ᥫ᭡ Ash

Because physics, neuroscience, and psychology, when followed all the way down, lead undeniably to God

Amazon just got caught running a secret price manipulation operation with Levi's, Home Depot, Walmart, and many more. Every time you "comparison shopped" online, you were looking at prices that were already rigged. Here's what happened: Amazon would monitor prices on Walmart, Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, and Chewy in real time. The second a competitor listed a product cheaper than Amazon, they'd contact the brand directly and tell them to "fix it." And the exact emails are now PUBLIC. Amazon sent Levi's links to two Walmart listings with the subject line "styles of concern." They basically said the prices on Walmart are too low and we have a problem. The next day, Levi's responded: "I talked to Walmart and they have partnered with us to take Easy Khaki Classic fit back up to ladder SPP price, $29.99 immediately." Levi's literally called Walmart and told them to raise the price. Because Amazon told Levi's to make the call. Walmart complied. Then Amazon matched the HIGHER price. Both retailers ended up charging more. The customer paid extra. Nobody competed. Same playbook with Hanes: Amazon sent them links showing Target and Walmart prices were lower. Hanes confirmed they "reached out to Target and Walmart to have the prices increased." Target increased the prices. Walmart increased the prices. Amazon kept their margins. But it gets even worse... Amazon told Allergan (the company that makes eye drops) that their product was "suppressed" on Amazon because it was cheaper on another site. Allergan responded: "Walmart got their price back up to $16.99." Amazon then unsuppressed the listing. They did this with pet treats on Chewy. Furniture on Home Depot. Products across dozens of categories spanning YEARS. The mechanism is simple but terrifying: If you're a brand and you sell cheaper on Walmart than on Amazon, Amazon suppresses your product, removes you from the Buy Box, buries you in search results, and effectively makes you invisible to 300 million customers. Brands can't afford that. So they call Walmart and Target and say "raise your prices or we'll lose our Amazon listings." Walmart and Target comply because they need the brand's products. Amazon captures 40 cents of every dollar spent online in America. That gives them the leverage to set prices across THE ENTIRE internet. Not just their own platform. So turns out, you were never comparison shopping. You were looking at a coordinated price floor set by Amazon through backroom phone calls between brands and their competitors. "Amazon is working to make your life more unaffordable." 3 separate antitrust trials are now scheduled for 2027. The FTC has its own case. 18 states plus the DOJ are piling on. This is literally happening during the WORST affordability crisis in a generation. Groceries up 25% since 2020. Housing unaffordable. Wages flat. And the largest ecommerce company on Earth has been secretly coordinating with brands to make sure you can't find a cheaper price ANYWHERE. "Competition" in retail is just a fantasy.

Hi new followers- Im a historian & professor teaching on the Caribbean & daughter of Antiguans in NYC. Less of a tweeter more of a retweeter. I care about issues facing Black folk globally & the struggles of Global South folk against racism, capitalism, climate precarity, war…

The Black middle/professional class is precarious because so much of it is tied to government employment and nonprofits. Teaching, social work, nursing, civil service, etc., that stuff ultimately depends on white folks acting right and not cutting shit to the bone. That’s a neocolonial relationship.

We always hear about the Underground Railroad but what about the Saltwater Railroad Amazing article on Red Bays,Andros and its rich history everythingbahamian.com/blog-1/q699plq…

I do t think we talk enough about Native American history as it relates to The Bahamas. We even have a few settlements with Native American names but I feel like we’re so disconnected from the history other than through straw weaving

i do what i want as a black woman because they gonna think im mean or weird anyway 🤭

Circling back to racism in the Caribbean. Other things you might not have realized have racist routes: - the concept of “nice” or “good” hair. Notice 90% of the time they mean dougla or Indian hair or straight hair. - carnival photographers only finding the fairest to post

@bakedramblings This is also true for wealthy people. Ppl act like ur crazy for not gaf how much money somebody got

Y’all put white people on a pedestal and are surprised when y’all come across Black people who weren’t raised like that.

Who me? Oh nothing just sitting here STILL thinking about that retired public servant that got brought back into government and is making over $100k a year + collecting pension of almost $50k a year + got a rent allowance of $43k a year. Ine move on from that yet you know.

Politicians are not celebrities. They are public servants and they’ve forgotten their place.

I’ll never forget when Jamaicans were praying that a hurricane would skip them to hit Haiti and then times before they said that Haitians were responsible for another hurricane and did voodoo so it’ll skip us and hit them….

I’m so fed up of people pretending like the Caribbean is some racial utopia that somehow managed to be a major hub of the slave trade while simultaneously avoiding all the remnants of slavery. Enough now.

@ValaLegz Thank you

@MeyerHaruko @rholentlessbabe @do_better_baby ewnews.com/north-andros-c…

Every time I remember there are Mennonites in Andros I feel like I in a simulation

I think we look at racism in the region with rosy lens because for many racism isn’t as overt anymore in comparison to our pre-independence eras. And moreover in many instances segregation is no longer race-based, but has been replaced by systemic class-based prejudice.

The Bahamas arguably still have sundown towns 😔

This country is absolutely divided by race. white Bahamians and Black Bahamians live in completely different realities.

@rawsalerts The entire travel flight industry is about to collapse. Ticket prices skyrocketing with jet fuel up 200%. People can't afford travel anymore.

@rawsalerts Yeah they’re cancelling pre-war booked summer flights to price gouge then into paying double. Delta has done a complete 180 to their previous reputation it’s disgusting