Did you know that Canada’s five biggest banks are among the 20 largest fossil fuel financiers in the world?
Since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015, they have invested over$900 billion into the fossil fuel industry. This means that your hard-earned dollars are being invested in projects that make it impossible to meet Canada’s climate targets. While not well known, the financial sector is the missing piece in ensuring a climate-safe future.
Last week, the CEOs of Canada’s top 5 banks were in Ottawa testifying about their role in the climate crisis. Environmental Defence was on the front line of this critical moment. We were invited to testify in this important study and use our expertise to advise policy solutions to align our financial system with climate action.
Canada can only keep a safer climate if finance aligns with climate action, and new rules from the government would help make that happen. And, we are creating public awareness of the issue and mobilizing Canadians to speak up by writing letters and attending rallies- increasing the pressure on the federal government to take action.
At a time when climate-fueled disasters (such as wildfires, droughts and floods) are rising, it’s ludicrous that Canadian banks are allowed to fund oil and gas industries at a rate of over $100 billion per year. We will be watching future proceedings closely. And, we will continue to push the federal government to ensure that Canadian banks are helping, not hindering our climate goals. For The Silo, Alex Walker. Program Manager, Climate Finance for Environmental Defence.
Paul Jenkins – The West and a Workable New World Order?
From: Paul Jenkins
To: Global governance observers
Date: May 2, 2024
Re: The West and a Workable New World Order?
One can describe the so-called liberal world order as a set of ideas for organizing world democracies. While openness and trade, rules and institutions, and co-operative security have been the principles that have shaped the liberal order, it also required sovereign nation states to provide the foundation for the creation and development of a system of intergovernmental organizations, or system of global governance.
In the aftermath of the Second World War, the system was designed primarily for the advancement, economically and politically, of Europe and the United States. Yet since 1945 the liberal world order has evolved, giving impetus to the steady increase in global economic integration to the benefit of many nations and people.
Advances in science and technology have been critical to the evolution of the liberal order, but there has also been a need for the structures of global governance to evolve and keep pace.
On the economic front, for example, the collapse of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates, following Richard Nixon’s 1971 decision to abandon the dollar’s link to gold, gave rise to the creation of the G7. And the Asian Crisis of 1999 led to the creation of the G20.
Throughout the entire postwar period, however, tensions inherent between the sovereign authority of the nation-state and the need for collective global governance increasingly challenged the liberal order.
Indeed, the advent of the Cold War led to the liberal world order becoming hegemonic, organized around the economic and political strength of the United States with its dominance of global governance through the various institutions making up the global governance system.
But over the years, pushback took hold. As the benefits of global economic integration spread and the United States was no longer the singular engine of growth, both democratic and autocratic countries found voice and began to resist the principles that shaped the liberal order. Even core nations of the liberal order began to voice their concerns in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis as the market-based financial system failed to self-regulate (as had been advertised), and as the liberal order proved unable to provide social protection for those adversely affected by globalization.
Effectively, a new world order began to unfold, with the resulting slowing and even fragmentation [DS1][PJ2] of global economic integration.
At the same time though, virtually all nations, regardless of regime or stage of development, are facing the same challenges: Financial instabilities, rising inequality, weak productivity growth, climate change, spread of infectious disease, AI, cyber security and on and on.
These vulnerabilities represent global risks that can only be tackled and minimized through collective action. This in turn requires a new world order that treats the world as it is, not how we wish it to be.
What does this mean for the West, and in particular the United States and Canada?
The unique advantages of the United States are its open society, fair and law-based market economy, and allure for talent from around the world. To sustain these advantages, maintaining its wealth and its position as the centre of the free world, it cannot close its doors to further global economic integration.
Geopolitically, what might this look like?
John Ikenberry argues that the answer can be found in the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and non-intervention of the Westphalian system, the 1648 treaties that ended the Thirty Years’ War and established the modern nation state. The key insight of the Westphalian system is that all countries are vulnerable to the same global risks. The leap forward in mindset that is required is the acceptance that states are the rightful political units of legitimate rule.
For the West, and the United States in particular, this implies the need to accept these new realities, and in so doing, the need to work together to build a new world order that preserves their liberal democratic values, and those of its allies, while at the same time recognizing that the economic challenges they face are not unique to them.
The unfolding relationship between the United States and China will define whether we achieve a workable new world order.
The economic incentives are there for this to happen.
For China, the incentive is further progress in closing both its internal income gap as well as the gap between itself and the developed world. The payoff would be setting in place the foundation for a sustained rise in living standards for all its citizens.
For the United States, the incentive is in preserving its strength as an open society and its vision of the world that has considered the interests of others. In many respects, it remains uniquely capable of playing the central role in sustaining the global economic system.
The challenge in re-imagining such a new world order is geopolitical. The task is to renew global governance with today’s realities in sharp focus.
Paul Jenkins. Mister Jenkins is a former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada and a senior fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute.
The IMF announced today (Tuesday, April 11, 2023) in the World Economic Outlook’s press briefing that the baseline forecast for global output growth is 0.1 percentage point lower than predicted in the January 2023 WEO Update, before rising to 3.0 percent in 2024.
“The world economy is still recovering from the unprecedented upheavals of the last three years, and the recent banking turmoil has increased uncertainties.”
“We expect global output growth to fall from 3.4% last year to 2.8% in 2023, before rising to 3% in 2024, mostly unchanged from our January projections. Advanced economies are expected to see an especially pronounced growth slowdown from 2.7% in 2022 to 1.3% in 2023. Global headline inflation is set to fall from 8.7% in 2022 to 7% in 2023 on the back of lower commodity prices but underlying core inflation is proving to be stickier. Importantly, this outlook assumes that recent financial stresses remain contained,” said Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, the IMF’s Chief Economist.
Much uncertainty clouds the short- and medium-term outlook as the global economy adjusts to the shocks of 2020–22 and the recent financial sector turmoil. Recession concerns have gained prominence, while worries about stubbornly high inflation persist.
“Once again, risks are heavily tilted to the downside, they have risen with the recent financial turmoil. Most prominently, recent banking system turbulence could result in a sharper and more persistent tightening of global financial conditions. The simultaneous rate hikes across countries could have more contractionary effects than expected, especially as debt levels are at historical highs. There might be a need for more monetary tightening if inflation remains stickier than expected. These risks and more could all materialize at a time when policymakers face much more limited policy space to offset negative shocks, especially in low-income countries,” added Gourinchas.
With the fog around current and prospective economic conditions thickening, policymakers have a narrow path to walk towards restoring price stability while avoiding a recession and maintaining financial stability. Achieving strong, sustainable, and inclusive growth will require policymakers to stay agile and be ready to adjust as information becomes available.
“First, as long as financial stress is not systemic as it is now, the fight against inflation should remain the priority for central banks. Second, to safeguard financial stability, central banks should use separate tools and communicate their objectives clearly to avoid unwarranted volatility. Financial policies should remain laser focused on preserving financial stability and watch for any buildup of risks in banks, non-banks, and the real estate sectors. Third, in many countries fiscal policy should tighten to ease inflation pressures, restore debt sustainability, and rebuild fiscal buffers. Finally, in the event of capital outflows that raise financial stability risks, emerging market and developing economies should use the integrated Policy framework, combining temporary targeted foreign exchange interventions and capital flow measures where appropriate,” said Gourinchas.
Some years ago, in 2015, I spoke with Paul Hellyer the former Canadian minister of defense, who stated he believes UFOs are from another planet and that the U.S. Government has kept it covered up.
As Canadian Minister of National Defense in 1963, Hellyer was responsible for integrating and unifying the Royal Canadian army, navy and air force into a single organization, the Canadian Armed Forces.
He is outspoken about UFOs visiting Earth and the US Banking System that he feels is greatly responsible for the present economic hard times. He feels we are naive and fail to understand we are being visited by alien life forms.
He told me he had spoken with key US government officials who confirmed aliens are visiting us and providing advanced technology.
His book, “Light at the End of the Tunnel: A Survival Plan for the Human Species” reveals that humans are hell bent for extinction unless we change our attitudes and actions with an urgency appropriate to an impending disaster. Paul Hellyer suggests that we have about ten years to wean ourselves from the oil economy and profoundly regrets that the Copenhagen Conference reflected little progress in that direction.
The whole atmosphere was one that reminded him of Emperor Nero fiddling while Rome burned. World leaders simply have to do better! The book outlines the three monumental changes required to accommodate the miracle. First, the book claims that exotic energy sources already exist. They have been developed by the U.S. “shadow government” at the massive underground “black operation” installations in Nevada and Arizona using technology borrowed from visitors from other planets. Yet they remain secret for the alleged benefit of the privileged few. Second, the money has to be found to subsidize poor nations and facilitate major changes. This can be accomplished by a fundamental re-working of the monetary and banking system. Bank leverages must be dramatically reduced and the percentage of virtual money they create as debt strictly limited so that governments can gain the financial flexibility to finance the transition to sustainability. Finally, it will be necessary for all countries, races, faiths and colors to drop their antagonisms and work together in common purpose to save the heritage they have in common.
When Hellyer was Canada’s Minister of National Defense he stated, “I got periodic reports on sightings and I looked at them very casually, and it was decided that about 80 percent of them were natural phenomena of one sort or another, and the other 20 percent roughly were unexplained, and therefore unidentified. While spending one Thanksgiving holiday north of Toronto, Hellyer and his wife spotted an UFO. “The two of us stood there transfixed for 20 minutes, looking up at this thing moving first in one direction, and then another. By process of elimination, we determined it wasn’t a star or satellite and it wasn’t the space station, so there was really no explanation for it other than it was, in fact, a UFO.”
“It looked like a star, but it maneuvered in a way that stars do not. I must admit that when I saw this one, I wondered whether it was extraterrestrial or American. And I guess the thought that occurred to me was that if it is American, then they have learned some pretty big secrets about acceleration, because it accelerated at a pace that nothing I’ve ever known about that was built here is capable of.” For the Silo, George Filer. Join MUFON.
The gaming industry is undergoing a significant shift. The payments ecosystem is evolving towards a new era of cryptocurrencies and e-wallets and away from conventional online banking accounts. According to our friends at LotteryCritic.com, the impact of this changing payments ecosystem is multifaceted, affecting everything from the speed of transactions to how funds are stored and managed. Freddie Smith, CEO of LotteryCritic, commented:
Integrating crypto and e-wallet payments into the gaming industry is particularly advantageous because it eliminates the need for third-party payment processors. This means that users don’t have to go through traditional banking channels, which can be slow and unreliable. Moreover, crypto and e-wallet payments are more secure than traditional systems since they use sophisticated encryption algorithms.
Advantages and Opportunities of Cryptocurrency and E-wallets in the Gaming Industry
Cryptocurrency has widespread recognition as a form of payment, and the gaming industry is no exception. Many online gaming platforms now accept cryptos. Therefore, players can use them to buy in-game items or to place bets. The use of cryptos in the gaming industry offers several benefits. They include lower transaction fees, fast and secure transactions, and anonymity for players. E-wallets have also become increasingly popular in the gaming industry. Players use them to store funds and make transactions within the gaming platform. E-wallets offer several advantages, such as ease of use, fast dealings, and storing multiple currencies in one account. With the integration of e-wallets and cryptos, players can make quick and secure transactions.
The adoption of cryptos and e-wallets in the gaming industry has also opened up new revenue streams for gaming companies. For example, some gaming companies now offer in-game purchases using cryptocurrencies. Thus, allowing players to buy items using their digital assets. This has created a new market for gaming companies and has provided an opportunity for them to increase their revenue.
Challenges in the Adoption of Cryptocurrency and E-wallets in the Gaming Industry
The gaming industry has seen a rise in adopting crypto and e-wallets as payment. While these payment methods offer several benefits, adopting cryptos and e-wallets has challenges. One of the significant challenges is the volatility of crypto prices. Crypto prices can fluctuate rapidly and unpredictably. Thus, it can affect the value of in-game purchases made using cryptocurrencies.
The unpredictability can create confusion for both gaming companies and players. Besides, there is also a need for more regulation in the cryptocurrency market. The lack of rules makes it difficult for gaming firms to operate within a legal framework.
Moreover, the lack of regulation also exposes players to security risks, such as hacking and theft. Integrating cryptocurrencies and e-wallets into the gaming industry can also present technical challenges. Investors must ensure systems and processes used for transactions are secure and user-friendly. This requires significant investment in technology and infrastructure. The cost implications can hinder small and medium-sized gaming firms from investing. For the Silo, Elizabeth Kerr.
Pi- the only crypto you can mine from your smartphone.
It’s safe to say Blockchain technology has disrupted the internet in quite a dramatic fashion.
Despite only being invented about fourteen years ago, cryptocurrency has formed a world of its own and it is now estimated the market will hit well above a $1 trillion USD valuation from four years ago…..
Allowing transactions, alongside other things such as documents and invoices, to be sent across a P2P network, the technology has been praised for its advanced security and anonymity benefits.
The latest infographic crafted by Bitfortune looks into how many ways Blockchain technology impacted the world and various business industries, such as charities and banking.
In the world of cybersecurity, Blockchain can help reduce or eliminate fraud and errors, along with being a more accurate and confidential platform for industry professionals.
For example, REMME is a secure platform that has eliminated the need for passwords and instead uses Blockchain as a form of authentication.
In supply chain management, Blockchain is being used to reduce the number of errors and exposure to potential threats.
The technology also helps reduce time and increase efficiency – a win-win all around, really. FedEx recently announced plans for an internal Blockchain pilot program that will help solve customer disputes while IBM and Maersk are also working together on a new company that will use Blockchain within global shipping supply chains.
Take a look at the infographic below to learn how Blockchain is disrupting other industries around the world for the better and why it’s time to start thinking about how you can incorporate the technology into your lives.
God-like powers? The United States Federal Reserve essentially drives the entire world economy.
Money runs the world’s economy. It determines who rules nations, and it rules lives.
These are the three most significant properties attributed to the power of money, in addition to its basic function as a medium of exchange. But we can attribute several less significant properties, although similarly important, to the power of money. They include:
1. Money separates people of the same nation into classes, divisions and groups.
2. The pursuit of money and wealth can turn man against man, son against father, family against family and nation against nation.
3. Money’s devaluation of natural values makes Nature the object of buying and selling.
4. The ability of man to perform labor by placing a price on his head allows one man, or group of men, to enslave another individual or group of individuals.
5. The ability of money to corrupt tends to change man’s personality from social being to self-oriented individual.
6. The power of money drives people to produce services in order to pursue everyday life. This inflicts stress upon people, leading to a spiritual breakdown manifested in acts of crime and mental illnesses.
Bitcoin- electronic currency invented in the 21st century- poised to revolutionize what money is and can be? It’s value in US dollars in 2013 tripled in one year. CP
Amazingly enough, not many people in modern society are aware of the source of the power or money, including businessmen such as bankers, money market brokers and financiers, who consider themselves money experts.
Perhaps one of the reasons the origin of money’s power is one of the least discussed subjects among academics is the non-existence of prehistoric written records. The second reason is historians’ failure to unveil when and how currency converted from an ordinary medium of exchange into the dominant value of society by expanding its usage to include rendered labor compensation. Also, when and what societal changes elevated the abstract value of currency into an absolute ruling power over humans, including all natural values and treasuries of the Earth.
The blank page left by the theory of early civilization about the invention and rise of money invited independent thinkers to develop their own theories.
The records indicate that this enigma is hidden in the formation of the first state and government. Reforms enacted almost 4,000 years ago led to the breakup of the original communion society, creating conditions that enabled different classes of people to pursue independent ways of life.
From above… 2. The pursuit of money and wealth can turn man against man, son against father, family against family and nation against nation.
Regulating all natural values and treasuries, including human labor, through money, one individual was able to declare himself the king, and establish absolute ruling power over society by entrapping people within guarded wall.
This historic event advanced the abstract value of money from the ordinary medium of exchange to an absolute ruling power unparalleled in the real world. Some ancient spiritual leaders expressed a serious concern about the prudence of the proposed reforms. They warned that the enactment of these reforms would void the God-given dominant role of natural values within society at the expense of the abstract value of money. This would subsequently interrupt the relationship between man and nature, and change the original role of man upon the Earth from the guardian of nature to the biggest annihilator of nature.
But the followers of the philosophical doctrine of man’s uniqueness compared to other species dismissed such warnings. Promoting man’s spiritual virtue of freedom to make his own norms and laws instead of following the law of nature, they were delighted by the proposed reforms.
Ever since, the corruption, exploitation of one man over another and class warfare became the norms of the New World Order leadership.
The comparatively recent freedom movements that led to the French and Bolshevik revolutions failed to liberate people from the chains of money’s absolute power. Despite that, the idea of freedom lives on in people’s minds, inspiring liberators to wonder why the formation of a communist state failed to succeed.
The liberators failed to realize that the institution of state and government is the foundation that, by providing the conditions for money currency to function, imposes absolute ruling power over society. This means that the institution of state and government is not a suitable foundation for the establishment of a free, classless society.
Is the only way to liberate society from the absolute power of money a return to the system of farming communities and declaring abolition of money currency, which would ultimately lead to dismantling the institutions of state and government?
However, taking into account that man is biologically a mortal relative entity incapable of resisting temptation offered by the absolute power of money, the prospect for the abolition of money is not practically realistic. For the Silo, Michael Vladimirovich Trisho.
Featured image: imagesci.com
Michael Vladimirovich Trisho is the author of “How Did Humanity Become Enslaved to Money?” Born in Panchevo, currently part of Serbia, Trisho’s tendency to inquire about the mysteries of the world using reason and logic were evident at an early age. All his life, he wondered how humankind became entrapped by money and why people believe a money-based society is best. After immigrating to the United States, he continued to examine early history in search of answers about the monetary system and its relation to the institution of state. Examining archeological fossils and excavations focused only on a narrow part of early human experience and did not reveal important events that played a critical role in society’s development. Michael created his own reconstruction of events, the product of which is his debut novel.
Which digital currency originated from the Doge meme and was originally introduced as a joke?
Is it the same currency that quickly developed into an online community and that was capitalized a few years ago at over $240 Million USD? Take this pop quiz challenge and find out.
Featured image via- darkwebnews.com
UPDATE- How Pi aims to democratize digital currency.
Toronto, ON — White Shark Fintech, Inc. (the “Company”) a revolutionary free artificial intelligence based trading platform that flourishes in volatility and allows its users to better control their assets, including crypto-currencies, launched recently across Canada. A popular tool among young traders looking for simple ways to buy and sell crypto-currencies, the app has created a waiting list to manage user demand.
The free-to-use app takes speculation out of trading by employing high performance algorithms that signal a user when markets for particular securities, including cryptos, are likely “over bought” or “over sold”. With White Shark users no longer have to guess or rely on self proclaimed experts about the price at which they buy or sell cryptos and other securities.
“Fintech companies, like White Shark, that engage millennials have earned multi billion dollar valuations. With the growing hunt for millennial assets and engagement with other apps, we decided to make the White Shark experience fun, empowering and engaging – regardless of where they hold their assets.” said founder and chairman Marc Wade, “White Shark is truly a user experience company engaging millennials in the capital markets when and where they want.”
“White Shark is a game changer.” White Shark app enthusiast Ryan Kesler of the Anaheim Ducks explains. “It’s so easy and fun to use. Buying and selling crypto has become part of my daily routine. There’s no guess work in making money – the accuracy of the algo trading is the only way to go.”
White Shark’s machine learning algorithms compile market data trends and price book movements into 4 gauges that work together to signal market movements. The app provides the user the ability to respond to changes in market conditions before other traditional indicators.
Now users no longer have to trade blind. Gdax (Coinbase), with over 11.9 million users, is one of the exchanges that can be connected to White Shark.
“So called “experts” have been making speculative and incorrect calls on bitcoin and other cryptos for too long.” Said CEO Stuart Shanus
Stuart Shanus
“Our free trading app isn’t based on speculation. It’s based on mathematical models and machine learning algorithms – and it should be the go-to app for investors whether they are buying and selling crypto-currencies, fiat currencies or equities.”
Investors using the White Shark app connect their preferred broker account including tCoinbase (gdax) , Kraken, Bitfinex, Poloniex and Hitbtc. For the Silo, Amy Saunders.
About White Shark
White Shark is a revolutionary free artificial intelligence based trading app that pairs investors with real time artificial intelligence (AI) to increase returns and mitigate risks. White Shark’s high performance algorithms have been used for 17 years by professional traders who have achieved exceptional returns.
The payments world has long been governed by the world’s great financial institutions. Banks and states have dominated the world’s spending habits, regulating transactions and payment methods.
The last decade has seen a shift away from the great institutions having total control over the financial landscape, and it’s been largely down to the digital revolution. Recent years have seen growing partnerships with the technology industry. Tech has sought more innovative ways for the financial industry to operate, and a greater freedom for consumers to spend their money.
Find current trends and what the future has in store for spending in this interesting infographic below from our friends at moneyguru.com. At the time of posting 1 British Pound = $1.42 US and $1.79 CDN.
“White Shark is a game changer.” White Shark app enthusiast Ryan Kesler of the Anaheim Ducks explains. “It’s so easy and fun to use. Buying and selling crypto has become part of my daily routine. There’s no guess work in making money – the accuracy of the algo trading is the only way to go.”
