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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 Afghan Migrant Who Arrived in UK With ?Protruding Adam?s Apple? Wins ?25,000 After Judge Rules He Wa... Fri Oct 17, 2025 17:05 | Will Jones
An Afghan migrant who was deemed an adult by UK authorities because he?had a "protruding Adam's apple", bags under his eyes and skin that "did not appear youthful"?has won ?25,000 after a judge ruled he was a child.
The post Afghan Migrant Who Arrived in UK With “Protruding Adam’s Apple” Wins ?25,000 After Judge Rules He Was a Child appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Tolkien ?Demonises People of Colour?, University Teaches Students Fri Oct 17, 2025 15:07 | Will Jones
A university is teaching students that?J.R.R. Tolkien?demonises "people of colour" in the Lord of the Rings books, claiming that orcs and other dark-skinned characters are victims of "ethnic chauvinism".
The post Tolkien “Demonises People of Colour”, University Teaches Students appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Ex-Met Police Chief Tables Amendment to Abolish Non-Crime Hate Incidents Fri Oct 17, 2025 13:06 | Will Jones
The Government could be forced to abolish non-crime hate incidents (NCHIs) after a former head of the Metropolitan Police tabled a widely supported amendment to axe them in the House of Lords.
The post Ex-Met Police Chief Tables Amendment to Abolish Non-Crime Hate Incidents appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Israeli Fan Ban Could Be the Spark that Ignites a Political Powderkeg Fri Oct 17, 2025 11:15 | Will Jones
The "disgraceful" ban on Israeli fans attending a football match at Aston Villa in Birmingham could be the spark that ignites a political powderkeg, says Oliver Brown in the Telegraph.
The post Israeli Fan Ban Could Be the Spark that Ignites a Political Powderkeg appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Ed Miliband?s Gas Price Lies Exposed by Energy Company CEOs in Parliament Fri Oct 17, 2025 09:00 | Ben Pile
Ed Miliband's claim that UK energy bills are sky high because of gas prices has been exposed as a lie by energy company CEOs, who told MPs that even if gas prices halved Net Zero levies would drive up bills, says Ben Pile.
The post Ed Miliband’s Gas Price Lies Exposed by Energy Company CEOs in Parliament 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 >>

America's Lap Dog: Ireland And The War In Afghanistan

category international | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis author Monday November 22, 2021 17:00author by De Piorraíauthor email depiorrai at protonmail dot com Report this post to the editors

The Irish state has blood on its hands for its involvement in the War on Terror, read about it now!

I originally wrote this piece in September 2021 following the announcement by United States President Joe Biden that US forces would withdraw from Afghanistan, but never sought to publish the piece. The Irish Government is playing both sides on the matter of foreign affairs, calling for peace and claiming to be 'neutral' while actively supporting Western military imperialism. In this peice, I examine and criticise the involvement of Ireland in the Afghanistan War, with sources provided at the end.

I can be contacted at depiorrai@protonmail.com

The general attitude of the Irish political establishment can best described as two faced. Talk of care, compassion and a just society on one end while actions that hurt workers, communities, and society as a whole are enacted. On the matter of Afghanistan, it’s yet again the same old political shenanigans.

The world has been watching closely at the events unfolding in Afghanistan, as the Taliban has inevitably regained power following the recent end of the twenty year long Western occupation. In a statement on the 16th of August 2021, An Taoiseach Micheál Martin stated that the events have “taken many by surprise”, despite the fact that assessments by intelligence agencies warned that the Taliban takeover would occur. The Taoiseach also declared that Ireland would “participate fully” in international humanitarian efforts.

Since then, the Government has issued a further one hundred and fifty humanitarian visas on top of the previous forty five to Afghan citizens, as well as fast tracking one hundred and three family reunification applications. Deportations of Afghan citizens have been halted and the two hundred and thirty three people with pending deportation orders will have the opportunity to request their orders be revoked.4

The far-right have rushed to oppose this, blaming the housing crisis on refugees as opposed to crooked developers, unscrupulous landlords, vulture funds and the cycle of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. The divisions the far-right seek to create, built on lies and racism, must be opposed. We owe it to these civilians and the international community to offer safety and refuge, not just because of our international human rights obligations nor the history of the Irish people fleeing persecution and poverty, but because the Irish state has and continues to play a role in the War on Terror.

Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Irish Government invited the United States to use Shannon Airport, with no end in sight for this toxic relationship. Shannonwatch, the campaign group that tracks and seeks an end to military use of Shannon Airport, reports that between 2001 and the end of May 2021, little under three million United States soldiers passed through Shannon Airport. These flights don’t require permits from the Minister for Transport but flights carrying munitions of war, both overflights and landings, do require permission. Between 2007 and 2020, 15,342 applications for permits were made to the respective Minister, with only 601 (3.9%) being rejected. It gets worse when you are made aware of the Irish state’s assistance in the extrajudicial capture and torture of terror suspects by allowing rendition flights through Shannon Airport, with the Government having suspected such prisoner transfers were taking place according to a leaked diplomatic cable from a meeting in December 2007 between the then-Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and then-United States Ambassador for Ireland Thomas C. Foley.

For twenty years, the Irish state has been complicit in the occupations, torture and bombings as part of the War on Terror and for what, the blood of innocent civilians that are now on our hands. The ‘Cost of War’ project by the Brown University Institute of International and Public Affairs estimates that between October 2001 and October 2019, direct war deaths across Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen tallied in at 312,971 - 335,745 for civilians and 769,549 - 801,398 overall. These numbers do not take into account indirect deaths, such as deaths due to infrastructure damage, starvation, water shortages and disease, so the actual death toll is much higher. On top of that, across the aforementioned nations, plus Libya, the Philippines and Somalia, thirty seven million people have been displaced, their homes destroyed, livelihoods ruined and families broken apart. That is the cost of war and regardless of who’s innocent or guilty, a civilian or combatant, these are people who have all paid the price.

Unfortunately, foreign policy isn’t a high profile issue in Irish politics, with Brexit and the occasional European treaty referendum being the exceptions. In 2003, one hundred thousand people poured onto the streets of Dublin to oppose Bush and Blair’s invasion of Iraq, though the anti-war movement in Ireland has never been that large since. It’s about time to rebuild that mass movement, to remove the United States from Shannon Airport, to get an Irish withdrawal from PESCO and to oppose the triple lock imperialism of the United States, Britain and the European Union.

Sources:

1) Statement from the Taoiseach Micheál Martin on the situation in Afghanistan - 16th of August 2021
https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/8405f-statement-from-an-taoiseach-micheal-martin-on-the-situation-in-afghanistan/

2) ‘A massive policy fail’: CIA warned White House of swift Taliban takeover - 18th of August 2021
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/18/massive-policy-fail-cia-warned-taliban-takeover

3) 300 Afghan citizens expected to arrive in Ireland under Govt programmes - 18th of August 2021
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2021/0817/1241236-ireland-afghanistan/

4) Afghan nationals in Ireland can request deportation orders to be revoked - 17th of August 2021
https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40361438.html

5) Military Use Of Shannon Airport - 2021
https://www.shannonwatch.org/Military

6) US 'rendition flight' aircraft flew to Shannon airport - 1st of September 2011
https://www.thejournal.ie/us-rendition-flight-aircraft-flew-to-shannon-airport-215372-Sep2011/

7) Ireland suspected Shannon had carried prisoners: the WikiLeak in full - 17th of December 2010
https://www.https://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-suspected-shannon-had-carried-prisoners-the-wikileak-in-full-2010-12/.org/Military

8) Human Cost of Post - 9/11 Wars: Direct War Deaths in Major War Zones - 13th of November 2019
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/figures/2019/direct-war-death-toll-2001-801000

9) Creating Refugees: Displacement Caused by the United States’ Post-9/11 Wars - 21st of September 2020
https://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/summary

10) 100,000 March Against War In Iraq - 15th of February 2013
https://www.rte.ie/archives/2013/0215/367908-10-years-ago-today-protest-against-iraq-war

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