I think the fundamental truth here is that any relationship requires conscious effort from both parties. One person alone can’t carry that weight. If your friend wants to salvage this relationship then I think they need to convince their partner to pursue individual therapy, and also they need to talk to a couples counselor together. Without professional help I think it’s going to be very difficult to shift the dynamic here. That being said, life is short, and you can waste years hoping that someone will change. Sometimes you have to make the hard choice to move on.

Are you like, on the Halliburton payroll or something?

Bud, Russia is aggressive because Putin’s entire rise to power was built on manufactured fear. He likely used FSB agents to execute false flag attacks on Russian citizens and blame it on Chechen separatists. He has had to build on that fear to maintain power, developing a mythological Imperial past that was “stolen” by the west. Conquering Ukraine is the first step in “resurrecting” that glorious fiction. Russia will not stop pursuing this fever dream until Putin and his government are gone - they can’t. It’s basically the only thing keeping them in power. I don’t like wars either, but until we can collectively figure out how to stop these authoritarian impulses there just isn’t any alternative. It’s the paradox of tolerance, essentially

Can we stop using this Stephen Crowder meme? That guy is the worst

https://www.snopes.com/news/2023/08/03/paul-reubens-child-pornography/

He’s right about one thing, he doesn’t deserve to be called “dad”. I think I speak for all us decent dads here when I say any one of us would be proud to have a kid who’s as smart, capable, and levelheaded as you sound. Keep your head down and get out as soon as you can.

This is kind of like a mix of HOMM and the Civ games.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/289130/ENDLESS_Legend/