Re; the disconnect between real events and those in power. Recall the song from the Vietnam era. Applies to many situations today: financial, energy, etc., Afghanistan..........
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist_Deep_in_the_Big_Muddy It was back in nineteen forty-two, I was a member of a good platoon. We were on maneuvers in-a Loozianna, One night by the light of the moon. The captain told us to ford a river, That's how it all begun. We were -- knee deep in the Big Muddy, But the big fool said to push on. The Sergeant said, "Sir, are you sure, This is the best way back to the base?" "Sergeant, go on! I forded this river 'Bout a mile above this place. It'll be a little soggy but just keep slogging. We'll soon be on dry ground." We were -- waist deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool said to push on. The Sergeant said, "Sir, with all this equipment No man will be able to swim." "Sergeant, don't be a Nervous Nellie," The Captain said to him. "All we need is a little determination; Men, follow me, I'll lead on." We were -- neck deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool said to push on. All at once, the moon clouded over, We heard a gurgling cry. A few seconds later, the captain's helmet Was all that floated by. The Sergeant said, "Turn around men! I'm in charge from now on." And we just made it out of the Big Muddy With the captain dead and gone. We stripped and dived and found his body Stuck in the old quicksand. I guess he didn't know that the water was deeper Than the place he'd once before been. Another stream had joined the Big Muddy 'Bout a half mile from where we'd gone. We were lucky to escape from the Big Muddy When the big fool said to push on. Well, I'm not going to point any moral; I'll leave that for yourself Maybe you're still walking, you're still talking You'd like to keep your health. But every time I read the papers That old feeling comes on; We're -- waist deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool says to push on. Waist deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool says to push on. Waist deep in the Big Muddy And the big fool says to push on. Waist deep! Neck deep! Soon even a Tall man'll be over his head, we're Waist deep in the Big Muddy! And the big fool says to push on! -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Spencer Sent: Saturday, December 18, 2010 11:31 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Futurework] Re: The English want it, too! Snip, snip, snip Well, not to stretch the metaphor too far. The idea is the the emerging bimodal distribution puts the proles (as they were called in _1984_) in the big peak and the educated hard-core techies and the technocrats in the smaller, more prosperous one. But there's a smaller group yet, typically wealthy but not necessarily defined by wealth, that makes decisions that have global consequences. I reckon, from my position of relative ignorance in the domain, that these people are chiefly in financial trades or are suitably connected politicians (where "politician" means anything) or the ruling elites of sovereign states. This smallest and most powerful group is too large and heterogeneous to be a cabal but arguably could be called a conspiracy. And they either lack any of the knowledge necessary to conn the ship, intransigently believe, without real supporting evidence, that they do, or simply don't care what happens to the passengers, crew or the ship itself. The ship is, after all, to big, well-appointed, superbly equipped and, you know, *floaty*, to sink or run aground. And anyhow, we're *risk takers*, 'cause that's what you have to do to be a winner. Protests from the officers -- those who aren't totally co-opted by the guys on the bridge -- are merely irritations to be suppressed or endured. "Uncoupling" seems to have a different canonical meaning in finance but it seems to me that there is a potentially disastrous uncoupling of the whole of finance from social goals, even from basic chemistry, biology and physics. The guys on the bridge are uncoupled from anything to do with the ship or the other people aboard. Well, I'm going to shingle off onto the fog here if I don't stop. - Mike -- Michael Spencer Nova Scotia, Canada .~. /V\ [email protected] /( )\ http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/ ^^-^^ _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
