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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

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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 They Said it Was to Protect Kids. Now Your Passport?s on the Dark Web ? and Your NHS Record is Next Tue Nov 18, 2025 09:00 | Simon Panter
They told us the Online Safety Act was to protect children. Now, after several security breaches, your passport's on the dark web and your NHS record is next. And it's all leading straight to digital ID, says Simon Panter.
The post They Said it Was to Protect Kids. Now Your Passport’s on the Dark Web ? and Your NHS Record is Next appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Time for Taylor Swift to Take Up a Vegas Residency Tue Nov 18, 2025 07:00 | James Alexander
Taylor Swift has produced an album so bad it's making everyone notice how bad the other ones are. It only goes to show, says Prof James Alexander, that no one remains of interest musically once they hit 30.
The post Time for Taylor Swift to Take Up a Vegas Residency appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Tue Nov 18, 2025 01:47 | Jonathan Barr
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 The Doomed Attempt to Create Academic Journals That Nobody Pays For Mon Nov 17, 2025 19:46 | Dr Roger Watson
Is the academic publishing industry facing ruin from open access journals? Not likely, says Prof Roger Watson. There are some pretty fundamental problems with trying to run a journal that nobody pays for.
The post The Doomed Attempt to Create Academic Journals That Nobody Pays For appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link How I Found Myself in the Middle of ?Anti-Fascist? Violence at UC Berkeley Mon Nov 17, 2025 17:14 | Andrew Doyle
Andrew Doyle was warned there would be trouble when he appeared at UC Berkeley for what was intended to be the final stop on Charlie Kirk's tour. Sure enough, he soon found himself in the middle of 'anti-fascist' violence.
The post How I Found Myself in the Middle of ‘Anti-Fascist’ Violence at UC Berkeley 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 >>

Saro-Wiwa Case Payout by Shell

category international | rights, freedoms and repression | news report author Tuesday June 09, 2009 01:07author by Cathar Report this post to the editors

In the landmark case in New York Shell have agreed tp payout $15m dollars settlement to realtives of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the other Ogoni nine and others killed in Nigeria.
Ken Saro-Wiwa
Ken Saro-Wiwa

Shell to pay out $15.5m over Saro-Wiwa killing

Shell has agreed to pay $15.5m (€12m) in settlement of the legal action taken by the families of the activist/writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other leaders of the Ogoni tribe of southern Nigeria.
It’s a breakthrough case for human rights making a multinational accountable for its actions. They made the payment without admitting liability to avoid deatails of the evidence against them emerging in Court.
The settlement follows intensive negotiation by the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights .
It vindicates the stand taken by Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, over the last decade and more to win justice for his father. Persistence pays.

A sum of $5m will be used to set up a trust called Kiisi - meaning "progress" in the Ogoni Gokana language - to support educational, community and other initiatives in the Niger delta.

Among the documents lodged with the New York court was a 1994 letter from Shell in which it agreed to pay a unit of the Nigerian army for the recovery of a truck. which resulted in the death of one Ogoni man and others injured. The aim was to motivate “future assignments".
Shell's involvement in the oil-rich Niger delta extends back to 1958. It remains the largest oil business in Nigeria, owning some 90 oil fields across the country..

The Ogoni People have been protesting in a non violent way for over two decades against Shell, for the destruction of their way of life and their environment through jungle clearance Gas flares and oil leakage.. Ken Saro Wiwa was one of the leaders of the movement who paid with his life for his part in the campaing. He was hanged with eight other Ogoni on trumped up charges on the 10th November 1995, Like Willie Corduff he was the recipient of the Goldman Enviromental Prize.

“Shell is guilty. Despite this victory, justice will not be served in Ogoni and throughout the Delta until the gas flares are put out, the spills cleaned up, and the military stops protecting the oil companies and starts serving the people,” said Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International. “This issue will not be solved until these legitimate grievances of the community are addressed.”

This is not the end of court action against Shell who have still to face court in Holland for the pollution in Nigeria.

Never Forget the Ogoni Nine:
Ken Saro-Wiwa,Saturday Dobee, Nordu Eawo, Daniel Gbooko, Paul Levera, Felix Nuate, Baribor Bera, Barinem Kiobel, and John Kpuine. Hanged by a corrupt Nigerian Government to facilitate Shell on the 10th November 1995.

Related Link: http://remembersarowiwa.com/royal-dutch-shell-forced-to-settle-human-rights-case-out-of-court/#more-363

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author by Eamonn O'Coilea'in - REPULIC of IRELANDpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 04:03author address author phone Report this post to the editors

My heart goes out to all those that lost love ones to shells regime. All because they wanted to live peacefully and environmental safe for their families. $hell would have kept them in court for decades or even more. Maybe they can use the $$$$ for some good , flying in here 20-30,000 people to stop our own nightmare happening, before its to late. Remember that $hell make over 54 million a day in profit, so the money is nothing to shell. How many more people will be hurt or arrested or killed...
because shell want our gas at any cost ; how much = jail us , hurt us , tie us up in court , and when there's an pipeline rupture an explosion , that will incinerate us 30 seconds ,. Who the fuck is charge of this nightmare an its threat that will bring such devastation. will our children take shell to court when an accident destroys the area with pollution then death. like I said at any cost..fuck shell

author by old codger - pensionerpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:27author address author phone Report this post to the editors

This may be of some good to the relatives, but it is very bad news for the rest of the world especially Rossport .
SHELL IS NOW LICENCED TO KILL.
The facist merceneries will be able to murder with impunity and shell will pay a few million pocket money in compensation.
Our gardai can stand by and let it happen and plead ( they had to do it the IRA were involved.
On the qeustion of an accident happening 3 million is all the state can claim.
IRELAND IS A JOKE BUT IT IS NOT FUNNY.

author by Peter Sutherland's Nemesispublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 10:37author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Shell, the Green Party's friends, the one's the Green Party wants to protect and defend, the one's the Green Party wants to give our gas away to, to let them extract it with an experimental new pipeline ...

Shell, the Green Party's friends, the one's who nearly murdered Willy Corduff with their fascist thugs in the dead of night ...

Shell, the Green Party's friends, have had to pay out for their murdered Nigerian, and by god we made the Green Party pay too!

Feck the shleveen Greens and their friends in Shell.

Shell we know who they are. The Greens? We made the mistake in years gone by of assuming they were environmentalist, anti-war, social-justice and fair. It was a stereotype and we got it wrong. Turns out after two years in government, the Green Party were none of those things.

Aren't the Green Party lucky now that their friends, Shell's fascist thugs, that attacked Willy Corduff, aren't the Greens lucky now they didn't kill him. They mightn't even have got them three local council seats! And not one a them shleveen Greens stood up and demanded they truth about Willy's battering, not one of them came out and condemned Shell's fascist thugs.

Well goodbye our Green shleveen erstwhile friends, may your corpse produce some good quality organic manure for some environmentalist, anti-war, social-justice and fair type political party in the future.

Related Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/08/nigeria-usa
author by redjadepublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:24author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Some quick math:
this punishment of Shell Oil equals
1/282th of last years profit
in 2008 Shell Oil made $13,150,684/day

using numbers from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7857532.stm

author by DisillusionedVoterpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 11:56author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Even when you play the game, they delay and delay to wear you out and bankrupt you in legal costs, then if you persevere and actually beat them, they just do a calculation and fob you off with a pittance and carry on with business as usual. The framework and structure of the legal system favours corporations How can little people ever really win against corporate greed?

RIP Ken. What would you think of this I wonder? How much more than 15 million would it take to clean up the ecological disaster that is the niger delta?

We need new strongly enforced global corporate limits. but catch 22 - we will never be able to implement such policies against global corporate lobbying.

author by rompublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:13author address author phone Report this post to the editors

According to the Washington Post (link below) the payout amounts to "less than one-hundredth of a percent of Shell’s annual revenue. It’s comparable to the annual cost of renting one of the supertankers that Shell uses to deliver Nigerian oil to other countries".

It's easy for us to be on our moral high horses about the Wiwa family's compromise but it seems a terrible mistake. It means we (and indeed Nigerians) can never call Shell 'guilty' and be believed by anyone outside of the protest movement.

Related Link: http://www.corribsos.com/index.php?id=2203
author by Catharpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 13:05author address author phone Report this post to the editors

The New York Times considered it a striking sum given that the company has denied any wrongdoing.

The BBC note that Ken Wiwa, 40, son of Ken Saro-Wiwa, said his father would have been happy with the result..He told the Associated Press that Shell's settlement represented a "victory for us".

Remember this settlement comes after a 13 year legal battle and means many details of Shell's activities are now in the Public Domain thanks to depositions lodged with the court.

Its small money to Shell but some comfort to the afflicted and an encouragement for others to take a stand.

author by Tony Byrnepublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 15:59author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Has any of this gone out on the rag bag of corporate and state media that passes for news carriers here in our little Shell of a banana republic ?

Better not hold one's breath.

author by Catharpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 16:10author address author phone Report this post to the editors

In fairness it is now up on the RTE website. Im out of Ireland this week so I cant vouch for whats on the airwaves.

A reasonable article which naturally incudes Shell denying responsibility but does quote Ogoni Spokesperson and mentions the enviromental case being taken

Related Link: http://www.rte.ie/news/2009/0609/shell.html
author by TD - Shell to Seapublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 16:12author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Ken Wiwa and attorney Judith Brown Chomsky on the settlement.

Related Link: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/9/shell_to_pay_out_155_million
author by m.m.mccarronpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 16:34author address author phone Report this post to the editors

On their own, the Ogoni families could never have taken a case to Court. Today we are told that it cost the Omagh families 2 million pounds sterling to mount their civil case. Brings home how inaccessible the Courts are to people. This is a grave injustice in society where for the most part one has to have 100, 000 euro in hand to even start the smallest action as the people of Erris have discovered too even as a solution trotted out by Minister O'Cuiv who suggests the legal route. The Ogoni families could not start proceedings in the US or Nigeria withour the assistance of big legal NGOs whose advice they have to rely on. For the Ogonis this case has been bound by severe circumstances and it has been a very painful time for them. Thanks to so many people in Ireland who are now sharing that pain of complexity. Ken Saro-Wiwa has a book of short stories called A Forest of Flowers - every story deals with the issue of poverty such as seeking a dowry for a daughter who is only ten so that some bit of the essential family survives.

author by cable - Shell to Sea ~ Cambridgepublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 16:56author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Spread the word on $Hell's wrongdoing, for the sake of Erris' land & people, Ogoniland, & the rest of the world that these companies see as a site to be plundered.

author by Margaretpublication date Tue Jun 09, 2009 22:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Surely in the light of all that has happened in Nigeria and to the Ogoni people our Government must guarantee that the close co-operation between SHELL/IRMS security and AN GARDA SICHANNA should cease forthwith.IRMS SECURITY workers went to BOLIVIA one of them was shot dead.Were they working for SHELL /IRMS AT THAT TIME?
Will the IRISH NAVY be used to protect SHELL?
Will the IRISH ARMY be used too against the IRISH PEOPLE?
Who will protect the ERRIS people in their RIGHTEOUS struggle for JUSTICE and HUMAN RIGHTS?
Will the MINISTER for JUSTICE fail to protect our people?
We must ensure that SHELL will never be allowed to destroy and plunder IRELAND
As they have done all over the world.

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