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In pics: Third-level students march in free fees protest

Gorillas, Pinocchio and dogs make an appearance at a colourful – but angry – protest against any potential reintroduction of fees.

REMEMBER LAST YEAR’S student protests against the then government’s proposal to increase third-level registration fees?

Today’s student march against any potential reintroduction of third-level education fees passed off peacefully but the sheer numbers paralysed the city centre for the time it took to pass from O’Connell Street to the Department of Education on Molesworth Street. Some students plan to camp outside there for the night. This was the scene today…

No fees = pants
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  • No fees = pants

    Image: Brian Fallon
  • Ruairi Quinn = heartbreaker

    Image: Mary Immaculate College students/David Cuddihy
  • Safe... education

    Image: Mary Immaculate College students/David Cuddihy
  • Mature student?

    Image: Ógra Fianna Fáil/Ger Fogarty
  • Boxed in

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • Carlow IT says No.

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • Was it for this...

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • Who nose what will happen?

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • A dog's life

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • Bananas

    Image: Mark Stedman / Photocall Ireland
  • Education, not emigration

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • On O'Connell Street Bridge

    Image: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
  • The march

    Image: Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
  • Story, Rory?

    Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
  • Gan dabht

    Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
  • Dole que

    Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
  • Lying game

    Image: Eamonn Farrell/Photocall Ireland
  • Limerick IT says No.

    Image: Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland
  • Angry bird

    Image: Clare Louise Cullen/@ElectricHack
  • On the move

    Image: Jonathan Horgan/@jonothegreat
  • Early gathering

    Image: @langobrien/Twitter
  • Recovery RIP

    Image: Leanna Byrne/@tough101
  • Where's Wally? Not in college...

    Image: Leanna Byrne/@tough101
  • Goverment (sic)

    Image: @CiaranLyng

Read more: Students march against reintroduction of fees>

Column: Time to end this ridiculous student fees stalemate>

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    Mute Genera L Consensus
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:48 AM

    The end of Twitter

    199
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    Mute Celtic Eagle
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:11 AM

    @Genera L Consensus: Disagree. Twitter is going to be better. The crybaby liberals will leave and there will be more freedom of speech.

    237
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    Mute Marcus Suridius
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:16 AM

    @Celtic Eagle: Pull the other one will you, “liberals will leave” is that what you call advertisers that keep the company a float?

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    Mute dublindamo
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:17 AM

    @Genera L Consensus: he will drive down users and share price and the original owners will take back control at a fraction of the price

    47
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    Mute Buzz Killington
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:56 AM

    @Celtic Eagle: ‘crybaby liberals’. Good God, man; you couldn’t have chosen more childish language.

    100
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    Mute Rmaybe
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:04 AM

    @Celtic Eagle: I always find it hilarious when someone tries to use the word Liberal as an insult.

    liberal/ˈlɪb(ə)r(ə)l/
    Learn to pronounce
    See definitions in:
    All
    Politics
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    adjective
    1.
    willing to respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas.
    “they have liberal views on divorce”
    2.
    relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.

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    Mute UK Hurling Bloke
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:39 AM

    @Rmaybe: I find it equally hilarious that those who consider themselves “liberal” actually want to suppress freedom of speech and opinion (unless of course it agrees with their viewpoint)

    There should be nothing dogmatic about liberalism, yet modern “liberalism” is all about dogma and “toxic filters”.

    “Say this / no you can’t say that.
    You must think this way.
    Your opinion offends me/ I think others will be offended by your opinion (because I know exactly how they think)
    - so you must be cancelled” etc

    101
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    Mute Stephen Doyle
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:44 AM

    @Buzz Killington: ‘ woketards’ is way better!

    46
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    Mute Rmaybe
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    Nov 6th 2022, 11:02 AM

    @UK Hurling Bloke: not being allowed to post on social media because your view point is largely seen as offensive or damaging is not suppressing your right to free speech. You still have that right and a private company has a right to protect its integrity and advertising standards.
    You may want to promote your views on eating disorders, paedophilia, terrorism, racism. You are perfectly entitled to have whatever views you want on these subjects but when those views are spread through the Internet unchecked they can lead to harm to individuals and to a private companies reputation. Free speech does not mean you can say what ever you want where ever you want. Being called out on it and being expected to adhere to common decency and rules of a private platform does not mean you are being surpressed.

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    Mute Peter
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    Nov 6th 2022, 12:39 PM

    @UK Hurling Bloke: no issue with different opinions but when those opinions are based on false information and lies then why should it not be stopped? Do you think Trump should be allowed to spread his version of what happened at last election? Even though no court in any state of America agreed and found evidence?
    Freedom of speech let’s you say what you want of course however it also allows others to call out the lies and in this instance and others with disproven conspiracy theories to attempt them to be presented as truth.

    28
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    Mute Kenny Hyslop
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    Nov 6th 2022, 1:33 PM

    @UK Hurling Bloke: No no no, you can say whatever you want and we’ll call you out. You have the right to free speech but be aware that speech has consequences.

    13
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    Mute Ciaran Forde
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    Nov 6th 2022, 1:41 PM

    @Celtic Eagle: hahahahaha Celtic eagle… What a name.. I’ve had a good laugh at that and also the by now cliched language you use. The same auld nonsense over and over again. Liberals this and liberals that. You’re not in Texas lad. It’s all a big huge deal in your head… Off now to Twitter to deploy your copy and paste garbage.. change the world. Make your big important statements.

    29
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    Mute Coli Byrne
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:57 AM

    Surely the Protection of Employments Act 1977-2014 is being violated? As this is a collective redundancy, the employer must give 30 days notice and enter into a consultation period. Surprised no one or the government has brought this up, or is Elon too powerful to take on?

    123
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    Mute Tricia G ☘️
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:01 AM

    @Coli Byrne: There already are lawsuits. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-04/twitter-sued-for-mass-layoffs-by-musk-without-enough-notice

    He would have HAD to have been warned about this.

    51
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    Mute JedBartlett
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:04 AM

    @Coli Byrne: There are stories on 2 major Irish news outlets about this very thing. The Journal behind the story as always.

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    Mute Andrew Lavelle
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:17 AM

    @JedBartlett: seems to be no interest in those stories for some reason despite the similarities.

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    Mute JP Vaughan
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    Nov 6th 2022, 11:17 AM

    @Coli Byrne: He has given 3 months notice . They will remain in employment until next Feb but not have to work and then get their very attractive redundancy package

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    Mute Harry Power
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    Nov 6th 2022, 1:01 PM

    @JP Vaughan: there’s nothing attractive about being made redundant.

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    Mute Niamh Hayes
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:06 AM

    The UN shooting warning shots is a bit weird ,especially since they gave backing to the Quatar world cup .Was there indian slave labour in twitter that we are unaware of?

    149
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    Mute Tricia G ☘️
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:59 AM

    What is he doing?

    This is bizarre! It’s like he’s trying to destroy Twitter.

    Is no one else wondering if there is an ulterior motive here?

    Yet, you will continue to get the fanboys who will praise his every decision regardless of the fact they’ve zero historical evidence that this is “good business”.

    68
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    Mute JedBartlett
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:13 AM

    @Tricia G ☘️: Conspiracy theories now is it? I thought those were reserved for the loons on Twitter?

    70
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    Mute Tricia G ☘️
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:27 AM

    @JedBartlett: What theory did I put forward? I merely pointed out he’s acting bizarrely amd wondered why.

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    Mute Paolo Fandango
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:38 AM

    @Tricia G ☘️:

    What’s really strange is that he has fired so many people without any analysis on their effectiveness. In a company that size it would take a long time to gather and analyse this type of data. He’s normally firmly routed in data and analysis but here he’s gone very rogue from his normal principles hence the questions as to what the real craic is with all of this.

    43
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    Mute David Corrigan
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:48 AM

    @Paolo Fandango: There has to be performance data for every employee based on appraisals every 12 months.

    25
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    Mute Paolo Fandango
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:55 AM

    @David Corrigan: this type of Micro data would Would be only a tiny component and wouldn’t alone be useful to facilitate a mass cull. Maybe for some really obvious cases such as a sales rep on a trailing 6 month average of 50% attainment. But broadly, all this micro analysis needs to be completely rethought when utilised on a macro scale.

    That’s not to say that the metrics by which many were measured wasnt flawed. Clearly there were abnormalities in measurement due to the over all poor financial performance of the company.

    I work in a tech company and part of our offering is a business intelligence suite so I understand the utilisation of this type of data.

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    Mute Johnny Honest
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:59 AM

    @Tricia G ☘️: cutting a work force of a company losing 4 million a day is hardly a business man acting bizarrely. I’d imagine some of them were not doing much anyway with some of the videos posted on Twitter before musk took over.

    34
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    Mute Paolo Fandango
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    Nov 6th 2022, 12:39 PM

    @Johnny Honest: it’s pretty bizarre by his own standards given how much money he is happy to lose on other ventures before he makes said venture work.

    I would have expected him to spend more time gathering and pouring over data as opposed to using one datapoint (daily cash losses) to cull half the company.

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    Mute Harry Power
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    Nov 6th 2022, 1:07 PM

    @David Corrigan: if twitter has appraisals that suggests an employee was not up to scratch why didn’t twitter do something about these employees before now. I think you’ll find that performance has nothing to do with who’s been sacked. I’ll bet musk will outsource everything to third world countries

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    Mute David cotter
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:04 AM

    That’s never stopped him before…..
    A guy who calls an ordinary joe a pedo in front of the world is capable of anything

    79
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    Mute Tom Hogarty
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:07 AM

    I’m no expert (needs to be said) but anyone with an ounce of sense would hold back on the criticism when someone with such an incredible track record starts on a new enterprise this way. It may well be his intention to destroy it but I won’t be second guessing him. Remember, panto season is just around the corner and distraction is a powerful political tool, we all like a little trivial fun that mostly arrives unexpectedly, sit back and enjoy.

    49
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    Mute Paolo Fandango
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:33 AM

    @Tom Hogarty: he might make a good business out of it but he’s going about it in a hugely stupid way. There’s not a chance he was able to run any kind of analysis on the effectiveness of all the employees he fired in such a short time.
    Might get away with that kind of sledgehammer approach in the US but laws in Ireland are very different and he will be caught out. ‘At Will’ employment is not a legally a accepted principle here.

    36
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    Mute Rmaybe
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:10 AM

    @Tom Hogarty: incredible track record? Why is he held in such high regard?. He will always be the guy who threw his toys out of the pram and called a diving expert a peado because they rejected his silly capsule submarine design. Making money for oneself is not the only metric of success.

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    Mute Tom Hogarty
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:35 AM

    @Rmaybe: you must know that if you hit the same notes but in a slightly different sequence, the tune produced is completely different. So why keep on playing that same tune when so many alternative outcomes are possible?

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    Mute Johnny Honest
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    Nov 6th 2022, 11:01 AM

    @Paolo Fandango: maybe the richest and one of the most intelligent people in the world should ring you for advice ?

    11
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    Mute Paolo Fandango
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    Nov 6th 2022, 12:37 PM

    @Johnny Honest: I’m actually quite a fan of his and have a lot of admiration for his achievements. Just think something is not quite right with his Twitter efforts.

    You don’t have to be smarter than musk to know that there are quite a few legal issues he will now have to deal with in terms of how he has handled the clear out of the Irish Twitter business.

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    Mute Rmaybe
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:27 PM

    @Tom Hogarty: ???

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    Mute David cotter
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:52 AM

    This could be a big set back for musk…..he’s Going to loose about 30 billion on this
    And his big dream of people living on mars is over……….dry eyes everywhere

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    Mute Richard Starling
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:29 AM

    An arrogant bully using his wealth to show he does not care about decent people

    63
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    Mute Tom Hogarty
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    Nov 6th 2022, 11:31 AM

    @Richard Starling: are all bullies arrogant or the just the rich ones?

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    Mute saoirse janneau
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:07 AM

    Was thinking the same. How could he have a feel for a company that quickly. My guess he’s been working surreptitiously with someone senior in the company to review what’s absolutely needed and what isnt. He originally stated the blue tick subscribers would have to pay $20. Stephen King told him to get lost and he reduced it to $8. He’s all over the shop. The guy is a grade A narc. I don’t care how much money he has. He has flagrantly disregarded the laws in the countries the workforce are working in. Can’t see Micheal Martin saying anymore or contesting this. He’d probably pull out of Dublin altogether. He probably will anyway.

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    Mute #1 Fifthwheel
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    Nov 6th 2022, 11:02 AM

    Boycott Twitter and don’t buy anything that is Tesla or associated with Musk. One person with so much power!! It’s like the plot of a James Bond movie! Just sayin’…

    19
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    Mute Karl Phelan
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    Nov 6th 2022, 12:22 PM

    @#1 Fifthwheel: stop using your Tesla cars and most definitely stop using SpaceX rockets!! God forbid you use a SpaceX rocket

    21
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    Mute Sean Ryan
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    Nov 6th 2022, 10:35 AM

    Anyone stating that he couldn’t have properly analysed the productivity of each role is forgetting that all the information should be readily available in a company like Twitter. 6 monthly reviews are common place in many companies. It’s not unthinkable that they were used to weed people out. I’m not saying that’s what he (or rather his agents) did, but it’s a possibility.

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    Mute Paolo Fandango
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    Nov 6th 2022, 3:26 PM

    @Sean Ryan: maybe he could have used existing data to weed out the bottom few percent ( if indeed it’s quantitative data) but qualitative data needs far more analysis which he can’t possibly have done.

    What’s more is that if the data was already there to show 50% were underperforming, why were they all still there?

    He’s just culled it without any real analysis.
    So many departments are interdependent on each other and making culls upsets so much of the balance across multiple dependant biz units.

    It’s like a race car. I’d you fiddle with a spoiler, that affects steering. That then affects handling. That then affects grip and so on and on.

    He’s a really smart guy, clearly, but he appears to be handling this one in a weird way. I suppose time will tell. He usually finds a way to make things work via many many mistakes so hopefully it gets turned around

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    Mute pistachio 32
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:46 AM

    Apparently this mastodon app is the future and twitter is finished. Anyone know much about mastodon??

    11
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    Mute G man
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:53 AM

    @pistachio 32: I heard its a clunky mess to use, I dont think twitter is going anywhere.

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    Mute Tricia G ☘️
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:56 AM

    @pistachio 32: And Truth Social uses the same code so probably not “the future “.TBH

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    Mute pistachio 32
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:58 AM

    @Tricia G ☘️: just realised there’s a monthly subscription to use it aswell. That answers that!

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    Mute Soeren Kuehling
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    Nov 6th 2022, 12:14 PM

    never used Twitter. see no point in it. communicating with friends is easier done via WhatsApp. why upload your contact list just to write to the same people.

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    Mute Glen Kearns
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    Nov 6th 2022, 2:31 PM

    Too much Money, too big an ego, too little respect for regulations and the law, zero respect for individual employees. We are watching the rise of the uber rich and their twisted perception of the world mould the world. Can’t wait to read Trumps first Toxic tweet.

    7
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    Mute CMH
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    Nov 6th 2022, 8:24 PM

    He had taken over a company that is bleeding money (4 million/day) and now has to make cuts. No surprise politicians are complaining, running massive deficits are probably not such a big deal to them nor require them to make hard choices. Also seeing as he’s already fired half of their staff who likely have salaries that would dwarf anything in the non-tech sector and we are seeing pretty much no changes in how the site functions, tells me the company is wasting too much money on staff. My guess if he needs to build back some of those teams, he’ll likely do it with staff making more modest salaries. I think there is a massive correction coming to the tech sector and probably only the top achievers are going to survive. When did it become the norm that high paid tech workers had secure jobs with light work schedules? Do people forget the 1990s and the dot-com bubble? Ever read about Steve Jobs and his views on A-players vs bozos. Catching a ride on an elevator with him in Apple often meant that if he didn’t like what he heard from you about what you did at the company, then you were likely out of work by the time the elevator stopped.

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    Mute Rmaybe
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    Nov 6th 2022, 9:01 PM

    @CMH: it is not the norm that high paid tech workers have secure jobs or light duties. In tech you work your ass off in a deadline driven fast passed environment. If you don’t meet your deadlines your out. No one is questioning Musk making lay offs it is the manner in which he did it that shows a total disregard to his employees. I work in tech we’ve recently had to make cuts all employees were treated with respect

    2
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