Money Bots: How the Performance and Value of Wall Street Corporations Became Irrelevant.

Money Bots: The Truth Behind High Frequency Trading

Al Jazeera (2021)

Film Review

With high frequency trading, the performance and value of a company becomes irrelevant – all that matters is competing trades faster than anyone else. With money bots, many stocks are held only a few seconds before being resold.

This documentary concerns the trading “bots” that are programmed to carry out complex high frequency stock trades without any human input. The bots are triggered when conventional traders (eg pension funds) issue large orders. Because they can consummate trades much faster, the bots buy the desired stocks and then sell them to the pension funds at a higher price. Because high frequency trading is totally unregulated, this is perfectly legal.

At times high frequency trading can have real time effects on the whole market, as in May 2010, when high frequency trading caused several stocks on the Mercantile Exchange to crash before the entire exchange was shut down. A second “flash crash” occurred in February 2018, when trading bots caused the Dow Jones to lose 1500 points in a few hours (the highest percentage loss in history)

The most interesting part of the film concerns the computer scientists who developed the algorithms (1991) allowing money bots to instantly capitalize on large orders submitted by human traders. The bots were based on an app they originally developed to predict the outcome of black jack and roulette games.

In all cases, success in high frequency trading depends more on location (as close as possible to the designated exchange) and access to the highest speed networks than on true predictive ability. According to whistleblowers interviewed in the film, the most successful high frequency traders have employed “cheats” of some type.

The film can be viewed free at https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/movies/money-bots-the-truth-behind-high-frequency-trading-featured-documentary/vi-AAKbJXL

Orlov on US Collapse, the Great Reset, Klaus Schwab and the Apocalyptic Climate Cult

No Escape

Dmitry Orlov (2021)

Film Review

In this fascinating interview, Russian-American author and journalist Dmitry Orlov discusses the impending US collapse and the Russian view on what he refers to as “the apocalyptic climate cult,” Biden’s meeting with Putin, Klaus Schwab and the Great Reset, the impending cyber wars, geoengineering and the Russian closed cycle nuclear program.

10.00min The West’s “apocalyptic climate cult.”

According to some climate scientists, ice core records suggest the Earth is due for another Ice Age “any century now” (Orlov writes about this in more depth at https://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2019/11/avoiding-coming-ice-age.html). He predicts humankind would have to triple their fossil fuel consumption to prevent it, which would burn up the Earth’s entire coal reserves.

While he’s not advocating this as a policy (one downside would be catastrophic mercury levels), he deplores the reluctance of climate scientists to study the impending Ice Age – to better understand the potential triggers and the possibility of preventing it.

He states that no one in Russia takes seriously what they refer to as the West’s “apocalyptic climate cult.”  While he acknowledges the reality of the greenhouse effect, he questions the reliability of Western climate scientists’ doomsday predictions. The latter are almost totally based on computer models, and it will take at least 1,000 years to gather sufficient evidence to test the models.

24.00min The Great Reset

Orlov doesn’t believe the Great Reset will happen, because it has no support whatsoever from either Russia or China. He describes Klaus Schwab as a “moneybag whisperer” for the super rich. It’s his job to “fluff up” their egos by publishing vanity fiction like The Great Reset. Owing to America’s weakening global position, the WEF was forced to invite Putin and Xi Jinping this past January. Both dismissed the Great Reset categorically – they have their own future development plans.

28.00min Putin/Biden Summit

Orlov quips that the purpose of the summit was to “negotiate the terms” of (US) surrender. He points to a dangerous hyperinflation the US is entering that will reduce living standards by 90% and lead to civil unrest. He predicts the US will be forced to abandon its global military bases in the near future and repatriate its troops.

Orlov believes Biden’s main goals for the summit were

1. For Putin to affirm that Biden (not Trump) is the legitimate president.
2. To persuade Putin to put the brakes on plans to sell its oil and gas in currency other than US dollars.

At present, Russia is the third largest supplier of oil to the US, which has no other source (due to US sanctions on Venezuela) for the heavy oil it needs for diesel, jet fuel and kerosene and can’t run its transport network without it.

1.20min Renewable Energy in Russia

Russia is focusing on solar and wind energy in Russia in remote areas where renewable technology is cheaper than the cost of transporting coal.

1.26min Russia’s Closed Cycle Nuclear Program

At present Russia’s main nuclear investment is in fast breeder reactors that reprocess depleted uranium by burning long half life isotopes and converting it to low level short half life waste (which can be safely buried). At present Russia is buying nuclear waste from other countries for reprocessing.

Will nuclear waste disposal challenges limit a significant expansion of global nuclear power?

The Amazon Warehouse as Disneyland

The Amazon Warehouse as Disneyland

By Jason Myles

Film Review

This short video is a review of Nomadland, the film that won best picture, director and  female lead at this year’s Academy Awards.. According to Myles, this film is a pro-corporate propaganda flick totally at odds with the Jessica Bruder’s 2017 book. The purpose of her book was to expose the scandalous exploitation by Amazon, Walmart, Uber and other ruthless corporate retailers of itinerant American seniors who lost their homes and life savings in the 2008 financial crash. Homeless and unable to provide for  basic needs on Social Security, they live in cars, campervans and tent cities while earning $11.50 an hour (without benefits) as contract workers in temporary warehouse jobs.

The film captures none of this real-life human misery. The main character comes from Empire, a former Nevada gypsum mining town that closed up when the 2008 recession produced so many vacant homes the construction industry (and demand for gypsum-based wallboard) collapsed. She ends up living in her van (which is totally unsuited to the region’s sub-zero weather) in Fernley Nevada working on a temporary contract in an Amazon “fulfillment center.”

Rather than accurately depicting the cruel exploitation of her situation (as the book does), the film portrays Fern’s exploitation as a modern day hobo adventure story based on poor lifestyle choices.

The Amazon warehouse she works in is totally unlike any I’ve previously read about or seen in documentaries. Rather than being stressed to the max with exhausting efficiency demands (see  https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5004230/amazon-warehouse-working-conditions/), Fern is portrayed as casually laughing and joking with other employees as she works.

Where Money Comes From and Why They Don’t Teach It in School

Money Puzzles: A Film About Money and Debt, Austerity, Solidarity and Alternative Solutions

Directed by Michael Chanan (2016)

Film Review

This film starts by examining the history of money, which developed in all civilizations except the Incan civilization (the Incas had gold but didn’t use it for money). The first coins seem to have appeared independently in China, India and Ionia* in the 6th century BC.

Our current system of money creation, sometimes referred to as “fractional reserve banking,”** began in the Netherlands and the Italian city states in the 17the century. It came to Britain (and most of the British colonies) with the formation of the Bank of England in 1694.

Contrary to popular belief (and most economic courses), 97-98%*** of the world’s money isn’t created by government (or central banks), but by private banks when they issue loans. The money banks loan out doesn’t originate from reserves or savings accounts. Banks create it out of thin air.

The documentary’s main focus is the debt crisis that collapsed the Greek economy in 2015. Unfortunately the film mentions, but fails to explain clearly, that governments also create money by borrowing from private banks. At times, when banks stop making private loans, governments are forced to increase borrowing to ensure there is sufficient money in circulation to keep the economy going (ie to prevent recession and/or economic depression).

What many people fail to realize, is that most governments have the constitutional authority to create money. Their decision to borrow it from banks (rather than create it themselves) is purely political.

The film explores the collapse of the radical Greek party Syriza when its leadership  ignored a 2015 popular referendum rejecting the EU’s austerity bailout proposal. 61.3% of Greek citizens opposed the bailout, essentially opting for Greece to default on their debt and withdraw from EU.

The filmmakers also explore the Argentinian decision to default on their debt in 2001. Although UN General Assembly passed a resolution in support of the Argentinian default in September 2015, a new Argentinian government took out new IMF loans in 2016 to resume debt repayments.

The documentary concludes with a number of innovative grassroots alternatives Greek citizens have initiated to support each other in meeting post-collapse survival needs (see Debt and the Economic Colonization of Greece), Spain, and Argentina have adopted in the face of extreme economic austerity. These include local currencies, squatting and a variety of community-based mutual aid cooperatives to ensure people don’t go without food, clothing or other basic necessities.

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*Ionia was an ancient civilization in the western part of modern day Turkey. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements.
**Under fractional reserve banking, banks are required to hold in reserve a minimum percentage (10%) of loan’s face value. In reality, most central banks discarded reserve requirements at least a decade ago, essentially allowing private banks to decide how much money to create.
***The other 2-3% of the money supply is issued by central banks as notes and coins.  97-98% is electronic money created via computer entries.

Why Parents Need to Limit Screen Time

Screen Generation

Directed by Raphael Hitier (2020)

Film Review

This documentary presents the latest peer reviewed studies regarding the effects of screen time on young children. There is worrying evidence that excessive screen time leads to slower language development, mood swings, reduced attention span and lower frustration tolerance.

Based on this research, pediatricians recommend zero screen time (including TV) in children under three, and one hour a day in children three to six – with zero screen time during meals or at bedtime.

It’s not clear yet whether children over six need to limit screen time unless they show signs of depression, anxiety or Internet or video game addiction. However most pediatricians feel the current US average (4 hours 40 minutes in children aged 6-12) is probably excessive, as is the average 6 hours 40 minutes in children kids 13 and up. Early evidence points to lagging social skills in older children heavily engaged with computers, smartphones and TV.

The film also explores the neurophysiology of Internet addiction. Scientist attribute this effect to a deliberate effort by Facebook and other social media to maximize the dopamine response in the brain’s pleasure centers.

Although the film can’t be embedded for copyright reasons, it can be viewed at https://distribution.arte.tv/fiche/Generation_ecran__generation_malade

Capitalism in the 21st Century

Capital in the 21st Century

Directed by Justin Pemberton (2019)

Film Review

Based on French economist Thomas Pikety’s book Capital in the 21st Century, this film features numerous sound bites by Pikety, US economists Joseph Stiglitz and Francis Fukuyama, and various other Western historians and political scientists.

Like the book, the film’s major theme is the grinding income inequality produced by capitalism. It begins with the immense social misery that started with the 17th century Enclosure Acts (which drove my European ancestors off the common land they shared)* and significantly worsened with the industrial revolution in the mid-1800s. According to Pikety, the only time working people received a significant share of the wealth they created was with the post-World War II industrial boom. During the 1970s, the the “financialization”** of western economies resulted in a significant increase in corporate profits at the expense of workers.

In my view, the major flaw of the film (and the book) is Pikety’s failure to address the role of private money creation in growing inequality. In most Western countries, 97-98%  of the money in circulation (all but the notes and coins) is issued by private banks as loans.***

A monetary system almost entirely controlled by for-profit banks surely has far more impact on growing inequality that any other economic forces. As the filmmakers rightly point out, only 15% of current bank lending ends up in the productive economy (which banks view as too risky and insufficiently profitable), while 85% of lending goes into mortgage loans loans and speculative financial products.

Pouring massive amounts of new money into housing speculation is causing both house prices and rents to skyocket in most Western countries. This, in my view, is the primary cause of rampant inequality. In addition to fueling soaring homelessness, it leave low and middle income with less and less money for other basic necessities.

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*”Financialization” is a term coined to describe the domination (starting in the 1980s) of western economies by “financial capitalism,” in which national revenue derives mainly from the sale of financial products, insurance and real estate (as opposed to manufactured goods).

**The Enclosure Acts were a series of laws that allowed wealthy landowners to privatize (enclose) land that peasant farmers previously held in common to satisfy basic subsistence needs.

***Contrary to popular belief, banks don’t issue loans from money deposited by savers – the vast majority of loans are created out of thin air subject to minuscule reserve requirements (usually less than 10%) imposed by central banks.

The film can be view free (for the next two weeks) on the Maori TV website

How Renewable is Mega Dam Electricity?

Green, Green Water

Directed by Dawn Mikkelson and Jamie Lee (2007)

Film Review

This documentary is about the ongoing devastation northern Manitoba Cree communities are experiencing thanks to the flooding of their territory by Manitoba Hydro to sell cheap so-called “renewable” electricity* in Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Unlike most mega dams, those constructed by Manitoba Hydro dams aren’t sited in preexisting gorges or canyons. Instead the provincial owned power company has transformed a vast swathe of North America’s boreal forest.** In the process they destroyed a delicate ecoystem that supported birds, water fowl and indigenous people for tens of thousands of years.

As water levels rose approximately 25 feet, the homes of many indigenous people were destroyed, along with the native fish and wildlife they relied on for food.

Manitoba Hydro “bought” the right to flood their homes and land through a series of multimillion dollar ($20 – 78 million) deals they signed with individual Cree communities. Only the Pimicikamak Cree Nation refused to sign.

Predictably the jobs and economic prosperity the provincial government promised never materialized. In 1967 average annual income in Northern Manitoba was $48,436 and in 2001 it was $24,200. As employment rates dropped from 90% to 10%, previously alcohol-free communities were plagued by an epidemic of alcohol and drug abuse – and suicide.

At the time of filming, indigenous communities were split over continuing pressure to agree to expansion of Manitoba Hydro’s river diversion and dam building projects. Some believe indigenous people will never enjoy the “modern conveniences” of urban life without pursuing this type of economic development. Others, calling themselves Justice Seekers, believe they have an obligation to protect the environment to justify their claim to indigenous rights. 

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*Many climate advocates question mega dams as a “renewable” power source, owing to their negative impact on numerous animal and fish species, as well as human displacement and methane emissions plants and animals killed by flooding. See Damnation: The Problem with Hydropower

**Canadian boreal forests are commonly referred to as North America’s lungs.

The film can be viewed free on Beamafilm

 

 

Pussy Riot: Brought to You by the US State Department

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

Directed by Mike Learner and Maxim Pozdorovkin (2013)

Film Review

This documentary mainly concerns the 2012  trial of three members of the Russian feminist punk rock and performance art group Pussy Riot, for a “blasphemous” performance behind the altar of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior church. Their stated purpose was to protest 1) the increasing influence of the Orthodox church over the secular Russian state and 2) patriarchal Orthodox doctrine portraying women as inherently sinful.  Although the group’s preference was to perform anonymously in brightly colored balaclavas, they became world famous following their arrest in the cathedral and subsequent trial.

The formal charges against them were hooliganism, disrupting the social order and showing hatred for religion and disrespect for society. Denied bail or visits from their family, they were held in custody until their trial began in late July.

I was fascinated by clips from their trial. Unlike the court system in Britain and former colonies where only attorneys are allowed to address the court, Russian defendants are invited to read statements and members of the media and public are allowed to communicate with prisoners in the dock.

In September 2012, one member (Katya) was released on appeal after her new lawyer presented video evidence that she hadn’t started playing or singing when the arrests occurred. The other two were released in December 2013 when the Duma granted them amnesty.

The film makes no mention of direct funding Pussy Riot received from the US State Department and George Soros-funded “open society organizations – as part of a wider campaign, presumably, to undermine popular support for Putin. See Pussy Riot: A Grotesque Creation of the US State Department

In 2016, the group anticipated the election of Donald Trump when they recorded “Make America Great Again” (below).

Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer can be viewed free on Beamafilm.

The Sad World of Celebrity Impersonators

Just About Famous

Directed by Jason Kovatchek and Matt Mamula (2015)

Film Review

According to Kovatchek and Mamula, the average person has 26-36 doppelgangers* somewhere in the world. They attribute the recent fad of celebrity impersonators to their widespread use to deliver singing telegrams. Most impersonators launch their careers when an agent approaches them about their close relationship to someone famous.

The main focus of the film is the yearly Sunburst Convention of Professional Impersonators and Tribute Artists in Orlando Florida. The stated goal of the convention is to help impersonators advance their careers by putting them in touch with agents and potential clients. Most make a living by entertaining at parties, weddings and funerals.

Surprisingly that fans are just as likely to mob the impersonators and demand their autographs as the stars themselves. In fact, they enjoy getting up close and personal with impersonators in a way that rarely happens with stars.

In most cases, an impersonator’s career is short lived. Once their famous person leaves the public limelight, the impersonator must find a new line of work. The Obama impersonator opted to pursue a career with his local Democratic Party and the George W Bush impersonator is pursuing a career in motivational speaking.

The impersonators interviewed in the film included an Elvis, Danny Devito, Obama, Robert DeNiro, Tiger Woods, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Palin, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Bill Clinton, a George W Bush impersonator and Barry Humphries playing Dame Edna Everage. The George W Bush impersonator was my favorite. His capture of the ex-presidents mannerisms and facial expressions are uncanny.

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*A doppelgänger is a biologically unrelated look-alike, or a double, of a living person.

 

 

 

When England Was Connected to the European Continent

When Doggerland Sank Beneath the Waves: Europe’s Lost World

Directed by Pete Kelly (2020)

Film Review

This documentary concerns the continental shelf that connected Ireland, the UK and Europe during the last Ice Age. The filmmakers date the start of the Paleolithic or Stone Age (ie the first human use of stone tools) to 3.3 million years ago.

In Britain the oldest human remains date from 400,000 – 500,000 years ago. For the most part,  they derive the species Homo neanderthalensis. Neanderthals lived during a period when when several human species roamed planet earth. They became extinct around 35,000 BC.

The first British evidence of modern humans (homo sapiens) dates from 31,000 BC. There’s good evidence these early hunter gatherers traveled hundreds of miles, across the Doggerland* land bridge, following herds of woolly mammoth. They would be forced to retreat to more southern areas of Europe when the last ice sheet covered Britain from 31,000 – 11,000 BC.

As northern Europe began to warm in 3,000 BC, tundra throughout Europe gradually changed to savanna and forestland featuring lions, hyenas, saber tooth tigers, bears, hares, badgers and primitive horses. During the period Doggerland connected Britain to the continent, the Thames flowed into the Seine and Danube Rivers.

Between 8,000 – 6,200 BC, rising sea levels steadily shrank the size of Doggerland. By 7,500 BC, Ireland was a separate island and by 7,000 BC, most of Doggerland were so marshy people could only travel to Europe by boat. The Doggerland Hills remained until 6,200 BC, when evidence suggests they were submerged by a mega-tsunami triggered by a landslide off the Norwegian coast.

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*The name Doggerland derives from the Dogger Banks, a shallow region off East Anglia, renowned for abundant fish catches. Dogger is the Dutch word for fisherman.