New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Anti-Empire

Anti-Empire

offsite link North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link Slavgrinder Ramps Up Into Overdrive Tue Nov 12, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link ?Existential? Culling to Continue on Com... Mon Nov 11, 2024 10:28 | Marko Marjanovi?

offsite link US to Deploy Military Contractors to Ukr... Sun Nov 10, 2024 02:37 | Field Empty

Anti-Empire >>

The Saker

Indymedia ireland

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.

offsite link 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.

offsite link 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.

offsite link 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.

offsite link 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

offsite link 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 >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Somalian Migrant Living in Epping Hotel Thanks Keir Starmer ?From the Bottom of my Heart? After Winn... Sat Sep 20, 2025 15:00 | Will Jones
A Somalian migrant living at the Bell Hotel in Epping has thanked Keir Starmer?"from the bottom" of his heart after winning the right to stay in Britain on human rights grounds as he prepares to settle in Yorkshire.
The post Somalian Migrant Living in Epping Hotel Thanks Keir Starmer “From the Bottom of my Heart” After Winning Right to Stay in UK appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Oxford Students ?Mocked the Assassination of Charlie Kirk on WhatsApp and Tried to Silence Anyone Wh... Sat Sep 20, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Students with links to Oxford University?have mocked the assassination of?Charlie Kirk on WhatsApp?and tried to silence others who did not agree, it's been reported, with many explicitly endorsing political violence.
The post Oxford Students “Mocked the Assassination of Charlie Kirk on WhatsApp and Tried to Silence Anyone Who Didn’t Agree” appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Britain Can?t Deport Me?: Calais Migrants Vow to Keep Crossing Channel Sat Sep 20, 2025 11:00 | Will Jones
Migrants in Calais have vowed to cross the Channel "again and again", saying "Britain can't deport me", as Keir Starmer's 'one in, one out' deal?with France faces a wave of legal challenges.
The post “Britain Can’t Deport Me”: Calais Migrants Vow to Keep Crossing Channel appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Sun and Cosmic Rays Drive Climate, Not CO2, Says Astrophysicist Sat Sep 20, 2025 09:00 | Hannes Sarv
It's not CO2 that drives the climate, says astrophysicist Dr Henrik Svensmark. Its the Sun and cosmic rays. But you won't hear about this because only one viewpoint is now allowed in the pseudo-science of climate.
The post Sun and Cosmic Rays Drive Climate, Not CO2, Says Astrophysicist appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The ?Far Left? Finally Gets Its Comeuppance Sat Sep 20, 2025 07:00 | James Alexander
For years the Left has smeared its opponents as 'far Right'. Now, the spike in Leftist political violence has led to a turning of the tables. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the Guardian, says Prof James Alexander.
The post The ‘Far Left’ Finally Gets Its Comeuppance appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en

offsite link Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en

offsite link The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en

Voltaire Network >>

12 Nepalese workers have been "executed" in Iraq.

category international | worker & community struggles and protests | other press author Wednesday September 01, 2004 17:21author by iosaf - recording the tragic legacy of Bush. Report this post to the editors

they were banned from working in Iraq.

yet they went and like many other workers took up legal arms to guard Westerners.

They were mercenaries.
& now they are dead.

(They were kidnapped on Aug 23 2004)
But your usual trusted news sources didn't want to attract attention to the amount of "additional security personel" employed "legally" or "illegally" in Iraq.

http://www.turkishpress.com/turkishpress/news.asp?ID=25006

and the news is -
they are now dead.
http://diplomatie.fr/actu/article.asp?ART=44130

author by drunk as a rule (soul searching in the law library)publication date Mon Jun 27, 2005 18:27author address author phone Report this post to the editors

So I'll lay out the facts of the case and the immediate events preceding the disconnect here for elucidation and entertainment. I am adding the final comment I attempted to post here. Indymedia Article from FI at the link.

**************************

Oh yeah 'Paranoia': Indymedia was paranoid back when it was the only Irish outlet reporting that shannon airport was suddenly being used to transfer a majority of us troops to Iraq: Michael Mc Dowell described contributors as 'mad'.
The truth will out.
[Trolling - partly deleted]
Edited By Siteowner
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 2:56 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

much as i would be critical of indymedia it represents a uncensored news source and as such should be welcomed. the site you link to is rather poor and actually is the mirror of what it hates.
hensons | 27.06.05 - 3:04 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"They were banned from working in Iraq. Yet, they went and like many other workers took up legal arms to guard Westerners. They were mercenaries. And now they are dead."
Source link please Peter: When you remove the context entirely from something you can prove anything.
I vaguely remember this incident but cannot find the thread.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 3:25 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I can't imagine any 'context' that would excuse those four sentences.
Richard Waghorne | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 3:32 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

i'm not going to excuse them: I'm going to fact check them.
Facts I want to check:
1. They were banned from working in Iraq (I believe by their own government)
2. They went anyway and took up arms to guard westerners
3. They were mercenaries
4. They are dead
All of the above are statements of fact. I want to fact check them. I want to see if the FI thinks certain 'facts' are by their nature 'inexcusable'.
Are there any facts that you would deem 'illegal' or 'beyond the pale' if they could be shown to be objectively true Richard?
Sounds like you were learning goodo from the 'Preznit' on your trip.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 3:40 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

slagging a particular party (PDs) and quoting the minister for justice on Indymedia (the subject of this piece) is trolling now?
Wow
I quoted Michael McDowells charachterisation of indymedia contributers as 'mad' at time of buildup to war to point out the very close match of that talking point to this blog article talking point.
Is this a little over-sensitive. I will keep my humour to myself around here from now on. (that'd be the second deletion - first was a quotation from Father jack) It must be illegal.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 3:53 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the phantom deleter in question, I'd advise you that random personal abuse, especially when in Borat-style English, doesn't add much to anyone's reading experience.
However, more substantial comments such as your later ones are welcome.
Peter Nolan | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 4:03 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well done Peter on finding a like-minded soul with a bee in their bonnet about indymedia.
A pity s/he seems to combine a jolly mixture of paranoia and obsessiveness with caricature. Not much meat on those bones I'm afraid.
banned poster | 27.06.05 - 4:09 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

fr jack style english I think you mean. Now where is the address for the thread you quoted re Nepalese workers?
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 4:11 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doing your homework for ya Peter...
Seaching Indymedia.ie "They were banned from working"
results in: Sorry, but no stories match your query!
Googling is sometimes better: "They were banned from working" indymedia
You see only one result.
Google has pretty much sucked up all of Indymedia.ie and also shows up in Google News, as well.
I'm not saying that post didn't happen, or isn't on Indymedia.ie somewhere - but I doubt it.
I suspect 'Chumps for Chomsky' has made a chump out of you.
redjade | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 4:20 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

and it wasn't personal abuse - the only entities I indulged in a little light hearted (pseudo-drunken) banter about were
1. FI
2. PD's
No persons.
Or am I lying because I am exhibiting 'the full flowering of unhinged paranoia'?
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 4:23 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now Peter a pattern of using linked (or in this case unlinked) material in a dubious manner is emerging. (For the rigidly bored or genuinely curious see recent racism blog post on here and comments) What have you got to say in your defense?
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 4:25 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

whats wrong with borat. he loves freedom after all.
hensons | 27.06.05 - 4:27 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

On behalf of the famous five: We resent being slagged by 'strange groupuscules which seem to exist nowhere else' like the FI.
Julian, dick and anne george a | 27.06.05 - 4:28 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

You guys aren't the best with search facilities, are you?
I got it in less than half a minute:
http://www.indymedia.ie/ newswire...rch_comments=on
Apologies are in order. Not that I expect it, but hey, surprise me.
Richard Waghorne | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 4:32 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apologies for that Richard. Now which facts in that do you want to dispute?
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 4:35 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

they're employing the Socratic method with my old friends in the International Solidarity Movement.
Perhaps you'd like to repeat your libellous claim that Asif Mohammed Hanif was a 'comrade' of Rachel Corrie's (you know - the claim you quietly cut when you were called on it - and then refused to acknowledge)?
banned poster | 27.06.05 - 4:43 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

see the IRA numbers thread. I am progressively being ASBOed. Sometimes a notice is left - sometimes not. They keep calling me slagging and distributing info on MOJ and PDs abusive.
Is it abusive to slag a political party? Obviously not as there is plenty of slagging of other political parties on here.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 4:49 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where your comments make no attempt at a substantive point and go for personal abuse instead, as has been the case with quite a number of your contributions, those comments will be edited or removed. The percentage of comments edited on the site is in the region of 1%. Most people, many critical, find it perfectly possible to engage without causing any difficulties.
Do me a favour and don't push the rules today: I've about a hundred things to do and I'm just going to zap comments that are clearly over the line. The guidelines are linked above if common sense is a insufficient guide for you.
Richard Waghorne | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 4:56 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the link Richard,
Some quick web research...
1. They were banned from working in Iraq (I believe by their own government) - confirmed, Nepal Govt ban strengthened after killings.
2. They went anyway and took up arms to guard westerners - semi-confirmed, may have been 12 of the 17,000
3. They were mercenaries - see above and 'helping U.S. forces'
4. They are dead - confirmed, obviously
redjade | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 5:01 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Look, the facts aren't in dispute, though I've always been under the impression that 'mercenaries' fight. Be the definition applied here I'd almost qualify as a 'mercenary' from my desk in DC.
The point, as Peter rightly highlighted, is that putting "executed" in inverted commas, and suggesting that their brutal murder is somehow qualified because of the circumstances of their presence in the country is despicable and indefensible.
The post was, incidentally, also subtitled 'the tragic legacy of bush' though perhaps assigning responsibility to the twelve beheadings to those who committed the act would be correct.
Richard Waghorne | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 5:06 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

My comments are being deleted wholesale. They as with the comment left above are being deleted as Personal abuse and bizzarely ;'inarticulate'.
I slagged no-one personally. I made an accusation about one FI writer which I'll happily stand up if requested.
I have routinely indulged in some light banter about PDs/MOJ/ and FI.
None of these are individuals so how can I be personally abusing them?
You seem to have no cumpunction about slagging off a voluntary organisation in a dubious way yourselves.
If you can't stand the heat get out of the kitchen.
And also I will not limit my posting because you have a busy afternoon ahead.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 5:07 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nobody is asking you to limit your posts - we take pride in having a busy comments section - you are, however, required to conform to the guidelines.
This is not a problem for the vast majority of people who use the comments here, who have no difficulty critiquing FI output with varying degrees of cogency without making life complicated for people. Our editing rate is around 1% of comments.
Richard Waghorne | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 5:11 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

sheesh! If this blog post included actual writing instead of reposting from a site that reported something without links - all would have been a little easier!
'executed' and you're offended that someone might attribute the deaths of 12 Nepalese to the fact that Bush invaded Iraq.
Richard, you should give me a password to this blog, because I could write a better critique of Indymedia.ie that you guys!
redjade | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 5:15 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'd almost qualify as a 'mercenary' from my desk in DC
I doubt your internship at Cato would qualify in the mercenary salary bracket. $700 a month doesn't go far.
banned poster | 27.06.05 - 5:18 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

and they're all me at present. On another thread instead of justifying deletions you claim that the word I used in my complaint - articulacy - does not exist. It does in the British dictionary Richard.
This brings to mind a limerick:
You're expressive, a well-spoken guy.
If to use it you're skittish,
Then note the word's British.
(Americans, bid it goodbye.)
So who's articulate?
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 5:18 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

by 'and they're all me' I meant the 1% deletions today.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 5:20 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

And richard you also could not be defined as a mercenary in your US office because (correct me if i'm wrong) there is no war presently taking place on the US mainland
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 5:21 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ye Gods.
First, no, it's not a word. You've linked to where some randomer submitted it to an OED project on new words about three months back. Look it up in a dictionary, or at dictionary.com, at it's not there. At the rate Oxford are debasing their dictionary it may make it in a year or two, but right now, it's status remains 'submitted by randomer'.
Second, no posts are ever deleted because they are poorly expressed. Posts can be deleted if utterly incoherent, though I don't know of that ever happening.
Third, your post was deleted because it was without content other than ad hominen argumentation. Peter added, on deleting it, that it was inarticulate in addition to being trolling, but it was the fact that it was trolling which was why it was removed.
Not complicated.
Richard Waghorne | Homepage | 27.06.05 - 5:24 pm | #
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rogets Thesaurus on Articulacy.
You better give them a ring Richard. You seem to know better than me/them.
drunk as a rule | 27.06.05 - 5:27 pm | #

And my Killer blow diverted:

I respectfully submit to the assembled masses of right wing and left wing hacks here present that the Blog post on Indymedia by any objective judgement is 'ad hominen argumentation' by any standard of definition of such a term.

I rest my case M'lud

back to the library with me for a few shots of protestant whiskey.

Related Link: http://www.freedominst.org/2005/06/indymedia-ate-my-hamster.html
author by drunk as a rule (soul searching in the law library)publication date Mon Jun 27, 2005 18:39author address author phone Report this post to the editors

it was the dreaded hal0scan.

I wish it hadn't been. (nasty old me). Must try harder

Related Link: http://www.freedominst.org/2005/06/comments-problems.html
author by drunk as a rule (soul searching in the law library)publication date Mon Jun 27, 2005 19:00author address author phone Report this post to the editors

comments are working as on my little haloscan box that I kept live through incident - I began posting again in response to slander of ISM and rachel corrie a few seconds ago. The box was working and peter nolan was lining up his cut and pastes from Frontpage magazine. I closed box - went back to front page and viola - all comments from all articles inaccessible sheesh

author by daar ssitllpublication date Mon Jun 27, 2005 19:04author address author phone Report this post to the editors

back again

maybe they are hoping I'll go away or maybe it is haloscan.

wierdy dierdy

 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy