#but the gold war: a global history one i just dug up. i read most of it in high school when i had an IB depth study of the cold war

[rotzaprachim]

reading retrospective 2023: extremely thick and unexpectedly gripping general histories 

[bibbidi-bobbity-booyah]

I'm so mad right now.

So when I was a kid my mom read these trashy romance novels (TRN's, as we'd call them in public). As a wannabe actor, I'd pick them up and pretend to be the characters in these books going on these awesome adventures. One year my mom found this one that she read when she was a little over the age I was at the time and passed it to me and I loved it, ate it right up.

It had English noblemen, French pirates, islands with hidden gold, and New Orleans (which was a character all in its own), and just all sorts of different characters from varying cultures and some were based off of these real people who lived in those times. And the character I became obsessed with was the main characters more than generous lover, Monsieur Lafayette.

Now, Lafayette wasn't her main interest, no, that was some forgettable douche who was a standoffish prick to her through most of the book. Indeed, Lafayette was one of three lovers and was present for about a fourth to fifth of the book. But Lafayette was the kind of guy I wanted to grow up to be. If I could cast anyone to play him and they wouldn't have to stray too far from their own character, I'd cast Tom Hiddleston, this character was simply that much of a gentleman (and sexy bad ass).

I was obsessed with this character, he was so cool. One day, my mom and I are passing through Denver, Colorado and I noticed that one of the streets was named Lafayette. I pointed to it and was super excited when she casually mentioned it must be after the pirate Lafayette for his patriotism. I hadn't realised he was one of the real life people my mom had said was in the book. And my mom mentioned he's in a lot of TRN's featuring pirates because the man was never short a lover or as a lover. I meant to look him up, but we were living in our car at the time and the internet wasn't as easily accessed back then.

But I continued to notice streets named Lafayette as we drove city to city. In Kansas, Missouri, Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, etc. there was always a street in at least the major cities. And I was super excited every time. As I got older, that little bit of happiness seeing the name Lafayette never went away.

Just before the global panini, I became obsessed with the musical Hamilton (perfect timing to be excited when the Disney announcement was made, I'd say). As some of you may know, one of the secret weapons the U.S. had as far as allies go was Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette. To make it very simple, he was a commanding officer at the battle of Yorktown in 1781.

Now, I haven't gotten off track; there's a song in Hamilton called Guns and Ships (go and listen if you haven't heard it, its fire). And in it our French friend gets hella hyped up. And I was all about it from the first time I heard it. But by the end of Hamilton I was a little confused. Why wasn't Lafayettes privateer career mentioned? I figured it must not have effected Hamilton and left it at that.

But last night I had to know.

I looked Lafayette up.

And the man was never a pirate.

Well, alright, maybe I got the wrong Lafayette? Songs still a banger, so no real loss there, even if it's not about my favourite pirate.

I looked up Marquis de La Fayette verses pirate Lafayette.

Nothing. Okay.

For, like, half an hour I dug, looking for a pirate Lafayette. My childhood hero. I wound up typing New Orleans Lafayette in a final hope and got a search page filled with advertisements for a dentist.

I went to bed, so confused and my inner 10 year old hurt at the loss of my hero. Why was Lafayette a reoccurring pirate in TRN's?

This morning, my search results were still up and I noticed in them a history page.

So apparently was was never a famous pirate named Lafayette. But there was a French privateer named Jean Laffite, The Pirate of New Orleans who, according to the Britannica, "interrupted his illicit adventures to fight heroically for the United States in defense of New Orleans in the War of 1812."

I found him. My favourite French, pirate, patriot of New Orleans. That's not why I'm mad. In fact, I'm ecstatic over that.

But why. Why did at least 4 authors write of Monsieur Jean Lafayette in various books I came across? Is there some hidden understanding? Why not Jean Lafitte? Is there a point in changing his last name?

[things2mustdo]

Bitcoin is further evidence that the “glass ceiling,” the idea that women are kept from reaching the ranks in corporations and in financial success because of a nebulous “patriarchy,” is nonsense.

Economists have disproved the glass ceiling on more than one occasion in the past, so the more well-read will not be shocked by this. Yet, the existence of the glass ceiling has remained a major talking point for feminists. The silence of feminists during the rise of Bitcoin has been deafening.

Bitcoin is an interesting case study because it is modern and doesn’t have the excuses that you hear when the glass ceiling argument breaks out. There is no Bitcoin establishment or “old boys’ club,” because Bitcoin has no establishment. Bitcoin is hardly established, and there is no one central authority.

Feminists claim that “institutions have always had biases” and “it’s a man’s game,” but Bitcoin didn’t come with any biases. It didn’t come with anything. It was nothing ten years ago, and its meteoric growth is well-known.

Bitcoin was created in 2009, a time where women had established themselves in various industries, most notably tech (see: Meg Whitman, Sheryl Sandberg). Nine years later, only three percent (at most) of Bitcoin use (suggested through Bitcoin community engagement) is by women.

Is this the patriarchy keeping women from investing? No. There is nothing that stops women from investing in Bitcoin. Women don’t even need to go to banks to introduce an intermediary which could discriminate against them.

So why aren’t more women investing in Bitcoin? There are a number of reasons for this.

1. Bitcoin is Boring

There are no emotions involved in cryptocurrency investing. Women are more likely to get involved in areas that stir their emotions, from the social sciences to humanitarian work to political rallies.

Bitcoin is mathematical. It was created with a white paper and some computer programming. Since more women take up studies in the arts or humanities than math, it is more difficult to understand the concept and takes more work.

Also, because women prefer soft subjects to hard ones, women end up in jobs related to the arts and humanities versus the hard sciences. They will be more likely surrounded by men and mostly women that also did not study math and computer science and will not be interested in—or understand—Bitcoin.

In addition, Bitcoin isn’t tangible. You can’t feel it in your hands, so you cannot wave it around to boost or lower your status without hopping on a male-centric Reddit page (HODL!!). This reduces the emotional connection to it because there is no physical thing to attach a feeling to. Where money can be a sign of prosperity or options, the numbers in a bit wallet are less tangible.

2. There Is A Lot Of Risk

Women generally value security and strength, which we have seen in relationship dynamics and the number of careers chosen as opposed to entrepreneurs. Men are more willing to take chances.

One of Bitcoin’s tenets is that it is less risky than fiat dollars because it is not subject to inflation and to crumbling governments, so it should be more stable. However, Bitcoin is still young and has a wildly fluctuating value. It is this perceived value that people see as risky, not the idea. It is these wild fluctuations in value that appeal to men.

Bitcoin is also a long-term investment. Bitcoin believers believe the cryptocurrency will be more durable than fiat and will be a superior currency. Women are much more likely to spend and distribute wealth than to build it through investing.

3. Bitcoin Is Competitive

Men eat what we kill. We evolved to eat the animals we hunted, and we still do that in the modern economy. In a tribal setting, the man that hunted the most for his tribe was rewarded with more power and more women to bang. We evolved to be competitive and to fight for the top spot.

These days, men are more likely to participate in sports and more likely to try new things to get ahead (see here). Bitcoin is competitive with other cryptocurrencies as people (men) race to market and grow their currency of choice. Bitcoin is also competitive as a store of wealth. The more men own, the more men can use our primal brains to associate with power and sex.

These are the reasons why only three percent of Bitcoin users—a completely decentralized, open world without bias—are women. These are the same reasons that men make more money than women in the workplace. It isn’t the patriarchy. It’s the evolutionary and behavioral differences in men and women that decide the numbers.

Men are competitive, find freedom in long-term wealth, and are more excited about new ideas and a new, selfish way to increase wealth. At least, more than women.

Read More: Bitcoin Is Creating A New Class Of Millionaires

Right at this very second, the largest transfer of wealth in the history of humanity is underway.  It has been going on since 2009, but it’s really picked up speed in the last 6 months.  A couple of days ago, I wrote a detailed post on RVF explaining Bitcoin in layman’s terms.  I strongly suggest that every reader of this post spend 10 minutes on that explanation, but if you’re too lazy then here’s the summary:

Bitcoin is the world’s largest cryptocurrency, essentially money for the Internet.  It is an open source Internet protocol, like HTTP.  It was hypothesized and first developed by an anonymous author or group under the name “Satoshi Nakamoto”.

Bitcoin is pioneering the idea of a deflationary currency, something which has never been possible before in humanity’s history.  Gold and silver come close, but not all of it has been dug out of the ground yet.  The only two possibilities for Bitcoin are that its value goes to zero, or increases.  There is no possibility that the value ever decreases or stabilizes (in the medium term).  In the long term, Bitcoin’s value will increase at a decreasing rate, but never stop, as it can be lost but not replaced.

Unlike gold and silver, Bitcoin can be essentially perfectly subdivided, and transmitted anywhere on the planet for almost nothing between any two parties with an Internet connection.

Bitcoin is decentralized like the Tor network, so it cannot be regulated or controlled by any government or authority body.

One Bitcoin has climbed from less than $200 to peaks over $1000 in the last month.  Every currency and medium of exchange on the planet is down against the Bitcoin over the last year, including gold and oil.

Innovation Means Winners And Losers

There is a hard limit of just under 21 million Bitcoins.  That means less than 1 in 300 people could own a full one, even if evenly distributed, which they are not (there’s already a number of investors that own hundreds or thousands or more).

One Bitcoin can be subdivided down into 100 million Satoshis (the smallest unit).   Even if the world’s money supply was entirely Bitcoin, one Satoshi would be worth just a couple of cents in today’s USD, allowing for small transactions.  If this were to happen, many many people would be reduced to poverty, living their entire lives on a few Millibits (thousandths of a Bitcoin) or Satoshis.

The new 1% is anyone that currently owns at least one Bitcoin, the world just doesn’t know it yet.  Like this, but on a world scale.  For the most part, this includes white, technically-minded, middle-aged American men but increasingly comprises Chinese technophiles and a cross section of society in economically unstable countries like Cyprus and Argentina.

The US government is starting to clue in and realises it needs to know what’s going on, but all they need to understand is that they can benefit from supporting it, or be trampled as they attempt to regulate something beyond their control.

I can’t say it any better than one of the commentators on the linked article (although I disagree about the inevitability of war and death), so here’s “Dumbhandle”:

US Government: Pay attention. You have almost destroyed the future of our country by retarding bitcoin usage in the US with the ham fisted application and mismanagement of various regs. Wealth is fleeing already to China and accelerating. You have a very short time to deregulate in order to attract bitcoin wealth to the US before the bitcoin black hole inevitably sucks in all world fiat currencies and the flow of XBT wealth to China and other counties accelerates.

Against all odds, your Chinese colleagues have realized this and are working as a team to effectuate capital accumulation over there. They are winning, because they understand fiats and the petro are finished. You need to immediately pull in some experts from the bitcoin community to explain this to you so you can take proper emergency evasive action to reverse the flow back to the US. Here is your goal: deregulate to reverse the capital flight. Then watch the global conversion of fiat to bitcoin. Watch bitcoin accumulate in the most innovative place in the world, the US. Sit back and watch a golden age bloom here and it spreads globally. Any other course will result in wars and death on a massive scale. Now we will watch you screw it up.

Bitcoin Doesn’t Care

Just like hypergamy and evolution, Bitcoin doesn’t care.

It doesn’t care if you didn’t know

It doesn’t care if you don’t understand

It doesn’t care if you don’t believe

The critics will cry that “Bitcoin is just a bubble” (alternatively: pyramid scheme), and they’d be right.  It’s a bubble in exactly the same way as the US dollar, which also gets its value entirely from community consensus (the paper it’s printed with cannot be eaten, used as construction material and is pretty poor fire fuel).  I am more prepared to trust a democratic, distributed, deflationary technology than the self-serving government printing press, and I suspect a lot of others might too.  I’m not alarmed by Bitcoin’s incredible growth, it’s just following the same S curve that tech giants like Facebook and Twitter tend to.

Absent any flaw being found in the source code (which has been publicly available and reviewed for years), or more likely one being introduced by the core development team (still a vanishingly unlikely proposition), I believe 1 Bitcoin will be worth at least US$ 100 000 by 31st December 2016.  The Winklevoss twins think even higher.  Max Keiser thinks even higher.  Even Peter Thiel (Paypal co-founder) agrees the revolution has begun.  Although ultimately, we’re all pure speculators on a very untested new technology.

The only other potential issue is advances in quantum computing that smashes apart current encryption standards, but that would cause far larger problems with all online privacy.  If anyone would come out on top it’s the forward-thinking and technically-minded Bitcoin community.

Adapt or live with regret among the masses.  You have been warned.  At the very least, do some reading and make an informed decision.

Bitcoin daily closing prices on MtGox for the last 4 years (to Nov 29), from sub-5 dollars to over $1000.  The closing of illegal, anonymous online marketplace Silk Road knocked the price off for a while, but it freed Bitcoin from any accusations of being useful only for drug deals.  The road up is going to be rocky, but there is no stopping the train now.

NB:  In the time taken for this post to go through the ROK submission and editing process, closing prices have doubled.  The original version of this article had the graph below finishing at $450.

https://www.returnofkings.com/10595/there-is-no-hedge-against-inflation

[trinnyboppers-blog]

Favorite Tomione Stories

Complete

Ultima ratio by Winterblume Ultima ratio - the last resort. At last the day of the Final Battle against Lord Voldemort has come. Harry, Ron and Hermione fight bravely against their nemesis - but then something goes wrong. And Hermione finds herself alone in a precarious situation.

Somewhere in Time by Serpent In Red Sent back in time by a mysterious person and trapped in the past with a missing Dumbledore and an overbearing, charismatic Dark Lord, they had no idea how much they could dabble with before the world they had known shattered into pieces.

Tied for Last By: Speechwriter Hermione is killed by Voldemort, and is now dead. Well, sort of. Turns out that death is a little more complex than she knew... Ignores epilogue and last 50ish pages of DH.

Nightmare by provocative envy COMPLETE: A broken time turner shouldn't have sent me back so far. It was unprecedented. Stepping on it-smashing it-nothing should have happened. At most, I should have lost a week. At worst, I should have disappeared altogether. I shouldn't have traveled back fifty-two years; half a bloody century. This should not have happened. HG/TR.

Masters of Manipulation by Nerys A true manipulator will control the universe, but who will achieve the wanted mastership? Hermione suddenly finds herself opposing Tom Riddle in a quest for knowledge banned by the founders of Hogwarts. Can she stop the heir before he becomes invincible?

Shared Flame by Lady Miya  It all started when two normally clever individuals both had a really lousy day. 

Have You Ever by Lady Moonglow With the war looking bleak, the Golden Trio, Ginny, Draco, and Lavender go back to Tom Riddle's 7th Year to destroy Lord Voldemort once and for all. What Hermione DIDN'T count on, however, is a shared common room, a curse, and a crazy little thing called love.

Daddy Dearest by ImmortalObsession Lady Hermione isn't quite right in the head. Her kingdom resides in a manor full-of-monsters. She has regular conversations with the Devil and fancies a dark knight who wants to kill her in her sleep. If not for the wonderful library, she might have lost her wits completely by now. Instead, she passes the time with music lessons and plots of murder.

The Hogwarts Christmas by OrbNerysDax Christmas is a time of peace and joy, and most of all, presents. Do Tom and Hermione get what they want or what they need?

Romantic Idealism by Meowmers She falls in love with him when she's 12, but by the time she's 17 she wants him dead. For Tom Riddle, its vice versa. Tomione. AU. M for a reason.

A Big Ball of Wibbly-Wobbly by Colubrina The war is over, the good guys have won, and Hermione Granger goes to sleep in her lovely flat only to wake up in 1953 in the bed of someone she'd really much rather were dead. "I'm working on the 'kill Lord Voldemort now, work out the temporal paradox issues later' plan," she tells him. He laughs. Tomione. 

Linen Rope by Brightki Hermione is an upper sixth student at the highly elite Hogwarts School, and she needs extra hours working in the school's science labs for her pre-admission to Oxford the next year. However, she has to get the approval from the chemistry teacher, Dr. Snape, as well as the support of the man in charge of the science department - Dr. Tom Riddle. (Non-Magical/Modern AU)

War Paint by provocative envy  COMPLETE: It was small, slim, about the length of her hand; the leather cover was soft, the sewn-in binding was crisp, and the thick vellum pages were empty. 'Tom Marvolo Riddle' was printed in ancient, flaking gold leaf across the front. He had been a Slytherin, a prefect, and head boy in 1944. She had checked. HG/TR. 

A Nose That Can See by Colubrina Hermione Granger has found herself inexplicably tossed back into time to Tom Riddle's Hogwarts. And he's a Veela and, wouldn't you know it, she's his mate. Could life get worse? But he seems to have an endless supply of out-of-season fruit so it can't be all bad, right? Tomione. Major character death, musical theater, and all that fruit. COMPLETE.

Allure by Meowmers "Granger," He seethed, as if he had any right to be angry while he was covered in blood on her doorstep. "Invite me inside." Her nails dug into the polished wood of the door and she contemplated slamming it in his face. "Absolutely not." Modern Vampire AU. Tomione. Also a splash of Drarry because I needed that in my life rn.

WIPs

Please, Save Me by Winterblume AU Tomione. No time travel no time turners. - 'Are you not scared of him? Tom Riddle has got a rather peculiar reputation. But I'm sure it's all stupid talk. He's Head Boy after all.' - 'What kind of a reputation' - 'Er… he's… well, he seems kinda dark.'

A Fall Through Time by Ariel Riddle A/U Tomione In a future dystopian society, Muggles are enslaved to their Pureblood masters who greedily drain the earth of its resources resulting in humans being on the brink of extinction. Muggleborns are hunted. Hermione must do what she does best-survive and adapt. Until that is, she is given an opportunity to go back to when it all started and rewrite history.

Bodyswitch by Winterblume Hermione's in hell and all her nightmares have come true. She's turned into a brainless bimbo and is failing all her classes quite spectacularly. Her teachers have, in fact, already given up on her and just sit back and watch her flunk all her NEWTs. Yes, it's nothing but hell for Hermione. On the upside, things can hardly get any worse. Right?

unsphere the stars by cocoartist When you can't change time, but you can't go forward, what is left? Hermione learns how to be the protagonist of her own story. [EWE]

Stepbrother by cherry cup  AU. The Grangers adopt a young Tom Riddle, and seal their daughter's fate forever. Set in the 30s-40s. 

Murderer's Maze by ibuzoo A new killer causes a worldwide media sensation by committing crimes so depraved, that they're creating a global panic. Only Special Agent and Consulter Hermione Granger can stop the killer—if she can solve his most complex and terrifying puzzle. Will she see through his game before her time runs out? Or will she lose herself in his maze of terror?

The Prisoner by Nerys Imprisoned, Lord Voldemort is considered a threat of the past. His knowledge is desired by many. Yet, his offer is for one person only: Hermione Weasley-Granger.

Persephone by dulce.de.leche.go Better to be the right hand of the devil than in his path. Better still to be the consort of Hades than a part of his collection of souls. Ten years after Voldemort has won the war, Hermione reaches a breaking point and shreds the flow of time to change her future. If she can't change the world, she will change her place in it. - Extremely dark Tomione/Volmione. Warnings inside.

Bound by Sharkdiver1980  When Hermione is sent back in time to 1947 after attempting to destroy a Horcrux, she finds herself forcefully subjected to a new law, Proclamation no.1682, otherwise known "The Marriage Law". it had obviously been repealed almost as quickly as it was instated, which is why she had never heard of it; The problem was, she had already been assigned a husband. 

Unsinkable by Speechwriter He: a young man long since raised from poverty, now on the verge of inheriting a magnate's business in the 1910s. She: an impoverished young woman on her way to start a new life in America. In short: Tom Marvolo Riddle, Hermione Jean Granger, and one voyage on the RMS Titanic - and how it would change their lives forever.

Hermione's Diary by Radiant Innocence What would happen if Ginny Weasley had never had Tom Riddle's diary? What if the Horcrux still existed, and was found by Hermione? What happens when the Dark Lord becomes intrigued by Hermione, and pulls her into his past? Read and Review!

School Days by Meowmers  They meet on the playground. Ron told her that if she doesn't fight for herself no one will ever leave her alone so she's just trying to follow his advice. "Are you crying?" He asks. She musters all the fury in her 7-year-old body and channels it into her voice when she speaks through the tears. "So what? I'll still kick your arse." Tomione. AU. Rated M for future chapters. 

Oneshots

Professor Riddle by jadepresley “When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love” - Horace Slughorn

The Black Veil by NerysDax  Samhain: When the veil's at its thinnest, the impossible will occur. Up is down, down is up. Everything can be achieved by those the Goddess values. COMPLETE

The Darkness Sings to Her by Ariel Riddle From beneath the cover of the water, or from behind a rock a ways from the shore, she would find herself lurking behind the waves and sneaking surreptitious glances whenever she could. AU Dark Fairytale with a Tomione twist. Oneshot.

Youth in Retrospect by provocative envy ONE-SHOT: She's buying a box of condoms when she meets him. HG/TR.

Quid nove sub sole by LeanaM "They say history repeats itself, but that is not entirely true. History isn't circular, it is more like a spiral. Similar events may take place over time, but they are never exactly the same. Sometimes they are smaller. Sometimes they are bigger. Sometimes they start the same, but the result is completely different." Historical AU. Dark. Tomione/Gin'n'Tonic. One-shot.

A Lovely Night by Meowmers "Please don't ask me to dance," She said, her fingers fluttering across her skirts, "Societal expectations dictate I must, I'm afraid," He said, and there was something so familiar in the feel of her hand, in the warmth her eyes sent him. CINDERELLA AU THAT LITERALLY NO ONE ASKED FOR BUT I MADE BECAUSE I AM LITERAL TRASH ENJOY 

Master of Mort by PierreJ A place for multiple pairings, romantic one-shot/stories and love with just a splash of angst. Come on, this is me.

Playing Cupid by Meowmers "I'm beginning to think that I would love to hear you scream." Tomione. Regency AU. Rated-M.

-art cred @ariel-riddle (I just played with it)