Instrument For Pre Accession Assistance 2014-2020: Fill & Download for Free

Thank you for the A2A[1].I have written about this before on Quora, but the same question keeps coming back to haunt the Indian subcontinent.We just passed August 5, 2020. This date marks the first anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir by the Indian government. If you have missed the details on my earlier analysis on the Kashmir Problem, I invite you to read through this one.Edit 1:I thank all my readers for your overwhelming support for this writing. Many of you have expressed the hope that this post should reach all Indians, Pakistanis, people in the west, leftist-liberal Indian journalists, biased western media... that list is long. All of that can happen, only if YOU take the initiative to do YOUR bit. As Gandhi advised us - "Be the change you want to see in the world".If you are numb with the overdose of biased reporting from Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera (this list is long too), you can respond by doing this - share this writing through your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts… whichever social medium you use. This will not happen without YOUR action. The false narratives on Kashmir can only be dispelled by supplanting them with the truth.When did Kashmir start losing its peace?[2]The world we live in today, if you were to ask for a commentary or analysis or opinion on the Kashmir problem, there is one argument that will garner unanimous agreement across the South Asian subcontinent (and even from foreign affairs experts around the globe and self-styled experts on Kashmir from the western media) - that the history of the Kashmir problem starts with 1947.Take a look at the 59 other answers to this question on Quora. 90% of those answers begin with the narrative of what happened in 1947.The expanse and the magnitude of this myopia is disconcerting!The seeds of the Kashmir problem were sown centuries before 1947 came into being. 1947 and the birth of Pakistan simply triggered what could be the beginning of the end for this most disturbing and perennially lingering episode in the history of the Indian civilizationWhat is the Kashmir Problem?Kashmir is not a territorial dispute.Kashmir is a dispute emerging from a civilizational struggle.A struggle for uprooting a civilization with an indigenous and deeply ingrained culture of peaceful coexistence between ethnicities and religions… and forcibly replacing it with a virulent strain of Islam that borders on the insidious and violent totalitarianism of Sunni Wahhabism.Kashmiri Hindus - The original Inhabitants of Kashmir[3]According to folk etymology, the name "Kashmir" means "desiccated land" (from the Sanskrit: Ka = water and shimeera = desiccate). In the Rajatarangini[4], a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana[5] in the mid-12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake. According to Hindu mythology, the lake was drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). When Kashmir had been drained, Kashyapa asked Brahmins (the highest caste among Hindus) to settle there.If we go by written history, Kashmiri Hindus are the aborigines of Kashmir. The native pagans who survived centuries of cruelty and oppression while keeping the flag of Indian civilization fluttering in the valley against all odds.However, as a result of the incessant invasions by Muslim barbarians, some parts of the Indian civilization began to witness a change in demographics in favor of Muslims. Kashmir happened to be a key example of one such region.Exodus of Hindus from KashmirKashmir and its original inhabitants - the Hindus of Kashmir have been in existence for centuries before Pakistan or any of the Muslim League leaders and the proponents of the 2 Nation Theory were even born.From the 14th century to the present times, the Hindus of Kashmir have been at the literal bleeding edge of the clash of civilizations. As a result, over the course of a few centuries most Kashmiris had been converted out of the Hindu fold by the force of intimidation and brutal violence that characterized the better part of Muslim Rule in Kashmir.By the turn of the 20th century, Kashmiri Pandits came to represent the bulk of the Hindu presence that remained in Kashmir. The Kashmiri Pandits (also known as Kashmiri Brahmins) are Kashmiri Hindus and a part of the larger Saraswat Brahmin community.Some westerners pose the question, why do all Kashmiri Hindus belong to just the Brahmin caste. Well, that is because all the other (Hindu) castes were converted to Islam by the swords of the tyrants who ruled the valley. Tyrants like Sikander Butshikan[6], Ali Shah, Shamsuddin Iraqi and others who not only carried out terrible genocides but also destroyed the centers of Kashmiri Hindu spiritual and intellectual life. History bears evidence to the desecration and destruction of great Hindu temples like the Sun Temple at Martand and countless other shrines.A rare photo of the ruins of the Surya Temple at Martand, which was destroyed due to the iconoclastic policies of Sikandar Butshikan, photo taken by John Burke in 1868.Source: Wikipedia on Sikandar Butshikan[7]Kashmiri Hindu women were beautiful. There was a time in Kashmir under Afghan rule when their striking looks became such a burden on their families that their noses had to be cut-off and their heads shaved, to protect the Hindu girls from the lustful eyes of the ruling barbarians.Such atrocities created pressure on the dwindling Hindu community to flee from Kashmir not once or twice but 7 times since Islam came to Kashmir. The demographics of the Kashmir region continued to change decisively in favor of Muslims. This episode will be continued to its climax when we get to 1990, the year Hindus were "ethnically cleansed" out of Kashmir.1947The Indian civilization finally woke up to an era of realizing its long cherished and hard fought dream of nationhood. However, fate had destined one last blow of plunder and pillage of a different nature.A man named Mohammed Ali Jinnah mistook independence from the British to mean the subcontinent had just turned into a once in a lifetime opportunity to a grab-all-you-can real estate bonanza[8]. He claimed that the Muslims needed a separate homeland, just because they were born Muslims, and needed protection from the violent and unpredictable Hindus in an independent India. Jinnah made sure they got one at the cost of 2 million dead and 14 million displaced from their homes. But, for Jinnah's overbearing lust for a kingdom and a throne, that was small price to pay so long as Muslims could secure their “only for us” homeland. A few decades down the line that cherished homeland for Muslims would turn out to be a paradise for the rich and the privileged among Punjabi Sunni Muslims and a purgatory for Muslims of all other types and sects. But, Jinnah didn’t know that yet.While Jinnah and his coterie enjoyed their newfound real estate, the British spiced up the situation with a menu of options to the autonomous princely states. Those options were - merge with either India or Pakistan, or remain independent.The king of Jammu and Kashmir, Raja Hari Singh chose the latter. His decision caused serious concern in Jinnah's homeland named Pakistan (Land of the Pure).Pakistan's Lust for Kashmir and the First Kashmir War of 1947 - 1948Neither the Indian Independence Act of 1947[9], nor the Radcliffe Boundary Commission[10] indicated that Kashmir "belonged to Pakistan".There is no documentary evidence that the British, at any point in history considered Kashmir to be gift-wrapped and handed over to Pakistan. All historical evidence strongly suggests that the British wanted the fate of Kashmir to be determined by its ruler, as was the case with all other princely states from the Union. For Pakistan to claim that Kashmir belongs to them on the basis of a Muslim majority will be as much a figment of their imagination as for Mexicans to claim that California belongs to them on the basis of an overwhelming majority of Hispanics in that state.Yet, rulers in Pakistan worried that Kashmir would either remain independent, or worse, join India. Pakistan's lust for Kashmir was born out of the perverted ideology that territories in the South Asian subcontinent, with Muslim dominated demographics, should belong to Pakistan.This twisted ideology of gabbing land with majority Muslims in the name of a “Muslim homeland” would be busted in 1971 when Muslim East Pakistan initiated a mass rebellion against Muslim West Pakistan. In return, Muslim West Pakistan launched one of the worst genocides recorded in recent history on Muslim East Pakistan[11].That genocide and the uncontrollable influx of refugees from Muslim East Pakistan into India resulted in India’s intervention and the subsequent surrender of West Pakistan before India… one of the only recorded cases in recent military history of one nation publicly surrendering to another. East Pakistan changed into the independent nation of Bangladesh[12]. But, Pakistan didn't know all that yet.To secure Kashmir, Pakistan dispatched tribal marauders to seize Kashmir by force. On 22 October 1947, Pakistan's Pashtun tribal militias crossed the border of the state. These local tribal militias and irregular Pakistani forces moved to take Srinagar, but on reaching Baramulla, they took to plunder and rape and stalled.Hari Singh's Decision to join IndiaMaharaja Hari Singh made a plea to India for assistance, and help was offered, but it was subject to his signing an Instrument of Accession to India. The then British Viceroy Lord Mountbatten would not allow India's intervention without a formal treaty with the Maharaja. The Instrument of Accession broke that stalemate. By executing this document under the provisions of the Indian Independence Act 1947, Maharaja Hari Singh agreed to accede to the Dominion of India. The Instrument of Accession gave India’s Parliament the power to legislate in respect of the state of Jammu and Kashmir only on the matters of defense, external affairs and communications.The events that followed on the battlefield, to the settlement at the Line of Control (LOC) are widely documented, and I will refrain from detailing facts well known. The Indian army succeeded in pushing the Pakistani marauders back, so that two thirds of Kashmir, including the Srinagar valley remained in Indian territory, while the remaining one-third of Kashmir including the region of Gilgit Baltistan came under Pakistani occupation. The irony is that Pakistan renamed that seized and occupied territory as “Azad Kashmir”, meaning liberated Kashmir. Liberated from what… from an infant Indian state that was still struggling to stand on its feet? India calls it “Pakistan occupier Kashmir” or PoK.Pakistan’s Contribution to Developing “Azad Kashmir”Today Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Azad Kashmir proudly serves as the global headquarters of the Pakistan military sponsored terrorist group Hizbul Muhahideen. Thanks to the Pakistan military, all of Azad Kashmir has a well developed infrastructure of terrorist training camps that are used regularly to launch terror attacks on the Indian side of Kashmir[13]. Global terror organizations such as Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) also share terror training centers along with the Hizbul Muhahideen in Azad Kashmir. The LeT and Hizbul have conducted multiple terrorist attacks on Indian soil. The Hizbul Mujahideen has been designated a global terrorist organization by the Unites States[14], European Union[15] and India. The Lashkar-e-Taiba has been designated a global terrorist organization by the United States[16], the United Kingdom[17], the European Union[18], Russia, Australia [19]and the United Nations[20] and India.The territory of Azad Kashmir is occupied and regularly used by the Pakistani military to recruit young, unemployed young men from families living below the poverty line and training them to become the Islamic fundamentalists and jihadis that can conduct sabotage and subversive activities on the Indian side of Kashmir. This arrangement fulfills 2 critical objectives for the Pakistani military.It builds into Pakistan’s narrative for the global audience that Kashmiri freedom fighters homegrown within India’s borders are fighting against Indian occupation.It allows the Pakistani military to wage a relentless proxy war on the Indian armed forces stationed in Indian Kashmir, without risking any of its regular personnel. Once the terror training mechanism is in place, terrorists can be produced a dime a dozen, as disposable war machines.So much for “Azad Kashmir” or PoK.Syed Salahuddin, the supreme leader of Hizbul Mujahideen in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), with his menSource: The Week[21]The Instrument of AccessionThe Instrument of Accession, which Maharaja Hari Singh signed with India was a simple document. In the blank spaces, it had a place to fill in the name of the state, the name of the ruler, the date of accession, a place to hold the signature of the ruler and lastly, a line where Lord Mountbatten would put in his signature.This simple document was used to persuade 602 princely states to join the Union of India. When a princely state signed the Instrument of Accession, it gave India’s Parliament the power to legislate on the matters of defense, foreign affairs and communications. Thereafter, the delegates of the princely states would meet with India's Constituent Assembly to gradually bring their kingdoms under the full purview of the Indian Constitution. The princely states were also participants in the formulation of the Indian Constitution. This process of political amalgamation was somewhat similar to the Constitutional Convention of the United States, also known as the Philadelphia Convention that took place from May 25 through September 17, 1787. This process would culminate in a complete adoption of the Indian Constitution by the state in question thereby consummating the accession of the state to the Union of India.With Jammu and Kashmir, the process diverged a bit. Though Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession, his government pointed out that they were signing the document under exceptional circumstances, as they were “under attack from a neighboring hostile entity - Pakistan”. So as not to be rushed into the process, they asked for more time to align themselves with the Union of India.The Constituent Assembly agreed to this special request.However, there was a debate on which parts of the Constitution would apply to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which would not, and at what length of time would the accession be complete. To accommodate Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India, the only temporary Article in the Indian Constitution was drafted. This was called Article 306A which later became Article 370.Article 370In March 1948, the Maharaja appointed an interim government in the state, with Sheikh Abdullah as the prime minister. In July 1949, Sheikh Abdullah and three other colleagues joined the Indian Constituent Assembly and negotiated the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), leading to the adoption of Article 370. The controversial provision was drafted by Sheikh Abdullah.Article 370, which came into force in 1952, empowered J&K to be a near autonomous state since it limited the Indian government's authority to just external affairs, defence, finance and communication. This provision allowed J&K to have a Sadar-e-Riyasat for governor and prime minister in place of a chief minister till 1965 as well as its own flag and constitution.Article 370 ensured that the law of citizenship, ownership of property, and fundamental rights of the residents of Jammu & Kashmir is different from the residents living in rest of India. Under Article 370, citizens from other states cannot buy property in Jammu & Kashmir. Under Article 370, the Indian government had no power to declare financial emergency.Sheikh Abdullah wanted to turn Article 370, the only temporary provision in the Indian Constitution, into a written-in-stone edict that could not be replaced or terminated by future Indian governments. This violated the very understanding which India’s Constituent Assembly had reached with the state of Jammu and Kashmir - that the accession of the state to the Indian Union would be put on a slow but certain pace through Article 370.Fortunately for India, Sheikh Abdullah did not succeed in voiding the temporary nature of Article 370, which is why the Article reached it’s logical conclusion on 5 August 2019, under the Indian government led by Prime Minister Modi.Article 35AArticle 35A which comes under Article 370, gave the Jammu and Kashmir Legislature full discretionary power to decide who the 'permanent residents' of the state are. It gave them special rights and privileges regarding employment with the state government, acquisition of property in the state, settling in the state, and the right to scholarships and other forms of aid that the state government provides. It also allowed the state legislature to impose any restrictions upon persons other than the permanent residents regarding the above.Article 35A, proscribed non-permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir from permanently settling in the state, buying immovable property, acquiring land, applying for government jobs or any kind of scholarships, aids as well as other public welfare projects.The Night of January 19, 1990Almost 40 years after the First Kashmir War…Pakistan had not forgotten its unfinished business from the war of 1947 - 1948. It had captured a third of Kashmir. However, two-thirds of Jammu and Kashmir which included the prized Kashmir valley was still in Indian territory. Pakistan had been biding its time for an opportune moment to strike.That time came in the late 1980s. By 1989, Pakistan believed it now had a proven strategy. It was the one used to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan. The strategy of infiltrating well trained Mujahideen across the Indian border into Kashmir to train and arm locals and incite them to foment jihad against every Indian entity present in Kashmir.Also, Pakistan had the nuclear umbrella, to deter (as it hoped) any significant pushback from India in response to the proxy-war about to be launched in Kashmir. The nuclear threat was a tactic that Pakistan used very effectively against a far more powerful but surprisingly docile India, for a span of almost 25 years (till a man named Modi would come and call Pakistan’s nuclear bluff).Thus, Pakistan launched an asymmetric war in Kashmir.The cold, dark night of January 19, 1990, had stirred into life the worst nightmares of Kashmiri Pandits living in the Kashmir valley. Screaming from loud speakers and crowded streets was a message for the Sikhs and Hindus living in Kashmir - Ralive, Tsalive ya Galive which translated from Kashmiri means "Convert to Islam, leave the place, or perish".The threats had been coming in for a long time, but the night of January 19 is said to have seen a demented assault of a different level. Almost 3 decades later, Kashmiri Pandits shiver remembering the night that forced them into exodus.Colonel Tej Kumar Tikoo, a Kashmiri Pandit himself, describes that fateful night in his book, Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus[22]."As the night fell, the microscopic community became panic-stricken when the Valley began reverberating with the war-cries of Islamists, who had stage-managed the whole event with great care; choosing its timing and the slogans to be used. A host of highly provocative, communal and threatening slogans, interspersed with martial songs, incited the Muslims to come out on the streets and break the chains of 'slavery'. These exhortations urged the faithful to give a final push to the Kafir in order to ring in the true Islamic order. These slogans were mixed with precise and unambiguous threats to Pandits. They were presented with three choices - Ralive, Tsaliv ya Galive (convert to Islam, leave the place or perish). Tens of thousands of Kashmiri Muslims poured into the streets of the Valley, shouting 'death to India' and death to Kafirs.""The (Kashmiri) Pandits could see the writing on the wall. If they were lucky enough to see the night through, they would have to vacate the place before they met the same fate as Tikka Lal Taploo and many others. The Seventh Exodus was surely staring them in the face. By morning, it became apparent to Pandits that Kashmiri Muslims had decided to throw them out from the Valley. Broadcasting vicious Jehadi sermons and revolutionary songs, interspersed with blood curdling shouts and shrieks, threatening Kashmiri Pandits with dire consequences, became a routine 'Mantra' of the Muslims of the Valley, to force them to flee from Kashmir."Ethnic Cleansing of the Kashmiri PanditsThrough the export of battle hardened Mujahideen into Kashmir, the Pakistan military and the ISI had set in motion a strategy which would later be described as "bleeding India by a thousand cuts".The Muslims in the valley were being trained physically and psychologically, to envision a Kashmir free of any Hindu influence, geared up to demand statehood and complete independence from India.Before the turn of the 21st century, Kashmir would be ethnically cleansed of Hindus that had called it home since the inception of the land.Those Kashmiri Pandits that Stayed Back or Returned…However, some Kashmiri Pandits would not leave or would come back to the valley. These are their stories.The teacher and his students: Neelkanth Raina was a school teacher who chose to stay back, despite the dire warnings from the Muslim fundamentalists. He was killed by his own students in cold blood while his neighbors assisted the killers in quickly escaping from the crime scene. The murder was meticulously planned and skillfully executed.The Lab Assistant: Girija Kumari Tikoo was a laboratory assistant at a Government High School. She had already left the valley along with other Hindus in early 1990, and was living in a refugee settlement in the neighboring Jammu province. Hindus living in refugee settlements in their own country just because their Muslim neighbors would no longer want them in the neighborhood - ever heard of such a travesty of fate in any other part of the globe? She went back to the valley for a few days to collect her dues from the school never to return. On her way to the school, she was kidnapped by Muslim fundamentalists, gang raped and sodomized before being cut into pieces in a saw mill. She was survived by a 4 year old son and a 2 year daughter.The Professor and his Wife: Professor K.L Ganju and his wife, Mrs. Prana Ganju were kidnapped along with their nephew. After showering bullets on the professor his body was quickly disposed of into the turbulent waters of the river Jhelum. Like in the movies, his nephew was given a choice - to jump into the river or watch his aunt's modesty getting outraged, of which he took the first choice, and survived. Mrs. Ganju, she was gang raped, her breasts chopped off before she was killed.If you dig into Kashmir's history circa 1990 and the early 90s, there are hundreds of gruesome cases of terror and betrayal against resident Kashmiri Hindus to narrate. But, the cases of Neelkanth Raina, Girija Kumari Tikkoo and the Ganju couple drive home an important point. All of them were killed after the Hindu community had already left. These atrocities were thus a signal from the Muslim majority community to the exiled Hindus, never to even think of returning to their homeland. Their houses had been occupied, their places were being renamed, Kashmir was no longer theirs.Just as the dust of Hindu eviction from the valley was settling, it dawned upon the terrorist leadership of the Kashmir valley, their mentors in Pakistan and their apologists in the media all over the world that the public perception of the secessionist movement in Kashmir was getting damaged. So, a narrative began to be promoted that the Indian government had conspired to get the Hindus evicted so that Indian security forces may freely oppress the Muslim population. The religious terrorism of the Kashmiris underwent a cosmetic surgery, and began to be called a political struggle.The underlying thought process actively promoted by Pakistan was - now that Kashmir has been cleansed of almost all traces of Hinduism from the valley, it is time to revert back to the 1947 formula concocted by a consortium of land-grabbing, power crazy demagogues from the Muslim League, that every piece of land with Muslim domination, should secede to Pakistan.To this day, Kashmir remains a religious and civilizational conflict. It has no political dimension except on the surface.2019: Pre August 5Kashmir and the Rest of IndiaThe picture below shows how young women in Kashmir spend their day. Pelting stones at Indian security forces is the high point of their morning or afternoon.Source: Zee News, IndiaAnd this is how many young women in the rest of India spend their day. Bouncing ideas off each other during the lunch hour so they could crack that technical challenge they encountered during the morning.The above picture is from one of the campuses Infosys[23] has built across India. Infosys is the legendary Indian IT behemoth that was the first Indian company to be listed on the US NASDAQ in 1999.I am not promoting Infosys, I have no personal interest in the company but, I have a point to make.Time for a Q & AQ: Does Infosys have a campus in Kashmir?A: No.Q: Why not? Wouldn't young women in Kashmir want to switch the low-paying job of stone pelting[24] with the far more lucrative job of code crunching on laptops?(Yup, sources within the Pakistani military run a well-funded operation[25] of financing young Kashmiri men and women for pelting stones at Indian forces stationed in Kashmir)[26].A: They cannot, even if they wanted to.Q: Why not?A: Not a single IT company- Indian or multinational has a presence in Kashmir.Q: I don't get it! India is the 5th largest economy globally and is home to almost all the major IT corporations of the world. Some of them like Oracle Corporation have even built their largest Development Centers outside of the US[27], in Indian cities[28]. And then like Infosys and WIPRO, India has its own litany of indigenous IT companies and many fledgling start-ups spread across the land. Azim Premji[29], the Chairman of WIPRO and one of the richest men in the world (as of August 2020, he is 253rd on the Forbes list of billionaires[30]) - is a Muslim himself! Then why have these IT business houses and their tycoons ignored the state of Jammu and Kashmir?A: Well, their hands are tied. The special status provided to Jammu and Kashmir by Articles 370 and 35A ensures that non Kashmiris cannot buy land in Kashmir. So long as Kashmir is "protected" by its special status within the gilded cage of Article 370 and 35A, there is virtually nothing that someone even as powerful as Azim Premji can do.The Developmental Hurdles Posed to Jammu and Kashmir by Article 370 and 35AArun Jaitly held cabinet positions as Minister of Finance, Minister of Corporate Affairs and Minister of Defence in the Narendra Modi government. As a former lawyer of the Supreme Court of India, he was regarded across the nation and even internationally as one of the finest minds in India's corridors of power[31]. He passed away on 24th August 2019 (just 19 days after Article 370 was abrogated by his government).In a blog post titled "How Article 35A hurt the people of Jammu & Kashmir", Arun Jaitley wrote the following."The State does not have adequate financial resources. Its ability to raise more has been crippled by Article 35A. No investor is willing to set up an industry, hotel, private educational institutions or private hospitals since he can neither buy land or property nor can his executives do so. Their ward cannot get government jobs or admission to colleges (as they are not Kashmiris). Today, there are no major national or international chains which have set up hotel in a tourism centric State. This prevents enrichment, resource generation and job creation. (Kashmiri) Students have to travel all over, including Nepal and Bangladesh, to get college admissions. Engineering colleges and hospitals, including super-speciality facility set up by Central Government in Jammu are lying under-utilized or unutilized since Professors and Doctors from outside are unwilling to go there. Article 35A has prevented investment and dismantled the State’s economy. ""Article 35A, which is constitutionally vulnerable, is used as a political shield by many but it hurt the common citizen of the State the most. It denied them a booming economy, economic activity and jobs.""The historic blunders of special status under Article 370 and Article 35A had cost the country both politically and financially."In one of his last comments after the abrogation of Article 370, Jaitley said - "Article 370 invoked the separate status that led to separatism (in Jammu and Kashmir). No dynamic nation could allow this situation to continue."With the revocation of Article 370 "A historical wrong has been undone today. Article 35A came through the back door without following the procedure under Article 368 of the Constitution of India. It had to go.""The decision of the government will help the people of Jammu and Kashmir the most. More investment, more industry, more private educational institutions, more jobs and more revenue will come,” he said, adding that “Kashmir’s regional leaders now feel they would not be able to whip up the fake issue of 'sentiment verses benefit'."Sentiment versus BenefitSentiment versus benefit, and economic, educational and financial benefits to be precise. Let's chew on that for a moment, and when we start drawing on the juice on that thought, we should think it through.For those of us here in the US, consider a hypothetical situation to understand what Arun Jaitley means. Say for example, I were born into a Hispanic family in California in the year 2000. In the year 2014, the population of Hispanics officially surpassed that of Whites in California. I am now a teenager dreaming of growing up and going to Stanford or UC Berkeley (just examples) for my college education, and later getting hired by Google or Facebook or any of the tech giants in California’s Silicon Valley. In effect, I have bright visions of my future as I see it playing out in my very own state, an economically vibrant part of the world.Now, a charismatic leader rises up in neighboring Mexico and starts a rant for the separation of California as a state from the US and its accession to Mexico, on the basis of an ever growing Hispanic majority in California.Is that a legitimate claim? Should I be thrilled with that?A final question to Kashmiris on BOTH sides of the borderIf you are a Kashmiri parent of Islamic faith on either side of the LOC, ask yourself this - would you be happier sending your child to one of the world renowned Indian Institutes of Technology or would your child have a brighter future attending the famous madrassas of Lahore?Your children will inherit the future you create for them.Sources:India's Move in Kashmir: Unpacking the Domestic and International Motivations and Implications - Christine Fair in LAWFARE, August 12, 2019Footnotes[1] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[2] What is the Kashmir Issue?[3] History of Kashmir - Wikipedia[4] Rajatarangini - Wikipedia[5] Kalhana - Wikipedia[6] Sikandar Butshikan[7] Sikandar Shah Miri - Wikipedia[8] Carla Stewart's answer to What is your opinion about Pakistan becoming a secular country?[9] Indian Independence Act 1947 - Wikipedia[10] Radcliffe Line - Wikipedia[11] Operation Searchlight: Genocide unleashed on Bangalis in East Pakistan[12] Carla Stewart's answer to What are some real life examples, good or bad, of karma?[13] Militant Training Camps in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: An Existential Threat[14] State Department Terrorist Designation of Hizbul Mujahideen - United States Department of State[15] L_2019209EN.01001501.xml[16] Amendments to the Terrorist Designation of Lashkar e-Tayyiba - United States Department of State[17] Terrorism Act 2000[18] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32003D0902:EN:HTML[19] Listed terrorist organisations[20] Sanctions List Materials[21] When I met Salahuddin in Pakistan[22] Kashmir: Its Aborigines and Their Exodus: Tikoo, Colonel Tej K.: 9781935501343: Amazon.com: Books[23] Infosys - Wikipedia[24] How Pakistan funds separatists, stone-pelters in Kashmir through illegal barter trade at LoC[25] ISI’s budget for Kashmir stone pelting is Rs 1,000cr - The Sunday Guardian Live[26] NIA roused after undercover STING on stone-pelter funding in Kashmir[27] Oracle to set up biggest development centre outside US in Bengaluru[28] Oracle's second largest campus will soon be a reality in Bengaluru[29] Azim Premji - Wikipedia[30] Azim Premji[31] Arun Jaitley, Bold Indian Finance Minister, Is Dead at 66

Question:Do you think Biden needs to "prove" that his 80 million votes are legal as Trump has demanded?Response:No, and if you go and read every States recount procedure, it is the person who demanded the recount to both pay and prove their assumption of voter fraud.Trump’s own voter fraud commission, The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (PACEI) after being disbanded by Trump found NO evidence of Voter Fraud. https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-01-10/trump-commision-on-election-integrity-found-no-evidence-of-voter-fraudJoint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & the Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees“The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. Right now, across the country, election officials are reviewing and double-checking the entire election process prior to finalizing the result.“When states have close elections, many will recount ballots.All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience. This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors. There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.“Other security measures like pre-election testing, state certification of voting equipment, and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s (EAC) certification of voting equipment help to build additional confidence in the voting systems used in 2020.“While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections, and you should too. When you have questions, turn to elections officials as trusted voices as they administer elections.”DHS panel says 2020 vote was 'most secure in American history' -- FCWAn election security team led by a senior Department of Homeland Security official stressed in a Nov. 12 press release that the 2020 general election "was the most secure in American history."In bold type, the Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council, a team working under the aegis of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency at DHS, stated that, "[t]here is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised."The statement directly contradicts the most recent in a raft of conspiracy theories put forth by President Donald Trump stating that a voting machine vendor secretly changed votes. This and other claims by Trump have been tagged as "disputed" under a new policy by Twitter to point to potential election misinformation.***Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Nov 12“REPORT: DOMINION DELETED 2.7 MILLION TRUMP VOTES NATIONWIDE. DATA ANALYSIS FINDS 221,000 PENNSYLVANIA VOTES SWITCHED FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP TO BIDEN. 941,000 TRUMP VOTES DELETED. STATES USING DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS SWITCHED 435,000 VOTES FROM TRUMP TO BIDEN.”@ChanelRion @OANNThis claim about election fraud is disputedThe statement is attributed to CISA assistant director Bob Kolasky and other members of the executive committee, which includes Benjamin Hovland, the chair of the Election Assistance Commission, and Maggie Toulouse Oliver, New Mexico's secretary of state and president of the National Association of Secretaries of State."When states have close elections, many will recount ballots. All of the states with close results in the 2020 presidential race have paper records of each vote, allowing the ability to go back and count each ballot if necessary. This is an added benefit for security and resilience," the statement reads. "This process allows for the identification and correction of any mistakes or errors."The news comes amid reports in Reuters and elsewhere that CISA Director Chris Krebs expects to be asked to resign or to be fired by the Trump administration. Bryan Ware, CISA's assistant director for Cybersecurity is leaving the agency on Friday -- a move first reported [b] by Cyberscoop. According to a Reuters report, Ware was asked to resign.CISA has been aggressive in combatting misinformation about voting fraud in the wake of the Nov. 3 elections, and Krebs has been out in front on social media to call attention to specific conspiracy theories being peddled on social media – including some promulgated by Trump himself.Election 2020: Setting the Record Straight - Dominion Voting Systems Updated: November 21, 2020SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT: FACTS & RUMORSDOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS CATEGORICALLY DENIES FALSE ASSERTIONS ABOUT VOTE SWITCHING AND SOFTWARE ISSUES WITH OUR VOTING SYSTEMS.According to a Joint Statement by the federal government agency that oversees U.S. election security, the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA): "There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised." The government & private sector councils that support this mission called the 2020 election "the most secure in American history."1) DOMINION IS NOT SHUTTERING ITS OFFICES. EMPLOYEES HAVE BEEN ENCOURAGED TO WORK REMOTELY AND PROTECT THEIR SOCIAL MEDIA PROFILES DUE TO PERSISTENT HARASSMENT AND THREATS AGAINST PERSONAL SAFETY.Dominion employees are being forced to retreat from their lives due to personal safety concerns, not only for our employees themselves, but also for their extended families.ABC News has reported on these security concerns, saying that after "two weeks of false fraud claims," this is the latest sign that "freewheeling online rhetoric has real-world consequences."Dominion team members are working around the clock to address issues with law enforcement and take every measure we can to ensure the safety of our employees.2) VOTE DELETION/SWITCHING ASSERTIONS ARE COMPLETELY FALSE.An unsubstantiated claim about the deletion of 2.7 million pro-Trump votes that was posted on the Internet and spread on social media has been taken down and debunked by independent fact-checkers.Edison Research (ER) has refuted any claims that company data suggests any voting irregularities, including vote switching. Edison Research President Larry Rosin told The Dispatch Fact Check, "Edison Research created no such report and we are not aware of any voter fraud."Claims that 941,000 votes for President Trump in Pennsylvania were deleted are impossible. The fourteen counties using Dominion systems collectively produced 1.3 million votes, representing a voter turnout of 76%. Fifty-two percent of those votes went to President Trump, amounting to 676,000 votes processed for the President in Pennsylvania using company systems.Dominion does not have the ability review votes in real time as they are submitted.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's cybersecurity division has confirmed that it is not possible for a bad actor to change election results without detection.Dominion doesn't even operate in some of the contested districts, including Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Dane County, WI.3) ASSERTIONS OF "SUPERCOMPUTER" ELECTION FRAUD CONSPIRACIES ARE 100% FALSE.The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has debunked claims about the existence of a secret CIA program for vote fraud called Hammer and Scorecard.All U.S. voting systems must provide assurance that they work accurately and reliably as intended under federal U.S. EAC and state certifications and testing requirements. Election safeguards - from testing and certification of voting systems, to canvassing and auditing - prevent malicious actors from tampering with vote counts and ensure final vote tallies are accurate. Read more from CISA.There have been no "raids" of Dominion servers by the U.S. military or otherwise, and Dominion does not have servers in Germany. CISA has refuted this claim on Twitter, and the U.S. Army has also confirmed to the Associated Press that it's false.4) THERE WERE NO DOMINION SOFTWARE GLITCHES AND BALLOTS WERE ACCURATELY TABULATED. THE RESULTS ARE 100% AUDITABLE.No credible reports or evidence of any software issues exist. Vote counts are conducted by county and state election officials, not by Dominion. Our systems support tabulation by those officials alone. Human errors related to reporting tabulated results have arisen in a few counties, including some using Dominion equipment, but appropriate procedural actions have been taken by the county to address these errors were made prior to the canvass process.The Michigan Secretary of State's office offers a Fact Check Page which debunks false or erroneous claims about voting in Detroit, as well as a user-error incident in Antrim County.The Georgia Secretary of State has also repeatedly stated throughout the count that "[a]s the work goes on, I want to assure Georgia voters that every legal vote was cast and accurately counted."Dominion's systems are not responsible for 2,631 uncounted ballots discovered in Floyd County, Georgia during the statewide recount. The Secretary of State's office has cited clerical error and lack of following proper procedures as the cause.Votes are not processed outside the United States. Votes are counted and reported by county and state election officials - not by Dominion, or any other election technology company. Assertions that votes are counted in Germany are completely false, as has been fact-checked by the Associated Press5) DOMINION EMPLOYEES DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO THE BALLOT ADJUDICATION SYSTEM, NOR DO THEY OPERATE IT.The canvass process exists to allow election officials to validate and count ballots that were unable to be counted on Election Day because they needed additional adjudication. Dominion employees do not have access to this adjudication system, nor do they operate it.Access to any adjudication system resides with the election authority using it. The system is controlled through secure and verifiable user accounts, and all the voter intent adjustments are securely logged in the system and then recorded in the digital image of the ballot.All states require bipartisan/multi-person teams in order to adjudicate ballots in accordance with the law.6) DOMINION IS A NONPARTISAN U.S. COMPANY BASED IN DENVER, CO.Dominion has no company ownership relationships with the Pelosi family, Feinstein family, Clinton Global Initiative, Smartmatic, Scytl, or any ties to Venezuela or Cuba. Dominion works with all U.S. political parties; our customer base and our government outreach practices reflect this nonpartisan approach.The Associated Press has verified that Dominion has no ties to http://Venezuela.As reported by the Associated Press, "Dominion made a one-time philanthropic commitment at a Clinton Global Initiative meeting in 2014, but the Clinton Foundation has no stake or involvement in Dominion's operations, the nonprofit confirmed." The meeting included bipartisan attendees focused on international democracy-building.7) DOMINION IS NOT, AND HAS NEVER BEEN, OWNED BY SMARTMATIC.Dominion is an entirely separate company and a fierce competitor to Smartmatic.Dominion and Smartmatic do not collaborate in any way and have no affiliate relationships or financial ties.Dominion does not use Smartmatic software.The only associations the companies have ever had were:- In 2009, Smartmatic licensed Dominion machines for use in the Philippines. The contract ended in a lawsuit.- In 2010, Dominion purchased certain assets from Sequoia, a private U.S. Company. Smartmatic, a previous owner of Sequoia, pursued legal actions against Dominion.8) NO UNAUTHORIZED OR LAST-MINUTE SOFTWARE UPDATES OCCURRED.Claims about software updates being done the night before Election Day are 100% false. Our voting systems are designed and certified by the U.S. government to be closed and do not rely on network connectivity.Both Spalding County and the Georgia Secretary of State have verified that a) this type of unauthorized update is impossible, and b) the actual logs from equipment under the custody of the County determined an update did NOT happen the night before the election.Georgia Voting System Implementation Manager Gabe Sterling has affirmed in his daily press briefing on November 9 that "nothing was done to the [PollPad] system after [October 31]," when voter files were updated as part of normal procedure.9) MISINFORMATION IS AN ATTACK ON OUR DOMINION CUSTOMERS: LOCAL ELECTION OFFICIALS AND SECRETARIES OF STATE.Erroneous claims that precincts in Michigan had more votes recorded than actual voters point to an affidavit that has several glaring errors. The counties cited are in Minnesota, not Michigan, and the affidavit's claims regarding over-votes are not verified with any data from previous Minnesota elections or the Secretary of State. This claim has no basis in truth.These dedicated public servants - not Dominion - run our elections and many have reaffirmed the integrity of the elections. Recent statements from election officials include:MICHIGANThe Michigan Secretary of State's office debunked false claims about the election in the state, stating absentee ballot counting was transparent and accurate and that an isolated user error in Antrim County did not affect election results.A spokesperson for the Michigan Secretary of State stated, "We have not seen any evidence of fraud or foul play in the actual administration of the election. What we have seen is that it was smooth, transparent, secure and accurate."GEORGIAThe Georgia Secretary of State stated upon completion of a statewide review of ballots on November 19, "Georgia's historic first statewide audit reaffirmed that the state's new secure paper ballot voting system accurately counted and reported results."ARIZONAThe Chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors released a letter on November 17 noting, "The evidence overwhelmingly shows the system used in Maricopa County is accurate and provided voters with a reliable election... The Dominion tabulation equipment met mandatory requirements during logic and accuracy testing before the Presidential Preference Election, the Primary Election and the General Election. And after each of these 2020 elections, the hand count audit showed the machines generated an accurate count."10) THERE ARE NO ISSUES WITH THE USE OF SHARPIE PENS.Election officials provide writing instruments that are approved for marking ballots to all in-person voters using hand-marked paper ballots. Dominion Voting Systems machines can read all of these instruments, including Sharpies.The DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, "if a ballot has issues that impacts its ability to be scanned, it can be hand counted." The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors assured voters that "sharpies do not invalidate ballots." Dominion has stated that "Sharpie pens are safe and reliable to use on ballots, and recommended due to their quick-drying ink."Lastly,Trump lost and no matter how many “without merit” lawsuits Trump’s “cracked” team of lawyers believe Trump was cheated by voter fraud, they will not stand up in court and claim what has no proof because that would be PERJURY.Perjury.…Subornation of PerjuryA related offense is the crime of subornation of perjury, which typically involves coaching or persuading a person to commit perjury. Attorneys and other people who might advise a witness may be targets of subornation of perjury accusations.

Amazo Customer Care 9679824416 NNumber Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more, Inc.[8] (/ˈæməzɒn/ AM-ə-zon) is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, which focuses on e-commerce, cloud, along with Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook.📲📲📲📲📲[9][10][11][12] The company has been referred to as "one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world", as well as the world's most valuable brand.[13][14]Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more, Inc.Amazon logo.svgLogo since 2000Amazon Spheres 05.jpgThe Amazon Spheres, part of the Amazon headquarters campus in SeattleTrade nameAmazonFormerlyCadabra, Inc. (1994–95)TypePublicTraded asNASDAQ: AMZNNASDAQ-100 componentS&P 100 componentS&P 500 componentISINUS0231351067IndustryCloud computinge-commerceartificial intelligenceconsumer electronicsdigital distributionself-driving carsFoundedJuly 5, 1994; 26 years agoBellevue, Washington, U.S.FounderJeff BezosHeadquartersSeattle, Washington, U.S.Area servedWorldwideKey peopleJeff Bezos (President, CEO, and Chairman)Andy Jassy (CEO-elect)Brian Olsavsky (Senior VP and CFO)ProductsEchoFire TabletFire TVFire OSKindleServicesAmazon.comAmazon AlexaAmazon AppstoreAmazon MusicAmazon PrimeAmazon Prime VideoAmazon Web ServicesRevenueIncrease US$386.064 billion (2020)Operating incomeIncrease US$22.9 billion (2020)Net incomeIncrease US$21.331 billion (2020)Total assetsIncrease US$321.2 billion (2020)Total equityIncrease US$93.404 billion (2020)Number of employeesIncrease 1,298,000 (Dec. 2020)[1]U.S.: 810,000 (Oct. 2020)[2]SubsidiariesA9.comAbeBooksAlexa http://InternetAmazon.com ServicesAmazon AirAmazon BooksAmazon FreshAmazon Game StudiosAmazon Lab126Amazon LogisticsAmazon PharmacyAmazon PublishingAmazon RoboticsAmazon StudiosAWSAudibleBody LabsBook DepositoryComiXologyDigital Photography ReviewGoodreadsGraphiqIMDbPillPackRingSouq.comTwitch InteractiveWhole Foods MarketWootZapposWebsiteOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & moreFootnotes / references[1][3][4][5][6][7]Amazon was founded by Jeff Bezos in Bellevue, Washington, on July 5, 1994. It started as an online marketplace for books but expanded to sell electronics, software, video games, apparel, furniture, food, toys, and jewelry. In 2015, Amazon surpassed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the United States by market capitalization.[15] In 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for US$13.4 billion, which substantially increased its footprint as a physical retailer.[16] In 2018, its two-day delivery service, Amazon Prime, surpassed 100 million subscribers worldwide.[17]Amazon is known for its disruption of well-established industries through technological innovation and mass scale.[18][19][20] It is the world's largest online marketplace, AI assistant provider, live-streaming platform and cloud computing platform[21] as measured by revenue and market capitalization.[22] Amazon is the largest Internet company by revenue in the world.[23] It is the second largest private employer in the United States[24] and one of the world's most valuable companies. As of 2020, Amazon has the highest global brand valuation.[25]Amazon distributes downloads and streaming of video, music, and audiobooks through its Prime Video, Amazon Music, Twitch, and Audible subsidiaries. Amazon also has a publishing arm, Amazon Publishing, a film and television studio, Amazon Studios, and a cloud computing subsidiary, Amazon Web Services. It produces consumer electronics including Kindle e-readers, Fire tablets, Fire TV, and Echo devices. Its acquisitions over the years include Ring, Twitch, Whole Foods Market, and IMDb.Amazon has been criticized for practices including technological surveillance overreach,[26] a hyper-competitive and demanding work culture,[27] tax avoidance,[28] and anti-competitive behavior.[29][30]HistoryFurther information: History of AmazonThe company's largest campus outside the United States was inaugurated in Hyderabad, India in September 2019.Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in July 1994. He chose Seattle because of technical talent as Microsoft is located there.[31] In May 1997, Amazon went public. It began selling music and videos in 1998, at which time it began operations internationally by acquiring online sellers of books in United Kingdom and Germany. The following year, Amazon began selling items including video games, consumer electronics, home improvement items, software, games, and http://toys.In 2002, Amazon launched Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provided data on website popularity, Internet traffic patterns and other statistics for marketers and developers. In 2006, Amazon grew its AWS portfolio when Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), which rents computer processing power as well as Simple Storage Service (S3), that rents data storage via the Internet, were made available. That same year, Amazon started Fulfillment by Amazon which managed the inventory of individuals and small companies selling their belongings through the company internet site. In 2012, Amazon bought Kiva Systems to automate its inventory-management business, purchasing Whole Foods Market supermarket chain five years later in 2017.[32]In January 2021, Amazon invested with over $278 million by opening two new centers in Italy (Novara and Modena) and creating over 1100 jobs.[33]On February 2, 2021, Amazon announced that Jeff Bezos would be stepping down as CEO and transition to Executive Chair of Amazon's board in Q3 of 2021. Andy Jassy, who is currently CEO of AWS, will replace Bezos as CEO of the company.[34][35]Board of directorsAmazon founder Jeff Bezos in 2016As of September 2020, the board of directors is:[36]Jeff Bezos, President, CEO, and ChairmanKeith B. Alexander, CEO IronNet Cybersecurity, former NSA DirectorRosalind Brewer, Group President, and COO, StarbucksJamie Gorelick, partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale, and DorrDaniel P. Huttenlocher, Dean of the Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyJudy McGrath, former CEO, MTV NetworksIndra Nooyi, former CEO, PepsiCoJon Rubinstein, former Chairman, and CEO, Palm, Inc.Thomas O. Ryder, former Chairman, and CEO, Reader's Digest AssociationPatty Stonesifer, President, and CEO, Martha's TableWendell P. Weeks, Chairman, President, and CEO, Corning Inc.Merchant partnershipsIn 2000, U.S. toy retailer Toys "R" Us entered into a 10-year agreement with Amazon, valued at $50 million per year plus a cut of sales, under which Toys "R" Us would be the exclusive supplier of toys and baby products on the service, and the chain's website would redirect to Amazon's Toys & Games category. In 2004, Toys "R" Us sued Amazon, claiming that because of a perceived lack of variety in Toys "R" Us stock, Amazon had knowingly allowed third-party sellers to offer items on the service in categories that Toys "R" Us had been granted exclusivity. In 2006, a court ruled in favor of Toys "R" Us, giving it the right to unwind its agreement with Amazon and establish its own independent e-commerce website. The company was later awarded $51 million in damages.[37][38][39]In 2001, Amazon entered into a similar agreement with Borders Group, under which Amazon would comanage Barnes & Noble Welcomes Borders® Bookstore Customers as a co-branded service.[40] Borders pulled out of the arrangement in 2007, with plans to also launch its own online store.[41]On October 18, 2011, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more announced a partnership with DC Comics for the exclusive digital rights to many popular comics, including Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, The Sandman, and Watchmen. The partnership has caused well-known bookstores like Barnes & Noble to remove these titles from their shelves.[42]In November 2013, Amazon announced a partnership with the United States Postal Service to begin delivering orders on Sundays. The service, included in Amazon's standard shipping rates, initiated in metropolitan areas of Los Angeles and New York because of the high-volume and inability to deliver in a timely way, with plans to expand into Dallas, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix by 2014.[43]In June 2017, Nike confirmed a "pilot" partnership with Amazon to sell goods directly on the platform.[44][45][46] This pilot ended in November 2019.[47]As of October 11, 2017, AmazonFresh sold a range of Booths branded products for home delivery in selected areas.[48]In September 2017, Amazon ventured with one of its sellers JV Appario Retail owned by Patni Group which has recorded a total income of US$ 104.44 million (₹ 759 crore) in financial year 2017–18.[49]In November 2018, Amazon reached an agreement with Apple Inc. to sell selected products through the service, via the company and selected Apple Authorized Resellers. As a result of this partnership, only Apple Authorized Resellers may sell Apple products on Amazon effective January 4, 2019.[50][51]LogisticsAmazon uses many different transportation services to deliver packages. Amazon-branded services include:Amazon Air, a cargo airline for bulk transport, with last mile delivery handled either by Amazon Flex, Amazon Logistics, or the United States Postal Service.Amazon Flex, a smartphone app that enables individuals to act as independent contractors, delivering packages to customers from personal vehicles without uniforms. Deliveries include one or two hour Prime Now, same or next day Amazon Fresh groceries, and standard Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more orders, in addition to orders from local stores that contract with Amazon.[52]Amazon Logistics, in which Amazon contracts with small businesses (which it calls "Delivery Service Partners") to perform deliveries to customers. Each business has a fleet of approximately 20-40 Amazon-branded vans, and employees of the contractors wear Amazon uniforms. As of December 2020, it operates in the United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.[53]Amazon Prime Air is an experimental drone delivery service.Amazon directly employs people to work at its warehouses, bulk distribution centers, staffed "Amazon Hub Locker+" locations, and delivery stations where drivers pick up packages. As of December 2020, it is not hiring delivery drivers as employees.[54]Rakuten Intelligence estimated that in 2020 in the United States, the proportion of last-mile deliveries was 56% by Amazon's directly contracted services (mostly in urban areas), 30% by the United States Postal Service (mostly in rural areas), and 14% by UPS.[55] The USPS is used to deliver packages to at least some unstaffed Amazon Lockers, according to on-site signage.Products and servicesMain article: List of Amazon products and servicesOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more's product lines available at its website include several media (books, DVDs, music CDs, videotapes and software), apparel, baby products, consumer electronics, beauty products, gourmet food, groceries, health and personal-care items, industrial & scientific supplies, kitchen items, jewelry, watches, lawn and garden items, musical instruments, sporting goods, tools, automotive items and toys & games.[citation needed] In August 2019, Amazon applied to have a liquor store in San Francisco, CA as a means to ship beer and alcohol within the city.[56] Amazon has separate retail websites for some countries and also offers international shipping of some of its products to certain other countries.[57] In November 2020, the company started an online delivery service dedicated to prescription drugs. The service provides discounts up to 80% for generic drugs and up to 40% for branded drugs for Prime subscribe users. The products can be purchased on the company's website or at over 50,000 bricks-and-mortar pharmacies in the United States.[58]Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more has a number of products and services available, including:AmazonFreshAmazon PrimeAmazon Web ServicesAlexaAppstoreAmazon DriveEchoKindleFire tabletsFire TVVideoKindle StoreMusicMusic UnlimitedAmazon Digital Game StoreAmazon StudiosAmazonWirelessSubsidiariesSee also: List of Amazon locationsAmazon owns over 40 subsidiaries, including Audible, http://Diapers.com, Goodreads, IMDb, Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics), Shopbop, Teachstreet, Twitch and Zappos.[59]http://A9.comhttp://A9.com, a company focused on researching and building innovative technology, has been a subsidiary since 2003.[60]Amazon MaritimeAmazon Maritime, Inc. holds a Federal Maritime Commission license to operate as a non-vessel-owning common carrier (NVOCC), which enables the company to manage its own shipments from China into the United States.[61]Annapurna LabsIn January 2015, Amazon Web Services acquired Annapurna Labs, an Israel-based microelectronics company reputedly for US$350–370M.[62][63][64]Unlock a listen for every momentUnlock a listen for every moment is a seller and producer of spoken audio entertainment, information and educational programming on the Internet. Audible sells digital audiobooks, radio and television programs and audio versions of magazines and newspapers. Through its production arm, Audible Studios, Audible has also become the world's largest producer of downloadable audiobooks. On January 31, 2008, Amazon announced it would buy Audible for about $300 million. The deal closed in March 2008 and Audible became a subsidiary of Amazon.[65]Beijing Century Joyo Courier ServicesBeijing Century Joyo Courier Services is a subsidiary of Amazon and it applied for a freight forwarding license with the US Maritime Commission. Amazon is also building out its logistics in trucking and air freight to potentially compete with UPS and FedEx.[66][67]Brilliance AudioBrilliance Audio is an audiobook publisher founded in 1984 by Michael Snodgrass in Grand Haven, Michigan.[68] The company produced its first 8 audio titles in 1985.[68] The company was purchased by Amazon in 2007 for an undisclosed amount.[69][70] At the time of the acquisition, Brilliance was producing 12–15 new titles a month.[70] It operates as an independent company within Online Shopping site in India: Shop Online for Mobiles, Books, Watches, Shoes and More 1984, Brilliance Audio invented a technique for recording twice as much on the same cassette.[71] The technique involved recording on each of the two channels of each stereo track.[71] It has been credited with revolutionizing the burgeoning audiobook market in the mid-1980s since it made unabridged books affordable.[71]ComiXologyComiXology is a cloud-based digital comics platform with over 200 million comic downloads as of September 2013. It offers a selection of more than 40,000 comic books and graphic novels across Android, iOS, Fire OS and Windows 8 devices and over a web browser. Amazon bought the company in April 2014.[72]CreateSpaceCreateSpace, which offers self-publishing services for independent content creators, publishers, film studios, and music labels, became a subsidiary in 2009.[73][74]EeroEero, stylized as eero, is a company that manufactures mesh-capable routers. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in San Francisco. Amazon announced it would buy Eero in 2019.GoodreadsMain article: GoodreadsGoodreads is a "social cataloging" website founded in December 2006 and launched in January 2007 by Otis Chandler, a software engineer, and entrepreneur, and Elizabeth Khuri. The website allows individuals to freely search Goodreads' extensive user-populated database of books, annotations, and reviews. Users can sign up and register books to generate library catalogs and reading lists. They can also create their own groups of book suggestions and discussions. In December 2007, the site had over 650,000 members and over 10 million books had been added. Amazon bought the company in March 2013.[75]Health NavigatorIn October 2019, Amazon finalized the acquisition of Health Navigator, a startup developing APIs for online health services. The startup will form part of Amazon Care, which is the company's employee healthcare service. This follows the 2018 purchase of PillPack for under $1 billion, which has also been included into Amazon Care.[76]JungleeJunglee is a former online shopping service provided by Amazon that enabled customers to search for products from online and offline retailers in India. Junglee started off as a virtual database that was used to extract information from the Internet and deliver it to enterprise applications. As it progressed, Junglee started to use its database technology to create a single window marketplace on the Internet by making every item from every supplier available for purchase. Web shoppers could locate, compare and transact millions of products from across the Internet shopping mall through one window.[77]Amazon acquired Junglee in 1998, and the website Junglee.com was launched in India in February 2012[78] as a comparison-shopping website. It curated and enabled searching for a diverse variety of products such as clothing, electronics, toys, jewelry and video games, among others, across thousands of online and offline sellers. Millions of products are browsable, the client selects a price, and then they are directed to a seller. In November 2017, Amazon closed down Junglee.com and the former domain currently redirects to Amazon India.[79]Kuiper SystemsMain article: Kuiper SystemsKuiper Systems LLC, is a subsidiary of Amazon, set up to deploy a broadband satellite internet constellation with an announced 3,236 Low Earth orbit satellites to provide satellite based Internet connectivity.[80][81][82]PillPackPillPack is an online pharmacy specializing in shipping pre-sorted medications in by-day packets. It was acquired by Amazon in June 2018.Lab126Main article: Amazon Lab126Lab126, developers of integrated consumer electronics such as the Kindle, became a subsidiary in 2004.[83]RingMain article: Ring Inc.Ring is a home automation company founded by Jamie Siminoff in 2013. It is primarily known for its WiFi powered smart doorbells, but manufactures other devices such as security cameras. Amazon bought Ring for US$1 billion in 2018.[84]ShelfariShelfari was a social cataloging website for books. Shelfari users built virtual bookshelves of the titles which they owned or had read and they could rate, review, tag and discuss their books. Users could also create groups that other members could join, create discussions and talk about books, or other topics. Recommendations could be sent to friends on the site for what books to read. Amazon bought the company in August 2008.[75] Shelfari continued to function as an independent book social network within the Amazon until January 2016, when Amazon announced that it would be merging Shelfari with Goodreads and closing down Shelfari.[85][86]SouqMain article: تسوق اون لاين الاجهزة الالكترونية ، الملابس ، الكمبيوترات، موبايلاتتسوق اون لاين الاجهزة الالكترونية ، الملابس ، الكمبيوترات، موبايلات is the largest E-Commerce platform in the Middle East based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. On March 28, 2017, Amazon confirmed it would be acquiring تسوق اون لاين الاجهزة الالكترونية ، الملابس ، الكمبيوترات، موبايلات for $580 million.[87] تسوق اون لاين الاجهزة الالكترونية ، الملابس ، الكمبيوترات، موبايلات is now a subsidiary of Amazon, and acts as Amazon's arm into the Middle East region.TwitchMain article: Twitch (service)Twitch at the Electronic Entertainment ExpoTwitch is a live streaming platform for video, primarily oriented towards video gaming content. The service was first established as a spin-off of a general-interest streaming service known as http://Justin.tv. Its prominence was eclipsed by that of Twitch, and http://Justin.tv was eventually shut down by its parent company in August 2014 in order to focus exclusively on Twitch.[88] Later that month, Twitch was acquired by Amazon for $970 million.[89] Through Twitch, Amazon also owns Curse, Inc., an operator of video gaming communities and a provider of VoIP services for gaming.[90] Since the acquisition, Twitch began to sell games directly through the platform,[91] and began offering special features for Amazon Prime subscribers.[92]The site's rapid growth had been boosted primarily by the prominence of major esports competitions on the service, leading GameSpot senior esports editor Rod Breslau to have described the service as "the ESPN of esports".[93] As of 2015, the service had over 1.5 million broadcasters and 100 million monthly viewers.[94]On August 10, 2020, Amazon announced the rebranding of Twitch Prime, the live-streaming site, renaming it Prime Gaming [1] in another attempt to crack the video game market after failing a big-budget game effort. With Twitch Prime, users will be given a free subscription to Twitch, with free games from small studios and discounts for larger titles like Grand Theft Auto and League of Legends.[95]On November 2, 2020, Twitch announced a virtual flagship conference and named it GlitchCon instead of TwitchCon to be held on November 14. The main aim of the conference will be to bring its numerous, disparate communities of streamers and fans together where they can be real life confidants.[96]Whole Foods MarketWhole Foods Market store in Ann Arbor, MichiganWhole Foods Market is an American supermarket chain exclusively featuring foods without artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.[97]On August 23, 2017, it was reported that the Federal Trade Commission approved the merger between Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more and Whole Foods Market.[98] The following day it was announced that the deal would be closed on August 28, 2017.[99]Supply chainAmazon first launched its distribution network in 1997 with two fulfillment centers in Seattle and New Castle, Delaware. Amazon has several types of distribution facilities consisting of crossdock centers, fulfillment centers, sortation centers, delivery stations, Prime now hubs, and Prime air hubs. There are 75 fulfillment centers and 25 sortation centers with over 125,000 employees.[100][101] Employees are responsible for five basic tasks: unpacking and inspecting incoming goods; placing goods in storage and recording their location; picking goods from their computer recorded locations to make up an individual shipment; sorting and packing orders; and shipping. A computer that records the location of goods and maps out routes for pickers plays a key role: employees carry hand-held computers which communicate with the central computer and monitor their rate of progress. Some warehouses are partially automated with systems built by Amazon Robotics.Amazon.fr : livres, DVD, jeux vidéo, musique, high-tech, informatique, jouets, vêtements, chaussures, sport, bricolage, maison, beauté, puériculture, épicerie et plus encore ! fulfillment center in Lauwin-Planque, Francecompra online de electrónica, libros, deporte, hogar, moda y mucho más. fulfillment center in San Fernando de Henares, SpainLow Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more fulfillment center in Glenrothes, Scotland, UKGünstige Preise für Elektronik & Foto, Filme, Musik, Bücher, Games, Spielzeug & mehr fulfillment center in Graben, GermanyAmazon | 本, ファッション, 家電から食品まで | アマゾン fulfillment center in Ichikawa, JapanAmazon fulfillment center in Macon, Georgia, U.S.WebsiteOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & moreOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more-Logo.svgLogo since 2000ScreenshotOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more screenshot.jpegHomepageType of siteE-commerceAvailable inArabicEnglishFrenchGermanSpanishSwedishItalianChineseJapanesePortugueseDutchTurkishOwnerAmazonURLOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more (original U.S. site)CommercialYesRegistrationOptionalLaunched1995; 26 years agoCurrent statusActiveWritten inC++ and Java[102]The domain Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more attracted at least 615 million visitors annually by 2008;[103] by the beginning of 2016, over 130 million customers were visiting the U.S. website each month.[104] The company has invested heavily in a massive amount of server capacity for its website, especially to handle the excessive traffic during the Christmas holiday season.[105] According to Alexa Internet rankings, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more is the third most popular website in the United States and the 14th most popular website worldwide.Results generated by Amazon's search engine are partly determined by promotional fees.[106] The company's localized storefronts, which differ in selection and prices, are differentiated by top-level domain and country code:Region Country Domain name SinceAmericas Brazil Compre livros, Kindle, Echo, Fire Tv e mais. December 2012Canada Low Prices - Fast Shipping - Millions of Items June 2002Mexico Precios bajos - Envío rápido - Millones de productos August 2013United States Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more July 1995Asia China 亚马逊中国 z.cn, 一站放心购全球 September 2004India Online Shopping site in India: Shop Online for Mobiles, Books, Watches, Shoes and More June 2013Japan Amazon | 本, ファッション, 家電から食品まで | アマゾン November 2000Singapore Shop Online for Electronics, Computers, Books, Toys, DVDs, Baby, Grocery, & more July 2017Turkey Amazon.com.tr: Elektronik, bilgisayar, akıllı telefon, kitap, oyuncak, yapı market, ev, mutfak, oyun konsolları ürünleri ve daha fazlası için internet alışveriş sitesi September 2018United Arab Emirates Welcome to Amazon.ae Shop Online in UAE for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Grocery & more May 2019Saudi Arabia تسوق اون لاين الاجهزة الالكترونية ,الملابس , الكمبيوترات, البقالة و اكثر - سوق.كوم الان اصبحت أمازون June 2020Europe France Amazon.fr : livres, DVD, jeux vidéo, musique, high-tech, informatique, jouets, vêtements, chaussures, sport, bricolage, maison, beauté, puériculture, épicerie et plus encore ! August 2000Germany Günstige Preise für Elektronik & Foto, Filme, Musik, Bücher, Games, Spielzeug & mehr October 1998Italy elettronica, libri, musica, fashion, videogiochi, DVD e tanto altro November 2010Netherlands Groot aanbod, kleine prijzen in o.a. Elektronica, boeken, sport en meer November 2014Spain compra online de electrónica, libros, deporte, hogar, moda y mucho más. September 2011Sweden Låga priser på Elektronik, Böcker, Sportutrustning & mer October 2020United Kingdom Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more October 1998Oceania Australia Shop online for Electronics, Apparel, Toys, Books, DVDs & more November 2017ReviewsSee also: Criticism of Amazon § Amazon reviewsAmazon allows users to submit reviews to the web page of each product. Reviewers must rate the product on a rating scale from one to five stars. Amazon provides a badging option for reviewers which indicate the real name of the reviewer (based on confirmation of a credit card account) or which indicate that the reviewer is one of the top reviewers by popularity. Customers may comment or vote on the reviews, indicating whether they found a review helpful to them. If a review is given enough "helpful" hits, it appears on the front page of the product. In 2010, Amazon was reported as being the largest single source of Internet consumer reviews.[107]When publishers asked Bezos why Amazon would publish negative reviews, he defended the practice by claiming that Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more was "taking a different approach ... we want to make every book available—the good, the bad and the ugly ... to let truth loose".[108]There have been cases of positive reviews being written and posted by public relations companies on behalf of their clients[109] and instances of writers using pseudonyms to leave negative reviews of their rivals' works.Content search"Search Inside the Book" is a feature which allows customers to search for keywords in the full text of many books in the catalog.[110][111] The feature started with 120,000 titles (or 33 million pages of text) on October 23, 2003.[112] There are about 300,000 books in the program. Amazon has cooperated with around 130 publishers to allow users to perform these searches.[citation needed]To avoid copyright violations, Amazon does not return the computer-readable text of the book. Instead, it returns a picture of the matching page, instructs the web browser to disable printing and puts limits on the number of pages in a book a single user can access. Additionally, customers can purchase online access to some of the same books via the "Amazon Upgrade" program.[citation needed]Third-party sellersAmazon derives many of its sales (around 40% in 2008) from third-party sellers who sell products on Amazon.[113] Associates receive a commission for referring customers to Amazon by placing links to Amazon on their websites if the referral results in a sale. Worldwide, Amazon has "over 900,000 members" in its affiliate programs.[114] In the middle of 2014, the Amazon Affiliate Program is used by 1.2% of all websites and it is the second most popular advertising network after Google Ads.[115] It is frequently used by websites and non-profits to provide a way for supporters to earn them a commission.[116] Amazon reported over 1.3 million sellers sold products through Amazon's websites in 2007. Unlike eBay, Amazon sellers do not have to maintain separate payment accounts; all payments are handled by Amazon.[citation needed]Associates can access the Amazon catalog directly on their websites by using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) XML service. A new affiliate product, aStore, allows Associates to embed a subset of Amazon products within another website, or linked to another website. In June 2010, Amazon Seller Product Suggestions was launched (rumored to be internally called "Project Genesis") to provide more transparency to sellers by recommending specific products to third-party sellers to sell on Amazon. Products suggested are based on customers' browsing history.[117] In 2019, Amazon launched a bigger local online store in Singapore to expand its product selection in the face of intensifying competition with competitors in the region.[118]In July 2019 the 3rd U.S. City Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that Amazon can be held accountable for faulty third-party sales.[119] The decision ran counter to a past lower court ruling that had favored Amazon. Heather Oberdorf had sued the company in 2016 over a dog leash that snapped, causing permanent loss of vision in one eye. If upheld, the decision would expose Amazon and similar platform businesses to strict liability lawsuits for defective products, which represents a major change in the law.[120] The panel sent the case back to the lower court, to decide whether the leash was actually defective.[121]Amazon sales rankThe Amazon sales rank (ASR) provides an indication of the popularity of a product sold on any Amazon locale. It is a relative indicator of popularity that is updated hourly. Effectively, it is a "best sellers list" for the millions of products stocked by Amazon.[122] While the ASR has no direct effect on the sales of a product, it is used by Amazon to determine which products to include in its bestsellers lists.[122] Products that appear in these lists enjoy additional exposure on the Amazon website and this may lead to an increase in sales. In particular, products that experience large jumps (up or down) in their sales ranks may be included within Amazon's lists of "movers and shakers"; such a listing provides additional exposure that might lead to an increase in sales.[123] For competitive reasons, Amazon does not release actual sales figures to the public. However, Amazon has now begun to release point of sale data via the Nielsen BookScan service to verified authors.[124] While the ASR has been the source of much speculation by publishers, manufacturers, and marketers, Amazon itself does not release the details of its sales rank calculation algorithm. Some companies have analyzed Amazon sales data to generate sales estimates based on the ASR,[125] though Amazon states:Please keep in mind that our sales rank figures are simply meant to be a guide of general interest for the customer and not definitive sales information for publishers—we assume you have this information regularly from your distribution sources— Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more Help[126]Multi-level sales strategyAmazon employs a multi-level e-commerce strategy. Amazon started by focusing on business-to-consumer relationships between itself and its customers and business-to-business relationships between itself and its suppliers and then moved to facilitate customer-to-customer with the Amazon marketplace which acts as an intermediary to facilitate transactions. The company lets anyone sell nearly anything using its platform. In addition to an affiliate program that lets anyone post Amazon links and earn a commission on click-through sales, there is now a program which lets those affiliates build entire websites based on Amazon's platform.[127]Some other large e-commerce sellers use Amazon to sell their products in addition to selling them through their own websites. The sales are processed through Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more and end up at individual sellers for processing and order fulfillment and Amazon leases space for these retailers. Small sellers of used and new goods go to Amazon Marketplace to offer goods at a fixed price.[128]In November 2015, Amazon opened a physical Amazon Books store in University Village in Seattle. The store is 5,500 square feet and prices for all products match those on its website.[129] Amazon will open its tenth physical book store in 2017;[130] media speculation suggests Amazon plans to eventually roll out 300 to 400 bookstores around the country.[129]In June 2018, it was reported that Amazon planned to open brick and mortar bookstores in Germany.[131]In September 2020, Amazon launched Luxury Stores on its mobile app, where Oscar de la Renta become the first and only label to partner with the firm.[132]FinancesOnline Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more is primarily a retail site with a sales revenue model; Amazon takes a small percentage of the sale price of each item that is sold through its website while also allowing companies to advertise their products by paying to be listed as featured products.[133] As of 2018, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more is ranked 8th on the Fortune 500 rankings of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.[134]For the fiscal year 2018, Amazon reported earnings of US$10.07 billion, with an annual revenue of US$232.887 billion, an increase of 30.9% over the previous fiscal cycle. Since 2007 sales increased from 14.835 billion to 232.887 billion, thanks to continued business expansion.[135]Amazon's market capitalization went over US$1 trillion again in early February 2020 after the announcement of the fourth quarter 2019 results.[136] Amazon's total employees now number 798,000.[136]Year Revenuein mil. USD$ Net incomein mil. USD$ Total Assetsin mil. USD$ Employees2007[137] 14,835 476 6,485 17,0002008[138] 19,166 645 8,314 20,7002009[139] 24,509 902 13,813 24,3002010[140] 34,204 1,152 18,797 33,7002011[141] 48,077 631 25,278 56,2002012[142] 61,093 −39 32,555 88,4002013[143] 74,452 274 40,159 117,3002014[144] 88,988 −241 54,505 154,1002015[145] 107,006 596 64,747 230,8002016[146] 135,987 2,371 83,402 341,4002017[147] 177,866 3,033 131,310 566,0002018[148] 232,887 10,073 162,648 647,5002019[149] 280,522 11,588 225,248 798,0002020[150] 386,064 21,331 321,195 1,298,000ControversiesIt has been suggested that sections about criticism of Amazon be split out and merged into the article titled Criticism of Amazon, which already exists. (Discuss)Main article: Criticism of AmazonSince its founding, the company has attracted criticism and controversy for its actions, including: supplying law enforcement with facial recognition surveillance tools;[151] forming cloud computing partnerships with the CIA;[152] leading customers away from bookshops;[153] adversely impacting the environment;[154] placing a low priority on warehouse conditions for workers; actively opposing unionization efforts;[155] remotely deleting content purchased by Amazon Kindle users; taking public subsidies; seeking to patent its 1-Click technology; engaging in anti-competitive actions and price discrimination;[29][30] and reclassifying LGBT books as adult content.[156][157] Criticism has also concerned various decisions over whether to censor or publish content such as the WikiLeaks website, works containing libel and material facilitating dogfight, cockfight, or pedophile activities. In December 2011, Amazon faced a backlash from small businesses for running a one-day deal to promote its new Price Check app. Shoppers who used the app to check prices in a brick-and-mortar store were offered a 5% discount to purchase the same item from Amazon.[158] Companies like Groupon, eBay and http://Taap.it countered Amazon's promotion by offering $10 off from their products.[159][160]The company has also faced accusations of putting undue pressure on suppliers to maintain and extend its profitability. One effort to squeeze the most vulnerable book publishers was known within the company as the Gazelle Project, after Bezos suggested, according to Brad Stone, "that Amazon should approach these small publishers the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle."[106] In July 2014, the Federal Trade Commission launched a lawsuit against the company alleging it was promoting in-app purchases to children, which were being transacted without parental consent.[161] In 2019, Amazon banned selling skin-lightening and racist products that might affect the consumer's health.[162]Environmental impactIn 2018, Amazon emitted 44.4 million metric tons of CO2.[163]In September 2019, Amazon workers organized a walk-out as part of the Global Climate Strike.[164][165] An internal group called Amazon Employees for Climate Justice said over 1,800 employees in 25 cities and 14 countries committed to participating in the action to protest Amazon's environmental impact and inaction to climate change.[164] This group of workers petitioned Jeff Bezos and Amazon with three specific demands: to stop donating to politicians and lobbyists that deny climate change, to stop working with fossil fuel companies to accelerate oil and gas extraction, and to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2030.[166][165]Amazon has introduced the Shipment Zero program, however Shipment Zero has only committed to reducing 50% of its shipments to net zero by 2030. Also, even that 50% does not necessarily mean a decrease in emissions compared to current levels given Amazon's rate of growth in orders.[167]That said, Amazon's CEO has also signed the Climate Pledge, in which Amazon would meet the Paris climate agreement goals 10 years ahead of schedule, and would be carbon-neutral by 2040. Besides this pledge, it also ordered 100 000 electric delivery trucks from Rivian.[168]Amazon funds both climate denial groups including the Competitive Enterprise Institute and politicians denying climate change including Jim Inhofe.[169][170]In November 2018, a community action group opposed the construction permit delivered to Goodman Group for the construction of a 160,000 square metres (1,700,000 sq ft) logisitics platform Amazon will operate at Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport. In February 2019, Étienne Tête filed a request on behalf of a second regional community action group asking the administrative court to decide whether the platform served a sufficiently important public interest to justify its environmental impact. Construction has been suspended while these matters are decided.[154]Amazon considered making an option for Prime customers to have packages delivered at the most efficient and environmentally-friendly time (allowing the company to combine shipments with the same destination) but decided against it out of fear customers might reduce purchases.[171] Since 2019, the company has instead offered customers an "Amazon Day" option, where all orders are delivered on the same day, emphasizing customer convenience, and it occasionally offers Prime customers credits in return for selecting slower and less expensive shipping options.[171]Selling counterfeit, unsafe and discarded itemsThe selling of counterfeit products by Amazon has attracted widespread notice, with both purchases marked as being fulfilled by third parties and those shipped directly from Amazon warehouses being found to be counterfeit. This has included some products sold directly by Amazon itself and marked as "ships from and sold by Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more".[172] Counterfeit charging cables sold on Amazon as purported Apple products have been found to be a fire hazard.[173][174] Such counterfeits have included a wide array of products, from big ticket items to every day items such as tweezers, gloves,[175] and umbrellas.[176] More recently, this has spread to Amazon's newer grocery services.[177] Counterfeiting was reported to be especially a problem for artists and small businesses whose products were being rapidly copied for sale on the site.[178]One Amazon business practice that encourages counterfeiting is that, by default, seller accounts on Amazon are set to use "commingled inventory". With this practice, the goods that a seller sends to Amazon are mixed with those of the producer of the product and with those of all other sellers that supply what is supposed to be the same product.[179]In June 2019, Buzzfeed reported that some products identified on the site as "Amazon's choice" were low quality, had a history of customer complaints, and exhibited evidence of product review manipulation.[180]In August 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that they had found more than 4,000 items for sale on Amazon's site that had been declared unsafe by federal agencies, had misleading labels, or had been banned by federal regulators.[181]In the wake of the WSJ investigation, three U.S. senators – Richard Blumenthal, Ed Markey, and Bob Menendez – sent an open letter to Jeff Bezos demanding him to take action about the selling of unsafe items on the site. The letter said that "Unquestionably, Amazon is falling short of its commitment to keeping safe those consumers who use its massive platform."[182] The letter included a number of questions about the company's practices and gave Bezos a deadline to respond by September 29, 2019, saying "We call on you to immediately remove from the platform all the problematic products examined in the recent WSJ report; explain how you are going about this process; conduct a sweeping internal investigation of your enforcement and consumer safety policies; and institute changes that will continue to keep unsafe products off your platform."[182] Earlier in the same month, senators Blumenthal and Menendez had sent Bezos a letter about the Buzzfeed report.[182]In December 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that some people were literally retrieving trash out of dumpsters and selling it as new products on Amazon. The reporters ran an experiment and determined that it was easy for a seller to set up an account and sell cleaned up junk as new products. In addition to trash, sellers were obtaining inventory from clearance bins, thrift stores, and pawn shops.[183][184]In August 2020, an appeals court in California ruled that Amazon can be held liable for unsafe products sold on its website. A California woman had bought a replacement laptop battery that caught fire and caused her to receive third-degree burns.[185]Tax avoidanceMain article: Amazon taxAmazon's tax affairs were investigated in China, Germany, Poland, South Korea, France, Japan, Ireland, Singapore, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and Portugal.[186] According to a report released by Fair Tax Mark in 2019, Amazon is the worst offender of tax avoidance, having paid an 12% effective tax rate between 2010-2018, in contrast with 35% corporate tax rate in the US during the same period. Amazon countered that it had an 24% effective tax rate during the same period.[187]Comments by Donald Trump and Bernie SandersIn early 2018, President Donald Trump repeatedly criticized Amazon's use of the United States Postal Service and its prices for the delivery of packages, stating, "I am right about Amazon costing the United States Post Office massive amounts of money for being their Delivery Boy," Trump tweeted. "Amazon should pay these costs (plus) and not have them bourne [sic] by the American Taxpayer."[188] Amazon's shares fell by 6 percent as a result of Trump's comments. Shepard Smith of Fox News disputed Trump's claims and pointed to evidence that the USPS was offering below-market prices to all customers with no advantage to Amazon. However, analyst Tom Forte pointed to the fact that Amazon's payments to the USPS are not made public and that their contract has a reputation for being "a sweetheart deal".[189][190]Throughout the summer of 2018, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders criticized Amazon's wages and working conditions in a series of YouTube videos and media appearances. He also pointed to the fact that Amazon had paid no federal income tax in the previous year.[191] Sanders solicited stories from Amazon warehouse workers who felt exploited by the company.[192] One such story, by James Bloodworth, described the environment as akin to "a low-security prison" and stated that the company's culture used an Orwellian newspeak.[193] These reports cited a finding by New Food Economy that one third of fulfilment center workers in Arizona were on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).[194] Responses by Amazon included incentives for employees to tweet positive stories and a statement which called the salary figures used by Sanders "inaccurate and misleading". The statement also charged that it was inappropriate for him to refer to SNAP as "food stamps".[192] On September 5, 2018, Sanders along with Ro Khanna introduced the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies (Stop BEZOS) Act aimed at Amazon and other alleged beneficiaries of corporate welfare such as Walmart, McDonald's and Uber.[195] Among the bill's supporters were Tucker Carlson of Fox News and Matt Taibbi who criticized himself and other journalists for not covering Amazon's contribution to wealth inequality earlier.[196][197]On October 2, 2018, Amazon announced that its minimum wage for all American employees would be raised to $15 per hour. Sanders congratulated the company for making this decision.[198]Opposition to trade unionsMain article: Amazon worker organizationA sticker expressing an anti-Amazon message is pictured on the back of a street sign in Seattle.Amazon has opposed efforts by trade unions to organize in both the United States and the United Kingdom. In 2001, 850 employees in Seattle were laid off by Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more after a unionization drive. The Washington Alliance of Technological Workers (WashTech) accused the company of violating union laws, and claimed Amazon managers subjected them to intimidation and heavy propaganda. Amazon denied any link between the unionization effort and layoffs.[199] Also in 2001, Low Prices in Electronics, Books, Sports Equipment & more hired a US management consultancy organization, The Burke Group, to assist in defeating a campaign by the Graphical, Paper and Media Union (GPMU, now part of Unite the Union) to achieve recognition in the Milton Keynes distribution depot. It was alleged that the company victimized or sacked four union members during the 2001 recognition drive and held a series of captive meetings with employees.[200]An Amazon training video that was leaked in 2018 stated "We are not anti-union, but we are not neutral either. We do not believe unions are in the best interest of our customers or shareholders or most importantly, our associates."[201] Two years later, it was found that Whole Foods was using a heat map to track which stores had the highest levels of pro-union sentiment. Factors including racial diversity, proximity to other unions, poverty levels in the surrounding community and calls to the National Labor Relations Board were named as contributors to "unionization risk".[202]In early 2020, an Amazon internal documents were leaked, it said that Whole Foods has been using an interactive heat map to monitor its 510 locations across the U.S. and assign each store a unionization risk score based on such criteria as employee loyalty, turnover rate and racial diversity. Data collected in the heat map suggest that stores with low racial and ethnic diversity, especially those located in poor communities, are more likely to unionize.[203][204]Working conditionsFormer employees, current employees, the media, and politicians have criticized Amazon for poor working conditions at the company.[205][206][207] In 2011, it was publicized that workers had to carry out tasks in 100 °F (38 °C) heat at the Breinigsville, Pennsylvania warehouse. As a result of these inhumane conditions, employees became extremely uncomfortable and suffered from dehydration and collapse. Loading-bay doors were not opened to allow in fresh air because of concerns over theft.[208] Amazon's initial response was to pay for an ambulance to sit outside on call to cart away overheated employees.[208] The company eventually installed air conditioning at the warehouse.[209]Some workers, "pickers", who travel the building with a trolley and a handheld scanner "picking" customer orders can walk up to 15 miles (24 kilometres) during their workday and if they fall behind on their targets, they can be reprimanded. The handheld scanners give real-time information to the employee on how quickly or slowly they are working; the scanners also serve to allow Team Leads and Area Managers to track the specific locations of employees and how much "idle time" they gain when not working.[210][211]In a German television report broadcast in February 2013, journalists Diana Löbl and Peter Onneken conducted a covert investigation at the distribution center of Amazon in the town of Bad Hersfeld in the German state of Hessen. The report highlights the behavior of some of the security guards, themselves being employed by a third party company, who apparently either had a neo-Nazi background or deliberately dressed in neo-Nazi apparel and who were intimidating foreign and temporary female workers at its distribution centers. The third party security company involved was delisted by Amazon as a business contact shortly after that report.[212][213][214][215]In March 2015, it was reported in The Verge that Amazon would be removing non-compete clauses of 18 months in length from its US employment contracts for hourly-paid workers, after criticism that it was acting unreasonably in preventing such employees from finding other work. Even short-term temporary workers have to sign contracts that prohibit them from working at any company where they would "directly or indirectly" support any good or service that competes with those they helped support at Amazon, for 18 months after leaving Amazon, even if they are fired or made redundant.[216][217]A 2015 front-page article in The New York Times profiled several former Amazon employees[218] who together described a "bruising" workplace culture in which workers with illness or other personal crises were pushed out or unfairly evaluated.[15] Bezos responded by writing a Sunday memo to employees,[219] in which he disputed the Times's account of "shockingly callous management practices" that he said would never be tolerated at the company.[15]In an effort to boost employee morale, on November 2, 2015, Amazon announced that it would be extending six weeks of paid leave for new mothers and fathers. This change includes birth parents and adoptive parents and can be applied in conjunction with existing maternity leave and medical leave for new mothers.[220]In mid-2018, investigations by journalists and media outlets such as The Guardian reported poor working conditions at Amazon's fulfillment centers.[221][222] Later in 2018, another article exposed poor working conditions for Amazon's delivery drivers.[223]In response to criticism that Amazon does not pay its workers a livable wage, Jeff Bezos announced beginning November 1, 2018, all US and UK Amazon employees will earn a $15 an hour minimum wage.[224] Amazon will also lobby to make $15 an hour the federal minimum wage.[225] At the same time, Amazon also eliminated stock awards and bonuses for hourly employees.[226]On Black Friday 2018, Amazon warehouse workers in several European countries, including Italy, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, went on strike to protest inhumane working conditions and low pay.[227]The Daily Beast reported in March 2019 that emergency services responded to 189 calls from 46 Amazon warehouses in 17 states between the years 2013 and 2018, all relating to suicidal employees. The workers attributed their mental breakdowns to employer-imposed social isolation, aggressive surveillance, and the hurried and dangerous working conditions at these fulfillment centers. One former employee told The Daily Beast "It's this isolating colony of hell where people having breakdowns is a regular occurrence."[228]On July 15, 2019, during the onset of Amazon's "Prime Day" sale event, Amazon employees working in the United States and Germany went on strike in protest of unfair wages and poor working conditions.[229][230]In March 2020, during the coronavirus outbreak when the government instructed companies to restrict social contact, Amazon's UK staff was forced to work overtime to meet the demand spiked by the disease. A GMB spokesperson said the company had put "profit before safety".[231] GMB has continued to raise concerns regarding "gruelling conditions, unrealistic productivity targets, surveillance, bogus self-employment and a refusal to recognise or engage with unions unless forced", calling for the UK government and safety regulators to take action to address these issues.[232]In August 2019, BBC reported on Amazon's Twitter ambassadors. Their constant support for and defense of Amazon and its practices have led many Twitter users to suspect that they are in fact bots, being used to dismiss the issues effecting Amazon workers.[233]In its 2020 statement to its US shareholders, Amazon stated that "we respect and support the Core Conventions of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights". Operation of these Global Human Rights Principles has been "long-held at Amazon, and codifying them demonstrates our support for fundamental human rights and the dignity of workers everywhere we operate".[234]On November 27, 2020, Amnesty International said, workers in working for Amazon have faced great health and safety risks since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Black Friday, one of Amazon's busiest periods, company failed to ensure the key safety features in France, Poland, the United Kingdom and USA. Workers have been risking their health and lives to ensure essential goods are delivered to consumer doorsteps, helping Amazon achieve record profits.[235]On January 6, 2021, Amazon said that it is planning to build 20,000 affordable houses by spending $2 billion in the regions where the major employments are located.[236]On January 24, 2021, Amazon said that it was planning to open a pop-up clinic hosted in partnership with Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle in order to vaccinate 2,000 persons against COVID-19 on the first day.[237]In February 2021, Amazon said that it was planning to put cameras in its delivery vehicles. Although many drivers were upset of this decision, Amazon said that the videos were only be sent in certain circumstances.[238]Conflict of interest with the CIA and DODIn 2013, Amazon secured a US$600 million contract with the CIA, which poses a potential conflict of interest involving the Bezos-owned The Washington Post and his newspaper's coverage of the CIA.[239] Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies, said, "It's a serious potential conflict of interest for a major newspaper like The Washington Post to have a contractual relationship with the government and the most secret part of the government."[240] This was later followed by a US$10 billion contract with the U.S. Department of Defense.[152]Seattle head tax and houselessness servicesIn May 2018, Amazon threatened the Seattle City Council over an employee head tax proposal that would have funded houselessness services and low-income housing. The tax would have cost Amazon about $800 per employee, or 0.7% of their average salary.[241] In retaliation, Amazon paused construction on a new building, threatened to limit further investment in the city, and funded a repeal campaign. Although originally passed, the measure was soon repealed after an expensive repeal campaign spearheaded by Amazon.[242]Nashville Operations Center of ExcellenceThe incentives given by the Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County to Amazon for their new Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville Yards, a site owned by developer Southwest Value Partners, have been controversial, including the decision by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development to keep the full extent of the agreement secret.[243] The incentives include "$102 million in combined grants and tax credits for a scaled-down Amazon office building" as well as "a $65 million cash grant for capital expenditures" in exchange for the creation of 5,000 jobs over seven years.[243]The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government called for more transparency.[243] Another local organization known as the People's Alliance for Transit, Housing, and Employment (PATHE) suggested no public money should be given to Amazon; instead, it should be spent on building more public housing for the working poor and the homeless and investing in more public transportation for Nashvillians.[244] Others suggested incentives to big corporations do not improve the local economy.[245]In November 2018, the proposal to give Amazon $15 million in incentives was criticized by the Nashville Firefighters Union and the Nashville chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police,[246] who called it "corporate welfare."[247] In February 2019, another $15.2 million in infrastructure was approved by the council, although it was voted down by three council members, including Councilwoman Angie Henderson who dismissed it as "cronyism".[248]Facial recognition technology and law enforcementWhile Amazon has publicly opposed secret government surveillance, as revealed by Freedom of Information Act requests it has supplied facial recognition support to law enforcement in the form of the Rekognition technology and consulting services. Initial testing included the city of Orlando, Florida, and Washington County, Oregon. Amazon offered to connect Washington County with other Amazon government customers interested in Rekognition and a body camera manufacturer. These ventures are opposed by a coalition of civil rights groups with concern that they could lead to an expansion of surveillance and be prone to abuse. Specifically, it could automate the identification and tracking of anyone, particularly in the context of potential police body camera integration.[151][249][250] Because of the backlash, the city of Orlando publicly stated it will no longer use the technology, but may revisit this decision at a later date.[251]Access to NHS dataThe UK government awarded Amazon a contract that gives the company free access to information about healthcare published by the UK's National Health Service.[252] This will, for example, be used by Amazon's Alexa to answer medical questions, although Alexa also uses many other sources of information. The material, which excludes patient data, could also allow the company to make, advertise and sell its own products. The contract allows Amazon access to information on symptoms, causes and definitions of conditions, and "all related copyrightable content and data and other materials". Amazon can then create "new products, applications, cloud-based services and/or distributed software", which the NHS will not benefit from financially. The company can also share the information with third parties. The government said that allowing Alexa devices to offer expert health advice to users will reduce pressure on doctors and pharmacists.[253]Collection of data and surveillanceOn February 17, 2020, a Panorama documentary highlighted the amount of data collected by the company and the move into surveillance causing concerns of politicians and regulators in the US and Europe.[254][255]Antitrust complaintsOn June 11, 2020, the European Union announced that it will be pressing charges against Amazon over its treatment of third-party e-commerce sellers.[256]In July 2020, Amazon along with other tech giants Apple, Google and Facebook were accused of maintaining harmful power and anti-competitive strategies to quash potential competitors in the market.[257] The CEOs of respective firms appeared in a teleconference on July 29, 2020 before the lawmakers of the U.S. House Antitrust Subcommittee.[258] In October 2020, the antitrust subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives released a report accusing Amazon of abusing a monopoly position in ecommerce to unfairly compete with sellers on its own platform.[259]Anti-vaccination and non-scientific cancer 'cures'Anti-vaccination and non evidence-based cancer 'cures' have routinely appeared high in Amazon's books and videos. This may be due to positive reviews posted by supporters of untested methods, or gaming of the algorithms by truther communities, rather than any intent on Amazon's part.[260][261]Wired magazine found that Amazon Prime Video was full of 'pseudoscientific documentaries laden with conspiracy theories and pointing viewers towards unproven treatments'.[262]U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) expressed concern that Amazon was “surfacing and recommending products and content that discourage parents from vaccinating their children.” Amazon subsequently removed five anti-vaccination documentaries.[263] Amazon also removed 12 books that unscientifically claimed bleach could cure conditions including malaria and childhood autism. This followed an NBC News report about parents who used it in a misguided attempt to reverse their children's autism.[264]Response to COVID-19 pandemicHazard pay and overtimeAmazon introduced new policies to reward frontline workers for continuing to come into work during the crisis. One of these policies, announced on March 16, 2020 was a temporary $2-per-hour rise in pay. This policy expired in June 2020.[265] Amazon also announced a policy of unlimited, unpaid time off that lasted until April 30, 2020.[266]Additional hiring as a result of pandemicIn response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Amazon introduced temporary restrictions on the sale of non-essential goods. In March 2020, it hired some 100,000 more staff in the US to help deal with essential items such as food and medical equipment. It also reported that it was so busy that it was unable to bring on board new customers and therefore had to have a waiting list. In April, the firm announced that it was going to hire up to 75,000 workers to help deal with increased demand.[267] In September 2020, the company announced it would hire an additional 100,000 workers in the United States and Canada.[268]Employee protests during COVID-19During the pandemic there have been protests by the Amazon workers at warehouses in the US, France, and Italy. The BBC reported that there were confirmed coronavirus cases in more than 50 locations.[267] The reason for the protests is the company policy to "run normal shifts" despite many positive cases of the virus.[269] According to the UNI Global Union, "Amazon cannot act like this is business as usual. We are facing a deadly virus that has already taken the lives of thousands of people and paralyzed the world's economy. If distribution centers are not safe for workers right now, they should be closed immediately."[269] In Spain, the company has faced legal complaints over its policies.[270] Despite workers at 19 warehouses in the US having tested positive for COVID-19, Amazon did not shut down warehouses, only doing so when forced by the government or because of protests. A group of US Senators wrote an open letter to Bezos in March 2020, expressing concerns about worker safety.[271]An Amazon warehouse protest on March 30, 2020, in Staten Island led to its organizer, Christian Smalls, being fired. Amazon defended the decision by saying that Smalls was supposed to be in self-isolation at the time and leading the protest put its other workers at risk.[270] Smalls has called this response "ridiculous".[272] The New York state attorney general, Letitia James, is considering legal retaliation to the firing which she called "immoral and inhumane."[270] She also asked the National Labor Relations Board to investigate Smalls' firing. Smalls himself accuses the company of retaliating against him for organizing a protest.[272] At the Staten Island warehouse, one case of COVID-19 has been confirmed by Amazon; workers believe there are more, and say that the company has not cleaned the building, given them suitable protection, or informed them of potential cases.[271] Smalls added specifically that there are many workers there in risk categories, and the protest only demanded that the building be sanitized and the employees continue to be paid during that process.[272] Derrick Palmer, another worker at the Staten Island facility, told The Verge that Amazon quickly communicates through text and email when they need the staff to complete mandatory overtime, but have not been using this to tell people when a colleague has contracted the disease, instead waiting days and sending managers to speak to employees in person.[271] Amazon claim that the Staten Island protest only attracted 15 of the facility's 5,000 workers,[273] while other sources describe much larger crowds.[271]On April 14, 2020, two Amazon employees were fired for "repeatedly violating internal policies", after they had circulated a petition about health risks for warehouse workers internally.[274]On May 4, Amazon vice president Tim Bray resigned "in dismay" over the firing of whistle-blower employees who spoke out about the lack of COVID-19 protections, including shortages of face masks and failure to implement widespread temperature checks which were promised by the company. He said that the firings were "chickenshit" and "designed to create a climate of fear" in Amazon warehouses.[275]In a Q1 2020 financial report, Jeff Bezos announced that Amazon expects to spend $4 billion or more (predicted operating profit for Q2) on COVID-19-related issues: personal protective equipment, higher wages for hourly teams, cleaning for facilities, and expanding Amazon's COVID-19 testing capabilities. These measures intend to improve the safety and well-being of hundreds of thousands of the company's employees.[276]From the beginning of 2020 until September of the same year, the company declares that the total number of workers who have contracted the infection is 19,816.[277]Closure in FranceThe SUD (trade unions) brought a court case against Amazon for unsafe working conditions. This resulted in a French district court (Nanterre) ruling on April 15, 2020, ordering the company to limit, under threat of a €1 million per day fine, its deliveries to certain essential items, including electronics, food, medical or hygienic products, and supplies for home improvement, animals, and offices.[278] Instead, Amazon immediately shut down its six warehouses in France, continuing to pay workers but limiting deliveries to items shipped from third-party sellers and warehouses outside of France.[279] The company said the €100,000 fine for each prohibited item shipped could result in billions of dollars in fines even with a small fraction of items misclassified.[280] After losing an appeal and coming to an agreement with labor unions for more pay and staggered schedules, the company reopened its French warehouses on May 19.[279]LobbyingAmazon lobbies the United States federal government and state governments on multiple issues such as the enforcement of sales taxes on online sales, transportation safety, privacy and data protection and intellectual property. According to regulatory filings, Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more focuses its lobbying on the United States Congress, the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Reserve. Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more spent roughly $3.5 million, $5 million and $9.5 million on lobbying, in 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively.[281]Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more was a corporate member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) until it dropped membership following protests at its shareholders' meeting on May 24, 2012.[282]In 2014, Amazon expanded its lobbying practices as it prepared to lobby the Federal Aviation Administration to approve its drone delivery program, hiring the Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld lobbying firm in June.[283] Amazon and its lobbyists have visited with Federal Aviation Administration officials and aviation committees in Washington, D.C. to explain its plans to deliver packages.[284] In September 2020 this moved one step closer with the granting of a critical certificate by the FAA.[285]In 2019 it spent $16.8m and had a team of 104 lobbyists, up from $14.4m and 103 lobbyists in 2018.[286]See alsoAmazon Breakthrough Novel AwardAmazon Flexible Payments ServiceAmazon MarketplaceAmazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN)Camelcamelcamel – a website that tracks the prices of products sold on Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & moreList of book distributorsInternal carbon pricingStatistically improbable phrases – Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more's phrase extraction technique for indexing booksReferencesInline XBRL Viewerhttps://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1018724/000101872421000004/amzn-20201231.htm#i75de98b9097f40f3b5884e541f532421_73. 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May 19, 2020.Amazon loses appeal against worker safety ruling in France that prompted it to close"Amazon's Lobbying Expenditures". http://Opensecrets.org.Parkhurst, Emily (May 24, 2012). "Amazon shareholders met by protesters, company cuts ties with ALEC". http://Bizjournals.com.Romm, Tony. "In Amazon's shopping cart: D.C. influence". http://Politico.com. Politico. Retrieved August 7, 2014.Kang, Cecilia (December 27, 2015). "F.A.A. Drone Laws Start to Clash With Stricter Local Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 20, 2019.Business, Matt McFarland, CNN. "Amazon gets closer to drone delivery with FAA approval". CNN. Retrieved September 4, 2020."Client Profile: Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more". Centre for Responsive Politics. Retrieved February 4, 2020.Further readingBrandt, Richard L. (2011). One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more. New York: Portfolio Penguin. ISBN 978-1-59184-375-7.Daisey, Mike (2002). 21 Dog Years. Free Press. ISBN 0-7432-2580-5.Friedman, Mara (2004). Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more for Dummies. Wiley Publishing. ISBN 0-7645-5840-4.Marcus, James (2004). Amazonia: Five Years at the Epicenter of the http://Dot.Com Juggernaut. W. W. Norton. ISBN 1-56584-870-5.Spector, Robert (2000). Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more – Get Big Fast: Inside the Revolutionary Business Model That Changed the World. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-662041-4.Stone, Brad (2013). The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon. New York: Little Brown and Co. ISBN 978-0-316-21926-6. OCLC 856249407.External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more.Official website Edit this at WikidataAmazon (company) companies grouped at OpenCorporatesBusiness data for Online Shopping for Electronics, Apparel, Computers, Books, DVDs & more, Inc.:Quorahttps://www.quora.com/How-can-I-speak-directly-to-the-Amazon-Indias-customer-service-department/answer/Hansi-Kumar/log#