North Korea Increases Aid to Russia, Mos... Tue Nov 19, 2024 12:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
Trump Assembles a War Cabinet Sat Nov 16, 2024 10:29 | Marko Marjanovi?
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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 >>
GDP Growth? No, We?re Already in a Recession Thu Oct 23, 2025 13:00 | David Craig The economy supposedly grew by 0.1% in August. But David Craig isn't buying it. Once you take out all the extra spending on illegal immigrants and benefits the actual productive economy is already deeply in recession.
The post GDP Growth? No, We’re Already in a Recession appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Trump?s Sanctions Put Him on ?Warpath? with Russia, Says Medvedev Thu Oct 23, 2025 11:10 | Will Jones Donald Trump has put the US on the "warpath" with Moscow with his decision to impose sanctions and?cancel a peace summit, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said.
The post Trump’s Sanctions Put Him on “Warpath” with Russia, Says Medvedev appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Covid Inquiry is Determined to Repeat School Closures Thu Oct 23, 2025 09:00 | Molly Kingsley Covid school closures, everyone now agrees, were an unmitigated disaster. Everyone, it seems, except the Covid Inquiry, which this week proved it is determined to repeat them, says Molly Kingsley.
The post The Covid Inquiry is Determined to Repeat School Closures appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
We?ve Heard Ed Miliband?s ?Green Jobs? Promise Before Thu Oct 23, 2025 07:00 | Ben Pile Ed Miliband has promised 400,000 'green jobs' by 2030. There's just one problem, says Ben Pile: in 2009 he promised the same number by 2017. Where are they? The only 'green jobs' are the ones adding to our energy bills.
The post We’ve Heard Ed Miliband’s ‘Green Jobs’ Promise Before appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
News Round-Up Thu Oct 23, 2025 01:05 | 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. Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
Will intergovernmental institutions withstand the end of the "American Empire"?,... Sat Apr 05, 2025 07:15 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?127 Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:38 | en
Disintegration of Western democracy begins in France Sat Apr 05, 2025 06:00 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?126 Fri Mar 28, 2025 11:39 | en
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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Plight of Afghan Refugees Raised in Dáil
national |
racism & migration related issues |
news report
Wednesday May 17, 2006 12:14 by Dáil Observer

"Interference by the major powers for more than two decades has plunged Afghanistan into being one of the most violent and disturbed countries on Earth. First the Russians and then the CIA and Saudi Arabia and the rest intervened with their national interests in mind. Latterly, the CIA and Saudi Arabia called both the jihad and the horrific Taliban, which has been a major source of the instability and violence, into existence." Dáil Éireann, Leaders’ Questions, 16th May 2006
Joe Higgins (Socialist Party): Over the last few days, we have the tragic and unsettling event of a group of Afghan refugees, in desperation at the uncertainty of their situation, mounting a hunger and thirst strike in St. Patrick's Cathedral. Deputy Cowley and I, along with other Opposition Deputies, visited them today. Happily, they are now taking liquids, a great relief to them and to all who wish them well. Dehydration was having a dramatic and extremely rapid deteriorating effect on their health. This afternoon, there was a meeting with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the outcome of which we do not know yet.
Only two months ago the Taoiseach was in the US. He pleaded with the President of the US to allow, on grounds of compassion, 40,000 to 60,000 - we are not sure of the exact figure - Irish citizens in the US without official permission to remain and make their lives there. Every Member, be they on the right or the left, strongly supports that view.
Mr. F. McGrath: Hear, hear.
Dr. Cowley: Hear, hear.
The Taoiseach: On Sunday last, 14 May, some 34 Afghan nationals entered St. Patrick's Cathedral and commenced a hunger strike which they stated would not end until they were granted asylum in Ireland or leave to remain. At present, approximately 40 Afghans remain in the cathedral. The exact number is still imprecise as some additional people were admitted to the cathedral on Monday morning and some have been admitted to hospital today.
According to the information available to me, which is based on the individual names available to the Department at present, all the individuals concerned are in either the asylum or the leave to remain processes. At present, none of the individuals concerned has been issued with a deportation order as the process has not yet concluded in any case.
Applications for asylum are assessed as part of an independent process under the Refugee Act 1996. Case assessments are made on the basis of information provided by the applicant, as well as the detailed country of origin. An applicant who is found to have no grounds for refugee status is invited to make representations to the Minister under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999 stating why he or she should not be deported from the State. In addition, the safety of a returning person, or refoulement, is fully considered in all cases.
As Deputy Joe Higgins is aware, the asylum process in this State is comprehensive and compares well with those of any of our EU partners. This was recently acknowledged by the former UNHCR representative in Ireland who was quoted as stating that Ireland is now a model for the new member states of the European Union and that it has a system which in many respects is one of the best in Europe.
I understand the present position to be that the individuals concerned have asked to meet officials of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to discuss their situation. The Department has agreed to meet a small representative group in its offices at Burgh Quay. The purpose of the meeting is to hear the exact reasons for their protests, as well as to explain the nature of the asylum and leave to remain processes and that the Minister is bound by law to deal with their cases within the present framework. No negotiations will take place at the meeting. It is a question of explaining the position to the protestors. As Deputy Joe Higgins has noted, there are eight minors among the group.
To be clear, people of more than 100 nationalities participate in the asylum process at present and conceding to any demands from the protestors would have major negative consequences for the asylum system which has been built up in the past decade. Undoubtedly, concessions would lead to similar protests and a major inflow of additional applicants in the hope of benefitting from similar actions. At present, 20 churches in Belgium contain asylum seekers. I wish to be straight in this respect. We will not go down that road. We have a system which people may follow if they wish. However, we will not give way to threats.
J. Higgins: The Taoiseach should not consider this to be a threat when people are so desperate and insecure for their future that they put their health and lives at risk. People come here seeking refuge and compassion because they are under threat in the places from which they have come. Many Members who deal and have dealt with individual cases of people in grave difficulties and human situations have reacted compassionately.
Interference by the major powers for more than two decades has plunged Afghanistan into being one of the most violent and disturbed countries on Earth. First the Russians and then the CIA and Saudi Arabia and the rest intervened with their national interests in mind. Latterly, the CIA and Saudi Arabia called both the jihad and the horrific Taliban, which has been a major source of the instability and violence, into existence.
Does the Taoiseach not agree it is a gross misrepresentation of the truth to portray or attempt to portray Afghanistan as a peaceful and democratic society? Does he not agree it is one of the most disturbed and violent places on Earth? Some of the Afghans who seek refuge here carry healed wounds from that conflict, unlike our Irish compatriots in the United States.
I noticed the Taoiseach did not refer to my equation of their seeking humanity and compassion in Ireland with the position of the tens of thousands of our fellow countrymen and women. Can he not see that in many ways, it is a similar situation? Irish representatives, both here and in the United States, who call for compassion on the part of the United States Government do no more than do Members in respect of these people and others who seek refuge. Will the Taoiseach speak to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform? On the grounds of compassion, humanity and the humanity of the people, as well as the respect for human rights cherished by the people, I ask that these people be allowed the refuge they need to have some future in society.
F. McGrath: Hear, hear.
The Taoiseach: I will not argue with any of Deputy Joe Higgins's observations regarding Afghanistan or its difficulties. However, people of more than 100 nationalities have lodged applications in our present system.
J. Higgins: It is the same in the United States.
The Taoiseach: We are discussing Ireland. We have a very fair process. It is recognised as such within the European Union, in the United Nations-----
Mr. Costello: Not all aspects of it.
The Taoiseach: ----- and by the UNHCR. While 1% of the population was non-Irish a decade ago, that figure reached 9% before the recent census was taken. We have been very fair and tolerant. None of the individuals concerned has completed the process or been served with a deportation order.
Neither St. Patrick's Cathedral nor any church is an office in which to deal with our legislation. We will be unable to have a process if we give into this action and I will not countenance that prospect. The individuals concerned should talk to the officials and follow the process. While I do not wish to be hard in this respect, there is no other way to deal with the process. They would be best advised to listen to the officials and to understand the system. This also applies to everyone else.
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