Simon McGarr
@tupped.bsky.social
Solicitor, consultant, artist, writes TheGist.ie newsletter.
Visiting Lecturer. External Examiner in Data Protection law.
Visiting Lecturer. External Examiner in Data Protection law.
“Is language the self, or a means of expressing it?”
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
“Large language models are trained on vast amounts of human-written text, material filled with descriptions of various emotions and inner experience. Because of that, Askell said she is ‘more inclined’ to believe that models are ‘feeling things’.” This is a complete non sequitur. #PhilAI
Anthropic's philosopher, Amanda Askell, says she worries that AI might not 'feel that loved' and grow up feeling 'always judged.'
January 26, 2026 at 9:27 AM
“Is language the self, or a means of expressing it?”
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
These HR recruitment questions are getting trickier.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
My Meta account is currently under permanent suspension for "breaching Meta's rules on child exploitation"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
January 26, 2026 at 9:23 AM
My Meta account is currently under permanent suspension for "breaching Meta's rules on child exploitation"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
I called X "Elon Musk's child porn generator"
The declared plan is to penalise *successful* applicants by making them pay legal costs for cases they *won*.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
If ever the idea of maintaining a means for citizens to challenge a Govt who was acting illegally was worth protecting, it is surely now.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
John McManus: Bar Council is not the voice of reason on judicial reviews. It’s a trade union in fancy dress
January 26, 2026 at 9:22 AM
The declared plan is to penalise *successful* applicants by making them pay legal costs for cases they *won*.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
And the openly declared purpose of this costs change is to limit the ability of citizens to access justice, again, even when their rights have been breached.
Hard to see how this is good.
If ever the idea of maintaining a means for citizens to challenge a Govt who was acting illegally was worth protecting, it is surely now.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
John McManus: Bar Council is not the voice of reason on judicial reviews. It’s a trade union in fancy dress
John McManus: Bar Council is not the voice of reason on judicial reviews. It’s a trade union in fancy dress
The council is positioning itself as a champion of the public interest – but what about the public interest in adequate housing, transport and energy?
www.irishtimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:07 AM
If ever the idea of maintaining a means for citizens to challenge a Govt who was acting illegally was worth protecting, it is surely now.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Judicial Review (JR) doesn’t succeed without administrative wrongdoing.
If you don’t like JRs, don’t block the ability to challenge. Just make lawful decisions.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
January 26, 2026 at 12:01 AM
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
TikTok in the US is suddenly ripe for collapse.
January 26, 2026 at 7:31 AM
TikTok in the US is suddenly ripe for collapse.
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
January 26, 2026 at 12:01 AM
May their beds grow thorns
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
May their food choke and tear
May water never slake their thirst
And the Sun burn but never warm them
May the Earth refuse them
And the heavens turn their back
May they know no peace
No rest
No forgiveness.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
life changing news.
jaguars are indeed soft.
jaguars are indeed soft.
Being a journalist is sick: I just contacted a pre-eminent jaguar conservationist in Argentine with a question that has been weighing on me for ages and he wrote back right away with an informed answer.
January 25, 2026 at 11:50 PM
life changing news.
jaguars are indeed soft.
jaguars are indeed soft.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Guy famous for making torture legal voice: “no I totally used to believe in international law….”
International law no longer serves as an instrument of global stability—and the U.S. should use this moment to argue for a different approach to the rules of war, John Yoo argues.
A New International Law Can Rise From the Ashes
The United States should use this moment to argue for a different approach to the rules of war.
bit.ly
January 25, 2026 at 10:21 PM
Guy famous for making torture legal voice: “no I totally used to believe in international law….”
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey was present in the House of Commons when Reginald Maudling said this shit and responded by marching over and slapping him across his lying Tory face btw
January 25, 2026 at 7:41 PM
Bernadette Devlin-McAliskey was present in the House of Commons when Reginald Maudling said this shit and responded by marching over and slapping him across his lying Tory face btw
Reposted by Simon McGarr
"We don't require a video. We have an official statement from DHS which has not been disproven." - Walter Hudson, Republican Representative from Albert Lea.
January 25, 2026 at 8:15 PM
"We don't require a video. We have an official statement from DHS which has not been disproven." - Walter Hudson, Republican Representative from Albert Lea.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
It's not lost on me that when pressed by Dana Bash, the ultimate reason Bovino gave for Pretti's murder was "because he was there."
January 25, 2026 at 5:58 PM
It's not lost on me that when pressed by Dana Bash, the ultimate reason Bovino gave for Pretti's murder was "because he was there."
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Grokipedia, which was purpose-built to poison the training data of LLMs, working as intended.
Tests show GPT-5.2 on ChatGPT citing Grokipedia as a source on a wide range of queries, including on Iranian conglomerates and Holocaust deniers (Aisha Down/The Guardian)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
January 25, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Grokipedia, which was purpose-built to poison the training data of LLMs, working as intended.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Somehow the idea of people being nice and supportive to each other, and society being supportive in general, has been dismissed as fantasy politics for babies. Whereas making difficult decisions like driving children into poverty while swimming in record tax receipts is good realistic politics
January 25, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Somehow the idea of people being nice and supportive to each other, and society being supportive in general, has been dismissed as fantasy politics for babies. Whereas making difficult decisions like driving children into poverty while swimming in record tax receipts is good realistic politics
By special request I got a great big shoulder of pork yesterday and rubbed it with salt and pepper and 2 tsps cumin, smoked paprika, adobo chilli paste, garlic salt and onion salt and mushed up with a tbls of Olive oil before mashing t into the pork and leaving in the fridge covered up all night.
January 25, 2026 at 2:17 PM
By special request I got a great big shoulder of pork yesterday and rubbed it with salt and pepper and 2 tsps cumin, smoked paprika, adobo chilli paste, garlic salt and onion salt and mushed up with a tbls of Olive oil before mashing t into the pork and leaving in the fridge covered up all night.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
Years ago, when I was a teenager, I heard @marcusbrig.bsky.social on the Now Show say that the best way to resist the temptation to have cocaine for breakfast was not to keep it in the fridge. Good lesson for mechanisms of state oppression too.
January 25, 2026 at 2:12 PM
Years ago, when I was a teenager, I heard @marcusbrig.bsky.social on the Now Show say that the best way to resist the temptation to have cocaine for breakfast was not to keep it in the fridge. Good lesson for mechanisms of state oppression too.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
They also took their blueprint for torture in Guantanamo Bay from how the UK govt treated people they accused of being IRA
January 25, 2026 at 1:57 PM
They also took their blueprint for torture in Guantanamo Bay from how the UK govt treated people they accused of being IRA
If you were wondering where the US regime found their internal oppression & lies blueprint, take a read of the Statement from the U.K. Govt after the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry.
January 25, 2026 at 1:48 PM
If you were wondering where the US regime found their internal oppression & lies blueprint, take a read of the Statement from the U.K. Govt after the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry.
I raised all these Leopards!
January 25, 2026 at 1:14 PM
I raised all these Leopards!
The Irish Times is so proud of this execrable fascist framing headlined piece that they have posted it for a second time.
Minneapolis shooting deepens US immigration crisis as federal accounts are challenged
Minneapolis shooting deepens US immigration crisis as federal accounts are challenged
Video evidence, political rhetoric and competing narratives collide after the death of Alex Pretti
www.irishtimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 1:12 PM
The Irish Times is so proud of this execrable fascist framing headlined piece that they have posted it for a second time.
Nixon-ass retribution.
Mischief Toy Store in St. Paul has until Wednesday to turn over employment records to the Department of Homeland Security as part of a surprise audit launched Friday, just hours after one of the shop's owners criticized ICE agents during a television interview. bit.ly/4r5AFol
January 25, 2026 at 1:09 PM
Nixon-ass retribution.
No way we let Sweden get over the line on this ahead of Ireland.
Tell your friends. This isn’t just any old petition, this mechanism has EU clout.
Tell your friends. This isn’t just any old petition, this mechanism has EU clout.
358 806 signatures for the full suspension of the EU-Israel association, more than 1/3 of what is needed and 4 of the 7 countries needed over 100%.
tinyurl.com/mv8fzdhu
☑️Belgium 103%
☑️Finland 100.5%
☑️France 296%
Ireland 58.7%
Italy 79.8%
Netherlands 31%
Poland 51.4%
☑️Spain 111.9%
Sweden 81.6%
tinyurl.com/mv8fzdhu
☑️Belgium 103%
☑️Finland 100.5%
☑️France 296%
Ireland 58.7%
Italy 79.8%
Netherlands 31%
Poland 51.4%
☑️Spain 111.9%
Sweden 81.6%
January 25, 2026 at 10:40 AM
No way we let Sweden get over the line on this ahead of Ireland.
Tell your friends. This isn’t just any old petition, this mechanism has EU clout.
Tell your friends. This isn’t just any old petition, this mechanism has EU clout.
Reposted by Simon McGarr
358 806 signatures for the full suspension of the EU-Israel association, more than 1/3 of what is needed and 4 of the 7 countries needed over 100%.
tinyurl.com/mv8fzdhu
☑️Belgium 103%
☑️Finland 100.5%
☑️France 296%
Ireland 58.7%
Italy 79.8%
Netherlands 31%
Poland 51.4%
☑️Spain 111.9%
Sweden 81.6%
tinyurl.com/mv8fzdhu
☑️Belgium 103%
☑️Finland 100.5%
☑️France 296%
Ireland 58.7%
Italy 79.8%
Netherlands 31%
Poland 51.4%
☑️Spain 111.9%
Sweden 81.6%
January 25, 2026 at 2:33 AM