Amazon's hiring spree, American's hunger pains, and the Covid race.
It’s Cyber Monday, so if you haven’t given ecommerce a shot, today would be a great day to try buying something online. Of course, every day is cyber day. That was true before the pandemic and its even more true now. That’s why companies like Etsy, Shopify, and Stripe have been among 2020’s biggest stock price winners. That’s why Black Friday was basically Cyber Monday, and still, Cyber Monday could be the biggest online shopping day ever. And that’s why Amazon went from really big to bigger, really. In a year that set records for job losses, Amazon is currently hiring around 1,400 new employees a day (and that’s down from the summer peak of 2,800 hires a day in July). “Amazon added 427,300 employees between January and October, pushing its work force to more than 1.2 million people globally, up more than 50 percent from a year ago. Its number of workers now approaches the entire population of Dallas.” NYT: Pushed by Pandemic, Amazon Goes on a Hiring Spree Without Equal.
+ I’ve often referred to the big tech companies like Amazon as the new nation states. Apparently, Jeff Bezos agrees, because his company is acting like one. Secret Amazon Reports Expose the Company’s Surveillance of Labor and Environmental Groups. All they need now are thermonuclear weapons, and it’s only a matter of time before you can buy those on Amazon.
+ And you may have noticed that a lot of your favorite sites and services were down last Wednesday. That was because Amazon (the company also provides the backend for a significant portion of the internet) suffered a cloud-computer outage. What caused the error? They were trying to add more capacity to the system.
Hunger Pains
“The hunger crisis seems to have escaped widespread notice in a nation where millions of households have weathered the pandemic relatively untouched.” If you’re looking for a defining moment in a divided America’s pandemic, consider this. On the day the DOW broke 30,000, WaPo informed us that 26 million now say they don’t have enough to eat. Nothing gets fixed until this gets fixed.
Gun Control
“Fakhrizadeh was traveling with his wife in a bulletproof car, alongside three security personnel vehicles, when he heard what sounded like bullets hitting a vehicle, and he exited the car to determine what had happened. When he got out, a remote-controlled machine gun opened fire from a Nissan stopped about 150 meters (164 yards) from Fakhrizadeh’s car.” Iran’s chief nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was reportedly killed with a remote-controlled machine gun.
+ “It was the latest in a decade-long pattern of mysterious poisonings, car bombings, shootings, thefts and sabotage that have afflicted the Islamic Republic. Most have hit largely anonymous scientists or secretive facilities believed to be linked to its nuclear program, and almost all have been attributed by both American and Iranian officials to Tehran’s great nemesis, Israel. Israeli officials — without formally acknowledging responsibility — have all but openly gloated over the repeated success of their spies. Never, however, has the Islamic Republic endured a spate of covert attacks quite like in 2020.” NYT: Brazen Killings Expose Iran’s Vulnerabilities as It Struggles to Respond. (The timing of this killing suggests it could have been carried out to make it more difficult for Joe Biden to return to the diplomacy-focused efforts of the Obama era.)
Profiling the Race
“There were 30 cases on placebo and zero cases that were on the vaccine. So, it looks like in the trial we’ve been 100% effective at preventing severe COVID-19, which is really what’s driving the burden of disease in hospitals and ultimately straining our public health systems.” So said Dr. Stephen Hoge, the president of Moderna, as the company files for emergency FDA approval.
+ Based on the numbers past and the inevitable numbers that will follow the holiday weekend, the vaccines really can’t come quickly enough. The country recorded 4 million new cases in November. And Anthony Fauci says to be prepared for a surge upon a surge in a couple weeks.
+ QB None: Yesterday, the Broncos played an NFL game without a quarterback because Covid is ravaging the NFL. The NFL has constant testing and solid protocols. They are still getting swamped with cases. Why? The virus is everywhere. If the league put the season on lockdown for a couple weeks, the example would save thousands of lives.
+ A very informative article that would have been even better before the holiday weekend (not that anyone would have listened). One person in the room with you has COVID-19. Here’s how long it takes to get infected.
+ A GOP state senator who was in town to help attempt to destroy democracy learned he was Covid positive during a meeting with Trump. (Luckily, everyone in the building has basically already had it at this point.)
Stealy Resolve
“The 20 days between the election on Nov. 3 and the greenlighting of Biden’s transition exemplified some of the hallmarks of life in Trump’s White House: a government paralyzed by the president’s fragile emotional state; advisers nourishing his fables; expletive-laden feuds between factions of aides and advisers; and a pernicious blurring of truth and fantasy.” That Trump is fighting to overturn the election is scary. That we’ve been led for four years by a guy who actually believes all the related conspiracy theories is even scarier. WaPo: 20 days of fantasy and failure: Inside Trump’s quest to overturn the election.
+ It’s tempting to dismiss Mr. Trump’s irrational claim that the election was ‘rigged’ as a laughable last convulsion of his reign or a cynical bid to heighten the market value for the TV personality he might once again intend to become, especially as he appears to be giving up on his effort to overturn the election result. But that would be a grave error. Instead, the campaign should be seen as what it is: an attempt to elevate ‘They stole it’ to the level of legend, perhaps seeding for the future social polarization and division on a scale America has never seen. Jochen Bittner with a must-read in the NYT: 1918 Germany Has a Warning for America. Donald Trump’s “Stop the Steal” campaign recalls one of the most disastrous political lies of the 20th century.
Tony Hsieh Dead at 46
People say nice things when someone dies. The thing to look for is consistency. And in the case of Tony Hsieh’s untimely passing from injuries in a house fire, everyone has been saying the exact same thing about what a generous, kind, and insightful friend he was. A life well lived, a life too short. Tony built Zappos and rebuilt downtown Vegas. I didn’t know him well, but I was quite moved by the outpouring on social media. My friend Om Malik got at a broader feeling I had when I heard the bad news. “With Tony’s passing, I feel something special has ended. I can’t put my finger on it. Maybe a certain innocent aspect of the early possibilities of the Internet.” All of 2020 feels like that. Tony Hsieh, RIP.
Right to Die Law
“The 5-to-4 order was the first show of solidified conservative strength on the court since the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, whom President Trump chose to replace liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg following her death in September. The decision differed from the court’s previous practice of deferring to local officials on pandemic-related restrictions, even in the area of constitutionally protected religious rights.” The Supreme Court relieves religious organizations from some covid-related restrictions. (Welcome to the next few decades.)
Gun Stun
WaPo: “After years of denying allegations of lax financial oversight, the National Rifle Association has made a stunning declaration in a new tax filing: Current and former executives used the nonprofit group’s money for personal benefit and enrichment.” (Stunning in a sort of unstunning way…)
At Least it Wasn’t Bone Spurs
“Biden, 78, was playing with Major on Saturday when he slipped and hurt his ankle, according to his transition team.” Joe Biden Has Hairline Fractures In His Foot After Slipping While Playing With His Dog Major. (Like Joe Biden’s hairline hasn’t suffered enough…)
Bottom of the News
“For the first time, two dictionary companies on Monday — Merriam-Webster and Dictionary-com — declared the same word as their tops: pandemic.” Meh. The word of 2020 is 2020.
+ NPR: Metallic Monolith In Utah Vanishes Just As Mysteriously As It Appeared. (I guess the metal wasn’t so heavy after all.)
+ Cher greets ‘world’s loneliest elephant’ in Cambodia. (I didn’t read the article, I just like the headline.)
