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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 >>
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony Public Inquiry >>
Parse failure for http://humanrights.ie/feed/. Last Retry Monday September 22, 2025 17:28
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.
No Benefits for Foreigners Under Reform, Says Nigel Farage: Stricter Visa Tests and Deportation for ... Mon Sep 22, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones Nigel Farage?today vowed to block foreign nationals from getting benefits, slashing the welfare bill "by ?234bn", and to deport hundreds of thousands of migrants with 'settled status' by bringing in stricter visa tests.
The post No Benefits for Foreigners Under Reform, Says Nigel Farage: Stricter Visa Tests and Deportation for Those Who Fail Under Crackdown on ‘Settled Status’ Migrants appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
When it Comes to Reparations, the Church of England Doesn?t Care About Evidence or Ethics Mon Sep 22, 2025 11:00 | Nigel Biggar The Church of England has shown that it doesn't care about evidence or ethics, says Prof Nigel Biggar. Why else, when presented with proof its ?100 million reparations giveaway is groundless, would it press on regardless?
The post When it Comes to Reparations, the Church of England Doesn?t Care About Evidence or Ethics appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Sensational New Measurements of Uncorrupted Air Temperatures Destroy UK Met Office Constant Claims o... Mon Sep 22, 2025 09:00 | Chris Morrison New data shows the Met Office's 'record' heat spikes are junk, weaponised by Net Zero activists to scare the public witless and push the no-hydrocarbons fantasy, says the Daily Sceptic's Environment Editor.
The post Sensational New Measurements of Uncorrupted Air Temperatures Destroy UK Met Office Constant Claims of ?Records? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Making Tax Digital ? a Disaster in the Making or a Brilliant Innovation? Mon Sep 22, 2025 07:00 | Guy de la B?doy?re Making Tax Digital is set to hit sole traders and landlords from 2026, promising more admin, costs and chaos than clarity, and Guy de la B?doy?re is already throwing in the towel rather than get swamped.
The post Making Tax Digital ? a Disaster in the Making or a Brilliant Innovation? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic. Lockdown Skeptics >>
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Soul Searching in the Library: Welcome to the Occupation
dublin |
miscellaneous |
feature
Thursday December 04, 2003 19:04 by Paul Dillon / Antrophe / IMC supresident at ucd dot ie

UCD Students Protest Cutbacks in Library Budget
300 students are tonight occupying the main library in UCD. This is against the cutbacks which have been implemented in the library budget. Opening hours have been slashed, staffing levels have been cut and the materials avialble to students are in decline. UCD students Union are demanding that the college allocates the correct resources to the library and that the government reverses its programme of cuts.
The Students have vowed to continue the protest until their demands are reached. Tonights occupation is the 3rd time in three weeks that UCD students have occupied the main library. We reckon that around 600 students have taken part so far, if you include the numbers who attended the sit in in the Earlsfort Terrace library. Students in other colleges and ITs should consider similar actions to step up the campain against cutbacks. Pictures to follow! 
FROM THE NEWSWIRE:
"The strains of one of the songs from The Prodigy's 'Music for the Jilted Generation' resonates up through the stairs and echoes past the computer banks, WOOs can be heard accompanying the beats. It's now 6am, and maybe the music started too late as when we somehow sussed out a stereo and some CDs most people had already begun to fade.
While essentially tonight is a protest occupation, making it evident to the authorities how seriously we regard this situation and our willingness to engage in confrontations over it, the whole process has been one whereby extra hours in which to study have been reclaimed by students by means of a simple refusal to leave when the college decides it's time to go."
UPDATE: FIRST VICTORY FOR UCD CAMPAIGN AGAINST CUTS
Direct action gets the goods...but is not conducive to sleep...
The strains of one of the songs off the Prodigy's 'Music for the Jilted
Generation' resonates up through the stairs and echoes past the
computer banks, woos can be heard accompanying the beats. It's now 6am,
and maybe the music started too late, as we somehow sussed out a stereo
and some cds most people had begun to fade. the conflicting impulses of
sips from shared cans a few more intrepid heads had brought in and the
quite sobriety of black coffee combining to leave us jittery wrecks,
dazed and confused. Two dance with an enthusiasm that refuses to
recognise the desire for sleep or the nights end. To join those crashed
and littering the aisles of the library, to find smaller groups
nestling in discussion or to sleep....
The nights reached that stage where all that is left is what has to be
cleaned up in the morning before we shuffle off dazed towards lectures
and in most cases bed.
Usually confined to surfing around the online library catalogue,
someone with more computer related knowledge than me stumbled upon a
function key which by passes the need for address bars, and allows the
more googgled eyes of us to escape onto the superhighway and spend the
last few hours scavenging across the internet for entertainment and
distraction.
Apparently, this is the first overnight occupation of a UCD building
since 1984, when students occupied part of the library building because
of administrations refusal to finish construction on areas of the
building. Whether or not this is true could probably be verified by
someone on the newswire. That is the nature of the student movement,
the constant cycle and turn over of students mitigates against a
collective memory which remembers these things. The hyper activism
which characterises student activism means there is little emphasis on
sitting back and contextualising or analysing the events the movement
sees unfurling.
Tonight saw over 300 people engage in a two hour reclamation of library
time that was cut back upon by the college authorities as a a response
to cutbacks initiated by the government as part of its ideological
attack on the value of public services. Its hard to gauge the exact
figures of those who chose to stay overnight and occupy the building
until it opened the following morning. Essentially after the study in
people naturally broke away into smaller groups of friends to wile away
the time. Meanwhile, a desperate few prolonged later into the night to
finish essays and cram for the duration for exams in the morning and
later in the week. But there doesn't seem to be a significant decrease
in the level of space taken over by people, perhaps as many 75% of
people stayed.
Previous to this years round of cutbacks; the library was open on
friday evenings, all day saturday and on sundry. The cutbacks see these
periods taken away. Originally the library sit in was conceived at
discussions on cutbacks in the college and the strategies need to fight
them at an open plenary discussion on education at the SU Class Rep
Training Event earlier in the year.
Before the first sit in, some of us waiting anxiously to begin outside
in the library tunnel joked that this was UCD's March 1st, that is an
openly planned and collective direct action. The class rep who proposed
the idea walked past, jokingly branded an anarchist while we waited for
her proposal to take shape she responded with confusion to remind us
she voted Fianna Fail.
Perhaps, that is reflective of the nature of direct action that it is a
form of political struggle which cuts across doctrine as when it
applied to those often most basic issues directly affecting people,
they see it as a logical strategy because fundamentally it is one that
can win.
The student movement is characterised by protest occupations, whose
goal rather than occupying space and using it as a political bargaining
tool or as part of an attempt to spread and build a wider movement is
to only occupy a few inches in the mornings tabloids, preferably with a
photo loaded with radical posturing; just for the cameras of course.
This is different. While essentially tonight is a protest occupation;
making it evident to the authorities how serious we see this situation
a nd our willingness to engage in confrontations over it. The whole
process has been one whereby extra hours in which to study have been
reclaimed by students in a simple refusal to leave when the college
decides its time to go.
Rather than being made up of the usual, recognisable enthuasists and
idealists; these actions have been composed of a broader swathe of the
UCD student body. These are the Science/engineering/vet/med type
students who need extra library hours, those students who never before
have taken a role in active dissent because usually the hours allocated
for meetings and events by a movement dominated by arts students are
hours in which they lock themselves in labs and compulsory lectures
they have no chance of bunking for half the year.
The library staff have supported the occupation all the way, sitting
back and watching it happen, leaving us to our own devices, letting us
outside to the smoking area below the library and sneaking our friends
in through the back door after Radiohead at the point. There is
sometimes a tendency to simply seeing two aspects to the college
community; academics and students. there is a third forgotten strata;
cleaners, librarians, technicians and so on those that keep the college
ticking over functionally; those for whom the college represents a
workplace rather than a place of research or study. It is probably not
surprising to see that it is from this strata that most support for the
sit ins emerges. While some have vocally supported the sit ins in their
lectures after lecture addresses from union activists; the academics
are strongly fucking noticeable by their absence in these events. Good
to see the academic Marxists, radical social theorists and all those
others leave it at the lecture and office door. If academia ever
represented a containment and isolation of dissent within texts then
here you go.
Today saw a 3/4 full bus leave UCD for a USI National Demo in town. In
one way this can be interpreted as a negative sign. I'd propose a
different reading of events. Tonight saw a a mass of people engage in
an effective form of action which has galvanised support across the
college and left the college authorities scratching their heads in
embarrassment. Some will say that there is a higher turn out because
people are here for the experience, the buzz and to piss about in the
library with their mates. So what if many are? They have still cut
across the colleges authority in refusing to obey its dictates on
opening and closing hours; and are willing to face disciplinary
measures as a result of this. That this confidence has arisen because
of the collective nature of the occupation, the collective confidence
of those taking part should be of no surprise.
Maybe it doesn't suggest a disappointing downturn in student
consciousness that so few turned out for USI today. Maybe students are
just discerning about what forms of protest are most effective when two
clear options are presented to them. The two options presented to UCD
students today were simple. To march around town in what unfortunately
has become an annual sham, where USI Leaders cheer lead from a platform
and feign radical rhetoric as we whoop from behind the police pen,
before they ask us all to piss off home our job is done now that the
Star have a wonderful back ground for the mornings photographs. Where
student leaders handcuff themselves to the railings of the Dáil and
helpfully uncuff themselves after a few moments of choice poses for
photographs.
That students are treated like consumers in vain attempts to sell them
a product packaged to resemble something like dissent, with no role in
its organisation, merely to consume it at the behest of some bloke
noone recognises (apparently he's USI, well thats what the t-shirt
says, innit? Fuck it i didnt vote for him...) is one aspect that
probably has undermined participation in these events.
The other option was to partake in a protest where everybody played a
part, in which everyone had the option of playing a role in its
organisation and rather than being the witnesses to its futility, could
see its fruits unfurl as they engaged in it. That is direct action and
I for one are glad to see the choice they made. Meetings that have
taken place with the president and incoming president has seen them
vocally agree with us. Now the issue is to force their hands into
finding the funding needed and rather than tailing the governments
ideological agenda (as they did with fees) openly oppose it and side
with the fight for an open public and free education system for all. As
a temporary measure we should continue and normalise these sit-ins till
midnight as a means of directly creating more studying hours while
escalating protests elsewhere.
Hopefully we can see more of this shit around Irish campuses. Its called direct action, and it works.
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Comments (21 of 21)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21Excellent report and a good analysis. I hope the reason that the numbers going from UCD to the protest yesterday was down is the one you outline.
I am curious about that demo though. I understand there was a few thousand at it and a variety of politicians spoke at it but I heard a rumour, and I stress it's only a rumour and I'm just looking for confirmation, that when Joe Higgins spoke he started speaking about the Bin Charges to the crowd there was a good deal of booing, presumably because it was a student protest and not a Bin Charges thing.
Can anyone confirm this?
Joe was using the example of the bin tax campaign when making a point about the need for militant protest.
I was at the demo yesterday and in general Joe Higgins received a strong response from students when he echoed the points already made by Paul Dillon about fighting cutbacks in education alongside social welfare cutbacks etc.
There was a little bit of booing from the crowd when Joe went on about the Bin Charges and I would put that down to a vocal minority. He certainly recieved more support for what he said than heckles, but he was heckled nonetheless.
Well done on the library occupation. I think it is a very practical and successful way to fight cutbacks.
Nope - there was an overnight Library occupation in 1988/89. There was also the two day occuptation of the board room in Admin that year too.
Just to clarify, I'm pro-Joe and anti-Charges. I heard a rumour and was looking for clarification, this does not mean I agree with the people booing.
hearing about ucd and other things in general its never good when a side/or group, say the left in ucd isn't allowed to take reasonable actions against things like fees because the student commitee is too full or right wingers and blocks all desicions but now that the the ucd students union is quite strongly left and had some great successes including upholding the coke boycott... they now have too much control and are allowed to use college money to fund there pet project of going to shannon just because they can .....
im in favour of blockading if shannon and the results of the vote in the coke referendums shows that a majority of the students favour a ban not just a forceful committee but im worried that they now have it too easy to get their own way......
"the academics are strongly fucking noticable by their absence in these events. Good to see the academic marxists, radical social theorists and all those others leave it at the lecture and office door."
Where was the so called 'revolutionary' Kieran Allen? Why has he not mobilsed staff or even attended himself? He just seems to be content with interpreting the world
Those who booed when Joe Higgins mentioned the bin tax protesters are nothing but scab right wing bastards. Probably PD/FF/FG/GP scabs. How do they think that fees and cuts in education will be defeated? By crappy USI photo opps? By Blue Shirt Priestly getting his mug on the TV? Or by activley linking up with others affected by cuts such as college workers and bin tax campaings in a struggle to end cuts and bring down the government.
These right wing bastards in the SU's and on the demos should be exposed and politically outed from the student movement.
I'm not disagreeing with the sentiment of the post above or anything, but really it was only a handful of regular students booing. No major student union or right wing conspiracy here. Just some random punters who had probably been brainwashed by the corporate media into thinking that the bin tax protestors were some sort of scroungers. It really wasn't a major part of the crowd.
I wish i was there but had to sell myself to the man for s€lver shillings to pay the man his fees.
Any plans for some futura library occupations?
we should have some old time UCD heads out to talk about their experiences in dealing with the man(or woman in this case).
//
express yourself
create he space
you know you can win
dont give the chase
beat the man
take him on
nover give up
its one on one
//
The USI organised protest yesterday may have been effective as regards numbers but it was a fucking farce as regards sending a clear message of defiance to the government.Having a "childline" like concert down a side street is not an effective merhod of direct action and the fuckers inside the chambers not only would piss their asses laughin but would hardly have even noticed.
Anopther token annual USI farce so u guys can sit back afterwards and let the rest of us slog it out as usual.
Power in numbers?
Yeah maybe but not when u invite Fine Gael blueshirts up to speak on an issue they would do nothing about and at a time when the votemongerers are thirsty.
Fuck yez!!!
I'm a fan of UCD & most of the regular contributors commentators know that by now.
Though I was a trinity chap myself, and indeed have to take this opportunity to remind everyone that _all_ who took part in the occupation of Trinity Library 1988 were expelled. Expelled properly, not just "put off books" or, "took a sabatical" or, we don't know how but he/she turned up in the calender years later as a fellow but we've no idea what he/she looked like...
It is perhaps then a sign of the continuing changing nature of the Irish Education Establishment, and yawn yawn the Irish Establishment which it has been observed holds extensive links with it's primary education institutions, that _none_ of these little Belfilield "okupe"/"disobedients" are going to be expelled inconnection with any bibliomantic protest.
Ok the Prodigy song is terrible, give them a 3rd class degree for the prodigy, but oh Ireland/Eire you patria of my passport, remember this:
You are locking up the academics who teach your next generation of academia, and the poor children are okupe-ing the library.
= must be brain drain.
I know Iosaf isiphi was a West Brit prod snob, all the Dublin anarchists are. They're all Foxrock Brits who have nothing in common with the workers.
these things we have in common and not forgetting of course the snotty nose.
..i forgot to mention that a similar study in took place in Earlsfort Terrace. I've just heard that the college authorities have conceded and are retoring opening hours in Ealrsfort to ten hours a day.
See, it does work...
Until they actually do something!
I forgot that the wewestern part of britian was devoid of all "working class". {isnt liverpool an west britian, and wales?}
I suspect David C has about as much in common with the working class as your median follower of the trotyskite tendancy.
Or am I wrong?
Maybe the "socialists" on the newswire (and some car driving class talking ucd comrades) should take a closer look at themselves before slagging off an anarchist squatter sitting in barcelona.
P.S. Iosaf is one of the only genuinely funny lads on the newswire. I always enjoy reading his analysis& anecdotes.
David C : Piss off to your "Ivory tower". spanner.
I, as a UCD student, was really impressed by the solidarity of my left-wing brotherhood. I applaud and congratulate all those who participated in the sleep-in last Wednesday...while my relationship with Thom York kept me from you; I was there in spirit. Go team socialism!!!
"The campus book shop boycott didn't really take off as a massive campaign, because there was a lack of student involvement, but whats new there in terms of UCD. Despite this, there was several days of pickets organised."
Good to see Antophe has become less cynical of the students in the past few weeks!
'Good to see Antophe has become less cynical of the students in the past few weeks!'
I was never cynical of students, but it is a fact to state that the boycott bookshop lacked a serious momentum because students simply didnt get invovled in it. I'm not sure what ever came from the meetings Oisin had with the book shop owner on the issue. If hes watching, maybe he could fill us in? None of that is a criticism; just fact and observation. Maybe the main reasons for lack of involvement was the monoploly the bookshop has on many core texts which leaves many with no option but to pass any picket there and buy there texts. Then again, like most university based endeavors; there is a need to recognise that the financial background of many students probably means they have little to gain from engaging in collective action on the basis of their own material interest; as that interest is covered by their parents bank account. The library meanwhile affected evryone regardless of this; perhaps one factor leading to particaipation. I guess the overall issue at hand is injecting and resurrecting the idea of solidarity into the student body as a tactic that can win, as in the case of the library sit ins...
some photos and intermediate to advanced German.
They did a cool banner for free education:
alles nur eine semantische problem freie uni in Berlin?
"There was an overnight Library occupation in 1988/89. There was also the two day occuptation of the board room in Admin that year too"
Could anyone with any more information on these events please email me at matchgrams@gmail.com.
Thanks.