Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, phrases that roll off...

Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't, phrases that roll off the tongue so easily and sound so insightful if only they were.

Rhetoric. Language that is designed to have a persuasive or impressive effect, but which is often regarded as lacking in sincerity or meaningful content. Would anyone suggest Major-General Sengelman is prone to rhetoric? Would anyone dare say that to his face?

Or to put it in the vernacular, tell him, you're full of shit.

Is that why industry leaders like Speedcast, Inmarsat, AST, RealWear, Fugro, Ocean Infinity and Technip - and yes, Cisco Webex waiting in the wings - bamboozled by the rhetoric, have entered into global commercial partnerships with Harvest without doing their own extensive due diligence? Not for Harvest's financial benefit and competitive advantage, that is a given, but their own? And having done so, are so fulsome in their praise?

Time will tell how much rhetoric is involved, which is to say how little, and how much confidence there is in Harvest's technology and management's ability to execute the business plan and build a global enterprise worthy of investment.

To the dismay of some, that egg-on-face time may be coming sooner than they think.