Upcoming Events

International | EU

no events match your query!

New Events

International

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

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 BrewDog Sells ?Net Zero? Forest Amid Mounting Losses Fri Oct 03, 2025 13:44 | Will Jones
Brewdog has sold an ?8.8 million Scottish forest it?acquired just five years ago as part of its Net Zero drive?after mounting losses forced it to cut spending.
The post BrewDog Sells ‘Net Zero’ Forest Amid Mounting Losses appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Sarah Mullally Appointed as First Female Archbishop of Canterbury Fri Oct 03, 2025 11:24 | Will Jones
Dame Sarah Mullally has been announced as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury, with conservative Anglicans condemning the liberal bishop's appointment as "committing live action, slow-mo (but not that slow) suicide".
The post Sarah Mullally Appointed as First Female Archbishop of Canterbury appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Kemi?s Pledge to Repeal the Climate Change Act Must Be Just the Start Fri Oct 03, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile
Kemi Badenoch's pledge to repeal the Climate Change Act ? which commits the UK to Net Zero ? must be just the start of the dismantling of the Westminster Uniparty consensus on climate catastrophism, says Ben Pile.
The post Kemi’s Pledge to Repeal the Climate Change Act Must Be Just the Start appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Sceptic | Episode 53: Starmer?s Bizarre Bid to Brand Reform Racist, the Real Danger Posed by Lab... Fri Oct 03, 2025 07:00 | Richard Eldred
In Episode 53 of the Sceptic: Tom Jones on Keir Starmer's bizarre bid to brand Reform racist, Andrew Orlowski on the real danger posed by Labour's digital ID and Kathryn Porter on the colossal cost of Net Zero.
The post The Sceptic | Episode 53: Starmer?s Bizarre Bid to Brand Reform Racist, the Real Danger Posed by Labour?s Digital ID and the True Cost of Net Zero appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Fri Oct 03, 2025 01:58 | 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 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 >>

European Days of Solidarity and Protest

category international | eu | press release author Saturday May 15, 2010 22:17author by Jolly Red Giant - Socialist Party / CWI Report this post to the editors

Joe Higgins, Socialist Party MEP from Ireland and member of the Committee for a Workers´ International initiated a meeting with fellow MEPs with the intention of countering both, the nationalist slanders of the international media and European leaders against the Greek workers and youth; as well as to counter the illusion that the huge bail-out package of €750 billion which was agreed by the European Commission, the euro zone member states and the IMF represents the beginning of a solid recovery.

Nikolaos Chountis, MEP for the Greek Syriza Party thanked Joe for taking the initiative for a European Day of Protest against the crisis. Nikolaos explained the grave consequences the austerity measures will have on the Greek working class and youth. He also alluded to the possible reshaping of Greece’s political landscape as a result of the draconian measures that will be implemented by the so-called socialist PASOK government. Correctly, Nikolaos pointed out that the protest should not only aim at organising solidarity with the Greek workers and youth. He explained that striving to reinforce the Growth and Stability by the European leaders will affect the whole of the European working class and that this needs to be countered by joint acts of the European working class.

Søren Bo Søndergaard, a Danish MEP from the Red Green Alliance also expressed support for Joe Higgins’ initiative. Søren added another important point to the discussion by saying that the Danish media and probably the media in other countries that are not yet directly affected by the devaluation by the ratings agencies and the dictate to implement huge cuts, have spread lies about Greek workers and Greek living standards which need to be exposed in order to mobilise people in support of the Greek workers. Søren also made the point that the idea of letting the rich pay for their crisis should be incorporated in our material.

Kyriacos Trianthaphyllides from the Cypriot AKEL Party stressed the necessity of having a “real” mobilisation for such a protest. He said we need to mobilise through the trade unions and bring our people onto the streets. He also explained that Greek wages are already very low and that the so-called “prestigious” 13th and 14th month of wages which have been used to outline the “luxury” life of the Greek workers are in fact essential for Greek workers to make ends meet.

Carmen Hilario represented the Left Bloc from Portugal in this meeting. Carmen started her contribution by sending the apologies of the three Left Bloc MEP´s, Miguel Portas, Rui Tavares and Marisa Matias. They were not able to attend the meeting due to other commitments but they nevertheless give support to the initiative and the idea of an active protest. Carmen explained that the Portuguese government has recently adapted its own Stability and Growth Programme for Portugal which includes very detailed proposals of cuts. The Left Bloc has published a document “15 measures for a decent economy” which counter the government’s proposals and explain that different policies are possible.

Many other valuable contributions were made about the various aspects of the crisis. The meeting took place in a constructive and friendly atmosphere. Agreement was reached about the central idea of “We will not pay for the crisis” as a starting point for the mobilisations. This was added by basic demands for Workers´ Unity across Europe, the need to reject cuts in wages and attacks on living standards and to say no to privatisations. The idea to break the dictatorship of the markets and financial institutions by putting them under public control in order to save the interests of the people was also widely agreed.

Joe Higgins made the point that the “markets” (in reality, a small number of tremendously wealthy individuals, hedge funds, speculators and banks) are being accorded a dictatorship-like power by the media and many governments. The savage assaults on the living standards of working people are being justified as necessary to “satisfy the markets” as if they were a god-like creature whose existence and powers are almighty and not be questioned.

Furthermore, terminology such “fiscal consolidation” and “internal devaluation” are being used to disguise their real meaning, namely: attacks on the working class.

The meeting agreed to propose the week of June 21 – 26 as dates for European protests and for those dates to be discussed in our respective organisations and parties, as well as the trade unions, social movements and other left organisations.

A next meeting has been called for next week in order to finalise the proposals and ideas. This will allow time to get more GUE/NGL MEPs on board.

Related Link: http://www.joehiggins.eu/2010/05/report-from-guengl-meeting-european-days-of-solidarity-and-protest/
author by Jolly Red Giant - Socialist Party/CWIpublication date Sun May 16, 2010 13:43author address author phone Report this post to the editors

Initiative for a European-wide "Week of Protest & Solidarity" from Left MEPs

Dear friends,
We write to you as elected representatives of working people across Europe, members of the European United Left / Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) in the European Parliament. It is clear that the massive financial package agreed at the weekend will only increase the pace of attacks on working people, young people and pensioners that is taking place across Europe.

At this stage, Greek workers, in particular are in the front line of these attacks. They face a 10% cut in wages and spending in the public sector, an increased retirement age, VAT increases and the freezing of pensions. But workers in Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy have also faced and continue to face severe attacks on their living standards. It is also clear that these attacks will not be confined to workers in the so-called "peripheral" European economies - workers in all of the countries across Europe are set to have pension rights further eroded, downward pressure on wages, cutbacks in social services and social welfare as well as the continuation of large-scale unemployment.

These attacks are in line with the broader strategy of the European establishment, as outlined in the "EU 2020" strategy paper - which alludes to the need to increase the pension age together with the number of hours worked by European workers and a strict return to the "Growth and Stability" pact, which will require a slashing of public spending in many countries.
These attacks are also combined with a poisonous attempt to divide workers along national lines. This has been particularly evident in the media in Germany and many other countries. Lies about the conditions of workers in Greece are spread to create the impression that ordinary Greeks are responsible for the crisis in their country and must pay the price. The Left must counter this disinformation with facts and figures showing the real situation. For example, contrary to the myth of lazy Greek workers retiring early, the average retirement age in Greece is 61.4 years, higher than the European average!

The Greek workers have demonstrated an heroic willingness to struggle against these attacks in the last weeks. Portuguese and Spanish workers have indicated the same willingness to fight.

Important critical statements have been made by European trade union and Left organisations against the attacks on working people. We now feel that there is a need for an active joint response across Europe - to cut across the attempts to divide workers and to give people confidence to fight back. We propose to initiate a "Week of Protest & Solidarity" for the week of 21 to 26 June. What we envisage is political parties, trade unions, social movements and activists coming together and discussing holding a major protest in their country in that week.
The purpose is to proclaim that Left and social organisations reject the policy that it is working people who must pay for the crisis, that we demand an end to the dictatorship of the markets, demand that the financial institutions are taken into public ownership and we declare that European workers stand together in solidarity.

We respectfully invite your organisation to discuss the possibility of supporting this initiative and committing to build significant European-wide protests on that date. For us, the key questions are clearly solidarity with Greek workers, but also taking up the issues of the attacks in the various countries where the demonstrations take place.

We understand of course that the details and precise slogans will have to be worked out to take into account the political situation in the country where the protests take place. However, we propose that the following basic demands could form the basis of the discussion across Europe:

Workers must not pay for the crisis - Make the super rich and bankers pay

Solidarity with the Greek workers and for the unity of working people across Europe.

No to cutbacks, wage cuts, unemployment and increases in the retirement age

No to privatisation of public services

End the dictatorship of the financial markets, credit ratings institutions and the IMF

Stop the bailouts of the banks - nationalise the banks and financial institutions in the interests of working people

We feel that successful co-ordinated protests in the week of 21 to 26 June would have a major impact and send a clear message to the European establishments. It would assist the struggles of workers in the various European countries and be a vital step in building a European-wide resistance to the ongoing neo-liberal agenda.

Obviously time is moving very quickly. We want to build a broad coalition on a European wide basis to build for these protests, to be matched with broad coalitions on a national basis to build for these protests. We would be very much obliged if you could get back to us as soon as possible with your response.

We hope that you might look positively on these proposals and that your organisation can assist in building for European-wide protest toward the end of June. Please spread the call to your contacts and contact us to let us know your thoughts and we would be happy to meet to discuss progressing this issue further.

The below signatories are an initial list. We are confident of receiving the support of many more GUE/NGL MEPs.

Yours in solidarity,

Joe Higgins MEP (Socialist Party - Ireland) joe.higgins@europarl.europa.eu

Nikolaos Chountis (Syriza - Greece) nikolaos.chountis@europarl.europa.eu

Søren Bo Søndergaard (Folkebevægelsen mod EU - Denmark) sorenbo.sondergaard@europarl.europa.eu

Eva-Britt Svensson (Left Party - Sweden) eva-britt.svensson@europarl.europa.eu

Kyriacos Triantaphyllides (AKEL - Cyprus) kyriacos.triantaphyllides@europarl.europa.eu

Marisa Matias (Bloco de Esquerda - Portugal) marisa.matias@europarl.europa.eu

Miguel Portas (Bloco de Esquerda - Portugal) miguel.portas@europarl.europa.eu

Rui Tavares (Bloco de Esquerda - Portugal) rui.tavares@europarl.europa.eu

Jean-Luc Mélenchon (Député Front de Gauche) jean-luc.melenchon@europarl.europa.eu

http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4280

author by Solidarity - EU and workers call uppublication date Tue May 18, 2010 16:08author address author phone Report this post to the editors

it was great to see a good spat on TV3 Tonight with Vincent Browne last night.
Matt Cooper kept sniping at Kieran Allen and all of a sudden Kieran replied -
'you Matt (Irish Independent) work for a Tax EXILE (Sir Tony O'Reilly)'

Cooper was floored.

Well done Kieran

Good luck with peaceful march tonight!

author by Jolly Red Giant - Socialist Party / CWIpublication date Sat May 22, 2010 18:13author address author phone Report this post to the editors

At a central meeting of SYRIZA in Athens last Friday, 14 May, Joe Higgins, MEP for the Socialist Party in Ireland, spoke, along with Alexis Tsipras (chair of SYRIZA’s parliamentary group), Manolis Glezos (member of SYRIZA’s secretariat), Marisa Matias (Bloco de Esquerda / Left Block - Portugal) and Jean Pierre Brar (Parti Communiste Franais - French CP).
By Harris Sideris, Xekinima (CWI in Greece), Athens

The gathering was very successful, attended by between 2,000 and 2,500 members and friends of SYRIZA.

Joe made a very powerful speech, which hit the heart of nearly everyone there, bringing a message of class solidarity to the Greek workers and raising the need for all-European struggle to counteract the attacks of the bosses.

Joe saluted the struggles of the Greek working class and SYRIZA and emphatically said.
“They are asking you to follow the example of Ireland. My advice to the workers in Greece is: do not accept the policy of cuts and attacks imposed by the Irish government against the Irish workers. And my advice to the Irish workers in Dublin, who voted me into the European parliament is: follow the example of struggle and resistance provided by the Greek workers!”

In relation to the debt crisis, he said:
"We must refuse to pay for the crisis caused by the bosses. We fight alongside workers in Greece. We say no to the dictatorship of the IMF and the markets”

He then proceeded to announce the initiative of left MEPs for a Europe-wide week of action against the new austerity, with particular reference to the solidarity that is now needed for the Greek working class. This is an initiative undertaken by Joe himself, now involving MEPs from left parties in Greece, Cyprus, France, Portugal, Denmark and Sweden. He explained that:

"We call for a week of solidarity action, from 21-26 June and we call for the left parties, social organisations and trade unions to mobilise during this week, in solidarity with the working class in Greece and all European workers who face similar problems”

He also explained that:
"the present crisis in Europe has not been provoked by the Greek debt, but is the result of the crisis that the global capitalist system faces..."

Regarding the tasks of the Left parties countering the capitalist crisis, Joe emphasised:
"We need to break the domination of markets, to re-nationalise the banking system under the control of workers and society, so that we can steer investment towards the needs of society, ensure pensions, create social services and bring thousands of workers back into work “

The gathering broke into loud applause when Joe commented on the role of markets with regard to the debt:
"It’s neither the Irish workers, nor the Greek workers that borrowed billions. Let the markets go to hell, erase the debts! They are speculators anyway, they’ve played and they’ve lost.”

Joe’s dynamic contribution intrigued and won the praise of many comrades and friends. It is not an accident that Joe received the applause of the audience each time he completed a sentence, demonstrating in practice the power and the appeal of the ideas and proposals of revolutionary Marxism, particularly in today’s conditions of severe capitalist crisis.

http://www.socialistworld.net/doc/4294

 
© 2001-2025 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy