Flawless launch and landing for Blue Origin's New Shepard

[Broomstick]

I'm totally chuffed that Bezos has developed a re-usuable rocket - the fact that this is becoming so routine that some people just aren't impressed anymore is a major, major accomplishment for space.

I'm also absolutely thrilled that Wally Funk FINALLY got into space. She and the rest of the "Mercury 13" were unjustly denied their opportunity to be astronauts solely because they were women. No other reason. Today, she finally got to fly. Good for her! I hope to be doing similar amazing things at her age.

[Gandalf]

I wonder if Bezos could have funded this without having his employees piss in bottles?

[Ralin]

I wonder if Bezos could have funded this without having his employees piss in bottles?

I wonder if you could post without thread-shitting with passive-aggressive leading questions?

[Broomstick]

Due to US laws - both Federal and in some cases State - there are situations where an employer is compelled by law to drug-test their employees. I don't know if that applies to anything Bezos does, but I'd at least look into the possibility before commenting. It may be a stupid requirement in most cases (I'd say for some professions, such as pilot, it might be justified) but if it's the law I think the ire should be reserved for the stupid law and not for the employers complying with the law.

Frankly, I think a better mode of attack on Bezos is "couldn't you provide more humane working conditions, better benefits, and higher pay for all your employees if you can afford to throw money into space?"

[loomer]

I don't think the warehouse workers and delivery drivers pissing in bottles due to overwork were doing it to comply with legal requirements.

[Agent Fisher]

I worked one single day as an amazon delivery driver. Can confirm, you don't have time to go find a bathroom if you want to get your route done before a nine hour mark. But thankfully it was so damn hot in the van, that even with the six liters of water I drank, I didn't have to piss once.


On topic, big congrats to Funk for finally getting up there. SHould have happened decades ago, but glad it finally did.

[Gandalf]

Frankly, I think a better mode of attack on Bezos is "couldn't you provide more humane working conditions, better benefits, and higher pay for all your employees if you can afford to throw money into space?"

I was.

The Guardian has a neat article on the subject.

[Zaune]

There's one aspect we haven't covered yet.

Why in the name of hell did the rocket look so much like a penis?

[Broomstick]

To some extent all rockets look phallic.

But yeah, that one was amazingly penis-like.

[Ralin]

There's one aspect we haven't covered yet.

Why in the name of hell did the rocket look so much like a penis?

Experts have been consulted on this: https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/be ... s-why.html

[Crazedwraith]

There's one aspect we haven't covered yet.

Why in the name of hell did the rocket look so much like a penis?

Experts have been consulted on this: https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/be ... s-why.html

Huh. That actually explains it quite well.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Frankly, I think a better mode of attack on Bezos is "couldn't you provide more humane working conditions, better benefits, and higher pay for all your employees if you can afford to throw money into space?"

I was.

The Guardian has a neat article on the subject.

It's not just the workers Amazon are screwing over:

ITV News has seen evidence the online retail giant Amazon has been sending huge pallets of unopened food and drink to be destroyed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The footage shows hundreds of items including cans of soup and baked beans, multipacks of unopened crisped, bottled water, instant noodles and coffee pods - all still in their original seals, in vast bins labelled ‘waste’. The footage shows many of the items are still within their use-by-date.

Full article here.

[Broomstick]

Ah.

I was going to ask if this stuff was expired or damaged or contaminated but I guess that's answered.

Why the HELL are they destroying it when they could donate it and get a tax break? (That's what my company does with surplus). Amazon is throwing away money!

[Gandalf]

Why the HELL are they destroying it when they could donate it and get a tax break? (That's what my company does with surplus). Amazon is throwing away money!

I have two guesses.

• They just can't be arsed. They already beat enough tax, and this would be more effort relative to outcome.
• If they give the materials to a charity or whatever, then it's a competitor getting their stock for free.

[Jub]

Ah.

I was going to ask if this stuff was expired or damaged or contaminated but I guess that's answered.

Why the HELL are they destroying it when they could donate it and get a tax break? (That's what my company does with surplus). Amazon is throwing away money!

It costs less to simply destroy it than it does to sort it and ship it elsewhere. This also happens with returns as many of the lower value returns just go into a giant bin to be destroyed as, again, it costs less than sorting and shelving them.

[Tribble]

Ah.

I was going to ask if this stuff was expired or damaged or contaminated but I guess that's answered.

Why the HELL are they destroying it when they could donate it and get a tax break? (That's what my company does with surplus). Amazon is throwing away money!

It costs less to simply destroy it than it does to sort it and ship it elsewhere. This also happens with returns as many of the lower value returns just go into a giant bin to be destroyed as, again, it costs less than sorting and shelving them.

Plus liability- if they donate it and something happens they’ll probably get sued. Best just to discard it from their point of view.

[Broomstick]

Actually, there are a fair number of "good Samaritan" and liability limiting laws around donations provided certain guidelines are followed.

[RogueIce]

It's right there in the headline, everyone:

ITV News reveals scale of Amazon's waste across UK as footage shows unused returned food thrown away

That's frankly common. While unused food items that sat in the warehouse and approach their use-by dates may be donated - and often are - returned food items are without exception disposed of. "Still wrapped up" or not, Amazon has no idea what happened to those food and drink items between delivery and return. While the odds of tampering or something happening rendering the items unsafe is incredibly small, it's not a chance virtually any retailer will take.

The UK might even have laws requiring it, though I'm no expert.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

It's not just food, it's everything.

Link.

Amazon has announced new policy changes in an attempt to cut its waste after an ITV News investigation discovered the world’s largest online retailer was destroying millions of items of unsold stock that is often new and unused.
From laptops and smart TVs to hairdryers and books, undercover filming revealed the true extent of the waste at one of Amazon’s fulfilment centres in Dunfermline.

Some of the products were unopened and still in their original packaging, and the rest were in good condition.

ITV News found the products were loaded onto lorries and dumped at either recycling centres or a waste disposal centre which has a landfill site.

Amazon has told ITV News that the landfill site also has a recycling centre and that none of their items go to landfill in the UK.

An ex-employee said staff had “become numb to what they are being asked to do” – with the target to destroy 130,000 items a week. A leaked document from inside the Dunfermline warehouse showed more than 124,000 items marked 'destroy'.

Following the investigation in June, Amazon has now announced two new “Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) programmes” to make it easier for businesses selling on Amazon to resell customer-returned items or overstocked inventory.

The online retail giant said on it's blog the new programme would ensure products “don’t become waste” and to reduce Amazon's “impact on our planet”.

The “FBA Grade and Resell” programme allows sellers to resell returned items as “used” – it is now available in the UK, and will be available in the US by the end of the year and in Germany, France, Italy and Spain by early 2022.

“When an item is returned, sellers can choose to automatically route it to this new programme. Amazon will then evaluate the item and assign it one of four standard conditions: Used - Like New, Used - Very Good, Used - Good, and Used – Acceptable,” the blog states.

“Sellers then set the price for items based on the condition and manage pricing, advertising, and sales using their existing processes, just as they do for their new items.”

The second programme – “FBA Liquidations” – allows sellers to recover part of their inventory cost from their returned or overstock inventory by reselling the items through Amazon’s bulk resale partners.

Previously sellers would need to have returned or overstock inventory sent back to them or allow Amazon to take control of the product through its FBA Donations programme. The programme is set to go live in the UK in August, and is currently available in the US, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The FBA Donations programme was previously the only FBA scheme. It was launched in 2019 and is an automatic way for sellers to donate their overstock or returned items.

The scheme is controlled by Amazon – the process is “hands off” for sellers – so the online giant can use its “supply chain and operational expertise so the right items get to the right charity partners.”

However ITV News’ investigation found that in a week where 124,000 items were marked as ‘destroy’ – just 28,000 items were labelled 'donate'.
The findings uncovered by ITV News' investigation drew wide-scale condemnation, from the prime minister who said he was “shocked and amazed” by our reports to environmental activist Greta Thunberg who said the report was “a clear sign that something is fundamentally wrong.”
In a statement, Amazon told ITV News: "We do not send a single item to landfill in the UK. Every year we donate millions of products to charities across the country. We’ve got more work to do but our goal is to get to zero product disposal."

“Customer returns are a fact of life for all retailers, and what to do with those products is an industry-wide challenge,” said Libby Johnson McKee, director, Amazon WW Returns, ReCommerce and Sustainability.

“These new programmes are examples of the steps we’re taking to ensure that products sold on Amazon—whether by us or our small business partners—go to good use and don’t become waste.

“Along with existing programmes like FBA Donations, we hope these help build a circular economy and reduce our impact on the planet.

“And we’re excited that these programmes will also help the businesses selling on Amazon reduce costs and grow their businesses—it’s a win for our partners, customers, and communities.”

[Gandalf]

It's not just food, it's everything.

Link.

Amazon has told ITV News that the landfill site also has a recycling centre and that none of their items go to landfill in the UK.

Considering that the UK exports a lot of waste, the "in the UK" part of that line gives me little confidence.