iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/09/2026

There are now more Tech lobbyists working in Brussels than there are MEPs, resulting in bullshit like this. The EU is considering applying the widely-abused 'legitimate interest' GDPR exemption to AI development and training. Max Schrems is on the case. www.theregister.com/legal/2026/0...

Earlier, the EU had proposed changes in the legislation governing the processing of personal data, governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“Where the processing of personal data is necessary for the interests of the controller in the context of the development and technical operation of an AI system … or an AI model, such processing may be pursued for legitimate interests,” a briefing note said.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 18/09/2026

Although they are still trying to dodge full accountability by arguing against contempt of court proceedings....

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/09/2026

The AfD's plans, as reported by the Independent. The first paragraph is bad, but the second is downright chilling. app.independent.co.uk/edition/uk.c...

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 21/08/2026

Can somebody ask her why the Conservative Party needs a code of conduct to tell their members not to sexually harass each other?

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 20/08/2026

Conservative Party members told sexual harassment unacceptable in Code of Conduct. "Instead of trying to train these mainly old, male reactionaries to behave in a civilised way towards women, they should be deported" said absolutely nobody.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 18/08/2026

So it turns out when you read the article that the experts aren't really divided at all. Unsurprisingly, they all think it's a bad idea. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Young adults are taking prescription drugs instead of alcohol - and it's dividing experts

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 13/08/2026

😯🤢 Imagine being allocated the job of collecting and transporting Trump's 💩 back to the US.... app.independent.co.uk/edition/uk.c...

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 07/08/2026

Anyone doing the "legitimate concerns" dance to appease racists can f🤬ck off. Statements like this validate the *sentiment*, and when this comes from a Government Minister it tells them they are right to feel this way, that the *hate* is OK, just don't take things too far.

"This government is taking action to deal with the legitimate concerns that people have around immigration, particularly the challenges around small boats.

"There are people who have legitimate concerns who know how to voice them and I don't want those people conflated with the violent thugs we've seen on our streets, who seem to suggest on one hand they're concerned about public safety and public order in relation to asylum seekers, while at the same time going out and breaking the law as violent racist thugs."

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 30/07/2026

Imagine stumbling across this in the woods. Stuff of nightmares..... www.satyress.com

Satyress centaur-style robot holding a chainsaw by a pickup truck in the woods.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 29/07/2026

Because it's just not tenable to believe we can live longer and take more money out of the system in health, care, welfare etc costs than we put in via tax during our working lives.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 29/07/2026

🧵 The number of people aged over 90 years in England & Wales has increased by 16% since 2015. Here's the thing - we can't afford to live this long without a reasonable level of net inward immigration, to provide working age taxpayers and people to care for us.

We’ve published datasets with estimates for people aged 90 years and over to 105 years and over in England and Wales.

There were an estimated 581,400 people aged 90 years or over in mid-2025. This has increased by:

• 16.3% since mid-2015
• 3.0% since mid-2024

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 25/07/2026

I get really annoyed by this persistent basic failure to correctly report how tariffs work 😡 No, the UK isn't paying *any* tariffs. Neither is the EU. Tariffs are paid by the *importer*, not the exporter. The ones getting "hit" are US consumers and companies importing goods and components.

Britain has lost its advantage over the EU when it comes to trade, the head of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said, after it emerged the UK will pay higher tariffs than the bloc following Donald Trump’s new wave of tariffs.

The US president is set to hit dozens of countries with renewed tariffs as time-limited levies, introduced in response to a Supreme Court defeat, expired yesterday.

However, while Britain and the EU will face the same 10 per cent tariffs, the bloc will pay less due to differences between the two deals negotiated with Mr Trump.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 15/07/2026

If Franz Kafka worked in defence procurement.... The Government is conducting a review into the reviews of Ajax armoured vehicle programme. I'm not making this up 👇

A ministerial review was conducted to examine the quality of advice given to Ministers, senior officials and military leadership—I provided an update on this in my statement to the House on 22 Jan 26, and on 28 Apr 26 advised that a further review had been commissioned. This further review will be chaired by Jonathan Simcock and will evaluate the four previous reviews, looking specifically at the events leading up to the declaration of initial operating capability.
Toggle showing location of Column 75WS
Jonathan Simcock has significant experience of Government major projects, having led the Infrastructure and Projects Authority, as well as holding a portfolio of non-executive and advisory positions across Government. This review is due to complete by the autumn. I will provide a further update to the House on this review in due course.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 10/07/2026

The article is hilarious. On a technical level we know how aircraft stay in the air, but on the "nontechnical" level there is controversy 😂 If nonspecialists don't understand something, then nobody does....

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 23/06/2026

Amazon seem to be modelling their packaging on those Russia dolls now. Ordered a fan, and it came in a box, inside a box, inside a box....

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/06/2026

The Lectern of Doom has appeared, harbinger of career death.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/06/2026

Checking out flights to Reykjavik, where it will be 12 C on Thursday....

Weather forecast showing peak temperatures of 40 degrees centigrade on Thursday.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 18/06/2026

Randomly stumbled across this New Model Army track from *1983*, and the lyrics gave me goosebumps (not in a good way). Somehow even more relevant 40+ years later. "Hatred makes the adrenaline flow Stir up the fire watch it grow" @lordbonkers.bsky.social youtu.be/0yiGljVwcJ4?...

New Model Army – Christian Militia

There's a witch hunt coming, screaming out on it's rebirth
There's a crusade coming, Hellfires back here on earth
See the light in their eyes shine, listen to their words like swords
The Christian militia is marching now
There's a witch hunt coming, born out of all the American fears
There's a new purge coming, an inquisition for all of us here
Hold onto your sanity as best you can
While some Hitler claims to speak for the Son of Man
The Christian militia is marching now
Hatred makes the adrenaline flow
Stir up the fire watch it grow
Everybody loves a righteous cause
Old lives forgotten in holy wars
Everything forgotten in holy wars

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 16/06/2026

This is fascinating. While a large majority of parents believe social media is harmful, they mostly think it's harming *other people's children*. And by a small margin, a majority of parents don't believe the ban will be effective. yougov.com/en-gb/articl...

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 16/06/2026

The nonsense of the situation is illustrated by these two charts 👇 The number of arrests has rocketed, yet 95% of those arrested are out on bail. Real terrorists would be too dangerous to let out on the streets and would be in prison on remand.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 15/06/2026

The good news is that any 16 year old who was signing up to any social media accounts while their umbilical cord was being snipped will be spared age verification.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 14/06/2026

Old enough to work, old enough to pay tax, old enough to vote (maybe) - ✔️ Old enough to watch a TikTok video at 9 pm - ❌

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 13/06/2026

🧵 Never mind kids, it's politicians who need to be banned from using disappearing messages and chatting to strangers online. 1/ www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

The measures to be announced by the prime minister include restrictions on “safe” social media apps, meaning under-16s will be banned from receiving or using disappearing messages, chats with adult strangers, and livestreaming.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 10/06/2026

Protest arrests tally: Southampton - 11 "Unite the Kingdom" - 43 Belfast - ? Palestine Action - 5͟0͟0͟ Who, exactly, are the terrorists?

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/06/2026

Apparently the technology is already on our devices, and just needs to be switched on....

Under new plans, tech giants such as Apple and Google could be required to activate built-in features or implement technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to detect and block nude images for children.

Responding to criticisms over privacy concerns, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood says the plans are about "stopping the coercion and sextortion of children, not surveilling or policing people’s phones".

"This technology is already on devices. The tech firms just need to switch it on to block children from seeing nude imagery.

"There is no reporting, no data collection, no monitoring, and no images leaving the device," she adds.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/06/2026

So in just *3 months*, Apple and Google have to force install updates on *every* phone to include client-side scanning of all your images and then force age verification is they fail? Including on all the hand-me-down or secondhand phones that kids use, but manufacturers no longer support/update?

The government has released further detail about Starmer's announcement that the government wants tech firms to prevent children from sending and receiving explicit images.

Here's an overview:

Britain will become the first country in the world where it is impossible for children to take, share or view naked pictures on their devices, the government says
Big tech companies like Apple and Google must activate built-in features or implement technical solutions to detect and block nude images for children on both new and existing smartphones and tablets it says, which would block nudity across the whole device by default
Those over 18 would still be able to take, share or view nude content through an age verification process, it says
If the companies do not act within three months, the government will bring forward legislation to force them to activate blocking technology, it says
This would include fines for companies failing to comply, it says, adding "nothing is off the table", and as a last resort the government is exploring criminal liability for tech bosses who fail to comply
The government says 91% of online child sexual abuse reports recorded in 2024 contained self-generated content from children themselves and the average child now views pornography by age 13

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/06/2026

And of course the Data Centre will provide small fraction of the employment that the soap factory used to provide...

Keir Starmer begins by saying it's tempting to jump straight to the future when talking about AI and technology - but chooses to talk about what is happening today.

He focuses on Warrington, a town in Cheshire. He says the closure of a long-running soap factory became "a symbol of a community left behind".

But now that factory is being transformed into a new AI data centre, creating new investment, skilled jobs, and opportunities.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/06/2026

And we roll over and give the AI companies everything they want? Screw over artists, writers, musicians etc whose work is stolen for training? Avoid making them liable for the impact of all the mistakes, hallucinations and disinformation? Turn a blind eye to the vast energy and water consumption?

Starmer continues, and says tech companies need the right conditions to succeed, saying they need the freedom to move fast.

He says the government has simplified regulations, created a global talent task force and unlocked investment for them to do so.

Britain has every reason to be confident, he says, adding "we're on the precipice of something truly extraordinary".

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/06/2026

I mean, how is this going to work, without some truly Orwellian implications? Intrusive age verification on *ALL* devices (PC, laptop, tablet, phone), for *everyone*, to establish if you are a child, and then client-side scanning before an image leaves the device? This is impossible as presented.

Starmer says today he is calling on tech companies operating in the UK to introduce device controls that prevent children from sending and receiving explicit images.

"If they choose not to, then we will act, and we will change the law," he says.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 08/06/2026

So it turns out there is a really simple way to make yourself completely immune to two thirds of online scams?

More than two thirds of fraud cases reported to Lloyds first targeted customers on Meta platforms, the bank’s head of fraud prevention has said.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 28/05/2026

Very much this. I use /e/OS from Murena on my phone and tablet which blocks baked-in app trackers by default. The number of trackers and the frequency that they attempt to leak data about you is staggering. Even apps that you haven't manually launched....

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 27/05/2026

So Tony Blair's keen on AI. With his institute funded by Larry Ellison and Bill Gates, and his son's company partnered with Palantir, and his greasy fingers still digging deep into various Government orifices.... www.opendemocracy.net/en/dsit-civi...

In one case, the TBI hired a senior civil servant tasked with leading the government’s AI programme, then seconded them straight back to their old job in the department – a potential loophole in rules intended to stop former civil servants from using their connections to lobby old colleagues.

The government is not required to declare secondments, meaning there is no public record of the companies that gain significant access and influence through these arrangements – nor the policies their secondees advocate for.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 26/05/2026

Has Spotify found a new way to screw over artists? I refuse to believe that any genuine fan would do this..... uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/spotify...

A headline announcement was the launch of Remix, a new paid add-on developed in partnership with Universal Music Group that will allow fans to create AI-generated covers and derivative works while sharing economics with rights holders. Pricing was not disclosed, though management said the initiative is expected to be margin neutral to accretive and does not require participation from all major labels. UBS said it expects a deal with Warner Music Group to follow before year-end.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/05/2026

And guess what? Most of these "terrorists" are out on bail. Because if people really were terrorists, they would be dangerous, so obviously you'd send them back out on the street......

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/05/2026

🧵 Latest figures from the Government show what a total nonsense the Palestine Action prohibition has been. This is the chart of "arrests for terrorist-related activity" 👇 Because in 2025, 2,779 out of a total 3,034 arrests (92%) were of Palestine Action supporters.....

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/05/2026

I mean..... Two contradictory statements *from the same document* 👇 Make it make sense.

2.52 A trans person will be protected from discrimination because of gender reassignment, whether they have a GRC or not.

13.177 Requesting confirmation of sex in such circumstances may not have a harassing effect and, even though the approach may place trans people at a particular disadvantage, it is likely to be justified. Read Chapter 8 for more detail on harassment.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/05/2026

So obviously contrary to the Gender Recognition Act, which the Scottish Supreme Court effectively nullified by denying what the Act says in black and white even for those with a certificate. The guidance about how this is to be enforced is a clusterfuck that will keep lawyers employed for years.

Where a full gender recognition certificate is issued to a person, the person’s gender becomes for all purposes the acquired gender (so that, if the acquired gender is the male gender, the person’s sex becomes that of a man and, if it is the female gender, the person’s sex becomes that of a woman).

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 19/05/2026

FFS. Labour continue to show us they are not a liberal party. Let's be honest - this won't affect middle-class two parent families in the suburbs. Is it not blindingly obvious that it's too late to wait until *after* children have committed crimes before the state intervenes to help parents?

Lammy’s latest big idea is for parents to face tougher penalties if their children are found guilty of breaking the law. “Parenting orders” will be expanded with a view to forcing bad parents or guardians to be better ones – by ordering them to attend parenting guidance sessions or counselling. Those resistant to such help will be fined instead. Indeed, there will be new powers to jail parents in the most extreme cases – that would trigger some sharp reaction within the Labour Party.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 14/05/2026

It's also much whiter than the UK average, with a much higher percentage of UK-born residents, so they can't really claim that foreigners are taking all their jobs etc... Population is heavily skewed towards the 50+ demographic.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 09/05/2026

A lot of councils with no overall control after last week, and there are going to be some interesting conversations and difficult decisions to be made. Look at Huntingdonshire - a great result for the Lib Dems who are now the largest party, but how do you piece together a ruling coalition from 👇

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 04/05/2026

Two contrasting headlines from @ukdefencejournal.org.uk 👇 Germany has overtaken the US in ammunition production capacity, while the UK hasn't even yet placed feasibility study contracts as to where we might eventually build factories.... Is this what a "war footing" looks like?

Germany has overtaken the United States in conventional ammunition production capacity, Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger has claimed.

The UK has confirmed that feasibility study contracts for six new munitions factories announced in 2025 have not yet been placed.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 30/04/2026

All roads lead to the Greens? This is my result, but some of the questions are very loaded, and they don't ask about the issues that actually made me join the Lib Dems in the first place.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 30/04/2026

Time to go and put them through some letterboxes....

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 30/04/2026

Great summary of some of the things Cheltenham's Lib Dem council has achieved in the last two years 👇

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 24/04/2026

Bearing in mind the significant impact on jobs in South Wales with Senedd elections only a couple of weeks away, shouldn't this be subject to purdah? I'm guessing they're not expecting to announce Ajax is cancelled, with hundreds of job losses in Merthyr, just before an election.....

The Ministry of Defence had aspired to update the House via WMS on the Armoured Calvery programme today. Political channels have requested that this WMS is delayed until next week, as a result of key meetings (both cross Whitehall and with the Defence Prime in question) occurring this week. We have every intention to update the house via WMS early next week and would welcome your support in agreeing to this delay.

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 24/04/2026

This is part of the advice the Prime Minister received *before* appointing Mandelson as ambassador (unlike the vetting result which came after). This wasn't enough? assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69b131...

Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
● A 2019 report commissioned by JPMorgan found that Epstein appeared to
“maintain a particularly close relationship with Prince Andrew the Duke of
York and Lord Peter Mandelson, a senior member of the British
government”.
● The report cited Epstein's personal records which showed contact beginning
in 2002 and continuing throughout the 2000s.
● After Epstein was first convicted of procuring an underage girl in 2008, their
relationship continued across 2009-2011, beginning when Lord Mandelson
was Business Minister and continuing after the end of the Labour
government. Mandelson reportedly stayed in Epstein's House while he was
in jail in June 2009.
● In 2014 Mandelson also agreed to be a "founding citizen" of an ocean
conservation group founded by Ghislaine Maxwell, and funded by Epstein.
● On reporting of the JP Morgan report, Lord Mandelson's spokesperson said
“Lord Mandelson very much regrets ever having been introduced to Epstein.
This connection has been a matter of public record for some time. He never
had any kind of professional or business relationship with Epstein in any
form.”
● The Telegraph reported on these links extensively in January 2024 -
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/01/10/lord-mandelson-friendship-jeffr
ey-epstein-keir-starmer/
● A Labour Party spokesperson has previously commented saying “There are
a whole range of people that Keir Starmer talks to. Obviously he talks to
people who were part of the last Labour government, including Peter
Mandelson.”
● The Cabinet Office holds official records that are likely to be released by the
National Archives early next year, which relate to a Tony Blair meeting with
Epstein that was facilitated by Mandelson.
● To note - general reputational risk

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Nick B 🔶 @aviarm.com · 22/04/2026

The truth of this will be judged in an employment tribunal or out of court settlement, and apparent in the size of the pay-off he gets. If Robbins was genuinely incompetent and/or negligent then the pay-off should be small. But if it runs to 6 figures then he's the human shield/fall guy.

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