octopus, tentacles, at every turn, nailing jelly to the wall. A charming little octopus from a Roman villa at Villaquejida, León, Spain. Limestone, 2nd-3rd century AD.

A charming little octopus from a Roman villa at Villaquejida, León, Spain. Limestone, 2nd-3rd century AD.

Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Madrid/Alison Fisk

Congress is trying to resist an insider trading investigation at every turn writes The Intercept's Lee Fang.

Supreme Court Justice vacancy


The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal's world-wide newsbox lead with late-breaking word that Justice David Souter plans to retire this summer, creating the first Supreme Court vacancy in President Barack Obama's administration. Souter, 69, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush in 1990, but quickly turned into one of the biggest disappointments for conservatives as he became a reliable member of the court's liberal wing. The vacancy will be the first for a Democratic president in 15 years, and everyone notes Obama will be under intense pressure to appoint a woman since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg stands alone among the nine justices.

Stinging Tentacles Offer Hint of Oceans’ Decline
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
The explosion of jellyfish populations reflects overfishing, rising sea temperatures and pollution, scientists say.

章魚，又稱石居，八爪魚，分類上的命名是八腕目（Octopoda），屬於軟體動物門頭足綱。章魚有八個頭足，頭足上有許多吸盤；有時會噴出黑色的墨汁，幫助逃跑。 有些章魚有相當發達的大腦，可以分辨鏡中的自己，也可以走出科學家設計的迷宮，吃到迷宮中的螃蟹。


　　首先，章鱼有八条感觉灵敏的触腕，每条触腕上约有 300多 个吸盘，每个吸盘的拉力为 100克，想想看，无论谁被它的触腕缠住，都是难以脱身的。有趣的是，章鱼的触腕和人的手一样， 有着高度的灵敏性,用以探察外界的动向。每当章鱼休息的时候，总有一二条触腕在值班，值班的触腕在不停地向着四周移动着， 高度警惕着有无“敌情”；如果外界真的有什么东西轻轻地触动了它的触腕，它就会立刻跳起来，同时把浓黑的墨汁喷射出来， 以掩藏自己，趁此机会观察周围情况，准备进攻或撤退。章鱼可以连续六次往外喷射墨汁，过半小时后，又能积蓄很多墨汁，章 鱼的墨汁对人不起毒害作用。 more......章魚_百度百科 - 簡

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Octopus
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You learn something new every day. When we think of an octopus, most of us think of a creature with eight tentacles 触腕 and a round head. It turns out that there is a difference between tentacles and arms. Tentacles are generally longer than arms and they have a few suckers吸盘 (similar to suction cups) only at the tips. The arms of an octopus, for instance, have two rows of suckers, extending their entire length. And just to throw another anomaly into the pot of mollusks軟體動物, recently marine biologists discovered a "hexapus" — an octopus with only six arms. They believe the abnormality was caused by a genetic defect.

美國前總統克林頓曾將中國控製網絡的嘗試比喻為"把果凍釘在牆上"，這已經過去14年了

nailing jelly to the wall
uk us nailing Jell-O to the wall

trying to give exact details for something that it is not possible to know about exactly:
Writing the history of this period is like nailing jelly to the wall.

at every turn

phrase of turn

1. 1.

   on every occasion; continually.

   "her name seemed to come up at every turn"

   synonyms:

   repeatedly, recurrently, all the time, always, continually, constantly, on every occasion, again and again, over and over again "her name seemed to come up at every turn"

tentacle Show phonetics
noun [C]
one of the long thin arm-like parts of some sea creatures, which are used for feeling and holding things, catching food or moving

3. A similar part or extension, especially with respect to the ability to grasp or stretch: an espionage network with far-reaching tentacles.

[New Latin tentāculum, from Latin tentāre, to feel, try. See tentative.]

Quote

"Tell me, O Octopus, I begs,/ Is those things arms, or is they legs?/ I marvel at thee, Octopus; If I were thou, I'd call me Us." — Ogden Nash