Editor’s Note: I don’t completely agree with the assessment below by Epic Economist that Twitter is falling apart. The move to limit accounts may be part of a greater plan to fix Twitter, not destroy it. Here’s an analysis of that possibility:
This guy wins todays internet award for correctly analyzing all the factors in Twitters lockdown.
The intelligence community built a “Censorship Deathstar” by scrapping everyone’s data and Elon just threw a fat monkey wrench into the whole machine.
— Zach Vorhies / Google Whistleblower (@Perpetualmaniac) July 1, 2023
I’m not saying the Epic Economist is wrong. Their analysis may be spot on and it’s based on opinions from some trusted sources. But if there’s one thing I’ve found to be true about prognostications regarding Twitter, it’s that future success or failure predictions seem to lean toward the desires of those doing the analysis. Those who want Twitter to succeed predict it will. Those who want it to fail also predict it will. Here’s the Epic Economist…
If you have any social media, you probably already heard by now that something is really wrong with the Twitter system. Over the weekend, users started noticing that their timeline wasn’t loading. The only message they could read was “Rate limit exceeded”.
At first, many people didn’t think too much of it. After billionaire Elon Musk took over the company last October, outages became all too common on the platform. But then, Musk revealed that Twitter was introducing a limit on how many tweets users can view per day.
The move was met with a chorus of disapproval, and many experts in the financial and tech world suggested that the company is being destroyed, and these actions are proof that the app is falling apart at the seams. With a billionaire debt and poor performance, bankruptcy is a real possibility, new data exposes. In today’s video, we investigate what is behind Twitter’s downfall, and how Musk’s moves are leading the company to its ruin.
With over 240 million users worldwide, social media giant Twitter has been on a rollercoaster ride since tech billionaire Elon Musk became the head of the company late last year. Thousands of jobs were eliminated, parts of the social network just stopped working, with users constantly reporting that replies to tweets are showing up out of order, the notifications tab isn’t updating as frequently as it should, and the two-factor authentication tool has also been facing extensive failures.
The situation only seems to be getting worse as Musk announced yet another controversial change in the platform that is seriously upsetting users.. The Twitter owner said he introduced a limit on how many tweets users can view every day. He first said that verified accounts could read 6,000 posts a day, while unverified accounts could only see 600, and new unverified users would have access to only 200 tweets. Hours later, he said the cap was raised to 10,000 posts per day for verified users, 1,000 per day for unverified and 500 posts per day for new unverified users.
The action sparked outrage amongst former Twitter employees. Yoel Roth, who worked in the user trust and site integrity team for seven years, said this “isn’t even the first time they’ve completely broken the site by bumbling around in the rate limiter”. “Futzing with rate limits is probably the easiest way to break Twitter,” he wrote on Bluesky, an alternative to Twitter.
Since the beginning of 2023, the company suffered twelve service disruptions, according to Internet watchdog NetBlocks, compared to nine tracked throughout all of 2022. These glitches are proof that the company is scrambling. For months now, Elon Musk is not paying rent for the Twitter HQ building. He also held out on paying Amazon Web Services which led the company to threaten to withdraw advertising money from Twitter. And now, he’s trying to avoid paying Google Could without having the infrastructure in place to deal with the aftermath
The numbers reveal that bankruptcy is still a very real possibility. Given the tremendous amount of debt that Musk took on to purchase Twitter, whose annual payments on the debt will far outstrip the annual profits for years and the hundreds of millions or billions of dollars that will need to be reinvested into the company to rebuild it with new hires, these events are a clear demonstration that the company is not standing on solid financial footing.
Five Things New “Preppers” Forget When Getting Ready for Bad Times Ahead
The preparedness community is growing faster than it has in decades. Even during peak times such as Y2K, the economic downturn of 2008, and Covid, the vast majority of Americans made sure they had plenty of toilet paper but didn’t really stockpile anything else.
Things have changed. There’s a growing anxiety in this presidential election year that has prompted more Americans to get prepared for crazy events in the future. Some of it is being driven by fearmongers, but there are valid concerns with the economy, food supply, pharmaceuticals, the energy grid, and mass rioting that have pushed average Americans into “prepper” mode.
There are degrees of preparedness. One does not have to be a full-blown “doomsday prepper” living off-grid in a secure Montana bunker in order to be ahead of the curve. In many ways, preparedness isn’t about being able to perfectly handle every conceivable situation. It’s about being less dependent on government for as long as possible. Those who have proper “preps” will not be waiting for FEMA to distribute emergency supplies to the desperate masses.
Below are five things people new to preparedness (and sometimes even those with experience) often forget as they get ready. All five are common sense notions that do not rely on doomsday in order to be useful. It may be nice to own a tank during the apocalypse but there’s not much you can do with it until things get really crazy. The recommendations below can have places in the lives of average Americans whether doomsday comes or not.
Note: The information provided by this publication or any related communications is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. We do not provide personalized investment, financial, or legal advice.
Secured Wealth
Whether in the bank or held in a retirement account, most Americans feel that their life’s savings is relatively secure. At least they did until the last couple of years when de-banking, geopolitical turmoil, and the threat of Central Bank Digital Currencies reared their ugly heads.
It behooves Americans to diversify their holdings. If there’s a triggering event or series of events that cripple the financial systems or devalue the U.S. Dollar, wealth can evaporate quickly. To hedge against potential turmoil, many Americans are looking in two directions: Crypto and physical precious metals.
There are huge advantages to cryptocurrencies, but there are also inherent risks because “virtual” money can become challenging to spend. Add in the push by central banks and governments to regulate or even replace cryptocurrencies with their own versions they control and the risks amplify. There’s nothing wrong with cryptocurrencies today but things can change rapidly.
As for physical precious metals, many Americans pay cash to keep plenty on hand in their safe. Rolling over or transferring retirement accounts into self-directed IRAs is also a popular option, but there are caveats. It can often take weeks or even months to get the gold and silver shipped if the owner chooses to close their account. This is why Genesis Gold Group stands out. Their relationship with the depositories allows for rapid closure and shipping, often in less than 10 days from the time the account holder makes their move. This can come in handy if things appear to be heading south.
Lots of Potable Water
One of the biggest shocks that hit new preppers is understanding how much potable water they need in order to survive. Experts claim one gallon of water per person per day is necessary. Even the most conservative estimates put it at over half-a-gallon. That means that for a family of four, they’ll need around 120 gallons of water to survive for a month if the taps turn off and the stores empty out.
Being near a fresh water source, whether it’s a river, lake, or well, is a best practice among experienced preppers. It’s necessary to have a water filter as well, even if the taps are still working. Many refuse to drink tap water even when there is no emergency. Berkey was our previous favorite but they’re under attack from regulators so the Alexapure systems are solid replacements.
For those in the city or away from fresh water sources, storage is the best option. This can be challenging because proper water storage containers take up a lot of room and are difficult to move if the need arises. For “bug in” situations, having a larger container that stores hundreds or even thousands of gallons is better than stacking 1-5 gallon containers. Unfortunately, they won’t be easily transportable and they can cost a lot to install.
Water is critical. If chaos erupts and water infrastructure is compromised, having a large backup supply can be lifesaving.
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Supplies
There are multiple threats specific to the medical supply chain. With Chinese and Indian imports accounting for over 90% of pharmaceutical ingredients in the United States, deteriorating relations could make it impossible to get the medicines and antibiotics many of us need.
Stocking up many prescription medications can be hard. Doctors generally do not like to prescribe large batches of drugs even if they are shelf-stable for extended periods of time. It is a best practice to ask your doctor if they can prescribe a larger amount. Today, some are sympathetic to concerns about pharmacies running out or becoming inaccessible. Tell them your concerns. It’s worth a shot. The worst they can do is say no.
If your doctor is unwilling to help you stock up on medicines, then Jase Medical is a good alternative. Through telehealth, they can prescribe daily meds or antibiotics that are shipped to your door. As proponents of medical freedom, they empathize with those who want to have enough medical supplies on hand in case things go wrong.
Energy Sources
The vast majority of Americans are locked into the grid. This has proven to be a massive liability when the grid goes down. Unfortunately, there are no inexpensive remedies.
Those living off-grid had to either spend a lot of money or effort (or both) to get their alternative energy sources like solar set up. For those who do not want to go so far, it’s still a best practice to have backup power sources. Diesel generators and portable solar panels are the two most popular, and while they’re not inexpensive they are not out of reach of most Americans who are concerned about being without power for extended periods of time.
Natural gas is another necessity for many, but that’s far more challenging to replace. Having alternatives for heating and cooking that can be powered if gas and electric grids go down is important. Have a backup for items that require power such as manual can openers. If you’re stuck eating canned foods for a while and all you have is an electric opener, you’ll have problems.
Don’t Forget the Protein
When most think about “prepping,” they think about their food supply. More Americans are turning to gardening and homesteading as ways to produce their own food. Others are working with local farmers and ranchers to purchase directly from the sources. This is a good idea whether doomsday comes or not, but it’s particularly important if the food supply chain is broken.
Most grocery stores have about one to two weeks worth of food, as do most American households. Grocers rely heavily on truckers to receive their ongoing shipments. In a crisis, the current process can fail. It behooves Americans for multiple reasons to localize their food purchases as much as possible.
Long-term storage is another popular option. Canned foods, MREs, and freeze dried meals are selling out quickly even as prices rise. But one component that is conspicuously absent in shelf-stable food is high-quality protein. Most survival food companies offer low quality “protein buckets” or cans of meat, but they are often barely edible.
Prepper All-Naturals offers premium cuts of steak that have been cooked sous vide and freeze dried to give them a 25-year shelf life. They offer Ribeye, NY Strip, and Tenderloin among others.
Having buckets of beans and rice is a good start, but keeping a solid supply of high-quality protein isn’t just healthier. It can help a family maintain normalcy through crises.
Prepare Without Fear
With all the challenges we face as Americans today, it can be emotionally draining. Citizens are scared and there’s nothing irrational about their concerns. Being prepared and making lifestyle changes to secure necessities can go a long way toward overcoming the fears that plague us. We should hope and pray for the best but prepare for the worst. And if the worst does come, then knowing we did what we could to be ready for it will help us face those challenges with confidence.
