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| Scrapped. |
There's a pattern here. Invincible is being cut into scrap as we speak, Ark Royal is on the block, the Nimrods were shredded within weeks of demobbing, and now the Harriers are off to the USA to be stripped for spares. Why? The best answer I've seen so far is that the coalition is angered by all the criticism of the defence cuts and is doing everything they can to make them irreversible as, according to Con Coughlin at the Telegraph, an act of petty revenge.
I am reliably informed that the decision to sell the Harriers, which was only taken yesterday, was an act of vengeance against Admiral Stanhope for daring to suggest that the Government might wish to reconsider its decision to scrap a vital maritime capability.
This government is not only incompetent, it is childish.
7 comments:
Not only incompetent but treacherous to boot...micen90
The One is now smiling- or rather, yet wider.
Cameron & Clegg, Ltd., have given Him another excuse to cancel the F-35. And spend tax money into the bargain. (Two things He loves almost as much as golf, and posing like Benny the Moose.)
BTW, aren't these the same Harriers that C&C, LLC, just decided had passed their "best before" date for RAF/FAA service?
At what point does stupidity on the part of elected leaders hit the treason threshold? (See "aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war.")
Oh, I forgot- it's only the other side which declared war. My mistake. Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa.
cheers (grrrr...)
eon
And all for a mess of pottage !
Micen90.
Eon, doesn't everyone know that if all us evil Westerners just scrap all our military tools and capabilities, the world will love us, the Age of Aquarius will dawn, and there'll be peace in our time?
I'm sure in the "minds" of these delightful temporary politicians who want to make permanent scars (sorry, I mean _marks_) on our societies, this isn't treason. It isn't rolling over to expose our unprotected throats and soft underbellies to people who want nothing more than our destruction. It's reasoned, thoughtful remaking of the world into what they want it to be. Haven't they told us the power is theirs? Not that they would ever exercise it, my goodness, no.
Wesley;
Exactly. At least, that's their worldview.
We are dealing with people who have been on a Magical Mystery Tour most of their "adult" lives. And who operate on the theory that when reality conflicts with their dogmas, reality must be disposed of because their dogmas are incapable of being wrong.
As for "exercising power", they love it. The difference is, they do so in the name of a "higher morality", and thus anything they do is OK.
Funny. Every despot in history thought the same thing. Even the brutal and psychopathic Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar (42 BC-37 AD), and his even more appalling grandson, Gaius Germanicus Caesar (12-41 AD), better known by his nickname, "little boot"- in Latin, "Caligula". The latter thought he was a living god. (It's a more common aberration than most people think.)
Myself, I have come to the conclusion that a large percentage of these "enlightened ones" are not really capable of actual rational thought, having simply never bothered to learn the skill. (It is not innate.) They just follow along with whatever "feels right", and whatever all their friends say. ("Groupthink" rules in such an environment; and the results are invariably unfortunate.)
As for the leaders, I can only assume that the majority of them are, like Caligula, simply not playing with a full deck.
I'd probably feel pity for them, if I wasn't so bloody tired of the horrors they inflict on those unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius of their repeated attempts at "making the world new".
Historically speaking, only well-intentioned "social reformers" have managed to cause more casualties, directly or inadvertently, than would-be conquerors.
Conquerors generally can be openly opposed on grounds of principle; "reformers", on the other hand, cannot. They're supposedly in business "for the good of all"- and Adam Smith summed that one up far better than I can.
cheers
eon
Eon, despots do indeed employ groupthink and indoctrinate those over whom they demand authority into their slogan-filled ideologies. You are correct that one must be taught to be able to think. Children must be encouraged to ask why things are the way they are, be allowed to compare and contrast different ideas, be permitted to debate their views, as must adults.
I've read that's how children used to be taught, and that’s one reason our nation has been so prosperous and inventive. But now children are told what to believe, and thought that strays from the current PC dogma is smacked down with ruthless efficiency. And since we are social creatures by our makeup, children so abused are quickly brought "in line", learning not to think for themselves or question what they are told by their peer group or leaders. This has been going on for at least a couple of generations. You and a small minority have been able to escape it (I'd wager your parents were active in your childhood and encouraged you to ask questions, because I doubt you learned that from public "schools").
That's one reason I fear for our future. Unless we can encourage thought in others, and people who know history and have the ability to think for themselves prevent the slide we see our culture engaged in into the typical despotic pit, we will be like most of humanity: Enslaved to a self-anointed ruling class that's only acting "for the good of the people", but whose disastrous results belie the claim.
On military spending, the big questions are:
1) Who is the enemy?
2) What is his modus operandi?
3) How do you fight him?
Against enemies who are into terrorism and guerrilla warfare, aircraft carriers and anti-submarine bombers are of little avail.
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