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Dead Drop: July 8

Dead Drop: July 8

(TIME) LOST IN TRANSLATION: Ever since President Richard Nixon met with Chairman Mao in 1972 – American and Chinese leaders have used “consecutive translation” whenever they meet.  One side would talk – and then sit there staring off into the distance while interpreters delivered the message to those across the table. That was thought the best way to ensure that every single word was translated correctly – but man, was it a time waster.  According to a Dead Drop source, last September, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Washington, the practice changed.  In advance of the meeting, President Barack Obama proposed that the discussion be conducted with simultaneous translation. Productivity of the meeting (or at least the number of words that could be fired back and forth instantly) doubled over a set period of time.  When Xi came back to DC in March to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, the two presidents held a two-hour meeting, once again using simultaneous interpretation. Obama and Xi are expected to meet again on the margins of the G20 in Hangzhou in September and are expected to continue the practice.

FREE EATS! They say there is no such thing as a free lunch.  But apparently there IS a free dinner. The Dead Drop noticed that an announcement for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s (INSA) “Leadership Dinner” on July 19th makes an offer some feds may not be able to resist.  The keynote speaker at the dinner is CIA Director John Brennan who is scheduled to discuss “the top priorities for the CIA and Intelligence Community in today’s threat environment, and his perspective on the unique role the CIA plays in supporting the President and protecting our nation.” According to the announcement, INSA members get in for a mere $225. Non-members get hit for $325 – but federal employees are “gratis.” All you CIA employees who have been complaining about the Agency’s new cafeteria contractor might want to sign up for some of that good chow at The Ritz-Carlton.

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