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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 Eating in Labour is Good For You and Your Baby

category national | consumer issues | opinion/analysis author Tuesday July 29, 2008 14:31author by Tracy Donegan - Doula Irelandauthor email TracyDonegan at DoulaIreland dot com Report this post to the editors

Don't go hungry in labour !

Irish women are often starved in labour despite there being significant benefits to eating - and significant risks to being starved.

Why hasn't Irish medical care caught up with the 21st Century?

Should women eat and drink freely in labour ?

Read on.....

As pregnant mums you’ve probably never been more focused on food than any time in your life. Even analogies about baby’s size and our body parts are associated with food - as if we weren’t obsessed enough ;-) Your baby is the size of a bean…..your uterus is now the size of a grapefruit…..your boobs are like….(well you get the picture !) You’ve probably spent endless hours online researching what you can and can’t eat during pregnancy.

Some mums have cravings and can’t get enough of a particular food….others struggle with all day morning sickness and it takes a huge amount of willpower and determination to even get a few Ritz crackers past your lips.

There’s also Pica which is the term for unusual cravings. The reason that some women develop pica cravings during pregnancy is not known for certain. There is currently no identified cause; but according to the Journal of American Dietetic Association there may be a connection to an iron deficiency.

Some speculate that pica cravings are the body's attempt to obtain vitamins or minerals that are missing from a mum’s diet.
The most common substances craved during pregnancy are muck / clay. Other pica cravings include: burnt matches, stones, charcoal, mothballs, ice, cornstarch, toothpaste, soap, sand, plaster, coffee grounds, baking soda, and cigarette ashes……..ewwwwww

Science recognizes that good nutrition during pregnancy is essential for both mum and baby. Newly pregnant mums often spend a significant amount of time ‘grazing’ or snacking regularly to keep their blood sugar normal.

If you’ve missed a meal lately you’ve probably experienced some of the following side effects

Increased crankiness…

You feel exhausted due to low blood sugar

You may even have passed out

Skipping meals during pregnancy isn’t recommended and you’d never willingly starve yourself during your pregnancy……so why would you do it in labour?

Let’s look at the history of where this began and what can happen when a mum is refused nourishment during labour (assuming she’s hungry)

Mendelson’s Syndrome: Mendelson's syndrome is the inhalation of gastric contents and is a risk during intubation for a general anaesthetic (you’ve probably seen intubation on Grey’s Anatomy).

Most cesareans are performed with a spinal or epidural these days. It is rare to have a general anesthetic for a cesarean birth. The original article by Mendelson dates back to 1946 so it’s a little bit outdated. The great news is that in 1961 a technique called Sellick's manoeuvre (wonder if he looked like Magnum) was discovered which minimized the risk of gastric contents entering the lungs during a general anesthetic.

What a breakthrough for labouring mums….it meant that all normal low risk women (80 – 90% of you reading this) could go back to eating in labour again !! Yay !!!………but wait a minute….that was 47 years ago…..obviously some hospitals missed that memo.

Without food for a long period of time a labouring mums body enters into ketosis. When you first deprive your body of food your metabolism begins to shift to accommodate this. The first stage is known as lipolysis, and means your body is burning fat to provide you with energy (sounds like a great way of burning off those extra pregnancy pounds….AFTER you’ve had your baby !!)

Ketosis is the second part of the process that takes place when your body has no carbs to provide it with energy so it needs to use the energy from the fat being burned. In a nutshell (see …can’t stay away from those food analogies) The unused portions of the fat cells are called ketones, and are removed from the body in the urine. Ketosis is a signal that you are breaking down your fat reserves……your body is effectively eating itself to give you energy during labour.
So you're at the hospital....starving...cranky....exhausted and that's just your partner ! Plus you feel pain much more intensely ! That doesn't sound like a recipe for a positive birth.

Of course some mums have no interest in eating in labour – if you’re very anxious and afraid during labour adrenaline arrests the digestion process.

If you’re giving birth in a hospital that is stuck back in the 1940’s bring along some snacks for yourself and your partner – just in case you do get hungry. Chances are your won’t be in the mood for a Big Mac.

Even in these 1940’s hospitals there are some fantastic midwives that are happy for you to snack to keep your energy levels up if you’re hungry so all is not lost !

For more information on which hospitals support mother friendly principles and evidence based international practices have a look at Cuidiu’s comprehensive consumer guide here at

http://www.cuidiu-ict.ie/fulcrum.html?ep=13

Bon appetite !!

Tracy

Related Link: http://www.DoulaIreland.com
author by lulupublication date Tue Jul 29, 2008 17:17author address author phone Report this post to the editors

It's been said that eating curry near the time of labour, or for an overdue birth, makes the birth process quicker & easier!

 
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