[Stalker]

Hi there!

I didn't know where to post this thread, but in the end decided to dump it in here. Feel free to move it if you find a better category.

I've got a plain and simple question: Could somebody help me understand that one darn phrase from the AR-box on the NEEC from Darkest Hour? I've read it for the umpteenth time now and just can't seem to get my mind around it. Either it's really obscure and weird, or I've got a bag of beans for a brain. I've taken the liberty to quote a larger section below and highlight the problematic bit. A paraphrase would be very helpful. Cheers!

A joint community of corporations and nation-
states, the NEEC filled the void left by the collapse of
the old European Union (EU) in 2028.
[...]
Due to Hamburg’s status as a free city and the
opposition of corporate influence in national matters,
the Senate of Hamburg has expressed its disap-
proval of the NEEC on occasions in the Federal Council
of the Allied German States.

[FastJack]

Due to Hamburg’s <snip> opposition of corporate influence in national matters,

[Angelone]

Hamburg is a free city, it opposes a unified Europe and corporate meddling in national matters, because the Senate feels it endangers their status.

[Stalker]

Excellent! Thanks, folks!

[Stalker]

Another case for the Sherlocks of Semantics!

TELL IT TO THEM STRAIGHT
Hamburg is a bustling city, though the energy level is very
different from Seattle. Moving through the narrow streets, your
mind is filled with noise as languages you don’t understand flood
the area, including the local lingo known as Habensprook (“Port
Speak”), an eclectic mixture of North German dialect, Dutch,
and Russian. Your linguasofts do their best to keep up but only
translate the closest feeds to you, resulting in an echoing wash of
chaotic sound.

What exactly is the part in bold print trying to tell me? Why should translating the most dominant feeds within earshot result in chaos?

[Angelone]

That is a good question, I can see it going two ways. First there's so many voices/ads that they all blur together and you have a hard time picking out separate voices. Second is you can understand the closest voices, but everything else is mashed together and kinda sounds like the ocean or the dull roar of a crowd. From the description number two sounds most likely.

[Crimsondude]

That "opposition of" probably should have been "opposition to".

[Stalker]

That "opposition of" probably should have been "opposition to".

Yup, that's probably what got me confused. Filed under "preposition botch-ups".

[Stalker]

-Problem solved-

[Stalker]

I'm back with more riddles! Obscure parts are highlighted in bold print.

The first one's about a favour for a Holland-based connection. The runners are after an information he has, so they'll have to do a little job for him. What exactly? Here it is:

Suggestions include breaking into a local “coffeehouse” and changing ingredients to a more lethal mix, or infiltrating one of the corporate cliques to recover intel from an asset that fell in too deep.

What am I to make of that?

-----

The following snippet is about the security measures of a prison run by a larger corporation.

All contractors were in-house and materials were charged to the Global Security Infrastructure budget.

Okay, so they don't sub-contract to external service providers to do, say, the cleaning. But what about the "Global Security Infrastructure budget"? Is that corporate book-keeping speak?

[FastJack]

1) The asset sounds like an Undercover agent that got in way over their head and hasn't been able to communicate with home office without blowing their cover and getting killed.

2) Corp book-keeping speak.

[Stalker]

Jack's a quick one again today! Cheers, mate!

[Longshot23]

Jack's a quick one again today! Cheers, mate!

hmmm . . . Fastjack be nimble, Fastjack be quick . . . could it be . . .

[FastJack]

Jack's a quick one again today! Cheers, mate!

hmmm . . . Fastjack be nimble, Fastjack be quick . . . could it be . . .

I've jumped over many a candlestick in my day...

[Longshot23]

Jack's a quick one again today! Cheers, mate!

hmmm . . . Fastjack be nimble, Fastjack be quick . . . could it be . . .

I've jumped over many a candlestick in my day...

Or, to put it another way [Fast]JackBNimble . . . . ?