It would. But the London-Amsterdam service (not on the map here!) has started after the Brexit vote.
Also notable how many other projected services on the map aren't yet high-speed ones.
It'd be fascinating to map out the points below (although probably not possible in 2D!)
Hegemonic imperial status tends to be a reinforcing virtuous circle - wealth brings power, power brings wealth - but only if the support mechanisms remain in place. Mismanage those and the whole thing collapses.
Just no-confidence the government.
Oh, you can't, because you don't have a parliamentary democracy, you don't have a multi-party system*, and you don't have PR*.
* Not essential if a party can act with a degree of independence from its leader. Would be essential at the moment.
Trump is unserious.
The consequences of Trump are very serious.
If they didn't have a nuclear weapons programme before*, they will now.
* They did. But it will be accelerated.
I guess it's helpful that it's all out in the open. No-one with any sense should be going anywhere near this.
I'm not sure what Farage's game is here. Crypto is not going to play very well with the Reform base. Has he spent too much time in US echo chambers or does he not care?
The backlash has already happened. "... fears of ..." is just polite phrasing.
Yes, exactly that.
Not that bombing more things necessarily opens the Straight.
Ah, thanks. Yes, I'd agree with that.
Leaving aside the specifics of this particular example, the general point is right. Allies matter.
Maybe the White House should pause to reflect on how international opinion towards the US has changed over the last year, and why.
Their lack of diplomacy has destroyed their alliance base.
He usually has a pretty good Idea of what he's doing.
He just doesn't think much, if at all, about the effects of what he's doing beyond his immediate audience.
This below is entirely right.
It's also an indicator that a lot of highly-paid people in the markets are deluding themselves, gullible or not nearly as clever as others think they are (or better informed, but I seriously doubt that here).
The fundamentals re Iran have *barely moved* overnight.
Trump lacks a lot of leadership skills, but he does have the con-man's ability to keep leading people on by giving them just enough hope that he will eventually do the right thing without ever actually intending to.
US foreign policy in short:
" Nice country you have there. It would be a shame if it got all smashed up. Give us all your oil and minerals and we will leave you alone".
Sure. But who would want to buy American hardware and put all that leverage in Trump's hands?
Better to use the money to supply an alliance of states that share values and interests - including Ukraine but excluding the US - to minimise critical risks on any one country (and reduce cost).
If the US ends the war now, it's lost.
Its objective was regime change. The regime hasn't changed.
Its objective was the denial of a nuclear bomb to Iran. They've gone from a Supreme Leader who opposed those weapons to one who supports them, apparently.
Destruction does not equal victory.
Trump spooked by the oil price.
But while it takes one side to start a war, it takes two to finish it. Iran's agreement can't be assumed.
the irony
Indeed.
It is theoretically possible they're being used as platforms for altitude-launched precision munitions to take out drones on the ground (for example).
But I doubt it - and if it is something like that, we still deserve to be told.
Oh, absolutely. Blue Labour types are creatures of habit who've been voting Labour since the 1970s.
Anyone have any idea on what Starmer's policy is today on the Iran war?
Seems pretty pointless denying air base facilities to 'non-defensive' operations while allowing transit rights to those same aircraft to fly off elsewhere.
Also a belief that socially conservative sometime Labour voters haven't already stepped away or would return if given what Blue Labour thinks they want. As if they don't have other, more convincing, options.
Lol. Israel probably doesn't want Iran to have an oil industry any time soon. As if Netanytahu cares much about US opinion.
Europeans who have been similarly criticised for their lack of solidarity (after being similarly ignored / taken for granted beforehand), no doubt feel likewise.
Apparently it's not impeachment territory either.
Democrats should get off their backsides and stop complaining that the cabinet won't do anything..
Yes, obviously an impeachment isn't going to succeed either (yet) but it does lay down a line in the sand.
$110/barrel will see $4/gallon. The pain is going to get worse.
Stocks and interest rates also looking dodgy.
Personally, I'd be very worried about the combination of bad regulation from the Fed, crypto nuts in the WH, the deficit and debt levels, and possibility of a recession.
= Bank failures.
Imagining Zelenskyy biting his tongue in an effort not to say, "You don't have the cards."
Interesting and concerning thread.
Europe and southern Asia barely have any safe air routes left.
And it's entirely likely he will. But declaring the war ended doesn't mean the war *is* ended if Iran feels like continuing it, particularly against Israel.
Trump has also painted a very big target on his own personal back.
I have some sympathy for this.
But on balance, I'd rather send the king and then, when he gives the inevitable set-piece speech, its a no-holds-barred defence of the shared inheritance of the rule of law, democracy, freedom of speech etc - all cloaked as a celebration of common values. But not.
