Twitter Exchange About Chinese Characters

Enshrined here is part of a two-year-old link which reappeared in my Facebook timeline this morning. 

JB - Knowing nothing about these glyphs I can discern that the images in the picture are something like cursive versions of the printed ones. When I was learning to write the Korean phonetic characters someone teaching me the proper way go draw them explained there was a distinction between print and cursive writing. Printing takes more time so someone in a hurry is apt to lapse into cursive.

LM -  John At the top of my page I put an album of the calligraphy from The Huntington and you can see the explanations for each picture and how it relates to printing or cursive. Chinese has so many script types probably more than a dozen because the characters reach back at least 3000 years.Hangul is the newest alphabet. And it’s very phonetic and logical. I’m sure they have beautiful calligraphy as well but I think that the Chinese script the characters in themselves so wonderfully to calligraphy! But I guess so does Arabic. 

JB - The Chinese characters are bewildering there are so many. I think about four thousand were commonly used in much of Korean printed material, but daily newspapers and other more ordinary material used the phonetic alphabet.
High school students used little hand-made cards about the size of postage stamps, threaded on a string by the hundreds, as aids for memorizing.

LM - John I don’t think they use quite that many nowadays.

JB - Leanne Martin They may not have had that many then. Possibly what we now call "misinformation."
I was curious once about how a Chinese dictionary was organized. If I recall correctly it is in order of the number of strokes needed to make a character.
A single stroke can have a variety of meanings depending on how it's made, angle, end-hooks, etc. Two strokes can be combined to make even more variants -- each with different meanings, etc...
Characters at the end of the dictionary require many strokes, often combining two or more other characters to make a pictograph. Amazing and endlessly complicated.

LM - John yes they’re divided by the radicals. And if you think about it it’s mine boggling but it’s even really hard to use a dictionary! There’s also a great book about the history of the Chinese typewriter. But yes, like you I’ve always thought the dictionaries are incredibly interesting like you said. Basically divided by radical and stroke order. 

JB - One of the most unforgettable books I ever read was "Moment in Peking" by Lin Yutang, whom I had never heard of before I idly picked up an old book in a used book store.
I later discovered he was quite a scholar, widely known for his version of a Chinese-English dictionary and a spate of other work.
Maybe after my tour of duty in Korea I was attracted to anything of Asian origin so I really related to the details of the story-line.

LM - John How wonderful! I really loved his book the importance of living. He’s a very quirky thinker. But at one time I was a big fan of that book and I’m realizing that I should buy a copy for my new home since all my books were left behind in Japan. I’ll look into his work on the dictionary. It’s really a name I had almost forgotten. I’m so glad you reminded me! Are you watching any of the Korean dramas that Brooks loves so much? Like Mr. sunshine. Or My Mister? She’s written some interesting posts on the TV shows on the blog!

JB - Leanne Martin I would like to do that but I watch very little on TV other than keeping up with the news. My wife does the chick-flicks on TV and my online life is full with my two social media accounts.
I'm aware of the Korean dramas and other entertainment but haven't been drawn to them. I lately watched a bit of BTS when I learned that boy-band was so important to the Korean GDP as Samsung.

LM - John LOL!

Justice Sotomayor's Remarks about Justice Thomas

This tweet is receiving a number of interesting replies.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor did a talk in Chicago tonight hosted by Roosevelt University.
She was asked how she maintains relationships with judges she disagrees with — Clarence Thomas, in particular.
[Image above is] what she said...

Here are some of the endless replies...

• Thomas taught a course at my law school, and he was unfailingly kind to everyone. He invited a classmate of mine who was a huge Nebraska fan to watch a Nebraska game with him from the VIP box. I find his personal kindness so incongruous with his decisions and his politics.

• it's probably a shield for him. by being kind he can prove to himself that the duty to help others should be left to the individual rather than the state. it probably absolves him of any potential guilt he might feel bfrom his decades long agenda to destroy the social safety net

• The thing people miss about Thomas is that he was on track to become a Catholic priest. The racism he encountered in the Seminary and after MLK's assassination changed his trajectory. What Sotomayor says tracks. The folk at the court are his parish. The rest of us don't matter.

•  But what kills me is...it seems like for most people, encountering that racism at seminary would turn them in the OPPOSITE direction as that in which Thomas went. Right? Like, he hated the racism so much he decided to...become one with/a tool for the white supremacists party?!

• I’ve heard similar personal accounts about Clarence Thomas. I appreciate Justice Sotomayor’s  grace and can learn from it. In real life, I’m often met with people who I like personally and would never align with politically. I believe we are all struggling with this. 
Clarification: I disagree, wholeheartedly, with Justice Thomas and seriously doubt his integrity on the bench in light of his wife’s involvement with upcoming cases.

• She's wrong. This kind of indulgence is fine for neighborhood relations, but not for positions of power. Knowing he's a person and has genuinely good intentions has not changed the outcome one jot.

• She wasn't saying anyone has to do this with anyone else. She's saying she prefers a cordial relationship with her coworkers and sees the good in the people they are outside of their jobs so she may continue working alongside them. I don't think she's asking anyone to like them.

• Clarence Thomas pretends to be interested in the people he comes in contact with as a defense mechanism! It helps to camouflage public persona! But he doesn’t care about the millions of people he will never come into contact with!

• Be curious what his honest opinion of her is? She has the respectfulness and understanding we value in a Supreme Court Justice. Thomas may know “names” and “situations”, but it’s a far cry from what is required to be a good and fair Justice. He has proven he’s not in her class.

• I, frankly, don't care that he knows everybody in his building. He's quite content to take away the rights of at least half of them. His wife tried to overthrow a duly elected govt! No way he wasn't aware of this! But, yeah, tell me to like him for knowing people's names!

• I think he knew Anita Hill’s name too.

• Not everyone can reach their bootstraps but there are many options to help people besides the government - family, friends, charities, etc. - I imagine Clarence thinks those options are preferable and should therefore be nurtured and enhanced.

• And what the hell is the point of Government if not to help it’s people. Why exactly have I been paying taxes to the Government since my first job at 15 if I cannot turn to that same Government if I fall on hard times and need assistance to get back on my feet?

• Justice Clarence Thomas wants everyone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Justice Sotomayor recognizes that not everyone can reach their bootstraps. I recognize that not everyone has boots.

This links a C-SPAN clip from the event
which I created but have not figured out
how to download to this blog.
It is about six minutes long. 

Recent Disturbing Links

Here are several links which puzzle together which form another repeat of history. 
I'm too tired and discouraged to put together another blog post but the reader is invited to invest an hour or so checking them out. 

•  Is That a Tape Recorder in Your Pocket, or Are You Just Unhappy to See Me?

•  Adrian Schoolcraft - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

•  Ever wonder how white supremacists stopped Black voting during Reconstruction? In this century, thanks to Florida governor Ron DeSantis’s “election security force,” it’s on video:

•  Florida Department of Law Enforcement

•  FDLE was Live via Facebook

Inflation Tweet

This twitter thread from Nicole Thomas-Kennedy (NTK) is receiving many replies underscoring her message.

-20 years ago, working as a server, I lived in a corner 1 bdrm apt downtown with amazing water views for $700/month. 

-A similar apt now $3,600/month, more than 5x as much. 

-As a lawyer at age 47 I am unable to afford living in the apartment I did at age 27 while waiting tables

There are other differences of course. 

I know how a small family (& we couldn't fit in a one bedroom anyway.) 

I mostly practice public interest law which is not the best paying. 

I also have six figures in student loans, but back then I had no debt at all.

Despite these differences, I still make significantly more money now than I did back then, but because of the astronomical cost of housing I  have a very similar standard of living.

I would also add medical and childcare along with housing into running in place mix. After those three things I am mostly back to where I started in 2002. 

And I almost forgot student loan payments are set to start up again. Good thing I went to school.

Also also - my partner is a therapist. It's not like I am carrying these financial burdens (or the student loan debt) alone. I cannot imagine what it's like for single parents. I really and truly do not get how they are doing it.

The most remarkably sad thing about the comments is how it’s the same or similar pretty much everywhere in North America- from Nova Scotia to Tampa, Seattle to San Diego. 

Ppl need to stop saying “move” -there’s barely anywhere to move to.

Replies include these...

• Long story short. If your family didn’t own a home before 2008 there is a very slim chance that you will ever own a home. The only way to get a home now is to be given one by your family. And people say this generation doesn’t want to work. Work for what? 
• I literally bought a home at 23 in 2018. The secret is not having student loan debt. I went to trade school and paid it off in a year.
• The real secret is being in buffalo. Houses are cheaper in areas people don’t typically want to live. We can say this is actually a solution and have the population disperse more, but it’s hard for people to move and it’s an advantage to people that already live in these areas.
• 20 years ago, I rented a carriage house for 350 a month. I paid for it with a bartender position while in school. I saw a similar place for rent the other day for 3200 a month. I have a PhD ans couldn't afford that now. It's out of control
• What strikes me about that story is that an ordinary person in 2022 can't afford to live where a horse lived and a carriage was parked 100 years ago!
• (Before anyone pounces: I know it can be economically justified, I just find it an interesting observation)
• I was forced to sell my house at the end of GW's recession, 2008, got laid off, couldn't find work, let alone a FT job. Took 4 yrs to find a PT job that paid only $11 an hr. I did side freelance writing jobs, but minimal money. I can't afford today, to buy the house I once owned.
• My dad is 73, bought his first home when he was 20 for 10k, he still lives there and it’s now worth over $650k I know it’s 50 years but still it’s right next to a bloody busy train line lol
• 20 years ago I bought my first house. A 1/2 duplex, with 3 bedrooms, a small yard. It was "below my means" but costly. Now that same house cost 6x as much. If I started now I could not afford that house. If I started now I could afford a crummy 1 bedroom apartment. Same job.
• My apartment complex had an almost 60% increase this year alone, rents went from $1200 to $1900 for 600 sq feet 30 minutes outside of Tampa in Odessa. In 2019, this area was renting for $1060 max per month.
• My kid got a promotion to middle management, making over twice what she was hourly. And she's living with us because a 1 bedroom apartment in a shit part of town is over $1700.
• The kicker: she makes more than what the two of us combined made as teachers before we retired.
• My friend won the lottery in the early 2000's. He sold his house and moved to a beautiful house in France. A few years later he attempted to move back. He had been priced out of the market. HE HAD WON THE LOTTERY and still was priced out.

Nicole Thomas-Kennedy ran for election for Seattle City Attorney in Washington. She lost in the general election on November 2, 2021. Her professional experience includes working as a managing attorney at NTK Law LLC. She earned a degree from the University of Washington in 2012 and a J.D. from Seattle University in 2016. Thomas-Kennedy has been affiliated with the National Lawyers Guild.  LINK

Notes on Kidnap and Ransom Insurance

This dramatic account of the kidnapped crew of an oil tanker reminded me of kidnap and ransom insurance, one of the expenses of doing business in a global economy. 

The sailor and the pirate king

Indian sailor Sudeep Choudhary was kidnapped at gunpoint by Nigerian pirates. He and his crew were taken to a swampy jungle prison in the Niger Delta where human skeletons hung in the trees. The hostages pinned their hopes on shaky ransom negotiations and the desperate efforts of their families back home. Sudeep tells Outlook's Kevin Ponniah his harrowing story and how his freedom was secured.

BBC World Service aired a story this morning previously aired a couple of years ago. As I listetned to the audio, which is about half an hour, I recalled what I learned about K&R insurance in 2009. Kidnap and Ransom insurance is one of the costs of doing business in a global economy. I noted a few details at my old blog in 2009. 

Kidnap and Ransom Insurance

It doesn't take much imagination to see that kidnap and ransom insurance feeds a flourishing worldwide enterprise in criminal activity. It's the insurance equivalent of derivatives in the securities trading market. There's no stated law against it, so it must be okay. I know that fire insurance does not pay if arson can be proved. That makes sense. Otherwise, we would all burn down investment property and collect for the damages. What a deal!

But in the case of kidnapping and ransom, there is no such exclusion. In fact, the insurance is created precisely to pay off when (and only when) a criminal activity is proved. And all that indemnity and reimbursement language is all it takes to make the package legal.