Boycott Amazon.com
Earlier today, Amazon.com took down the cloud servers that were being used by WikiLeaks to serve their site. One of the products Amazon sells is space on their cloud servers at a very competitive rate. Thousands of websites, including WikiLeaks, use their service.
Amazon.com gave no notice to WikiLeaks. Normally, in an ethical and legal business relationship, notice is given when contracts are terminated to allow for smooth transition. In fact, if WikiLeaks had chosen to terminate the contract with Amazon, they would have been required to give 30 days notice.
Amazon.com gave no such notice, they just unplugged the servers. As a result, WikiLeaks was down for several hours today.
Why did they do this? Amazon.com got a call from Senator Joe Lieberman who threatened to start a boycott. Other officials reportedly leaned on Amazon. I can understand Amazon’s fear of the government, but that is no excuse to unethically target a customer without notice.
In the past year, Antiwar.com has received about $10,000 from Amazon.com for referrals on the sale of books and merchandise. We cannot continue to profit from or deal with Amazon.com. We are removing the Amazon ads and book widgets from our website, and urge other supporters of WikiLeaks to join the boycott.
Nobody Special
December 1st, 2010 at 10:01 pm
Good for you! I will no longer purchase from Amazon. They are cowards.
Scared
December 1st, 2010 at 10:04 pm
This has to stop. Lieberman was Gore's running mate who was Clinton's VP. Can we connect the dots yet? There appears to be a large, powerful machine at work in Washington. It is terrifying to hear public officials talk openly about how a human being should be murdered. Scary times we live in folks.
random
December 1st, 2010 at 10:21 pm
There's an Amazon link on this page…
conglomeration
December 1st, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Why am I looking at an Amazon ad on this very page?
no name, no slogan
December 1st, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Seriously, please remove the amazon ads already….
@dndavis57
December 1st, 2010 at 11:23 pm
I've closed my Amazon Prime account.
Guest
December 1st, 2010 at 11:25 pm
I can see it as well buy from amazon = support antiwar.com
no name, no slogan
December 1st, 2010 at 11:32 pm
I have just canceled my amazon account as well.
Vu Trí Nhân
December 1st, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Account closed!
Timmy Ramone
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:00 am
Rats — I wish I had known this before I put in a big order with Amazon earlier this week. Rest assured, however, it will be my last.
Rex from Australia
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:31 am
I think I'm gonna take MK Lieberman's advice and start a boycott……of AMAZON!
Gunther Strait
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:17 am
I will stop buying from Amazon right now and BOOYCOTT AMAZON due to ethical principles!
monkey
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:32 am
account closed also
Amazon removes Wikileaks from their servers, Boycott ensues.
December 2nd, 2010 at 2:13 am
[...] ensues. Yesterday, under pressure from US Senator and Israeli agent Joe Lieberman, Amazon.com without warning, removed Wikileaks from their "cloud servers". One of the products Amazon sells is space on their cloud servers at a very competitive rate. [...]
Henry Bilenchi
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:33 am
Just cancelled my Amazon.com account specifying unannounced shutdown of Wikileaks as a threat to freedom of speech.
Richard, Leeds
December 2nd, 2010 at 4:05 am
Hmm. In fairness, I can understand Amazon's dilemma – they seem stuck between a rock and a hard place.
From what you say, it sounds like Senator Joe Lieberman is the one who is acting illegally, using threats, rather than the courts.
Whilst I agree that it is not fair to give a warning, Web Hosts usually do just delete contentious content if they receive a threat, as I believe to some extent they are legally responsible for what is on their servers.
Not defending Amazon, but a contentious site like wikileaks should be aware that it needs a host who is willing to share responsibility, or be self hosted, and I'm amazed that it's been on Amazon for this long.
Alex
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:57 am
The best way to show them is by orering things and returning them!
Alex
December 2nd, 2010 at 5:59 am
Just return it, it will cause bigger havoc!
Charlie Neal
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:17 am
Great – I will join your boycott of amazon for caving in and oppoing free speech
and for opposing Wikileaks which has done the world a GREAT service in exposing
top down corruption and neo-fascism in many governments, in particular the United
States federal government.
nonym
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:51 am
accounts closed. i actually did buy a looooot there, thinking about it. Nah, will find other stores…
Thanks-Wikileaks
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:55 am
Use this link to close your account! http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/contact-us/account-…
Sign In, then choose "Close My Account"
Tell them it's because of the authoritarian Wikileaks takedown.
Mike
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:00 am
It takes some time for caches to clear. They are 95% gone.
nonym
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:03 am
Or use this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.ht…
Scott
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:15 am
You guys talk the tlak but don’t walk the walk. There are two Amazon ads on this page!
Antiwar.com, what a bunch of loosers.
Amazon-Boykott « Kshatriya – Tradition und Metaphysik
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:20 am
[...] Wir folgen damit einem Aufruf von Antiwar.com: Boycott Amazon.com [...]
Yvonne
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:28 am
Account closed on Amazon Canada
llewton
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:42 am
Well done!!
Stephan Kinsella
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:53 am
It seems to me Amazon is just a victim of the state — see http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald… and http://blog.mises.org/14838/a-public-service-mess…. I disagree with piling on them. They are the victims. There is no duty to be a martyr or altruist.
It's predictable that the left-libertarians would pile on Amazon; after all, they hate capitalism and are suspicious of any successful corporation anyway. But i'm surprised you are doing this too.
wisdomdancer
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:11 am
Stephan, I think you're missing an important point. I don't believe I could blame them for complying with a court order if it came to that, but I certainly blame them for responding to an inquisition of staffers from Joe Lieberman.
They have no duty to be martyrs, but they do have a duty to their contract, and they have no obligation to anticipate the government's prosecutors successfully obtaining a court order, or to respond with servile alacrity to Joe Lieberman's usual respect for due process, and rights. WikiLeaks was not served any legal papers and neither was Amazon.
We should show Amazon that there is a cost among consumers for playing toady to the police state. We should also give them opportunity to correct themselves and regain business. That is how corporations decide to change course. Consumers showing concern certainly worked with environmental appeals; now they all want to tell you exactly how planet-friendly they are, so why not apply a method that works to resisting the state, too?
Here is a draft of the letter I would like to send to Amazon (particularly if I can find a better email access method than generic customer service):
http://wisdomdancer.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/draf…
Ann Cohen
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:17 am
Bend over n take it from Joe Lieberman if you wish Stefan. Some people are over it and will stand for principle over profit. If some polls are to be trusted Amazon would have come out on top by sticking with WikiLeaks.
Stephan Kinsella
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am
"blame" them? I don't blame victims. Ever. That's my libertarian animating principle.
boycotting IMO is ridiculous. Activism gone amok.
As for their contract–what business is it of yours? This is private contractual dealings.
I understand activist-minded libertarians, for whom everything is a cause, for whom there is an altrustic duty on the part of everyone to be good comrades and be martyrs for the cause, being upset with Amazon. And it's your right to boycott them; cut your nose off to spite your face if you want. Of course you are joining with the left-libertarians who are hostile to any business that has a profit and that is bigger than a local kibbutz or coop. Hey, libertarians can disagree. I side with the victim. And anyway, I don't plan to harm myself by shunning Amazon just b/c of a "call to action" by a bunch of libertarians. But people can do what they want.
@dndavis57
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am
Amazon's unseemly haste to comply with Commissar Lieberman's directive makes me think there was a quid pro quo in there. I've asked Amazon directly; I doubt I'll get an answer, but you never know…
Awol
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:36 am
Don't buy american products.Simple.
liberranter
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:38 am
I see your point, Stephan, but I also think that the only way to convince businesses to stand up to the tyranny of the fascialist State that seeks to drain them of their lifeblood is by hitting them in the wallet from "the bottom up." After all, the "lifeblood" of most businesses is the "lifeblood" of their customers. Too often businesses will "roll over" in the face of the latest lawless government edict (of which I have to assume the Wikileaks server shutdown is an example), no matter how profoundly such edicts hurt their customers because there is no immediate negative sanction against the bottom line associated with compliance. But once the customers begin to say "Oh, HELL NO!" and start shutting their checkbooks and wallets, it suddenly becomes in the business's best interest to say the same thing to the State. If enough businesses suffer because of sanctions and boycotts by angry customers, a collective muscle can be flexed that can at least temporarily check the State's totalitarian impulses.
So will a boycott of Amazon.com change anything? Who knows, though I'm not optimistic that anything in the immediate future will change. But if the general trend continues and enough of a disruption to business occurs (Amazon.com is especially vulnerable during the Christmas Holiday season), then change from "the bottom up" just might have a chance.
@dndavis57
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:41 am
What are these "American products" of which you speak?
Paul Mollon
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:44 am
This is tough. They certainly have no obligation to be martyrs and nobody at this point knows what, exactly, they were threatened with. I have no problem imagining all kinds of threats that might have been uttered by the criminals in DC.
wisdomdancer
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:50 am
"Of course you are joining with the left-libertarians who are hostile to any business that has a profit and that is bigger than a local kibbutz or coop."
See if you can tell why this brings to mind the logical fallacy of guilt by association.
Also, see if you can back up and find my point. a) Amazon collaborated unnecessarily when there was no legal reason to do so. Your black-and-white talk of victims is absurd. b) This is an opportunity to show Amazon that their calculation was wrong, because customers care about free speech. "None of my business" is not a sentiment that will bring down the State, or resist it.
jasonditz
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:08 am
Sen. Lieberman says Amazon's behavior (instant knuckling under) sets the standard for web hosts dealing with content the government finds objectionable. It's clear this is a business decision by Amazon and not a philosophical one (otherwise they'd have never hosted WikiLeaks to begin with) and its vital we change the calculations that sort of decision is based on before it happens again.
This isn't really about "piling on" Amazon, its about making it clear that even if there is a price to pay in defying a Senator's call for censorship there is also a price to pay in complying. It does put Amazon into a crummy position but I'd much rather they be afraid of their customers leaving en masse than afraid of some random Senator.
John Guthrie
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:09 am
Come on Stephan. If every company simply caved to all governmental pressures, then where would we be?
If all firearms companies started making only single shots, if all food manufacturers started only selling fat free, salt free, taste free food, if all car manufacturers started only making slow steel boxes and if all cell phone manufacturers started tracking us and recording all of our conversations just because the government pressured them to do so, where would we be?
It's easy to see why Amazon did this. It's even understandable. That doesn't make it right, and it doesn't mean that we should not hold them accountable for their helping the government in marching us toward tyranny.
Boycotting companies that voluntarily ascent to tyrannical policies is just another healthy market function.
wisdomdancer
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:19 am
Well said, except that we can't be sure precisely what their thinking was, and they have not issued any proper responses—part of the problem. This sort of veiled threat followed by compliance all too often happens in secret. And in fact, it may very well be that it was an empty threat on Lieberman's part without legal recourse that got them running scared (and, apparently, some dramatic libertarians over at the mises blog, too).
Cristy
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:20 am
Before, the warmonger sympathizers threatened to boycott Amazon over their hosting of Wikileaks, now our side threatens to boycott them for dumping Wikileaks. It's not fair to Amazon to be put into this position by any of us. Like it or not, Amazon is a public firm with shareholders at stake and a threat from a very powerful congressman must be taken seriously. It's not about whether or not I agree with their decision, the point is to oppose the real enemy here, not otherwise innocent bystanders.
wisdomdancer
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:25 am
Or, it is also possible it was just a bunch of staffers from a rogue neocon senator, without any real oomph behind this attempt to scare Amazon off.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/12…
Let's not just give Amazon a free pass to fold instantly because there may have been threats. It's important to ask the company to respond to clarify the situation, in any letters sent to them.
jrs
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:38 am
Maybe they were threatened with having to account for state sales taxes! :)
Robert Brager
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:41 am
And I'm looking at an FBI recruitment ad on this page. Methinks Antiwar doesn't possess complete control over what's advertised on their site.
Re: Should We Boycott Amazon.com? « LewRockwell.com Blog
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:48 am
[...] Lew, I agree completely with you (and Rozeff). As detailed in posts by S.M. Oliva and Glenn Greenwald, it seems clear Amazon is just a victim of the state, and as a libertarian I make it a policy never to blame the victim. And who can blame them for capitulating any more than taxpayers are to be blamed for coughing up the dough? Amazon is skating on thin ice as it is in heroically helping people avoid sales tax. Of course it’s rational to fear the state. Thus I disagree with condemnations of Amazon by libertarians and Antiwar.com’s call for a boycott of Amazon. [...]
Re: Should We Boycott Amazon.com? | The Libertarian Standard
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:50 am
[...] the state. Thus I disagree with condemnations of Amazon by libertarians and Antiwar.com’s call for a boycott of Amazon.Further, Amazon’s managers have an obligation to the shareholders; they have no right to risk [...]
Katabasis
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 am
Amazon were "only following orders", right Stephan?
C.Wise
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 am
Just shut down my account. Shame on Amazon for quashing freedom of speech. Don’t expect any business from me anytime soon.
Cristy
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:58 am
It's not about being "cowardly" or "brave". Amazon is a public company with shareholders and fiduciary obligations, and those are the company's–any company's– main priorities. It's naive to think anything otherwise. Let's focus on the real enemy here, the government that would lie, cheat, steal and blackmail in order to protect its secrecy and corruption.
Percy
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:11 am
Boycott the fascist government not Amazon.
John Mackesy
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:24 am
I sent the following note to Amazon.com when closing my account last night.
"My conscience demands that I close my Amazon.com account because of your complicity in the censoring of Wikileaks. Think of all the people who have been killed, crippled, maimed and tortured because of the lies of American political and military leaders. The people of Amazon.com should stand for the light of truth and not collaborate with the cover up of evil, hideous and despicable war crimes."
Jim
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:41 am
There are other online book and merchandise seller that might offer antiwar.com the same kind of deal that they had with amazon. Books A Million is a large site. I don't know if they offer the kind of arrangement that amazon offered, but it might be worthwhile to explore this. Books A Million seems to have a very large stock, though I don't know if it has the specific titles that antiwar readers would be interested in.
Jim
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:05 am
I just checked at the Books A Million site and they do have an 'Affiliate's Program" which works similarly to the Amazon program you had.
Karin
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:15 am
I think you ought to be giving Amazon credit for having the guts to host Wikileaks in the first place.
Bill Habco
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:25 am
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS is really very bad these days. As United States Citizens we have every right to know what OUR GOVERNMENT… THINKS AND DOES BOTH LEGAL AND ILLEGAL as we have an absolute right to discipline that government even to the point of it being disbanded. No secrets are required in a Free Republic. WIKILEAKS SHOULD BE PRAISED!!!!
Stephan Kinsella
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:36 am
What exactly is your question, John?
Stephan Kinsella
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:37 am
Yeah, "Katabasis," let's have a good old fashioned Two Minutes Hate!
Stephan Kinsella
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:38 am
Never bend over and take it! Never! ever ever! Don't pay taxes. Don't obey speed limits. Don't fly! Pretend like the state doesn't exist. It's all a state of mind! Shirley MacLaine is our savior!
John Guthrie
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:48 am
If every company simply caved to all governmental pressures, then where would we be? (see hypothetical examples above)
Should we not sometimes use our power in the market to hold companies accountable for their helping government in marching us toward tyranny?
If so, as I think is obvious, why does this important case not warrant such a boycott?
Is the boycotting of companies that voluntarily assent to tyrannical policies not just another healthy market function?
Ted
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am
email to Amazon-
"You're licking the wrong hands. Please close my account."
alternate sites-
abebooks.com
ebay.com
Ted
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:00 pm
Lackeyhood will stop if it flips into the red. And the one thing they can't control is a free market.
Ann
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I am an avid reader, but will no longer buy from amazon. We have closed our accounts and explained our reasons for doing so. We have swithched to Barnes & Noble
Sam
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Stated like a good lil lawyer slave and servant that has taken an oath of fealty to the Constitution and the State. You profit of the system so you have no reason to actually endeavor to change it.
Tomás Engle
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:50 pm
I have to agree with Stephan on this one. I wish they had least given WikiLeaks 30 days notice too, but they're a business not an individual. While an individual can make a principled decision and stand by it despite the flack, businesses always need customers to survive and any further good Amazon can do in the world would be canceled out by Leviathan taking out their aggression against WikiLeaks on a physical and TAXABLE entity like Amazon.
Amazon's decision sucks, but is understandable.
Tomás Engle
December 2nd, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Sam, he's being realistic. Unless you're not paying taxes, income or sales, you're contributing to the war machine too, so get off the imaginary moral high ground.
Peter White
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Hmmm, is Barnes & Noble hosting Wikileaks now? If not, why do business with them? I'm not hosting Wikileaks. Should you boycott me? Antiwar.com has a server. Will Antiwar.com be hosting Wikileaks? If Antiwar.com doesn't host Wikileaks, will you boycott Antiwar.com?
Why do business with anybody who doesn't support Wikileaks?
Hmmmm?
Peter White
December 2nd, 2010 at 1:56 pm
So you're going to shoot yourself in the foot and say goodbye to $10,000 a year in income for Antiwar.com because Amazon wasn't willing to fight a US Senator. I'm not willing to fight the IRS. I send them thousands of dollars a year which the USA uses to mass murder civilians all around the globe. I'm complicit in these murders, because I help pay for it. I could take a principled stand and refuse to give the US war machine my money, and then go to jail, but I don't. I guess that makes me a coward, sort of like Amazon.
So Eric Garris, tell me this. Are you going to take the principled stand and not support the war machine with your money? Are you going to stand up to the DC creeps and not play ball? Are you going to do what Amazon and I are too cowardly to do?
If you do, drop me a line when you're all settled in in your prison cell. We can be pen pals. ;-)
Tom B.
December 2nd, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Amazon is a great company that does not need to do any political grandstanding.They already take risks by avoiding state sales taxes.As Libertarians, we must not fall for the "Divide and Conquer" tactics of the state.Sen Lieberman's bullying of a publicly traded company to disengage in political activity is just one more smptom of the warfare state.
I am asking Justin and the Antiwar.com folks to reconsider their stance on Amazon.This is one of the most Libertarian companies in this Nation.We must not give in to emotional reflexes.If Amazon was truly cowards would they have hosted the site of a group that many in the government believe to be a terrorist organization and whose leader is an assassination target.
Most companies would not have hosted the site in the first place.Also consider that Amazon offered to do so of their own free will.They were NOT approached by Wikileaks.
A company has a duty to its shareholders, who want to invest in a company that sells stuff online, not engages in political activity.
This Knee-jerk response that is threatening to divide the movement.Do we as Libertarians believe in blaming the victim, or do believe the true perpetrators, the state, should be our target.
We must distinguish between victims of state bullying and the true shills for the regime.
Tony DiGerolamo
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:02 pm
F– Amazon. They cave with one phone call from Leiberman? Anyone that listens to that guy should be boycotted. Goodbye Amazon.
Kakou
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:12 pm
Amazon is a business, not a political tool for warmongers. A business is open for everyone, not for those that a senator likes. The US is not a kingdom and Lieberman can move to the middle east if he likes dictating to businesses.
Novus Ordo Seclorum
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:17 pm
This was the best opportunity for me to close my Amazon account that I opened 12 years ago.
They never gave me any discounts for being a loyal customer in the first place, and now they show me that they are not a business but a political tool for some extremists who are very proud of ordering the death of those who disagree with them.
John_Mohammad
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:48 pm
The sad fact is that all of us who post on these Antiwar stories (and on other freedom-minded websites and forums) are probably already traced and those concerned are sitting and waiting for the go-code to come round us all up as being Enemies of the State for daring to read what's published here and having the gall to put in writing our own opinions on said subjects. Sure, it sounds all Conspiracy Theory and all that, but you mark my words- when the balloon goes up and we find ourselves fighting the Second American Revolution, you can be sure the majority of us will find ourselves as cell mates or prison pen-pals. As was said in a different context, "We must hang together, or surely we will all hang separately".
John_Mohammad
December 2nd, 2010 at 3:54 pm
I deplore Amazon treating a paying customer in that manner- be it WikiLeaks or any other bona fide customer- but what really galls me is that they caved in to Lieberman, of all people. On who's authority did he threaten Amazon? His own? And just where does the Constitution give Senators the authority to threaten private companies with anything? We've seen his stripes beofre this, though, and anyone who has half a brain knows what he's all about. Amazon should have just said thank you for your concern and hung up on him. Sadly, corporate interests nowadays nearly ALWAYS take a back seat to money and influence, and Amazon is no different from any number of other companies who cave in to government meddling and influence on any given day.
Annonymous Pest
December 2nd, 2010 at 6:47 pm
If you are Australian you can recommend Julian Assange to be made a Companion of the Order of Australia with this form:
http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/nominating/forms/oa_nomination_form.pdf
If you are not Australian you can post about it all over the place and see if mischief can be started.
Feel free to also suggest other honors Mr Assange can be nominated for. Knight Templar? I don’t know.
Latisha Jackson
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:03 pm
Already closed my Amazon account. They are siding with the bullies on this one.
Amazon.com’s Excuse: WikiLeaks ‘Harming People’ -- News from Antiwar.com
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:09 pm
[...] is unlikely to placate anyone. Amazon.com was already facing a growing call for boycotts (including from Antiwar.com) on the basis of giving in to the Senator’s demands, and suggesting it was just a happy [...]
NewandExciting
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:10 pm
Sub-prime mortgages!?!?
badaboo
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:53 pm
For all you hysterical wusssies , wikileaks violated Amazon's terms of service- WikiLeaks was not following them. There were several parts they were violating. For example, our terms of service state that “you represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content… that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity.” It’s clear that WikiLeaks doesn’t own or otherwise control all the rights to this classified content. Further, it is not credible that the extraordinary volume of 250,000 classified documents that WikiLeaks is publishing could have been carefully redacted in such a way as to ensure that they weren’t putting innocent people in jeopardy. Human rights organizations have in fact written to WikiLeaks asking them to exercise caution and not release the names or identities of human rights defenders who might be persecuted by their governments.
— Amazon Web Services
badaboo
December 2nd, 2010 at 7:55 pm
-We’ve been running AWS for over four years and have hundreds of thousands of customers storing all kinds of data on AWS. Some of this data is controversial, and that’s perfectly fine. But, when companies or people go about securing and storing large quantities of data that isn’t rightfully theirs, and publishing this data without ensuring it won’t injure others, it’s a violation of our terms of service, and folks need to go operate elsewhere.
We look forward to continuing to serve our AWS customers and are excited about several new things we have coming your way in the next few months.
— Amazon Web Services
badaboo
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:01 pm
That is Amazon's statement -with the exception of my own comment calling you all hysterical wussies.
Since all of you are so concerned about the well being of ..you know ….innocent people and all , looks like Amazon's got the moral high ground far above wikileaks , and most of you . For all your "anti-empire blather " …I haven't heard , not one single concern for anyone who may get hurt ….but I guess that's ok huh ….as long as you can stick it to the "empire " .
Bloody HYPOCRITES ! .
rick
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:20 pm
just closed my account, well done guys
leftanarchist
December 2nd, 2010 at 8:46 pm
Hey Stephan,
I guess IBM was a victim too right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_and_the_Holocaus…
And I guess I hate Capitalism if I don't support what IBM did either. Right?
If Capitalism is representative in aiding War Criminals to protect their bottom line then I have no use for THAT kind of Capitalism.
And yes, aiding the US War Criminals by kicking off someone exposing their Genocidal murder sprees is not any different than what IBM did in the example above IMO.
Chris
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:01 pm
ahha, The fact that you people think that closing a couple accounts with Amazon.com is going to do anything. Its unbelievable how naive you people are. Hey everyone, lets support wikileaks cause we think America sucks, woo! <—- The last part is sarcasm for people that don't get it.
Chris
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Yea lets outsource everything to Chine and Iraq, that'll make everything better!!!
Boycott Amazon.com - Christian Forums
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:28 pm
[...] [...]
vesko
December 2nd, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Do you sell sharp knives on Amazon? How can you be sure that I, after having both one from you, won't use it to harm somebody?
Heathcliff_Maw
December 2nd, 2010 at 10:12 pm
Bravo, antiwar.com!
Also, amazon.com charges $4 to download public domain e-books that it gets for free from Project Gutenberg that you can download free directly from Project Gutenberg or from Apple's iBooks.
libertymatters
December 2nd, 2010 at 11:40 pm
The American^ is of, by, and for the Fortune 500
American Government…
and it is no more American in its operation than the United States of America is made up of independent states. No one believes that any more.
rick
December 3rd, 2010 at 12:34 am
and then they came for mee….put the kettle on
Abs
December 3rd, 2010 at 1:29 am
I cancelled my account today. I was a long standing customer from old but I would rather pay a bit more for books and other things but have a clear conscience. Very easy to cancel
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display….
ken
December 3rd, 2010 at 3:15 am
sell your stock
Lewey
December 3rd, 2010 at 3:49 am
I can no longer in good conscience shop at a book retailer that doesn't believe in the first amendment. Cancel my account at once and send a confirmation to my email address; stop all email offers being sent to the above-listed email address. Sincerely, and with disgust, MY NAME/YOUR NAME.
Stephan Kinsella
December 3rd, 2010 at 8:27 am
Right. I mean why not boycott Barnes and Noble too? After all they are not hosting wikileaks either.
Stephan Kinsella
December 3rd, 2010 at 8:28 am
This is a lie. I am involved in a number of efforts to change things, including repeal of IP laws and I am an IP lawyer. http://www.c4sif.org. too many libertarian newbs are activists, I guess.
ghdj
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:32 am
I cancelled my Amazon.com account as well. Its just plain immoral for me to continue to giving this company my business when they are contributing to the media fueled witch hunt against these Wikileaks people. I've read over alot of what Wikileaks has published and its completely absurd that anyone can seriously believe that the information they published could seriously place anyones life in danger. Its clear that whats going on is that politicians are attacking Wikileaks because they don't want the public to know whats going on in world affairs and stuff that may portray themselves in an unflattering light. As far as people's claims that one should be sympathetic to Amazon.com because they are being threatened by the government, I must say I find this laughable. In the USA business executives are virtually immune to any personal liability. The only thing they could have been threatened with was a lawsuit. In other words they risked loosing money over a baseless lawsuit. Well you know what, moral principles are more important than money. So it makes sense for any customer who finds their assistance in this onslaught against societies Freedom of the Press/Speach to show to Amazon.com that they also risk losing money from loyal customers not just government lawsuits. As for me, I probably purchase $300-400 worth of books from each year. Unless they somehow redact what they did, that will no longer be the case.
circusoflife
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:41 am
Haven't gone quite so far to delete my Amazon account, but I removed all my profile information, photo, and deleted my Listmania lists…(Which have been there for 8 years)..and a guide I wrote. Removing the stickiness of Amazon is a step…maybe my purchase the other day is the last one…..I've written a ton of reviews…but perhaps ashes to ashes, dust to dust…COWards…
badaboo
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:50 am
ghdj
Some buisinesses can do without some customers anyway . Again , not one iota of concern has been expressed by anyone thusfar in your sanctimonious self righteous screeds about Amazon .
So boycott Amazon , they'd be better without you or your buisiness , you hypocrites . You would allow your " moral proinciple s " to overide any concern for the safety of innocent lives . And YOU will now PONTIFICATE on moral principle ? Who in the hell are you to condemn Amazon ?
So you buy what ? $300-to$400 worth of books ? You read alot and learn NOTHING . You wouldn't recognize moral principle if it fell out of a tree and struck you on the head , you hypocrite .
badaboo
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:54 am
What a pathetic bunch ! You are so obssesed with your animus towards the US , you have little concern [if any ] for anyone or anything else .
Amazon should be glad to rid itself of such a clientele .
circusoflife
December 3rd, 2010 at 11:02 am
many thousands of dollars of books and other products… :) what anger you show…
Ryan
December 3rd, 2010 at 2:03 pm
I was going to get a kindle for christmas but not anymore. They will sell a book about being a pedifile claiming free speech but not host wikileaks? Thats messed up.
badaboo
December 3rd, 2010 at 6:43 pm
Oh my the hypocrisy abounds here , Garris says he's dumping Amazon , wants nothing to do with it due to Amazon's cutting off wikileaks . Gee ! …wondering why that pedophile book didn't cause the same stir ???
LOL….and here's a bit of "strange irony" ….that book rose to #65 of Amazons top 100 best selling books …..kinda says something about Amazon's clientele dont it ….?
Pick and choose morality , otherwise known as "situational ethics " .
Sarra
December 3rd, 2010 at 10:11 pm
It was only on Amazon a few hours!
Amazon does not share any liability, I think you called it responsibility, but the context of your sentence made me think you meant liability. No internet server in a free nation shares liability for such content. Only in China. I know they own 10% of our debt, but do we really want to model this country on China?
badaboo
December 4th, 2010 at 3:37 am
Bad comparison , and incorrect . China simply closes the internet , China throws people in jail for even tweets that are critical of it .
BTW , liability is in fact a real issue , and there is litigation regarding internet content and copyrights , presently underway , and have been . And finally , yes , therte is a difference between liability and responsibility .
Stephan Kinsella
December 4th, 2010 at 4:48 am
Uh oh… PayPal is now restricting Wikileaks: http://mashable.com/2010/12/04/paypal-permanently…. Are they to be boycotted next?
circusoflife
December 4th, 2010 at 9:09 am
had many hundreds of items on my wishlist / shopping lists…more stickiness from Amazon. Down to 140 items now…(long overdue cleanup anyway – thank you Wikileaks!)…goal to get down to well below 100, below 50….heck…just go to zero is my goal.
circusoflife
December 4th, 2010 at 9:10 am
it'll all be coming to a head in 2012 anyway…know WARries…heheheh…
Richard, Leeds
December 4th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Isn't "liable" exactly the same as "legally responsible"?
From what I can find, the law states that an ISP will be liable if it is given notice of the defamatory material and does not delete that material, as it is seen as the publisher of the material. Please point me to any evidence that this is not the case, as I would be interested to know if that is incorrect.
I didn't actually realise that it was only there for a few hours, as the post does not mention that. Since that is the case, though, I see even less reason to have a go at them.
badaboo
December 4th, 2010 at 9:20 pm
yea , now lets boycott pay pal !
Cletus
December 5th, 2010 at 6:26 am
I notice you still take donations via PayPal.
Hypocrites.
Cletus
December 5th, 2010 at 6:30 am
Why is there still a Paypal option for donations? Where are your principles now?!
badaboo
December 5th, 2010 at 7:15 am
Even better , taker all your paper money with images of this evil empire on it …AND BURN IT !!! That'll show'em how much youy hate this land . That'll PROVE "PRINCIPLE " ! Take down the Jefferson Memorial , and build one for Assange , this way we can remember , the true icon of Liberty .
badaboo
December 5th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Assange , a disilusioned idealist , realizing that "utopia " is not possible , in a world filled with people not nearly as perfect as himself , decides that the best course of action , in order to "improve the world , attempts to , in his own way …destroy it . It can then be rebuilt in his own image . The information he has stolen , now to be used as a HAMMER against all those he considers less than perfect , maintaining his desired imager of moral superiority .
Tom
December 5th, 2010 at 8:00 am
Stephan,
"Libertarian IP lawyer"? Are you fucking serious?
Might as well be a libertarian DEA agent.
badaboo
December 5th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
….and now "Julian the Just " is down to threats ……to anyone who attempts to discover the source of his thefts of confidential information leaks , proving himself to be the self-righteous extorsionist that he IS .
OwnWorld
December 5th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
too late to the party, but BOYCOTT Joe Lieberman. All private businesses should refuse to sell to, rent to, nor conduct any business nor even converse with Joe Lieberman nor his family members nor cronies. Too little, too late, but if any weasel deserves it it's Joe
j
December 5th, 2010 at 7:23 pm
i’ve canceled my account with amazon too.
Peter White
December 6th, 2010 at 2:55 am
Eric,
Why have you not called for a boycott of Paypal?
badaboo
December 6th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Lets add Swiss Banks …no wait ! lets boycott the Swiss . My Swiss Army knife ? it's in the trash can by gum !
badaboo
December 7th, 2010 at 3:24 pm
Allright …get out your scissors , and let's get them Visa and Mastercards cut up .
M.F. Kalfat
December 10th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Hey, you are still keeping the "Antiwar.com and Amazon Books" ad on your Shop Antiwar.com home, with Amazon logo and links and all!
MRDA
December 11th, 2010 at 4:28 am
"Hysterical wussies"? Very businesslike and professional. Not trollish at all.
Also, if your BS is true, you *let* Wikileaks violate you for all this time, just like you're taking it long and hard for the government.
@ajescandon
December 12th, 2010 at 5:35 am
I have requested Amazon.com to close my account. I have been a customer for more than 10 years. The effect of closing individual accounts may be small but it is the right thing to do considering how easily Amazon cave in to Washington's preassure. I will shop someplace else.
Freddi
December 12th, 2010 at 2:49 pm
I posted (in a product review) that I am done with Amazon and their Visa card. I do feel some regret toward their vendors though.
A Libertarian Divide – Lessons from the Amazon boycott | Wisdom Dancer
December 13th, 2010 at 11:13 am
[...] Amazon’s subserviently taking political sides in the persecution of Wikileaks. (Antiwar.com took this action despite a sacrifice of $10,000 per year in referrals from the site to [...]
What the State Fears Most | The Freedom School
December 15th, 2010 at 7:43 am
[...] see Justin Raimondo, “Defend WikiLeaks – Boycott Amazon,” and Eric Garris, “Boycott Amazon.com.” In opposition, see Lew Rockwell, “Should We Boycott Amazon.com?,” and Robert P. [...]
What the State Fears Most: Information
December 15th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
[...] see Justin Raimondo, “Defend WikiLeaks — Boycott Amazon,” and Eric Garris, “Boycott Amazon.com.” In opposition, see Lew Rockwell, “Should We Boycott Amazon.com?,” and Robert P. [...]
Militant Libertarian » What the State Fears Most: Information
December 15th, 2010 at 10:04 pm
[...] see Justin Raimondo, “Defend WikiLeaks – Boycott Amazon,” and Eric Garris, “Boycott Amazon.com.” In opposition, see Lew Rockwell, “Should We Boycott Amazon.com?,” and Robert P. [...]
What the State Fears Most: Information « Eclectic Thoughts
December 16th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
[...] see Justin Raimondo, “Defend WikiLeaks – Boycott Amazon,” and Eric Garris, “Boycott Amazon.com.” In opposition, see Lew Rockwell, “Should We Boycott Amazon.com?,” and Robert P. [...]
What the State Fears Most: Information | FringeSociety.ORG
December 16th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
[...] see Justin Raimondo, “Defend WikiLeaks – Boycott Amazon,” and Eric Garris, “Boycott Amazon.com.” In opposition, see Lew Rockwell, “Should We Boycott Amazon.com?,” and Robert P. [...]
Michael O'Brien
December 18th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
I once worked for Amazon.com. I quit a week ago. Not for the whole wikileaks thing…if you heard how they treat their employees you'd quit too…
FreeWestRadio.com » Blog Archive » What the State Fears Most: Information
December 23rd, 2010 at 9:07 am
[...] see Justin Raimondo, “Defend WikiLeaks – Boycott Amazon,” and Eric Garris, “Boycott Amazon.com.” In opposition, see Lew Rockwell, “Should We Boycott Amazon.com?,” and Robert P. [...]
juvanya
February 2nd, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Is the boycott worth continuing any further? We are a small group of activists in perhaps the thousands at best. Many of us didnt really shop at Amazon that much (I did, but I am probably a minority in scope). Collectively, our boycott may have cost Amazon at most a few thousand dollars over the past 8 weeks. That is a drop in the bucket to their billions. On the other side of the coin, Amazon has some of the cheapest book prices in existence. Combined with the above, it appears we are only hurting ourselves with this boycott. I want to end it, but I feel like that is cowardice and weak. On the other hand, the boycott has, arguably, failed and it is hurting me more than Amazon.
coach
April 18th, 2011 at 10:31 pm
Simplest way to utilize a cheap
rayban sunglasses will be to normally commute during in the area
Coach store. If perhaps time frame plus yardage could be the taking into account issues in that case consider a person's success so that you can utilize
Coach london available internet. The following doesn't only keep your time frame plus capital but the truth is might cut hubbub with
ghd Australia.
professional straightener
gucci for men
gucci borse
designer sunglasses
Orbitz travel
May 30th, 2011 at 7:55 am
Orbitz travel provides complete traveling facilities for any person who is planning for vacation. Cheapest airline tickets, car rentals and hotel reservation can be done with the help of orbitz travel.
Ricky
June 27th, 2011 at 4:49 am
TNT vacations offer all-inclusive vacation packages nationwide. Find the best and most affordable TNT all inclusive vacations.
????
July 19th, 2011 at 1:05 am
Thank you !?
?????????
November 16th, 2011 at 1:06 am
s given when contracts are terminated to allow for smooth transition. In fact, if WikiLeaks had chosen to terminate the contract with Amazon, they would have been required to give 30 days notice.
Amazon.com gave no such notice, th
???
November 16th, 2011 at 1:07 am
threatens to boycott them for dumping Wikileaks. It's not fair to Amazon to be put into this position by any of us. Like it or not, Amazon is a public firm with shareholders at stake and a threat from a very powerful congressman must be taken seriously. It's not about whether or not I agree with their decisio
????
November 16th, 2011 at 1:08 am
side threatens to boycott them for dumping Wikileaks. It's not fair to Amazon to be put into this position by any of us. Like it or not, Amazon is a public firm with shareholders at stake and a threat from a very powerful congressman must be taken seriously. It's not about whether or not I agree with their de
chat
January 29th, 2012 at 3:01 pm
thank you very much executives like you, I really like your blog very clean and reliable link to a web site trying to get the ban I hope I do not eat many thanks
Web sites with the music here is actually fun, chat, friendship, bi kind of people that I'm trying to create an ideal environment for fusion with each other and chat environments, and sexual issues, as well as food, drink, and even my own social networking areas, such as creating a single goal is to serve our valuable administrators hope you understand
If you need to make
Arthur Fonzarelli
September 28th, 2012 at 7:29 pm
Are all of you retarded? Where's the proof that Amazon took down the cloud severs that were used by Wikileaks? Where's the proof that they took them down because Wikileaks used them? Where's the proof Amazon "just unplugged" the servers and it wasn't a case of Wikileaks having data stored on a server that actually went down? Where's the proof that Amazon took the server down because Senator Joe Lieberman threatened a boycott? Where's the proof that Antiwar.com received, "about $10,000 from Amazon.com for referrals on the sale of books and merchandise." and that Antiwar.com has stopped all Amazon.com-related activities?
See, you all take things at face-value and never think. This article basically said, "Amazon is evil. We are righteous." But never offered any proof to back-up those claims.
Arthur Fonzarelli
September 28th, 2012 at 7:31 pm
We went from one money-controlled business to another. We'll show them!
retard.
arthur fonzarelli
September 28th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
Is there proof offered of Leiberman's call? Is there proof offered that Leiberman's call (if it was made) is the reason Amazon caved?
THINK you dim-witted fool. THINK!
padded shorts
October 29th, 2012 at 11:06 pm
Hi,
I am very happy and proud to say that this is one of my favorite Blogs. The postings are very unique and also outstanding with the new creativity and knowledge and with the new different ideas and concepts. Really I am waiting for some more new posts from you. Just keep up your higher efficiency.
padded shorts
November 3rd, 2012 at 4:13 am
You are so helpful! I don’t suppose I have read anything along these lines recently. It is so pleasing to find a person with genuine ideas on this topic. I really appreciate you are starting this up. This website is something which is really needed on the net, people with a little originality. Valuable job for bringing something new to the web!
vnayar
January 31st, 2013 at 3:03 pm
I've been boycotting Amazon for well over two years now, ever since they declared their intent to use their power to silence journalism and protect the interests of criminals.
In that time, Wikileaks has revealed further information revealing diplomatic cables that show, among other things, that the US was conducting air strikes in Yemen and Somalia while getting the governments there to claim credit and provide cover. Wikileaks has revealed the collusion between large private security companies and spying on the public in the Stratfor files. The amount of evil being funded by our tax dollars is truly remarkable.
Even more remarkable is that nobody cares.
The most die-hard "liberals" and "conservatives" love Amazon more than ever even knowing what they do. I've had this conversation a thousand times with people. When push comes to shove, Americans place no value on freedom of speech or the press or of the evil done in their name and with their tax dollars.
None of this stuff is hidden, yet nobody is looking. The daily occurrences are hidden in plain sight. I guess it's true what they say, "Freedom will not make you free". Giving information and choice to those who support fascism will not remove fascism. People, especially my fellow Americans, have a moral crisis that will pre-empt any move towards life, liberty, and justice.