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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Why We Are Where We Are

category national | public consultation / irish social forum | other press author Tuesday December 28, 2010 22:57author by Bryan Wall Report this post to the editors

"The ongoing economic destruction of Ireland is not surprising when one looks at the history of collusion between bankers and politicians, at the highest levels, in Irish politics. Over the years, some of this has been revealed by insiders and tribunals. "

Throughout the history of the Irish state, Ireland was seen as an almost backwater of the Western World. It was a country literally and both metaphorically on the fringes of Europe with an economy which always seemed to be floundering in the doldrums. All of this changed in the nineties with the onset of the Celtic Tiger which was effectively brought about by low corporate taxes, an educated workforce and the low cost of wages. All of this led to a massive upturn in the economic fortunes of Ireland but when things should have naturally slowed down, those with political power ensured that the Celtic Tiger was extended beyond its natural lifespan by creating a bubble. The bubble in this case was a property bubble and like all bubbles in economic history, it was bound to burst. The government, and their associates in the banking industry and construction industry, did their best to try to convince people, not only in Ireland but also all across the world, that Ireland was the perfect economic model to follow. In reality it was all smoke and mirrors when in actual fact the entire economy was based on a lie; the need for more and more property. This lie, along with the cronyism at the very top of Irish politics, has led to the situation which we are now in where we are likely to default on our sovereign debt within the next 2 years.

Those in power have always had a “cosy relationship” with the banking industry, despite any pretensions that indicate otherwise. Thirty years before the current crisis, the banks had been “colluding, on a massive scale, with fraud, tax evasion and routine breaches of exchange control laws”. Put simply, during pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland, whilst the country was suffering from mass unemployment etc, the privileged classes were abstaining from legally paying their taxes, DIRT, and they were willingly helped by the banks. This was all known by the Department of Finance however. “The state authorities knew about widespread organised crime committed by financial institutions and their customers and did essentially nothing to stop it”. Nothing was done because the government saw “its job as supporting the banks rather than controlling them”. This is exactly what has happened in the last two years with the bank guarantee and NAMA. Bank debt is now intertwined with sovereign debt and this is what is slowly killing the country and why we have had to resort to a bailout from the IMF and EU. The excuse given for this “light-touch” approach was that it was in the “national interest” to not “rock the boat” as otherwise the elites would simply leave the country with their money. This was the main fear and reason that those in government wheeled out to the public and still continue to do. Those in power just let it happen and they did so again when it came to Ansbacher.

Not only were members of the Central Bank directly involved in the Ansbacher fraud, but so was the Taoiseach at the time, Charles Haughey. After he became Taoiseach what little investigative research was going on into Ansbacher by the Central Bank was toned down even further. This is a perfect example of just how blurred the lines between the State, Politics and the machinations of the economy, and the main players in the economy, are. As a further example, Adrian Byrne, one of the inspectors chosen to examine the bank involved in Ansbacher at the time, G&M, and seemed to turn a blind eye to it, later went on to become “a key figure in banking regulation during the Celtic Tiger years, firstly as the Central Bank’s head of banking supervision and then, until 2005, as the personal adviser to the chief executive of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority”.. All of this paved the way for the excesses of the banking industry during the boom i.e, little or no regulation and a blind eye turned to illegal and semi-legal activities, so much so that during the boom, developers were not pursued for due taxes and the amounts that they were meant to pay were just written off by the Revenue.The building industry, for example, used various loopholes in the tax system to avoid paying as much tax as possible on their property developments. Although this was perfectly legal, “the Revenue Commissioners took the view that significant amounts of tax were being lost – €40 million was the estimate for 2006 and over €200 million between 1999 and 2006”. When the Revenue Commissioners brought this to the attention of the then Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, and suggested that he remove these loopholes, he agreed. However, after intense lobbying from the construction industry, Cowen reneged on his promise.

Special interest groups, both in and outside the government, ensured that the banking industry and their friends were protected and continue to be protected. This became as evident as never before on the night of the banking guarantee in September 2008. As money was literally flowing out of the country, the government needed to step in and prevent a run on the Irish banks. However, “It is not clear whether Cowen and Lenihan had been informed about the full nature of the crisis that fateful evening”. Noted Irish economist, David McWilliams, agrees with this statement and has written that “While the Minister was on radio busy reassuring us that the banks were fine, the National Treasury Management Agency – effectively a branch of the Department of Finance - was busy pulling its deposits out of Anglo Irish Bank because it felt the bank was too risky, and didn’t tell him!”

The aforementioned special interest groups are always a part of any country but in Ireland these groups seem to be the ones with the real power and influence over the politicians, and by extension, the state. If you follow the monetary breadcrumbs, you’ll eventually come to this conclusion. They have seemed to hijack the country, along with their associates in various seats of power in the government, and are now bleeding the economy dry. There are those who refer to Ireland as a “Banana Republic” and this term has more substance to it than one would care to admit; “The answer to the question “Who really runs Ireland?” may be answered best by asking another question: “Who has the money?” When you know that, you have your answer to the first question”. With all of this in mind, we can clearly see just how politics and the state have played a role in the economy and it’s ongoing destruction.

Related Link: http://lovelaughterandtruth.org/2010/12/29/why-we-are-where-we-are/
© 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