As IF Times

Source: Why Amazon is eating the world | TechCrunch

By now we know that Amazon has become ubiquitous in our modern lives.  The erstwhile bookseller has become THE 800 pound gorilla in the retail space as its shadow looms over all types of commerce.  Not content to just sell books, Amazon’s reach extends to every consumable product imaginable and recently, they’ve made a foray into the grocery business by buying upscale grocer, Whole Foods.   Lesser known perhaps was the purchase of the Washington Post newspaper by owner Jeff Bezos, giving them a political platform as well.

After reading the convincing story in the above link, we feel that Amazon is not done with world domination.  There’s no reason to think that they would not one day push into the field of pharmaceutical delivery or even for medical services.  Why not legal services, dating services and pet adoption?  Home and car buying are probably already in the works.  How much easier would it be to get a new spouse online?  A few convenient clicks, no expensive dating required and especially if they have the no hassle return policy.

Amazon is not as some think, a technology company.  They are the epitome of the most efficient logistics company.  They are able to provide consumers with the cheapest, largest selection of goods in the most convenient way for customers.  As Bezos famously said, “I’ve never had someone come to me asking to be charged more and to have it delivered more slowly”.  That is the nub of the business model: people want convenience.

How lazy have we become as a society when we can’t even be bothered to go to the mall to buy shoes?  Are we really that busy?  What are we doing that’s so important that we can’t do a stroll to buy something?  There was a story today which claimed in despondent terms, how customers at McDonald’s would now have to wait….one extra minute for their burgers because they were going to  use fresh meat instead of frozen!  The horror!  How is the company going to survive?

In unrelated developments, the rush is on to introduce self driving cars, because apparently, driving and parking are too much trouble for a stressed populace; and besides it’s easier to use Amazon apps to buy stuff if you’re not actually driving.  It all sounds good as a marketing ploy; convenience, cheap and likely green, but aren’t many of these inventions and services created in search of a use? Sort of like an electric dog polisher or an automatic nose picker? How did the world get along before expecting things to happen instantly?  How are we better off because we received the latest shoe 3 days earlier than by standard means?  How did our time become so precious, that saving a bit here and there is essential for happiness?

A friend remarked about how purchasing the latest space age bicycle seat post on his $7000 road bicycle would shave 150 grams from the curb weight of the machine.  In reality, a quick trip to the bathroom would save just as much if not more weight.  But it all sounds good, so it must be better.

link Hunger Seen Worsening by Oxfam as Climate Change Heats Up World – Bloomberg.

They might have been able to get away with this back in the ’60’s when access to information was scant.  Images on TV of emaciated children holding bowls of milk would send people scurrying to write generous cheques to Oxfam.  Marketing to Americans’ natural compassion was an easy sell.  The current program of selling the idea of pervasive world hunger by tying it to the spurious cause of our day is either thinly veiled crappy marketing or simply pandering to the new generation of gullible people in America.

There’s probably somebody hungry in the world somewhere, but the chance that it’s linked in any way to global warming is as likely as a fat chicken in Ethiopia as one of my good friends is fond of saying.  People who count these kinds of things claim that Americans ( and that means Canadians too ) throw away over 400 pounds of food per person per year, so there’s no shortage here in North America or indeed most Western countries.  Unfortunately, this wasted food can’t just be transferred like a journal entry to those in the world who could legitimately use the food.  Indeed, in this part of the world, the people who are actively in the food distribution business such as McDonalds and KFC are demonized for providing too much cheap food.

According to Oxfam, ““The changing climate is already jeopardizing gains in the fight against hunger, and it looks set to worsen,” In addition, Oxfam said. “A hot world is a hungry world.”   The people who penned this little slogan have obviously never spent any time in the tropical Amazon rainforest where it’s hot 365 days of the year and yet things still grow there like body hair at a lesbian convention.   They must also have never considered that in Saudi Arabia, where the average temperature is over 100 degrees for half of the year and yet few are starving there either.  The heat=hunger argument looks iffy.

So how is it that global warming only affects people in some parts of the world whereas in others, people have so much food that they’re throwing it away? This disparity of reality can be solved by looking closely at exactly which constituencies are served by Oxfam.  Their website claims ‘over 90 countries’, but when you look at the list:  http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what-we-do/countries-we-work-in  The Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Russia and the UK  are probably not their main focus spots.  The vast majority of those countries served by aid are in continental Africa.  Interestingly, many of those countries listed are in the midst of on-going tribal and religious wars.  Anyone in the farmer business in any of those countries is not going to be interested in farming or ranching if someone is likely to plant a bullet in them.

The issue of hunger in these countries is one of security and political stability not one of a few hot days ’caused’ by someone driving their SUV.  Adding more tax to a gallon of gasoline will no more alleviate hunger than would taxing Listerine in America solve halitosis worldwide.  It’s all hot air.