Bernard Moffatt's blog

‘Baron Boot’ our Agriculture and Environment Minister is used to ‘dining al fresco’ with his barbecue apron and kit but in this interview (courtesy of Manx Radio) he gets a ‘roasting’ himself from an irate Manx ‘Green’.

After the summer barbecue affair the miniscule Minister proffered apologies all round. Quite the genial host I was quite swayed by his humility over the matter. However it seems after his recent climate change faux pas it will take more than a slightly overdone sausage or burger around the Boot ‘barbie’ to promote harmony with the Greens.

Two resolutions were successfully moved by the Manx branch Secretary of the Celtic League at the organisations AGM in Glasgow last weekend.

One related to the long standing support of the League for the Chagos Islanders who were evicted from their homes in the 1960s. The other resolution related to the industrial harvesting of kelp off the West of Scotland which could impact the eco balance of Marine life not just there but in the wider sea area of the West of these Islands.

All is not well in ‘Camelot’ (aka the Chief Ministers Offices on Prospect Hill). Howard Quayle MHK is involved in yet another embarrassing climb down due it seems to getting dodgy info before spouting in Tynwald (see link):

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/quayle-hits-back-at-bull...

I likened Kate Beecroft a while ago to ‘The Lady of Shalott’ but in this instance the ‘curse’, as Tennyson put it, is not on Beecroft it’s on the Chief Minister (CM).

The Story Manx Radio carried yesterday about the Calf of Man made me recall the campaign by the Celtic League to seek its return to the Manx nation.

‘When I find myself behind a cyclist on a tricky road it's best to wait and pass with caution. After all they are on a bike and comparatively exposed you have a car wrapped and strapped around you.’

Cycling! It brings back happy memories of narrow roads in the Connemara gaeltacht and glorious endless sunshine. Perhaps I should have stuck to two wheels and I might not be so corpulent. Cycling is the big thing these days in Mann we even have cycling Ministers and cycling lanes. We also have busy roads!

The infamous H Block type prison has made a remarkable return in the Dabancheng Valley of the Uighur people in an area occupied by the Chinese government which has embarked on a severe programme of repression. A BBC in depth report published today focuses on detention centres in the country in which an estimated 130,000 Uyghur are imprisoned for what is euphemistically termed re-education:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/China_hidden_camps

Prince Mohammed bin Salman seems pretty laid back for a guy who is in the eye of a storm. But I suppose when you can afford to splash out $300 million for a French Chateau you think you are pretty much untouchable.

That’s just what he did in 2015 and the attached Irish Times article says the purchase was concealed andl how platoons of lawyers, bankers and accountants in Germany, Bermuda and the Isle of Man helped facilitate this and other transactions:

While the IOM government and its DEFA prevaricate over climate change our neighbor to the West Ireland is taking action that will see peat harvesting by industrial means dramatically cut back and its use ended completely for energy production by 2028.

Peat production volumes hit a high of 6.5 million tonnes in 2013; Bord na Móna is planning to reduce that to 2 million tonnes in 2020 with 2028 as the deadline for an end to the use of peat for energy, two years earlier than originally planned.

Peat bogs are important ‘sinks’ for carbon dioxide as this report outlines:

Manx Chief Minister Howard Quayle MHK witters on incessantly about Brexit. Not surprising really as where economically the UK go and the uncertainties that pertain will impact us all.

Howard tends to be fairly upbeat and indeed, although it seems a long time ago now, back in May 2017 the Manx government averred:

KNOTTFIELD LEGAL FUND APPEAL (MTTV INTERVIEWS)

Paul Moulton at MTTV has two interviews here with John Guest who is trying to raise funds in connection with taking a case in relation to the Knottfield Child Abuse scandal.

There is a warning in place from the Chief Constable in respect of sub judice issues in respect of ongoing matters so I won’t comment further.