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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 News Round-Up Thu Oct 02, 2025 00:41 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Eurostar Unveils Gender-Neutral Uniform for Staff Wed Oct 01, 2025 19:00 | Will Jones
Eurostar has unveiled its first gender-neutral uniform, introducing a collection featuring skirts, trousers and Dr Martens boots designed to be "interchangeable and made to fit all genders".
The post Eurostar Unveils Gender-Neutral Uniform for Staff appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Fact-Checking Starmer?s Claim That Brexit Created the Small Boats Crisis Wed Oct 01, 2025 17:30 | Will Jones
Keir Starmer has claimed that Brexit created the small boats crisis and the migrant boats should be called 'Farage boats'. This is nonsense, says David Barrett, and even Oxford University's Migration Observatory agrees.
The post Fact-Checking Starmer’s Claim That Brexit Created the Small Boats Crisis appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Why is ?Pandemic Preparedness? a Major Theme of the New US Global Health Strategy? Wed Oct 01, 2025 15:43 | Dr David Bell
Why is 'pandemic preparedness' a major theme of the US Government's new 'America First' Global Health Strategy, asks Dr David Bell. There are some sound public health principles in there, but the 'pandemic' con lives on.
The post Why is ‘Pandemic Preparedness’ a Major Theme of the New US Global Health Strategy? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Ed Miliband Pledges Legislation to Ban Fracking ?Forever? Wed Oct 01, 2025 13:22 | Will Jones
With energy bills heading skywards and renewable energy investment on the ropes, Ed Miliband's conference crowd-pleaser was to pledge a law to ban fracking 'forever' ? and sabotage a future Reform administration.
The post Ed Miliband Pledges Legislation to Ban Fracking ‘Forever’ 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 >>

Motion calls for Ministerial order to cap bin charges; waivers for low income families

category national | bin tax / household tax / water tax | press release author Friday June 17, 2016 17:13author by pbp Report this post to the editors

People Before Profit Press Release -17th June 2016

AAA-PBP Motion calls for Ministerial order to cap charges and reinstate waivers for low income families

Dail debate and vote to take place next week on AAA-PBP motion calling for immediate government action to prevent planned increase in waste charges

Next week, the Dail will debate and vote upon a AAA-PBP Private Members Motion calling for an immediate Ministerial order to prevent private waste companies from implementing the planned dramatic increases in household waste charges.

The motion submitted today by AAA-PBP will be debated in the Dail next Tuesday

Bin charges are set to rise by between 100 and 200%. These charges will inflict an unsustainable burden for hard pressed households if the proposed increases by private waste companies are implemented and will undoubtedly lead to a dramatic increase in illegal dumping.

The motion seeks to prevent the private waste management companies from implementing the planned increases in price; ensure the Minster meets with the waste companies; ensure that standing charges cannot be increased in excess of the Consumer Price Index; implement maximum waste charges for the different types of bins and reinstate the waivers for pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, low-paid workers, those on social-welfare and people in receipt of Family Income Supplement.

Speaking on the AAA-PBP motion Brid Smith TD who was imprisoned for opposition to bin charges and who first raised the issue in the Dail said: “This motion if accepted will force the government to prevent these extortionate bin charge increase and prevent profiteering by private waste companies. It will ensure there is a maximum charge in respect to pay by weight.

The motion also calls for the re-establishment of the waivers scheme to protect low income households and hard pressed families from these cowboy management companies who care about nothing else other than profits.

We warned 15 years ago that bin charges and privatisation would inevitably lead to this kind of profiteering because once you put a price on something profit overtakes any concern for fairness or the environment.

Gino Kenny TD who has organised protests against these charges in his constituency over recent times, urged his fellow TDs in the Dail to support the motion. He said: “These charges are outrageous and extortionate and should be opposed by all sides of the Dail. I am appealing to all TDs in the Dail to support our motion.”

Richard Boyd Barrett TD spoke on the issue of the ‘polluter pays principle’. He said: “This makes a mockery of the so called ‘polluter pays principle’. Through these charges households would be punished for recycling. These charges will give rise to more illegal dumping which is already a big problem in this country.

Going back sixteen years now we have been campaigning against the privatisation of waste services in this country because we knew that when you privatise something it invariably increases in price and the thirst for profit takes over all other concerns. The profit motive demands that these companies get the maximum return and this would eventually come from households around the country.”

Mick Barry TD who was jailed for his opposition to the imposition of bin charges in 2001 said “People are incensed at the daylight robbery which these profiteers are trying to perpetrate with these massive increases. But this is a weak government which has already been forced to back down on a number of issues, including water charges, in the face of opposition from the public. They must be forced to act now to stop these scandalous increases and to bring the service back into public ownership.”

Paul Murphy TD said “The last Minister, Alan Kelly, left us a going away present by changing the regulations to allow the bin companies to jack up their prices. They have done exactly that – doubling and tripling standing charges – with the result of people facing massively increased charges. This is the result of bin charges, which we fought against, and the privatisation that followed.”

Ruth Coppinger TD said “The privatisation of the bin service has proved to be a disaster for customers with increased charges, for the workers and environmentally. The huge increase in charges is the result of the desire by these companies to drive up their profits. For workers in the industry, as we saw in Greyhound, it has resulted in a race to the bottom in wages and conditions. The privatisation of the service must be reversed and it should be brought back into public ownership under the control of the councils.”
Ends

Related Link: http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/2016/06/motion-calls-for-ministerial-order-to-cap-bin-charges-waivers-for-low-income-families/
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