It’s said “small acts matter”.
I feel angry about a lot of disasters that are going on in our world. I sometimes feel powerless. And I don’t like that. It's a fact that I might get into trouble if I speak up or get on my soapbox in my country.
I’d rather do something than accept it. I’m leaving Facebook, probably, for good. Lately, I deleted WhatsApp and Instagram after sitting on the fence for a while. That came after deleting my X (previously Twitter) a few months ago. I’m not sure whether moving away from these networks would make any difference for the causes I care about or even would do any good for people who are being starved in Gaza.
However, at least, I’m putting my money where my mouth is.
I instead started using Telegram and Signal. I’ve also begun to post my latest thoughts on Substack, instead of my old Google blog. I know it might be difficult to find alternatives for Google and Hotmail, or to move away from all the corporations that are complicit in genocides and wars.
I'll do my bit. Part of my bit is that I need to write and talk more about what I'm angry about and advocating for the causes and values I believe in.
In the moment it's 5:45 am Japan time and I'm going to go out with two of my friends. So, I can't read your post and comment. I just want to say thank you for reading and commenting on my posts first. When I get home, I definitely read your post! Have a lovely day! See you later!!
Thanks for the comment! Take your time! Enjoy the outing!
Hi, ZZ. I'm back and read your post. I support you. I've been keeping away from these SNS for years even though my reason is different from yours. However, I have to advertise my art, so unfortunately sooner or later, I know I'll have to go back.
When you don't use these platforms, you can use your time to more meaning things!
Anyone: "...genocide...." The BBC: "Well, let's not use that sort of language, shall we? I'll have you know that the Israeli Government will say that they're fighting terrorists and that this is a war."
This is my way of saying that we're like a grain of sand in a desert. Corporate companies and governments just don't give a f- about us. You'd also be surprised by some of the companies which are actually involved in the economies of genocide and occupation. Even Booking.com is involved. What can you do about it? I mean, the UN Special Rapporteur tasked with investigating the war in Gaza is Italian. Did I learn this from the Italian news? No! I had to watch a video in English on YouTube! And I'm Italian!
I highly recommend the book called "Meditation" written by Marcus Aurelius. I agree with Simo. Once I read the book (I mean it's better to reread it over and over), I have stopped caring things that I can't solve.
There's an email company called Protonmail and you can get a free email account with them. They're Swiss and may be as bad as everyone else but at least they're not Google or Microsoft (who run Hotmail). I also use DeepL for translation sometimes... They're not able to translate Arabic from images so I have to go back to Google sometimes.:(
I'm closely following Francesca. I admire her and her courage. I read her report on the corporations benefiting from the genocide. In her own words; "... why Israel’s genocide continues... Because it is lucrative for many”
I believe in people, Yumi. I believe that no matter how small our actions look or are, they count. We should never stop to care. We should never give up. As Francesca said: "... if not now, when? If not us, who?"
Here’s video highlight collective action (not surprisingly in Italy). People do care and they would try their best. And the grain of sand will become a mountain one day, Simone. https://substack.com/@ahmedeldin/note/c-137870797
Thanks for the suggestion, Graeme! Yeah, I understand how frustrating is that at some point we have to use these dominating platforms.
ZZ, of course that's a wonderful idea and we should do this. I support you. I only say, please don't spend too much time to think the things that you really can't change. We all have our own problems and it's much better to focus on ours. Have a lovely day!!
We have to try to change things, especially when people are killed and starved for nothing!
I wonder whether there's any coverage about the genocide in Gaza in the Japanses media!
@MusiqueGraeme Proton(Swiss) and Tutanota (German) are the best privacy-oriented email providers. In addition, Proton offers other services, such cloud storage and VPN.
Anyway, I despise companies like Google. I myself have tried to limit my use of Google services. However, you need to understand how the Internet works. Google has an incredible and dangerous power. Let's make use of analogies. Think of the Internet as the road network of a city, and websites and apps as shops and buildings. Google has scattered an army of agents all over the city. They're at every street corner and in every building. They keep watch of everything and nothing escapes them. Now, how does Google have all these agents posted at every corner and at every shop? Because the very same owners of the shops let Google inside their shops in exchange for using Google services. So, in short, you may well stop using Google, but Google won't stop following you around and collecting data on you.
@Double-Zee Yes, we have a lot of pro-Palestine rallies here in Italy. Italian left politicians accuse Israel of genocide, while conservatives are less united on the subject: some acknowledge the war crimes, while others simply act annoyed at Israel (that doesn't mean they're against the Israeli Government). Regarding the news, both public and private broadcasters use the word genocide, the same goes for newspapers. Although, some right-wing newspapers are only useful as toilet paper, if you know what I mean. The situation in Italy is very different from the one in the UK, where you can't even use the word genocide. Ask Gary Lineker. Still, before the war, Italians had no opinion on Gaza. That's because the narrative here in Italy was fragmented and lacked depth. Just like Israel wanted, I suppose. In fact, we Italians didn't have an opinion on the Gaza strip simply because we never understood what was really going on there. The news coverage of the war still lacks depth, but at least Israel is portrayed as the bad guy. In addition, they don't shy away from making it clear that children are dying of starvation and lack of health treatments, and that Israel blocks UN humanitarian aid lorries.
Hey @Simone-,
Thanks for sharing how different parts in Italy perceive the horrible situation in Gaza!
By the way, I added DuckDuckGo as an extention. Do you think it can be of any help?
DDG is my default search engine. However, you should know that they actually use Microsoft Bing's search API. So in short, it's as if you're using Bing. Although DDG has a deal with Microsoft, they claim that they do not share any personal data with them, or at least they anonymise it. If you're looking for a completely indipendent service, then you could try Brave, which has its own search engine. My default browser is Firefox. But even then, Firefox has some kind of deals with Microsoft. As for the extention itself, well, which browser do you use? I don't see the point of using the DDG extention. First, the fewer extentions you use, the more secure your browser. Secondly, I'd just set DDG as my default search engine in my browser settings.
Ah, I see. I use Google, unfortunately. I'd like to shift to another browser. I don't know how I can do it safely without losing bookmarks, passwords, etc! Do you have any suggestions for that?
To import data into Firefox, follow these steps: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/import-data-another-browser . Alternatively, if you want to do it manually, you first need to export the data from Chrome. To do so, go to the bookmarks and passwords managers, click on the three-dot icon and select Export. On your new browser, find the entry labelled "import". A pop-up window will then prompt you to select the corresponding files.
You should be aware that there may be compatibility issues with extentions. Some extentions aren't available for both browsers.
Thank you!
Is there a way to import data to DDG or Brave?
DDG is a search engine, not a browser. So you can't import data into it. DDG is the equivalent of Google Search and Microsoft Bing. These two are just the names of the search engines, while the browsers are respectively called Chrome and Edge. You can set DDG as your default search engine in any browser.
As for importing data from Chrome to Brave, you can either use the manual method or follow these steps: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGDpHsOu_5s
Ah, thanks for clarifying that!
Thanks a lot for all the tips!
👍