Wishful Hoping in NASDAQ

Celebrating my seventy something birthday, I made my testament leaving all to my wife of forty years. Financial wisdom says that as one ages, his investments should be less risky, because there is no time left to repair mistakes. That is illogical: with less time left, money loses its worth and at last, one can and should take risks.

So I sold General Electric bonds and bought NVidia shares, cloud computing index, robotics index, all in NASDAQ. A steady rally last year raised these thingies 40 to 100%, and are very expensive and risky, but to buy into high quality technology one has to be ready to pay. Humanity has left behind the agricultural and industrial economies, we live or die on the quality of our technology. Let see to where all these leads.

P.S.: See that high tech Edison paper a hundred years ago. Is that a male or female nude on it? I know it symbolizes the God Mercury, the patron of thieves, but why did they mix porn with high tech?

The Blood Covenant

 I was born in Jaszbereny, a Jasz ethnic settlement in central Hungary. Its main claim to fame is the Lehel Vezer Kurt (Leader Lehel's Horn), a national relic made from a large elephant tusk. According to Hungary's foundation myth, seven Central Asian tribes led by the Magyar tribe signed a blood covenant of unity before entering the country; each of the seven legendary leaders bled into a drinking horn (pic) that was shared among them.

The horn's age agrees with the timing of occupation of Hungary (around 900 AD), yet its nature is disputed. Some experts maintain that it is a Byzantine circus horn, used by circus managers to announce the start of the action. More probably, it is not a musical but a sacred drinking horn of Central Asian origin, and the carvings represent mythical animals and symbols. Specifically, it is a Scythian cult object created under Persian influence.

The Hungarian tribes's ancestral homeland is now Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, where still live remnants of the Magyars who did not join the migration. These Magyars are mixed with Mongols, while current Hungarians are Europeans with no Asiatic genes. Apparently, the first settlers of the extensive Central Asian grasslands extending to Western China (*) were Europeans. They were "recently" replaced by Mongols and Turks. By "recently" I mean after the Hungarian tribes left the area seeking a new country. Why did they decide to undertake a 3000 kilometer trek with their families can be understood by the genocidal tendencies of the Mongol newcomers.

This replacement took place mostly in several waves (Attila, Djengis, Seljuk, etc.). The arrow-shooting from galloping horseback battle tactic, originally developed by nomadic Persian pastoralists, proved irresistible (even for Roman legions). Only when Western Europeans developed the mobile light cannon and personal fire weapons the Asian tribes were defeated (by the Russians) and reduced to their current miserable state.


(*) In fact, European cattle-herding people occupied all the area till the Yellow River. They were evicted by the first Chinese Emperor. Their descendants can be found mixed in the Uyghurs (pic). If history predicts the future, the Uyghurs's fate has been already sealed. 

No Resistance in Iran

The street protests continue in Iran's cities. I feel it is not getting enough momentum, it does not go viral. Of course,  what I know?

P.S.: It appears that the failure of about 7000 private saving funds, many backed by religious charity organizations and the Revolutionary Guard, that led to the loss of the life savings of millions, is the cause of the protests. The drunken "journalists" reporting from Tehran hotel bars missed it. No CIA/Mossad agents were involved in the mismanagement of those monies. 

Shi'a War Fatigue - Beginner's Guide 32

The clerical regime in Iran is involved in a number of foreign adventures, the nearest to us in Syria and Lebanon. This imperialist program has impoverished the hundred million strong Iranian population, and they are starting to protest. It is a natural reaction (see below how fatigue works). According the last night's news, the faceless rebels have tried to take over police stations and there is some armed resistance. I do not know if the rebellion can achieve traction and momentum. It will surely cause stress within the Iranian leadership and bring on personal changes.

Trump verbally encourages the rebels but that is all. I would not put my faith in American assurances. Europe is totally silent, it is a continent frozen in fear of a new wave of political refugees. Israel has nothing to do with Iran's or any other country's internal affairs. We learned in Lebanon that interventions turn against us, they create enemies where there were none before.

Mirzakhani, Persian Math Genius, Dead at 40

Twist in Tehran

A troupe led by director Hossein Parsai performs “Oliver Twist” based on “Oliver!”, a British musical, at Tehran’s Vahdat Hall on December 18, 2017. 

Iran is a modern, secular country.  Is it logical that it has been ruled by obscurantist clerics in the last thirty years? Or is it a temporary anomaly that will end soon?

The Zs think they invented sex

The Zs are wrong!