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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 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 >>

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 >>

Government Must Prioritize National Monuments Bill in Programme of Legislation - Dail Protest Friday

category national | history and heritage | press release author Wednesday April 06, 2011 11:21author by Taravenger Report this post to the editors

Call for Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, to Amend the Illegal National Monuments Act

The new Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, must act immediately to amend the National Monuments Act and the Planning and Development Act to comply with EU law and save our important cultural and archaeological sites.
‘Preservation’ of the Lismullin National Monument – M3 Motorway at Hill of Tara – 2007
‘Preservation’ of the Lismullin National Monument – M3 Motorway at Hill of Tara – 2007

PRESS RELEASE| SAVE NEWGRANGE

6 April 2011


Save Newgrange is calling on the Government to add the National Monuments Bill to its list of 20 urgent Bills to be published by the end of the Summer Session on July 21st. The call comes in response to the first Programme of Legislation published yesterday, listing 105 Bills at various stages of preparation.

The Bill must be presented immediately, since last month, the current National Monuments Act was held in breach of the EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive, by the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The Court found that the decision by former Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, to demolish Lismullin national monument at Tara was illegal, since a new EIA was not required by the Act.

Save Newgrange had announced on Monday that it was staging a demonstration outside Dail Eireann on Friday, calling for the Bill to be passed before Summer, and before An Bord Pleanala decides whether to give planning permission for the N2 Slane Bypass, which is proposed to pass within 500m of the Bru na Boinne UNESCO World Heritage site. The proposal has been condemned by national and international experts.

The demonstration will take place on Kildare Street, at 1.00pm on Friday. (Register on Facebook)

A Save Newgrange spokesperson said:

“The Government is showing its colours, and they are not much different than the previous ones. It is now abundantly clear that there is the same disregard for heritage and the environment, coupled the same two-fingered approach to the European Commission’s Environment Directorate.

“This lack of priority for heritage in the Programme of Legislation also shows how weak Labour is in the coalition. It had been the most outspoken of Opposition parties against the M3 motorway at Tara.

“Eamon Gilmore had been highly critical of the 2004 Amendment to the National Monuments Act, brought in by Martin Cullen and now found to be illegal by the ECJ.

“If Eamon Gilmore wants to wash off the stain on Ireland’s international reputation, he should be trying to ensure that Bru na Boinne site does not suffer the fate of the Hill of Tara, and become the next great international embarrassment.

ENDS

Note to Editors:


The National Monuments Act of Ireland and the Planning Act have been found to be in breach of EU law in two separate European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings, and Ireland will face fines of up to €33,000 per day if it does not comply with one of these.

Case C-50/09 – Commission v. Ireland (3 March 2011)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=C...N:NOT

On 3 March 2011, the European Court of Justice ruled against Ireland in a case brought by the European Commission, which alleged that the National Monuments Act (2004) is in breach of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive, 85/337/EEC. The issues involved included: Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Obligation of the competent environmental authority to carry out an assessment of the effects of certain projects on the environment – Need to ensure an assessment of the interaction between factors likely to be directly or indirectly affected – Application of the directive to demolition works.

In May 2007,works on the M3 motorway were halted after TaraWatch informed the National Museum that a major archaeological site had been discovered by the National Roads Authority (NRA) at Lismullin, close to the Hill of Tara. The 2,000 year old ‘henge’ site had not been previously detected, despite two major archaeological surveys of the route. Other remains, including spectacular rock art and ‘souterrains’ or underground dwellings were also discovered. The site was later be hailed as one of the Top 1o Most Important Discoveries in the world for 2007, by Archaeology Magazine.

On 12 June 2007 Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, declared Lismullin a ‘national monument’, but gave directions under Section 14 the National Monuments Act for the site to be excavated and then demolished, to allow the M3 motorway to proceed. It was one of his last official acts, before handing over his office to the new Minister for the Environment, John Gormley of the Green Party, who immediately claimed that he could not undo the order.

In July 2007 EU officials called on Minister Gormley to halt to the works at Lismullin, but were ignored. Instead Minister Gormley proceeded to defend the Order, after the European Commission wrote a “reasoned opinion” to the Government in June 2007. The Commission warned the Government that the policy in relation to assessments was in breach of EU directives and demanded that an Environmental Impact Assessment be carried out on the site before any decision to demolish it was made.

The Petitions Committee of the European Parliament also visited the Lismullin site in June 2007, and in July wrote to the Irish Government, demanding an immediate stop to the M3 works at Lismullin. Minister Gormley ignored this demand, actually claimed that he didn’t even know that the Commission had ordered works to halt until he read about it in The Irish Independent on 30 August 2007. After salvage excavations were competed, the Lismullin national monument site was handed over to Ferrovial construction company in December 2007, and completely demolished shortly thereafter.

Case C-66/06 – Commission v. Ireland (Nov 2008 & March 2011)
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=C...:HTML

The Commission won a case against Ireland, in the European Court of Justice, on 20 November 2008, on issues of: Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Directive 85/337/EEC –Assessment of the effects of projects on the environment – Consent given without an assessment. The Commission had argued that the Planning and Development Regulations, 2001 (S.I. No 600/2001), as amended, was in breach of the EIA Directive, by failing to establish adequate thresholds, which require Environmental Impact Assessment to be performed on public and private developments. This resulted in natural and archaeological sites being damaged.

In February 2011, the European Commission petitioned the ECJ to impose fines on Ireland for failing to properly implement the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive. The Commission won the original case against Ireland, in November 2008, but then Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, failed to rectify the law before leaving office.

The Government is required under the directive on the assessment of the environmental impact of certain public and private projects to set up a system to decide whether an environmental impact assessment study is required before authorisation. Under the directive, the decision on when such an assessment is required can be made according to set thresholds, case-by-case analysis or other criteria in line with EU criteria. In its 2008 ruling, the Luxembourg-based court found that Ireland’s thresholds were too high for setting out when an environmental impact assessment is required for water management, irrigation and land drainage projects and the restructuring of rural landholdings, which was resulting in the loss of important natural and archaeological heritage sites.

Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, failed to change Irish law to comply with EU law, and the European Commission was forced to initiate a second law suit against Ireland, in February 2011, seeking fines against Ireland for it’s failure to implement EU Law. In the new case against Ireland the commission will ask the court to impose a fine of €4,000 for each day since the court ruled against Ireland on November 20th 2008 and for each day until the court issues a new infringement ruling. Any failure to comply with a new ruling should be punished by a fine of €33,000 per day.

Links:

Programme of Legislation
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0406/1....html

Register on Facebook for demonstration Friday 8 April
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=140343676034489

Related Link: http://www.savenewgrange.org

savenewgrange.jpg

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