(029) Genuine Report 

  • (World War III) The Reds vs. The Whites and Blues

  • Media creators adapt or face extinction; audiences beware.

  • Wall Street is courting the Crypto-Space

  • The Benefits of Growing Late Season Container Vegetables

  • The Dark Arts of Philanthropy

  • A Scandal that rocked the Ritz and the gaming world.

  • 29 is the 10th Prime Number

World

(World War III) The Reds vs. The Whites and Blues

Globe / On May 5th the WHO declares COVID-19 Pandemic over, existential fear is replaced with headlines of WWIII

Military drills in South China Seas by U.S. and China has everyone on edge, while all eyes remain on Ukrainian/Russian border. Threats rise from North Korea against Japan and South Korea, fighting blazes on in Armenia and Azerbaijan, and throughout the Arabian Sea and Syria. Power brokers in Europe coordinate NATO expansion, China and Middle Eastern powers deal in peace and energy, and everyone tries to solidify strength in Africa by supporting their side of the civil wars. 

Africa and Middle East / Saudi Arabia supports ceasefire deal with Yemen another beacon of Chinese deal brokering.

  • Sudanese civil war is a fight for control by military leader Al-Burhan (backed by U.A.E-Saudi-U.S.) and faction group RSF led by Hemedti (backed by Iran-Russia), who both previously worked together in 2021 coup.

  • Other civil wars in Ethiopia, Libya, and Cameroon weaken African Union stability.

  • The U.S. dispatches nuclear submarine U.S.S. Florida into Arabia Sea amongst Iran-Israeli tensions.

  • Iran hanged Alireza Akbari January 11th 2023 revealing the former minister’s role as a British M16 double-agent.

Europe / Russian mercenaries, Wagner Group, led by Prigozhin threatened coup of Putin, tied to large losses in Ukraine.

  • Belarussian President Lukashenko deals with Wagner Group for safe exile and forces are now positioned north of Ukraine.

    • Is this military theatre for strategic positioning on Kiev, who recently received 110 NATO Leopard 1 Tanks?

  • Sweden is being fast tracked into NATO, while Finland purchases Israeli’s military air defense system - David’s Sling.

  • Turkiye re-elects Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for a 3rd term, despite poor economic stability and poor disaster management.

  • Greeks re-elect Mitsotaki’s despite scandal and corruption, on the basis of continued economic stability.

  • The French protest pension reforms and workers right, Macron visits China to shore up Airbus deals.

  • The Coronation of King Charles celebrated on May 8th as U.K. economy seizes in worst recoil in 50 years.

Asia / China supports Putin’s Russia without supplying military support, and continues to eye Vladivostok in the East.

  • Reserve Bank of India removes the current INR 2000 note by Sept. 30th, with a goal to break down black-market rupee exchanges.

  • Belt and Road Initiative loans start to look similar to IMF loans from the West, as China calls in debts.

  • China has row with India’s diplomatic visit to Arunachal Pradesh over its disputed territorial claims.

  • Civil war in Myanmar 2 and half years in, with no line of sight towards ending.

  • China’s Commercial Aircraft Corp. (COMAC) release new C919 Airliner for commercial use and domestic flights.

  • China’s Aeronautic Flight – Shenzhou 16 successfully brings a civilian to Tiangong space station.

South America & Central / Venezuela opened drilling wells to 5 American companies after approval from U.S.

  • Brazil has authorized use of China’s interbank (CIPS) to allow trade settlements in China’s renminbi (RMB)

  • Paraguay elects President Peña previous IMF Economist to keep right-wing Colorado party in power for 75th year.

  • Honduras imposes curfews as violence erupts in the north, leaving 22 dead.

  • Belize eliminates Malaria, although the disease is popping up in Texas and Florida due to changing climate temperatures.

  • Peru is feeling the after effects of Cyclone Yaku with fears Dengue Fever epidemic is near.

North America / Mexico to nationalize 13 power plants and a recently discovered Lithium mineral deposits.

  • First Republic Bank in U.S. falls under FDIC control and will be sold to JP Morgan.

  • U.S. Debt Ceiling marginally approved despite Speaker Kevin McCarthy and GOP Congress strict requirements of austerity.

  • ConocoPhillips buys control of Oil-Sands site for $3B.

  • Canada’s Pearson Airport had $90M worth of gold stolen in transit.

  • Resolution to Impeach Biden has been approved to move forward in the House.

  • Sam Altman, head of OpenAI, testifies in front of U.S. Congress addressing ethics need to for regulation in this space.

Business

Media Creators Adapt or Face Extinction; Audiences Beware

(July 1st 2023) Toronto, Canada

Media and Big Tech

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) took to a labour strike in May 2023, to fight for the worker’s right to earn a living wage. In years previous, writers were subsidized from a low salary by cable syndication revenue from re-runs, which has been lost as streaming sites pay pennies on the dollar. However, on a larger scale the union is fighting their future roles and the existential threat as AI technology and international markets (South Korea) take over scripting.

The strike represents a similar battle that has also turned journalism upside down in 2023, as content creation and distribution are being changed hereafter. Digital Journalism dies on the vine, as real-time citizen journalism buds via social media (like TikTok).

Journalism News

  • nVice Media files for Bankruptcy (after once be valued at $6B USD)

  • Buzzfeed moves further towards AI content, after cutting 10% of Pulitzer-prize winning human department.

  • Tucker Carlson is let go from Fox News, and starts a social media channel on “Tucker on Twitter” (now X Corp)

  • Don Lemon is let go from CNN, and Trump Townhall shocks left leaning audience.

  • Canada’s Bill C-18, the Online News Act, has drawn ire from Google and Facebook (Meta) who will decommission links to Canadian journalistic sites to avoid compensation to the Canadian publishers or face any financial penalties. 

Gold - Investors vary on its performance , and it’s clear that Gold is not as safe a haven for unpredictable times.

Oil - Despite OPEC enforcing supply cuts, price increases are short lived and stabilize at $75/Brent Crude Barrel.

Crypto - The instability from 2022 hits bottom, and new interest from big market firms has eyes looking toward the future.

Forecast

Wall Street is courting the Crypto-Space

(June 30, 2023) Toronto, Canada

On first brush, Cryptocurrency has lost its luster with the scandalous breakdown of FTX (see Ed. 027) and the recent allegations the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has thrust on Binance and its comingling of funds with Sigma Chain. It is not surprising the market sentiments have gone from ‘positive’ to ‘neutral’ on this asset class.

2022 devastated the markets, once standing at $3T in market capitalization, so with its sharp decline it is easy to forget that the global crypto market cap. still stands at nearly $1.1T. There are a lot of innovators invested in the future, and there is a renewed positivity growing in the minds of established Wall Street firms. Could they coax new investors and bring forward the regulators to accept this new model. A late-year bullish approach is brewing, tied to the resilience seen by Bitcoin and Ethereum early in 2023 and more importantly the value of transactional record keeping of Blockchain technology.

In the last weeks of June 2023, Bitcoin has hit is peak for the year and confidence is growing.

Power Moves in Crypto

o   EDX Markets - Citadel, Fidelity, Charles Schwab launch “first-of-its-kind” marketplace exchange.

o   Deutsche Bank - filed for a license to be a Crypto Custody Service, as the pandemic revealed the value of digital exchanges and decline in physical cash.

o   BlackRock – June 15th the firm, who manages 9.5T in AUM, filed an application with the SEC to issue a Spot Bitcoin ($BTC) ETF on NASDAQ, with Coinbase (COIN) as their partner for Custody of the ETF while BNY Mellon will be the cash custodian.

  • Despite years of disinterest from CEO Larry Fink, 2023 has changed the company’s spirit.

  • BlackRock transformed the ETF market earlier this century and issued a Spot Gold ETF on the NYSE (2004), since the price of Gold jumped 1,100%.

  • Note: 4 Bitcoin ETFs exist today, based only on futures trading. 

June 30th, the SEC determined the filing was inadequate for an approval. Only time will tell what happens next.

o   ‘FedNow’ – the U.S. Federal Reserve announced 57 firms are certified to utilize the instant payment system late in July 2023. This is not a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) just a payment system, congruent to CashApp or Venmo.

Investment Approach

Digital Assets are extremely volatile.

A safe approach would be to avoid Altcoins and focus more on Crypto Leaders like Bitcoin and Ethereum. By Doing-Your-Own-Research (DOYR) you can devise a good approach for your portfolio, and they right risk appetite if you may have for Crypto, or not at all.

Gardenscape

The Benefits of Growing Late Season Container Vegetables

(June 26th, 2023) Wiarton, Canada

Authored by Mike Schenk

Most people think of growing vegetables as a spring/summer activity, but the cooling temperatures of late summer into autumn can yield fantastic crops. In some cases, the flavours and taste in autumn can be superior to summer plantings.

   With food costs steadily rising growing your own vegetables has never been more attractive. The overall poor taste and quality of store-bought items and the health benefits of knowing where your food came from and what nourished it are equally important.

Setup

Any container that can hold soil can be used. It's not necessary to spend money on fancy pots. Avoid smaller containers as maintaining soil and growing conditions can be challenging. Old vinegar jugs, bowls and pails work well. The pails provide the added benefit of having handles allowing them to be moved around easily to where growing conditions are better. They can also be carried inside as the temperature cools extending your season.                               

     Ensure that there are drainage holes in the bottoms!

      Soil from your garden should not be used as it will be very heavy. Purchase a growing mix from a store. A bag of compost mixed in at 1 compost to 4 soil will benefit greatly.

      Place containers where they will get the most sunlight. Balconies, patios, and front steps work well. Be careful of areas with excessive wind. They will require watering so placement close to a water source will make it easier. Soil should be damp, avoid overwatering.

Planting

For a fall garden seeding should be done at the beginning of August. This allows the plants to germinate and develop with heat. Generally, nurseries will no longer have seedlings to plant though it may be possible to get late season deals. To start you will need to purchase/acquire seeds. My father's rule was to sow seeds the thickness of the seed. Generally, a good rule although some seeds are very tiny and proper judgement should be applied. Do not sow too deep.

What to Sow

Fruit bearing plants like tomatoes and peppers can be ruled out as they require heat and time.

 Sow varieties that are relatively fast growing. Frost tolerance will help as the season develops. Don't be afraid to mix varieties in your planters, some of the most beautiful planters have a healthy mix. Be aware that some varieties will grow larger so should not be mixed with smaller ones, i.e.: putting carrots with peas.

You may want to keep varieties that are more frost tolerant together.

Some Herbs*, like Oregano, can be left out all winter and will return in spring, but most herbs tend to require a longer season but can be tried.

Good luck!

Sport & Combat

A Scandal that rocked the Ritz and the gaming world

(May 28th 2023) Toronto, Canada

Although gambling is neither a sport, nor combat, Kit Chellel’s Bloomberg article ‘The Gambler Who Beat Roulette’ has peaked the bookie division of our team.

Just as ESPN has poker tournaments on at all odd hours of the day, we too can be diverse.

Roulette, owing its origins to Biribi, is a prominent game found on most casino floors. The focus is a little wheel decorated with 36 coloured and numbered pockets evenly split better red and black, with an extra green zero (European) or 2nd green double zero (American). Each round, a croupier will spin the wheel in one direction and toss a ball in the other. Where it lands only chance will tell, and gamblers can place their best guess on a field of numbers, splits, and evens to garner the highest return at 35:1 – if they chose the right number.

“’Stephen Hawking once wrote ‘It is practically impossible to predict the number that will come up, otherwise, physicists would make a fortune at casinos.’ The game was designed to be random; chaos, elegantly rendered in circular motion”.[i]

An infinite number of gambler’s have tried to beat roulette with the basic Martingale method to bet on an even (like black) and double up until hitting, but this breaks as the first zero green(s) hit. The more sophisticated Oscar’s Grind, or Fibonacci System create the hope in gamblers that casinos actually love, a plan that draws more into the house and lose away their money – or casinos did, at least until the night Niko Tosa and crew showed up with a different system at the London Ritz on March 2004 with £75K and left with £1.3M.

So, who is Niko Tosa? And how did this skinny kid take on the casinos, notable physicists, the roulette wheel, and win!

The Roulette wheel challenges the elements of physical science with all the many changing variables, factors and real-time experiences that drew in many rebellious academics to try and predict where the ball may land. In the 1960’s Edward O. Thorp and Claude Shannon were able to predict that rudimentary computers could prove, in the right conditions and inputs, that a system could model the basic quadrant where the ball lands with consistent accuracy.

In 1985 Thomas A. Bass wrote the “The Eudaemonic Pie” showcasing the spin of a ball could be measurably predicted if the factors of the wheel, spin, and friction would remain somewhat constant, and a technical device could predict where the ball may land with a certain degree of certainty, only off by a few pockets here and there. So if a computer could prove its possible, then it is indeed possible.

In 2004, the Daily Mirror quickly heard of Tosa’s exploits, rising speculation he used laser levels helped scam the table. However, the Casino industry quickly discovered that Tosa indeed had found a flaw in the game. When a Roulette wheel was well played, or off tilt, there was a consistent drop zone where the ball will lose momentum and with a keen eye on the wheel the landing spot becomes quite narrow.

The Tosa Method (‘Cerebral’ Predictive Modeling)

  • Find a well-used table, in an established casino,

  • Become familiar with the ‘Drop Zone’ (the behaviour of the wheel),

  • After the spin, then hold for 6-7 seconds before betting,

  • Place a Neighbours bet (1 pocket and the 2 accompany pockets on each side of the wheel) within the Drop Zone,

  • Collect your winnings.

By studying Tosa and crew, security specialists John Wootten and Mike Barnett clued in and soon revealed the games weakness to the industry and throughout 2005-2012 Casino’s in Las Vegas, Macau, Monaco and elsewhere began to reset their equipment and better coach the croupiers when trends occur to trigger changes in their spin harder or softer.

And their confidence in roulette returned to a game winner for the house, without worry, and the stability of earnings had been reset.

By studying the wheel, the man who went under the alias Tosa (and many other since) discovered a method that previously thought could be accomplished by computers.  

[i] Kit Chellel’s Bloomberg article ‘The Gambler Who Beat Roulette

Politics & Religion

The Dark Arts of Philanthropy

(May 10th 2023) Toronto, Canada

Since 3,000 B.C.E, taxes were enforced on citizens to pay a levy towards regional government programs, and in 2,999 B.C.E the first tax haven was created by a savvy accountant.

Today, citizens can find government regulated tax havens in retirement programs (Canadian RRSPs, or less so American 401(K)s), or through donations to charitable and religious organization. These havens incentivize fiscal responsibility and social programs that aid the efforts of the tax programs themselves.

There are other illicit ‘tax haven’ approaches that citizens can use to evade tariffs and if applied right even procure a government subsidy from honest taxpayers. One can pay a merchant with cash - off the reported books, employees can accept under-the-table wages, or business’ can manage funds through offshore accounts to avoid reporting taxable domestic income (see Pandora and Panama Papers).

Big and small, tax evasion is present in all walks and the most ominous of them all must be the creation of a disingenuous Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Non-Profit or generically named Charity for a wealth fund. Under the guise of charity big organizations, the wealthy can evade traditional tax responsibilities. As some may claim it as a smart thing to do in a Capitalist society, the rest of us know it is a form of poor character and greed.

In "Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World," Anand Giridharadas identifies the path elites apply in philanthropic enterprise to whitewash their reputations, but more importantly avoid taxation.

Charitable Scandals

Here are some sites to help validate your chosen charity is legitimate…

”I sit on a man’s back choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure myself and others that I am sorry for him and wish to lighten his load by all means possible…except by getting off his back” - Leo Tolstoy

The original intention of the ‘Tax Haven’ was two-fold,

1) To support altruistic choice of the citizen to donate towards a chosen municipal effort, and

2) A subtly way for a small group of elites to avoid paying their share.

The problem in modern capitalism is that as wealth consolidates to a single percentage of 1%, the value the elites and corporations use to avoid paying taxes ultimately erodes the infrastructure that was originally in place when they earned their wealth in the first place.

Mixtape

29 is the 10th Prime Number

Prime Number Design

(April 21st 2023) Toronto, Canada

The uniqueness of prime numbers is core to modern number theory and arithmetic.

Prime Numbers are natural numbers greater than 1, and not divisible by a smaller natural number other than 1. Whereas a composite numbers are the rest of the natural numbers, which can be factorized by a smaller natural number then itself.

7 is a prime, as it cannot divide equally by any smaller natural number other than 1.

Whereas 6 is a composite, as it can be product of 2 x 3, or 3+3, or 2+2+2, which are smaller natural numbers.  

The Egyptian Rhind Mathematical Papyrus dating to 1500 B.C.E is the earliest known recording observing the prime and composite number behaviours. The Grecian Euclid in 300 B.C.E claimed there is an infinite set of primes, both revealing the mind-bending immensity of number theory and also the peculiarity of primes themselves. In smaller sequences prime values are uniquely interesting but on a larger scale the continued permanence of primes, which both Marin Mersenne and Leonard Euler proved, challenges a presumption they would simply wind down to a point. The largest known prime is 282,589,933 – 1, when written in base 10 extends to 24,000,000(+) digits and reveals the immensity of numbers in scale but how primes do indeed persist infinitely.

Mathematics has been questioned to be a language constructed by man to better understand the physical world, whereas others see is as an expression of the core structure of how the universe really is.

When we view prime numbers the majesty of the design is revealed, if this a man-made design, then who built in this beauty? And if it is a reflection of how the universe operates in comfort, what is the importance of this design feature?

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