“Amazon Empire” is PBS’ frightening look at Jeff Bezos’ relentless capitalist success story.
by Melanie McFarland Salon Magazine, online (link below)
February 19, 2020 12:39AM
Full disclosure: This Salon (link below) author had previously worked for an Amazon-affiliated company for seven and a half years.
PBS’ “Frontline” confronts how much we are all contributing to the richest man in the world’s vision for domination.
“Amazon Empire: The Rise and Reign of Jeff Bezos,” the latest two-hour episode of PBS’ “Frontline,” opens with a scene that captures the core dilemma of the American consumer’s relationship with the online retail colossus. The first scene we view is Bezos’ May 2019 announcement of Blue Moon, a space exploration company he created that launched with the task of colonizing the moon.
Bezos is pledging a billion dollars a year of his personal fortune to fund his latest vision for the future, where he sees people living in space stations. Have no doubts that these vessels will be composed of Amazon products and the people living there will be encouraged to live off of goods and services derived from Amazon. They’ll probably be Amazon employees, in fact.
After all, this is a company that has set its sights on entering the health insurance marketplace and bought a grocery chain in order to seize a share of that retail territory. This came after altering consumers’ expectations as to what they can buy, how much they can expect to pay for it, and how quickly that product can arrive at their doorstep.
The idea of Bezos’ launching his consumer-focused vision into sowing the seeds of a new civilization in space is therefore both exhilarating and terrifying – more so, in fact, than Elon Musk’s SpaceX project. From the outside, one has the impression that Musk, like Sir Richard Branson before him, wants to succeed to serve his own sense of self-aggrandizement. Bezos on the other hand, doesn’t set his mind upon a project without envisioning some version of total domination.
…
Distilling these notions into a two-hour episode is a daunting mission given all that we know about Amazon and our love/hate relationship with it.
For the complete review of the documentary, visit the link below.
https://www.salon.com/2020/02/18/amazon-empire-rise-and-reign-of-jeff-bezos-review-frontline-pbs/
*By the way, I viewed this documentary myself and highly recommend it to demonstrate how huge the Amazon entity has grown. It offers insight as to how powerful and entrenched these tech giants really have become in our lives. This is a documentary which will probably not be offered on Amazon Prime. If they can make it stop playing, I imagine they will. … Maggie
Because of the FED creating $trillions, there was so much money sloshing around, Bezos was able to convince investors that by losing money year after year after year, they could crush any competition and eventually dominate any sector. Crony capitalism and the work of the FED at their finest, created a situation where this was and is possible.
Bezos has a recipe that can continue to steamroll any sector.
BTW, hardly the richest man. Rothschild has $trillions.
I have never used Amazon and hope I never have to.
See ya on the moon-Lol…
I thought that introduction was weird… his idea that people should just go live on spaceships like in that movie Wall-E.
These fat slobs look just like the folks at Wall Mart in those wheelchair carts.
Anybody ever see a world’s richest list with the name Rothschild on it?
It was a real eye opener to watch this and realize just how well planned it was for him to operate at a loss long enough to take over the entire “market segment share.”
And, to change the meaning of what a marketplace is and, also, what a customer is…
And, what is scary? Apparently Bezos has some idea of putting us all into space in big resort tubes. Like those fat blobs on that Disney Pixar flick, Wall-E.
Or worse, on that old Twilight Zone…
It has really opened my eyes about what Amazon and others have done. I opted to share this review because I think she did a fine job.
Still believe in capitalism or is this something else?
Donkey? I am shocked at how obvious the corruption in our government controllers of commerce.
Evil.
M G
I’ve said many times, at some point, a person will have 3 choices. Work for the government, work for a corporation or get on the Free Shit Army scam.
There’s no escape.
Donkey- Have to disagree, the Amish do not fit your scenario. They do not work for the government, they do not work for the corporations, and they are not free shitters. They do not even have a SS number with which to collect a government entitlement EVER.
Perhaps the only escape is to be Amish.
I hate posting on this blog – well, that is off my chest.
But, in my area the Amish have caved also. They take agriculture subsidies from the gubmint.
Say it isn’t so.
Speaking of religion, look at this Mormon freakshow. I knew it was faked from Day 1.
http://mileswmathis.com/smart.pdf
The Amish here haven’t “caved” but they do have a market approach I’d not seen in Amish communities before.
Most of the “true” Amish and Mennonites moved back to the north. I miss my Yoders.
We miss you when you are not here.
4score? Why do you hate posting here? We love you!
Hmm, or live in Maggie’s barn?
The Amish won’t escape either, imo. They’ll be demonized once everyone else has been yoked.
Donkey & 4s:
I agree the Amish will get the big red, white and blue pud up the wazoo BUT they will try to hang on long before you give up what’s left of your life to the machine. I have no knowledge of the Amish here taking .gov subsidies.
Wonder what the Amish would do with the coronavirus if confronted? They aren’t big on (English) hospitals.
I imagine their immune systems aren’t overly challenged by modern vaccinations and poor nutrition.
I have now logged back in. If this comment doesn’t post, then I may have to submit a post…
When Comments Go Postal!
One should NOT have to join the Amish to regain one’s freedom. Its like the bullshit that only people who can specifically prove they belong to one religion or another, can have their business freedom back. Screw that. We ALL deserve to have our freedoms restored. Some religious text should not take precedence over supposedly un-alienable rights.
Liberty- That’s right, now how do we regain our freedoms? What is the formula to success and how do we knock down that huge deck that is stacked against us? I’m willing to try….but what?
You exercise them. Freedom comes from within, it cannot be bestowed from without or it isn’t liberty, it’s permission.
Just like a driver’s license. Come on ilegals, sign up right here.
No one can stop any person from being free.
From being alive, perhaps, but not from being free.
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” -Thomas Jefferson
When people start talking about shtf end of World stuff I always tell them I think the Amish are going to be alright
Donk? Do you mind if I call you Donk? LOL
An executive VP at Amazon is Obama’s old press secretary/spokesman. That nerd Carney guy.
Bezos purchased a bigass mansion in DC JUST to entertain the Congress Critters.
The “Amazon Lobby” is an entity NOBODY messes with.
I have Amazon Prime too… I think it is amazing what sort of information is available at a keystroke.
Until you realize what information IS NOT there.
So, I talked to my rocket scientist son, who may not have Aspergers but he has something, as we say. He told me to NOT WORRY ABOUT IT. He said that people who do not understand what the internet is should just enjoy it and shut up.
Arrogant little brat, but he does know what the internet is and showed me stuff I didn’t want to know.
I think we have left capitalism behind at the crush of corporatism.
A long long time ago, it’s called mercantilism, 1800’s style. But shit, I love Amazon Prime. Bring on the hate. And I watched the PBS special, don’t care, they provide a service that is exceptional. I order some colloidal silver for the coming plague, a van comes down my hell hole class 6 road filled with mud, ice and potholes the next day, then up my bitch of a driveway that many get stuck on, and makes a delivery with a driver with a happy face that has a good job out of the next town. I’m good with that. And if I have to return it, well easy peasy, no questions asked. Customer focused, hell ya. Would you take Amazon delivery, or US gubbmint postal delivery. They don’t call it going postal for nuttin. Plus Amazon streaming for free and great deals at Whole Foods, among other bennies. I believe I am getting more out of them than they out of me.
Is what my son says… enjoy it while it lasts.
I hope so. I really do. Part of me wants to accept that the world works differently now.
Information is digital and it will remain that way to infinity.
Ten billion in alleged promises to deal with global warming but not one dollar for an employee pay raise.
That’s not odd. No, not odd at all.
What struck me was how adamant they were about safeeeeety and customer focus. Over and over.
Amazon pats $15/hr for warehouse work. As stated they are offering to pay 90% of a college education. For a young person treading water, work there a few years, get your degree and move on-that’s sounds OK to me.
Perhaps Bezos & the tech types will be true benevolent dictators and we can finally live in paradise again.
Commies hate free market capitalism. Bezos earned it the old fashioned way. If you can’t compete, it’s your own fault.
Parent Company Name:
Amazon.com
State/Local $2,287,574,819 169
TOTAL $2,287,574,819 169
https://subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org/prog.php?parent=amazoncom
fl.ash- Robber barons always go for the monopoly and squash the competition. Personally, I think Amazon= the government, Google= the government, Farcebook= the government…..well you get it. Putting the manufactured billionaires/frauds out front as the whiz kids and captains of industry is BS and a cover for the machine. JMO
Commies hate free market capitalism and normies hate crony capitalism. Amazon is the poster child for crony capitalism.
he looks like Jeff Bezos
I think so too. Especially now that I learned how Bezos purchased that mansion in DC and controls what is known as “The Amazon Lobby” in Congress.
I enjoyed that. Smart man. Loved it when he pulled the rug from under DeBlasio. In small town w Texas, Amazon is a huge help getting things that aren’t available anywhere.
Concur.
Jeff Bezos gets people what they want and need just about anywhere and at anytime all with a cheerful, no-questions-asked refund, should one require it, for any or no reason.
I live way away from everything and can get ” it” delivered to my front door in the middle of a blizzard and when it’s -10 degrees, from the comfort of my warm home. So can everybody else.
He made it work. Old fashioned business sense for the Cybernetic Age.
And screw Bill DeBlasio and AOC.
I logged back in to respond to some of these wonderful comments again. For some reason, I can’t seem to be able to just pop on and comment without being signed into WordPress.
Okay, if this posts, here is what I want to say to Pequiste…
You are absolutely right.
My son tells me to NOT WORRY ABOUT IT MOTHER. He says I should let the guys who know what they are doing do what they do. In fact? When he watched the discussion of the power Google actually has over what we can or cannot see online, I asked him if he KNEW they could suppress information and he replied, “And you didn’t, Mother? What was all that HAM radio bullshit about?”
Well, son, to be honest, when we were doing all that bullshit, I hoped and prayed it was bullshit. I came across that HAM radio guidebook the other day and realized how absolutely easy it would be for any cell tower in the region to pick that signal up and trace it within seconds. That is how many cell towers have gone up around us here in the past five years.
Not any big home or land development going on. But lots of cell towers.
So, I am right there with you, Pequiste, hoping Amazon is the benevolent, kind dictator.
It’s called fascism and it is what politics is all about.
“PBS’ “Frontline” confronts how much we are all contributing to the richest man in the world’s vision for domination.”
Stopped reading right there.
No, not all of us. I don’t have a sub to Prime, and refuse to buy from them, just out of sheer defiance. Fuck ‘im.
I like choices and options, and despise monopolistic control / domination.
Pros:
Convenience, speed of delivery, price, and finding elusive items must be irresistible to the masses.
But really, how much of the shit that was bought from Amazon was REALLY, REALLY needed?
I’m guessing Pareto’s is at play.
20% worthwhile and necessary or vital.
80%: not.
Wants vs. needs.
Could be wrong; admittedly.
But, for me, no thanks.
Cons:
1-He kills small business.
2-He’s subsidized, via the USPS, and probably by the clowns in action, using him as a front.
3. He bought the WaPo, which is vehemently biased; they lie all the time, yet are still influencing idiot liberals.
The print version, if it still exists, is only good for the bottom of bird cages, or wrapping up fish guts.
4. Cheap boxes. Shitty padding. Poor quality on the pack job. Don’t order anything fragile. Damaged goods.
At some point, a single businessman can have too much money. What he does with his excess tells the tale.
Bezos and people like him are the reason Bernie Sanders is an acceptable candidate for POTUS, in the eyes of morons.
But too, the wealth disparity is the 800 lb. elephant in the room.
Seek out the recent speech by the founder of Quicken Loans…Dan Gilbert.
He owns the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA team, and has poured tons of his wealth into revitalizing the city of Detroit,
following in the footsteps of Mike Illitch, whose family owns the NHL and MLB teams, and a well known pizza chain.
Gilbert had a stroke about 2 years ago, and has been in a state-of-the-art rehab facility ever since.
The gist of his speech:
Something is wrong…I pay athletes 7 figures to play a game, and they’re not always champions.
Nurses and caregivers who do what they do for 8 hours a day; 40-50 a week are making a fraction of that,
but are doing much more important work, doing valuable things to help other people. Unsung heroes.
(my words, not his, but you get the point…and he’s correct)
At some point, a single businessman can have too much money. What he does with his excess tells the tale.
Dan Gilbert has pledged to bring one of those rehab facilities into a city trying to turn the corner.
That’s how a rich man gives back to the community that supports him and made him wealthy.
Ok, now the downvotes can commence.
Inequality, if it gets wide enough, can and will cause much consternation.
One of my long time sayings here on TBP…
“Good or bad, right or wrong, like it or not wealth/income inequality, if it gets bad enough, causes big problems. Big problems.”
–Wip
I came across something I wrote down when doing some research about what money really represents: Labor or Wealth.
Some argue money is the paper or coin representation of one or the other.
Then why in the world would you prefer paper or coin if you really had all you needed of those two: labor and wealth.
Why trade wealth for money?
My comments are going to spam, Donk. This one stuck around…
At some point did wealth and money exchange places?
I don’t know how to answer that.
I was thinking about how “money” is the symbol of wealth; that it represents something instead of actually BEING something.
So, why would one trade true wealth for money?
I know you have to have said it as many times as I have… “How much money does XXX need?”
You don’t say “How much wealth does XXX need?”
See what I mean?
My comments are going to spam again.
Most of my comments under my “regular” moniker are dropping into the spam queue, undeservedly.
I’ve been trying to explain what I meant.
If Money just represents Wealth, then why would you try to accumulate more and more money if you were secure in your wealth?
I am really seeing a lot of comments drop into the spam queue this morning, but I think by actually logging in, I’ll get you an answer.
I was referring to the idea that money represents wealth. Why people continue to want more money when their wealth is secure is beyond me.
It is a semi-philosophical question, but I’m sure you’ve asked it yourself…”How much MONEY does that guy need?”
Have you ever said “How much Wealth does that guy need?”
I see this one
M G
”How much MONEY does that guy need?”
Have you ever said “How much Wealth does that guy need?”
You know how I feel about G.R.E.E.D.
My take on wealth is somewhat bipolar.
On one hand, freedom dictates that people can strive for whatever they can achieve and no one can steal it from you.
On the other hand, this kind of wealth has undesirable effects on the country and, dare I say, the entire world.
The problem with this much wealth is, it is able to grab power. The power to overwhelm the freedom of others. Just look at Bloomberg and his ability to run Virginia over with democrat shitfucks.
Is it ok for a comparably few people to own the world? Every dollar is a claim on resources. Our labor is a resource and I believe we can be owned by it.
Thanks for that great answer… I’m logged in, so am hoping this stays on the page.
M G
Some people are so black&white on the wealth question, it defies logic. For me anyway.
Brenda thinks that land is worth $1500 per acre but I would bet she would sell all 9 acres for 10k
But…I am hoping she does not get any offers. It is a good buffer.
M G
9 acres for 10k. That is nuts. You must really be in the boonies. My kind of place.
I’d bet 9 acres where I live could be pieced off for $9,000,000. Can you believe that shit? And it’s getting worse.
am here to trubbleshoot
The only problem I agree with you is #2, he is subsidized, which is just wrong and corrupt. Besides that, let the free market reign, which it never was in the first place. I’d rather have a rich man try to bring a city back than a corrupt progressive commie gubbamint.
Good for you Mr Defiant, you’re showing everyone just how tough you are. I stopped reading your bullshit at you deciding what I need and how I spend my money is really just unnecessary.
Right now I’m experiencing unbelievable sciatica pain. With some exercises I can usually get it to go away after a couple weeks. No luck this time so I ordered an inversion table that will be here tomorrow. Thank goodness for Amazon.
Fuck you and the horse you rode in on.
We bought our inversion table through Amazon.
Get it while the getting is good. Once the bricks and mortars are completely gone, I bet the delivery won’t be so cheap or so quick.
Listen, I’m fully aware of how convenient it is to order from Amazon. In fact? My husband ordered a damn good inversion table and it is helping with his sciatica immeasurably.
We all like convenience. It is how they “get” us.
MM, it’s sad you take umbrage with my comment, and think I ought to fuck off.
It was just a rant about one man’s domination, to the detriment of many others,
even though his service benefits many patrons, too.
I never said people should be prevented from spending on things they need or not,
or using Amazon to broker the transactions, if they so choose.
I went off on a tangent there, about the poor discretionary spending habits of many.
In the article, a sentence was referenced, that stated everybody is helping Bezos dominate, but
that’s simply not true.
Your instance is an example where the Amazon option worked better for you,
than to go patronize a bricks and mortar. Great. Happy for you. A smart purchase.
Delivered right to your doorstep. I get it.
I can relate. Lower back pain; check. Inversion table; check.
Bought one at Costco, which is another giant retailer.
But, I’ll take the high road, vs. getting into a shit fest w/ you.
Hope you get some relief for the pain in your ass and legs out in La Mesa.
No kidding!
Mussolini really did make the trains run on time.
I actually have Amazon Prime (I think my son added it behind my back when he was here over the holidays.)
I will not renew it, but while I have it am enjoying lots of movies and documentaries I haven’t seen. (Not this one)
People enjoy convenience and dammit, I don’t blame them. I grew up in a farmhouse that had an antenna on the roof that picked up two television stations and when I found out there were more, I couldn’t imagine why because I didn’t have enough time to watch what was on those two. Now that I’ve got all the leisure time in the world to watch as many documentaries as I want to watch?
I watched this one and a couple others and decided that is probably enough.
Mind control is mind control. My son is right. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Because it never does.
Ask Mussolini.
The delivery model was nothing but a scam from the get go… “oh, they are amazon contractors” so we have no control over their driving behavior.
We are being trained to accept whatever for convenience.
I get it… when we moved out here, I lived in that little treehouse for months. I climbed a ladder with water jugs for three weeks until our well line was run to the little house. After the log home was built and we moved in, I joked that I would go live in the treehouse every few months just to remind myself how nice the new home is…
Honestly? When I go in the little house now and look around, I can barely remember it but I know I’m not moving back in for nothing.
But, after watching the United States of Tents for free on amazon prime? I can guarantee it is better than that and even when I had to carry water up that ladder? The flush toilets work and it has a working septic tank. And toilet paper.
U and ur tp fetish
am seeing if I can comment or if I get spammed too
I called this dumb shit out over 2 years ago and few people had anything bright to say.
Dumb shit = any notion that Amazon is not just another info-harvesting CIA incubator company.
If you didn’t smell the odor from Amazon long before that you are late to the party.
http://mileswmathis.com/bezos.pdf
.22 Love ya, but you gotta stop with the Miles bullshit. It wears thin after a while, noone reads it, then you leave for 6 months pissed off like, then you come back and are ok for awhile, then comes the miles crap again. Stop being all miles evangelical and shit, you have good shit to say.
+++
And shorten you f’n name. No one gives a shit and it fucks up my celly screen.
Chris Martenson’s newest video is up…
watch?v=GuBB3GNGQIk
Seriously, the new Peak Prosperity video on the virus has some important information, I think. I’m shocked about Italy and worry for Poppa’s family.
Another link:
I assume this is just a different presentation of the same documentary, but it shows this woman who manages to answer questions so dishonestly I believed her.
My comments are going to spam but this woman is an incredibly good liar.
That face, again.
I thought about you when I watched her. She is a very scary woman, if she really is a woman in any sense of the word.
She is lying and does it very, very well.
There is no such thing as a good liar.
On sanpaku eyes like the lady above-
“…when the upper sclera is visible it is said to be an indication of mental imbalance in people such as psychotics, murderers, and anyone rageful.”
Good point. I was glad that I changed it to “does it very, very well” in my reply.
Do you think the whole Charles Manson Helter Skelter thing might have been a government controlled psyop gone bad?
The surfer dude has some friends who discuss it as if they were there and have some insight. But, then again, they also think flat earth theory is probably a government psyop.
Shit, I don’t read there since he got pissed that I didn’t know he was originally from New Yawk but they probably think TBP is a psyop now.
That is a good point though… those eyes say a lot, don’t they?
I replied with a very interesting comment that went to spam.
Okay, I replied again and it went to spam too!
Here’s the main gist… Charlie Manson seems a little too crazy in many cases and his appearance long after being in custody suggests there may be some truth to crazy surfer dude’s friends suggesting the Helter Skelter thing was a government PsyOps gone terribly awry.
Damn.
Is very disappointing for you, I’m sure. Nutshell? Surfer dude’s pals said Charlie was a government psyops gone very bad.
just like they think the Apollo program was a gov psyops but that we did eventually get to the moon…
He was a big baby about me not reading his bio, but he does hang with a few smart dudes. They just don’t know I’m there now.
Is probably best for us all.
mags said all her replies go to spam and so i will see if mine do too
Am trying some anonymous postings to see if I can slip by the spam filter.
okay she asked if charlie was a psyop like the moon stuff
Cause that helterskelter trial was silliness
To be fair it was the State that raised Charlie, so you could ask them.
see?
Good girl.
https://paleymatters.org/tate-labianca-revisited-7cd8fe0758c3
There were, you know, those two assassinations in 1968, of Martin Luther King, Jr., and Robert Kennedy. The Age of Aquarius had pretty much run its course by August 1969, when members of the Charles Manson “family” crept into the Los Angeles homes of, first, Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate and the next night Rosemary and Leno LaBianca, slaughtering a total of seven people.
On the other hand, an argument can be made that the murders carry additional weight within the context of the decade because they were committed by what Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth, the lead characters in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time . . . in Hollywood, repeatedly and derisively refer to as long-haired hippies who had themselves passed the Summer of Love in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco in 1967, and who had perverted the use psychedelic drugs for the purpose of brainwashing and the commission of unspeakable acts of violence.
(on the other other hand, you could also argue that the government did exactly that first).
It was far more intellectual and framed better than Paula put it, but your answer might have been the same either way, so thanks.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/28/style/charles-manson-book.html
It may sound like a crazy conspiracy theory, but I discovered a lot of evidence that right after Manson was released from prison in 1967, he was spending a lot of time in the same medical clinic in San Francisco where it has been documented that a C.I.A. employee was recruiting subjects for studies of LSD and its ability to influence human behavior.
Coincidental or not, Manson suddenly transformed from a harmless little ex-con who nobody ever gave a second glance, to an all-powerful guru surrounded by a harem of women who would do anything he asked, including kill complete strangers.
PBS? The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which pulled in about $445 million in federal funding in recent years? And they want talk about somebody else ?
but they dont pretend they dont like beezlebub and that craycray beech
I take the “good girl” back.
Phantom Shitter rides again!
this is about pbs,not amazon–
they are known 4 their children’s programming–they have recently gone off the rails pushing the gay/tranny agenda in shows such as arthur,clifford the big red dog,and even sesame street–
read more at americanfamilyassociation.com