Free Republic

Introduction Today, we take a look at the two online retail titans, consider how each business model differs and delve into the trends shaped by the financial results. The biggest difference between the two is that Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) primarily sells directly to consumers, building a network of warehouse and distribution centers with a goal of ever-improving fulfillment. Alibaba (NYSE:BABA), on the other hand, is less capital intensive and provides only a platform from which other businesses can sell directly to consumers. While both offer a platform for other sellers, AMZN is more focused on the logistics and engaging directly with...

I see a consensus forming that Russia attempted to influence our election with fake news and other social media shenanigans. But why? If you start with the assumption that Russia is an enemy of the United States, you probably assume they do bad things to us simply to weaken our power and effectiveness. For example, this article hypothesizes that Russia’s intention was to breed distrust between whoever became president and our intelligence services. I guess that hypothesis sort-of-almost makes sense. But I wouldn’t say it passes my personal sniff test. Then there’s the more popular theory that the Russians were...

Continuing from my previous article on the Democrat's war on free markets and unfair anti-capitalist regulations targeting indie software makers, I said that the best way to stick it to these big companies that back the socialist agenda of the DNC was to buy indie and boycott the big bolshevik businesses. I mean they got to where they were because of capitalism and now they want to ruin it for all of us just so they can avoid competition! SO! We here present our top 10 list of indie games you gotta play! Along with Top 10 Flash games online!...

A few years ago I did an article about net neutrality and government attempts to ban the internet or make it obsolete through over regulations and limited choices. This is something all the Democrats support doing in every facet of our lives. They want to make it a crime to even pee without permission by some expensive overpaid bureaucrat. The internet is the last great vestige of freedom of thought. The one place where we can read play and watch whatever we want when we want to. But liberals and big government supporters and the big bolshevik supporting corporations that...

A university lecturer has come under fire for attacking Barron Trump and his choice of wardrobe. Jodie Beggs, a Boston based 'behavioral economist', mocked the 11-year-old on Twitter, writing on Monday: 'Barron Trump is wearing a shirt that reads "The Expert" and I just threw up in my mouth a little.' She was referring to the $29.50 J. Crew grey and blue garment that Barron was pictured wearing as he arrived at The White House with his parents on Sunday. Beggs, who claims to have worked for Northeastern University, was savaged by Trump fans and impartial Twitter followers who condemned...

We’ve seen a glut of awesome E3 trailers, including the latest showcases of some of the biggest franchises in gaming, so we’ve brought them all together in one place for your delectation. We know you’re already going to be soaking up every word and picture of your favorite games, whether that’s FIFA 18 or Assassin’s Creed: Origins, but for millions of people who are looking for their new obsession or simply want to see what else is out there, E3 trailers are a massively important steer. So, without further ado; here’s TechRadar’s rundown of the most critical E3 trailers that...

So the WSJ et al who have spent the better part of the last 18 months blocking anything positive about Trump, now want Twitter to block Trump?! The Wall Street Journal took to Twitter over the weekend to coyly ask: “When President Trump blocks Twitter followers, does it violate the Constitution?” What else are WSJ journalists drinking in their all-day coffee break caramel infused frappés and lattés?

Eliminating the Problem How difficult is it to test autonomous vehicles (AVs) on public roads? Uber can probably tell you all about it. Much of the difficulty in obtaining the permits necessary for such tests comes from fear. Because self-driving technology is new, because the systems have been involved in incidents in the past, and so on, people aren’t quite ready to trust the tech. The governor of Washington state, however, has a different perspective. Governor Jay Inslee signed an order on Wednesday that would allow for autonomous vehicle tests without a human driver behind the wheel. According to the...

Hating for the Sake of Hatred Society’s loudest screechers, all those with any access to the mainstream media’s bullying bullhorn have become lost in unhinged hatred. They now hate for the sake of hatred. The visceral hatred of the MSM-supported Lib-Left progressives has all the characteristics of an ongoing, over the top family feud, a world-wide one. Few remember how they got to be so irrationally unhinged. No one knows why they are so angry, they just are.

This week, Former FBI Director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. While he confirmed that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing by Trump, he raised the issue of "whether a person so creepy and obnoxious deserves to be president. He is so different in every way from President Obama that I got a queasy feeling just being in the same room with him. I just didn't know how to react, so I joined the parade of government insiders who have been leaking confidential matters to the media in the hope that someone would rid the...

The first meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will reportedly take place in April in Florida. Observers have already begun to guess what issues will be put on the agenda at this two-day summit. North Korea, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and trade imbalance between the world’s two biggest economies are all thorny issues to deal with at any time, let alone during the great uncertainty created by the Trump administration. It’s not easy to forget the strong criticism Trump had for China during his campaign. He accused China of manipulating its currency...

Reality Winner, and Chelsea Manning: Are They CLONES? DEEP STATE LOVE CHILDREN? Are we being replaced, one by one, with a transgendered or…uh… “Other” stereotype with bigger muscles than I have who could probably kick my ass? Will the media protect us? Do they know about this? Maybe somebody should tell them. Oh…I’ll do it. I’ll use their bizarre, trite media-speak, so they can understand it:

RICHMOND COUNTY, Ga. - An Augusta woman charged with leaking classified information was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count, but prosecutors said they are likely to add more. A federal magistrate judge held a detention hearing for Reality Winner Thursday afternoon. The 25-year-old worked as a contractor for the government and is accused of giving classified information from the National Security Agency to an online news outlet. She entered a not-guilty plea. The judge denied bond. Prosecutors argued that the only thing Winner could do if she were released on bail is be recruited by the nation’s...

China's largest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., tapped Martha Stewart and CNBC's Marcus Lemonis as speakers for its upcoming procurement event in Detroit. The Gateway '17 event June 20-21 at Cobo Center in Detroit is driven by Alibaba's need to expand internationally and provide Chinese consumers with high-quality products prevalent in this region. Stewart and Lemonis, host of CNBC's primetime show "The Profit," are joined by Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Alibaba, who will keynote the event in a fireside chat with PBS News' Charlie Rose. David Abney, CEO of UPS, is another confirmed speaker. Detroit Mayor Mike...

Reality Leigh Winner, a recently separated Air Force linguist and a new hire by Pluribus International Corporation as a support contractor with a Top Secret clearance, allegedly searched for and printed out a Top Secret government report, folded it up, and dropped it in the mail to an online news outlet. Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s office revealed her arrest in an unsealed indictment. The arrest warrant and independent reporting indicate that the classified material was almost certainly a report published by the Intercept just two hours before the indictment became public. Winter apparently searched for this report within classified systems...

Michelle Obama looked out into an audience packed with mostly male tech workers and asked them to make room for women in technology. Obama was a guest speaker at WWDC, Apple's annual developer conference, on Tuesday. She was introduced by Tim Cook himself before sitting down with Lisa Jackson, the former head of the EPA who now heads up social and environmental initiatives for Apple. Their hour-long discussion touched on Obama's post-White House life, diversity in tech and not falling down the stairs of Air Force One. Apple did not allow press into the event, but CNN Tech spoke to...

An NSA document purporting to show Russian military hacker attempts to access a Florida company which makes voter registration software is sent anonymously to The Intercept. A low-level NSA contractor, Reality Winner, above, is arrested almost immediately. What’s wrong with this picture? A lot. Who Benefits? Start with the question of who benefits — cui bono— same as detectives do when assessing a crime. — Trump looks bad as another trickle of information comes out connecting something Russian to something 2016 election. Intelligence community (IC) looks like they are onto something, a day or so before ousted FBI Director James...

The race to create self-driving cars is on—but what happens when they’re everywhere and nobody has to drive? That could lead to a “passenger economy” worth $7 trillion by 2050, according to a new report by Intel and analyst firm Strategy Analytics. While the name of the potential new market is lame, the amount of cash it's estimated to drive is not: the study predicts self-driving cars will free up 250 million hours of commuting time per year, providing the backbone for a thriving $800 billion industry by 2035, when the study predicts fully autonomous vehicles will begin to proliferate...

After last September’s revelations that Palmer Luckey donated $100,000 to a pro-Trump organization dedicated to spreading anti-Clinton memes, the Oculus founder disappeared from public view. He resurfaced in March following his departure from Facebook, and is now back in the spotlight with a new company that makes technology designed to monitor border crossings. Information on Luckey’s new startup comes from a New York Times article yesterday that cites three “people familiar” with the matter. The business reportedly uses the same kind of lidar tech found in self-driving cars for the surveillance of country borders and restricted areas such as military...

At the rate his team is going, Fresno Mayor Lee Brand might have to raise his job-creation goals. The first-year mayor has said at several public events recently that he wants to bring 10,000 permanent, new jobs to the city. Those jobs, in turn, would produce a ripple effect leading to the creation of 10,000 more jobs in the local economy. What would Fresno and surrounding cities look like with 20,000 people who are now unemployed going to work? Significantly better. General funds would rise. There would be more revenue for public safety, road maintenance and parks. Families would prosper,...