Grok 4 AI: Background reading re Michael Comyn KC. It makes it so much easier to read when you get a synopsis like below. March 2026. Recommend Grokipedia search Michael Comyn

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

The book The Secret Court-Martial Records of the Easter Rising (also published under the title From Behind a Closed Door: Secret Court Martial Records of the 1916 Easter Rising), authored by historian Brian Barton and first released in 2002, compiles and analyzes the previously classified British military trial transcripts from the aftermath of Ireland’s 1916 Easter Rising.

barnesandnoble.com These records, kept secret by the British government until their declassification in 1999, detail the field general court-martial proceedings against nearly 200 Irish rebels involved in the failed uprising against British rule.

abebooks.com

Historical Context of the Easter Rising and Trials

The Easter Rising was a six-day armed insurrection beginning on April 24, 1916, primarily in Dublin, led by Irish republicans aiming to end British governance and establish an independent Irish Republic. Key figures included Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas MacDonagh, and others who proclaimed an Irish Republic from the General Post Office (GPO). The rebellion was suppressed by British forces, resulting in over 450 deaths (mostly civilians) and thousands wounded. On April 29, Pearse issued an unconditional surrender to prevent further bloodshed.

thehistorypress.co.uk

Following the surrender, martial law was declared across Ireland on April 26, suspending civilian courts. British authorities, under Major General Sir John Maxwell (appointed commander-in-chief on April 28), swiftly court-martialed suspects in closed sessions at Richmond Barracks in Dublin and other locations. These trials, conducted by panels of three military officers without legal qualifications, were held in camera (secretly), a decision later criticized as potentially illegal under the British Army Act.

thehistorypress.co.uk

Prime Minister Herbert Asquith pushed for transparency, but Maxwell resisted, fearing it would expose weak evidence in some cases. High-ranking officials later admitted that evidence was “extremely thin” or “far from conclusive” in certain trials, suggesting secrecy allowed for predetermined outcomes against key leaders.

thehistorypress.co.uk

In total, around 161 people were tried in Dublin alone, with charges typically including “taking part in armed rebellion” to aid the enemy (Germany, amid World War I) and, in some cases, attempting to cause disaffection among civilians. Trials were often brief—some lasting just 5-10 minutes—and relied on witness statements from captured British soldiers, officers, and seized rebel documents. Nationwide, about 200 court-martials occurred, but only 15 death sentences were carried out: 14 in Dublin (executed by firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol between May 3 and 12) and one in Cork (Thomas Kent, executed on May 9 after a separate skirmish).

thehistorypress.co.uk

Maxwell commuted 84% of the death sentences, limiting executions to prominent leaders, commanders, or those linked to significant violence.

Key Figures and Trial Details from the Records

Barton’s book reproduces the trial transcripts verbatim, interspersed with his historical analysis. Highlights include:

  • Patrick Pearse: As president of the provisional government, he exaggerated his role during his trial to protect others, delivering an impassioned speech affirming the rebellion’s righteousness. thehistorypress.co.uk
  • James Connolly: Tried while wounded and deemed medically fit, he emphasized his socialist motivations and the fight for Irish freedom in a defiant address. thehistorypress.co.uk
  • Thomas MacDonagh: Commandant at Jacob’s Biscuit Factory; his trial lacked evidence of a defiant final speech, contrary to later myths. thehistorypress.co.uk
  • John MacBride: A Boer War veteran, tried for his role at Jacob’s; evidence focused on his active participation, though Barton notes the case was dubious. thehistorypress.co.uk
  • Other executed leaders: Included the seven signatories of the Irish Proclamation (Pearse, MacDonagh, Thomas Clarke, Seán MacDiarmada, Joseph Plunkett, Éamonn Ceannt, and Connolly), plus commandants like Edward Daly, Michael Mallin, Con Colbert, and Seán Heuston. William Pearse (Patrick’s brother) and Michael O’Hanrahan had particularly weak cases, with outcomes appearing arbitrary due to rushed proceedings and poor intelligence. thehistorypress.co.uk

Defendants’ responses varied: Some, like Ceannt, mounted strong defenses; others remained silent or understated their involvement. All faced execution with composure, viewing it as martyrdom for Irish independence.

thehistorypress.co.uk

Notably, figures like Éamon de Valera escaped execution despite commanding at Boland’s Bakery, where British casualties were high, highlighting inconsistencies.

Barton’s Commentary and Insights

Barton, an expert on Irish history, provides contextual analysis throughout, explaining the political pressures on Maxwell (including Asquith’s warnings against excessive executions) and the trials’ flaws: haste, generalized testimony, and single-witness reliance. He argues the secrecy was deliberate to enable executions of symbolic leaders, fueling anti-British sentiment and boosting support for Sinn Féin and the Irish Republican Army in subsequent years.

goodreads.com +1

Barton also contrasts cases: Justifiable executions targeted clear ringleaders, while others (e.g., Kent’s for a minor incident) seemed disproportionate compared to unpunished larger battles like Ashbourne.The executions backfired politically, transforming the rebels into martyrs and contributing to the Irish War of Independence (1919–1921).

Availability and Further Reading

The book is available in print and digital formats from retailers like Barnes & Noble, AbeBooks, and eBay. ebay.com +2 A full scan is accessible for borrowing on Archive.org.

archive.org

For primary sources, the original records are now public via the UK National Archives. If you’re seeking a specific excerpt or aspect (e.g., a particular trial), provide more details for deeper exploration.

6 web pages

Full transcript of Pearse trial

Irish War of Independence

Quick Answer

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

IQ tests on Nazi leaders during the Nuremberg Trials, Nuremberg Germany (1945-1947)

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

Archaeo – Histories

@archeohistories

IQ tests on Nazi leaders during the Nuremberg Trials, Nuremberg Germany (1945-1947) …..

During the Nuremberg Trials, the Allied psychologists assigned to evaluate the defendants conducted a series of IQ tests as part of a broader effort to understand their personalities, motives, and mental states. The examiners used the Wechsler Bellevue scale, which was considered more accurate for adults than older testing methods. The results showed that nearly all of the major defendants scored above the average range for the general population. Hjalmar Schacht recorded the highest score at 143, while Hermann Goering scored 138, and Rudolf Hess was estimated at 120 after a period of mental instability that complicated his assessment. The testing did not attempt to measure morality or character. Instead, it offered a narrow measure of mechanical problem solving and verbal reasoning. The examiners noted that intelligence alone provided no insight into why these individuals participated in such destructive policies. Many of the defendants combined intellectual competence with rigid ideology, loyalty to the regime, and a willingness to follow or enforce orders. The results became a reminder that high cognitive ability does not prevent harmful choices and is not a safeguard against participation in violence or abuse of power. The psychologist who administered many of the tests, Gustave Gilbert, later wrote detailed journals about his interviews with defendants. These journals became one of the most important firsthand psychological records of the Nuremberg Trials. © Historical Photos #archaeohistories

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Ireland surrounded by sea: Wake up. We are too reliant on UK for energy and by watching this, they are in crisis of supply over there. Search this site David Horgan

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Futurism: Google CEO Says We’re All Going to Have to Suffer Through It as AI Puts Society Through the Woodchipper

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

Google CEO Says We’re All Going to Have to Suffer Through It as AI Puts Society Through the Woodchipper

“We will have to work through societal disruption.”

By Joe Wilkins

Published Dec 10, 2025 11:12 AM EST

Sundar Pichai recently claimed that no job is safe, not even his own, fretting that we'll have to suffer through AI whether we like it or not.
Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

Ask just about any job seeker in the US how the labor market is doing, and you’re liable to get an earful. Months upon months of stale job growth have led to a “low-hire economy,” a situation where workers have little leverage over companies, resulting in low wage growth, a rise in freelance hires compared to full-time, and ever-worsening benefit packages.

At the same time, AI has never been buzzier. Even as real-world efficiency gains seem to be slowing to a crawl, the amount of money being spent on AI is only going up, as evidenced by mammoth data center investments and a booming stock market.

As a result, many are wondering what the relationship is between AI’s rise and labor’s stagnation. While economists like Daron Acemoglu argue that any impact AI has on workers won’t be felt for a decade — if it comes at all — tech CEOs are telling a different story: that AI is about to flip our whole world upside down.

One of the tech execs joining the chorus of AI proselytizers is Alphabet (Google) CEO Sundar Pichai, who recently pined that no job is safe — not even his own.

In a recent BBC interview, Pichai said that “AI is the most profound technology humanity is ever working on, and it has potential for extraordinary benefits, and we will have to work through societal disruption.”

Though he’s careful not to be too giddy about it — as some other tech execs have been — the Alphabet CEO is peddling a well-worn brand of AI fatalism. Basically, AI is inevitable, and it’s coming for all of our jobs whether we like it or not. Pichai, who recently became a billionaire, even believes that his role as CEO will be “one of the easier things” for AI to take over, which makes it all the more odd that he’s decided to forge ahead with the tech anyway.

“It will evolve and transition certain jobs,” he continued. “People will need to adapt, and then there will be areas where it will impact some jobs. So, as a society, I think we need to be having those conversations.”

Of course, unless you’ve been hiding out in the woods since the pandemic, you’re probably aware that AI is one of the only conversations we seem to be having at any scale. The issue isn’t so much that we’re not talking about AI, but how we’re talking about AI, and who’s framing the conversation.

Pichai, for example, as chief executive of one of the largest companies working on AI right now, has a material stake in pushing the narrative that AI is coming for everyone’s jobs. While AI surely is helping companies “gigify” some jobs like translation or software development, it’s not automating many jobs outright — an important distinction the AI boosters hope you don’t make.

A recent Business Insider analysis found that the jobs most exposed to AI automation aren’t really being impacted, though anxiety about tariffs, political uncertainty, and pandemic-era overhiring have led to “recessionary levels of job creation” throughout the economy.

So while we might have to live with the consequences of the tech industry’s brain rotting slop, AI’s effects on work aren’t a foregone conclusion. The idea that AI will destroy life as we know it is a horrible thought, of course — but with so much information assaulting us from all angles, our best bet is to trust the evidence, not the CEOs.

More on Google: Google’s AI Deletes User’s Entire Hard Drive, Issues Groveling Apology: “I Cannot Express How Sorry I Am”

https://cee185ab5c844a8eace5750898c9a0f3.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-45/html/container.html

Joe Wilkins

Correspondent

I’m a tech and transit correspondent for Futurism, where my beat includes transportation, infrastructure, and the role of emerging technologies in governance, surveillance, and labor.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

“Intuitive Introverts: “One of the most difficult types” Carl Jung in interview

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The Rundown Robotics: Nous Research’s AI takes on elite math exam

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015
Nous Research’s AI takes on elite math exam

Image source: Nano Banana Pro / The Rundown

The Rundown: Nous Research just open-sourced Nomos 1, a new 30B parameter reasoning system that scored 87 out of 120 on the 2025 Putnam Contest — crushing rivals like Qwen 3 on one of the most prestigious collegiate math competitions.

The details:The system uses a two-phase approach: AI ‘workers’ solve and self-critique responses, with a tournament-style bracket then selecting the best submission.Nomos’ score would have placed second among nearly 4,000 human competitors last year, with the model earning eight perfect problem scores.Nous also released and open-sourced a reasoning harness — orchestration code that manages how the model solves problems.Running Qwen3 through the same harness and setup scored just 24/120, with the result showing gains coming from model training rather than the harness.

Why it matters: Not too long ago, even simple math problems were an issue for top AI systems —  and now, a small, open model is taking down a notoriously difficult exam. Between Nomos, AI helping conquer unsolved problems, and labs coming with gold medal-winning math models, the entire field looks ready for an AI-driven boom.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

New Atlas: The Ring that remembers everything …

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

This ring remembers everything so your brain doesn’t have to – and doesn’t need charging

By Abhimanyu Ghoshal

December 10, 2025

The Index 01 is designed for discreetly capturing voice notes, and its single-use battery is meant to last you for years

The Index 01 is designed for discreetly capturing voice notes, and its single-use battery is meant to last you for years

Core Devices

View 5 ImagesView gallery – 5 images

I’m always excited to learn what Pebble is up to, because this gadget brand – which made a name for itself with its lo-fi smartwatch – decidedly does things differently. Its latest product is an AI-enabled device that seeks to avoid the pitfalls of recent fiascos in this category, with thoughtful features and an approach to packaging you don’t often come across.

It’s called the Index 01, and it’s basically a ring for your index finger that captures your ideas as you speak into it. The concept is that it’s meant to act as external memory for your brain, while respecting your privacy and allowing you to use it discreetly with just one hand. It graces your index finger, has just one button, and includes a single-use battery that can last years.

Here’s how it works: whenever you think of something you want to remember later, press and hold down the ring’s only button and say it out loud. The Index 01 will beam that over to your phone, where your voice note will be transcribed locally, and an on-device large language model (LLM) will parse it to take actions like saving it as a note, turning it into a reminder, or setting a timer.

The Index 01 works without a cloud subscription or an internet connection, and can even record when it's beyond range of your phone
The Index 01 works without a cloud subscription or an internet connection, and can even record when it’s beyond range of your phone

The device doesn’t need a subscription to work; it doesn’t even require an internet connection or to be within range of your phone to record. It’s got a bit of onboard memory, so it can capture your thoughts wherever you are and sync with your handset when you’re near it again.

Inventor Eric Migicovsky, who founded Core Devices to revive his Pebble brand and launch new products like this one, has been working on the ring for about a year now. Describing the intentions behind the Index 01’s design, he noted that it’s meant to become part of your routine, while also being unobtrusive and allowing you to be more present in your everyday life.

To that end, the ring is water resistant, so you can simply wear it all the time. And since it’s worn on your index finger, you can operate it with just one hand – unlike your phone or smartwatch that would require both hands to engage a recording function.https://www.youtube.com/embed/ArxhS4SQaP0?enablejsapi=1

We Made $75 External Memory For Your Brain!

The other big deal is the battery. While we’re used to being able to recharge virtually every other personal gadget in our arsenal, this one doesn’t have a charging port. Instead, its tiny silver oxide battery is meant to last for ‘roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording,’ which works out to two years of usage if you’re recording 3-6 second thoughts between 10-20 times a day.

Migicovsky believes that this approach – which seems like a major compromise on the surface – allows the ring to be much smaller and less expensive than it otherwise would be. Plus, there’s no charger to misplace. I’ve got a drawer full of fitness bands and other little doodads that are now unusable because their proprietary chargers have gone missing, so I can get behind this line of thinking. It’s sort of like a reasonable version of planned obsolescence: you know what you’re getting for your money, and you’re buying upfront into the notion that this thing won’t last forever.

Sure you can record voice notes with your phone or smartwatch, but the Index 01 lets you do it with one hand
Sure you can record voice notes with your phone or smartwatch, but the Index 01 lets you do it with one hand

I don’t know about you, but I’m all in on voice notes, and have been for about a decade. I run a system that lets me record ideas big and small on my phone or Wear OS smartwatch, and automatically uploads those to Google Drive; those audio files are transcribed and summarized using OpenAI’s Whisper model, and dropped into a private Notion database. It works pretty darn well, and it’s how I get a lot of my thinking done – everything from daily journaling to planning story ideas to planning motorcycle trips.

Being able to do all this more quickly would be fantastic. There are other ways to do this, and some AI hardware products promise a lot of the same thing – but the Index 01 presently seems like the most intuitive approach I’ve seen. I also like how it skips fancy features like gesture-based activation to just work reliably 100% of the time. You have to push and hold the button to record, and you can be certain it’s stopped recording when you let go.

There’s a lot that the Index 01 doesn’t do, like track health stats, count steps, light up, or even vibrate. Heck, it’s not even well suited for long voice notes, like the half-hour rambles I go on while trying to flesh out harebrained ideas for novels and screenplays. The company says that’s good because this narrow use case allows it to focus on making the ring good at the one thing it says it’ll do on the tin. I’d argue it also helps differentiate it from other similar-but-not-quite-the-same offerings like Anker’s Soundcore Work, so it simplifies the decision of whether it’s the right AI recorder thingamajig for you.

It's pretty neat that a mic, Bluetooth chip, and long-lasting battery all fit into this tiny water resistant housing
It’s pretty neat that a mic, Bluetooth chip, and long-lasting battery all fit into this tiny water resistant housing

The Index 01 will retail at US$99 and can be pre-ordered now for $75; it’s set to ship next March in three colorways and eight sizes. The brand notes that you’ll be alerted via the app a month before the ring’s battery runs out, at which point you can order another and even send yours back for recycling. Given the price point and its single-use battery, this isn’t for everyone. It might well be best suited to people who already take a lot of voice notes – as opposed to someone getting into the habit for the first time – and want a better way to do it.

Find the Index 01 on Core Devices’ site.

Source: Core Devices

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A retired police officer in Maryland converted a bus into a mobile laundry to support people experiencing homelessness.

Posted on December 11, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

Mr PitBull

@MrPitbull07

A retired police officer in Maryland converted a bus into a mobile laundry to support people experiencing homelessness. Wade Milyard now drives his “Fresh Step Laundry” bus around the community, offering free washing services that restore dignity and comfort — and he’s already cleaned more than two thousand pounds of clothing for those in need. Humanity still exists

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The most dangerous lie of the 21st century was that all cultures are interchangeable. Sweden is the irrefutable proof that they are not.

Posted on December 10, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

Imtiaz Mahmood

@ImtiazMadmood

The most dangerous lie of the 21st century was that all cultures are interchangeable. Sweden is the irrefutable proof that they are not. As an Iranian who watched my own country fall to extremism, the tragedy unfolding in Scandinavia feels like a recurring nightmare. I have seen a civilization commit suicide before, and the symptoms are always the same: a fatal tolerance for those who explicitly wish to dismantle your way of life. We are witnessing the total collapse of a utopian fantasy. Sweden now rivals nations like Mexico in bombing frequency for a country not officially at war. This is not merely a crime wave. It is the sound of a society fracturing under the weight of imported conflict. It echoes the silence that eventually fell over my own homeland when the vibrancy of culture was traded for the rigidity of dogma. Sweden is the canary in the coal mine. It demonstrates that tolerance cannot extend to the intolerant. As the undeniable cost of these policies mounts, those who understand the gravity of the situation are increasingly intimidated into silence. – Armin Nawabi

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sprinter Press: President Vladimir Putin warned about the risks of young people becoming overly dependent on artificial intelligence and losing their ability to analyze things on their own.

Posted on December 10, 2025 by michelleclarke2015

Sprinter Press

@SprinterPress

President Vladimir Putin warned about the risks of young people becoming overly dependent on artificial intelligence and losing their ability to analyze things on their own. He pointed out that it’s essential to avoid creating a generation that “just presses buttons” without critical thinking, and urged to strengthen intellectual training in the face of technological advancement.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment