Apple Making It Easier For Customers to Donate to Those in Need in Ukraine

[IIGS User]

If enough people in Russia were against the war and against their dictator, they’d Get rid of him

This is an overly simplistic analysis of the situation.

Russia is a repressive regime. Human life and rights mean nothing to them. It means nothing to the regime to pile people into gulags and camps in order to suppress dissent. This has been the way in Russia for centuries. More opposition? Meh. Open more camps in the East.

Too many war dead coming back from Ukraine? They have an easy fix for that, too. Mobile crematoriums. So when 1 year conscripts are sent into a battle that's supposed to be an exercise and are killed in combat, they just cremate the remains, send them home in a cardboard box and tell their mothers they died in a "training accident".

The person, as an individual, and as a life has so much less value in Russia it is hard for outsiders who have not acquainted themselves with the history and culture of this part of the world to comprehend it.

The people in Russia can no sooner get rid of their dictator than people Venezuela or North Korea can.

 

[ivan86]

As I've written before in these politics-allowed comments sections: Tim Cook once hosted Netanyahu at Cupertino. This caring about human rights might be believable by some, but definitely not all.

On Watching Ukraine Through Palestinian Eyes

The rightful outpouring of support for Ukraine teaches us that the West can condemn occupation when it wants to.

www.thenation.com

You are walking a thin line here. Blink blink.

We all are here, in this world, sharing our Planet. Responsible for everything - together.

I hope you who read this have enought courage to take responsibility for everything that is happening in your life.

Love to all of you guys. Don’t allow hate and anger take over your heart. You are above all this.

 

[yellow8]

I created QuickScan for those in needs during the pandemic. I don't know (yet) what I could do this time...

 

[ouimetnick]

Tim Cook also claims to care about Apple and it's investors, so let's not pretend like this is a simple situation for him or Apple.

Idealism is black and white.

Reality is complicated and hard.

Actions speak louder than words. He certainly has done more for investors though.

 

[ouimetnick]

Its not hypocritical to follow local laws as in turning over iCloud content to law enforcement. When it comes to government there is no privacy.

Csam has nothing to do with privacy. Having illegal content on your phone, now you know you shouldn’t. Bottom line, apple respects privacy but your data is up for grabs with search and seizure by the government.

I don’t think you know what hypocritical means. ?

 

[VulchR]

Totally valid observation. However, he does have an obligation to AAPL Holders as well.

I think he did the right thing, but as you note his sole responsibility is not just to AAPL holders. 'Fiduciary responsibility' as a legal requirement to always maximise profits, dividends, stock buy-backs etc. is an urban myth. No law requires companies to consider stockholders over customers, workers, or indeed society as a whole.

EDIT: Sigh. the option to donate doesn't appear to be coming up in the UK iTunes. Typical Apple: USA-centric when the population of Europe is larger.

 

[idktbh]

with the 30% commission, apple can recover the money lost due to the closure of stores in Russia ?

 

[Allyance]

Any thing good Apple or Tim Cook does is quickly vilified by the trolls on MR.

I used the "Donate" button in AppleNews as soon as I saw it. Made my $25 donation. I am retired, living on a vey modest income from Social Security and my IRA. I wish I could do more.

 

[Allyance]

It is right here:

 

[trhoffmann]

Nice idea, but donating through the UN is a non-starter for me. Just made a donation through World Central Kitchen - and was able to use Apple Pay.

 

[katbel]

It's not launching for me within Music on the desktop? Maybe a lot of traffic?

Edit: It works for me now, and I just chipped in $50. If people are in a position to even kick in $5 or $10, it really does help.

$10 is a probably 10-25 meals, when you are preparing food in bulk. José Andrés' charity World Central Kitchen is doing a lot of this work right now for Ukrainian refugees:

World Central Kitchen

Founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, World Central Kitchen (WCK) is a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines providing fresh meals in response to crises. Applying our model of quick action, leveraging local resources, and adapting in real time, WCK has served more than 500...

wck.org

We donated to the World Central Kitchen too: fantastic job and it's owner and creator José Andrés, Nobel Peace winner, donated a big chunk of his prize, beside being in Poland on the border cooking for the refugees
Amazing people out there to help!

 

[citysnaps]

Any thing good Apple or Tim Cook does is quickly vilified by the trolls on MR.

I used the "Donate" button in AppleNews as soon as I saw it. Made my $25 donation. I am retired, living on a vey modest income from Social Security and my IRA. I wish I could do more.

Sadly yes. Some people feel energized slagging some person or company, giving them a little blip of power that otherwise doesn't exist in their lives, which helps them to feel better. Unfortunately, that blip of power is short lived, soon requiring another attack. And that goes on and on.

Thank you for donating. I did as well.

 

[I7guy]

I don’t think you know what hypocritical means. ?

of course, an insult is in order when someone has a different opinion from “you”.

 

[FasterQuieter]

I am tempted to be cynical about these things, but Apple must be in an impossibly complicated position here. As they are with China.

 

[e-coli]

Somebody needs to make it easier for us to donate rocket launchers. I suppose that’s called taxes though.

 

[Kylo83]

It’s great apple is helping but I wouldn’t touch anything unicef do for personal reasons I won’t say

 

[mikethemartian]

Understood, but please don’t be claiming the moral high ground when being a sissy. (Tim Cook, not you) Cook himself is gay and claims to support gay folks, but he removed the pride flag in Russia. He claims that privacy is a fundamental human right but let’s CCP keep user data. Again, while he does have an obligation to shareholders, he can also shut up and not make hypocritical statements.

Say what you will about the Gordon Gekko “Greed is Good” speech from Wall Street, at least it was honest regarding what motivated him.

 

[ouimetnick]

of course, an insult is in order when someone has a different opinion from “you”.

Not intended as an insult, nor an opinion. If Cook says that he stands for something and then undermines it, it makes Cook a hypocrite. Apple (and Cook) claims to support LBQT+ folks, yet they bow down to Russia's orders and remove the pride flag. Cook & Apple that privacy is a fundamental human right, yet they bowed down to CCP and puts servers with backdoor access for the government in China while at home in the US, he & Apple stood their ground and refused the FBI's demands for a backdoor into a shooter's iPhone... why is that? Almost like their beliefs vary depending in the market they are in.

He claim's privacy is a fundamental human right and then his company introduces CSAM.** Don't preach something and then introduce something to undermine it. I get his primary duties are to the shareholders (my parents own Apple stock and are thrilled) but don't get into political discussions when your actions differ from your words. Steve Jobs rarely if ever spoke about politics. If Cook really meant what he said, he'd keep his pride flag emoji in Russia, tell Putin to pound sand, and deal with the consequences.

As John Lewis said (Apple even shared THIS quote on their homepage when he died) "Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in, good trouble, necessary trouble."

Why quote Lewis and have MLK quotes in your office if you can't stand up for what you believe in?

**I don't even understand why they are doing this CSAM thing anyway. It doesn't work if you aren't using iCloud Photos anyway. If you use iCloud Photos (I do), then every photo on the iPhone, iPad or Mac's Photo Library is stored in iCloud as well. Why not look for CSAM match content on the server end (they probably do) and not on the device end? That way their marketing line of "What happens on iPhone stays on iPhone" would be true.

I'm glad to see them making it easy to donate to humanitarian efforts though.

 

[4tune8chance]

Very interesting how Tim Cook only stopped sales in Russia after the currency crash there. This is the guy who claims to care about freedom of speech, gay rights, etc but he does everything to comply with Russian laws instead of standing up for his so called beliefs.

Well said,…. comrade.

 

[mikethemartian]

Very interesting how Tim Cook only stopped sales in Russia after the currency crash there. This is the guy who claims to care about freedom of speech, gay rights, etc but he does everything to comply with Russian laws instead of standing up for his so called beliefs.

What I find telling about Tim Cook’s veracity was his willingness as part of his China deal to intentionally misrepresent the size of the Diaoyutai Islands on Apple Maps to suit the political needs of the Chinese government. The misrepresentation of a simple fact that anyone around the world can check.

 

[davidg4781]

Good to see, while quite a few businesses have stated they're stopping to work with Russian biz, have not yet much seen in terms of donations

I’ve thought of this. My company is usually quick to start collecting but we haven’t heard anything.

Hate to say it, but it would be terrible to collect a ton of money, send it to them while they’re still at war, and that money becomes useless.

It might be best to wait until we see what is needed.

 

[alchemistmuffin]

Apple says that all donations made through the iTunes portal will go directly to UNICEF USA and its ongoing efforts in Ukraine to support families impacted by the war.

BE WARNED, that donation made via iTunes MAY NOT BE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

For those that want to donate and have tax decision, donate directly through UNICEF’s website.

(And for those wondering, YES, you can donate via Apple Pay through UNICEF’s website)

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

What's really very interesting is how some people manage to use Apple's generosity as a way to edge in and slag on TC/Apple. Despite knowing corporate decisions are never made instantaneously, and that United States law prevents companies from engaging in political matters/causes (freedom of speech, gay rights, etc) in other countries.

Apple has a long history of pretending to care, but only caring about the bottom line. Sure, some people are just cynical, negative people, but in this case, many are cynical because of the repeated pattern. The pattern is so repeated, that it is predictable to the point of groan.

 

[Danfango]

Let's be realistic. The key reason that they withdrew from the market was because you can't actually pay the carriers nor turn the money into dollars at the moment. Trade is no longer possible. You have to withdraw.

That doesn't invalidate the positive side of this which is opening up a donation channel. So great job Apple.

On top of that, if you want to operate in some markets you have to make ideological compromises and in the current climate, it's better that people have devices in their hands than not. Imagine Russia without foreign smartphones and you'll see what I mean.

All of these situations are 100% independent though. Don't tar one with another.

 

[sideshowuniqueuser]

Totally valid observation. However, he does have an obligation to AAPL Holders as well.

Yep, and in this case, it' profits, followed by PR, leading to more profits. The point is, he has absolutely zero cares in the world for the actual issues, and those of us that are switched on, would rather he just shut up and stick to making good products, so that we don't have to want to vomit in our mouths every time some populous issue hit's the headlines, and lo, there is Apple, pretending to care again. Generous people don't need to tell the world how generous they are, they just quietly do it. When you tell the world about your wonderful generosity, you are simply buying PR.