iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Pete Blanchard

Americans (shooting one another, going bankrupt from healthcare costs, imprisoning one another, getting fat sitting in their cars, electing deluded grifters to office): "We're really worried about European civilisational erasure" www.economist.com/europe/2026/... From The Economist

economist.com

Why MAGA hates and loves Europe

Three big reasons explain the New Right’s hostility to Europeans

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Atul Haria (immigrant) @atulharia.bsky.social · 14h

Hey @royalsociety.org, do you still endorse child rape that your esteemed Fellow spreads on his platform? What is it about child rape you find so appealing? All of you without any morality still engaging with the @royalsociety.org - have some fucking self-respect. arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

arstechnica.com

Elon Musk’s xAI used child porn to train Grok models, lawsuit says

xAI accused of training Grok on real and AI-generated child pornography.

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 21h

I sometimes think Suella's real definition of Englishness is... White, English-speaking people with English-sounding names, and that she and other headbangers are just trying to put some kind of rules & genetic science around it. But it doesn't work. And it remains blatant racism.

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Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Always use a bank card or similar to get the corners up to remove these fascist stickers because there have been previous instances of razor blades stuck under similar. Alternatively just use a marker to write "Don't be a fascist" over the top. But don't just ignore them if you encounter them 🙏

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Patrick - Here for the craic❗️🤷🏼‍♂️😉 @paddyopatrick.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Farage’s unwillingness to accept any responsibility personified👇 “Reform is the only party that will save Britain in the first 100 days of government. If not, I will sack my Cabinet ministers” He’s playing Jonny Big Bollox talking big, but instead of “I’ll quit as PM” he’d fire the Cabinet❗️ 🐀

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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Google and Apple immediately update their maps.

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Olaf Falafel @ofalafel.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

How come when Yogi Bear does it, it's hilarious but when I steal a family's picnic basket wearing only a hat and tie, the police have to get involved?

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Sailing Steve @sailingsteve.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Good advice!! Make noise. It's long. Read it!

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Velour Shirt @object.works · 29/09/2026

This is a metaphor for so many things these days that I couldn't choose

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Codfather #FBPE 🇫🇷🇪🇺 @codfather.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

This is where supporting the fascist reform party gets the UK , a lad sitting down being bullied by self appointed vigilantes. These two are disgusting, but this is where Farage has dragged the UK.

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Farage posted this at 12.38 today. It has been hopelessly overtaken by events and shown to be entirely wrong (British nationals involved and they've been released on bail - not very terrorist-like). And if you believe anything Trump says, you are a credulous moron.

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Pete Blanchard @peteblanchard.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

The postman just delivered a birthday card. It was posted over a month ago. Are we to assume Royal Mail is now employing teams of lame dormice to carry mail from Dorset to Essex? Or has it been sat at the Southend depot this long because they still can't sort their arses from their elbows?

Photo of part of an envelope which is postmarked 26-8-2026 with a 2nd class stamp.

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Robert Hanks @roberthanks.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Why can’t any of these people grasp the really easy truth that the reason traffic has got worse is more cars.

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John O'Connell @jdpoc.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Two more quick updates from last week: A Teaching Assistant (Hampshire) was suspended and then had their contract terminated after we sent a zip file of their posts to a school, and to the school governers.

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Pete Blanchard @peteblanchard.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I think this is actually some sort of feed for ericaceous plants in my parents' garden, but it's tempting to think it's a leftover from my dad's time as a superhero back in the day.

A small, white plastic jerrican with a red top stands against a pebble-dashed wall next to some tools. On the jerrican are two words written in marker pen: ERIC ACE

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Pete Blanchard @peteblanchard.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This McIvor bloke seems to be deadly serious about Londoners claiming asylum in Essex. If so, then in my book, that makes him a fucking idiot.

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Adam Creme @adamcreme.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Shocked to hear that local North London music genius Michael Kiwanuka is recovering from what sounds like a severe stroke. If you’re reading this please please get your blood pressure taken regularly. Stroke took both my father and brother. x

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badly drawn boo! 🎃👻🧛🏼‍♀️ @soapachu.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

All travel terminus announcements ever

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Alan Allport @alanallport.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

(Must … not … post … ‘Hang the DJT’)

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Spooky Snigdha @snig.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Nigel Farage's Reform UK party who leads Sunderland council ends their support for the Show Racism the Red Card football anti-racism campaign. Why would they do this unless they are pro-racism? www.sunderlandecho.com/news/people/...

sunderlandecho.com

Charity hits out at Reform decision to withdraw support for Show Racism the Red Card

Charity and city MPs call on Reform led Sunderland City Council to reverse decision

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Steve Gale @stevewg.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Colley Hill, Surrey: coffee break from birding the steep scrub. Love the plaque on the bench I’m sitting on

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Pete Blanchard @peteblanchard.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Take the first name of your dad's favourite singer and add the name of your favourite Teletubby to get your drug dealer name.

Newspaper headline under a photo of an unshaven young man reads "South Essex drug dealer Elvis Lala is jailed for four-and-a-half years"

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Matt Owen @mjowen174.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I am a writer of the words & sentences (some funny). I’ve done most things: written gags, speeches, scripts, TV ads - if you require such an individual, then I am that person. Website (here) www.mathew-owen.co.uk any RTs (or whatever they’re called on here) gratefully received. Cheers👍👍

mathew-owen.co.uk

Mathew Owen | Speech Writer | Manchester

Bespoke wedding speeches from a professional comedy writer.

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Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

“Why do BMW and Audi owners often seem to drive like idiots? Is it the car that makes them behave aggressively behind the wheel, or are specific types of people drawn to such cars as well being more likely to break traffic regulations? Research at the University of Helsinki provides some answers.”

helsinki.fi

The fast and the furious: Research shows that owners of high-status cars are on a collision course with traffic | University of Helsinki

Why do BMW and Audi owners often seem to drive like idiots? Is it the car that makes them behave aggressively behind the wheel, or are specific types of people drawn to such cars as well being more li...

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Graeme Swanson @swansonian.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

*wakes up from a coma after 28 years* Hey, I wonder what happened to that 11 year old girl who rang This Morning to sing Pie Jesu.

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Steven (with a PH) @sjksalisbury.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Christening a baby is nothing like christening a ship. I know that now. Once again I can only apologise.

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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 20/09/2026

I don't think we disdain the center-right enough. First, they rode nativist populist tigers to power to get their tax cuts and deregulation; Then, they lost control of their own parties to those tigers; Now, they sit in lucrative jobs as columnists writing about how it's all the left's fault.

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Dave, just Dave @davew66.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

My friends son turned 18 recently. These two “men” attacked him without provocation yesterday afternoon at Liverpool St station. 2 lost teeth, broken collarbone, 8 stitches. Hope the #COYS family coming back from the game share this and get them what they deserve. www.btp.police.uk/news/btp/new...

btp.police.uk

CCTV images released after serious assault at station – Central London

Detectives investigating a serious assault at Liverpool Street railway station are releasing images in connection.

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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

What surprises me is that people who have left Britain for the sake of their own greed still feel entitled to express an opinion about the country.

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Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

A lot of indications that Farage and the wider Right wing media ecosystem backing Reform in the UK has not processed and maybe cannot intellectually or psychologically process wider implications of the possible electoral failure of Trump's MAGA project in the US www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

There is no middle ground with the kind of people who attack the RNLI. We don’t need to ‘listen’ to them. We need to tell them where to go.

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Nick Harkaway @nickharkaway.com · 19/09/2026

I’ve worn a grubby RNLI cap for decades. I sound London, but I was born in Truro and I was a basically feral (Gen X) kid wandering the coast path with a dog until sunset for a lot of my early life. The lifeboats are in the fabric like trawlers and farms and pasties and fish and chips.

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Peter Ellis @almostconverge.kozterulethasznalatienge.day · 19/09/2026

first they came for the betting shops and i did nothing because betting shops are the textbook example of a parasitic entity: piggybacking on sports and the people who are entertained by it, ruining them both while producing nothing of any value themselves

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

The RNLI rescued Luftwaffe pilots in WW2 because the organisation is there to 'save life at sea' - it's something to be immensely proud of. But as I've said many times before Farage and Co don't seem to have pride in Britain and its institutions beyond flags and crap Enoch Powell said 60 years ago.

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James @studiousbadger.eurosky.social · 18/09/2026

A century earlier, on 18th Jan 1881 the 'Visiter' ran ashore off Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire. No local boat could be launched due to the violence of the storm, so the Whitby lifeboat was brought OVERLAND 6 miles to the bay itself. Through 7ft snowdrifts 200 men cleared the way by hand.

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Max B 💙 🔶 🇺🇦 🇬🇧 🇪🇺 @maxbrockbank.com · 18/09/2026

Worried about AI Robots? All you need is more ram, and a dogged determination to overcome.

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Alan Allport @alanallport.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

It’s time to say no, actually, if you support any of this you don’t have legitimate concerns, you’re just a shitty person.

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Atul Haria (immigrant) @atulharia.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

So Burnham and Labour happy to jail *peaceful* anti-genocide and climate protestors, but are silent in the face of fascist mob rule that has the potential to injure / kill. Shameful pandering to racists for votes. cc. @davidpintod.bsky.social - you are my MP. www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

independent.co.uk

RNLI closes Portsmouth lifeboat station after huge anti-migrant protests

RNLI volunteers were branded ‘traitors’ after bringing migrants ashore

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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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Matthias Eberl @eberlmat.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Time to move the UN headquarters to a more reliable and mature host country. Maybe just across the border to Toronto, there's great property overlooking beautiful Lake Ontario.

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👻 🎃 🦇 Bela Lughosti's Dad 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇵🇸 @belalugosisdad.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Personally I would not pick this fight with the youtube guy who demonstrates all the ways he can nail you with an arrow at 200 yards using his feet while wearing 12-inch Pleasers, whose wife can also kill you with her bare hands, and has 9 billionteen followers who are all trans women with swords.

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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Very nice to hear a sane voice from Piddington. Serious respect to this woman, who is apparently already being othered by more bigoted villagers.

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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Occasionally, I'm reminded of my all time favourite piece of internet: this Reddit post from 12 years ago in which a guy claims he ruined dinner with his girlfriend's parents by refusing to admit he knew what a potato was.

TIFU by enraging the parents of my girlfriend by pretending not to know what a potato is.
Let me tell you that I have made a bad mistake this evening.

My girlfriend (who let me tell you is only my 2nd girlfriend of all time) said I am "invited to dinner" with her and her parents. I was very aghast, nervous, and bashful to be invited to such a situation. But I knew it must be done.

I met them nicely, I should tell you, and it started off in a good way. The idea slapped my mind that I should do a comic bit, to make a good impression and become known to them as a person who is amusing.

When I saw that baked potatoes were served I got the idea that it would be very good if I pretended I did not know what potatoes was. That would be funny.

Well let me tell you: backfired on my face. I'll tell you how.

So first when the potato became on my plate, I acted very interesting. I showed an expression on my face so as to seem that I was confused, astounded but in a restrained way, curious, and interested. They did notice, and seemed confused, but did not remark. So I asked "This looks very interesting. What is this?"

They stared at me and the mother said "It's a baked potato." And I was saying "Oh, interesting, a baked....what is it again?"

And she was like "A potato."

And I was like "A 'potato', oh interesting. Never heard of a potato, looks pretty good."

And then they didn't see I was clowning, but thought I really did not know what is a potato. So I knew I would be very shamed, humiliated, depressed, and disgusted if I admitted to making a bad joke, so what I did was to act as if it was not a joke but I committed to the act of pretending I didn't know what a potato is.

They asked me, VERY incredulous, did I really not know what a potato is? That I never heard of a potato. I went with it and told them, yes, I did not ever even hear of a potato. Not only had I never eaten a potato I had never heard the word potato.

This went on for a bit and my girlfriend was acting very confused and embarrassed by my "fucked up antics", and then the more insistent I was about not knowing what a potato is was when them parents starting thinking I DID know what a potato was.

Well let me tell you I had to commit 100% at this point. When I would not admit to knowing what a potato was, the father especially began to get annoyed. At one point he said something like "Enough is enough. You're fucking with us. Admit it." And I said "Sir, before today I never heard of a potato. I still don't know what a potato is, other than some kind of food. I don't know what to tell you."

Well let me tell you he got very annoyed. I decided to take a bite of the potato, and when I did I made a high pitched noise and said "Taste's very strange!"

That is when the father started yelling at me, and the mother kept saying "What are you doing?" and my girlfriend went to some other room.

Finally the father said I should "Get the fuck out of his house" and I said it was irrational to treat me like this just because I never heard of a potato before. Well let me tell you he didn't take that kindly.

Now in text messages I have been telling my girlfriend I really don't know what a potato is. The only way I can ever get out of this is for them to buy that I don't know what a potato is.

I wish I never started it but I can't go back. I think she will break up with me anyway.

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Digital Brain @yourdigitalbrain.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

A skydiver's odds of landing near an angry red kangaroo are slim, but in Australia's outback, never quite zero.

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Glennyrodge @glennyrodge.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Just spilt some milk whilst in the middle of chopping an onion. Didn't know what to do with myself.

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