On place names, my father used to live on a new build estate named after F1 Drivers. There was a Damon Hill Road which annoyed me beyond reason. Why wasn't it just called Damon Hill???
I don't see what much else he can do. Is telling the US they can't use their own bases at Fairford and Diego Garcia practical? Nonetheless if it accelerates his defenestration, more power to his elbow.
I get that but it just continues to highlight the one sidedness of the relationship.
I’ve got it! Attenborough! Celebrates a national treasure and already sounds like a town name.
Attenborough is a district in Beeston, on the edge of Nottingham - so there's an Attenborough rail station.
Not an impediment - there are plenty of repeated place names in England. Bradford (Devon) used to confuse a popular dating site a couple of decades ago, making a bunch of confused people in West Yorkshire match with people in Exeter instead of those in Leeds.
There’s quite a few of those around. Farnborough, Kent is a good one, except that there’s no airshow there; and a friend of mine once managed to miss a concert at Leeds Castle, which is 300 miles from the city of the same name.
In the US there’s at least a couple of dozen Springvilles.
I think you may be confused there are definitely 34 States with a Springfield (it’s why the Simpsons used the name as there was a local town with the name).
Attenborough is a great place if you want a decent suburb - quiet, respectable, less prone to flooding than certain other areas such as Beeston Rylands *, nice to cycle, easy to get places, top rank National Nature Reserve. There are a couple of downsides but not much. It's the sort of place they play bowls.
The problem with that list of names is that they are designed to be boring and inoffensive. They might as well name one after the Armilla Patrol. See Poundbury (FFS).
* Beeston Rylands is an anagram of Notable Dryness, which is a damned lie, and Breasted Nylons, which more captures the spirit of the place. If you build a house in the Rylands, it needs to be up 3 or 4 steps, or over a garage storey with the wiring coming down from the ceiling.
I’ve got it! Attenborough! Celebrates a national treasure and already sounds like a town name.
Attenborough is a district in Beeston, on the edge of Nottingham - so there's an Attenborough rail station.
Not an impediment - there are plenty of repeated place names in England. Bradford (Devon) used to confuse a popular dating site a couple of decades ago, making a bunch of confused people in West Yorkshire match with people in Exeter instead of those in Leeds.
There’s quite a few of those around. Farnborough, Kent is a good one, except that there’s no airshow there; and a friend of mine once managed to miss a concert at Leeds Castle, which is 300 miles from the city of the same name.
In the US there’s at least a couple of dozen Springvilles.
I think you may be confused there are definitely 34 States with a Springfield (it’s why the Simpsons used the name as there was a local town with the name).
Whoops, yes of course I meant Springfield not Springville.
Oh I missed a really obvious example as well. Newton Aycliffe is a New Town built next to a village called Aycliffe (which is now Aycliffe village.
If Gloucestershire goes for this new town of 8,000 people off junction 2 of the M50, they could call it 'Redmarley Newtown' to contrast with 'Redmarley D'Abitot.'
And close by, Much Marcle could become Much Greater Marcle.
I don't see what much else he can do. Is telling the US they can't use their own bases at Fairford and Diego Garcia practical? Nonetheless if it accelerates his defenestration, more power to his elbow.
I get that but it just continues to highlight the one sidedness of the relationship.
Despite the inevitable partial capitulation Trump is still ( as of yesterday ) personally deriding/ humiliating in public the British ( love him or loathe him) Prime Minister. The insult isn't just to the man it is to the office.
I’ve got it! Attenborough! Celebrates a national treasure and already sounds like a town name.
Attenborough is a district in Beeston, on the edge of Nottingham - so there's an Attenborough rail station.
Not an impediment - there are plenty of repeated place names in England. Bradford (Devon) used to confuse a popular dating site a couple of decades ago, making a bunch of confused people in West Yorkshire match with people in Exeter instead of those in Leeds.
There’s quite a few of those around. Farnborough, Kent is a good one, except that there’s no airshow there; and a friend of mine once managed to miss a concert at Leeds Castle, which is 300 miles from the city of the same name.
In the US there’s at least a couple of dozen Springvilles.
I think you may be confused there are definitely 34 States with a Springfield (it’s why the Simpsons used the name as there was a local town with the name).
Attenborough is a great place if you want a decent suburb - quiet, respectable, less prone to flooding than certain other areas such as Beeston Rylands *, nice to cycle, easy to get places, top rank National Nature Reserve. There are a couple of downsides but not much. It's the sort of place they play bowls.
The problem with that list of names is that they are designed to be boring and inoffensive. They might as well name one after the Armilla Patrol. See Poundbury (FFS).
* Beeston Rylands is an anagram of Notable Dryness, which is a damned lie, and Breasted Nylons, which more captures the spirit of the place. If you build a house in the Rylands, it needs to be up 3 or 4 steps, or over a garage storey with the wiring coming down from the ceiling.
Exactly. Even if they don’t go for my ready-made international options, surely there are some more dynamic names out there.
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.
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?
On the island (sic) of Harris there’s the town of Leverburgh (originally Obbe) named after Lord Leverhulme. In those days you could just buy a village and name it after yourself.
And plenty of new ones liked Grantown. Perhaps if new estates, towns were named after politicians we’d have a lot more of them.
On place names, my father used to live on a new build estate named after F1 Drivers. There was a Damon Hill Road which annoyed me beyond reason. Why wasn't it just called Damon Hill???
That sounds like the new Brooklands town, built on part of the old motor racing circuit.
Oh I missed a really obvious example as well. Newton Aycliffe is a New Town built next to a village called Aycliffe (which is now Aycliffe village.
If Gloucestershire goes for this new town of 8,000 people off junction 2 of the M50, they could call it 'Redmarley Newtown' to contrast with 'Redmarley D'Abitot.'
And close by, Much Marcle could become Much Greater Marcle.
But no Meghan Marcle, I'm thinking.
That would be fuckin' awesome! A new town midway between Gloucester and Hereford called Meghan Marcle. The Daily Mail and GB News would implode.
Currently Much Marcle is in a Green constituency, so not out of the question. For that area my favourite new place name would be Temple Morris.
I can't for the life of me see why we are possibly piling in to the Straits of Hormuz mess. It means very little to us (Asian countries are far more seriously affected). Nor can I understand why we are potentially providing bomber bases for the USA, unless Mr Starmer is playing a quite tricksy game; we would be far better to align with our allies (which do not include the USA).
We would be better off providing resources for the Red Sea protection patrol as previously, which does mean something to us, and declaring formal neutrality in Trump's Iran War.
Trump is just looking for parties to blame for the hole he has landed the USA in, and allies he can stiff before he blames them.
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?
Intuitively yes. But one of the things I've been wondering though is as global wealth increasingly gets into the hands of the top 1% does that accelerate asset values further and faster? Their money has to be put somewhere despite global economic uncertainty and they are not impacted by cost of living pressures that reduce ability to save in the same way that ordinary households are.
Slightly tangential but an interesting debate between Matthew Goodwin a right wing commentator who has become more extreme and my personal favourite Medhi Hasan who questions him on his journey to the right. In many ways an opposite journey to Tucker Carlson's
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.
Nuking the bejesus out of Tehran cements his name in the History of the World book.
I would do a new town called Carlowrie, or Carlowry would be the anglicised version, after Charles. And I'd make him lead the design. It would give him something to do to stop him meddling, and give him a legacy. And possibly even keep him vertical for a bit longer, who knows?
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.
Trump is just the front man. He delivered for the evangelicals (Roe v Wade) who financed him. Now it's the neocons. He's simply open to whoever pays him.
Venezuela was a smash and grab of resources. Iran was the next one with a proposed puppet government. Netanyahu went off-script and continues to do so. If Trump (and his backers) are trying to extract themselves or dumping it on their 'allies', its because they realise that Netanyahu is going full tilt until the October elections.
There must be some village names that have gone into disuse - it'd be better to resurrect those. (This bit a serious suggestion)
AND can we please rename the London Overground lines to major battles or some such. (I hope the use of caps will be forgiven in this one small point). Oh and then keel-haul all of those that were responsible for the current nonsense names below one of the Navy's handily in-dock ships - may as well get some use out of them.
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.
Nuking the bejesus out of Tehran cements his name in the History of the World book.
Although, there might not be anybody left to read it.
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?
Intuitively yes. But one of the things I've been wondering though is as global wealth increasingly gets into the hands of the top 1% does that accelerate asset values further and faster? Their money has to be put somewhere despite global economic uncertainty and they are not impacted by cost of living pressures that reduce ability to save in the same way that ordinary households are.
Elon Musk getting ‘wealthier’, is also good news for regular people’s pension funds invested in Tesla stock.
There was a rumour that former Tamworth MP Chris Pincher had moved to Cockermouth it was denied by the MP for Fan Y Big (name redacted) who confirmed he'd relocated to Fingringhoe
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.
Nuking the bejesus out of Tehran cements his name in the History of the World book.
Perhaps burying all that enriched uranium under a sea of trinitite might be one way of putting it beyond use?
On the town names, I think Lummox would be good, or Lummox Bottom. Personally I want something called Thortons with the areas names after chocolates - Cracknell, Praline, Caramel etc.
Or another one with an exclamation mark, just to wind up Westward Ho ! , or something longer than Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch .
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...
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?
Intuitively yes. But one of the things I've been wondering though is as global wealth increasingly gets into the hands of the top 1% does that accelerate asset values further and faster? Their money has to be put somewhere despite global economic uncertainty and they are not impacted by cost of living pressures that reduce ability to save in the same way that ordinary households are.
Elon Musk getting ‘wealthier’, is also good news for regular people’s pension funds invested in Tesla stock.
Queen Elizabeth II already has two tube lines named after her. (I know the Elizabeth line isn’t technically a tube line.) Emmeline Pankhurst was a terrorist. Æthelstan (successfully) invaded Scotland, which might not go down well.
I suggest Petaton, named after Peta, the No 10 cat in the sixties and seventies.
Good idea- Palmerston would be a great name for a new town. Pronounceable, strong cadence, nod to linguistic heritage, significant in history
On the town names, I think Lummox would be good, or Lummox Bottom. Personally I want something called Thortons with the areas names after chocolates - Cracknell, Praline, Caramel etc.
Or another one with an exclamation mark, just to wind up Westward Ho ! , or something longer than Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch .
But I'll stop there I think.
Auction the town names off to global billionaires/brands/corporates starting at a price of £50m per 1,000 population so £10bn to name a town of Bedford's size. Got to raise some cash somehow.
Queen Elizabeth II already has two tube lines named after her. (I know the Elizabeth line isn’t technically a tube line.) Emmeline Pankhurst was a terrorist. Æthelstan (successfully) invaded Scotland, which might not go down well.
I suggest Petaton, named after Peta, the No 10 cat in the sixties and seventies.
Good idea- Palmerston would be a great name for a new town. Pronounceable, strong cadence, nod to linguistic heritage, significant in history
We've had no '-ham's.
Beckham ??
vomit
Fun fact: former MP Philip Oppenheim had a dog called Vomit.
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?
Intuitively yes. But one of the things I've been wondering though is as global wealth increasingly gets into the hands of the top 1% does that accelerate asset values further and faster? Their money has to be put somewhere despite global economic uncertainty and they are not impacted by cost of living pressures that reduce ability to save in the same way that ordinary households are.
Elon Musk getting ‘wealthier’, is also good news for regular people’s pension funds invested in Tesla stock.
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.
He has way more latitude than that. He can declare victory, withdraw US forces and pressure others to take the incoming to reopen the strait. Starmer and others will fold and do it before too long.
E2A: Trump only needs one of Starmer or Macron on board to get the other. Neither the UK nor France could bear the other getting the limelight and, who knows, it might all go brilliantly. I mean, it won't, but it might.
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?
Intuitively yes. But one of the things I've been wondering though is as global wealth increasingly gets into the hands of the top 1% does that accelerate asset values further and faster? Their money has to be put somewhere despite global economic uncertainty and they are not impacted by cost of living pressures that reduce ability to save in the same way that ordinary households are.
Elon Musk getting ‘wealthier’, is also good news for regular people’s pension funds invested in Tesla stock.
how pathetic can you get
An investor who bought $1,000 worth of Tesla stock at the IPO in 2010 would have $230,029 today, roughly 230 times their original investment - a 40.52% compound annual growth rate over 16 years. The all-time high Tesla stock closing price was 489.88 on December 16, 2025. The Tesla 52-week high stock price is 498.83, which is 35.6% above the current share price. The Tesla 52-week low stock price is 214.25, which is 41.8% below the current share price. The average Tesla stock price for the last 52 weeks is 373.60.
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...
Carlson was interviewed by Piers Morgan last night and certainly has a following amongst the anti foreign wars, Israel sceptic wing of the GOP. He would be unlikely to win the nomination but could beat neocon pro Israel, pro Iran strikes Rubio for second. I would still expect VP Vance, who has been less openly gung ho about the Iran strikes than Trump and Rubio if still on the face of it loyal, to be GOP nominee.
Carlson has interviewed Putin and is also fiercely anti US involvement in Ukraine, so his isolationist anti Iran strikes position is at least consistent even if you disagree with it as I do
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.
He has way more latitude than that. He can declare victory, withdraw US forces and pressure others to take the incoming to reopen the strait. Starmer and others will fold and do it before too long.
E2A: Trump only needs one of Starmer or Macron on board to get the other. Neither the UK nor France could bear the other getting the limelight and, who knows, it might all go brilliantly. I mean, it won't, but it might.
I can't imagine Starmer and Macron are stupid enough to try and police that Strait - there is zero upside and a lot of downside in doing so..
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.
He has way more latitude than that. He can declare victory, withdraw US forces and pressure others to take the incoming to reopen the strait. Starmer and others will fold and do it before too long.
E2A: Trump only needs one of Starmer or Macron on board to get the other. Neither the UK nor France could bear the other getting the limelight and, who knows, it might all go brilliantly. I mean, it won't, but it might.
I can't imagine Starmer and Macron are stupid enough to try and police that Strait - there is zero upside and a lot of downside in doing so..
Mr. eek, just tell Starmer it's a legal requirement and he'd do anything
EXCLUSIVE: Tory ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel BLOCKED the FBI from quizzing Andrew over Epstein
Priti Patel prevented the FBI from questioning Andrew about his links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite officers having 'documentary evidence suggesting he knew about sex trafficking'
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.
He has a news story - Epstein that needs to be kept out of the news at all costs because photos of him and Epstein with 13 year old girls means everyone can put 2 and 2 together.
Which means he has continually triggered a conflict when the photos have appeared to remove said photos from the news.
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.
He has way more latitude than that. He can declare victory, withdraw US forces and pressure others to take the incoming to reopen the strait. Starmer and others will fold and do it before too long.
E2A: Trump only needs one of Starmer or Macron on board to get the other. Neither the UK nor France could bear the other getting the limelight and, who knows, it might all go brilliantly. I mean, it won't, but it might.
I can't imagine Starmer and Macron are stupid enough to try and police that Strait - there is zero upside and a lot of downside in doing so..
Most people formed a view of him as a conservative journalist and commentator over three decades - until about two years ago. Modern Tucker is someone quite different to the Fox News guy.
Can I see him running, possibly, but in recent months his show has turned into the same sort of antisemetic conspiracy theory usually associated with the likes of Candace Owens.
He recently ‘bought’ a house in Qatar, and let’s not forget his trip last year to Moscow to give Putin a soft-soap interview in the middle of the Ukraine war, featuring added bonus content walking around the fancy part of town and saying how much better it is than America.
My money for ‘28 GOP nomination is on Rubio so far.
MAGA won't vote for Rubio, he might not even beat Carlson and he certainly won't now beat Vance for the GOP nomination. Even Haley would probably beat him as she would do better with the old country club wing of the GOP
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.
He has way more latitude than that. He can declare victory, withdraw US forces and pressure others to take the incoming to reopen the strait. Starmer and others will fold and do it before too long.
E2A: Trump only needs one of Starmer or Macron on board to get the other. Neither the UK nor France could bear the other getting the limelight and, who knows, it might all go brilliantly. I mean, it won't, but it might.
I can't imagine Starmer and Macron are stupid enough to try and police that Strait - there is zero upside and a lot of downside in doing so..
Starmer, and the British defence establishment who will be guiding him, are 100% stupid enough and Macron is vain enough to do it just because Starmer is.
For the new towns names, why not go with much loved fictitious British places like Blandings or Walmington-on-Sea, or Walford or Emmerdale? Trumpton is probably out.
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...
He probably will do though. Mission accomplished, and opening the straits is other people’s problem.
The man and his cronies are utterly shameless, and utterly without moral scruples.
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...
I read yesterday that Mr Trump's approach (yesterday) was that the USA had achieved their aims and it was up to the countries whose trade uses the Straits to get them reopened.
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?
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!
If the initial invasion was illegal then any support being given whether defensive od offensive in aid of that invasion must also be illegal. Once again Starmer snatches political defeat from the jaws of victory.
The sooner he goes the sooner Labour can become a serious left of centre party again. If he stays the Greens will replace them
For the new towns names, why not go with much loved fictitious British places like Blandings or Walmington-on-Sea, or Walford or Emmerdale? Trumpton is probably out.
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?
Xi would be learning precisely the wrong lesson. Ukraine and Iran both illustrate the folly of a country, no matter how powerful, attempting to win a war that for them is one of choice, but for the target is existential.
If China thinks the lesson from this is that Taiwan would be a walkover then it’s less strategically intelligent than we thought.
Results from the South Australia state election today have the centre left Labor Party being re elected with 37% and a projected 22 seats, slightly down on the 39% and 27 seats they got in 2022.
However the battle for second is close with hard right anti immigration One Nation on 21% up a big 18% on 2022 and ahead of the centre right Coalition on 19%, down massively on the 35% they received in 2022 but on seats won after 2PP the Coalition remains second on 6 seats to 0 for One Nation. The Greens are on 11% but 0 seats https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/sa/2026/results/party-totals
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?
Xi would be learning precisely the wrong lesson. Ukraine and Iran both illustrate the folly of a country, no matter how powerful, attempting to win a war that for them is one of choice, but for the target is existential.
If China thinks the lesson from this is that Taiwan would be a walkover then it’s less strategically intelligent than we thought.
The thing is China is still, mostly, Xi. And Xi wants to reunify Taiwan with the mainland. And Xi is an old man in a hurry. And it's a very human failing to rationalise as possible, even likely, what you want to happen.
I think it's definitely a mistake to assume that the people involved will make optimal choices.
EXCLUSIVE: Tory ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel BLOCKED the FBI from quizzing Andrew over Epstein
Priti Patel prevented the FBI from questioning Andrew about his links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite officers having 'documentary evidence suggesting he knew about sex trafficking'
Oh I missed a really obvious example as well. Newton Aycliffe is a New Town built next to a village called Aycliffe (which is now Aycliffe village.
There's a town in the Scottish Borders, Newtown St Boswells, which sounds like an extra bit to St Boswells, but was actually named after a railway station between the two villages. Newtown was a new town in the 11C
I'm genuinely not sure where we are with the Iran Conflict this week. I also sense Trump is losing patience and interest and wants to move on to "the next thing". It's the mark of some leaders they have a short attention span and once the thing they are concerned with stops being enjoyable they don't want to know.
When I worked, back in the Ordovician Era, I used to chair meetings with a Jed Bartlett style "What's Next?" especially if we had a full agenda but I was aware there was a fine line between allowing discussion and debate to run its course and re-hashing the same arguments and wasting time.
Yet WTI is close to $100 and Brent at $112 suggesting there's pain aplenty to come and especially for those driving diesel vehicles and I've yet to see the impact of all this on gas prices which will no doubt be used by the energy utilities to gouge us all yet again.
Even so, the conflict may have one positive outcome:
If you tether yourself to an incontinent donkey you're going to get showered. To the great British public Starmer has joinied Trumps madcap army.. The fact that he's been assigned the job of cleaning the toilets just makes us look worse.
Elizabethtown is a little colonial (and wasn’t there a terrible zombie movie called that).
Attleeton and Athelstan are a little pretentious.
Pankhurst and Seacole work (although the latter should be far inland just to confuse future generations)
Let's be honest, those have only be selected because they needed to cover off gender and race: (1) Pankhurst is considered a feminist icon, and, (2) Mary Seacole was black and around in Victorian times.
I can only assume a Turingville is in the offing to cover off the "LGBT community".
There was a rumour that former Tamworth MP Chris Pincher had moved to Cockermouth it was denied by the MP for Fan Y Big (name redacted) who confirmed he'd relocated to Fingringhoe
Sounds like a load of Shitterton (pronounced "Swindon" apparently).
EXCLUSIVE: Tory ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel BLOCKED the FBI from quizzing Andrew over Epstein
Priti Patel prevented the FBI from questioning Andrew about his links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite officers having 'documentary evidence suggesting he knew about sex trafficking'
For the new towns names, why not go with much loved fictitious British places like Blandings or Walmington-on-Sea, or Walford or Emmerdale? Trumpton is probably out.
Midsomer, perhaps.
That name for me has a sinister vibe to it. I associate it with brutal murders and Wicker Man type activities. Wouldn't visit.
EXCLUSIVE: Tory ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel BLOCKED the FBI from quizzing Andrew over Epstein
Priti Patel prevented the FBI from questioning Andrew about his links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite officers having 'documentary evidence suggesting he knew about sex trafficking'
There was a rumour that former Tamworth MP Chris Pincher had moved to Cockermouth it was denied by the MP for Fan Y Big (name redacted) who confirmed he'd relocated to Fingringhoe
Sounds like a load of Shitterton (pronounced "Swindon" apparently).
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?
Xi would be learning precisely the wrong lesson. Ukraine and Iran both illustrate the folly of a country, no matter how powerful, attempting to win a war that for them is one of choice, but for the target is existential.
If China thinks the lesson from this is that Taiwan would be a walkover then it’s less strategically intelligent than we thought.
The thing is China is still, mostly, Xi. And Xi wants to reunify Taiwan with the mainland. And Xi is an old man in a hurry. And it's a very human failing to rationalise as possible, even likely, what you want to happen.
I think it's definitely a mistake to assume that the people involved will make optimal choices.
What this shows is that if Xi wants regime change in Taiwan it needs Chinese groundtroops which means Chinese body bags. US and Israeli strikes alone are not removing the Iranian regime.
Even then it is not guaranteed, Putin has sent groundtroops into Ukraine but still only captured about a quarter of the country for Russia
If you tether yourself to an incontinent donkey you're going to get showered. To the great British public Starmer has joinied Trumps madcap army.. The fact that he's been assigned the job of cleaning the toilets just makes us look worse.
Would Carney or Macron have volunteered?
You are facing down an economic event of Biblical proportions thanks to Trump and Bibi's ghost. I can't see that doing nothing to defend access to the straits is an option. How to strategize that without loss of military personnel is quite the conundrum.
For the new towns names, why not go with much loved fictitious British places like Blandings or Walmington-on-Sea, or Walford or Emmerdale? Trumpton is probably out.
Midsomer, perhaps.
That name for me has a sinister vibe to it. I associate it with brutal murders and Wicker Man type activities. Wouldn't visit.
And you might run into John Nettles and nobody wants that
There are a lot of place names in England named after people: someone's field, or someone's village, etc, but the names are so old, and have been subtly corrupted, that we don't recognise them as such anymore.
So it's a weird combination of being completely normal, and sounding really odd and lame.
Suspect there's an analogue of Adam's Law of Technology here; any new name for a new town will sound wrong and artificial, because it wasn't there when we grew up.
Maybe we should come at this the other way. Instead of commemorating anyone, get AI to generate 100 things that sound like British place names, focus group them to find the least obtrusive three, and then make up a story about them.
Sort of like Lymeswold.
You don't need to use AI. There are a whole bunch of place name generator tables used for RPGs. Just roll a few dice.
I think that, with a bit of effort, you could generate a new place name by simulating the process many of our existing place names have gone through.
So, take Æthelstan as an example. I'm sure if you asked an expert on Anglo-Saxon place names they could tell you that "Æthelstan's town" would probably have been something like "Æthelstan's burgh", which through centuries of usage would have been shortened to the more easily pronounced "Stanborough" or "Athelsbury". Job done.
Athelstan is on a roll at the moment, next year being the 1100th anniversary of the Treaty of Eamont Bridge (just south of Penrith) in 927, an arguable date for the founding of England.
David Woodman's recent 'The First King of England' (Princeton UP) highly recommended.
There is already an Athelstaneford in East Lothian, of course.
EXCLUSIVE: Tory ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel BLOCKED the FBI from quizzing Andrew over Epstein
Priti Patel prevented the FBI from questioning Andrew about his links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, despite officers having 'documentary evidence suggesting he knew about sex trafficking'
Elizabethtown is a little colonial (and wasn’t there a terrible zombie movie called that).
Attleeton and Athelstan are a little pretentious.
Pankhurst and Seacole work (although the latter should be far inland just to confuse future generations)
Let's be honest, those have only be selected because they needed to cover off gender and race: (1) Pankhurst is considered a feminist icon, and, (2) Mary Seacole was black and around in Victorian times.
I can only assume a Turingville is in the offing to cover off the "LGBT community".
Yes they are rubbish names for a dozen reasons, but mostly because these names have no local historical connection.
Naming a town after Hardy in Dorset, Nelson in west Norfolk, Elgar in Worcestershire etc has a sense of place, but as far as I can see none of these names do.
Comments
Interesting flightpaths that they have to use around the closed EU airspace too.
https://airlive.net/military/2026/03/19/us-air-force-b-1b-bombers-denied-access-to-european-union-airspace/#google_vignette
The problem with that list of names is that they are designed to be boring and inoffensive. They might as well name one after the Armilla Patrol. See Poundbury (FFS).
* Beeston Rylands is an anagram of Notable Dryness, which is a damned lie, and Breasted Nylons, which more captures the spirit of the place. If you build a house in the Rylands, it needs to be up 3 or 4 steps, or over a garage storey with the wiring coming down from the ceiling.
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”.
More coffee required, or perhaps time for a beer.
However, since most of the USA and Canada are named after UK places in the back of beyond (as was) I'm suggesting Utter Piddle and Scrooby.
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.
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?
Currently Much Marcle is in a Green constituency, so not out of the question. For that area my favourite new place name would be Temple Morris.
We would be better off providing resources for the Red Sea protection patrol as previously, which does mean something to us, and declaring formal neutrality in Trump's Iran War.
Trump is just looking for parties to blame for the hole he has landed the USA in, and allies he can stiff before he blames them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvDAOLOg3ZM
Venezuela was a smash and grab of resources. Iran was the next one with a proposed puppet government. Netanyahu went off-script and continues to do so. If Trump (and his backers) are trying to extract themselves or dumping it on their 'allies', its because they realise that Netanyahu is going full tilt until the October elections.
AND can we please rename the London Overground lines to major battles or some such. (I hope the use of caps will be forgiven in this one small point). Oh and then keel-haul all of those that were responsible for the current nonsense names below one of the Navy's handily in-dock ships - may as well get some use out of them.
Or another one with an exclamation mark, just to wind up Westward Ho ! , or something longer than Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch .
But I'll stop there I think.
What the ghost of Bibi has up his sleeve however...
Trump now his two choices. The forever war. Or the everyone laughing at Trump forever capitulation.
E2A: Trump only needs one of Starmer or Macron on board to get the other. Neither the UK nor France could bear the other getting the limelight and, who knows, it might all go brilliantly. I mean, it won't, but it might.
New town is King Kong.
The all-time high Tesla stock closing price was 489.88 on December 16, 2025.
The Tesla 52-week high stock price is 498.83, which is 35.6% above the current share price.
The Tesla 52-week low stock price is 214.25, which is 41.8% below the current share price.
The average Tesla stock price for the last 52 weeks is 373.60.
https://www.macrotrends.net/stocks/charts/TSLA/tesla/stock-price-history
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...
One for @ydoethur (and Leon?). The new town between Dymock and Ross on Wye could be Woodhead, after a favourite son of Newent.
Carlson has interviewed Putin and is also fiercely anti US involvement in Ukraine, so his isolationist anti Iran strikes position is at least consistent even if you disagree with it as I do
Which means he has continually triggered a conflict when the photos have appeared to remove said photos from the news.
The man and his cronies are utterly shameless, and utterly without moral scruples.
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?
The sooner he goes the sooner Labour can become a serious left of centre party again. If he stays the Greens will replace them
An eclectic mix of Khany Woke-signalling, mild-partisanship and Flegs.
If China thinks the lesson from this is that Taiwan would be a walkover then it’s less strategically intelligent than we thought.
Bramblehurst
Cotswold Green
Dunmere Heath
East Woldingham
Foxbury Cross
Greendale-on-Sea
High Elmsford
Ironbridge Wells
Kingswood Vale
Long Barton etc
Tired of the culture wars.
I assume that Iran firing missiles at a British Overseas Territory means we have to pay Mauritius some money?
However the battle for second is close with hard right anti immigration One Nation on 21% up a big 18% on 2022 and ahead of the centre right Coalition on 19%, down massively on the 35% they received in 2022 but on seats won after 2PP the Coalition remains second on 6 seats to 0 for One Nation. The Greens are on 11% but 0 seats
https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/sa/2026/results/party-totals
I think it's definitely a mistake to assume that the people involved will make optimal choices.
We save that stuff for the Dominions.
I'm genuinely not sure where we are with the Iran Conflict this week. I also sense Trump is losing patience and interest and wants to move on to "the next thing". It's the mark of some leaders they have a short attention span and once the thing they are concerned with stops being enjoyable they don't want to know.
When I worked, back in the Ordovician Era, I used to chair meetings with a Jed Bartlett style "What's Next?" especially if we had a full agenda but I was aware there was a fine line between allowing discussion and debate to run its course and re-hashing the same arguments and wasting time.
Yet WTI is close to $100 and Brent at $112 suggesting there's pain aplenty to come and especially for those driving diesel vehicles and I've yet to see the impact of all this on gas prices which will no doubt be used by the energy utilities to gouge us all yet again.
Even so, the conflict may have one positive outcome:
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Why-the-Iran-War-May-Have-Just-Killed-the-AI-Boom.html
Would Carney or Macron have volunteered?
I can only assume a Turingville is in the offing to cover off the "LGBT community".
Even then it is not guaranteed, Putin has sent groundtroops into Ukraine but still only captured about a quarter of the country for Russia
Naming a town after Hardy in Dorset, Nelson in west Norfolk, Elgar in Worcestershire etc has a sense of place, but as far as I can see none of these names do.