Family a Hundred Years Ago

 

The tall man standing on the left is my grandfather Duved, and the beautiful woman sitting second from the left is my grandmother Anna. I think that she is sitting next to her mother, that is, my great-grandmother. 

Jeffrey Epstein lost 3 million dollars in Argentina

 

In 2018, Epstein lost 3 million dollars on his Argentine investments. He should have consulted with someone who knows the country (moi!) before betting even one dollar on Argentina. Argentine bonds were a very, very speculative investment. Year 2018 was brutal for Argentina, the peso lost 50% of its value, Argentine bonds collapsed, and country risk rose by over 600 points. He was a bad money manager.

JPMorgan paid a 250 million dollar penalty for managing the Epstein account. The reason is that he retired 40-80,000 US$ cash regularly, and he made suspicious payments to young women (2-10,000 US$) for tuition or educational expenses (when he had been condemned for sexual crimes). Epstein was a sex offender and had no regular business justification for his operations, and the bank knew it. 

Epstein needed to maintain the high-class island whorehouse to keep his connections, and the Bank did not dare cut his account because of them. In addition, he enjoyed the sex. It was the Giuffre girl who wrote a book and killed herself, who blew up his operation and caused his death. President Trump said that she had been working as a masseuse in his Florida hotel, and Epstein stole her. 

I have been married for 44 years and never had an extra affair. 

The Over-Empathy Mental Disease

Finland is without electricity, and people are burning firewood in mid of their cruel winter. Out of the belief that they had to save Earth, they based their electricity production on renewable systems, like wind and sunshine.  Winters are terrible in Finland, and the blades froze (pic), leaving the country powerless. Germany too chose wind power, which resulted unreliable and expensive. 

All the sustainable energy ideology is based on some kind of empathy with the Earth goddess, which is being hurt by artificial power generation like nuclear, oil, and coal. It seems a sick desire to be good and in harmony with the universe. But the universe is indifferent. It is an unfeeling mechanism. No prayers or human sacrifices will move it. Honi HaMeagel may sit forever in his circle in the sand to force god to send rain, but the universe is indifferent.    

Comparsa Ita Bera

 

The village of Alvear has grown since I worked there. Now they have a full-fledged Carnaval with comparsas (companies) of street dancers.  She is from the Ita Bera (piedra brillante in guarani) comparsa. Streets are asphalted, there are lots of cars and bikes, and a new generation I've never met. I chose this pic not because of the fantastic carnival dress, but because the girl lacks canines, a mutation I share. I have no idea how she could. 

Alvear is 103 years old and celebrates its history day. The pictures of its carnival show a strong Brazilian influence. 70-80 years ago, there was even a Jewish community, mostly Moroccan Jews, but now there is only a Jewish cemetery (that I never visited).  

Cartographie scientifique

Quand la France invente la cartographie scientifique par triangulation et que Louis XIV découvre que son royaume est plus petit que ce qu'on a montré à ses aïeux pendant des siècles : "Carte de France corrigée sur les observations des messieurs de l'académie des Sciences" (1682) 

France was ahead.

Sidney

 Sidney Sweeney modeling underwear. 

Attractive, isn't she?

Pancho Cue Forest

I bought the seeds from an importer, a Buenos Aires Jew, and organized the almacigos (seed nursery) on my farm. I moved on without waiting for the results. The seeds forested Northern Corrientes.