iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 07/10/2026

These were identical trips, loaded via identical referrer URLs. The difference was that in the browser where Air Canada knew that I was an extremely loyal and prolific customer, they had whacked me with a *44.8% premium* to punish me for my loyalty!

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Hope the trains run smoothly. We're on four wheels heading from Köln westwards, hoping to be home before midnight.....

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

I have a vague memory (connected in my mind with Jordin Kare) of a similar device that used an infra-red laser to fry the bug's wings....

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

...or going into old codger mode and complaining about Mosaic and the Green Card Lawyers....

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

I'm not holding my breath, not least because the author of the worst of these polices, Yvette Cooper, is still in government, and her successor in the Home Office, Shabana Mahmood, has defended and extended her draconian anti-protest measures. And yes, these measures really are mad and bad.

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David Morgan-Mar @dmmaus.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

An OpenAI agent, without authorisation or explicit instruction, hacked Australia's universal health care system records. This is fine... www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09...

abc.net.au

Breaking: OpenAI agent hacked Medicare portal, PM says

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says an Open AI agent gained unauthorised accessed to the Medicare statistics reporting service portal.

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Ah. Pretty much no control over the sample or the truthfulness of the answers, even if the questions weren't loaded. The trouble is some quarters of the media don't seem to care much about the method and just want a headline.... :(

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

About the only regime change worse than a military coup is outright civil war. I wonder how the polls concerned actually posed the questions that led to that conclusion. Over here we've seen a few news-skewing polls being published without such disclosures, which makes me suspicious.

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 19/09/2026

Every now and then I see myself referred to as an "AI Denier" and I want to be clear I acknowledge "AI" exists, it's just I think it's a massive energy drain, created from theft, implemented poorly for inappropriate tasks by loathsome tech executives who get hard at the idea of the rest of us dying

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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Absolutely unhinged response from the Israeli government, trying to revoke the citizenship of people who make critical films about the armed forces. Symptomatic of a national descent into far-right authoritarianism www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

theguardian.com

Netanyahu seeks to strip citizenship from Israelis as threats to NAZA film directors intensify

Israeli prime minister to pursue new laws as directors of Guardian-produced film face threats from far-right officials and activists

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I'm not a religious person, but if there were such a thing as the Antichrist, he would do what Trump does every day. Destroying our beautiful planet and the lives of its people for the sake of A. profit and B. a vengeful urge to destroy what other people love. So yes, demonic is the right word.

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Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...

mathandai.org

Declaration — Math and AI

Read the declaration and add your name.

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

There were many ways in which the US and its allies could have responded to the horror of 9/11. But by building extreme security states, launching pointless forever wars and restricting domestic dissent, successive governments inflicted more harm on their nations than the terrorists could have done.

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Robin Ince @robinince.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

My first blog post on patreon was how I became an extremist - knowing that lifeboat people are extremists and retired doctors who want peace are extremists , while brutal men in balaclavas and convicted abusers are normal, i am relieved to be mad www.patreon.com/RobinInce/po...

patreon.com

How I Became an Extremist | Robin Ince

“Love has never been a popular movement.” - James Baldwin As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be an extremist. I wondered whet

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Gary McGath @gmcgath.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

If you have a Smashwords account that you've ignored for a long time, check it. Draft2Digital acquired Smashwords and has unilaterally started charging the users of some accounts. #writing #smashwords #draft2digital

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Over this side of the Atlantic, the word is used to describe a kind of authoritarianism that's been given a "liberal" haircut.

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Even when those promoting it use that name for it?

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Put your favourite business sector in here in place of "university" and it's very probably still bang on the nail....

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

80 year-olds with pro-Palestine signs: arrested as terrorists. Greens planning to block a road, to highlight an existential crisis: sent down for years. Masked far-right thugs blocking roads and ports, using intimidation, obstruction & threatening behaviour: no arrests. The real two-tier policing.

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I guess maybe they're just allowing for the fact that the last circle sometimes runs well into the following day?

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Yet the police described it as a "spontaneous protest." It certainly wasn't spontaneous, and it looks more like an attempt to intimidate than a conventional protest.

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Lambda Miner Edwin @edwin.lambda-miners.org.uk · 04/09/2026

Gender affirming healthcare saves lives. I realise I'm yelling this to my -5 followers but I'm going to yell it forever anyway. What is wrong with these people?

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I saw a "What part of the USA do you come from" dialect meme recently. Pronunciation of "aunt" was one of the questions, and there were a whole lot of others in like vein. As someone who's visited the USA once (Houston, for a week) I was amused to find it figured I was from NY, Boston or Philly...

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

A thread demolishing one of the Government's present petty stupidities...

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

To the surprise of exactly nobody with Clue(tm)... Whether it achieved its unstated desired effects, however....

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

If so, I hope that dumping comes sooner rather than later....

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

...and the vulnerable minority (whether trans, or immigrant, or refugee, or ...) will pay the price. :(

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

TBH, that Burnham kept her and Streeting in Cabinet was, for me, the first indication that he's likely to be as bad as Starmer. :(

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Labour's majority is so huge that it'll take more than that, sadly.... :(

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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Mayor Boris Johnson, announcing ULEZ in 2015: "ULEZ is an essential measure to help improve air quality" PM David Cameron, same day: "The Government is backing this initiative with £25 million of support" But suddenly it's Khan's fault. www.london.gov.uk/press-releas...

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

That little line-up of individuals who'd paid a million bucks to be at the inauguration shows most them have been solid MAGA from the start... :/

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I know this isn't terrorism. You know this isn't terrorism. The authorities know this isn't terrorism. But, once again, they have labelled protesters "terrorists", as part of the long-running programme to ensure that no one dares protest about anything any more. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Seven charged with damaging Trump’s Scottish golf course accused of ‘terrorist connection’

Course at Donald Trump’s Turnberry resort was painted with words ‘Gaza is not 4 sale’ and clubhouse was sprayed with graffiti

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Our rapid disillusionment with political leaders is treated by much of the media as some kind of pathology. But what I see is these leaders backtracking on their promises, dashing people's hopes and serving the ultra-rich ahead of the rest of the population. Why wouldn't we be disillusioned?

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Rick @hrrunka.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

More rain here in the last 8 hours than in the previous 8 weeks, here by the Severn.... :)

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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Time for Labour to “Dare more democracy.” Next week’s debate on the representation of the people bill offers a golden opportunity to make long overdue changes to our archaic undemocratic rotten voting system - and to start building trust with voters again

theguardian.com

Andy Burnham should rip up our undemocratic first past the post system – even if some in Labour disagree | Neal Lawson

Rearguard reactionaries may try to block the idea of a national commission into proportional representation, but we should want more not less democracy, says Neal Lawson, director of Compass

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

People can "just adapt" to a changing climate, a thousand rightwing voices keep telling us. Either they lack imagination or they don't care. Try "adapting" to this. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

theguardian.com

Nepal flash flood: more than 1,500 missing, mostly tourists, after disaster kills at least 165 at Tibet border

Entire populated areas swept away after glacial collapse causes catastrophic flood in mountainous region popular with trekkers and pilgrims

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Rewilding Britain @rewildingbritain.org.uk · 26/08/2026

We're calling on the UK Government to rewild Britain for a safer future 👊 Add your name to the open letter👇 f.mtr.cool/b53uai19km Images: landscape – Alan Puttock/University of Exeter, Andy Burnham – House of Commons, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, edited

Split aerial of brown field and green woodland, with a photo of PM Andy Burhnam overlayed and a message that reads: An open letter to the Prime Minister. Rewild to recover from extreme weather. Add your voice.
Image credits: landscape – Alan Puttock/University of Exeter, Andy Burnham – House of Commons, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, edited

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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

This, arguably, is the crucial issue, which determines more than any other the nature of the government. It is both highly symbolic and has very great practical implications. It undermines everything a Labour Party is supposed to stand for.

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TransActual @transactualuk.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Comedian and poet Robin Ince has become our first patron! Ince, who was for many years co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage, stepped down last autumn saying he had been targeted by BBC figures over his support for the trans community. Read more: transactual.org.uk/blog/2026/08...

A photo of Robin Ince with the caption: Robin Ince is the first-ever patron of TransActual!

Comedian and poet Robin Ince has become TransActual's first patron.

Ince, who was for many years co-presenter of BBC Radio 4’s The Infinite Monkey Cage, stepped down last autumn saying he had been targeted by BBC figures over his support for the trans community.

Ince says, “I have never liked bullies and I have never understood people who form their personalities around what they hate rather than what they love. I was in my late teens during Section 28’s path through parliament and it was a moment of political awakening. We continue living through times where those who really make the lives of people harder still manage to hide behind any scapegoat they can make. Anyone who can be othered can find themselves in the position of pariah.

He concludes: “I have met too many trans people living in fear, spoken to too many families who have seen their trans children crushed. Now is not the time for my silence."

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