{"id":1563662,"date":"2022-07-21T05:04:18","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T09:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1563662"},"modified":"2022-07-21T05:04:22","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T09:04:22","slug":"washington-post-slams-biden-for-saudi-fist-bump-ignores-amazons-full-embrace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/washington-post-slams-biden-for-saudi-fist-bump-ignores-amazons-full-embrace\/","title":{"rendered":"Washington Post Slams Biden for Saudi Fist Bump, Ignores Amazon\u2019s Full Embrace"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwashington-post-slams-biden-for-saudi-fist-bump-ignores-amazons-full-embrace%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1563662&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p>The<em> Washington Post<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kriscoratti\/status\/1548021942199787522\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sternly<\/a> condemned President Joe Biden for his &#8220;shameful&#8221; greeting of Saudi Arabian royalty, but has remained mum on its owner\u2019s extensive business dealings with the Saudis.<\/p>\n<p>The paper\u2014which is owned by Amazon executive chairman Jeff Bezos\u2014led the charge following video of Biden fist-bumping the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. The <em>Post<\/em>\u2019s publisher, Fred Ryan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2022\/07\/11\/biden-saudi-trip-post-publisher-fred-ryan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> that Biden\u2019s trip &#8220;erodes&#8221; the &#8220;moral authority&#8221; of the United States. In his piece\u2014which is topped with an artistic rendering of Biden shaking a blood-covered hand\u2014Ryan criticizes the president for &#8220;turning a blind eye&#8221; to the Saudi regime&#8217;s alleged murder of <em>Post <\/em>contributor Jamal Khashoggi. Ryan said Biden was sending the &#8220;message that the United States is willing to look the other way when its commercial interests are at stake.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Just four months before Biden\u2019s trip, however, it was Amazon traveling to the oil kingdom for commercial interests. A senior Amazon executive was <a href=\"https:\/\/english.alarabiya.net\/business\/economy\/2022\/03\/19\/Saudi-Arabia-e-commerce-giant-Amazon-sign-agreement-to-boost-SME-growth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">photographed<\/a> shaking hands with high-ranking Saudi officials to finalize an economic partnership between the multinational conglomerate and the Islamic theocracy. The <em>Post<\/em> did not cover Amazon\u2019s Saudi agreement, according to a review of the paper\u2019s archive.<\/p>\n<p>Since Bezos\u2019s 2013 purchase of the <em>Post<\/em>, experts have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cjr.org\/the_new_gatekeepers\/washington-post-bezos-amazon.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">speculated<\/a> that his substantial Amazon holdings may influence the paper\u2019s coverage. A 2018 piece in <em>HuffPost<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/washington-post-anonymous-amazon-bezos_n_5c056c68e4b07aec575158d6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">featured<\/a> anonymous statements from several <em>Washington Post <\/em>employees who said they felt uncomfortable criticizing Amazon given Bezos\u2019s ownership of the paper.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I tend to do less critical thinking about Amazon than I do, say, about Facebook or Google or Walmart, and the reason is fairly obvious: because I am thankful for the opportunity I have, which wouldn\u2019t exist without Jess [sic] Bezos,&#8221; one employee said. &#8220;Conflicts of interest are there no matter how well we do our jobs,&#8221; another said.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos has a $116 billion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/billionaires\/profiles\/jeffrey-p-bezos\/#xj4y7vzkg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">stake<\/a> in Amazon, which has taken major steps to expand its footprint in Saudi Arabia in recent years. During the March 19, 2022, meeting between Amazon officials and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia\u2019s Ministry of Investment, the company stressed its &#8220;commitment to the Kingdom.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This partnership underscores our commitment to the Kingdom and our customers in it, and will contribute to accelerating the growth of the e-commerce sector, as well as enabling businesses to take advantage of the great growth opportunities that the Kingdom offers,&#8221; said Ronaldo Mouchawar, an Amazon vice president for the Middle East region.<\/p>\n<p>The major deal followed several steps taken last year by Amazon to establish a foothold in Saudi Arabia. In January 2021, Amazon extended its trademark Prime delivery service to Saudi Arabia. Two months later, Amazon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arabnews.com\/node\/1827026\/business-economy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> plans to add 11 new buildings and hire 1,500 new workers in Saudi Arabia. The company also partnered last month with Saudi start-ups to help <a href=\"https:\/\/www.logisticsmiddleeast.com\/logistics\/amazon-saudi-arabia-start-up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">improve<\/a> the country\u2019s logistics infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>None of the developments were covered by the <em>Post<\/em>, which appears to have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/the-prince-the-billionaire-and-the-amazon-project-that-got-frozen-in-the-desert\/2019\/10\/27\/71410ef8-eb9c-11e9-85c0-85a098e47b37_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">last covered<\/a> Amazon\u2019s business dealings in Saudi Arabia in October 2019, when the company decided to cease operations in the country following Khashoggi\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n<p>Writers at the Washington, D.C.-based liberal news outlet have not shied away from criticizing others for involving themselves with the Saudis. The <em>Post <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2020\/05\/18\/saudi-arabias-disaster-capitalism-comes-hollywood\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">denounced<\/a> entertainment companies such as Disney for allowing their shares to be purchased by the Saudi government, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2019\/12\/23\/instagram-influencers-partied-saudi-arabian-music-festival-no-one-mentioned-human-rights\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">criticized<\/a> influencers for attending a Saudi-sponsored music festival, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/2019\/02\/02\/dear-mariah-carey-other-celebrities-stop-performing-saudi-arabia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attacked<\/a> performers like Mariah Carey for doing shows in the country.<\/p>\n<p>The paper did not respond to a request for comment on its coverage of Amazon, which also did not respond to request for comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Washington Post sternly condemned President Joe Biden for his &#8220;shameful&#8221; greeting of Saudi Arabian royalty, but has remained mum on its owner\u2019s extensive business dealings with the Saudis. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1563662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1563662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1563662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1563662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1563662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1563662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}