Blogs

This issued by the Celtic League:

Illiam Dhone Under Fire Again!

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

State broadcaster gives Government ‘generous’ airtime to attack ‘opponents’.

Contributors and those attending the 2015 Illiam Dhone commemoration on 2nd January at Hango Hill (the execution site of Manx patriot William Christian) remarked that it was one of the best held in recent years.

Indeed that perception is vindicated by the fact that not one but two senior government Ministers were wheeled out earlier this week to react to comments made at the ceremony.

This Saturday (January 17th) the 10th Arrane son Mannin competition will be held at the Douglas Freemasons' Hall as part of a concert and ceili starting at 7.30pm. This will not only celebrate 10 years of Arrane son Mannin but also 40 years of the Manx dance group Bock Yuan Fannee. The song competition is held annually to find a winning new song for a prize sponsored by Culture Vannin and also to perform that winning song at the 44th Pan-Celtic Festival at Derry on April 9th in Easter week 2015.

In Brittany on Sunday January 18th 2015, as reported on the Breton website 7SEIZH a ceremony will be held to commemorate the crew of the Breton trawler Bugaled Breizh (Children of Brittany). The boat went down with the loss of all hands on January 15th 2004 off the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall having set sail from its home port of Loctudy in Brittany. The ship briefly radioed it was sinking in what were at the time good weather conditions.

This published by the Celtic League:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

The attack on the French satirical magazine and the appalling journalistic toll that was exacted by deranged exponents of a form of Islam that almost all other Moslems abhor is justly condemned.

But amid all the brouhaha of supportive and condemnatory statements we need to keep a sense of perspective.

Cold blooded mass murder is not the sole prerogative of Islamic extremists and indeed both in France and other European States we need to recognise this.

This published by the Celtic League:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

MANN: MACR UNDERMINES APPROPRIATE ADULT INITIATIVE

Although welcoming a move to introduce a new ‘appropriate adult’ scheme aimed at supporting young and vulnerable people during police interviews the Celtic League say the initiative is tarnished by the level at which the Island has set the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR).

This published by the Celtic League:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

NEW PROGRAMME ON MAN TARGETS WOMEN

As part of its 2015 programming Manx Radio (the Isle of Mans National Radio Station) has introduced a daily one hour magazine programme called Women Today.

Although primarily aimed at its target audience the programme presenters suggest it will also have a broader focus.

There’s a link to a news item on the issue on the Manx Radio (MR) news site – here:

This published by the Celtic League:

NEWS FROM THE CELTIC LEAGUE

DECC QUIZZED ON SAFETY OF NUCLEAR FIRE SHIP

The Celtic League has asked the United Kingdom Department of the Environment and Climate Change about safety systems on a ship carrying nuclear waste which caught fire off Scotland in October.

See below:

“Baroness Verma
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC)
55 Whitehall
London
United Kingdom

05/01/15

Dear Minister,

The Ulster city of Doire, the fourth largest city in Ireland, has seen the growth of the Gaelic tongue in recent years.  Derry is home to a unique initiative which aims to create a Gaeltacht Quarter in the city where the language of daily commerce is Gaelic.

In its 38th year the Central Florida Highland Games is an impressive event. The popularity of the Festival has fueled year to year growth in attendance. Event organizers estimate that 25,000 will attend the two day festival in 2015. This year the Festival boasts two of the top Celtic bands on the North American Festival Circuit. In addition, there are an array of events and exhibitions including a traditional Highland Games athletic competition, amateur Highland Dance Competitions, Scottish Country Dancing, Pipers and Bands competition and the obligatory Whiskey tasting.

Scottish Labour have spent years telling Scottish voters that the SNP (Scottish National Party) proposal of setting up an oil fund was a stupid idea. They continued with this position during the Scottish referendum campaign on independence. This, of course, was when treacherous Labour sided with the Tory and Lib Dem's to oppose Scottish independence. Now, low and behold, with the fall in oil prices Labour has called for the setting up of a “resilience fund” to cushion the blow caused by falling prices. For “resilience fund” please read "oil fund"!