Best Of

Terrible town names on that shortlist. Only Pankhurst has a reasonably towny sound.

Why not steal some economic thunder and use names that already have resonance as hives of creativity or moneymaking:

- Dubai
- Shenzhen
- Zurich
- Silicon Valley
- Singapore

Sure you may get a few confused visitors, but you’ll have a name that immediately conveys success and dynamism.

Or just put “new” in front of them like the Americans did. “New Singapore”.

We should name them after the King and the most successful East Asian entrepot.

New town is King Kong.

Queenstown or Queensborough might work - unless there is one already.

Give credit to Iran here. Lobbing an IRBM at Diego Garcia is showing just how not demolished they are.

Trump now his two choices. The forever war. Or the everyone laughing at Trump forever capitulation.

Saw someone, somewhere, make the point that the humiliation of the US in this war shows that they would not be able to prevent China from conquering Taiwan (whether Taiwan would be able to is a separate question).

In this way Trump's humiliation over Iran in March 2026 mirrors Biden's humiliation over the fall of Kabul in summer 2021, which arguably convinced Putin the US wouldn't actively oppose an invasion of Ukraine (and in that he was right - Biden's response was to offer evacuation help to Zelensky, so Putin's misjudgement was of Zelensky and Ukraine, not Biden and the US).

I'm tentatively penciling in a Chinese invasion of Taiwan for just after Chinese New Year 2027. As a bonus the US will be bitterly divided over the outcome of the midterms, one way or another.

I cannot imagine a better window of opportunity for Xi.

Does any country other than China manufacture solar panels?

Hearing Trump's absolute refusal to accept that the Ukrainians have helped the US with drone defence in the Middle East makes clear *again* how deep-seated his personal animus against Zelensky and Ukraine is.

I think this bet is terrible, btw. Three weeks into the war, still fighting, yet 100% won, the US doesn't use Hormuz, yet gas prices are up, easy to keep it open, but the US can't do it alone. Even despite all of these massive contradictions Trump is able to keep the overwhelming support of his MAGA base.

I know I've been surprised that the war is still going, but it's clear that Trump is desperate for it to end (100% won is a tell) so I just can't see it dragging on for long enough for his base to finally recognise they've been had.

One thing that has surprised me about Trump47, and something that I was totally wrong about, is how much he likes a military misadventure.

Trump45, quite correctly, realised that overseas military interventions were a waste of everything and largely counterproductive. Now, he fucking loves them even when executing them is contrary to his interests. All that the SPO gets him are the good graces and unreliable largesse of Miriam Adelson and others of the Zionist Pro Max ilk.

Starmer ends up in the worst of all worlds .

Which seems to sum up his premiership !

How so?

He promised "defensive" support.

This is defensive support is it not?
IF it assists in opening up Strait Of Hormuz - it'll b a win win and definitely a win for UK fuel prices.

It's not as if the RAF are involved and we are talking Fairford and Chagos!

Assuming Trump cancels the war, what happens next?

Even if Iran takes no further action and opens the Strait of Hormuz, what are the economic conseqences? It will take some time for things to normalise, possibly quite a long time for oil and gas to come back to prewar prices.

So far stock markets etc haven't taken much of a hit, so look still very overpriced to me. Are we due a major correction or even a bear market?

If he calls the win he can simple drop out as the victor.

What the ghost of Bibi has up his sleeve however...

Even with his XXXL brass neck, not even Trump can call victory whilst the world's oil isn't flowing through the Straits of Hormuz.

We may yet get the outcome that following talks, the GCC gets the oil flowing, but with a tacit nod that Iran can get on with making a Bomb if that is what it takes...