© REUTERS/Hannah Mckay
It's surreal what people are being insulted with these days. The term "stealth jet" is well-named. The stealth of robbing people with a ridiculous boondoggle.
Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, announced the "good news" while visiting an RAF base as if it was an early Christmas gift to the nation.
The state-owned BBC was on hand like a helpful elf to lend some gloss to the news.
"The prime minister says the joint venture aims to create thousands of UK jobs and strengthen security ties," chirruped the Beeb, adding, "It is hoped the new Tempest jet will carry the latest weapons."
Why would any sane person "hope" for the "latest weapons"?
The new fighter jet is planned to phase out the existing Typhoon plane by the mid-2030s. The latter seems perfectly adequate at killing people, so why the need for improvement?
The newer killing machine will cost tens of billions of pounds to develop with private arms maker British Aerospace taking a lead role. British workers squeezed for more taxes can look forward to filling the coffers of already rich corporate capitalists and their investors. HoHoHo in reverse!
It is not explained why the existing Typhoon must be phased out or why more of them are simply not produced if there is an onerous need to "keep Britain secure".
And if it is all about "creating thousands of jobs" then why doesn't Premier Sunak invest tens of billions into building hospitals and schools? Now we would be talking about real social security, as opposed to fantasies, and that is why such talk must be eviscerated by the BBC.
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