Living in interesting times: Playing chicken.

We’ve all watched them, either as films at the cinema or on the TV. The formulaic “action film”.
You have the muscle bound hero and the muscle bound villain. Each driving a flash sports car. Each with a beautiful woman in the passenger seat. The two cars and their passengers are on a collision course! Surely it must end in death and disaster! The two beauties do what is expected of them, scream but in a sexy way. Then at the very last second our hero swerves and through a masterful piece of impossibly skilful driving saves himself, the car and of course the lady!
These films of course are written for a certain section of the viewing audience; teenage boys.
Well it seems that playing chicken is not restricted to Hollywood fantasies. It appears our Dearly Beloved Prime Minister is going to do the same thing. For real!
I particularly like the phrase; “We will seek to avoid a disruptive cliff edge,” It seems our Dear Leader is as fond of mortal euphemisms as the World’s military staffs; e.g. “degrade” meaning to drop bombs on people and assets. The thing is when a such as a USN Mark 83 general purpose bomb lands on you, it makes no difference was to whether the phrase “Degraded in action” or “Killed in action” is chiselled on your tombstone. You are still dead!
Below, a USN F-18E “Super Hornet” from VFA-115 with 10 Mk 83 bombs – cropped USN image.