North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?
US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty
Anti-Empire >>
Indymedia Ireland is a volunteer-run non-commercial open publishing website for local and international news, opinion & analysis, press releases and events. Its main objective is to enable the public to participate in reporting and analysis of the news and other important events and aspects of our daily lives and thereby give a voice to people.
Fraud and mismanagement at University College Cork Thu Aug 28, 2025 18:30 | Calli Morganite
UCC has paid huge sums to a criminal professor
This story is not for republication. I bear responsibility for the things I write. I have read the guidelines and understand that I must not write anything untrue, and I won't.
This is a public interest story about a complete failure of governance and management at UCC.
Deliberate Design Flaw In ChatGPT-5 Sun Aug 17, 2025 08:04 | Mind Agent
Socratic Dialog Between ChatGPT-5 and Mind Agent Reveals Fatal and Deliberate 'Design by Construction' Flaw
This design flaw in ChatGPT-5's default epistemic mode subverts what the much touted ChatGPT-5 can do... so long as the flaw is not tickled, any usage should be fine---The epistemological question is: how would anyone in the public, includes you reading this (since no one is all knowing), in an unfamiliar domain know whether or not the flaw has been tickled when seeking information or understanding of a domain without prior knowledge of that domain???!
This analysis is a pretty unique and significant contribution to the space of empirical evaluation of LLMs that exist in AI public world... at least thus far, as far as I am aware! For what it's worth--as if anyone in the ChatGPT universe cares as they pile up on using the "PhD level scholar in your pocket".
According to GPT-5, and according to my tests, this flaw exists in all LLMs... What is revealing is the deduction GPT-5 made: Why ?design choice? starts looking like ?deliberate flaw?.
People are paying $200 a month to not just ChatGPT, but all major LLMs have similar Pro pricing! I bet they, like the normal user of free ChatGPT, stay in LLM's default mode where the flaw manifests itself. As it did in this evaluation.
AI Reach: Gemini Reasoning Question of God Sat Aug 02, 2025 20:00 | Mind Agent
Evaluating Semantic Reasoning Capability of AI Chatbot on Ontologically Deep Abstract (bias neutral) Thought
I have been evaluating AI Chatbot agents for their epistemic limits over the past two months, and have tested all major AI Agents, ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Perplexity, and DeepSeek, for their epistemic limits and their negative impact as information gate-keepers.... Today I decided to test for how AI could be the boon for humanity in other positive areas, such as in completely abstract realms, such as metaphysical thought. Meaning, I wanted to test the LLMs for Positives beyond what most researchers benchmark these for, or have expressed in the approx. 2500 Turing tests in Humanity?s Last Exam.. And I chose as my first candidate, Google DeepMind's Gemini as I had not evaluated it before on anything.
Israeli Human Rights Group B'Tselem finally Admits It is Genocide releasing Our Genocide report Fri Aug 01, 2025 23:54 | 1 of indy
We have all known it for over 2 years that it is a genocide in Gaza
Israeli human rights group B'Tselem has finally admitted what everyone else outside Israel has known for two years is that the Israeli state is carrying out a genocide in Gaza
Western governments like the USA are complicit in it as they have been supplying the huge bombs and missiles used by Israel and dropped on innocent civilians in Gaza. One phone call from the USA regime could have ended it at any point. However many other countries are complicity with their tacit approval and neighboring Arab countries have been pretty spinless too in their support
With the release of this report titled: Our Genocide -there is a good chance this will make it okay for more people within Israel itself to speak out and do something about it despite the fact that many there are actually in support of the Gaza
China?s CITY WIDE CASH SEIZURES Begin ? ATMs Frozen, Digital Yuan FORCED Overnight Wed Jul 30, 2025 21:40 | 1 of indy
This story is unverified but it is very instructive of what will happen when cash is removed
THIS STORY IS UNVERIFIED BUT PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO OR READ THE TRANSCRIPT AS IT GIVES AN VERY GOOD IDEA OF WHAT A CASHLESS SOCIETY WILL LOOK LIKE. And it ain't pretty
A single video report has come out of China claiming China's biggest cities are now cashless, not by choice, but by force. The report goes on to claim ATMs have gone dark, vaults are being emptied. And overnight (July 20 into 21), the digital yuan is the only currency allowed.
The Saker >>
Why Are Green Activists Suddenly Outraged at the Billions Wasted Paying Wind Farms to Switch Off Whe... Tue Sep 23, 2025 07:00 | Ben Pile
Suddenly, green activists have started getting outraged at the billions wasted paying wind farms to switch off when it's too windy. The hypocrisy and chutzpah beggars belief, says Ben Pile.
The post Why Are Green Activists Suddenly Outraged at the Billions Wasted Paying Wind Farms to Switch Off When it’s Too Windy? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Tue Sep 23, 2025 01:12 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Hamas Executes ?Israeli Collaborators? in Streets of Gaza Mon Sep 22, 2025 19:30 | Will Jones
Hamas?has executed three Palestinians accused of "collaborating" with Israel on the streets of Gaza, just hours after the UK, Australia and Canada announced their?recognition of a Palestinian state.
The post Hamas Executes “Israeli Collaborators” in Streets of Gaza appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Covid Response Was Not a Mistake ? It Was Just Wrong Mon Sep 22, 2025 17:35 | Dr David Bell
The Covid response was not an error, and it was not the result of rushing to counter an unknown pathogen. It was a lot of people, mostly professionals, systematically doing what they knew was wrong, says Dr David Bell.
The post The Covid Response Was Not a Mistake ? It Was Just Wrong appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
School Accused of ?Brainwashing? Children After 14 Year-Olds Told to Read Book ?Blaming Them for The... Mon Sep 22, 2025 15:11 | Will Jones
A parent has accused a secondary school of "brainwashing" after?he learned that 14 year-old pupils were told to read a book that "blames them for their white skin" ? and his daughter was forced to read it out loud.
The post School Accused of “Brainwashing” Children After 14 Year-Olds Told to Read Book “Blaming Them for Their White Skin” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en
Voltaire Network >>
galway |
miscellaneous |
event notice
Sunday October 26, 2003 18:31
by Grassroots Gathering - Autonomous
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (14 of 14)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14The term 'Working Class' is used freely on the Indymedia website. Does this term apply to a large group of people in the Ireland of today or not?
What is the definition of class?
The 'working class', as defined by Marx, is the class of people who have to sell their labor to survive.
Does this really apply to many people in the Ireland of 2003?
If you are a 'working class' person, can you become a 'middle class' person or indeed an 'upper class' person simply by acquiring lots of money?
On the other hand, is class to do with breeding?
In my view class was something that derived from monarchic societies and does not really apply to the Ireland of today. Nor should we want it to.
What does exist is social deprivation and that is what needs to be seriously tackled. In other words we need a more equitable society and a better environment in which to live.
A debate on class and the environment takes place as part of the Grassroots Gathering in Galway this weekend.
as you might have noticed I consistently (rather comically perhaps) refer to real people and my fictional characters as "formerly middle class" or "formerly working class".
When I read that any forum/assembly/chinwag session begin to approach the other catagories: "newly corporative class", "formerly fiscal class" etc., I'll sue for breach of copyright!
In the green corner and in the Black corner! The discussion is kicked off by Niall O'Brollchain of the Green Party and Andrew Flood, a filthy anarchist with the Workers Solidarity Movement.
The discussion is just one of many things happening at this Grassroots which runs from this friday evening until Sunday in NUI Galway.
Haven't seen an exact time or venue for this particluar debate yet.
related links: http://grassrootsgathering.freeservers.com
http://www.indymedia.ie/newswire.php?story_id=61864&type_id=all&search_text=Grassroots%20Gathering
http://www.anarchism.ws
There will be a major conference on social, environmental, and community activism in NUI Galway on November 8/9. The event is partly organised by the University Ecology Society.
Grassroots Gathering Galway 8/9 November. Latest Update on the
Workshops:
Ecology and Community 1: Transport.
Speakers from the Galway Cycling Campaign, who successfully halted the construction of roundabouts on the Seamus Quirke road, from Hands Across the Corrib, who are opposing the Menlo by-pass which is planned to go through an area of great scenic beauty and historic importance, from the Save the Trees campaign which is opposing the concreting of Eyre Square, and West on Track who are agitating for a railway corridor down the long neglected west coast.
Ecology and Community 2: Our Countryside.
Speaker from the Local Action Group against the re-opening of Tynagh mines for the chemical industry, a speaker for the campaign organising against Coilte's ecologically unsound policies, hopefully someone to fill us in on the situation in regard to a motorway going through Tara.
Ecology and Community 3: The Corrib Gas Pipeline.
Speakers from the campaign organising against Shell's harmful exploitation of natural resources with no regard for local communities safety in both Nigeria and Mayo.
Resistance at Work:
Speaker who was involved in setting up a couriers group in Dublin, and an Easons shop steward.
Resistance in the Community:
Speakers from the Bin Charges campaign in Dublin, and from the Defend Free Speech and Assembly and Activity campaign in Galway which is opposing draconian by-laws.
Campaigns against specific institutions/companies – THE BOYCOTT
Speaker from the World Bank Boycott, who aim to get Trade Unions, universities, etc., to disinvest from the World Bank, a speaker from Foyle Ethical Investment Campaign who operate a creative resistance to Raytheon, the arms manufacturers in Derry, and from other boycott campaigns such as the people who banned Coca Cola from UCD.
Spaces: Autonomous Community Spaces – what to do with them?, how to organise them?, why do we want them? how do we get them? Speakers from Cork Autonomous Zone, Disco Disco, and Belfast Squat.
Street Art: Stencilling, Subvertising and Creative Resistance.
How to do it: Reclaim the Streets, Critical Mass, Food Not Bombs.
Bad Blood: a workshop on menstrual activism.
Alternative Media Workshop 1: Writing, putting out a magazine, dealing with the official media, getting published.
Alternative Media Workshop 2: Websites, a hands on guide, from anarchomedia.
Courtrooms: legal support and defending yourself in court.
Direct Action: The Campaign for Free Education experience. A year of blocking roads, occupying ministries and blockading politicians – practical lessons learned from the fight against fees.
Arrest and Interrogation: A Victim's Guide.
Plus planespotting, international solidarity, climbing, herbal remedies, and much more to be confirmed
is someone who screw you for their own benefit just as much as any other economic class of person left or right
and should not be raised on a pedestil like so many socialist do what is more important is the class or qualtiy or ethics of a person
This is an interesting and necessary point to talk about. However, it's not news, and so it shouldn't be on the newswire. For the sake of consistent editing, it should really be removed, perhaps with links left to where the discussion can continue.
'A debate on class and the environment takes place as part of the Grassroots Gathering in Galway this weekend.'
This is news surely?
A pointless debate really. I thought that such notions about class not existing went out with the last boring postmodern academic. The excuse to be stupid that allowed wealthy individuals talk about class not existing etc. Class explains that deprivation is not just an unfortunate by product of a given situation but the inevitable result of the domination of one class over another.
If some trendy lefty or academic wants to pretend it doesn't exist, let them. For the marginalised in Irish society class exists as part of their daily lives regardless of how conscious they are of it.
Anyone who would be fucked (unable to pay rent/morg/car payments etc) without their wage after 2 months. Those who live by their work not property or savings/capital (or the property or capital of extended family).
This is my personal definition for today.
The debate is between a member of the Green Party and a member of the Workers Solidarity Movement. The WSM speaker will, I'd expect, be putting forward the point of view that class does most certainly exist!
Personally I don't think that this is pointless at all. There are many people, even many from the working class, who don't understand the basic principles of class. The ideological onslaught of capitalism has obscured this most basic (and obvious to my mind) idea. In particular, people often confuse sociological definitions of class (based mainly on cultural factors) with the socialist idea of class (based on the relationship to the means of production). One way of looking at class: If you took all power and wealth and shared it out equally, those people who would be worse off than they are now are on one side of the class divide (ruling class), the rest on the other(working class).
You say that your definition of working class is someone who cant pay their mortage & bills after 2 months of non work.
Does this apply to someone who earns, say, 200k a year and lives on the Sorrento Road?
I'm only playing devils advocate here (I agree with Chekov's points), just curious...
I think a lot of people (esp. those on the left) use the terms workin class and "bourgeois" without actually qualifyying them. Someone called me a middle class cunt before (a socialist) and when I asked him how much (or how little) I had to earn before becoming working class he wouldnt answer me.
For the record the last job I had payed me 25,000 euro a year (been unemployed for nearly a year now though..)
I had no mortgage and no major bills (refuse to buy a fucking car!). Did I used to be middle class?
Or if I was making 15k a year, was I working class? Or even 10k? or less?
Anyway I hope these issues will all be raised at the Grassroots discussion. Looking forward to the weekend.
I think it will be an interesting discussion but like one of the other people who commented on the thread, I find it bizarre to a certain extent that it is happening. The efforts of people on the right and now, I am slightly disappointed to note from a party I would have seen as slightly left of centre, to pretend we have 'evolved' beyond class is nonsense.
Defining class can be difficult, though Chekov's got an appreciative smile out of me both for it's brevity and it's wit as well as its accuracy. It is possible to move class, to be born into a middle or upper class family and end up in the working class. Similarly it is possible for working class people to end up in the middle or upper class.
Such movement however, is uncommon, and typically the class you are born into is the class you're going to die in.
Not realising that class exists, that control of the means of production by one dominant class at the expense of another, deprives one of one of the best and most long lasting analyses of history and politics. I honestly don't believe an analysis of either which ignores class, whether it is a left wing analysis or not, is anything but idiocy of the highest order.
Marx might have got a lot of things wrong, but the history of the world is certainly the history of class struggle.
Don't know the s road - but 200,000 k per year it's pretty obvious would have plenty of savings or no morg. on house and would survive for a good long while more than the limit I indicated on the strength of their property/savings/possible golden handshake.
25K single with no car morg. etc more difficult. If the dole for a year is by choice then Middle class. If single and can't get a job thru lack of skills for that length of time working class.
It's tricky - I like Chekov's awnser too.
In response to Niall, just because crude or simplistic defintions of class dont hold water does not mean that class has ceased to exist. Social class is undoubtedly a very complex phenomenom which relates to economic, social and cultural structures. But how do you account for social inequality in modern Ireland if you discount the very concept of class?
Greens wishing away the reality of social class are as unrealistic as dogmatic Marxists who refuse to recognise the complexity of the modern class structure.
Its easy to build a Marxist straw horse and blow it down, but anyone familiar with what Marx wrote will realise that he recognised the complexity of class and its relationship with politics (See 'The eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon' for example). While its easy to demolish the crude formulations of small sects, I would challenge anyone to dismiss the massive corpus of work by serious Marxist writers on class. There is a constant, lively and well informed debate amongst Marxist on this question.
This is not an academic debate since our understanding of and attitude towards this question has a fundamental effect on our activism. Which, I suspect, is why ISN and WSM activists find themselves on the opposite side to the Greens on the Bin Tax and some other issues.
Anyway, Im looking forward to an informed and vigorous debate at the Grassroots Gathering over the weekend.