ballpoint

Why is there only one monopolies commission?

No. There's always been a reason.

Same reason why he's not attending the G20 in Bali. He's afraid Prayuth will slap his face, and Prawit will steal his watch while he flinches. (Though Lacessit is likely to be more correct. Prayuth will slap his face, Prawit will steal his watch, and some oligarch will steal his country.) "Vladimir Putin is likely not to attend the G20 summit in Bali because his spies have told him a foreign leader intends to 'slap him in the face' over the war in Ukraine, it was claimed today." Vladimir Putin could skip G20 summit over fears another foreign leader intends to 'slap him' | Daily Mail Online

Thailand couldn't find a large enough table for him.

Saudi Arabia has formally applied to join the BRICS group, and has all but been accepted. Argentina, Iran, Egypt, Algeria and Turkey have also stated they would like to join as well. BRICS are well on the path to setting up a commodities backed reserve currency - China is already paying a mixture of Yuan and gold for its Saudi oil imports, and would be a weighty counter balance to the G7 group. A reserve currency backed by half the world's population, including the two largest energy exporters by far, along with the current (China) and likely next (India) global manufacturing hubs, would have serious implications for the US dollar, should it gain traction. The elephant in the room is what will happen to Russia post Ukraine, but being part of a larger BRICS group would make them more immune to any long term sanctions imposed on them whatever the outcome of the war. Saudi Arabia had also signed a military co-operation agreement with Russia back in August last year, which was roughly when they began their oil for Yuan trade with the Chinese, so appear to have been planning a break with the West in general, and the US in particular, for some time. Whether they are having second thoughts based on the poor showing of Russian military tech in Ukraine remains to be seen, but, for the moment at least, certainly aren't displaying any willingness to jump back into the US camp. "An economic bloc led by five emerging economies, including the United States' top two rivals, appears set to expand as Washington struggles to promote its global agenda beyond traditional allies and partners around the world. The group, known by the acronym for its five core members, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS), consists of more than a quarter of the world's GDP and about 40% of the global population. Though BRICS is not a formal alliance, and significant geopolitical differences exist between members, their common interest in shoring up economic and trade mechanisms outside the Western framework has demonstrated growing appeal abroad." Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa BRICS Bloc Grows with U.S. Left Out (newsweek.com)

The Local sheriff was looking for a new deputy. When a blonde walks in to try for the job, he asks her "Okay, what is 1 and 1?" "Eleven", she replies. The sheriff thinks to himself, "That's not what I wanted, but I guess she’s right!" "What two days of the week begin with the letter T?" he asks. "Today and Tomorrow", the blonde answers. The sheriff is again surprised that the blonde has supplied a correct answer that had not even occurred to him. "Now listen carefully, who killed Abe Lincoln?" he asks her. The blonde looks a little surprised. She thinks really hard for a minute and finally admits, "I don’t know." "Well, why don’t you go home and work on that one for a while?" So, the blonde wanders over to the beauty parlor, where her pals are waiting to hear the results of the interview. The blonde was exultant. "The interview went great!" she says. "First day on the job and I’m already working on a murder case!”

Groan alert!

That would be worth watching... "Vladimir Putin is likely not to attend the G20 summit in Bali because his spies have told him a foreign leader intends to 'slap him in the face' over the war in Ukraine, it was claimed today." Vladimir Putin could skip G20 summit over fears another foreign leader intends to 'slap him' | Daily Mail Online