Mikerytel
Senator
today ww2 ended. At least for us in the USA fighting imperial Japan while ww2 in Europe ended may 8th
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Milestones
- Thread starter admihoek
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I'd say translation, especially of verse, is a literary art in itself (and one that AI can never emulate, certainly not as long as it continues to merely digest an unsorted mass of linguistic data without any 'understanding' of it). Of course, the translator cannot reproduce, or even try to reproduce, the properties of the original language (the figures of sound and sense) used by the writer, but should strive to match them using the resources of the new language. The experience of reading the translation in a reader's own language isn't the same as the experience of one who reads the original - but the greatest poetry has such complexity that no two readers experience in the same way, whether in the original or in translation.
PeterVl
Magistrate
It's not just a matter of complexity. It is also a matter of collective experience and history that characterize peoples and their languages. Poetry (and literature in general) is fed by its language and is bound by it. One reader may experience poetry differently from another, but a reader with a different native language experiences it much more differently.
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
Eighty years ago, on September 3rd 1944, nine days after the liberation of Paris, Brussels was liberated by the Allies. After D-Day, it had taken eighty days of harsh combat from Normandy to Paris, some 270 kilometers. The 315 kilometer from Paris to Brussels was covered much quicker, because of the general chaos, the Wehrmacht had fallen into.
The next day, September 4th, Antwerp was liberated, and, very important, its intact sea port. Those days, the Allies were still largely relying for their supplies on the ports of Normandy, since the large French ports (mainly Le Havre and Cherbourg) had been severely damaged and were inoperational. These extremely stretched supply lines would soon make the Allies advance stall, with the frontline roughly following Belgium’s northern and eastern border.
Problem was, that the access from Antwerp to the sea, the Scheldt Estuary, was still in German hands. According to some, if the Allies had pushed on immediately, the German army, still in chaos, could have been chased rather quickly from controlling the estuary. However, the problem was Montgomery, who preferred taking the much smaller Channel Ports of Calais and Boulogne, which were beneficial for supplying the British armies, but not the American’s. Furthermore, Allied command choose for Montgomery’s reckless Operation Market Garden. After the failure of the latter, the Germans had reinforced their strength along the Scheldt Estuary. The decision not to free the Scheldt estuary allowed lots of German troops to avoid encirclement, retreat and regroup. Only after harsh fighting (the Battle of the Scheldt, from October 2nd), mainly by Canadians, the Port of Antwerp could become operational, at the end of November 1944.
On hindsight, experts agree that not giving priority to freeing the Scheldt Estuary in September 1944, is one of the biggest and bloodiest mistakes, the Allied made.
The next day, September 4th, Antwerp was liberated, and, very important, its intact sea port. Those days, the Allies were still largely relying for their supplies on the ports of Normandy, since the large French ports (mainly Le Havre and Cherbourg) had been severely damaged and were inoperational. These extremely stretched supply lines would soon make the Allies advance stall, with the frontline roughly following Belgium’s northern and eastern border.
Problem was, that the access from Antwerp to the sea, the Scheldt Estuary, was still in German hands. According to some, if the Allies had pushed on immediately, the German army, still in chaos, could have been chased rather quickly from controlling the estuary. However, the problem was Montgomery, who preferred taking the much smaller Channel Ports of Calais and Boulogne, which were beneficial for supplying the British armies, but not the American’s. Furthermore, Allied command choose for Montgomery’s reckless Operation Market Garden. After the failure of the latter, the Germans had reinforced their strength along the Scheldt Estuary. The decision not to free the Scheldt estuary allowed lots of German troops to avoid encirclement, retreat and regroup. Only after harsh fighting (the Battle of the Scheldt, from October 2nd), mainly by Canadians, the Port of Antwerp could become operational, at the end of November 1944.
On hindsight, experts agree that not giving priority to freeing the Scheldt Estuary in September 1944, is one of the biggest and bloodiest mistakes, the Allied made.
vadim69
Governor
At the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Stalin promised Churchill and Roosevelt that the Soviet Union would declare war on Japan within three months of the Allied victory in Europe. He kept his word.
On August 9, the day after the declaration of war, the Red Army's Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation began. The fighting took place in northeastern China, which was then under Japanese control.
With powerful strikes, Soviet and allied Mongolian troops broke through the enemy's defenses and advanced up to 800 km into Manchuria in less than two weeks. They effectively divided the Japanese forces into isolated groups, forcing them to capitulate.
At the same time, the Red Army units had to cross the waterless Gobi Desert and the impassable, high-mountain snow-covered Greater Khingan Range to reach operational space.In just 23 days, the large Kwantung Army was routed. Its losses amounted to more than 720 thousand soldiers and officers, 650 thousand of whom were captured. The Red Army lost about 12 thousand killed.A column of T-34-85 tanks from one of the units of the 2nd Far Eastern Front in Manchuria, August 1945
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Mikerytel
Senator
I was surprised knowing that the ussr still have available manpower left after the the heavy fighting in hitlers surprise invasion and the 4 years after.
Frank Petrexa
Tribune
I bought a Dr. Seuss book (One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish) in Spanish and English for a kid I knew. The translator had to take a lot of liberties, even with language that simple.
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
Some call it “the most important battle of the 20th century”. Definitely, it was not “the most decisive battle of the 20th century.” On September 6th 1914, today 110 years ago, started the Battle of the Marne (or the First Battle of the Marne, since there would be another one in 1918).
The battle was a counterattack by the French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which had been on a retreat since roughly two weeks, following the Battle of the Frontiers, in which they were pushed back, basically because their commanders had largely underestimated the strength of their opposing German armies.
The latter followed the Schlieffen Plan, foreseeing in encirclement of the French, by a strong right wing. However, unforeseen troop depletion during the campaign, had forced the Germans to change their plan. They were no longer able to take Paris from the west, they had to wheel in, and pass east of Paris. Such was not a problem for the commander of the right wing (First) German Army, General von Kluck, who thought that the French were on the run, instead of on an orderly retreat, so he figured he could easily round them up.
By passing east of Paris, however, von Kluck exposed his flank to a newly positioned army there, the French 6th. Trouble was, he thought, these troops were the garrison defending Paris. Headquarters knew, the 6th was a field army, but they failed to inform von Kluck correctly about it.
Another problem was the strained relationship between von Kluck and his neighbour, commander of the 2nd Army, General von Bülow. Von Kluck was supposed to stay along the 2nd army. But the latter advanced considerably slower, partly to the blow it had received a week earlier, in the Battle of Guise, which had forced it to halt its advance for two days. First and Second Armies bore the force of the French counterattack, which exploited von Kluck’s exposed flank. Von Kluck’s reaction – according to the book – was turning to his attacker, which he did. He successfully chased away the French 6th Army, but his move had created a huge gap with the neighbouring 2nd Army, which was highly put under pressure by the French 5th and 9th Armies. To make things worse, the BEF could now freely march into that gap, threating to break up the German’s right wing.
What followed was one of the most notorious staff interventions in military history. German commander von Molkte sent a staff member, Lt Col. Hentsch, to his field armies, without written instructions, but with the authority to give orders to the field commanders! From his encounters with von Kluck and von Bülow, no written accounts have been taken either. Hentsch seems to have concluded from von Bülow’s reports, that retreat was inevitable, which he allowed the 2nd Army to do. The decision infuriate von Kluck who, after routing 6th French Army, had thought the way to Paris open. But considering von Bülow’s decision, he could only order a retreat too.
Allied troops were however too tired after weeks of marching, so the Germans could regroup at the Aisne river. Such was the beginning of four years of trench warfare. During and after the war, the German generals kept blaming each other, and Hentsch (who died in 1917) for the defeat.
The battle was a counterattack by the French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), which had been on a retreat since roughly two weeks, following the Battle of the Frontiers, in which they were pushed back, basically because their commanders had largely underestimated the strength of their opposing German armies.
The latter followed the Schlieffen Plan, foreseeing in encirclement of the French, by a strong right wing. However, unforeseen troop depletion during the campaign, had forced the Germans to change their plan. They were no longer able to take Paris from the west, they had to wheel in, and pass east of Paris. Such was not a problem for the commander of the right wing (First) German Army, General von Kluck, who thought that the French were on the run, instead of on an orderly retreat, so he figured he could easily round them up.
By passing east of Paris, however, von Kluck exposed his flank to a newly positioned army there, the French 6th. Trouble was, he thought, these troops were the garrison defending Paris. Headquarters knew, the 6th was a field army, but they failed to inform von Kluck correctly about it.
Another problem was the strained relationship between von Kluck and his neighbour, commander of the 2nd Army, General von Bülow. Von Kluck was supposed to stay along the 2nd army. But the latter advanced considerably slower, partly to the blow it had received a week earlier, in the Battle of Guise, which had forced it to halt its advance for two days. First and Second Armies bore the force of the French counterattack, which exploited von Kluck’s exposed flank. Von Kluck’s reaction – according to the book – was turning to his attacker, which he did. He successfully chased away the French 6th Army, but his move had created a huge gap with the neighbouring 2nd Army, which was highly put under pressure by the French 5th and 9th Armies. To make things worse, the BEF could now freely march into that gap, threating to break up the German’s right wing.
What followed was one of the most notorious staff interventions in military history. German commander von Molkte sent a staff member, Lt Col. Hentsch, to his field armies, without written instructions, but with the authority to give orders to the field commanders! From his encounters with von Kluck and von Bülow, no written accounts have been taken either. Hentsch seems to have concluded from von Bülow’s reports, that retreat was inevitable, which he allowed the 2nd Army to do. The decision infuriate von Kluck who, after routing 6th French Army, had thought the way to Paris open. But considering von Bülow’s decision, he could only order a retreat too.
Allied troops were however too tired after weeks of marching, so the Germans could regroup at the Aisne river. Such was the beginning of four years of trench warfare. During and after the war, the German generals kept blaming each other, and Hentsch (who died in 1917) for the defeat.
Loxuru
Graf von Kreuzigung
Today, a weird milestone in space travel. The Starliner spacecraft has been detached from ISS, and has returned safely to Earth. Launched with two astrononauts on June 7th, the first manned test flight of Starliner, had docked on ISS for a stay of a week. However, during the flight, so many technical problems showed up, that a manned return was deemed very unsafe. As said, Starliner made it safely back, but both astronauts are now marooned in ISS, and their planned stay of eight days will be one of eight months, since, at best, in February 2025, a spacecraft will be sent up to bring them back. So, that's the milestone, that, for the very first time, a crew of astronauts is stuck in space.
For Boeing, that built Starliner, this is for sure not their finest hour, and all this comes on top of problems such as 737-MAX, and the recent technical in-flight technical incidents.
For Boeing, that built Starliner, this is for sure not their finest hour, and all this comes on top of problems such as 737-MAX, and the recent technical in-flight technical incidents.
I think I know who is most excited about this. The man is called Elton Musk and he will do everything in his power to become NASA's sole transporter.
wulf
God-Emperor
Boeing used to be run by engineers and people who valued building quality products. Over the past 20 years the company has been operated with a bean counter's mentality and a focus on pleasing stockholders and the bottom line. I have many close friends that have retired from Boeing, and worked at their Plant 2 here in Wichita Kansas in '05 when Boeing decided to sell the operation to an outside company. After a round of 'suggested' early retirements of those with senority, and layoffs of a large number of employees with an offer of call back at a lower wage, Spirt Aerosystems (the new owner) had a problem of loss of qualified employees. Eventually they brought back many of the old employees, and managed to get production of 737 fuselages up to speed, but my friends told me it was much different working environment, and there was a constant push to meet quotas regardless of anything else. What were seeing with Boeing right now is what happened to Plant 2 in Wichita, also happened everywhere else throughout all of Boeing's divisions. Listening to my friends descibing their experiences there, I'm not surprised by any of the things happening now with Boeing.
PeterVl
Magistrate
There was also a cosmonaut, Sergei Krikalev, who was stuck in space back in 1991-1992. (Although the malfunction that kept him on the Mir space station for 311 consecutive days was somewhat different.)
Mikerytel
Senator
Seems every manufacturer becomes bean counters
Frank Petrexa
Tribune
I don't pretend to know why that is, but I have some ideas.
"Funds" run by professional managers are under pressure to show constant growth, and that means the stocks they hold have to grow as well--the more the better. This pressure is of course due to pension funds and retirement accounts. Years ago when I was buying stocks a friend of mine (also a buyer) used to say "when they retire, whom are the Baby Boomers going to sell to". Now we have an answer--making ever increasing returns to shareholders is now much more important than making a decent profit and investing for the future of the business. In the '80's, the SEC legalized companies' buying back their own shares to enhance share prices (it used to be considered price manipulation). So bean counting is now necessary to satisfy the demands of the stock market for ever escalating returns to fund retirements (and pay fat fees to fund managers). Boeing was flying high (pun intended) when Jim McNerney from GE (where he absorbed Jack Welch's algorithmic profit growth focus) ran it.
"Funds" run by professional managers are under pressure to show constant growth, and that means the stocks they hold have to grow as well--the more the better. This pressure is of course due to pension funds and retirement accounts. Years ago when I was buying stocks a friend of mine (also a buyer) used to say "when they retire, whom are the Baby Boomers going to sell to". Now we have an answer--making ever increasing returns to shareholders is now much more important than making a decent profit and investing for the future of the business. In the '80's, the SEC legalized companies' buying back their own shares to enhance share prices (it used to be considered price manipulation). So bean counting is now necessary to satisfy the demands of the stock market for ever escalating returns to fund retirements (and pay fat fees to fund managers). Boeing was flying high (pun intended) when Jim McNerney from GE (where he absorbed Jack Welch's algorithmic profit growth focus) ran it.
Darkprincess69
High Priestess of Slaanesh
And that is why they fail
wulf
God-Emperor
That's likely a very accurate analysis. The problem is when that happens to a critical industry where lives are at stake... like health care & aviation... quality assurance can be the first casualty and people start dying.
PeterVl
Magistrate
On 11 September 1973, some guys with interesting perversions, seized power in Chile, ending Salvador Allende's presidency. It seems that they were supported by some other, foreign guys from USA, United Kingdom etc, in order to create an extremely engaging literature about sexuall sadism (probably not about masochism though).
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Mikerytel
Senator
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks 23 years ago. September 11 happened, I was in middle school that day
My girlfriend at the time, Kathy Mezza, died when the second tower collapsed. That was a terrible time for me. I called the Nassau County Police Department every evening for almost two months. They already knew me by name. The worst thing is that there isn't even a grave. Her status to this day is "missing".
"RIP Kathy Messa"
