Even so, it was not a night for quarrels.
But the UKIP, which has been engulfed in personality quarrels of its own since unexpectedly winning three seats in the European parliament elections last June, said it has held talks with a number of Conservatives who are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the Hague policy of "in Europe, not run by Europe".
A prominent Chinese human rights lawyer who used to act for artist Ai Weiwei has been charged with inciting ethnic hatred and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" – offences that carry a 10-year jail sentence.
It did not matter that big cats died from wormy meat or stress, or that primates succumbed to illnesses passed on by humans or in violent quarrels between competing males.
Protagonists in Greece's internal quarrels have long invoked external assistance, while furiously denouncing any foreign help given to their rivals.
Besides deterring Afghan warlords from reverting to type and settling quarrels with guns rather than debates, the force is intended to secure the distribution of the humanitarian aid the country so badly needs.
Its dispute-settlement mechanism is uniquely binding, tempting greens to use it to pursue their own aims, in quarrels that are not really about trade at all.
They shunned quarrels; they could afford no wars, for they had no strength in manpower and no surpluses to be spent on arms".
It may be hard to believe, but the quarrels of the last few months are about a relatively minor issue: how to conclude Greece's second bail-out.
The period is virtually stamped in his wild boy, androgynous, Tatar image.There are a lot of aeroplanes, restaurants and quarrels in this book, but the saving thread, which Ms Kavanagh never really loses, is Nureyev's artistic seriousness.
Think of America's disagreement with France over Iraq, India's border quarrels with China, or America's differences with its European allies over Bosnia.
