Bernard Moffatt's blog

Celtic League concerns about the continued operation of Hunterston nuclear power station have proved prophetic after it was revealed that cracks in the graphite core of the reactor are widening.

The Celtic League has highlighted concerns about a number of UK nuclear facilities which we believe are being operated beyond their sell by date to plug gaps in the UK's energy needs

In November 2015 EDF the plant operator said the operation of the cracked reactor core was safe:

Celtic League concerns about the continued operation of Hunterston nuclear power station have proved prophetic after it was revealed that cracks in the graphite core of the reactor are widening.

The Celtic League has highlighted concerns about a number of UK nuclear facilities which we believe are being operated beyond their sell by date to plug gaps in the UK's energy needs

In November 2015 EDF the plant operator said the operation of the cracked reactor core was safe:

I’m thinking about nostalgia the subject having been broached by a Manx Radio interviewer this week asking me about nationalism and Mec Vannin.

Right on cue a small strong buff envelope drops through the letterbox with a US postmark. I’m intrigued used as I am to the gas, electricity or telecom bill with a variation when Alfred Cannan MHK and his chums at the Income Tax Division undertake their annual ‘extortion’.

I’m up at Manx Radio chatting to Aaron Ibanez about nationalism and Mec Vannin. He’s one of the new ‘Young Turk’ reporters most of whose names I don’t know. I cut my teeth with folk like Charles Guard (now an elder statesman of the Manx Radio Board), John Moss (he of the graying hair) and Terry Cringle (probably a ghostly figure wandering the corridors).

A detailed reply here to my query to the Chief Minister about free school meals and the exclusion of the children of migrant workers. I queried if it meets the obligations of the Island under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Chief Minister avers the current situation complies with the Convention

An Irish parliamentary Committee has been told that Peatlands are as important as the Tropical rainforest for our planet. This from Green News ie:

“Conservation measures to protect Ireland’s unique peatlands over the past three decades have been a “colossal failure”, an Oireachtas committee heard today.

The stark warning from Padraig Fogarty of the Irish Wildlife Trust came during a hearing of the heritage committee on the preservation of biodiversity of peatlands this afternoon.

They say ‘you wait for a bus and then two come along together’. Following hard on the heels of the ‘Climate Change Coalition’ (CCC) comes this:

http://www.iomtoday.co.im/article.cfm…

The CCC want to save the planet the Irish Sea Centre (ISC) objective is more modest simply the ecosystem of the Irish Sea. I’m one hundred percent with them.

The Drone Campaign Network are staging their ‘fly kites not drones’ campaign which highlights the use of drones in extrajudicial killings globally again this year from 17-24th March.

The campaign group staged the first demo of this type last year - here is the youtube video from last year which lists support from New York to Kabul, Hastings to Glasgow, London to Leicester :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=_tAe2YPxXdI

Is the Isle of Man government and its executive a closed book and do the media help them keep it that way?

On Manx Radio today Anthony Webber a former politician in the Channel Isles avers that the Island and other dependencies lack transparency. Well tell us something we didn’t know because the Isle of Man is essentially ‘a closed book’ from which we occasionally get extracts via the media. There is no concept of openness and accountability and we only have to look at the various scandals over the years everything from planning enquiries, the constabulary to utility loans etc

“The annual earnings survey is not just a time of rejoicing for workers it's also a ‘happy time’ for the likes of Chris Thomas MHK who can pop up in the portal to claim 'black is white' and clarify any anomalies..”

It's almost time for publication of the IOM AVERAGE EARNINGS SURVEY so workers will soon know if it was shaft or share time in 2018. Certainly we know who is on the list to be ‘shafted' in 2019, new entrants to the Post Office.