Evil Amazon

[Scot Dutchy]

Why Amazon knows so much about you.

A long article for a BBC documentary.

[Scot Dutchy]

Amazon to donate to drug charity linked to Scientology

Exclusive: experts have queried methods of Narconon, which has given talks in UK schools

Amazon has agreed to channel funds to a controversial drug rehabilitation charity linked to the Church of Scientology, the Guardian has learned.

The web giant will make donations to Narconon – which runs programmes for drug addicts based on the teachings of the Scientology founder, L Ron Hubbard – when supporters buy products through the site, with shoppers able to pledge 0.5% of purchases to selected charities under Amazon’s “Smile” feature.

Evil connecting to evil.

[Cunt]

AA found their way into 'alcohol rehab' via their religious nuttery. Scientology just copied it for drugs.

Neither group has any science to it, but it's shocking how many people say that addiction is a 'real health problem', but insist that what the patient needs is some of that religious fuckery.

It's not at all new, it seems it's just a hole they can get in because NO-ONE wants to do any real work in that area. It's tough to find staff, from front line to research, who aren't '2 years clean and sober' (code for regular-attending members)

[Tero]

You could go worse: Christian Science. Antivaxxers.
https://www.vox.com/2019/6/19/18681930/ ... ne-refusal

[Cunt]

Tero, you (everyone) hates dealing with the severely addicted and mentally ill.

They are dangerous and unrewarding patients.

When real medicine abandons them, this is where they end up.

I think the 'real medicine' answers are disappointing and ugly. The lies are a lot easier to take, so folks are happy to support AA, Narcanon and anyone else, as long as they don't have to face it.

[Alan B]

I will not have any Alexa type device in my home. I sometimes buy from Amazon, usually only heavy stuff that would have to be delivered. Any email (except receipts) is classed as scam and junked unopened. This applies to any other on-line buying source I might use.

Yet I suspect that any of my details that have been gathered are still stored ad infinitum and perhaps 'made available' to all and sundry.

[Tero]

BB3D3192-206E-422A-8139-C7924B53F058.jpeg (85.37 KiB) Viewed 2998 times

[Brian Peacock]

Dear Jeff Bezos, instead of firing me, protect your workers from coronavirus

Dear Jeff Bezos,

When I applied to work at Amazon, the job description was simple. It said you need to have a high-school diploma or a GED (general educational development) and you have to be able to lift 50lbs. That’s it. Now, because of Covid-19, we’re being told that Amazon workers are “the new Red Cross”. But we don’t want to be heroes. We are regular people. I don’t have a medical degree. I wasn’t trained to be a first responder. We shouldn’t be asked to risk our lives to come into work. But we are. And someone has to be held accountable for that, and that person is you.

I have worked at Amazon for five years. Until I was fired last week from the Staten Island warehouse in New York City, I was a manager assistant who supervised a team of about 60-100 “pickers”, who pick items off the shelves and put them on conveyer belts to get sent out for shipment.

At the beginning of March, before the first confirmed case of coronavirus at the facility, I noticed people were getting sick. People had different symptoms: fatigue, light-headedness, vomiting. I told HR. I said: hey, something’s wrong here. We need to quarantine the building. I wanted us to be proactive not reactive. Management disagreed and assured me they were “following CDC guidelines”.

The lack of protections worried me. Inside the warehouse, there are gloves, but they are not the right kind. They are rubber instead of latex. There are also no masks. Hand sanitizer is scarce. There are limited cleaning supplies. People are walking around with their own personal hand sanitizer, but good luck finding one in a local grocery store.

Because of those conditions, I didn’t feel safe, so I took paid time off to stay home and avoid getting sick. Eventually, though, I ran out of paid time off and I had to go back to work.

...

When I went back to work last Tuesday morning, I spoke to a team member who looked really ill. She told me she feared she had corona and had tried to get tested. I told her to go home and get some rest. Then, two hours later, we had a managers’ meeting. That’s when we were told we had a first confirmed sick employee. The crazy thing was, management told us not to tell the associates. They were being very secretive about it.

I thought the secrecy was wrong, so as soon as I left the meeting I told as many people as I could about the situation. Shortly after that, I started emailing the New York state health department, the governor, the CDC. I called the local police department. I did everything I could to close that warehouse down so that it could be properly sanitized but the government is too overwhelmed to act right now. That’s when I realized I would have to do something myself.

...

This company makes trillions of dollars. Still, our demands and concerns are falling on deaf ears. It’s crazy. They don’t care if we fall sick. Amazon thinks we are expendable.

Because Amazon was so unresponsive, I and other employees who felt the same way decided to stage a walkout and alert the media to what’s going on. On Tuesday, about 50-60 workers joined us in our walkout. A number of them spoke to the press. It was beautiful, but unfortunately I believe it cost me my job.

...

If you’re an Amazon customer, here’s how you can practice real social distancing: stop clicking the “Buy now” button. Go to the grocery store instead. You might be saving some lives.

And to Mr Bezos, my message is simple. I don’t give a damn about your power. You think you’re powerful? We’re the ones that have the power. Without us working, what are you going to do? You’ll have no money. We have the power. We make money for you. Never forget that.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... oronavirus

My bold.

[JimC]

I don't order physical stuff from Amazon, but I do get new ebooks for my Kindle - they don't need a warehouse of sick workers for that...

One change I've noticed is that they're no longer sending me emails suggesting new Kindle books based on my previous reading. I actually found that helpful, and I can't understand why they've stopped something that certainly bought them more custom. I thought it was a pretty automated process, not requiring many if any people, and if it did, it could easily be done by people working from home.

So, sorry, but my Kindle purchases (typically 3 or 4 bucks a book) will continue to support evil Amazon - in these days of lockdown, new fantasy/SF Kindle books help keep me going...

[Svartalf]

strangely enough, amazon seems to have run out of a lot of stuff... all the books in my shopping basket have been relegated into the 'buy later' category while amazon is out of stock... I was not ready to buy yet, but if I should gain the wherewithal to do so before the confinement period ends, I'll be cross that they won't deliver.

[Scot Dutchy]

Buy a Kobo Jim and get away from Amazon. Never touch the site. Far better suppliers around.

[Svartalf]

well, back when I could make internet purchases like everybody else, amazon provided me with a lot of stuff I could never have gotten without them. also, I do some stuff on the net that gets me points I can cash in for amazon coupons, but not for stuff redeemable with other merchants, so I'm faithful to/stuck with amazon

[Scot Dutchy]

I am sorry for you.

[Brian Peacock]

The point is about what's the best eBook format - it's about evil Capitalists and their systematic exploitation of their workers!

[Cunt]

I am sorry for you.

Instead of emotional connection, maybe you could show him a better supplier than Amazon.

I mean, if Dutch distributors are better than Amazon...