Kubota-san
No need to rise to Butt and Burger Thing...they have each other...probably 50yo meat meets 30yo buns....
On a more sober note, it is time for some serious change of approach before the typhoon season starts in earnest and the collective fuses burn very low again.
The reason the house always wins is that they have more time and money than each of us individually. The reason Kerry Packer wins is that the position is reversed. The first rule of gambling is, don't do it unless you have more time and money than the casino.
Realistically therefore the AOA position as it stands is untenable. Many might think that ND stepping off the stage will get things back on track. Afterall it has been widely quoted that senior management won't talk while ND is in the chair. The reality is that they won't talk as long as ND or anyone who espouses the view that the AOA is anymore than the 'Buena Vista Social Club'
is in the chair.
We all know that senior management choose not too engage in any meaningful manner. This is partly personality driven but if you recall, DT's predecessor used to engage, but that in itself didn't help when the gravy train was derailed and they wanted some of their carriages back.
In order for a sustainable dialogue to exist and in order to create an environment where genuine concerns are at least acknowledged, we are all going to have to let management be on top in this romp.
Charles Dickens would have felt right at home, but there it is...
As you so succinctly described with your two pail analogy, we do have a choice but in terms of how we get more of the green and less of the brown...Oliver Twist is, I am very much afraid, the least pungent option.