back to article Trump shouldn't criticise the news media, says Amazon's Jeff Bezos

Jeff Bezos, owner of the US Washington Post newspaper, has opined that it is "dangerous" for America's mop-haired 45th president Donald Trump to criticise the media. Bezos, the world's richest man and gros fromage of the sprawling Amazon online services empire, had a pop at The Donald after one of the latter's wearyingly …

  1. Korev Silver badge
    Coffee/keyboard

    Twitterati

    Finally trashed by @realDonaldTrump. Will still reserve him a seat on the Blue Origin rocket. #sendDonaldtospace

    I'm no fan of Bezos, but this is brilliant-->

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. Shadow Systems

      Re: Twitterati

      Notice there's no mention if the seat is inside or not.

  2. naive

    Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

    Washington Post claims president Trump is a sorcerer creating storms.

    https://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2018/09/13/nolte-from-terrorist-hurricane-creator-wapo-ramps-hate-campaign-against-trump/

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

      Look at the votes on these posts with the name Trump... LOL! You can't say shit here!

      Trump is Right and True. Trump 2020! :-P

      1. Teiwaz

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        Look at the votes on these posts with the name Trump... LOL! You can't talk shit here!

        FTFY

        A lot of visitors to the Reg are outside the US reality bubble and, as some denizens of the US might allegedly put it can tell shit from shinola when they read it.

      2. Someone Else Silver badge

        @overunder -- Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        You can't say shit here!

        But...but...but...you just did.

    2. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Devil

      Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

      "Washington Post claims president Trump is a sorcerer creating storms."

      you know, that's worth a pause for thought, at least...

      when you take *THIS* kind of lunacy into consideration, and apparently from all angles [except Fox and a handful of others], is it any wonder Trump is 'a little unhappy' with 'the media' ? They've been filtering out all of the good things he's done (economy, trade, N. Korea, etc.) and only reporting what they perceive to be the bad, mixed with obviously biased opinions, continuously, for the last 2+ years, worse than they ever did to Nixon as far as I remember - admittedly being a snark-meister is more fun, but they are being at least a *little* irresponsible, ya know?

      Oh, and the new Amazon location is possibly the one here in the San Diego area. They're apparently looking to hire 'DevOps' people. One of the ads I saw practically begged people to come work for a 'socially conscious' company or something like that. I think I'd rather sleep at night, thanks (and keep my stomach contents on the inside where they belong). If the benefit for working at Amazon is working for a 'socially conscious' company, I have to consider some of the recent news about Google where they (*LITERALLY*) did a big 'group hug' in response to Trump being elected, and someone recently leaked the video to Breitbart.

      In the past, certain 'Silly Valley' companies have been reported to have colluded together to drive down wages with secret 'do not recruit' pacts, and to use H1-B visas to hire foreign workers and kinda 'trap them here' so they can pay them less and drive the wage scale down. Trump's approach to immigration threatens this kind of thing [which is good, because nobody outside of 'them' likes wage manipulation].

      Couple that with some of the 'big tech' company policies with countries like China (Google helping the 'great firewall' to block content, for example, something called 'Dragonfly') ya think maybe *THAT* kind of thing is ultimately why a lot of these very wealthy "tech" CEOs don't like Trump??? Trump is in their way for driving down wages and controlling the flow of information and goods here in the U.S. (and of course 'the world'). And apparently they're 'globalists' and Trump is 'America First'. It's an obvious divide in politics that can't be crossed.

      So yeah, maybe Amazon's CEO should review his own company policies, and remove the obvious blinding 'log' from his own eye, before trying to remove the spec of sawdust from Trump's eye. Yeah, that was in the bible someplace, an illustration about hypocrisy.

      1. Blank Reg

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        There is no filtering required, he hasn't done anything good, he really hasn't done much of anything at all except whine and cry about how unfairly he's being treated. When you the worlds most visible buffoon you have to expect that kind of stuff.

        The economy is still coasting along, and only keeps going because it took so long for this administration to actually pass any legislation. But it will come crashing down eventually, and of course he will blame everyone else.

        And with North Korea he hasn't actually achieved anything, he gave up what NK wanted and got nothing in return. Kim was never a real threat anyway, he knows that starting a war would be the end of him. He just need to threaten war without ever actually having one.

        BTW, where is the wall? And why haven't Mexico written that big fat check to pay for it?

      2. Gerhard Mack

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        I'm not even going to get into how stupid it is to take Breitbart's word on a Washington Post article says. Breitbart is deliberately over the top with it's "news pieces."

        "They've been filtering out all of the good things he's done (economy, trade, N. Korea, etc.) "

        What good things?

        Economy: He inherited an economy on the way up (I'm not going to give the previous president credit for something he didn't control either) and juiced things along with debt fueled tax cuts.

        Trade: Hes made some tweaks and is currently crying about how big bad Canada, who the US has a trade surplus with, is not being fair by protecting their dairy industry from American subsidized farms who sell their product below cost. He still can't get his head around the fact that services matter as much as goods when it comes to trade.

        North Korea: He started a shouting match that seems to have only ended because the North Koreans managed to damage their nuclear nesting facility to the point where China has warmed them of dire consequences if the facility blows up and spreads radiation into China. For all of the nice talk, they are still upgrading their nuclear facilities and have shown no tangible sign that they will change their ways.

      3. BillG
        Happy

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        "Come work for a 'socially conscious' company" = "We pay shit"

    3. Ben Tasker

      Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

      > Washington Post claims president Trump is a sorcerer creating storms.

      That is nuts

      > https://www.breitbart.com/big-journalism/2018/09/13/nolte-from-terrorist-hurricane-creator-wapo-ramps-hate-campaign-against-trump/

      Oh wait, that's your source?

      OK, I put my internet condom on and followed your link into the stink.

      Brietbart claim this - https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/another-hurricane-is-about-to-batter-our-coast-trump-is-complicit/2018/09/11/ccaed766-b5fb-11e8-a7b5-adaaa5b2a57f_story.html - is blaming Trump for the storm.

      What is actually says is Trump is actively trying to downplay human-caused climate change, which is capable of increasing the severity of weather events.

      At no point does it suggest Trump is a "sorcerer creating storms", just that he's a callous cunt who tweets semi-sympathetic stuff whilst laying waste to stuff that might help reduce the impact. That is, when he's not busy tweeting about himself in the aftermath.

      Of course the Washington Post article is quite long, so it's no surprise that a Brietbart dweller might not bother reading it, even if the basis of it is only one paragraph long

      Yet when it comes to extreme weather, Mr. Trump is complicit. He plays down humans’ role in increasing the risks, and he continues to dismantle efforts to address those risks. It is hard to attribute any single weather event to climate change. But there is no reasonable doubt that humans are priming the Earth’s systems to produce disasters.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        > "What is actually says is Trump is actively trying to downplay human-caused climate change, which is capable of increasing the severity of weather events."

        It's a well-known tenet of the Left that those who "deny" global warm... excuse me, "climate change" have the blood of future billions on their hands, and therefore they are complicit in crimes against humanity and need to be punished. That's what Bob was alluding to in his admittedly florid prose. We all knew what he really meant. Well, most of us did. ;-/

        1. Ben Tasker

          Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

          > That's what Bob was alluding to in his admittedly florid prose.

          It was Naive who posted it originally ;)

          > It's a well-known tenet of the Left that those who "deny" global warm... excuse me, "climate change" have the blood of future billions on their hands,

          Well, yes. If we as humans are impacting the climate - which looks damn near certain - those who try to deny it (particularly those who do so in pursuit of short term profit) do potentially have blood on their hands. It might even amount to the blood of billions, in a worst case scenario.

          You can try and make this a left and right thing if you want, but the actual differentiator is that those who seek short term profit by denying climate change do not give a fuck about what happens to future generations. It really is that simple. That the feckless, money driven sociopaths seem to be drawn to the American right is an ancillary point - I don't think being right wing makes you one of them, but being one of them probably does make you lean heavily right.

          Then you've got the feckless idiots who listen to these profit driven feckers. A good number of whom fall in demographics where (outside of lottery wins, strokes of luck) their descendants will be more heavily impacted by climate change (not being rich enough to protect themselves more).

          So yeah, they potentially are complicit. Needing to be punished is something else, of course, but only a complete moron would deny that those people are complicit if it later turns out they were not only wrong, but knew it and were lying to make money.

      2. P. Lee

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        >That is nuts

        I see you didn't reference the Washington Post article itself anywhere, so let me help:

        https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/another-hurricane-is-about-to-batter-our-coast-trump-is-complicit/2018/09/11/ccaed766-b5fb-11e8-a7b5-adaaa5b2a57f_story.html?utm_term=.282d4a31ff26

        The actual headline is: "Another hurricane is about to batter our coast. Trump is complicit."

        Given the meaning of the word "complicit," I would suggest that the above headline does indeed imply Trump is responsible for the hurricane. Unless of course, they are talking about two completely different things and have then put them side by side to create an illusion. Surely they wouldn't be that disingenuous, would they?

        Regardless of what the article might say, it is pretty difficult to suggest they aren't trying to assign some responsibility for hurricanes to Trump. Even if you agree that "He plays down humans’ role in increasing the risks, and he continues to dismantle efforts to address those risks" and you totally agree with the most alarming AGW predictions, I'm not sure that the last two years over-rides everything that has happened since the industrial revolution began. But maybe it does, maybe he is the evil god of hurricanes.

        When your newspaper headlines make concerns about chemicals turning the frogs gay look sane, I think it is safe to say it isn't the president who is shredding the reputation of the mainstream media.

        1. Ben Tasker

          Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

          > I see you didn't reference the Washington Post article itself anywhere, so let me help:

          I see much like the referenced article, you didn't bother to read the rest of my comment given that I did reference it, including providing a URL.

          > Regardless of what the article might say,

          Strangely, when discussing the written word, it tends to matter what those words say.

          > I'm not sure that the last two years over-rides everything that has happened since the industrial revolution began. But maybe it does, maybe he is the evil god of hurricanes.

          You seem unable to grasp that there's a difference between "He's complicit" and "He's the root cause". You can be complicit in a crime without being the one to commit a crime, for example.

      3. schmitzr2018

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        Trump is too busy fixing Obamas problems to also fix the worlds climate. It is all still Obamas fault.

    4. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

      Too true. Anyone with any sense would want a full size pamf.

    5. deadlockvictim

      Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

      Naive by name, naive by nature?

      A couple of points:

      1. I, too, find Fox News too close to the centre and afraid of taking a clear stand on the hard issues. Thank God we have Breitbart for the honest man's opinion.

      2. I wonder how critical the Washington Post is of Amazon? Not very, I suspect.

      3. I'm not sure if I'd want to make an enemy of Jeff Bezos. I suspect that he could destroy The Donald within a couple of years. Having billions at your disposal makes you very persuasive.

      1. phuzz Silver badge

        Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

        I, too, find Fox News too close to the centre and afraid of taking a clear stand on the hard issues. Thank God we have Breitbart for the honest man's opinion.

        I want to believe this is sarcasm, but it's really hard to tell sometimes.

        1. deadlockvictim

          Re: Poor Jeff is so right, nobody takes his leftist hate pamflet seriously anymore

          Regardless of whether it is sarcastic or not, it is true for many Americans.

          Within a generation or two, whites may be less than 50% of the overall U.S. population and this scares the shit out of a lot of folk. What if they [1] do to us what we have been doing and continue to do to them?

          [1] not us.

  3. RobertLongshaft

    How anyone from or within the mainstream media can talk is unbelievable.

    Remember all the Fake News you've ran about Trump? Need a reminder?

    First he was a comedy act that couldn't win a primary

    Then he was a bully that couldn't win a primary

    The he won a primary

    Then he was a racist who couldn't be president

    Then he was a sex attacker who couldn't be president

    Then he was a sexist who couldn't be president

    Then he was a bigot who couldn't be president

    Then he became president

    Then he was an incompetent president

    Then he was a colluding president

    Then he was about to be an impeached president

    HE IS STILL PRESIDENT

    Fake new is a joke and the mainstream media is dying on its arse. The sooner it kicks its final bucket the better.

    1. ukgnome

      I don't think you understand what the term "fake news" means.

      1. Dabbb

        Definition of fake news

        Fake news is a news hype cycle about what is going to happen but never does.

        Actual news are news about something that already happened or in process.

        That easy.

        1. Trilkhai

          Re: Definition of fake news

          Fake news is a news hype cycle about what is going to happen but never does. … That easy.

          Apparently not that easy, given you got it wrong. Reporting on potential future events is mere speculation; fake news is a form of slander/libel, meaning that it has to make deliberately false or misleading claims about someone or something. Saying "candidate X is going to destroy the country" is mere speculation, for example, while saying "candidate X runs a secret child porn ring in a nearby pizza parlor" is fake news (slander/libel).

          1. AMBxx Silver badge

            Re: Definition of fake news

            When will politicians learn that insulting people who voted for your opponent isn't the way to change minds.

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Definition of fake news

            > "Reporting on potential future events is mere speculation; fake news is a form of slander/libel, meaning that it has to make deliberately false or misleading claims about someone or something."

            Just a few weeks ago it was widely reported that Trump was "separating families" at the border, with no initial mention of the fact that this was a policy adhered to by presidents Bush and Obama. To make it even more impactful we were treated to an image of said separations, said to be going on right now, but which turned out to be a pic from the Obama Era. This was pure slander against President Trump. We who support him see it for the propaganda it is, and so we are labeled "marching morons" by actual morons.

            Go figure.

    2. DCFusor

      Not to worry. By piling on with the ad hominem attacks, they've managed to ensure that those who voted and won the last set of referenda will not lose again for a very long time. They don't seem to realize that if they stop playing by the rules - and they clearly have, a consequence is that the deplorable opposition might also stop. s /Brexit/Trump and you have American social justice identity politics with no other changes, though this Brit said it the best I've seen yet. I probably don't agree with the rest of what this guy is pushing, and I've been around too long to believe that these clowns in the news - on any side - have much to do with the real powers that run the world, but this can be a fun circus to watch if taken with a grain of salt - or a shovelful.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9T4dGAxtO0

    3. Gio Ciampa

      re: HE IS STILL PRESIDENT

      ...and (probably) insanely jealous that Bezos has far more money (thus showing how crap Trump is/was as a businessman...)

    4. Rich 11

      First he was a comedy act that couldn't win a primary

      Then he was a bully that couldn't win a primary

      The he won a primary

      Then he was a racist who couldn't be president

      Then he was a sex attacker who couldn't be president

      Then he was a sexist who couldn't be president

      Then he was a bigot who couldn't be president

      Then he became president

      But he demonstrably is a comedy act, a bully, a racist, a sex attacker, a sexist and a bigot. His very own words show this. The fact that he became president simply demonstrates that slightly less than 50% of voting Americans either didn't care about any of these facts or were positively encouraged by them. Do you think that's a good thing?

      1. AMBxx Silver badge

        It also says a lot about the alternative and how desperate some people were.

        1. Teiwaz

          It also says a lot about the alternative and how desperate some people were.

          Also gullible.

          1. Sandtitz Silver badge
            Megaphone

            "It also says a lot about the alternative and how desperate some people were."

            "Also gullible."

            No, it's just a case of the Marching Morons.

    5. IsJustabloke
      Facepalm

      well....

      @RobertLongshaft

      Yes, he's President but doesn't mean he isn't a Racist, sexist misogynist

    6. rtfazeberdee

      Thats doesn't change that Trump is still all those things just because a load of idiots voted for him (he still lost the vote of the people by 3 million, it was the out of date electoral college that got him in)

    7. Florida1920

      Remember all the Fake News you've ran about Trump? Need a reminder?
      Nope. He's still a comedy-act bully, racist, sexist, and bigot, who won by appealing to the basest instincts of a minority of people who voted, but managed to swing the Electoral College. He may be president, but that doesn't make him any less reprehensible. And the wolves are closing in. Manafort's about to flip. And that, buddy, ain't fake news either.

      1. PhilipN Silver badge

        a comedy-act bully, racist, sexist, and bigot

        You mean he's just a regular bloke, like me. [ducks for cover]

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Yes, but Manafort's flip isn't related to collusion. And probably spells yet more trouble for those who abused the FISA court and used the intelligence services to spy on the opposition candidate. I would think that Sally Yates for one should be considering hiring some very high priced lawyers - oh, look, she has.

        If you don't think that is a catastrophic failure and a danger to democracy, will you start to think so if Trump does exactly the same ?

        For all his faults, Trump is still less reprehensible than the fool who last occupied the office and the crook who conspired to replace him.

    8. Blank Reg

      The problem was that the mainstream media underestimated the extent of the stupidity and gullibility of the voters. When you're not an idiot it's really hard to fathom just how stupid people can be. It was obvious from the beginning that trump is an incompetent con-man and all around dirt bag.

      For most of us in the rest of the world we just can't understand how anyone could be stupid enough to not see that.

      1. Mark 85

        It was obvious from the beginning that trump is an incompetent con-man and all around dirt bag.

        Just Trump? I thought that applied to almost all politicians.

    9. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

      "HE IS STILL PRESIDENT"

      You're right, and it's very, very scary. Let's just hope HE'S NOT A PRECEDENT.

    10. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      HE IS STILL PRESIDENT

      Well, he's got the jobtitle, but does not in any way act like it.

  4. Warm Braw

    Amazon have the most unpleasant press office in journalism

    At least they speak to you. Apple, however...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Trump has a point the main stream media are biased lowlifes but then so is Trump.

    It's like two stray dogs fighting over the opinions of tramps.

    1. DCFusor

      And with similar effects - pretty close to zero other than some idiots' blood pressure.

      I think you win the innertubes today, AC. You should take credit next time.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I always post anon mainly because I'm silly but sometimes not so don't want to be classed as the village idiot even though I am.

        Just to be clear though the only tramps are the people that listen to their opinion, not Americans in general who I find to be an ok bunch even if some of them wear stetsons, I also don't class el reg as main stream media and hold it in the highest regard when it comes to publishing news.

  6. big_D Silver badge
    Coat

    Missed opportunity...

    Amazon is also planning to build a second headquarters somewhere in the US, bringing with it thousands of job opportunities. On being asked where in the US this would happen, Bezos would only say: "We will announce a decision before the end of this year."

    They should have said "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

    1. John Miles

      Re: "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

      Please don't confuse Trumpton with USA politics

      1. Gio Ciampa

        Re: "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

        I loved the reference anyway - it would go so far over the heads of certain people...

        1. Gobhicks

          Re: "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

          I'll see your Trumpton and raise you a Chigley

          1. Rameses Niblick the Third Kerplunk Kerplunk Whoops Where's My Thribble?
            Joke

            Re: "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

            I'll see your Trumpton and your Chigley, and drop you a Clanger

            1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

              Re: "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

              "I'll see your Trumpton and your Chigley, and drop you a Clanger"

              We need more Wombles to clean up the mess!

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: "As far away from Trumpton as possible."

            I'l raise you a Clanger and hope to see Donald on the Moon without any air (or hair for that matter)

    2. Blank Reg

      Re: Missed opportunity...

      Toronto is also on that list. And if I were Bezos I'd build it there and make sure to make it clear that it's all because of trump. Why would you want to expand business in a country that is doing it's best to alienate the rest of the world and is fast become a 3rd world theocracy.

  7. James 51

    There's a difference between criticising and attack. Trump doesn't criticise the press, he attacks it. The last thing he wants is for someone people who trust and pay attention to, to point out he has no clothes and lives in a swamp. Classic disinformation campaign (not solely used by the Russians but they do it so well). Flood information channels with as many false narratives as you can, degrade noise to signal ratio and thrive in the dysfunctionality of the chaos you’ve created.

  8. steve 124

    Media? Does he mean news reporting, cause it's not the same.

    There isn't really any news reporting in the US today. There are "News Shows" that look like news, sound like news but they don't actually report news.

    CNN, MSNBC, FOX, CBS, etc. USED to report news (way back in the 80s/90s) but about the time "reality tv" became popular they changed the programming of these channels to "all opinion, all the time" and now it's barely better than Jerry Springer's show. They shout their opinion at each other (especially when they have a guest representing the "other side"). I'm surprised no one has thrown a chair yet.

    US reporting news can only be found on the local level and a handful of newspapers, but even those have their slant based on the owners political affiliation.

    It makes me sick, because I remember when there was real news reporting. They came on TV and told you what's happening without their injected opinion and they let the viewer draw their own conclusions. I guess they think we're just too stupid to do that these days.

    Bezos is part of the problem just like Murdock was. The terrible thing is it's not balanced anymore. There used to be the same amount of right/left rhetoric out there but now the leftist view has nearly snuffed out every voice on the right (only Fox and talk radio remains) which is unfortunately making the average American believe the left view is mainstream, just because it's almost all they hear on TV & in movies now. Once my generation moves on, the younger generation (who never saw what REAL news reporting is) will just roll over and ingest their socialist opinions as truth.

    It's a shame and once it happens and our country falls, you folks in other countries are going to realize how much good our country does in the world. It will, of course, be too late by then.

    Enjoy the show.

    1. Teiwaz

      Re: Media? Does he mean news reporting, cause it's not the same.

      There used to be the same amount of right/left rhetoric out there but now the leftist view has nearly snuffed out every voice on the right

      OK, I don't live there, but from what I've seen of US media, I find that very hard to swallow.

      Granted, what passes for leftist in the US would make New Labour think they'd gone too far right.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Media? Does he mean news reporting, cause it's not the same.

      A few years ago Fox News was not actually a news channel but an entertainment channel - apparently they didn't want to follow the licensing conditions for the former. Is this still the case ?

      1. Mark 85

        Re: Media? Does he mean news reporting, cause it's not the same.

        Here's Snopes take on it.

        https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/fox-in-box/

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Media? Does he mean news reporting, cause it's not the same.

      - Reagan introduced legislation that allowed for biased news reporting, before that it was legally required to report both sides to a story

      - Assessed from a distance, your USA politics 'left' is just right in the middle, USA's citizens are so self-obsessed and self-absorbed that they can't see beyond their closely guarded (national-, moral-) borders. You don't have a 'left'wing party, only a centrist political party and a right wing political party.

  9. vtcodger Silver badge

    There's plenty wrong with news reporting both in the US and overseas. But one suspects that Trump's unhappiness with the press is mostly due to their practice of recording or writing down what he says then quoting it back when he says something different 24 or 48 or a week later.

    How can you expect a leader to function if people are going to do things like that?

    1. Someone Else Silver badge

      How can you expect a leader to function if people are going to do things like that?

      A leader only functions when people do things like that.

    2. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

      Creatively Disruptive AI Field Craft for Establishing Brave New Worlds.

      Have you considered that President Trump is simply testing reactions from media channels to such disruptive shenanigans for the outing of opponents and competition?

      Would a President be Able to Deny it and Prove it a Live AI Program ..... Something Revolutionary and Different in Means and Memes of Control for Commanding and Commandeering Lead from Deep Within DARPA Like Environments. ....... https://sbir_industryday.darpa.mil

      And this is Sublime Temptation to Heavenly Bliss, methinks...... Active Interpretation of Disparate Alternatives (AIDA)

      I wonder if any or all of that can make you rich beyond compare? And Worthy of the Gift of a Not Inconsiderable Investment to Ensure Future Seed Capital with a Constant Supply of Nearby Immaculate Source ...... Ready Future Provisions.

      1. amanfromMars 1 Silver badge

        Re: Creatively Disruptive AI Field Craft for Establishing Brave New Worlds.

        Hmmm? .... Politicians Warn Spy Chief: There Is A New Threat Called "Deep Fakes"

        Really? Whatever will they cook up next to be faked ..... and copied badly?

  10. a_yank_lurker

    US 'News' Media

    The US 'News' media is notorious for botching or faking stories for a long time (try Spanish-American War era for some real fakery). Many reporters are not smart enough to understand the topics they are covering; it is debatable which major gets the dumbest in a US college - journalism or education. And there is little institutional awareness or concern about their incompetence within the media. Combine this with the well know political and geographical bias and ignorance of the media and you get a large portion of the US population who wonder what lies they are spouting off today. Note the term 'fly-over country' refers to the fixation on NY, Washington, and LA with almost no interest in what happens in South Dakota or how the policies they support affect states like West Virginia. Trump in many ways just echoing the frustration many have with the media.

    In 2004, CBS News published a 'story' about Bush II that turned out to be completely fake. It was based on incompetent forgeries (the documents matched the default layout of Word not what would have done on a 1970 office typewriter). Dan Rather famously called them 'fake but accurate'; an idiotic statement. If they are fake they are by definition not accurate. And if they are accurate they are not fake.

  11. blandersong

    Bezos comments are laughable. Barack Obama used to criticise Fox news and other "conservative" outlets. The Clintons claimed there were "vast right wing conspiracies". It appears to me that every leader will criticise the media.

  12. expreg

    It always confuses me that the American political right, the folks who supposedly mutter sic semper tyrannis in their sleep, are okay with a sitting President taking political and social action against private news media. Even if they are being unfair, is that a precedent you want to set?

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

      is that a precedent you want to set?

      That precedent has been set a long time ago.

      His Saintness Abraham Lincoln was a quite ... italian ... in his dealing with the press. You may argue he had a war going, but then again, he had pretty much ninelevend his way into it so the morality of the whole situation may well be doubly dark instead of grey.

  13. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

    WaPo's motto is "Democracy Dies in Darkness"

    Coming from the Neocon Post, this is not a warning, it is a promise.

    Let the bombing of something begin.

  14. Winkypop Silver badge
    Thumb Down

    Trump

    A bit shit, really.

  15. Jonathon Green
    Go

    I like Americans. They’re funny!

  16. Sixtysix
    Facepalm

    He's right...

    ...but it galls me to admit it.

  17. martinusher Silver badge

    Its just another form of tax....

    Just as the tariffs on Chinese and other products act as sort of stealth sales tax this is just another mechanism to wring money out of anyone that can be extorted to help cover the gaping hole in the Federal budget left by the recent tax cuts.

    The USPS makes money off of Amazon. Its legally required to do so in any contract it enters into with its customers. What weighs it down financially is an excessively large burden intended to fund future retirement benefits. This money goes to the Feds (surprised?) who are supposed to hold it in trust and maybe pay interest on it.

    This practice of burdening a business with debt -- real or virtual, as in this case -- is common business practice and has been behind the spectacular failure of large retail chains such as Toys 'R Us. Obviously its much better copy to just trot out a few well worn bromides about the demise of brick and mortar stores, the (unfair) competition from Amazon and so on but the reality is that once a Robber Baron or two is let loose on your business -- or government -- then its only a matter of time before it collapses.

  18. Big Al 23

    Bezo is wrong

    The false news and daily attacks on Trump are outrageous and never seen before in history. With Trump not being a DC career politician and the media unable to elect Clinton, it's no surprise that those who lost would oppose the will of the people who elected Trump. Time after time the fake news is exposed for it's lies and bias but history has shown that you can fool some of the people some of the time. Despite the FUD independent polls show Trump is supported by the majority of the populace. This is a real problem for the DC career politicians.

  19. Frenchie Lad

    Something New?

    Why do we have rants published & not some really useful information about the new range of Amazon Echos which were announced a couple of days ago. Could it be that ElReg is as poular with Amazon as it's with Apple? After all both companies names start with an A.

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