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Saifedean Ammous @saifedean
, 3 tweets, 1 min read Read on Twitter
Venezuela was once one of the richest countries in the world, then it decided to go off the gold standard and nationalize its oil industry. You'll never guess what came next...

mises.org/wire/history-v…
In the 1950s, Venezuela was the richest country in Latin America, and the fourth richest country in the world.
Just because socialism leaves societies destitute does not mean it only happens to destitute societies. It can happen anywhere!
In 1974 Venezuela stopped defining its bolivar in gold terms. In 1975 it nationalized the oil industry. In the 80s gov't went bust, bolivar collapsed, people impoverished, and socialist nutjobs became increasingly popular.
Today, they're in late stage socialism, i.e starvation.
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More from @saifedean see all

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Play stupid games... win stupid prizes!
Two important lessons from this shitcoin's demise:
1- The price has barely budged, which shows that demand for these shitcoins has nothing to do with their function, security, or safety and is entirely driven by speculation on exchanges.
2- It took more than a day for ETC fans & promoters on Twitter to even realize this attack was happening after @pierre_rochard told them about it, because they couldn't find anyone who runs a node!
Read 3 tweets
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Bitcoin has now been operating for ten years without confirming a single fraudulent transaction, and without deviating from its original monetary issuance schedule.
Deal with it!
If Bitcoin continues operating for the next 30 years exactly as predictably as it has for the last 10, we'll only have ~20% more bitcoins in existence. Nobody has a clue how much more of government currencies there will be, but it'll be much more than today for those that survive
Unless you can stop bitcoin working (good luck!) or stop gov't inflation (good luck!) your thoughts & actions are irrelevant to economic reality imposing itself in the long run: harder money will hold value rewarding its holders, while easy money loses value punishing its holders
Read 4 tweets
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Anyone who believes proof of Stake can work is either:
1- completely clueless at to how and why Bitcoin works at all.
2- a con artist using it as a buzzword to promote a worthless scam like Ethereum.
Proof of Stake is no different than the Federal Reserve system, which is owned by its constituent banks, who have a monopoly on increasing the money supply you are forced use. It's the problem Bitcoin solves with proof of work by making money creation hard for everyone.
In a free market, productive people would choose the hard money over the proof of stake easy money. That's why central banking needs government force to protect its monopoly & why no shitcoin with PoS can survive without an army.
Read 6 tweets

Related threads

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I recently met with a desperate #Venezuela family about to overstay tourist visa. Dad (professional), mom (professional) and kid. Staying w/ relatives & desperate to find a way not to return to political threats, hunger, utter lack of services, including medical care...
Why me? I have #HumanRights background, a university job & #LatinAmerica experience. Basically bupkus in the terrordome politics of desperate people in Trumpland. But I bought them coffee (and a snowman cookie for a young 'un) and listened...
What separates me from them? Increasingly little. They were upper middle class and now scrounge for off the books manual labor. Would they be killed if they returned? Not immediately -- but slowly: no work, no food, no medicine, no hope. They've become #Refugees ...
Read 13 tweets
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1. @Americanlll @StormIsUponUs @intheMatrixxx @findtruthQ @MagniFieri @qanon76 @WeAreOne_Q @martingeddes @prayingmedic @RealEyeTheSpy @GenFlynn @Cordicon @TheRealRaNon

#QAnon #WWG1WGA

A culmination of months of work:

Is this what's driving Q and DJT?

#PrepareToBeMadAsHell
2. Please read my threads suggesting Q is referencing a chess move when saying "[D][5]", they are ESSENTIAL to understanding this new thread.





Special thanks to @MastersShelby, I could not have completed this piece without you!
3. So, a very brief recap. Q has a total of at least 30 references to chess throughout the drops. Times references to Chess have been dropped = Chess = 7, King = 2, Kingdom = 1, Castle = 12, Pawn = 8, Bishop = 1, and Game = 30+. If I was a good chess player or I might see more.
Read 73 tweets
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🏮CHINA & SUDAN🏮

Let’s take a look at China's historic ties to oil-exporting Sudan — ties that go back more than a century. Sudanese say their relationship with China is deeper than any oil well.
npr.org/templates/stor…
The relationship between Sudan & China is widely believed to be a marriage anointed in oil: China needs it & Sudan has it, & the two have been in business for 100 years — to a man who proved the adage "the enemy of my enemy is my friend."
npr.org/templates/stor…
🏮The Intriguing Tale of Sudan, Britain & China🏮

Maj. Gen. Charles Gordon was known as "Chinese" Gordon. In the 1860s, Gordon was a star of the British armed forces — the go-to guy who made his way to China to help secure Britain's trading rights there.
npr.org/templates/stor…
Read 15 tweets
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2018: My Year of Reading. A thread that follows my reading journey from January to December. Every book I've read with a 280 character review. Tagged a few folks who influence the shape of my literary life 📚 #THEBOOKCHAT #DisruptTexts #TeachLivingPoets 📚
1. Never Let Me Go; Kazuo Ishiguro: A supremely crafted narrative begins unassumingly, but quickly reveals a different notion of childhood innocence and coming of age. The conversational tone fooled me into thinking I was walking into a world I understood. Nobel worthy.
2. We Should All Be Feminists; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: As an author who breathes eloquence, Adichie doesn't disappoint. This short book/long essay is insightful and logical and human. If we want to raise boys without the toxic masculinity, this is on the required reading list.
Read 61 tweets
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Any other time, economists would be talking about rising interest rates, ignorant tariffs,
gas prices rising,
huge debt load,
over-inflated stock market,
unregulated greed, &
already in to high-risk investments

Recession imminent‼️

Losing so many jobs, is why low emp #’s!
Read 20 tweets
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Let me preface this by saying that in my work, I've run my fair share of ads on social media. (THREAD)
Granted, it was to convince people to play Rach 2 in once-in-a-lifetime master classes, or learn to conduct La Cenerentola, but the tools were still what's available to everyone else. Unless, of course, you engage in illegal and unethical behavior.
It's important that we understand what this all means, and that it's not just techie stuff for someone else to figure out.

Before you let anyone poo-poo the Cambridge Analytica story (which I saw from a NEW YORK TIMES journo yesterday), here are some key things to remember:
Read 41 tweets

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#strangerswithempathy #repatriation #treatments #excellent #price #Malta #UniversalHealthCoverage #producers #economy #MAGA #Kavanaugh #trade #VOTE #Rebellion #PAM #twitterstorians #Prisoner #RupertMurdoch #nowreading #imported #HumanRights #OOTT #OIL #scrap #basecs

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