Alan Rew
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alanrew.bsky.social
Alan Rew
@alanrew.bsky.social
3.8K followers 5.1K following 15K posts
UK-based retired software developer.

Art, Photography, Science, Music, Economics, Politics, Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Science, Architecture, Archaeology
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alanrew.bsky.social
Family Guy racist colour chart meme, with "Academic" for light skin & "Activist" for brown/black.
October 30, 2025 at 3:26 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
@robfordmancs.bsky.social just had an email from Waterstones saying that the book publication has been put back to February 2026
We’ve been advised by the publisher that books you have pre-ordered will now be published later than previously advertised. Please see below for a full list of titles which are affected along with their new release dates. Title: The British General Election of 2024 Author: Robert Ford Old Release date: 5th January 2026 New Release date: 23rd February 2026
September 21, 2025 at 9:44 AM
alanrew.bsky.social
Amusingly, the book has this product warning on Amazon's UK site:
Warning: not suitable for children over 36 months
September 12, 2025 at 1:05 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Over on the other place, Mr Ethical has reported Farage to the SFO over his girlfriend's purchase of the house with cash despite her having no previous income to account for this.
I have reported Farage/Ferrari to the SFO - in my opinion they should make an Unexplained Wealth Order against Ferrari.
September 8, 2025 at 8:04 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Last paragraph of the conclusion.
Text in Alt.
We therefore grant permission to appeal, both to Somani and to the SSHD, against the grant of the interim injunction, we allow the appeals and set aside the injunction. The case management directions given by the judge can remain in force subject to any amendment necessitated by the joinder of the SSHD as an intervener. We direct that submissions on costs are to be exchanged and filed by 12 noon on 1 September 2025. We end by recording our gratitude to counsel for their helpful submissions.
September 1, 2025 at 6:51 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
In UK on 05/08/2025 at 16:25

Current electricity generation sources:

wind 43.9%
solar 21.6%
gas 12.2%
nuclear 11%

Wind + solar = 65.5%

From: Grid Carbon app, Android
Screenshot from Grid Carbon app showing figures in the preceding text.
August 5, 2025 at 3:32 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
The unnamed & uncertain state of the new party reveals the organisational genius for which Corbyn is famousv
Although the website is called Your Party, this appears to only be a temporary name, as the site also says "Your Party - and the new party that develops from it". Sultana tweeted, external: "It's not called Your Party!" to a media report of the launch on X. Your Party is also not currently registered with the Electoral Commission, which is required in order to field candidates for elections
July 24, 2025 at 12:23 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
This isn't just rearranging deckchairs:
One line of criticism says the government is merely rearranging the deckchairs. Not necessarily. The bite in Cunliffe’s recommendations, if they are to succeed, will be the switch to a “supervisory” model. The description is bland but, if done correctly, it could make a difference, as it has in financial services, from where Cunliffe, one of the clean-up officials at the Bank of England after the great crash, has drawn his analysis. The Prudential Regulation Authority is capable of striking fear in bank boardrooms.
July 21, 2025 at 7:05 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Thames Water hosepipe ban from 22 July. Text in Alt
The hosepipe ban will start on Tuesday, 22 July 2025, in parts of our supply area: All OX postcodes All GL postcodes All SN postcodes RG4, RG8, and RG9 postcodes
July 15, 2025 at 3:44 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
As of 14:30 in the UK, solar energy is providing 34.7% of our electricity.

Source: Android Grid Carbon app.
Screenshot of Android Grid Carbon app, showing contributions from various energy sources of electricity used at 14:30 in the UK on 11/07/2025. Top 3 are Solar 34.7% Gas 15.3% Nuclear 11.6%
July 11, 2025 at 1:35 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Gabriel Pogrund on Xitter has the details of his Sunday Times investigation (text in alt)
SUNDAY TIMES EXCLUSIVE🚨 Reform MP James McMurdock suspended after investigation into £70,000 of Covid loans He borrowed money via two companies: one dormant, the other with negligible assets He will not say what legitimate purpose they served (1/)
July 5, 2025 at 8:17 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Interesting quote from this piece, explaining how Unbound could get away with using book subscriptions from customers for general business expenses.
Under the crowdfunding system, funds were taken in from supporters but there's nothing in the contracts that indicated that funds needed to be sequestered. This meant customer pre-order money could be used for general business operations rather than being held in escrow for specific book fulfillment.
July 4, 2025 at 11:21 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
@katie0martin.ft.com all it took was for Reeves to dry her eyes :-)

30-yr bond yields now virtually the same as 1 week ago.
July 3, 2025 at 2:24 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
UK government 30-year bond yields (5.32%) are now virtually the same as a week ago (5.31%) despite the hiccup over Reeves's future yesterday.

Shows how the media exaggerate the significance of blips in the bond market.

Source: FT website.
UK government bond yields chart from markets.ft.com/data/bonds at 15:12 on 03/07/2025
July 3, 2025 at 2:13 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Screenshots from Xitter about BBC timidity when reporting on the IDF. HT @willdalrymple.bsky.social
Text in Alt.
Compare how the brave & outspoken @haaretzcom reports this story, compared with the ever-spineless @BBCNews. Its very hard to understand the BBC headline as anything other than a shameful shielding of Israel from blame & a deliberate obfuscation of the true story. Its not "gunfire and chaos" by nameless anarchists, its a deliberate massacre of starving Palestinians by the IDF. Are the senior managers at the BBC really unable to tell the difference? Is there no one inside or outside the BBC who can hold them to account and stop the Orwellian twisting of the truth? Harretz headline: "'It's a Killing Field: IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid" BBC headline: "A month into Gaza's new aid system - gunfire and chaos are routine" BBC headline: "A month into Gaza's new aid system - gunfire and chaos are routine"
July 2, 2025 at 1:12 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Post on Xitter from Andy Burnham. Text in Alt.
Andy Burnham: "Whatever people’s views about the concessions, surely everyone can see the process here is ALL wrong? Third Reading in eight days? A timetable like that diminishes the role of MPs in getting this legislation right, shuts out disabled people and puts too many at risk."
July 1, 2025 at 1:32 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
From the Android GridCarbon app:

At 14:25 on 23/06/2025, wind + solar generation satisfies 70.4% of UK energy demands:

Wind: 45.9%
Solar: 24.5
Screenshot from the Android GridCarbon app, showing the current contribution if various generation technologies.
June 23, 2025 at 1:34 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
At 15:50 BST on 15/06/2025, wind + solar was providing 54% of the UK's energy needs.
Android Grid Carbon app.
A screenshot os the Android Grid Carbon app, showing what percentages various energy sources are contributing to UK energy needs. Wind is top at 31.3%, Solar is next at 22.7%.
June 15, 2025 at 2:59 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
A serious security leak, revealing a creaking weapons infrastructure held together by black-market supplies & luck
In a country where propaganda often substitutes for policy, the Yasny breach is more than an embarrassment. It is a symptom of systemic rot—an overextended, undersecured military machine held together by secrecy, shortcuts, and increasingly, luck.
May 30, 2025 at 3:22 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Here's the chart it generated for my BlueSky account:
A chart with one row for each hour of the 24-hour day. For each hour, a blue bar shows, by its length, how many BlueSky accounts interact in some way with my account. After 08:00 the bars are similar lengths, with maxima at 09:00 and 20:00 UK time (UTC+1 dst).
May 28, 2025 at 8:11 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Apologies for the Xitter screenshot but it's important news WRT Facebook in Europe (don't know if that includes UK)
Text in Alt.
BREAKING: Starting today, Meta will use Facebook and Instagram posts from users in Europe to train its AI. Here's what you need to know: - If you haven't objected until yesterday or if your profile is public, you must assume that your personal data will be used by Meta to train their AI systems. - You can still object, but this objection will be valid for future posts only. - The personal data from European users that Meta will use to train AI includes text posts, comments, photos, videos, captions, stories, reels, activities in pages, groups, and more. - A reminder that once personal data has been used for AI training, it can no longer be fully deleted. - Also, according to Meta, private messages and data from users under 18 would be excluded from AI training.
May 27, 2025 at 3:05 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
In the UK, wind power is currently contributing to 65% of our power needs
A table showing the sources of electricity in the UK. Wind is at the top with 65% contribution. Nuclear is 19% & gas 10%.
May 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
This is worrying.
Most human infections – around 80% – cause no symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they are usually mild: fever, fatigue, headaches, body aches and sometimes nausea. But in rare cases, around one in 150 infections, the virus can cause severe illness, including encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or meningitis. Older adults, especially those over 50, are most at risk of serious complications.
May 23, 2025 at 2:06 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Text in alt
Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said the deal was "very good news" for fish farming. He said the EU was the "most important market" for Scottish salmon, with France alone taking about £240m of it every year. Mr Scott said the sector had faced "considerable" costs for administration to export salmon and delivery time had increased due to physical checks on products. He added: "These measures could reduce the bureaucratic cost of the administration we currently face, at about £3m a year. "It will also improve our delivery times to our customers all over Europe, which is very welcome given we're exporting a time-sensitive product directly from Scotland into the EU."
May 19, 2025 at 9:45 PM
alanrew.bsky.social
Very positive & encouraging news in this piece. Text in alt
UK negotiators have emerged from talks with their EU counterparts with a wider ranging deal than looked to be on the cards. It maintains the red lines on not rejoining the single market as a whole or the customs union, and on not returning to freedom of movement, but beyond that it sees the UK negotiating selective participation in parts of the single market for agri-food and electricity in return for accepting “dynamic alignment” and a role for the European Court of Justice – on a similar basis to that already conceded by Boris Johnson for Northern Ireland
May 19, 2025 at 7:51 PM