Word of the day: cipher key clé de chiffrement, clave de cifrado, Schlüssel, krüpteervõti, шифровий ключ, шифроключ, 密钥
eBooks at the end of the post, free law search engines. Prig updates, news and analysis follow.
Prigozhin
Expect Russian lies, Russian half truths, compounded by Western wishful thinking and Western ignorance: that's the Russian’s objective. To confuse and split opponents.
“I feel your pain” -Bill Clinton
Look, if the Russian army puts up no serious resistance to Prigozhin maybe, just maybe, it’s all a staged show, hm?
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/26/world/russia-ukraine-news
This too may be illusion. Putin supposedly backtracks on purported amnesty deal with Prigozhin without ever once referring to Prig by name. Henceforth I may call Prig: HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED
https://cepa.org/article/russias-security-forces-learn-bitter-lessons-from-putins-maneuvering/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-backtracks-12-hours-after-saying-prigozhin-would-be-punished
This too may be illusion. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/27/world/europe/russia-prigozhin-wagner-charges.html
the-economist-explains/2023/06/27/what-happened-when-russias-air-force-attacked-wagners-rebels
Yet another railway damaged in occupied Ukraine. That’s not an illusion. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/06/27/railway-damaged-in-russia-annexed-crimea-a81656
World's largest hydro-solar power plant enters full operation in China Lots of Euros & Americans will be fearful and defensive instead of happy and optimistic about this. What the fuck is wrong with you all. It’s fucking great news but no you will stoke fear and hate because greedy.
清君侧 “Crooked Ministers Surround the Monarch” known plain text.
Vietnam & Sino-American Rivalry
China and the USA will court and contend for an alliance and trade relationship with Vietnam.
https://thediplomat.com/2023/06/us-aircraft-carrier-arrives-in-vietnam-for-six-day-friendship-visit/
囍
At death the soul is purified for it’s next chance at moral improvement. Hence, the colour of mourning is white.
What would Jiang Qing do?
India: Codification of Law
Sometimes what people don’t talk about is as important as what they do talk about: Fermi’s Paradox “Where are they?”
Tthere are only about a dozen stars within around 10 light years of earth. We only get >100 stars after 100 light years. This means earth radio signals have only started reaching other possibly habited worlds
They haven't had time to reply let alone visit. It would take a message sent from another star at last around 100 years to reach earth. There are simply very few stars less than 100 light years from earth, but starting at 100 light years the number of stars increases from a dozen or so to thousand.
Fermi’s thinking about extra-terrestrials was 1 dimensional. He didn't think critically about why no aliens have, so far as we know, contacted earth.
How would anyone even know we are here? Radio. and how long would our radio take to reach a habited civilize world? At least 100 years.
We may start hearing back from other worlds in the next decades. If so, then what?
I promised you complete cooperation on this specific issue: “how’m I doin’?”.
Recent Russia turmoil challenging Vladimir Putin ‘unsettling’ for China leaders: senior US official (South China Morning Post, SCMP) Turm, Tower, Oil, Oil.
Sly Me: Code Cracker & Kids 乐强牛
Do it for Lee Kuan Yew.
All of the following may be known plaintext cribs or parts of the cipher key.
Good luck!
Proof of work: 攀岩, 浴袍, 手掌, 木乃伊,充电池,键盘,
literally: climb rock, bath robe, hand palm, tree thus he, fill electric pool, key pan
proper translations: rock climbing, bathrobe, palm of one’s hand, mummy, recharge bank, keyboard
大复便便 potbellied
猪八戒, 圣诞老人,拖累,
供不应求supply unable to meet demand 一刹那 instantly
塑造 to model
狭隘 xia ai narrow
Intermission: 难为情/情人节, 分数最低
This round is obviously all about Ukraine.
铁石心肠 lit iron stone heart organ i.e. cold hearted [q.v. Prinz Eisenherz]
落井下石 drop well beneath stone; to throw stones at one in a well; to hit someone when they’re down.
肝肠寸断 lit. liver guts pinched cut i.e. cut to pieces; terribly upset, grief stricken
寸土如金 an inch of land is worth gold
铁树开花 iron tree opens flowers i.e. the iron tree is blossoming = a highly unlikely event. Sago palm (cycas revoluta) is called iron tree铁树 in Chinese. Apparently it does flower, but only rarely.
如鱼得水 like a fish in water (the people are water, the guerilla is like a fish, the guerilla cannot live without the people’s support)
见机行事 lit. see crux crossroads matter i.e. play it by ear (cross that bridge when we come to it also works imo)
道德观 virtue (lit path virtue see/n; Chinese verbs never conjugate and tense is mostly contextual with time markers though auxiliary verbs can b emulated with 要,会 and modals with 想,想要,需要, 必须) = moral values
闭门羹 Rebuffed吃闭门羹 to be refused entrance. Lit. Closed Door Soup, Eat Closed Door Soup.
成吉思汗 Genghis Khan. Lit.: city, fortunate, thought, sweat. It’s a transliteration.
大不如前 even worse than before (lit. grand/big not as before)
擦枪作伙 lit. wipe gun(stock) make fire; accidental weapon’s discharge; fig.: an accident leads to unexpected consequences. Usually refers to something unfortunate.
Intermission 打草惊蛇 beat the grass to startle the snake
Final round:
害群之马 lit. harm flock of horse. Originally described a horse, which harms other horses. Now it is used to describe a person who is a member of a group but who brings harm to that group. Troublemaker, “bad apple”.
I love you this show so much.
Thucydides Word Trap:
“Great powers do what they can, small states do what they must.” Thucydides 加油新加坡加油!
“This looks like a trap.
Is this a trap?”
Not my fault if you can’t read. “The ancients’ images, shapes, sounds, and ideas distinguish good from evil.” 古人象形声意辨恶良
bá xiāo kuí jì chī mèi wǎng liǎng 魃魈魁鬾魑魅魍魉 So many ghosts…
yòu shuāng ruò zhuó 又双叒叕 huǒ yán yàn yì 火炎焱燚
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