Brian Merchant

Signal message request: Just got fired by a spreadsheet written by an MBA who couldn't do my job, so what's this DSA stuff I've been hearing about. 10:36 AM

things are happening.

It's happening at Google, led by @notechforapartheid.bsky.social

www.businessinsider.com/800-google-e...

bsky.app/profile/aaro...

Right. Boycotting is a start, though. Ask Target.

Yes!

America's march from fascist government to fascist state continues apace

How Jeff Bezos and Amazon became instruments of authoritarianism And how to stop them

“With Amazon’s role in ICE ops under greater scrutiny and Bezos’ dismantling of the organ that once proudly declared itself on being a defender of democracy, it’s worth examining how close Amazon and Trump are—& how closely aligned their projects are”

www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/how-jeff-b...

The WaPo has been my newspaper of choice my entire adult life. Today, I cancelled it and my Amazon Prime subscriptions. I urge you to do the same.

Nice one by Brian Merchant. Read it in full.

One thing I'd love for people to do, instead of simply boycotting, which implies potential return, is to simply understand that you don't need Amazon, Prime or otherwise.

You have local alternatives. Use them. Buy direct. Buy less.

Never go back.

My family and I have completely stopped using Amazon. It's a scam and they will try to rip you off starting with that Amazon prime thing and when you try to cancel it, they will harass you to death. But we do just fine without Amazon. Boycott.

Excellent article 👇👇👇
lots of info here for any non-fascist who still doesn’t know why they should #BoycottAmazon

So, I haven’t purchased anything from Amazon since January and I canceled Prime. I had been wanting to do that but wasn’t sufficiently motivated until the 2024 election results came in. I have not suffered from this decision at all. Try it! You’ll like it!

For the record, I 100% support an Amazon boycott — I personally do not use Amazon, Prime, or shop at Whole Foods. But a consumer boycott can’t be the extent of it. Workers need to organize, speak out. More protests. Power.

Not opposed to it! This is an all hands on deck type situation

thanks I think I've been mostly spared, but it was extremely nasty on the kids there

It's up to ordinary people, communities, neighbors to organize and push back, and, especially, Amazon workers—who are complicit if they now do nothing—to confront the authoritarianism they are helping to erect.

Regardless, as I wrote last week, after the killing of Alex Pretti and Rene Good, the lines have been drawn. Amazon is not merely complicit in ICE operations, its digital infrastructure is crucial to facilitating them. Bezos has chosen his side.

but consumer boycotts aren't going to cut it, I'm sorry, though I fully endorse them

you need power

I don't use Amazon! Don't shop at Whole Foods, no Prime etc

Out of the lot of them, aside from maybe Musk, there's a case to be made that Bezos has gone the *most* oligarch — the vanity Melania doc, bending his influential newspaper to placate the president, changing company policy after a phone call. Stiff competition though

I started writing this after attending an ICE OUT AMAZON protest in Santa Monica last week, but then we got slammed by norovirus and by the time I'd come up for air Bezos had gutted the Washington Post.

Looking back at how we got here, it's striking, the extent to which Bezos has gone full oligarch

Bezos isn't just using his power to help crush the free press, and Amazon is not simply profiting from its government contracts. Amazon and the Trump administration have converged on a shared program enabled by mass surveillance, dehumanization, and the elimination of opposing voices

How Jeff Bezos and Amazon became instruments of authoritarianism And how to stop them

With Jeff Bezos's dismantling of the Washington Post and Amazon's extensive ICE and DoD profiteering, it's imperative to understand precisely how both have openly become instruments of authoritarianism

New York Is the Latest State to Consider a Data Center Pause Red and blue states alike have introduced legislation in recent weeks that would halt data center development, citing concerns from climate to high energy prices.

NEW: lawmakers in new york rolled out a proposed data center moratorium bill today, making NY at least the sixth state to introduce legislation pausing data center development in the past few *weeks*:

The Three Ages Of Man

One awesome thing about being an indie writer: pretty much every person I've encountered who does it has learned a ton from other indies who've generously shared their knowledge and support, and wants to pay it forward.

Moltbook is about as fun as watching two Roombas bump into each other Sorry, techies — watching how AI agents secretly talk to each other is just boring. The Epstein files showed me secret human convos are more gripping.

Moltbook is Reddit for AI bots, and some people are freaking out about how amazing and sci-fi it is to see bots talk to each other. But..... it just sucks lol www.businessinsider.com/moltbook-ope...

‘Orwellian’: Sainsbury’s staff using facial recognition tech eject innocent shopper Man misidentified by London supermarket using Facewatch system says: ‘I shouldn’t have to prove I am not a criminal’

“‘One of the reasons I was angry was because I shouldn’t have to prove I am innocent,’ Rajah said. ‘I shouldn’t have to prove I’m wrongly identified as a criminal.’ He described the incident as feeling ‘quite like Minority Report, Orwellian’”.

Screenshot of a map and table listing ICE warehouse purchase data.

🚨 New: We built a visual tracker of the warehouses ICE is targeting across the US.

Working off an idea from @actualkatherine.bsky.social, we’ve mapped active searches, canceled deals, and linked state property records.

Explore the map here: tinyurl.com/ICEWarehouse...

When the times are such that a pro wrestler has more moral clarity and political acuity than the sitting opposition leaders combined