iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

The proposed social media ban, the EU KIDS Act, is perhaps the most chaotic law I have ever read! New paper: Are EU Kidding Me? Notes from a Poorly Drafted Social Media Ban. files.michae.lv/papers/veale_areEUkiddingme.pdf In the spirit of the proposal I have stayed offline and read no takes.

In September 2026, the European Commission published a proposed EU KIDS Act, responding to the demand for restrictions and further design obligations applying to digital services accessible to children, including social media. This Article argues that regardless of what one believes about the merits of this policy direction, the EU KIDS Act is not the legislative text we need. The scope and drafting are little short of chaotic, full of holes, enormous ambiguities, and unintended consequences. Recitals contradict articles. The use of scope borrowed from other pieces of legislation not designed for this purpose brings services into scope that should not be subject to the relevant provisions, like book-recommendation websites, music services, or exercise trackers. The infrastructural requirement for assurance of age and parental responsibility attestation simply omits enormous issues of complex families and childhoods. Complex design obligations are written in ways that can be plausibly interpreted as implicitly prohibiting entire swathes of products, such as voice assistants. This Article outlines these issues, and many more. The Commission should withdraw this proposal and reissue a workable and realistic text.

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Prof Ian Hall @ianhall.bsky.social · 21h

Swiss glaciers suffer 'disastrous' year of ice loss, threatening water supplies "…in its simplest form, what we see right now is that we took an ice cube out of the fridge and it's just melting in front of our eyes." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

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LiveDrive @livedrive.dublincityfm.ie · 30/09/2026

⚠️ Dublin Tunnel ⚠️ There is a broken down vehicle in the inbound Dublin Tunnel. all lanes are held. RED X MEANS STOP.

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Roads would be a lot safer if he wasn't using his mobile phone while behind the wheel of a car

Screenshot of Facebook post from Cllr Shane Forde taken from the driver's position looking forward at the Monivea Road

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Does anyone need a spare emergency? Second copy arrived today.

Two copies of the Government booklet titled Be Emergency Ready, side by side

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David @rebelalliance77.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

So that man who started that IDF chant at the match yesterday, as seen in that video doing the rounds? Same guy in the pic visiting the Dáil to visit Jennifer Carrol McNeil of Fine Gael and the Ireland Israel Alliance. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoseph_... #Spéirgorm

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Aidan O’Brien @aidanobrien.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Meta can ban: - Adverts for a Virginia Woolf play because of “feminism” - Ads for a documentary about Elon Musk. Meta seemingly cannot ban: - Generative AI Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse Material, adverts and content.

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Who's starting the GoFundMe to bring these to Dublin? Brilliant campaign from Better Streets Liverpool @rebshark.bsky.social Some competition for @tomflood.bsky.social in the Most Impactful Sign category. @dublincommuters.bsky.social

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derek guy @dieworkwear.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The Pope reminds me of a version of Catholicism I knew growing up as a young man attending anti-war and anti-death penalty protests, where I met elderly Catholics who shared their version of faith with me. I learned that Catholicism was about love and mercy for the weak, the condemned, and the poor.

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

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Alan Dunne @aldunne.eurosky.social · 25/09/2026

cute photo op. incidentally I spent 10 minutes trying to find a picture of the Taoiseach using public transport in Ireland and guess what

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Ian Martin @ianmartin.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Behind every powerful narcissist is a woman beaming pain into his fatty, time-limited heart.

Xi Jinping stands with his wife behind him. Next to Xi, Trump salutes and winces, as if in pain. Behind him, his wife seems to look directly at him.

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

New drive-thru facility at Costa Coffee, Nutgrove, Dublin? @carintobuilding.bsky.social www.dublinlive.ie/news/dublin-...

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kelly @earley.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

so we need thousands of staff for transport infrastructure, thousands of staff for nursing homes and thousands of young people are leaving the country... and we are turning away people who want to come to ireland to work, while making those who are here wait longer for citizenship. ok grand

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Ciara Murphy @ciaralynnmurphy.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

I've driven there recently, there's plenty of time to slow down. There's no anomaly, just people refusing to take responsibility for their own actions. My local Labour TD has spent most of this year advocating for speeding motorists.

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Conor @ernekid.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Micheál Martin riding the subway in New York when at the same time increasing public transit fares in Ireland

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Shazzy @shazbear.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

A lot of currently 'qualified' drivers out there that could do with being retrained tbqhwy. #SpéirGorm

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 22/09/2026

DoorDash has ripped off more than 260,000 NYC delivery workers. We’re making them pay $131.5 million — the largest worker settlement in City history. This is New York, where hard work pays and greed will cost you.

DoorDash messed up.
They repeatedly left more than 260,000 NYC delivery workers underpaid or paid late, causing them immense stress and financial difficulty.
That's unacceptable.
We've secured a $131.5M settlement from
DoorDash - the largest worker settlement in NYC history and largest delivery worker settlement in
American municipal history.
Every worker will be paid what they are owed, and every company will be forced to abide by the laws of this city.

LOGOS:
The OFFICE of the MAYOR of NYC
NYC Consumer and Worker Protection

Mayor Mamdani and Deliveristas representatives stand behind a podium.

Three delivery workers holding a giant fake check for $131.5M.

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Alan Dunne @aldunne.eurosky.social · 22/09/2026

it's great that the focus on this -single- area of road safety is continuing but is there a chance we could, I dunno, focus even 10% of this attention on the boring old stuff like speeding, distracted driving, or safe road design?

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 21/09/2026

"In a leaked document, the Irish Presidency proposes to EU Member States that the interest of OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta and SpaceX to make profits should take precedence over the fundamental right to data protection" noyb.eu/en/ai-eu-mem...

noyb.eu

AI: EU Member States plan “digital expropriation” of Europeans in the interest of AI companies

In a leaked document, the Irish Presidency proposes to EU Member States that the interest of AI companies to make profits should take precedence over the fundamental rights of Europeans.

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Stephen Bourke @anburcach.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Even if a figure of 20% going uneaten is correct (anecdotal accounts suggest older kids and teachers eat a lot of spare lunches), that still means the school dinner programme staggeringly outperforms households, which are regularly said to waste 33% of food bought. www.rte.ie/news/ireland...

rte.ie

School meal review includes portion size and cold options

The Cabinet is to discuss proposals to overhaul the free hot school meals programme after two Government-commissioned reviews revealed shortcomings in the service.

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Johnny Ryan @johnnyryan.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

This is insanity. Irish Presidency's draft text of amendments to the GDPR allows training & operation of any AI without safeguards & tough legal basis (under "legitimate interest" a company claims what it is doing is OK. Up to you to find out and challenge in court). This is a free pass for US Tech.

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Real Gaz on a proper bike: gazza_d@toot.bike @gazza-d.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Wear hiviz. Carry a big sign that has the word STOP in big letters. Stand on a crossing with flashing beacons and stripes. Means f all when a driver is high on drugs. How do we even start to fix this clearly broken and dangerous road system?

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Carlton Reid @carltonreid.com · 18/09/2026

In 2012, Addison Lee boss John Griffin was all over the news when he ranted that cyclists should “pay road tax.” Yesterday, HMRC won its case saying that, since 2013, the taxi man has been avoiding paying income tax. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Telegraph headline from 2012:

Cyclists should pay road tax, says taxi boss Careless cyclists are on a
'voyage into the abyss'
The head of London's largest minicab company says cyclists should think more about their own safety before "throwing themselves on to some of the most congested spaces in the world".

Guardian headline today:

Addison Lee founder owes
£20.5m in tax after UK tribunal ruling
HMRC wins challenge over John Griffin's claim to be non-dom despite having lived in England since childhood. With pic of old man in office.

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Chris Bertram @crookedfootball.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

"RNLI crew members had been forced to take their permits off their cars after their tyres have been repeatedly slashed. Most of them have been pilloried at the school gates or turned away from local pubs. One man who worked in search and rescue had been beaten unconscious and hospitalised"

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Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 03/09/2026

It feels increasingly likely that either AI will actually succeed in decimating jobs and there will be Covid-like panic as the economy collapses due to decreased spending—or AI is a bubble that will burst and there will be Covid-like panic as the economy collapses due to decreased spending. UBI NOW

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Brian Honan @brianhonan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Courtesy of @veroniqueb99.bsky.social ‘s Mastodon account 😂😂😂😂

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

olgacronin.bsky.social @olgacronin.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

We are told it does. But if 2 senior gardai tasked with overseeing protected disclosures turn whistleblower themselves, amid concerns around the handling of firearms, a missing gun, defective gun holsters linked to the death of a Garda and serious injury of another, there's a question mark over that

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Tom Flood @tomflood.bsky.social · 26/03/2026

"Police Excited To Transfer The Responsibility Of Road Safety From Themselves Directly To School Children."

police officer pointing at kids with hi viz vests on

Police Excited To Transfer The Responsibility Of Road Safety From Themselves Directly To School Children.

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Éibhear Ó hAnluain @eibhear.gibiris.org · 17/09/2026

A friend of my sister can't let her ID be known, not even *just* by the social media companies, because her ex-husband, who threatened the lives of her and their kids, was working for one of those companies at the time. She would have to choose between not being online or not being safe.

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Nicolas Hénin @nicolashenin.net · 17/09/2026

Nice campaign by the Norwegian Consumer Council about the declining lifespan of products. Enjoy!

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

JCFJustice @jcfjustice.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Meet our speaker for next week's event! 📣 @tomflood.bsky.social worked in advertising with a wide range of clients, including automotive manufacturers. His direction changed when he took his kids to school on their bikes and saw how unsafe it was. 1/2

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Aislínn Kelly @aislinnkellyy.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Shannon bridge cycle lane investigation. The talent was hard to work with, but we got through it.

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Hourly R.E.M. Lyrics @remlyricshourly.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It's not as though I really need you If you were here I'd only bleed you But everybody else in town only wants to bring you down and That's not how it ought to be I know it might sound strange, but I believe ... Song: (Don't Go Back To) Rockville Album: Reckoning

youtube.com

(Don't Go Back To) Rockville at Youtube

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Zero consideration for wheelchair users, people with walking frames, parents with buggies in managing works at Ballawley Park by @dlrcc.bsky.social @dublincommuters.bsky.social

Exit pathway from Ballawley Park to Sandyford Road blocked by plastic barriers

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Reposted by Rob O'Mhantain

Old UK Print Ads @oldukprintads.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Sep 1982: Mad World by Tears for Fears ad from Mercury Phonogram (+I Can't Help It/Let Me Know by Junior) «“I CAN'T HELP IT” “LET ME KNOW”»

This advertisement features promotions for Junior's double "A" side single "I Can't Help It" and "Let Me Know," available on 12" vinyl, as well as Tears for Fears' single "Mad World," available on 7" and 12" vinyl.

“I CAN'T HELP IT”
“LET ME KNOW”

NEW SINGLE
DOUBLE "A" SIDE
AVAILABLE ON 12"
The new single available on 7" & 12"

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Back to school illegal advertising posters for kids dance classes like this gives these businesses an unfair advantage over their more responsible competitors.

A4 sized poster advertising kids dance classes attached to a lamppost with name and contact details sprayed over

A4 sized poster advertising kids dance classes attached to bottom of lamppost with name and contact details sprayed over

poster advertising Roofing service attached to a lamppost with name and contact details sprayed over

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Zero consideration for wheelchair users, people with walking frames, parents with buggies in managing works at Ballawley Park by @dlrcc.bsky.social @dublincommuters.bsky.social

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Citizen Wolf @citizenw0lf.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

when suddenly a very irrate driver in a car pulled up alongside me shouting at me about putting a sticker on his car. I realised what had happened & started laughing. 😀 This made him even more angry! I told him it was nothing to do with me & I had just stopped to take a photo. He went very red...

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Big thanks to Richardson Contracting Services for blocking most of the footpath and half the cycle lane on Grange Road, squeezing families going to nearby schools into single file.

Hyundai SUV registration 191D9282 parked entirely on footpath on Grange Road, with schoolkids squeezed into single file on narrow gap

White Open van 1161D3921 parked to block most of footpath and half of cycle lane on Grange Road, outside house with Richardson Contracting Services sign on the wall.

A5 sized sticker on bottom right corner of white Opel van reading 'Cycle lane parking puts lives at risk' with graphic of cycle lane.

A5 sized sticker reading 'Cycle lane parking puts lives at risk' with graphic of cycle lane.

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Owler Nook @owlernook.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Is there such a thing as on-street ebike charging in the UK or elsewhere in Europe?

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Paul Allen @marsflyerpaul.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

This always annoys me when cycling around the suburbs - lots of space on driveways, but the trades people feel that their customers have more right to space than the public on pavements and roads.

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Rob O'Mhantain @mhantain.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Big thanks to Richardson Contracting Services for blocking most of the footpath and half the cycle lane on Grange Road, squeezing families going to nearby schools into single file.

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Irish Independent @independent.ie · 10/09/2026

'Comparing rape to selling airline tickets undermines the experiences and trauma of survivors' says Corrinne Hasson. National Women’s Council. 'Flippant comments like this show a lack of understanding about rape culture and form part of the bedrock which allows violence against women to thrive'

independent.ie

‘Comparing rape to selling airline tickets is deeply offensive to survivors,’ says Women’s Council as it hits out at Michael O’Leary

The Ryanair boss also said Ireland owes the US and Donald Trump a ‘huge debt of gratitude’ while declining to comment on any Trump invitations

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IrishCycle.com @irishcycle.com · 09/09/2026

Clamping will not be ended in Dublin City. A senior council official says they were not as clear as they could have been in a report when referring to switching to foot patrols in a core part of the city centre. Because of the lack of clarity, their intent was misinterpreted by The Irish Times.

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