(1) The Chipmaker at the Heart of the US-China Tech War; A technology that is central to business and military might. New York Times, Sept 19, 2024, at page S1.
Quote:
(a) " * * * SMIC can also most likely make only a small fraction of what Chinese firms want to buy, experts said. But the chip would still a boon for China's AI ambitions. Nvidia's components are the secret sauce in AI computing clusters that can train chabits, unlock new medicines and help design hypersonic missiles. If Huawei, with SMIC's help, can make more AI chips in the coming years, that could blunt the impact of American technology restrictions-- and perhaps one day cut into Nvidia's lead.
(b) "In August 2023, as Ms [secretary of commerce Gina] Raimondo visited China on a diplomatic trip, Huawei released a phone with a SMIC chip that exceeded the technology limits previous set by US restrictions. The timing was viewed as a slap in the face to the United States/
"Analysts and US chip executives concluded that SMIC had repurposed less advanced equipment to make a more advanced chip.
"Both TSMC and Intel, the US chip giant, tried the same method in the past. But the strategy can result in more faulty chips, and INtel found it wasn't commercially viable, experts said.
Note:
(a) The above quoted are (possibly) the only new in the news. There is no need to read the rest.
(b) As of today, the cn.nytimes.com has not translated the report, likely due to Mid-Autumn Festival.
(2) Philip Delves Broughton, A Billion Here, a Billion There. SoftBank hit big with the semiconductor company Arm. It lost enormous sums on investments in WeWork and an 'Uber for dogs.' Wall Street Journal, Sept 19, 2024, at page A13 https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture ... lion-there-54f006ae
(book review on Alok Sama, The Money Trap; Lost illusions in the tech bubble. St Martin's, 2024)
Note:
(a) St Martin's Press https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin%27s_Press
("Macmillan Publishers of the UK founded St. Martin's in 1952 and named it after St Martin's Lane in London, where Macmillan Publishers was headquartered. * * * In 1995, Macmillan was sold to * * * Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, a family[-]owned publishing concern based in Stuttgart, Germany")
(b) "he [Sama] attended a wedding in Italy where he clapped eyes on an 'Asian gentleman, elegantly attired in a white lounge suit, standing slightly removed from the others,' with 'the wizened appearance of Yoda.' Mr Son was there as a guest of Mr Sama's old friend Nikesh Arora, who had agreed to leave his job as chief business officer at Google to become Mr Son's heir apparent at SoftBank. 'Investment bankers are like martlets—birds without feet, condemned to a life of continuous flight,' Mr Sama reflects in his raffish and funny exposé of life on the highest peaks of finance.
(i) clap eyes on (idiom): "British to see or look at (someone or something) <I hope never to clap eyes on him again!>" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clap%20eyes%20on
(ii) For lounge suit, see suit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suit
("A suit, also called a lounge suit, business suit, dress suit * * * ")
(iii) Nikesh Arora https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikesh_Arora
(2968- ; Google 2004-2014; president of SoftBank 2014-2016; CEO and chairman of Palo Alto Networks (cynercurity) 2018- )
Alok Sama is not found in en.wikipedia.org.
(iv) martlet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martlet
(v)
(A) raffish (adj; Did You Know?):
"1: marked by or suggestive of flashy vulgarity or crudeness
2: marked by a careless unconventionality : RAKISH" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raffish
(B) But rakish (adj) is from rake (n). https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rakish
a rake is a dissolute man (who indulges in sex).
(C) Jun-ichi-rō KO-IZUMI 小泉 純一郎 (1942- ) was prime minister of Japan 2001-2006. When he was elected as PM, English-language news media talked about his good look and hair, and used the same word "rakish," which, judging from the context, was meant to be a compliment. (Besides, at the time, I found nothing about Koizumi had a bad reputation in, say, sex.) For example: Tim Larimer, A New Look. Time, May 7, 2001 https://time.com/archive/6673904/a-new-look/
("The rakish look of the tall, angular 59-year-old bachelor enhances his image as an iconoclast, a Don Quixote-style politician tilting at the windmills of Japan's crusty political establishment")
So raffish here AND rakish in describing Koizume means the same.
rakish (adj): "2: dashingly or carelessly unconventional : JAUNTY <rakish clothes>" https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rakish
In other words, both raffish and rakish have a disreputable root (the nouns) but both (adjectives) may have a clean ramifications.
(c) " * * * a La Tâche from Domaine Romanée-Conti—over $5,000 a bottle. In a nearby conference room is a life-size portrait of Ryōma, a 19th-century samurai who tried to break up Japan's feudal system. Mr. Sama is no longer the lickspittle banker pitching for work."
(i)
(A) La Tâche https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_T%C3%A2che
is a commune is southwestern France. So this is not it. But at least you learn pronunciation from this Wiki page.
(B) La Tâche AOC https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Tâche_AOC
is a vineyard "for red wine * * * with Pinot noir as the main grape variety. It is situated within the commune of Vosne-Romanée and is a monopole of the winery Domaine de la Romanée-Conti"/ section 1 History: name)
Please read both English and French definitions. The Modern English noun domain came from (Middle English and then from Old) French. Once you click above the wine company "Domaine de la Romanée-Conti," you will learn that domaine is translated as (wine) "estate" in English.
(ii) Sakamoto Ryōma 坂本竜馬 (1836-1867) engaged in 倒幕, advocated 大政奉還 (to the court or emperor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakamoto_Ry%C5%8Dma
(section 3 Assassination)
