Blog Feeds

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 >>

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link Does Trump Not Realise How Globally Toxic Tony Blair Is? Mon Oct 06, 2025 19:30 | Ramesh Thakur
Trump's peace plan for Gaza might yet succeed, but why on earth does Tony Blair feature, asks Professor Ramesh Thakur. Does Trump not realise how globally toxic the Blair brand is?
The post Does Trump Not Realise How Globally Toxic Tony Blair Is? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Stupidologiology Mon Oct 06, 2025 18:15 | James Alexander
William Davies has written an article titled 'Stupidology' which Prof James Alexander summarises as: 'Trump is stupid. Brexit was stupid. I am not stupid. Neither are my friends. Why do stupid people have power?'
The post Stupidologiology appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Backlash as Nando?s Limits Customers to One Coke per Visit Under New ?Nanny State? Rules Mon Oct 06, 2025 15:11 | Will Jones
Nando's has sparked a backlash after restricting customers to a single glass of Coca-Cola Classic under new 'nanny state' Government rules aimed at cutting sugar consumption.
The post Backlash as Nando’s Limits Customers to One Coke per Visit Under New ‘Nanny State’ Rules appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Nudge? Has a New Evil Twin: ?Stochastic Terror? Mon Oct 06, 2025 13:30 | Nick Rendell
'Nudge' has a new evil twin, says Nick Rendell: 'stochastic terror'. When all else fails, the Left foments the conditions for random political violence and then sits back and waits for someone to pick off Trump or Farage.
The post ‘Nudge’ Has a New Evil Twin: ‘Stochastic Terror’ appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Green Party Votes to Abolish Landlords Mon Oct 06, 2025 11:17 | Will Jones
The?Green Party?has committed itself to "abolishing landlords" after party members at its conference in Bournemouth passed a motion to seek the "effective abolition of private landlordism".
The post Green Party Votes to Abolish Landlords appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Covid-19 crisis- Defend jobs, livings standards and public health

category national | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis author Monday June 15, 2020 23:47author by 1 of indy Report this post to the editors

Today we are reproducing a press release from the Socialist Party on Covid-19 with our own comments added because the Left in general along with all the opposition parties has completely swallowed the Covid-19 is a deadly pandemic narrative hook, line and sinker. On another story soon, we will address the why. In the meantime from their perspective protecting workers rights and health is the natural thing to do but they seem confused by the sudden concern by the government for people. We offer a different perspective that explains things in a more consistent way,

Covid-19 crisis- Defend jobs, livings standards and public health


Posted by: Socialist Party Jun 3, 2020

The scale and rapidity of job losses across the private and semi state sector arising from the necessary restrictions on commercial activity is without precedent, writes Michael O’Brien. Even compared to the Great Recession of a decade ago what took several years to unfold in terms of a steep climb in unemployment levels has been surpassed in a few weeks in the case of Covid-19.

The mood music of governments both sides of the border is one of not going down the austerity road. Such alterations in language should not be mistaken for either a sign of fundamental strength in the Irish and global economies being in evidence before Covid-19 restrictions. Nor should it be taken as a sign of any kind of genuine reappraisal of the austerity approach on the part of the main capitalist parties in Ireland, North and South, and internationally.
Indy: They are correct on that count

Governments respond to crisis

Rather it is a reflection both of the depth of the crisis forcing governments and the state to employ and contemplate measures to save capitalism that in “normal” times would be seen to be at odds with neo-liberal doctrines. Furthermore there is a political calculation being made by governments the world over, and Ireland included, that the working class globally will simply not acquiesce to another round of full frontal austerity hence the emphasis on government borrowing over further cuts in living standards to pay for the crisis.
Indy: No. Covid is not any more deadly than the flu. The capitalism system was already on shaky crowds. Covid is a cover to strike first and go for a controlled reset to a new regime in the world. Hence the system is willing to hand out lots of money -aka -The Covid Payment -to get people to buy into it. And it has worked. Very much like the old Bin Tax waiver which split the campaign and was removed soon after the government won. Austerity hasn't gone away. It will come back and soon as we are secured along the pathway to the new regime. Fear is the order of the day and the main tool to stop people think critically and get them to go along with whatever is suggested.

This is not to say that they won’t ultimately go down the austerity route but they will do so with trepidation. 2019 was marked by protest movements all over the world fuelled by dissatisfaction with living standards and basic democratic rights. While such movements have receded in the midst of the pandemic the factors that drove people onto the streets have not dissipated and if anything have deepened.
Indy: Austerity will be one of many assaults hitting us. They can always create that second Covid wave out of media thin air if the masses get too unruly. The SP are correct though in saying the same issues are still present. They will be worse now with tens of thousands of small business going bust and massive government borrowings to come alongside deep cuts.

Capitalism as an economic system characterised by private ownership of the economy, wage labour exploitation, production for profit and an absence of democratic and rational economic planning constantly relies on the state to promote and protect its interests while maintaining a fiction that the free market system is in essence independent of the state.

The repressive apparatus of the state, the education system, taxation policy, infrastructure and a host of other supports are primarily geared towards assisting profit maximisation.
Indy: And it is burdened globally by massive debt. Nothing was fixed since 2008. Therefore they are resetting the capitalist system itself and going to create something new. And the masses will still be screwed and very likely more so. Nobody seems to pickup on this Covid / lockdown destroy the economy thing was global.

The return of Keynesianism

However the economic shut down forced upon us by the coronavirus has doubly shattered the illusion that the free market system can operate independently of the state. To avert a total collapse laissez faire norms must be set aside, and replaced with overt state intervention in the forms seen in Ireland and elsewhere including income supports for private sector workers, tax and rates deferrals, control of private hospital usage and a package of €6.5 billion in soft loan facilities for businesses in the South, and similar measures in the North underwritten by the Westminster government.
Indy: See points above. It is an intentional collapse. It is designed to wipe out small business leaving large and global businesses to pick up cheap assets and more market share and they suck more money away from workers via increased taxes and government debt used to bail themselves out. A society where most of small business are gone and everything is run by very large business is basically a totalitarian state. See The Economy After the Covid Lockdown

This suite of interventions and supports, mirrored to one degree or another in other countries and the promised direction of governments in the months and years ahead amounts to a revival of a form of Keynesian economic policy; that is, an effort to prop up capitalism through the crisis in a manner that leaves the relations of production i.e. private ownership, intact post Covid-19.
Indy: Since this is a global economy reset expect alot more big changes over the next few years. Things won't being going according any standard plan and we won't be going back to normal.

Leo Varadkar in the Dáil recently said he was not hung up on whether Aer Lingus, where job and pay cuts are being sought, was publicly or privately owned. That’s a lie. There is an aversion on the part of capitalist governments to measures such as nationalisation of enterprises and sectors of the economy formerly in private hands. This is not just evidenced by the arrangement entered into with the private hospitals but also in the total failure to come up with a workable childcare solution for frontline essential workers; where instead weeks were wasted with inducements to private providers who in the end, for insurance reasons, could not buy in.

Most of all in our elder care the outgoing Fine Gael government alongside Fianna Fáil, who were responsible for it being privatised in the first place, do not want to face up to the catastrophic failures of those services being run on a for profit basis.
Indy: True. They don't actually care. Any concern for the old is just feigned concern

Public ownership

It is one thing to provide income support, tax deferrals and soft grants and loans to private businesses willing to accept them to keep themselves afloat through the crisis. But Debenhams, Ryanair, Aer Lingus and many other companies show that these measures are no guarantee against liquidations and significant downsizings which can only be avoided on the basis of public ownership.
Indy: Public ownership is not going to happen. If anything the consumer economy around the world along with tourism is being terminated. It may open a bit for a while, but their promised second fake wave will kill it off completely

Former Socialist Party and Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger was ridiculed, by some, when a decade ago she correctly made the call for Dell’s operation in Limerick to be nationalised to save thousands of jobs. Those doing the ridiculing were resting on the assumption that such a demand would appear outlandish to the average person. Whatever about people’s receptiveness to the demand of public ownership of enterprises threatened with closure back then, we are in terrain now where people are ringing RTE radio’s Joe Duffy’s radio show calling for Bewley’s on Grafton Street to be nationalised!

It is not just the concept of public ownership to which capitalist governments are opposed, but also to the traditional relations of workers and bosses being altered in the form of workers’ control and management of enterprises, as the Socialist Party have called for.
Indy: At this moment we should be worried that it took less than two weeks to strip us of practically every single right we have and put us under house arrest. Not a murmur was heard from anyone in the political opposition. Nor was there any noise from that section of the population who own and run small businesses who were also silent and stood by as they saw their livelihoods (businesses) destroyed. All of this justified by a so called pandemic which if you scratch the surface can easily discover it was massively blown out of proportion and in no way justified any of the actions taken. The promise of the second Covid wave or talk of mandatory vaccines is the signal to let you know this is only beginning, not ending. You are fighting a phantom battle and oblivious to the fact that we have just all been steam-rolled over in the past 3 months

Workers’ control and management

This has been a critical aspect to the demands we have raised around Debenhams where the employer has departed the scene. One of the prejudices against workers’ control and management is the notion that the expertise does not exist among workers on the factory and shop floor to run an enterprise. The reality, as shown by Debenhams, is that even when the employers refuse to “open the books”, from among the workers there can still be a solid grasp of how the enterprise operates.

The experience of recent months has led to a re-evaluation by working class people themselves of their own worth in the jobs they do and the fragility of capitalism in the face of crisis. There is genuine appreciation for workers in sectors such as healthcare, public transport, food retail, refuse collection, among others, who have had to keep working through the crisis putting their health and lives on the line.

Here and elsewhere, for example in construction, postal delivery, manufacturing and hospitality, workers have often had to take the initiative themselves to agitate for PPE, safe systems of work and closures of non-essential enterprises where bosses were primarily concerned about the bottom line.
Indy: Correct to some degree. Front line workers may have genuinely felt they were putting their life on the line but there was no real danger. It was exaggerated at least anywhere from a hundred to a thousand fold and some of the crooks in government and so-called medical advisors know this. That is probably part of the reason the government was not bothered about PPE because they knew there was no real risk.

Workers must decide

From a health and safety aspect alone workers, via workplace trade union structures, need to be empowered in all workplaces to determine when to return to work and how the work be organised to eliminate the risk of the virus spreading. This is all the more important now as billionaires are loudly calling for a rapid unwinding of restrictions in the interests of their profit making.

The overarching demand for workers in the course of the unwinding of the Covid-19 restrictions is that there should be no going back until workers feel that it is safe to do so. The virus is a threat to human biology, but capitalism itself has further exposed itself to be a sick system that does not deserve the type of “life support” that governments want to give it – it has to go.
Indy: This would be the single worst mistake that could be made and it is to buy into keeping the Covid deadly pandemic myth going. This is exactly what the government want you to do. By keeping the central lie of this crisis alive for as long as possible it creates an environment where people do not ask hard questions. It also makes people go to great expense for no good reasons, jump through stupid and unnecessary hoops, conditions the population to continuing police state control measures, makes it easy to re-introduce new lockdowns, scares the life out of old people and encourages to stay in their homes when they should be out and about and socially interacting. It will accelerate the early death of many old people. It will distort the minds of young children subject to these intrusive, authoritarian and ultimately anti-human measures in their schools. And if we are really concerned about workers the continued insane "social" distancing measures in the tourism industry denies workers of their holidays and much needed breaks.
The virus is not a threat any more than the flu virus is. What is a threat is the lockdown and police state type social distancing which is totally futile and unnecessary. It is a threat to our very freedom and liberty. The sort of thing that people go through revolutions to fight and die for. Instead you are asking people to voluntary give it up for the most transparently spurious reasons ever.
Prediction: The government will give into every demand for "safety" and social distancing by unions in schools, universities and the civil service and anywhere unions have a presence. The Left will see this as a victory but odd that their demands were met. In the unlikely event that the great majority of people come to realize the whole thing was a hoax and they are paying dearly through continued high unemployment, tax increases and deep social cuts they may actually blame the Left for their lack of opposition and playing into the hands of the government to keep the myth going.

We demand:

  • · State investment for the creation of thousands of jobs including public works; social infrastructure like public childcare and eldercare; public home building; and retrofitting and renewable energy.
  • · For the trade union movement to organise the unemployed in the fight for a public jobs programme and fight for mandatory trade union recognition and the scrapping of anti-trade union laws
  • · Take job shedding companies into public ownership, with compensation only on the basis of proven need, under democratic workers’ control and management
  • · For trade union and workplace committees to determine how a return to work is organised including testing for all workers before they return
  • · Maintain the ban on evictions, for real rent controls in the South.
  • · For one tier public health care system that is free at the point of use funded by taxing the wealth of the super-rich and big business.
  • · Capitalism must go!- Take the key sectors of the economy into democratic public ownership, democratically plan the economy to meet the needs of the majority not the profits of the billionaires and big business.

Indy: These are all reasonable measures but by not realizing or accepting what is really happening the Left and everyone else is going to be run over by the on-coming train.

Related Link: https://socialistparty.ie/2020/06/covid-19-crisis-defend-jobs-livings-standards-and-public-health/
© 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