Bernard Moffatt's blog

I am perusing the Manx news courtesy of ‘the boys and girls on the Head’ online service. Paul Moulton of MTTV would love it it’s kind of ‘social media for adults’ without the nastiness.

As reverberations in Mann continue over the cancellation of Rally IOM and calls are made for Ministerial resignations, in Wales things are gearing up for the rally to be held there next month.

This striking video was recently posted on the ‘Wales Rally GB’ twitter feed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-EtezV3hKM

Image: On the slate mountain zip Snowdonia.

Twitter link:

https://twitter.com/WalesRallyGB

Bernard Moffatt

It's the Isle of Man film festival 2018 and Manx Radio have a promo item here:

https://www.manxradio.com/news/isle-of-man-news/lights-camera-action/

There was also a Youtube interview on MTTV last week. The latter inspired me to have my own film festival so I forwent the delights of the local tavern on the weekend and watched an eclectic mix including ‘Hedd Wyn’, ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ and ‘The dawns here are quiet’ to name but a few.

SOCIAL MEDIA - IT’S NOT ALL ‘BAD’!

The Rally IOM fallout rumbles on with MTTV catching up with rally organiser John Gill. Gill seems laid back and answers all questions put by MTTVs Paul Moulton with ease. Gill is specific and goes into detail about timing, costs and other issues, His stance, which is non confrontational, is in stark contrast to the government interventions including the DHA Ministers outburst I likened to a car crash (no pun) yesterday.

As the anti-Christ of road racing you would think I would be jubilant that the Motor Rally has been cancelled but no! In one of those traits of the human character I like the rally season. Let's face it you may have the odd diversion or can be delayed an hour or so but basically they get on with it quietly and a great bonus is none of the competitors seem to kill themselves.

The great debate is now engaged as to whose fault it is that Rally IOM has been cancelled organisers blaming the DOI and the DOI saying ‘it wasn’t us what done it’.

We’ve enjoyed a record summer in these Islands so is it global warming? Who knows the jury is out. What is not in doubt is that winter sea ice in the Arctic has seen record lows for the last several years.

The changed environment brings greater pressures for wildlife like the emaciated polar bear illustrated.

I had always understood that the British Army destroyed almost 800 pet dogs on the Chagos Islands AFTER the Islanders had been deported. However this eyewitness reports that the events unfolded before their eyes and to use her words the Islanders thought “they are doing this to the dogs next they will do it to our children”.

The long standing grievance of the Chagossian Islanders about their forced expulsion from their home by the United Kingdom fifty years ago is to be considered by the International Court of Justice. The case is being brought by Mauritius to which the Islanders were deported.

I’ve been enjoying myself keeping out of the sun by doing the nearest equivalent to watching paint dry reading the first and second quarter reports of the UK Office for Nuclear Regulation on various plants around the Irish Sea,

I generally confine myself to Heysham. Wylfa, Sellafield with a cursory glance at Chapelcross which is effectively a dead site (hope the pun is not apposite)! However I suppose the entire UK nuclear complex poses a threat.

Vaccination and its merits are in the news in the Isle of Man however the debate is wide ranging and James O’Toole of the Irish alternative site RED HERRING produced this video which was posted on the site last week.

He makes a reasoned argument why vaccination was, is and will be an advantage to the health of children and how a decision not to vaccinate is not just personal to you and your family but can impact others

Here’s the link:

https://youtu.be/b1SUaSE76Y8

Bernard Moffatt