Good information sir, but how do we utilize it. On Sun, Dec 1, 2019, 9:15 PM IT for Change - Education < [email protected]> wrote:
> Dear teachers, > > As platforms structure our lives - politically/economically/socially, and > often in ways that are detrimental to our individual and collective > welfare, resistance is building ... (read article on Amazon, below my mail) > > While regulation/ policy is essential to shape the macro environment to > counter the platform power, at an individual level, we can (and should) > make choices wherever possible to prefer alternatives to the platform > giants, such as - > > 1. Duckduckgo search engine <https://duckduckgo.com/> instead of > Google search (duckduckgo does not store your searches and sell them to > advertisers) > 2. Firefox browser instead of Chrome browser (Chrome collects > information of your web access ... and Google collates this with all other > information it takes from you through Gmail, maps, albums, translate, etc.) > 3. Telegram instead of Whatsapp > > Our research report on the platform economy > <https://itforchange.net/sites/default/files/add/Summary-Platform%20Planet_Development_in_the_intelligence_economy.pdf> > discusses the role of platforms and how policy is required to counter their > power... and also possible alternatives such as platform co-operatives ... > > regards, > Guru > > Activists Build a Grass-Roots Alliance Against Amazon > > > https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/technology/amazon-grass-roots-activists.html > <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/technology/amazon-grass-roots-activists.html?action=click&module=Well&pgtype=Homepage§ion=Technology> > > SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon flourished over its first two decades with little > opposition and less scrutiny. A new coalition and a report unveiled on > Tuesday make clear that era is over. > > The coalition, Athena <https://athenaforall.org/>, comprises three dozen > grass-roots groups involved in issues like digital surveillance, antitrust > and working conditions in warehouses. The goal is to encourage and unify > the resistance to Amazon that is now beginning to form. > > The report, from the > <https://economicrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Too-Big-to-Govern.pdf>Economic > Roundtable > <https://economicrt.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Too-Big-to-Govern.pdf>, > a nonprofit research group that focuses on social and economic issues in > Southern California, delves into the largely unexplored topic of what > Amazon is costing the communities where it has warehouses. The short > answer: a lot. > > While the simultaneous arrival of Athena and the report are a coincidence, > they are linked by their attempts to understand and ultimately influence > Amazon’s push into almost every aspect of modern life. The internet > conglomerate hired 97,000 employees over the summer > <https://www.geekwire.com/2019/amazon-tops-750000-employees-first-time-adding-nearly-100000-people-three-months/>, > nearly the total employment of Google. The report is bluntly titled “Too > Big to Govern.” > > “This is a company functioning at a scale that was previously left to > government,” said Tom Perriello of the Open Society Foundations. Founded by > the billionaire George Soros, Open Society is providing some of the seed > funding for Athena. The coalition is raising $15 million to cover its first > three years. > > “It has incredible impact,” Mr. Perriello said of Amazon. “Who could > possibly shape its future and direction?” > > Amazon, like Facebook, Apple and Google, has drawn the attention of > Washington regulators > <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/technology/antitrust-amazon-apple-facebook-google.html>, > state attorneys general and at least a few politicians in the last year. > The central question being asked about all of the companies: When does a > tech platform become too big and powerful, ultimately hurting the society > it once dazzled? > > In Amazon’s case, the situation is particularly complicated. Its > aspirations long ago exceeded online retail to encompass fresh groceries, > devices that connect your home to the internet, front-door and neighborhood > surveillance, professional services like plumbing and contracting, health > care, government procurement, internet infrastructure and Hollywood > entertainment. Just about everything, really. > > Amazon declined to comment for this article. > > Athena springs out of several unexpectedly successful grass-roots efforts > to rein in Amazon’s power. > > Last fall, the retailer was forced to begin paying a $15 hourly minimum > wage nationwide. In February, it abandoned plans to establish a new > headquarters in New York > <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/14/nyregion/amazon-hq2-queens.html> > after opponents mobilized against Amazon and the politicians who had > approved the deal. This month, an attempt to stack the City Council > <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/18/technology/amazon-seattle-council-election.html> > in Seattle, the company’s hometown, with members more acceptable to Amazon > backfired with voters. > > These setbacks could be attributed to many factors, but one of them was > the influence of labor and immigrant organizations. Now some of those > groups are joining together under Athena. > > “We’re learning from what makes Amazon back down, and looking to > replicate that as much as possible with as many people as possible,” said > Dania Rajendra, the Athena director. > > Athena will be run from New York, but the real work will be done out in > the field where most of the member organizations are. They include the > Awood Center, a Minneapolis nonprofit that has organized Amazon workers > from East Africa; Warehouse Workers for Justice, which is based in Chicago; > and Fight for the Future > <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/07/technology/net-neutrality-protests-opposition.html>, > a group that focuses on digital issues, in Massachusetts. > > In a separate move on Monday, Fight for the Future and other groups called > on Congress to investigate Amazon’s surveillance products, including the > Ring front-door monitor and Rekognition facial tracking software > <https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/03/technology/amazon-facial-recognition-technology.html>. > The products threaten “our privacy and civil liberties, especially in brown > and black communities,” the groups said. > > The effort against Amazon will not be easy, said Lauren Jacobs of the > Partnership for Working Families, a coalition member in Oakland. Amazon is > projected to have $238 billion in sales this year with 750,000 employees. > > “*This is a David and Goliath story,” she said. “David took what he had > and turned it into a winning strategy. We’re taking what we have — the > voices of the members of our various organizations, our collective > knowledge and experience and deep understanding of the economy around Big > Tech, and the experience we’ve had with making this company shift its > behavior — and trying to build a more humane economy.”* > > Athena’s $15 million budget is modest for the scale of change it hopes to > bring about. “This is grass-roots democracy,” said Barry Lynn of Open > Markets Institute, a Washington think tank and coalition member focused on > antitrust issues. “There’s no money in it. Just people.” > > Mr. Perriello of the Open Society Foundations said updating protest > movements for the digital era was an interesting challenge. > > “Uncertainty is now baked into the model,” he said. “You don’t know where > the fight is going to be two months from now or two years from now. So you > need the ability to organize citizens of very different political stripes > across geographies and across demographics, where traditionally you had to > organize in place.” > > The name Athena is associated with democracy, freedom and wisdom. But it > has another advantage for the coalition. > > “We didn’t want to have Amazon in the name — People Against Amazon or > whatever — because part of the strategy is to offer a better vision for how > the economy could work,” said Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local > Self-Reliance, a nonprofit in Maine that opposes corporate concentration > and advocates local community development. “To be for something, not just > against.” > > Sheheryar Kaoosji of another coalition member, the Warehouse Worker > Resource Center in Ontario, east of Los Angeles, said Athena was not > planning a boycott of Amazon but more interested in trying to sway it — > including its employees and customers. > > “Half the households in America have an Amazon Prime account,” Mr. > Kaoosji said. “That gives them a huge amount of power to change the > company.” His group is dedicated to improving conditions in what is > sometimes called “the goods movement sector.” > > The resource center is in California’s Inland Empire, where the work gets > done to process those packages that appear on porches in Santa Monica and > Newport Beach as if by magic. > > Amazon workers and Amazon customers exist in two different worlds, the > Economic Roundtable said. The report calculates that a little over half of > Amazon warehouse workers in Southern California live in substandard > housing. And for every $1 in wages, they receive 24 cents in public > assistance. > > “Every day, ships, trucks, trains and airplanes bring an estimated 21,500 > diesel truckloads of merchandise to 21 Amazon warehouses in the four-county > region,” the Economic Roundtable report said. It calculated that Amazon > trucks last year created $642 million in “uncompensated public costs” for > noise, road wear, accidents and harmful emissions. > > Almost as an aside, the report indicated how adept Amazon, with a stock > market value of nearly $900 billion, is at getting funding from California > and local communities. This included $25 million from the California Film > Commission to subsidize six productions, including the third season of > “Sneaky Pete,” an Amazon crime drama, and $1.2 million from the California > Office of Business and Economic Development toward an office building in > Irvine for programmers. > > The report noted on its title page that it was underwritten by the Los > Angeles County Federation of Labor, which represents more than 800,000 > members of 300 unions. The Economic Roundtable said that did not affect the > results. > > Among the report’s suggestions: that Amazon raise its minimum wage to $20 > an hour, that it require its logistics subcontractors to do the same, that > it provide child care at its warehouses and that it build affordable > housing in its logistics communities. > > The report draws on California Public Records Act requests filed with > communities with Amazon facilities. Many of them nevertheless came up > empty. The report noted that very little of Amazon’s business was known to > anyone but Amazon. Communities are in the dark. > > “Our conclusion is that it’s time for Amazon to come of age and pay its > own way,” said Daniel Flaming, a co-author of the report. “This means > paying its full costs to the communities that host it and the workers who > create its profits.” > > David Streitfeld has written about technology and its effects for twenty > years. In 2013, he was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize for > Explanatory Reporting. > > > Education Team > IT for Change > Bangalore > www.ITforChange.net > 080 26654134 > > -- > ----------- > 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. > - > https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform > 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. > - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ > 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ > ನೀಡಿ - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy > 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ > ತಿಳಿಯಲು - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software > ----------- > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "SocialScience STF" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/socialsciencestf/CA%2BZ52ka5t%3DTDytaVo0hm%3DY4xQmWqWztZME%2BZu_LyicSurjED5A%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/socialsciencestf/CA%2BZ52ka5t%3DTDytaVo0hm%3DY4xQmWqWztZME%2BZu_LyicSurjED5A%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- ----------- 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ - http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯಲು -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software ----------- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "SocialScience STF" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/socialsciencestf/CA%2BbGYBdFtVYkEnzy0pFgR89fqGfpYP%2B-R-vQZv3AykZAfSaAJg%40mail.gmail.com.
