Re: MoD relies on spin and secrecy to deflect criticism
what exactly is your point? HMS Sheffield caught fire after being hit by an exocet. Most of the crew were rescued.
The Belgrano wasn't fleeing anywhere - it was beyond the exclusion zone yes, but a potent weapon within a few hours sail of the Falklands (where our very small fleet was waiting) is a viable target in wartime.
Tinfoil hattery re targeting civilians - any citation for that or just revisionist hearsay? German bombers were under strict instructions not to bomb civilian targets until they accidentally hit London. Hitlers V weapons were developed as a last gasp attempt to swing the war in the Nazis favour, far too little and too late, nothing to do with a deliberate policy by the UK, unless you're suggesting we have access to intelligence in 1940 that somehow let us know they would develop the V2. Germany, specifically Hitler, refused to build enough fighters to counter the allied bombing campaign, and by the time they relalised it was too late, their infrastructure and industry was shattered. Dresden again? Have a look where your casualty figures come from. I assume you're going to quote 250,000 ? Interestingly those figures were created by Goebbels to whip up international revulsion - he multiplied his own ministry's casualty figures by a factor of 10. Sadly Dresden suffered no worse and in some cases far less than many German cities in 44/45.
That aside, the MoD is renowned for making massively expensive and dubious procurement decisions. I agree, selling the Harrier to the US is a stupid shortsighted idea. Yet again, follow the money and see who gets a fat salary as a consequence.
The Uk space program was cancelled as we couldn't afford it, preferring to spend money on things like pensions. It's also cheaper to have US built nuclear missiles than spend money developing our own. You can argue the foolishness of both these ideas and I'd agree with you.
As to the treatment of cadets and women, that's a whole different matter - the Army has a very closed mindset about training. What worked in the past must surely still work, or so they like to think. The Deepcut business was buried to keep the army's reputation intact, and has become so ingrained they now cant even consider revealing what happened.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
