Job Discussion Forums

[Guy Courchesne]

Not ESL related of course but I thought I'd share.

The miners are going to be winched out tonight after 2 months underground. You can catch the rescue live at:

http://www.wgrz.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=90642&catid=37

[johnslat]

Dear Guy,

HURRAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This seems appropriate for the occasion:

Invictus
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

Regards,
John

[Insubordination]

Go miners go!

[AGoodStory]

Ten up on top now, all in amazingly good health and good spirits. I've been watching the coverage in Copiapo through the night--one of the infrequent occasions when I've appreciated cable news. Kudos to both miners and rescuers. Thanks, John, for the Henley piece that speaks so well to the heroism of these miners--"bloody, but unbowed" is right. Now we need one that addresses the brotherhood pact and the "common good" aspect of their experience. A two-day food supply that they stretched to 17 days! Anything I could say would just sound sappy.

For anyone who hasn't watched this rescue, here is the crowd's cheer:

Chi, Chi, Chi!
Le, Le, Le!
Chile! Chile! Chile!

[AGoodStory]

14 up, 19 to go. So far, this rescue has been flawlessly executed.

[artemisia]

(X 33)

Fantastic to see that they're all out!

[Dedicated]

It certainly was an amazing feat, leading to a flash of global joy. However, like all great media events, there is a much bleaker story behind it. Copper is Chile's gold, and the frequency of mining disasters keeps pace with prices and profits. There are 39 deaths every year in its privatised mines.

The San Jose mine, where 182 people were injured and one was killed in 2006, was so unsafe that it was closed in 2007, but it reopened the following year in response to rising copper prices. President Pinera, who hugged all 33 of the emerging miners for the cameras, is a billionaire who controls a slice of the mining industry and made his fortune after Pinochet's 1973 coup, when his brother was a minister.

That's what so moving about this episode : it offers a new vision of a country known for pitting right against left, rich against poor. Since Pinochet, Chile has quietly set about becoming a Latin American success story, with greater growth than Brazil and far less poverty and inequality.
However, after all the praise and rejoicing I think a backlash is inevitable against the media circus and against the attempts to cash in on the miners' story.

[artemisia]

The 29 miners trapped in the Pike River Mine, Greymouth, NZ have not been so lucky. Now there's been another explosion and the grim news is that there's no chance that any of the men have survived. There's methane gas everywhere underground. Looks like it's a recovery operation now.

[johnslat]

I'm afraid all 29 are dead, according to this morning's news - another explosion:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_new_zealand_mine_explosion

[spiral78]

Terribly sad.

[naturegirl321]

And from what I?ve heard, one of them was a 17 year old, first day on the job.

[Kiwi303]

He was actually off-shift anyway too, should have gone up with the last crew truck out before the explosion, but stayed behind to get some more on-the-job tips from the old hands at the face.