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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 >>
The BBC?s ?1 Billion Pension Bailout Sun Sep 21, 2025 19:47 | Richard Eldred
The BBC has poured over ?1 billion into its gold-plated pension scheme, gobbling up nearly ?850 million of licence fee money ? and it looks like the bill could keep climbing.
The post The BBC?s ?1 Billion Pension Bailout appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Education Secretary Launches Fresh Attack on Private Schools Sun Sep 21, 2025 17:13 | Richard Eldred
In a fresh raid that could force more closures and squeeze parents' wallets, Bridget Phillipson is hitting private schools again, this time tripling Ofsted inspection fees.
The post Education Secretary Launches Fresh Attack on Private Schools appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Keir Starmer Confirms Britain Will Ignore US and Israeli Anger and Recognise a Palestinian State Sun Sep 21, 2025 15:00 | Richard Eldred
Keir Starmer has sparked fury by pledging to recognise a Palestinian state even though critics say it rewards Hamas, angers Israel and the US and won't help hostages or feed Gaza's starving.
The post Keir Starmer Confirms Britain Will Ignore US and Israeli Anger and Recognise a Palestinian State appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
North Sea ?Has Three Times More Oil and Gas? Than Government Claims Sun Sep 21, 2025 13:00 | Richard Eldred
Britain's North Sea could have 14 billion barrels of oil and gas ? three times what the Government reckons ? but sky-high taxes and drilling bans are leaving it in the ground while jobs and cash go begging.
The post North Sea ?Has Three Times More Oil and Gas? Than Government Claims appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Met Office Staff Given Record Bonuses Despite String of Forecast Failures Sun Sep 21, 2025 11:00 | Richard Eldred
The Met Office might struggle to predict the weather, but it seems staff can always count on a downpour of cash: they walked away with record bonus payments of ?8.1 million last year and ?31.5 million over five years.
The post Met Office Staff Given Record Bonuses Despite String of Forecast Failures appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
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Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
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The International Conference on Combating Anti-Semitism by Amichai Chikli and Na... Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:31 | en
Voltaire Network >>
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Wednesday October 10, 2007 19:14
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15Putting people before profit.
"Eamon McCann of the Socialist Workers' Party welcomed the changes arguing that £160 is lower then expected" Source please...
The Irish News of 6 October 2007.
..have to see this...
The main point of this article is to get the information across about this development in the Water Charges issue. If you want to read up on McCann's position read it (do a google search!). From what I can see McCann sees it as a reform and because it's not as high as previously expected he welcomed it. I found it odd given it will be a battering-ram against non-payment, but really an aside. Look at the role that the main parties are playing! DUP, SF, SDLP and UUP all say they oppose water charges at election time. Now we have a SF minister proposing to criminalise non-payers. This is the real story here. Sinn Féin appear to get an anti-establishment vote down South but they are far from that! Just look at this story.
I don't understand why the people on this thread are attacking Eamonn McCann for saying that what is being proposed has to be welcomed - maybe they didn't read the detail closely. He welcomed the proposals since it means no separate water charges and therefore no possibility of the "separate stream of revenue" that all the anti-water campaigners were fighting against. Basically, the proposals are for a return to the situation before - when we paid for water through the rates (where people living on benefits and low incomes get full rates rebates etc). So, it's a victory in relation to the charges . The big question, as McCann said, will be what happens to NI Water: will it stay a private company (GoCo) or be brought back into public hands.
The fact that we're not talking about a separate water charge distinct from the rates bill means that it will be more difficult for the water service to be privatised. No separate water charge taken care of by NI Water means that it won't fall into private hands when that GoCo would have been sold off (as was the plan). It is a victory of sorts. The matter is not finished however, and less of the sectarian point-scoring would be nice too.
The Eamon McCann and Sinn Féin apologists are out to spin their respective party lines. This is totally designed to cut across non-payment of water charges. It will mean that Water Charges will be paid because to not pay rates is a criminal offence. This is not a step forward for the Campaign. It's a complication that has to be overcome with clear practival ideas. Sinn Fein have always backed the water charges. But SWP have stabbed people in the back. They're not committed to defeating water charges. Instead they want minor reforms that in the long run will make no difference. The NI water company still exists. Once payment is established there will be separate bills!
Having one rates bill which includes a part for water does not mean that the Water service is less likely to be privatised. It just means they may do it in a slightly different way.
For example, they could just outsource the provision of water to a seperate company and pay them centrally. This company's charges to the state will just go up and up and rates bills go up accordingly.
This is not a victory, it is an attempt to ram through the charges so a campaign of resistance to the priovatisation of water services will be harder to fight
Executive preparing to impose additional water charges through rates
October 12th, 2007
The We Won’t Pay Campaign has replied to comments made by Minister for Regional Development Conor Murphy on radio today, warning that the Assembly Executive appear to be preparing the introduction of additional water charges through the rates.
Mr Murphy claimed that ‘difficult’ decisions will have to be made to raise finance needed to invest in the water service.
The recommendations contained in the Independent Water Review Panel report support itemising the domestic rates bills to record how much money is spent on water from rates. It says approxiametely on average every household pays £160 a year on water.
According to We Won’t Pay Campaign spokesperson Gary Mulcahy “It appears the Assembly Executive is forced to introduce water charges through the rates because they know it will be impossible to avoid mass non-payment if they introduce a seperate bill. Instead they seem to think people won’t notice if they instead introduce water charges through the back door, as an additional part of the rates. In order to do this they must postpone charges for a third year. If they do take this road, they will make significant increases in the water component of the rates, which could increase year on year thereafter.”
“The We Won’t Pay Campaign is concerned the politicians in the Executive may be about to stab the people in the back by announcing water charges in disguised form after claiming they opposed water charges during the elections. We will organise meetings to democratically discuss our response to the details of an announcement from the Executive and will also be examining potential ways of challenging any new charges, including organising non-payment of rates.”
But is this not just showing us where we already pay for water from as opposed to introducing new charges?
Is this not what we have always said - that we were already paying for water and that we shouldnt have to pay twice? What is the problem with this?
The problem McG, comes when you add the available information together.
Water is, it appears, going to be marked seperately on rates bills. By itself that doesn't mean much. But look at the wider context. The Water service has just been turned into a company, albeit still in public ownership at this point. The Minister, Conor Murphy, is still telling us that "difficult decisions" will have to be made on financing the water service. The Executive and the British government are still operating on the principle that new income, above the existing rate level, will be needed to raise that finance - hence all this guff about independent reports and the like.
So, the state are still intent on making people pay more for water. They are still intent on privatising the service. One approach which they may take is to simply up the rates. That would be of use to the Executive as while the content would be the same as seperate water tax bills, the form would be disguised. Particularly if they up the rate incrementally, year on year, rather than all at once. The effect would be to get water taxes in by stealth.
In addition non-payment of rates, as I understand it, can be treated as a criminal offence. This would give them a bigger stick to use against non-payers. Sinn Fein and the other Assembly parties are fully committed to getting the water tax in. The only issue for them to decide on is the form they take.
But thats a different issue altogether Mark. Thats about how much we pay for water, or indeed any other bill, elctricity etc not about introducing a new and double form of taxation. When I first read this I was led to belive that they were introducing a new Water Charge which doesnt seem to be the case at all.
They are proposing to have water charges just in a different format. The review states that people are already paying on average £160 in their rates for water services. The review proposes that from 2009 that an additional £120 should be added to the rates bills for as an additional charge for water. This charge will then be increased as the Assembly Executive sees fit. This is water charges. It is an additional tax on top of what people are paying already and it must be fought.
No, thats an INCREASE in water charges not a new charge. Yes, it should be fought just as other increase in gas and electricity etc should be fought, but it is not a new charge.
We always claimed we were already paying for our water through rates which is why we opposed new and seperate water charges being brought in. This merely confirms it.