Loinnir (pronounced Lin-ir) is an Irish word for the flickering/dancing sparkle on the waters surface. Here the Doolin ferry is retuning from a spin under the Cliffs of Moher on a sea full of Loinnir. County Clare, Ireland. Cormacscoast.com walking tours

Well worth a read. I wonder if the strength of this position is exactly because it brings together so many different arguments (water use, electricity prices, noise, anti-LLM, anti-Big-Tech etc) into a coherent set.

tony romm@tonyromm.bsky.social · 17h ago

it really is astonishing. the link below is broken, so here's the piece: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/o...

U.S. public’s support for AI data centers has continued to collapse since the spring, a new Heatmap Pro poll shows heatmap.news/daily/data-c... #speirGorm

Exclusive: 75% of Americans Now Oppose Local Data Center Development

The U.S. public’s support for AI data centers has continued to collapse since the spring, a new Heatmap Pro poll shows.

heatmap.news

it really is astonishing. the link below is broken, so here's the piece: www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/o...

Opinion | Americans Hate Data Centers. Why?

Three fourths of Americans oppose data centers. Why?

nytimes.com

David Wallace-Wells@dwallacewells.bsky.social · 19h ago

The most important thing about the data center backlash is that, in a time of intense polarization and micro-movements, it is astonishingly large—such a big tent mass politics that any time you try and an atomize or explain it you end up diminishing it. nytimes.com/2026/08/31/opi…

This is an astonishing and frankly obscene statistic.

gamera obscura@ohrobin.bsky.social · 3w ago

Sergey Brin is worth about $284 billion. After the proposed ONE-TIME 5% wealth tax, he would have roughly $270 billion. If, after that tragic loss, he spent $1 million every single day and never earned another cent, he would run out of money in the year 2766. Billionaires are an obscenity.

We'll be holding a West Cork launch for my new book 'Setting the Land Free - Visions of a Rewilded Ireland' in Bantry Bookshop on Friday the 25th of September at 6pm. If you're in the area, do come along!

Reports: Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir storms the Al‑Aqsa Mosque.

Iran has attacked US military targets in the Middle East in retaliation for the first American strikes on its territory in a month, in a fresh flare-up of the war that has engulfed the region.

Iran retaliates after first US strikes in a month

Iran has attacked US military targets in the Middle East in retaliation for the first American strikes on its territory in a month, in a fresh flare-up of the war that has engulfed the region.

rte.ie

Conservation experts say there has been a significant impact on biodiversity following wildfires over the summer.

'Everything is lost' - Irish landscapes damaged by fires

High on the Dublin Wicklow Mountains, perched over the Glenasmole Valley, fires burned for over 20 days during the summer.

rte.ie

In 1966, Marlon Brando bought a Polynesian atoll after filming ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’. He had the invasive rats removed, then just let it be. It's now a thriving wildlife sanctuary. For example: 15,614 turtles hatched in a season. The power of rewilding. timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-o...

In 1966, Marlon Brando bought a private Polynesian atoll after filming ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’; it is now a wildlife sanctuary where 15,614 green turtle hatchlings emerged in one season

A private Pacific atoll once owned by Hollywood actor Marlon Brando has become one of French Polynesia’s most important marine conservation sites, with thousands of sea turtle hatchlings recorded afte...

timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The death toll in the catastrophic flooding in Nepal and Tibet climbed past 900 on Monday, with more than 4,700 missing. Multiple foreign rescue teams are also assisting local rescuers to find trapped workers in various hydropower tunnels. jrnl.ie/7147150

Death toll from Nepal floods climbs to over 900, with more than 4,700 people missing

Multiple foreign rescue teams are assisting local rescuers to find trapped workers in various hydropower tunnels.

jrnl.ie

“Things will get dramatically worse for the hotspots, but there is no outrunning it all in the long term. It seems that at precisely the moment when this realisation should yoke us together in all the ways life is rapidly changing, we are all being untethered.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Nepal floods seem a world away – but make no mistake, climate breakdown will affect us all | Nesrine Malik

Richer countries might have more resources to deal with catastrophe, but this problem grips the entire planet, however much leaders may want to deny it, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik

theguardian.com

of Meta's platforms. "We have been very clear ... we expect proper screen time management, we expect proper parental control on these platforms. Meta knows ... the ball is in Meta's court." Wrong Court.

What will enormous Meta settlement mean for Irish users?

Social media giant Meta has agreed to pay $18 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram to resolve claims by US states but what will it mean for users in Ireland?

rte.ie

RTÉ: Asked what the Meta US outcome mean for Ireland and the rest of Europe, a company spokesperson said they had nothing to add beyond the original statement outlining the US settlement details. The European Commission was asked about tackling the addictive design elements

Predictions: They will continue to support Israel. They will continue to ignore ICC President Akane's plea to protect Court personnel from US sanctions. They will continue to identify Russia as a greater threat to us than climate change. They will have a nice time in Wicklow.

The Journal@thejournal.ie · 22h ago

Traffic restrictions are in place in Wicklow because EU defence and foreign affairs ministers are meeting in Druids Glen this week. The informal meetings are taking place over three days, from 31 August to 2 September. jrnl.ie/7147160

Can't imagine why I thought of this

Bo Thompson@gaudipern.bsky.social · yesterday

It's not until he says the magic words, that he fears losing control, that it fully clicks. It's not that he believes philanthropy is bad, it's that the risk of someone receiving his money who he doesn't approve of is a bigger problem than the risk that his money helps no one. That speaks volumes.

At the end of December 2025, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) was holding 3,329 Palestinians in administrative detention. Nearly a hundred Palestinians have been killed in Israeli custody since 7th October 2023.

Nathan Tankus@nathantankus.bsky.social · yesterday

Ben Gvir posted this video on twitter today which shows fat and happy Palestinians on a conveyer built going through the Israeli "prison" (torture camp) system and coming out emaciated and maudlin. This is textbook genocidal content.

Good article about how truly last century is Irelands land drainage law & strategy. However this legislative barrier to eg slow-the-flow approaches should explore Englands land drainage laws, once said to be such a barrier but much more flexible in reality. www.irishtimes.com/life-style/2...

Ella McSweeney: The floods will overwhelm Irish land. We can’t just sit back

Water is arriving in ways our infrastructure and modified landscape can no longer cope with

irishtimes.com

Hard to spin this one huh Masked Israeli settlers attack Palestinian woman, NBC News team in West Bank share.google/4kLx0oFIo9Kl...

Palestinian woman and NBC News team attacked by masked Israeli settlers in West Bank

The woman and crew were treated for injuries. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he condemned the violence committed “by a handful of rioters.”

share.google

Ten things we need to do to prepare for the next drought, and the one after that, and the one after that... jrnl.ie/7146095

The wolf is at the door: 10 things we must do to prepare for a hotter, drier future

From restoring wetlands and reforesting uplands to bringing back beavers and protecting our hedgerows, Ireland needs to act now to prepare for extreme temperatures.

jrnl.ie

"Andy Burnham's comments over a border poll have brought a fundamental question into sharp focus: if the British Government has criteria for deciding when a referendum should be held, why won’t it tell us what they are?" tinyurl.com/4ynbjwat

A fantastic, relevant read for this former colony: “As the history of the East India Company shows, there can come a point when a corporation stops being just a company & begins seizing for itself the powers & trappings typically associated with a nation-state.” #spéirghorm #IrishPol

William Dalrymple@willdalrymple.bsky.social · 4d ago

An essay I've just written for @nytimes on why Big Tech is the 21st Century’s equivalent of the East India Company: "What It Would Take to Dismantle the Most Powerful Companies in the World" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/o...

The Government starting to resemble the dog with the shifty eyes from The Simpsons

The Journal@thejournal.ie · 2d ago

The Department of Enterprise has refused to release a document between it and Aughinish Alumina because it claims that doing so could damage the Limerick refinery's business. jrnl.ie/7144038t

This week's Internet Diaries column. Meta's multibillion-dollar settlement is a reminder that the way social media platforms work isn't inevitable. They're decisions that can change when big tech companies face harsh enough penalties for failing to keep users safe. @thejournal.ie jrnl.ie/7143869

Ireland should ask Mark Zuckerberg the next time we need billions to look like money well spent

Our FactCheck editor details the internet trends seen by a thirtysomething-year-old man.

jrnl.ie

What is it about the modern age that we have so many bond villains? www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Arms and the £5m man: Farage megadonor Christopher Harborne’s military empire

Reform UK denies donor and crypto-billionaire’s global interests in arms and military could present a conflict of interest over its defence spending policy

theguardian.com

A reminder that the second, final part of An Irish Atlantic Rainforest – the tv version – will air on @rteone.rte.ie this evening at 6.30. I've been bombarded with positive feedback since the first episode came out, and am certain people will like this one no less.

A reminder that this event is happening today! I'll be there so say hello if you see me! #Speirgorm

The Banner Against Spanners@banneras.bsky.social · 3w ago

Already been doing this because living under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is a perpetual state of emergency #spéirgorm

Jim MacMillan (he/him)@jimmacmillan.com · 2d ago

"In an emergency, people are advised to close windows and doors and stay in one room for warmth, while keeping a battery, wind-up or solar radio and spare batteries available."

"Capital markets should not feel remote or like something that is only for people with significant wealth or financial expertise," Minister Harris will say. I am in awe of the genre-blending awfulness of "capital markets should not feel remote"

RTÉ News@news.rte.ie · 2d ago

No deemed disposal, a tax-free threshold, and no minimum contribution will be among the key features of the Government's new personal-investment account scheme

As mentioned, fair play to the Examiner and Donal, little mention though of the people who raised the issue other than: "On August 13, members of the public walking on the new Glanmire greenway noticed the smell and saw clumps of toilet paper and human excrement" Well done to all for pursuing it

Deirdre O'Shaughnessy@deshocks.bsky.social · 3d ago

Didn’t know I was drinking sewage for the past few months - and the EPA wouldn’t have known if our reporter Donal O’Keeffe hadn’t started asking questions. Real journalism is worth subscribing for. www.irishexaminer.com/news/munster...