide choice of right wing men but she ended up with this douchebag.

I can only conclude that creators of video games have a better understanding of the "Fog of War" than the Secretary of Defense.

Dat had een kop van De Speld kunnen zijn...

Who, me? I'd never!

Worse. Judging from the boy's age, it was Obama!!

Transphobic harassment? That still a crime in the UK? I thought they just called that government policy nowadays.

He has 95 disagreements, in fact.

In fact, the Saudis are transitioning.
Why do you think they are investing so much in new infrastructure, sports and tourism?
They know oil is in its end game and are finding new sources of income.

Does the B in MBS stand for Bubba, by any chance?

Well, it looks a lot like the East Wing...

If you don't come to work because you're stressed... For an air traffic controller that seems like a good idea.
Better to cancel some flights than to have crashes because the ATC is distracted by private/domestic problems.
Also: wasn't there already a shortage of ATCs?