Microsoft employee disrupts 50th anniversary and calls AI boss ‘war profiteer’

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨ForgottenFlux@lemmy.world⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.theverge.com/news/643670/microsoft-employee-protest-50th-annivesary-ai

A Microsoft employee disrupted the company’s 50th anniversary event to protest its use of AI.

“Shame on you,” said Microsoft employee Ibtihal Aboussad, speaking directly to Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman. “You are a war profiteer. Stop using AI for genocide. Stop using AI for genocide in our region. You have blood on your hands. All of Microsoft has blood on its hands. How dare you all celebrate when Microsoft is killing children. Shame on you all.”

Sources at Microsoft tell The Verge that shortly after Aboussad was ushered out of Microsoft’s event, she sent an email to a number of email distribution lists that contain hundreds or thousands of Microsoft employees. Here is Aboussad’s email in full:

archive.today link

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don@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
The email the employee sent, apologies for any formatting errors:

Hi all, As you might have just seen on the livestream or witnessed in person, I disrupted the speech of Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman during the highly-anticipated 50th anniversary celebration. Here’s why. My name is Ibtihal, and for the past 3.5 years, I’ve been a software engineer on Microsoft’s AI Platform org. I spoke up today because after learning that my org was powering the genocide of my people in Palestine, I saw no other moral choice. This is especially true when I’ve witnessed how Microsoft has tried to quell and suppress any dissent from my coworkers who tried to raise this issue. For the past year and a half, our Arab, Palestinian, and Muslim community at Microsoft has been silenced, intimidated, harassed, and doxxed, with impunity from Microsoft. Attempts at speaking up at best fell on deaf ears, and at worst, led to the firing of two employees for simply holding a vigil. There was simply no other way to make our voices heard.

We are witnessing a genocide For the past 1.5 years, I’ve witnessed the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people by Israel. I’ve seen unspeakable suffering amidst Israel’s mass human rights violations - indiscriminate carpet bombings, the targeting of hospitals and schools, and the continuation of an apartheid state - all of which have been condemned globally by the UN, ICC, and ICJ, and numerous human rights organizations. The images of innocent children covered in ash and blood, the wails of mourning parents, and the destruction of entire families and communities have forever fractured me.

At the time of writing, Israel has resumed its full-scale genocide in Gaza, which has so far killed by some estimates over 300,000 Gazans in the past 1.5 year alone. Just days ago, it was revealed that Israel killed fifteen paramedics and rescue workers in Gaza, executing them “one by one,” before burying them in the sand – yet another horrific war crime. All the while, our “responsible” AI work powers this surveillance and murder. The United Nations and the International Court of Justice have concluded that this is a genocide, with the International Criminal Court issuing arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.

We are Complicit When I moved to AI Platform, I was excited to contribute to cutting-edge AI technology and its applications for the good of humanity: accessibility products, translation services, and tools to “empower every human and organization to achieve more.” I was not informed that Microsoft would sell my work to the Israeli military and government, with the purpose of spying on and murdering journalists, doctors, aid workers, and entire civilian families. If I knew my work on transcription scenarios would help spy on and transcribe phone calls to better target Palestinians (source), I would not have joined this organization and contributed to genocide. I did not sign up to write code that violates human rights.

According to AP news, there is “a $133 million contract between Microsoft and Israel’s Ministry of Defense.”

“The Israeli military’s usage of Microsoft and OpenAI artificial intelligence spiked last March to nearly 200 times higher than before the week leading up to the Oct. 7 attack. The amount of data it stored on Microsoft servers doubled between that time and July 2024 to more than 13.6 petabytes.”

“The Israeli military uses Microsoft Azure to compile information gathered through mass surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including phone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems. That data can then be cross-checked with Israel’s in-house targeting systems.” Microsoft AI also powers the most “sensitive and highly classified projects” for the Israeli military, including its “target bank” and the Palestinian population registry. Microsoft cloud and AI enabled the Israeli military to be more lethal and destructive in Gaza than they otherwise could.

Microsoft has also been providing software, cloud services, and consulting services to the Israeli military and government, totaling millions in profit. War Criminal Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly mentioned his strong ties to Microsoft. A list of these contracts with the Israeli military and government can be found here: An Introduction to Microsoft’s Complicity in Apartheid and Genocide

In fact, Microsoft is so deeply connected to the Israeli military that it was just yesterday designated one of the priority boycott targets of the BDS (Boycott, Divest, Sanctions) campaign.

Regardless of your political stances, is this the legacy we want to leave behind? Is working on deadly AI weapons something you can tell your children about? Do we want to be on the wrong side of history?

Even though your work could be unrelated to the cloud that the military uses, your work benefits the company and allows it to take on the contract. Regardless of your team, you serve a company that is arming the Israeli occupation. It is undeniable that part of your compensation, no matter how small, is being paid by genocide.

Whether you work on AI or not, you will be complicit if you do nothing. It is now OUR job to take a vocal stand against Microsoft AI’s involvement in crimes against humanity. This is why I decided to speak up today, and why I signed this important petition to demand Microsoft cut ties with genocide. And I urge you all to do the same.

Call to Action

Silence is complicity. But action always has a reaction, no matter how big or small. As workers for this company, we must make our voices heard, and demand that Microsoft does the right thing: stop selling technology to the Israeli military.

If you are also concerned about this news, and you also want your work to be used ethically, I urge you to take action: Sign the No Azure for Apartheid petition: We will not write code that kills. And join the campaign to add your voice to the growing number of concerned Microsoft employees. Join me in showing our discontent in this thread. If you also feel tricked into deploying weapons which target children and civilians, urge leadership (CC’ed) to drop these contracts.

Don’t stop speaking up. Urge SLT to drop these contracts at every opportunity. Start conversations with your co-workers about the points above - so many employees may not know!

Microsoft’s human rights statement prohibits retaliation against anyone who raises a human rights-related concern: Human rights statement | Microsoft CSR

Our company has precedents in supporting human rights, including divestment from apartheid South Africa and dropping contracts with AnyVision (Israeli facial recognition startup), after Microsoft employee and community protests. My hope is that our collective voices will motivate our AI leaders to do the same, and correct Microsoft’s actions regarding these human rights violations, to avoid a stained legacy. Microsoft Cloud and AI should stop being the bombs and bullets of the 21st century.

Sincerely, A concerned Microsoft employee

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- dojan@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Thank you. Tried visiting the archive page but it blocked me and ironically enough wanted me to solve a captcha that’ll be used to train “AI.”
  
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- Zacryon@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Thank you.
  
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- 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  What’s the solution to lasting peace? Restore rule to the Ottomans or British?
  
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  - SmackemWittadic@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Maybe give the decision to the people who resided in this land before the Ottomans or British put the intentionally divisive borders that they’d come up with?
    
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  - Arcane2077@sh.itjust.works ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    You can’t bomb a place or rape its people into stability. We have 200 years of hard evidence for that (not that it was needed). Literally any other approach would be beneficial for everyone except the war profiteers
    
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  - LarmyOfLone@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    You need peace / security, a modicum of prosperity, and education / information from independent news.
    
    Basically both Israel and Palestine are fucked.
    
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  - Resonosity@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    One State. Simple
    
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  - denialisposdtected@lemmy.cafe ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Step 1: stop carpet bombing civilians
    
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OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
LinkedIn just deleted her profile, I was following her yesterday: www.linkedin.com/in/ibtihalaboussad

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- burak@lemmy.ml ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  It’s crazy how democracy is now implicitly democracy incorporated™ where individuals are silenced for expressing opinions about corporations. Vital institutions for a functioning democracy like media is now owned by big corporations, worse yet, in an increasingly monopolized way, blurring the lines between unelected corporations and elected government (who are also bought by corporations after or before they are elected)
  
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  - SoftestSapphic@lemmy.world ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives
    
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- buddascrayon@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Goes to prove that LinkedIn is just exactly like every other social media platform despite what many people seem to believe.
  
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  - Nexz@feddit.nl ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Also, Microsoft owns LinkedIn so that might have something to do with it.
    
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- tarius@lemmy.ml ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Makes sense its owned by MS
  
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- phoenixz@lemmy.ca ⁨12⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  LinkedIn as in the website owned by Microsoft? You don’t say!
  
  And Microsoft will now just make sure she vant find a job anywhere? You don’t say
  
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- GreyAlien@lemm.ee ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Probably the mass reporting coupled with the usual rape and death threats from the deranged zionists.
  
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- ivanafterall@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Wow.
  
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Antonbl@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
This is such a bold move. Takes courage to speak up from the inside, especially at an event like that. Whether people agree or not, the conversation about the ethics of AI and its real-world consequences needs to happen.

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MunkysUnkEnz0@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Thank you, Lemmy. I can’t find this on the technology subreddit. Reddit Is complacent.

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- PolarKraken@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  You say complacent, I say complicit.
  
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  - lemmy_acct_id_8647@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    I keep this shot as a badge of honour Image
    
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  - mPony@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    You say pervasive, and I say permissive [soft-shoe dance]
    
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  - fed0sine@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    I thought I read it as complicit the first time.
    
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- ugtug@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Most Reddit subs block comments or ban you outright if you mention Palestine or Israel. Reddit has taken censorship too far.
  
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  - IndustryStandard@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Speaking about using AI for genocide is “too political”. Please keep the posts limited to Donald Trump golfing and tech leaders donating to Trump. And the US government using AI to track people (unless it is anti genocide protesters, that is political).
    
    Totally non political subjects.
    
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- SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  reddit.com/…/microsoft_employee_disrupts_50th_ann… Not that hard to find. Nice spiel about reddit though. Very convincing.
  
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  - Siegfried@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Well, he said most…
    
    Anyway, i was surprised to find out that the main news sub, www.reddit.com/r/anime_titties/ , does not censor those things
    
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  - Zeddex@sh.itjust.works ⁨18⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Just wait. It’s only a matter of time before the post gets deleted and the account gets banned. If you think reddit isn’t censoring posts you’re just not paying attention.
    
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- MunkysUnkEnz0@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Glad you could find it.
  
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7112@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Brave as fuck. It’s a call for all of us to do a little more. What’s happening in our world shouldn’t be the norm anymore.

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TimeNaan@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Braver than the troops

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Jhuskindle@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
She is SO BRAVE. Wow. I wish I had half that strength.

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ivanafterall@lemmy.world ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Ballsy move. I hope she’s okay.

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CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
Can anyone ELI5 how they’re using AI for genocide? I have awful IT skills so I don’t understand AI

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- GreyAlien@lemm.ee ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  In long.
  
  In short:
  
  The AI system labeled tens of thousands of Gazans, mostly men, as suspected militants, with a 10% error rate, meaning thousands were likely civilians.
  
  Human officers spent ~20 seconds per target, often just confirming gender, before approving airstrikes.
  
  “Where’s Daddy?”: A companion AI tracked targets to their homes, prioritizing bombings at night when families were present.
  
  The military authorized 15–20 civilian deaths per low-ranking militant and 100+ for senior Hamas officials
  
  Strikes frequently used unguided munitions, maximizing destruction and civilian harm
  
  Officers admitted acting as “stamps” for AI decisions, with one calling the process “hunting at large”
  
  Additional informations: Project Nimbus
  
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  - Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Holy fuck!
    
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  - OmegaLemmy@discuss.online ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    this is comedically evil I don’t even know what to say
    
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- tauren@lemm.ee ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  From the article:
  
  The Israeli military uses Microsoft Azure to compile information gathered through mass surveillance, which it transcribes and translates, including phone calls, texts and audio messages, according to an Israeli intelligence officer who works with the systems.
  
  From my understanding, they use AI to automate the processing of text, audio, and video data collected by the intelligence services.
  
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  - Krompus@lemmy.world ⁨13⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    lemmy.world/comment/16260451
    
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- Realitaetsverlust@lemmy.zip ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  AI is being pushed into war machines big time. America and China are both working on it. With ukraine showing how incredibly effective drones are in warfare, just imagine the damage and destruction a swarm of drones controlled by an AI could cause.
  
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  - CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Its scary and awful
    
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- TheFriar@lemm.ee ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  npr.org/…/israel-is-using-an-ai-system-to-find-ta…
  
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  - ganbramor@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    
    But critics warn the [AI] system is unproven at best — and at worst, providing a technological justification for the killing of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
    
    This 2023 article didn’t age well.
    
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  - CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Fucking hell that’s bad
    
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- supersquirrel@sopuli.xyz ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Stop believing in the veneer of smartness and superiority around these genocidal fuckers.
  
  There is no NON ELI5 explanation here of how they’re using AI for genocide, because the truth is horrible, stupid and brutal.
  
  They are using AI because it is the best tool bullshitters have currently to offload blame for things they chose to do onto obscure abstract entities like corporations, AI decisions and other bullshit.
  
  There is nothing more to it than that, I promise you, it is all just layers of bullshit that is attempting to obscure culpability for participating in a genocide, and honestly it is the perfect technology for that.
  
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- j0ester@lemmy.world ⁨16⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  There are also many professors doing smart drones. I was in one conference and they were showing off drones flying by themselves and showed the difference between different weather and everything.
  
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DNS@discuss.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I applaud her for fighting against the ocean tide. Our clothes are made from slave/child labor as well as most of our electronics. Expecting fellow Microsoft employees who are very comfortable in their position to give that up because of AI killing people?

I absolutely hate how apathetic the world is. It should never be “that’s the way it is” because we, humans, let it get this far. Are corporations to be blamed, consumers, or both?

Who’s turn is it to pass the hot potato?

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- wizardbeard@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  For AI? Corporations. No question.
  
  Microsoft has to bundle its consumer AI products in with other licenses in order to achieve their frankly abysmal adoption rates. They also have recently significantly reduceded plans for further spending on datacenters, indicating that they might already see the writing on the wall.
  
  OpenAI, the most successful AI “corp”, hemorages money to a mind boggling degree and actually loses money per query.
  
  It’s not profitable or sustainable. The market forces, if left alone, would not provide enough demand to cover the astronimical costs. Companies with more money than god like Microsoft and now Softbank (although they are having to take out massive loans now) are burning astronomical piles of cash to prop it up.
  
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BigMacHole@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
SHE needs to be DEPORTED to EL SALVADOR!

-Free Speech Loving CONservatives!

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- Serinus@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  I know it’s supposed to be a joke. Doesn’t seem worth it.
  
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  - mPony@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    yeah I agree. I do my best to avoid hearing these words when they come from loathsome people. Parroting them, even in jest, still means those ideas are being amplified.
    
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- LucidLyes@lemmy.world ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  Actually in French we label dumbasses as “Les cons”. It doesn’t have the meaning of being sneaky or cunning, it just means they’re morons. Pretty fitting
  
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alecbowles@lemm.ee ⁨14⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
What a hero! I hope she is alright.

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- GreyAlien@lemm.ee ⁨9⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  She doubled down on video, showing no fear of consequences. Hero is unquestionably the right word.
  
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cheribbit@lemmy.world ⁨15⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
GOOD FOR THEM. I AM SO PROUD OF THEM

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SpiceDealer@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
The bravery of this women to speak up for injustice! No doubt she is going to “face consequences” for this disruption. Let’s wish her the best.

Salam Alaykum Ibtiahl Aboussad!

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slowmotionrunner@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
TL;DR: she works on the speech to text AI product on Azure, which is used by Israel for some of their operations.

Look, I understand her desire to stop fighting in Palestine, but by that logic, we should also be protesting every software and computer manufacturer.

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- PolydoreSmith@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  By that logic, if it’s not practical to protest every single injustice in the world, we just shouldn’t bother.
  
  I’d say genocide is a good place to start, wouldn’t you?
  
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- DragonTypeWyvern@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  We should.
  
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  - SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Protest the Linux Kernel cause they use it in North Korea and probably weapon systems around the world too?
    
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- Saleh@feddit.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Focus on the worst offenders and create pressure to stop them from being complicit in such crimes.
  
  See bdsmovement.net/…/bds-guide-strategic-campaigning… for the way to do targeted boycotts and their impact.
  
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- angrystego@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  She’s mostly asking her coworkers to speak up.
  
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- denialisposdtected@lemmy.cafe ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  
  we should also be protesting every software and computer manufacturer.
  
  Yep
  
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BedSharkPal@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Is there a go fund me for her?

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- ComfortablyDumb@awful.systems ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  She wont get a chance to open one. The gestapo is going to be in her house to deport her in a bit.
  
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BossDj@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
“I hear your protest, thank you.” He was trained with words of acknowledgement. Such useless words.

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- zarkanian@sh.itjust.works ⁨10⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
  “I’ve heard it…and now I’m ignoring it.”
  
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MedicPigBabySaver@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
Bravo! Best of luck to her.

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UltraBlack@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
This is what happens when you read and watch hamas’ war propaganda online.

There are photos and videos of russian soldiers dying. Does that give ukraine the fault for this war?

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- cocomutative_diagram@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Children are not soilders. I don’t think anyone is criticising israel for killing hamas leader or soilders, but bombing hospital, kill children, journalist, and UN shelter are not okay.
  
  Whether terrorist attack justify a full scale invasion is debatable, but interfering with humanitarian effort, killing children and non-combative unit is not.
  
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  - UltraBlack@lemmy.world ⁨17⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    Hamas does rely on child soldiers.
    
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ComfortablyDumb@awful.systems ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
DHS is going to have another person deported to El Salvador. I salute thy bravery but Americans are numb to everything.

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doodledup@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
I’m very confused. Can somebody explain how any of that makes any sense?

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