Bonum Certa Men Certa

Why We Illuminate IBM's Dark History (and Present)



IBM and Trump Tower
Yes, the apple falls not too far from the tree it originally came from (and yes, those buildings are geographically adjacent, a stone-throw away from one another)



Summary: There's a fictional version of history floating about, glorifying IBM as a champion of "diversity" and glamourising Thomas Watson (who had a major product named after him); the public deserves better understanding of where IBM derived -- and still derives -- money and power from

IBM is by far the most influential company in GNU/Linux development because it bought Red Hat. We, as GNU/Linux users, need to understand the new guardian or steward. Over the pasts year IBM has been super-busy bombarding the media with messages that say completely the opposite of what people are supposed to find. IBM is (internally at least) very much aware of the past and the need to darken/reduce linkage to that past. Think of it as "googlebombing" (IBM very blatantly engaged in a "googlebombing" campaign after it turned out what it had done for NYPD). IBM's "all in" when it comes to Donald Trump's dark and oppressive agenda. IBM is profiting from racism and segregation. It's not even diverse. Those who think IBM is a very diverse company are likely the victims of those "googlebombing" campaigns.



"Think of it as "googlebombing" (IBM very blatantly engaged in a "googlebombing" campaign after it turned out what it had done for NYPD)."Thomas Watson, the CEO of IBM at the time that he received a medal from Hitler, is not the exception. Over the years IBM profited a great deal from abusive acts and gross violations of human rights. IBM as a company even named one of their current biggest projects/products "Watson" in honour of him and we're expected to look the other way, focusing instead on supposed harms of words used to communicate IBM's dark history.⁣

Nazi poster/adFalse "ethics" (synthetic corporate surrogate of real ethics) are used to muzzle critics of corporate abuse in the name of "professionalism"... (i.e. blind and uncritical obedience to corporate power)

The image to the left is no arbitrary placement. It's an ad from the Third Reich, advertising the capability IBM gave the Nazi regime with tabulation machines.

"Let people decide what to buy based on the underlying facts, not soundbites and "googlebombing" campaigns."Techrights has long resisted censorship, antagonised liars, and opposed racism. Pointing out what IBM really is may not be necessary but an imperative, a duty. Let people decide what to buy based on the underlying facts, not soundbites and "googlebombing" campaigns.

Speaking of "bombing", don't ask what IBM did for nuclear weapons and see what was discussed last night in IRC. "IBM was involved in the "modernization" of the Indiana welfare system," Ryan recalled. It was a very major blunder. It is also very recent.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Robbery at the European Patent Office (EPO), Office Staff as 'Prisoners'
publication from the Central Staff Committee, dated yesterday
CDN Giant: Microsoft Bing and Skype Collapsed Since the LLM Hype, Same as Other Metrics Show
No wonder Microsoft managers suffer anxiety and there are several waves of layoffs even on the same month
Links 23/01/2025: More Overt Constitutional Violations and "TikTok Executive Order" (White Flag to CCP)
Links for the day
"The AI Bubble is Popping", Now It's Bailout Time
The hype will quietly fizzle, just like "blockchains"
 
Gemini Links 24/01/2025: "Social" Control Media is Unsatisfying; An Old Call for a Gemini Without TLS
Links for the day
[Meme] Levels of Outrage
Apparently it's hip for criminals to leverage "the law" to silence their exposers
Links 24/01/2025: Earthquake, Landslide, and Official Implicated in Airplane With Landing Gear Issues (Boeing Plane) "Found Dead"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, January 23, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, January 23, 2025
Gemini Links 23/01/2025: Experience With Outer Wilds and Gifting a Site
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Fake 'Articles' About Linux by Brian Fagioli and by Brittany Day in BetaNews and linuxsecurity.com (LLM Slop Sites That Are Online Leeches or SEO Operations Working Against Free Software Journalism)
Two new examples for today
Status of New Year's Resolutions
3 weeks later
[Meme] When the Government of the Netherlands Participates in Your Crimes It Lacks an Incentive to Hold You Accountable for Crimes
the EPO's corrupt management boasted (on television) that it would ignore rulings against it even if issued by the highest Dutch court
Links 23/01/2025: US Constitution Already Besieged (Impeachable Offences Pile Up), Arrest Warrant for Assad
Links for the day
Microsoft's Head of Business Development Quits (Days After Two Large Waves of Mass Layoffs)
We recently learned that people close to the management are very stressed this month
[Meme] Reliable Sources
Sooner or later LLMs swallow up their own lies (that they generated), which means that over time those things will only deteriorate further, exacerbating an already-large misinformation pandemic
BetaNews Plagiarising Work in the Linux Space
The originals won't even be listed
Gemini Links 23/01/2025: US Politics and DevOps Career
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Links 22/01/2025: Jeju Air Blame-Shifting (Talk to the Wall), Copyright Maximalism Rebounds
Links for the day
[Meme] The 'Garbage in, Garbage Out' Patent Office
"law of the buzzword"
Clueless and Nontechnical EPO Management Uses the 'Great Scam' (Hey Hi Hype) to Justify Automation Where It's Both Detrimental and Illegal
The EPC has been practically set aflame; thus, the EPO has no legitimacy or reason to exist anymore
Links 22/01/2025: Democratising Tech Initiative and "Bye Bye Meta"
Links for the day
The Japanese translation of the term "free software"
by Akira Urushibata
Links 22/01/2025: "The AI Bubble Is Bursting" and Microsoft's Scam Altman is Already Looking for De Facto Bailout From the Insurrectionist
Links for the day
Dr. Andy Farnell's Latest Article About Software Freedom and Richard Stallman
why Dr. Stallman is being picked on
Geminispace (Gemini Protocol) Offers an Escape From Social Control Networks Owned by Oligarchs and Governments
Gemini capsules that promote fascism and retreat to feudalism are rare and scarce
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) Has Formally Added an Outreach and Communications Coordinator
Maybe the addition happened last year (we mentioned it in passing), but now it's in the "rota"
Electronic Frontier Foundation: Fighting 'for the Poor and Powerless' While Taking Home $336,000 in Annual Salary
nowadays works for or serves not the interests of the masses
Of Note: The Misguided, Infiltrated, Weakened Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) Now Operating at a Loss of Over a Million Dollars
Worst since the COVID-19 lockdowns
Free Software Foundation's Miriam Bastian: We Surpassed Our Year-end Goal of $400,000 USD Thanks to You!
Miriam Bastian: We surpassed our year-end goal of $400,000 USD!
[Meme] Omit Microsoft When It's a Scandal or a Breach, Whereupon It Becomes Just an 'IT Company'
Microsoft is like a cult. Members of this cult promote the opposite of security, expecting to be financially rewarded for it.
Calling Out Windows (TCO) is Apparently Impermissible in Some News Sites
The online news sites are failing us (and corporate sponsors play a role)
Richard Stallman's Remarks on His Pain
Published two days ago
Focusing on the Issues
we'll do our best to find the news and not talk about "Mr. T"
Only About 3.6% of Web Users in Pakistan Use Vista 11, According to statCounter
It's not hard to see why so far in 2025 Microsoft has already had several waves of mass layoffs - more than any other company
Rumour: In IBM, Impending "25% Reduction in Finance Roles"
25% to be laid off?
[Meme] Fake Articles From linuxsecurity.com (Just Googlebombing "Linux" With LLM Slop)
Google should really just entirely delist that site
RedHat.com Written by Microsoft Staff, Promoting Microsoft' Proprietary Software That Does Not Even Run on Linux!
This is RedHat.com this week...
Links 22/01/2025: Mass Layoffs at Stripe, Microsoft's Illegal Accounting Practices Under Scrutiny
Links for the day
Fake 'Article' by Brittany Day (Guardian Digital, Inc) About Linux Mint 22.1 'Xia'
Apparently they've convinced themselves that this is OK
Red Hat Dumps "Inclusive Language", Puts "Master" In Official Communications and Headlines
Red Hat: you CANNOT say "master" (because it is racist). Also Red Hat: we put in it our headlines.
Red Hat Offers DRM, TPM, and Backed Doored 'Confidential' Containers (CoCo) for Microsoft (Proprietary Spyware)
No kidding!
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, January 21, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, January 21, 2025