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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.
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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
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Europe?s Days of Carbon Colonialism are Numbered Fri Sep 19, 2025 09:00 | Tilak Doshi
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The post Europe’s Days of Carbon Colonialism are Numbered appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
The Sceptic | Episode 51: Charlie Kirk, Free Speech and the Scourge of ?Anti-Fascism?, and Why Brits... Fri Sep 19, 2025 07:00 | Richard Eldred
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We Shouldn?t Welcome Right-Wing Cancel Culture Thu Sep 18, 2025 19:00 | Noah Carl
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The post We Shouldn?t Welcome Right-Wing Cancel Culture appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Trump Tells Starmer: Use Military to Stop Small Boats, Drill in the North Sea and Uphold Free Speech Thu Sep 18, 2025 17:00 | Will Jones
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Activists must reflect
 international |
miscellaneous |
opinion/analysis
 Wednesday April 28, 2004 14:39 by R
I am posting this piece in memory of Canadian activist Tooker Gomberg who took his own life recently and in the hope that the activists among you will take note of his message. Tooker was an amazing activist - dedicated, creative, dynamic and effective. Sadly, he gave too much.
 MESSAGE FROM TOOKER'S PARTNER:
Hello friends of Tooker,
Below is a piece written by Tooker on Earth Day, 2002. At the time he was suffering from severe depression; the piece was a private exercise for his therapist.
Tooker spent his entire adult life doing inspiring and often successful
work for a greener, healthier world. In 2001, in his own words, he "hit a wall". For the first time in his life, he battled burnout.
I am circulating this article because I think it contains some important messages for all of us who are working for a better world.
For those interested in further discussing these ideas, there has been an
Activist Support Forum / Discussion set up at
http://www.planetfriendly.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=21.
Angela Bischoff
===============================
Dear Activist:
It's another strange day for me. Things have been strange for 8 months or more. I used to be an activist. Now I don't know what I am. Did you ever read the Kafka story about the guy who wakes up and he has turned into a cockroach?
My mind is in a fog - I can't think very clearly. Making a sandwich Takes a long time - I have to concentrate on every step along the way, and I am moving very slowly and deliberately. I feel like I am stunned, and spaced out most of the time. Today is Earth Day, but I feel I am on another planet.
I have been spending lots of time in bed, mostly sleeping, dozing, and dreaming.
It feels like my mind has melted down, though I am told that it comes
Back once the depression lifts. Whenever that is. For some people it seems to be months, for others years, and others never get out of it.
But I am writing to you about activism, not the frightening impacts of depression.
Amory Lovins, the great energy efficiency guru, once called me a Hyper-Activist. I guess that's what I was. I lived, breathed, and Focussed on activism. It kept me thinking, inspired, interested, and alive.
But it also allowed me to ignore other things in life that now, suddenly, I realize I never developed. This makes me sad and despondent.
I used to enjoy cooking, but stopped. I always liked kids, but never really thought about having kids of our own. Changing the world was more important, and having a kid would interfere with our life's work of changing the world.
I didn't develop my mind in a broad way, learning about music and art And theatre and poetry, for example. It was focussed on changing the world.
I never really thought about a career - I was living my life, not Worrying about the trappings and credentials of the boring, status quo world.
Maybe I was living in a bubble of naiveté, doing my own thing, Unconcerned that my perspectives and actions were so different from "normal". I never wanted to be normal, anyway. Normal got us into the mess we're in.
So now I find myself, with my sliver of being smashed to smithereens After being assaulted by police in Quebec City, a security guard in City Hall, and various other security guards during the mayoralty race. And numerous arrests.
Or maybe it was the tear gas, and last summer's smog. Maybe I pushed my brain too hard, and overstressed it with the run for Mayor of Toronto, or the passport burning, or 20 years of pushing against the juggernaut. And maybe Sept. 11 firmed up my worries into a real fear that working for change was really dangerous.
Or it could be a physiological response to too much coffee, stress, and smog. Maybe I've burned out my adrenal glands. Maybe my brain is Poisoned from so much thinking about tragic ecological issues, pondering bad air, and getting frustrated at the slow rate of improvement and the rapid destruction of the living world. Could my brain have been damaged when I was close to dying with heat stroke in Vietnam in 1998?
I should have developed a deeper kinship with my family and with people. Don't get me wrong - I had lots of friends and acquaintances in the activist world. But they were not deep friends of the heart. I
neglected my heart, and how I was feeling about things, about people, about situations. Now that I'm in crisis, I don't really have the language to connect with people. The silence is easier than trying to explain what I'm going through, or to relate to other people's issues or problems.
So what advice can I offer? Stay rounded. Do the activism, but don't
overdo it. If you burn out, or tumble into depression, you'll become no good to anyone, especially yourself. When you're in this state, nothing seems worthwhile, and there's nothing to look forward to.
It's honourable to work to change the world, but do it in balance with other things. Explore and embrace the things you love to do, and you'll be energetic and enthusiastic about the activism. Don't drop hobbies or enjoyments. Be sure to hike and dance and sing. Keeping your spirit alive and healthy is fundamental if you are to keep going.
I never really understood what burnout was. I knew that it affected Active people, but somehow I thought I was immune to it. After all, I took breaks every now and then and went travelling. And all my work was done in partnership with Ange, the great love of my life.
But in the end, when burnout finally caught up to me, it was mega, and must have been the accumulation of decades of stress and avoidance. And now I find myself in a dark and confusing labyrinth trying to feel my way back to sanity and calm.
So beware. Take this warning seriously. If you start slipping into the hole of depression and you notice yourself losing enthusiasm and
Becoming deeply disenchanted, take a break and talk with a friend about it. Don't ignore it. The world needs all the concerned people it can get. If you can stay in the struggle for the long haul you can make a real positive contribution, and live to witness the next victory!
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Comments (9 of 9)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9Thanks for putting up this piece. I think burnout is a big problem for left activists, particularly for those in small political parties, where a handful of activists often run around trying to substitute themselves for mass movements.
When such activists are implicitly made feel guilty for not doing enough, this can lead to them dropping out of political activism all together to be replaced by a fresh group of shiny-eyed recruits! All their experience is then lost to the movement.
Of course there is nothing wrong with a certian degree of self-sacrifice. Anything worthwhile achieving in life takes time and effort. Just compare the altruism of most left activists with the careerism of the right-wing political hacks.
However, as in the tragic case of the Canadian activist, political activism shouldn't be at the expense of a person not being able to devlop other aspects of his or her life or personality- whether that be personal relationships or other interests.
If a person's sole focus in life is hyper-activism then there is a danger of that person becoming somewhat one dimensional. It is no exaggeration to say that there are left activists who don't even have time to stop and think about what they are doing and why they are doing it, nevermind have a personal life. What the left doesn't need are more politicos who are so far removed from the interests and concerns of working class people that they can't connect with the class.
Hyper-activism is a problem not only because of the risk of burnout, but also becase it often leaves no room for the development of critical thinking or any type of theoretical development.
Well rounded individuals can only be of benefit to any movement and hopefully this thread will lead to a discussion about the dangers of hyper-activism and what to do about it!
I am a very regular contributor to this site. And I can bare testimony to the above arcticle and comment. I suffered burn out a number of years ago, hit depression and rock bottom and am only still recovering. Hyper activism & one who is prone to depression (especially manic depression) is a very dangerous coctail.
As with eveything in life, BALANCE, is of huge importance. Once one loses balance as with physical balance, one falls. So keep active and working but STEADILY. This is going to be a marathon (and a very long one at that), not a sprint.
In memorty of Tooker Gomberg. May his influence continue through us.
feels great to see that i am not the only one suffering from burn out. The preesure that fellow activists put on each other is at times unberable.We are not machines, and competition to see who does nore than the next is a portrait of left wing activist ego. i am on the brink of droping out of activism all togethor, it is becoming too much of a burden.
Don't drop out totally "activist"!! Just ease right back. Just do something like one action a month/2 months, even a small/tiny action. Ease right back but without "completely" dropping out.
posted about recently but googled "give up activism" for a good dicussion on this....
i feel the letter slighly misrepresents activism
the guy had depression ya know
As well as give up activism, ppl should do a search for the anarchist subculture by feral faun. Give Up Activism came out 5 years ago and while a lot of ppl know about it maybe not enough and "we" seem to be making the same mistakes still.
im sure he posted a critique of food not bombs one time and but he describes how it was just another form of charity which if everyone knows fnb well enough was specifically set up to avoid itself being simply charity
People must not sacrifice themselves to a cause. Many people do. I spent a lot of time doing the same and I got too deep. You have to be careful to stay in the real world and not get lost. You shouldn't subsidise activism for other activities or things in your life. These days I try to make sure my political activism is self acctulisation and moves along with everything else in my life. Activism is part of my life but doesn't dominate it. to be honest doing lots of drugs at the same time isnt helpful either. Activism is positive for the individual and empowering just dont overdo it.
Thanx for posting this.
I was at Mitch Snyder's funeral.. a death like this takes many of us with it. Thanx Tooker, thanx Abbie Hoffman, Phil Ochs et. al. Great lives lived cannot be judged by a bad day.
Spirituality and solidarity is what gets us through....whatever source you get nourished. from. Whatever source others get nourished from needs to be repected. We need to be a lot gentler with each other.