Xerxes

That is the trilogy Children of Dune was not part of the original novel. Dune Messiah was.

Jeff Currie never felt so much excitement than when he was in his 20s. Recorded early in the morning, I think, and that was before Israeli attack on world largest natural gas field in Iran, and Iran attack on Qatar natural gas facility. Tomorrow morning he is going to the moon. Bull market and economic expansion don’t die of old age, they die of [mispricing between physical and paper market]. … lol He is not wrong about the mispricing. By how much I don’t know. Oman crude trading at $173 apparently

A really interesting sidenote not covered in this book: Dubai, and the rest of Gulf nations were officially subjects of the British Raj, prior to the 1947 partition. While we all know British zone of influence extended there, what is new (to me) was it was specifically the British Raj, as in Delhi. We don’t see that on any maps from that era, because the fiction of Ottoman rule and suzerainty over the Arabs had to be maintained. but when Partition was being discussed both the future India and the future Pakistan were asked if they wanted Dubai and the rest at of those fishing villages. They both said no thank you.

Perfect timing ! Ain’t it. I finished reading this book that chronicles the rise of Dubai from the late 19th century to 2010 (when the book was written) The aspiration for Dubai seems wasn’t really Hong Kong or Singapore. It was rather to recreate a modern day Cordoba. The chapter on how it became the diamond center of trade and how it took business from Tel Aviv is interesting. One common theme throughout the book is Iran. How the 1979 revolution and other events have driven the different Iranian merchant families to relocated to Dubai decades ago and how integral they are to Dubai. The discussion about Jebel Ali port is interesting. At the time, no one really cared about that capacity and mega investment, but it became high demand when the tanker war broke out between Iran and Iraq in the mid-late 1980s. Not really covered in the book would be the rise Emirates in the 2010s, and how it took business from other long haul players. The city-state seem to have taken business, and great minds from everywhere. It had one close call, and that was 2008 financial crisis that almost sank it, if it was not for Abu-Dhabi and UAE.

you already did more than 99% of people. Thank you.

What was astonishingly new to me was that 20% of global supply of fertilizer passes through the Humus straight Gemini: 1. The Powerhouse Nations (Persian Gulf) These countries dominate the market because they have the world's lowest production costs for nitrogen-based fertilizers, thanks to their massive natural gas feedstock. • Saudi Arabia: A global leader in both nitrogen (urea/ammonia) and phosphate. It accounts for roughly 19% of global phosphate exports (DAP/MAP). The state-owned company Ma'aden is a primary player here. • Qatar: Operates the world's largest single-site urea plant. Qatar is a top supplier to the U.S. and India; however, recent reports indicate production halts at some facilities due to regional instability. • Oman: A critical exporter of granular urea and ammonia. It is currently one of the few regional players still managing to maintain some near-term shipments despite the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. • Iran: While often under sanctions, Iran is a massive producer of urea and sulfur. It typically supplies large volumes to India, Brazil, and parts of Southeast Asia. • United Arab Emirates (UAE): A significant producer of nitrogen fertilizers and sulfur, which is a necessary byproduct of their oil refining used to make phosphate fertilizers.

Neither. it is a reply to the statement right above on how one can take a selfie.

it is no longer possible to take a selfie with the minister of intelligence as of this morning

There is a saying in Iran. "The Turks for the sword, the Persians for the pen." .. Referring to the fact that historically the Azeri (Turkic) people held the power and crown, while the Persians administered the empire, in the post-Mongol era. The two notable dynasties (Safavids and Qatar) were founded by Azeris, who became Persianized in terms of culture, language etc. That was the case until the Pahlavi took over. Unlike their predecessor they were Persians and that sort of upset that equilibrium as they pushed for laws that limit Azeri language and certain cultural aspect. As it happens the merchant class in the Bazaars are Azeri, and they played a key financial role in the overthrow of the monarchy in 1979. In the post 1979, the Azeri took back their role in the edifice of power. Most notably Khamenei himself, who was Azeri and not Persian, as well as the current president. Currently, Iran is made about 60% Persian, the rest of it are mostly Azeri, some Kurds, Christian Armenians, Lurs and about 2% or Arabs. But in the halls of power, there was no discrimination about different ethnicities : One the most wicked ultra conservative politician in Iran is a Kurdish Iranian, his name is Saeed Jalili. He is worse than Khamenei. Ali Shamkhani, the oil trading tycoon and advisor, he is killed, was an Arab Iranian. And the Larijani Clan are mostly Mazanderani, it seems.

I was just checking up Larijani ethnicity, I always thought he was either Persian or Azeri. But actually he is Mazanderani. I ll say this about the Islamic Republic, you could go very high in the power structure, regardless of your Iranian ethnicity, as long as you stayed within the revolutionary guidelines.

Larijani was a powerful figure. Very clever and highly intelligent. It is too bad he served a regime that didn’t serve the needs of the people. The other guy, leader of Basiji, taken out was just a thug. Nothing more. PS: Mojtaba was already a nobody, while Larijani was the de facto leader, now the shadow leader is gone, and de jure nobody (Mojtaba) remains.

In the last few interviews John Bolton keeps pointing at complete lack of preparing for this Hormuz scenario. Now i don’t know how much of that is Bolton not liking Trump and much how is a correct assessment. Bolton did also mentioned “military men” not taking that scenario into consideration. Perhaps with Homelander rechristening DoD as DoW; something went out with that name change. i.e. go fast and break things; warriors don’t do contingency; F Around & Find Out

Hormuz is critical. Don’t just look at the map how big it is. There is only 2 miles width of that entire Straight of Hormuz that can be used for large ships in and out. So you cannot really station static warship 24/7. The crew will go nuts keeping an eye on everything. There was that case few years back of that ship in Suez Canal that blocked the Canal. This can happen in the Straight of Hormuz if a cargo ship is lost or damaged that blocks of a big portion of the usable 2-mile of the straight .

There are a lot of things that could have been executed better. I agree. I myself believe that reform has to come from within. But I guess we are on an accelerated time schedule. You are also correct that regime has tighten and closed ranks. But if that is not sign of weakness I don’t know what is. On the school, it is a tragedy what happened. Should have never happened, if the whole thing wasn’t so half baked. But knowing Iranian people as a whole, no matter their political affiliation, what probably did the most damage (wasn’t that tragedy) but the following Trump random message: “it is possible that the border may change or may not change”. That statement did so much damage. Of course Trump probably didn’t mean anything by it. He just randomly says things. But the regime capitalized on that with an IRR of 400% on invested capital. ——— PS: this week is the Festival of Fire and Nowruz in Iran. Ancient tradition celebrated every year for centuries. Usually these are held in every street and main squares. The regime has decreed that people shouldn’t celebrate Festival of Fire for “security reasons”; instead they are flooding their own base in the main squares and denying the people of their heritage. On the other hand, you have the Israeli prime minister wishing the people happy Nowruz and festival of fire. Who do you think is winning the hearts and mind ?

I think I need to reread Dune and Dune Messiah back to back

As of an hour ago, I don’t believe it is possible to take a selfie anymore with the secretary of the supreme national council He gave the go ahead back in January for shoot to kill order and start the massacre

If you had actually listened to what Trump said on the day war started in his speech, you would know that he specifically said for the people to not get out and stay home and stay safe. I mean he said in Trump bombastic fashion. I don’t think anyone expects people to rise up like some Hollywood movie whiles bombs are dropping. Do you watch a lot of Hollywood movies ? In my view any uprising will be some months after the dust settles. Right the goons and the Basij thugs are running around everywhere, finger on the trigger and itching …. Lastly, try to get the name right. It is Khamenei and not Khomeini. And yes taking out the senior surely made some folks really happy. And hopefully that brought some justice to the people.

@ourkid8 What is the president of Iran doing to investigate these allegations. We first heard of these back in January

@John Hjorth I think @cubsfan has enough of us non-appreciative NATO members for weekend. Let’s extend him an olive branch and give something for him to smile at on this fine Sunday evening

A+

shushhhhh Don’t say Greenland. The Church of MAGA is distracted. Don’t put is back in spotlight.