iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

It is often said don't speak ill of the dead, but in the case of serial liar, convicted purjurer and subject of a lifetime's worth of other accusations of wrongdoing, Jeffrey Archer, people are finding it easy to make an exception.

theguardian.com

Lord Archer of Weston-super-Mare obituary

Bestselling author and Conservative politician whose scandal-ridden career ended with a prison sentence

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

The Atlantic on how the Trump White House is using an obscure, but legally binding, budget mechanism to threaten $190m of the Smithsonian's funding unless the organisation complies with the Executive Orders regarding spreading what it describes as "divisive narratives".

theatlantic.com

Trump’s Unlikely Strategy to Control History: Footnotes

The White House is threatening $190 million in Smithsonian funding.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Wired asks...If #AI renders mathematicians obsolete, who checks if AI theftbots, built on the work of real mathematicians, have reached a correct solution, and how can the working be checked if the result is dumped into the media via a blog post for PR reasons rather than via a peer reviewed paper?

wired.com

OpenAI Is Pissing Off a Bunch of Mathematicians—Again

“There’s a perception of mobster behavior” from leading AI companies, one mathematician tells WIRED as OpenAI prepares to release more than 100 new solutions to unsolved problems.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

This is like that scene in The Thick Of It where Malcolm Tucker's rips into Ben Swain's hand gestures.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Matthew Mckeague, Chief Executive of the Architectural Heritage Fund, calls for lessons to be drawn from Scotland, including need for adequate funding to allow maintenance and equalising zero rate VAT for rebuilds and newbuilds, to replace crisis capital grants, in the upkeep of heritage buildings.

bdonline.co.uk

Scotland’s fires provide many lessons for the heritage sector

Tragic events in Glasgow should prompt a UK-wide reckoning about maintenance, funding and what genuine regeneration requires, writes Matthew Mckeague, chief executive of the Architectural Heritage Fun...

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

"Great stuff guys. Thanks for another enjoyable and interesting episode." Episode 10 of Graham Hancock: A Life NOT In Archaeology is out now on YouTube, where we dabble with Dibble, go rogue on Rogan and identify the Two Horsemen of the #Hancockalypse. Join us & please Like, Share and Subscribe.

youtu.be

Graham Hancock: A Life NOT in Archaeology: 10. From Fantasy Fiction to Joe Rogan & Flint Dibble

YouTube video by Archaeosoup

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Shadow chancellor, Andrew Griffith to pledge that, if the Tories return to Government, they will “streamline regulations”, including by abolishing Natural England & leaving the Aahus Convention. No specific mention of Archaeology, but environmental protections would be diluted. #AttackOnNature2

theguardian.com

Tories to pledge to scrap Environment Agency and Natural England

Shadow chancellor will also promise to scrap affordable homes regulations as part of strategy to refocus on growth

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Affectionate memories of taking 125's on the Great Western line from Paddington to Bristol, going to Uni. They looked the business, but a joke at the time was based on a British Rail marketing slogan and alleged shortcomings and outdated ideas on the network. "125. This is the age of the train."

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

"It’s a cultural and historical atrocity...” The Las Playas Intaglio, a 6500 year old geoglyph, claimed as the oldest so far dated in the Americas, situated in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, irreparably damaged during construction of the Trump Border Wall.

nbcnews.com

Trump’s border wall construction cut into an ancient ground carving older than Stonehenge

The Las Playas Intaglio carving of a huge fish is at least 2,000 years older than the first Egyptian pyramid, according to researchers’ estimations.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Beat you by two weeks! On the plus side I feel like a real author now...

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

In the 90's I was at an Anti-Racism event in the Old Town Hall in Newham. Among the speakers was a veteran East End activist who had been at #CableStreet & who cut through the platitudes saying, "The only way to fight Fascism is on the Streets." Still true although now the Streets extend online.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

The penultimate episode of "Graham Hancock: A Life NOT In Archaeology" drops soon. Catch up with previous episodes on the #Archaeosoup playlist. You know #BigArchaeology wants you to.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

If this isn't satire then presumably the Tory Party comm's team have forgotten, if they ever knew, that the Bayeux Tapestry depicts an episode of European integration brought about by an army of fighting age men arriving on the South Coast in small (by modern standards) boats where the English lost.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Federal Judge stops construction of the Trump border wall across the Big Bend National Park. The construction project has faced furious opposition from archaeologists, ecologists, Native American groups and many others.

nytimes.com

Judge Blocks Border Wall Construction in Big Bend in Texas

The ruling dealt a setback to the Trump administration’s plans for hundreds of miles of barriers that have drawn local opposition.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

This is wonderful, and why #AI becomes a dessicated husk of a technology when people try to apply it to the creative industries. Songwriter Brian Wilson and Beatles producer George Martin play with one of the finest pop songs ever written.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

"It is outrageous that a mandatory submission platform can change their terms and propose using our hard work to train their AI models… This is not what we signed up to, nor do we consent to this." Justine Pedussel: President NUS Scotland WONKHE on the ownership & use of Student's IP in #AI LLM's.

wonkhe.com

A supplier shouldn’t be able to rewrite who owns students’ essays

Sam Dickinson looks at Turnitin’s paused plan to put student essays to work on AI – and finds that neither anonymisation nor university regulations answer the copyright question

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A row in Cairo over a mural and at the centre of it is... ... #AI LLM ChatGPT, which the painters of the mural used to "create" the design. With arguments about Afrocentricism, #AI researchers point out LLM's exhibit the biases of their designers & the material they are trained on.

theguardian.com

Row erupts over Cairo mural depicting Tutankhamun and Nefertiti with dark skin

Artwork created in Tahrir Square for Chinese president’s state visit to Egypt is painted over amid allegations it revived Afrocentric claims about Pharaohs’ origins

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Reports, including here on BSky, that International CRM company Chronicle Heritage has laid off staff at less than 24 hours notice and has entered liquidation. The company, which also operates in the UK and Middle East, has been controlled by private equity firm the Riverside Company since 2021.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"According to findings in the UNESCO Global Report on Cultural Policies, only 1 in 4 countries has the means to safeguard its heritage. Communities are being asked to do more with less as climate change accelerates & the skills needed to care for these places are being lost." World Monuments Fund

wmf.org

Funding Shortages, Climate Change, and Expertise Gaps Emerge as Top Threats to Global Heritage Sites, World Monuments Fund Warns

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The #EAA isn't the only body facing push back from members (and about to be ex-members) over its policies towards work in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. The American Society of Overseas Research #ASOR, also faces allegations its work is not aligned with international law & codes of conduct.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

And their parents, "The party has also said it would look closer at whether parents' earnings and savings should be factored into welfare payments for their children" No mention of grandparents. Which could be awkward if kids and grandkids are hammered falling back on the Bank of Gran & Grandad.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Low was one of the first to address what would come to be the Holocaust when in December 1942 he published, "I've settled the fate of Jews and of Germans" showing an open train car filled with people labeled "JEWS to the Slaughterhouse" & death as Nemesis standing over Hitler and keeping a ledger.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

#Museum News UK Government decides the 15 National museums, including the BM, will remain free to enter for all, including foreign visitors. The DCMS states that the museums contribute £1bn per year to the UK economy and there were fears charging could deter domestic visitors as well as tourists.

bbc.co.uk

National museums to stay free to all visitors, government says

It follows discussions about whether charging tourists could boost museums' finances.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A symbol of hope after suffering in war, as well as being a regular venue for productions of the famous medieval Coventry Mystery Plays, the ruins of Coventry Cathedral are under threat and are the subject of a new conservation campaign.

bbc.co.uk

Race to save Coventry Cathedral ruins as campaign launches

Donations are needed to repair damage caused by the ruins being exposed to the elements for 86 years

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

#TinfoilBeanieHat NW Pub League Div 2 News Guys, £830m+ of sham contracts and disguised funding and being caught lying about it is not quite up there with JFK and Area 51. The History Channel doc should be fun though, especially when Giorgio interviews Erling Haaland about the Premiership's #MIB.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

The excellent @theatrestrust.bsky.social doesn't just campaign to save theatres under threat. It helps the theatres we have to serve their audiences and communities in even better ways.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Speaking from experience (in another, this time heritage related, prosecution), one of the underrated advantages of the Social Media is that really stupid people can save the Police a lot of time.

share.google

Off-roaders damage protected Denbighshire site in TikTok videos

Three men were convicted for their part in driving in a convoy from Liverpool to Berwyn SSSI.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

"...PR company Coast Communications had sought a closed meeting. Councillors said the minutes should be made public, and a recording released, but this was refused." Accusations of excessive secrecy & prejudged decisions as Techco Xlinks plans massive #AI data centre in Devon Unesco biosphere.

theguardian.com

‘People are standing up and fighting back’: the north Devon revolt against a vast AI datacentre

Plans for one of Europe’s largest AI campuses in a Unesco-designated reserve have sparked a fierce local backlash

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

"Thanks for another splendid episode guys. A lot of great points made and plenty of good laughs too." Episode 9 of Graham Hancock: A Life NOT In Archaeology out now on YouTube. Hancock tries to neutralise critics by saying he's a journalist, not an archaeologist. We ask if that claim stacks up?

youtu.be

Graham Hancock: A Life NOT in Archaeology: 9. Journalism is a Responsibility, NOT a Shield!

YouTube video by Archaeosoup

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

"I am happy to explore any memorials on a personal basis of genuine armed forces who were actually recognised by the country, but currently I don't have any plans for statues of Marxist fighters." Questions why Reform Leader of Sunderland Council opposes memorial to volunteers who fought Fascism.

bbc.co.uk

Sunderland council leader accused of 'ridicule' in memorial row

Organisers hit out as council leader says he has "no plans for statues of Marxist fighters".

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

What is left unsaid here is that, if the Bodleian aims to digitise 25% of its collections by 2030, 75% won't be digitised. That's how much source material in just one library which won't be available when your #AI theftbot of choice punts an answer, that a human researcher can find & interpret.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Talking of Meta, today's Guardian newspaper in the UK with an example of what happens when a company loses control of the narrative around one of its flagship products.

A Guardian headline reading,

"Meta launches cute alternative to its "pervert" smart glasses."

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

#FreeSpeech News Hollywood Reporter reporting that YouTube, TikTok and Meta platforms are refusing to take even paid ads for Alex Gibney's documentary which takes a, let's say, sceptical and questioning view of Elon Musk's career, personality and alleged achievements. "Musk" opens on 9 October.

hollywoodreporter.com

The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)

YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all turned down the trailer for the Oct. 9 doc, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Friday Quiz. What reason could stated admirer of Vladimir Putin's political style Nigel Farage, who regularly contributed to Russia Today and whose close associate Nathan Gill is currently doing 10 years for being paid to speak Kremlin lines, have for opposing GOVUK countering Russian interference?

A tweet by Nigel Farage claiming that Andy Burnham's announcement of an attempt to counter principally Russian attempts to subvert UK politics is an authoritarian, Orwellian, attack on free speech.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Allegations that individuals stating they are undertaking "archaeological work" on the cite of the proposed Arch de Trump in Washington DC may be using the term as a smokescreen to hide unannounced work on what is widely regarded as an illegal project.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Members of Prospect and the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) at the V&A Kensington site are to strike on Friday and Saturday in a dispute over pay and conditions. The unions are also in dispute across the V&A's other sites.

itv.com

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Fears for the status of the Tower of London World Heritage Site as Historic England advice is ignored and the City of London plans for developers to build high for extra profit.

telegraph.co.uk

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

#ParthenonMarbles News Writing in the Guardian, Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis says Greece “cannot accept any arrangement that would require it to recognise the British Museum’s ownership of the sculptures, or a scheme that would mean we ‘borrow’ parts of our own monument”, but calls for fresh talks.

theguardian.com

Greek PM: deal to return Parthenon marbles could still be reached with ‘political will and courage’

But Kyriakos Mitsotakis says he cannot accept any arrangement that recognises British Museum’s ownership of the sculptures

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The Trumpering Inferno POTUS teeing up an Irwin Allen Seventies style disaster movie as the First Night Gala Opening of the White House Ballroom (tickets starting at $100k, payable to the Trump Organisation) descends into fiery, allegorical, chaos. Feel free to post ideas for principal casting.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#ItsAllAboutTheHistory News A medieval ring found by two metal detectorists has failed to reach its reserve in an auction at Noonans. But fear not! The BBC says the citizen archaeologists are confident it will sell at a future auction. Besides, they have a Roman hoard in the treasure process.

bbc.co.uk

Medieval ring found by Suffolk detectorists fails to sell

Two detectorists hoped the 14th Century ring would sell for between £25,000 and £30,000.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Adding to challenge and/or entertainment in this legal equivalent of You Are The Ref, "Danny Tommo" may have committed offences in both French and UK territorial waters. Maximum points if the UK arrests him and he is then extradited to France.

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Andy Brockman @andybrockman.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Emma Yoemans of the Times with an important thread about events today in the Channel, which are leaving legal BlueSky incredulous that Daniel Thomas, aka Danny Tommo, could appear to commit quite so many potentially very serious offences in plain sight.

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