browsing through my archives, i found this kick-ass piece from someone and couldn't help wondering how relevant it is today (not just to the world in general but also me personally):
TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows.
You sell the herd and retire on the income.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
You are surprised when the cow drops dead.
A FRENCH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create irritating cow cartoon images called Cowkimon and market them world-wide at a fantastic profit.
A GERMAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You reengineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
AN ENGLISH CORPORATION
You have two cows.
Both are mad.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows, but you don't know where they are.
You break for lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
You count them again and learn you have 12 cows.
You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION
You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you.
You charge others for storing them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.
ENRON CAPITALISM
You have two cows.You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows.
The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company.
The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new President of the United States, leaving you with nine cows.
No balance sheet provided with the release.
The public buys your bull.
Addendum from "le kiddo"
INDIAN CORPORATION
Put one cow in the temple, color n coconut it up!!! The other is in the office, training to be an American cow...
But in vain - 'cos then we get a Satyam cow
i am currently crafting Belgian, Spanish and Portuguese versions. any volunteers for an Indian version?
The Time Draws Near…
When you are lonely and the time draws near,
Think of the things severed by the thought.
When you are awake and the sky is clear,
Can you help but see the stars?
And create your own dreams and fear
That you may in time be up close
And heal the touch that brings you here?
Close your eyes and you will see
The bond with them that you cannot severe.
Think of the things severed by the thought.
When you are awake and the sky is clear,
Can you help but see the stars?
And create your own dreams and fear
That you may in time be up close
And heal the touch that brings you here?
Close your eyes and you will see
The bond with them that you cannot severe.
When you see the one looking down on you,
You know, you must, that the time draws near.
When you wait and you wait,
But she never seems to appear.
Chasing the shadows, chasing the dreams,
That you never thought of the one dear.
"And when your time has come,
You will look back and spare a tear."
For the one who knows and one who sees
Will always care.
satyajit venkatraman
Sometime in 1998
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