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Aiden Kenny

@aidenkenny.bsky.social
131 followers 485 following 140 posts

Fiftysomething husband and dad. Designer by day, worked in branding for ages, but now enjoying the challenges of #UX and #UI design.

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Reposted by Aiden Kenny
Anders Åslund @andersaslund.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
How can Iran, or anybody, possibly reach an agreement with Trump? 1. Trump lies about everything all the time. He is unable to provide relevant accurate information. he cannot negotiate. 2. Trump complains that anybody he wants to lead Iran is being killed, read: is being killed by Israel,... /1
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Andy Baio @andy.baio.net · 21/03/2026
20 years ago today.
Screenshot of Jack Dorsey's first tweet: "just setting up my twttr" on March 21, 2006 at 12:50pm PT
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
There are a lot of fantastic suggestions in this thread. Well worth your time.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
This will make your day. What a gent.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 24/02/2026
One of the worst things about AI, for me, is that it takes away from people the sheer joy of writing. Schools don’t often make this point, but writing should be fun. Putting words together, finding ways to express yourself, the pure pleasure of a well-crafted sentence. 1/5
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Colin Gorrie @colingorrie.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
If you liked this experiment, I published a full piece today in the same vein: a text that gets 100 years older with every section, from a modern blog post to a medieval chronicle. It's a single story spanning 1000 years of English. See how far you get. www.deadlanguagesociety.com/p/how-far-ba...
deadlanguagesociety.com
How far back in time can you understand English?
An experiment in language change
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Deirdre O'Shaughnessy @deshocks.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
“Nobody in Ireland should be exposed to hate speech, bullying, or child sexual abuse images on X just to find out if their train is delayed” www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/comm...
irishexaminer.com
Government bodies need to get off X, now
Nobody in Ireland should be exposed to hate speech, bullying, or child sexual abuse images on X just to find out if their train is delayed, writes Clare O'Donoghue Velikic
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Nick Pettigrew @nick-pettigrew.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
I'm convinced AI is our generation's radium - a discovery with genuinely useful applications in specific, controlled circumstances that we stupidly put in everything from kid's toys to toothpaste until we realised the harm far too late where future generations will ask if we were out of our minds.
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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
This is a huge win for @iccl.bsky.social whose @johnnyryan.bsky.social has been arguing for recommender systems to face scrutiny for some time now.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Fascinating thread from Eliot Higgins. It explains a lot of fundamental changes to how people engage with and process information. I particularly like his explanation of “stacks”.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
There is corruption and then there is whatever this is.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
So far the "Board of Peace" is Trump, Orban, Lukaschenko and Netanyahu. Which if you wrote in a satire would be considered too outlandish and sent back.
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Daragh Ó Briain @daraghobrien.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
A serious question: if the argument is that we can’t enforce regulation against a tech platform because too many public services depend on it, the questions then needs to be asked:
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Sean Jones KC @seanjones.org · 19/01/2026
Being prepared to go to war with your closest allies because you were not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize does seem like the clearest possible vindication of the decision that you didn’t deserve it.
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Cllr Hazel Chu @hazelchu.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
If your organisation is still on X, I wrote an article on why organisations especially public ones, shouldn't be! www.thejournal.ie/readme/elon-...
thejournal.ie
Hazel Chu: Grok creates fake, sexualised images without consent and government is OK with that?
The Green Party councillor says the government’s decision to turn a blind eye to AI generation of sexual imagery without consent is not innovation, it’s negligence.
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Adam Cain @adamcain.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Let's be clear what a pack of treasonous lies and crap this is. 1. There is no sign of any Chinese threat to Greenland, or even reason for China to particularly threaten the place.
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
Public digital services need to be *so much better* than anything the market offers. You can't switch. You can't get fed up and choose to pay a bit more at Ocado than Sainsbury's because the UX is better. You can't opt out of public services because you're digitally excluded.
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Alan Stedman @alanjstedman.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
This photo was taken in 1911 using glass plate technology by Herbert Ponting who was part of Scott's Antarctic expedition, The composition and detail are exquisite with the band of white snow/ice creating a perfect frame around the two people and the ship in the distance Iconic imo
Photograph from 1911 taken by Herbert Ponting whilst with Scott's Antarctic Expedition

The monochrome photo is taken from within a cave. The walls of the cave are made of ice. The cave entrance is in the mid distance with two figures standing looking out towards a distant ship. Between them and the ship there is first a 'beach' of ice before the sea itself. The ship could be up to 800 metres away

What makes the photo so special is that where the figures are at the cave entrance there is a band of very white snow and ice (contrasting with the comparatively dark inside of the cave) that creates a stark framework in which the men and the ship are captured. It is made even more dramatic by the fact that the cave entrance is at least 30 metres high and is in the shape of a distorted elipse with the tail sloping off to the right at the top of the elipse

The photo being in monochrome in a largely white environment makes the photographers skill all the more laudable
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
The Government staying on X is pathetic: Ministers need to show some moral backbone inews.co.uk/opinion/the-...
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Joe Hanson @drjoehanson.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I am calling for a complete and total boycott of the Mercator projection in all news stories about Greenland until every member of the American public has seen this
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Phil Syrpis @syrpis.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
Right - here goes. I've been thinking and reading quite a lot about Trump and the nature of the threat his regime poses, and how the UK and Europe can respond. Not sure I have any answers, but there are a number of dead ends to avoid. 🧵 1/14
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 11/01/2026
The SPEAKER implies. The LISTENER infers. The DUDE abides.
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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
I am going to write an addendum to The Abuse Factory gist with three quick things everyone can do. They really have an effect
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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
"due to severe risks to Americans, including wrongful detention, torture in detention, terrorism, kidnapping, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, crime, civil unrest, and poor health infrastructure." To be clear, in this case they mean those are bad things.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
This is an excellent starter pack. I found a lot of sound people to add to my “Politics” list.
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Duncan Jones @manmademoon.bsky.social · 10/01/2026
So do I have this right? Trump invites oil CEOs to the White House for a meeting about how brilliant his Venezuela venture is, then boots out the press when he senses that they are not feeling it. EXON CEO then goes on to tell him that the plan sucks and they will not be investing at this time... 😂
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TJ McIntyre @tjmcintyre.com · 10/01/2026
This is an exceptionally good analysis of the role of X in global fascism, and illustrates why Ireland and the EU must act against it now. connectedplaces.online/reports/a-po...
We’re now at a strange stand-off, where it is extremely clear it is unacceptable what X is doing, and governments make a lot of noise about how upset they are, without daring to pull the trigger on taking action. Everyone is waiting on everyone else to take the first move.

This leads to three possible outcomes:

no government dares to take action, and they keep to calling things “completely unacceptable” while accepting the actual situation. Things stay as they currently are, and the world keeps sliding into a more dangerous and harmful place.
One government takes action against X, and the US regime retaliates so hard that no other government will dare to do meaningful enforcement against the massive harms created by X.
One government takes enforcement action against X, creating a permission structure for other governments to also take actions.
All three options have a meaningful impact on the open social web. For the first two outcomes, it further cements X as the place of power for the neo-royalty, further cementing its dominance in the political sphere. This position of power is also what prevents the alternative open networks to become a place of political power in it’s own right. The third option, of mass enforcement, is what creates an opening for open social networks to not just be an alternative, but to be a source of political power as well.
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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
🚨 AI Minister Niamh Smyth says it isn't appropriate for the Government to maintain a presence on X and will speak to the Taoiseach on the matter. Says the European Commission should immediately suspend Grok while investigations are continuing. More on @virginmedianews.bsky.social
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Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
I am only now catching up with the theory that Trump's fixation on Greenland is because of its enormous size on Mercator Projection maps
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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
This is 1) flat wrong on the facts 2) flat wrong on the law 3) flat wrong on the impulse to shield a company from the consequences of its own actions in offering the creation of CSAM-as-a-service This is the sort of morally bankrupt statement that should have its speaker be booed off every street
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Éibhear Ó hAnluain @eibhear.gibiris.org · 08/01/2026
My e-mail to my TDs, subject line "Continued use of a dangerous service":
A cháirde,

I was a heavy user of Twitter from January 2013 to December 2022. Aside my personal account, I operated the special-interest account @theauldsthretch which had a following of 35,000 users, most of whom were Irish.

When I decided to leave Twitter*, I knew I was leaving behind those 35,000 followers, but I just had to, because I knew then (and had known for quite some time) that Elon Musk was a globally-dangerous person and that nothing good would come from his acquisition of the service.

Many were disappointed with my decision, and the services I relocated @theauldsthretch to (Mastodon.ie and Bluesky) remain quiet in comparison. While I look forward to the level of engagement and fun that I had with the @theauldsthretch community back in late '22, I remain convinced that the decision I made then was the correct one.So, Twitter has moved on from "nothing good would come from [it]" to allowing paying users to generate non-consensual sexualised imagery of women and children. And yet, your respective parties continue to use it. I don't know if you guys use it, as I don't darken its door, but I hope you don't. This feature of Twitter is not something that is being abused, as an Taoiseach suggested. This feature is designed to be used in exactly this way. Your parties' continued use of twitter cannot be construed as anything less than acceptance of this feature. Some might even construe it as an endorsement. I would like not to think that, but the statements I have read from both an Taoiseach and an Tánaiste leave me wondering.

My message to you and your parties is simple: stop using Twitter altogether. I can imagine that there are some legal challenges in the approach of investigating and prosecuting twitter for this heinous service such that a resolution will be months or years away. That's fine: I support the notion of "due process" without any quibble. But your parties' use of Twitter is not a legal matter. There is no legal reason to continue using it.If political parties, news organisations and other commercial operations stopped using Twitter altogether, it would collapse down to something like Gab or Truth Social, and I would guess (nay, hope!) you guys have no problem staying away from those services.

Finally, if you're tempted to reply to me with some lines asserting that twitter is socially important, or that it's necessary to remain there for the sake of the followers, I request you not to do so. It would be a waste of my time and yours, as I don't accept either premise.

Is mise,

Éibhear Ó hAnluain, a Dublin Bay North constituent,
[my home address, excluded because I am not a complete dope]* Full disclosure: I "locked" both my personal and @theauldsthretch accounts when I stopped using Twitter. @theauldstretch continued posting the automatically-generated sunset posts until June of 2023, when the Twitter API was cut off from it. Some time in 2024, I deleted the full post history of both my personal account and @theauldstretch. I did not delete the accounts themselves, as to do so would have freed the handles to be used by others. As the service is now overrun by nazis, I am reluctant to allow handles that I used previously to identify to be used for abuse of others.
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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
We'll hear from Minister Niamh Smyth at some point later today... maybe she'll have heard back from X... But if the policy is keep feeding the digital crocodiles in the hope that they eat us last, I'm not sure that's a cogent policy position.
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Popehat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Occasionally as a litigator you run across an opposing party who repeatedly breaches contracts and settlement agreements and legal requirements — just never abides by them. Generally competent lawyers point out that you shouldn’t do business with or enter contracts with that person. /1
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
On X/Twitter and government Part of the problem is inertia: back in the day it took a huge shift to get UK gov onto social media. It certainly did not happen quickly. And now it is "core" it will take a similarly huge shift to get comms departments off it. Turning around oil tankers and all that.
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Simon McGarr @tupped.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
Every media figure and politician could do exactly this right now. @garygannon signs off from X, the deepfake child sexual abuse material generation app.
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Andy Diggle @andydiggle.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
🤔 thecritic.co.uk/bring-back-d...
Unfortunately, it turns out that writers and musicians weren’t fully persuaded that giving up all their present and future income is a good idea, even after it was explained to them that this was the only way Sam Altman would be able to afford a new lair under a volcano. Last month a consultation on the government’s proposals to give very rich Americans everything they want found they were supported by just three percent of people who wrote in. If the Department for Culture had still existed, someone there would have been able to save time by warning ministers that creative people – many of them instinctive Labour Party supporters – need money to buy food, just like other humans.
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Dare Obasanjo @carnage4life.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
The Financial Times decided to stop beating around the bush about X. The idea that it has a Trust & Safety team is hilarious so it’s totally fitting to outfit them like 🤡
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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
Things stepping up. ICCL and Digital Rights Ireland have written to the Garda Commissioner calling for an urgent investigation of X.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
This article eviscerating the state of so-called “AI” is well worth your time.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
Great list of low-cost suggestions for improvements to Dublin Bus from Shane Waring.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
Well this is probably my daughter’s word more than mine. But I will take it.
My Miriam Webster word of year, auto generated from a list. The word is “bougie”.
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Merriam-Webster @merriam-webster.com · 01/01/2026
Take a screenshot of this GIF, and whichever new word you land on is YOUR word for 2026. Let's. Go.
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Aiden Kenny @aidenkenny.bsky.social · 31/12/2025
This whole thread teaches a lot. 👍🏻
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John Maguire @johnmaguire.bsky.social · 29/12/2025
Someone stole my wife's maroon Raleigh Motus bike in Dublin City Centre this afternoon. If you see it, give me a shout
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James Kelleher @jameskelleher.pilcrow.ie · 28/12/2025
“If you want a picture of the future, imagine a man kicking himself in the balls — forever” - George Orwell
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Cliff Chiang @cliffchiang.bsky.social · 26/12/2025
Hohoho! I drew this year's holiday card for my art rep, Felix Comic Art. I wanted the recipients to get something that looked like a piece of vintage original art, but also couldn't help poking some fun at Felix's love for Dark Knight Returns.
A gleeful Santa Claus carrying presents and an elf leaping over Christmas trees in an homage to a splash page from "The Dark Knight Returns."
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Darach Ó Séaghdha @darach.bsky.social · 24/12/2025
A number for the total cost is going to come out in the next few days or weeks and some people are going to be horrified, but this is a great outcome. Houses on Dartmouth Square don't come on the market very often. The state won't lose on this. jrnl.ie/6912289
jrnl.ie
Deal to clear way for Metrolink will see ten Ranelagh houses being bought by TII
Transport Minister Darragh O’Brien said he doesn’t know the details and won’t speculate on the purchase price.
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Ian Ford 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 @ianford.bsky.social · 21/12/2025
European security cannot depend on the whims of a few thousand red state voters every four years. Trump 2 clearly demonstrates that the US is a society with deep structural problems - this is not just a transitory blip. We need to make long term changes to protect ourselves.
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Senator Ron Wyden @wyden.senate.gov · 19/12/2025
The Epstein file is the only thing Trump has ever taken his name off of
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