Alastair Kneale's blog

News fro the Celtic League:

Speaking Out – ‘You Are Going To Hear a Lot More Of It So Get Used To It’!

“Quite frankly it is shameful that on an Island that has enjoyed alleged growth better than most other first world countries obscene wealth coexists with extreme poverty.”

I did something unusual today I listened to Sunday Opinion and the Mannin Line back to back. I usually can’t take the bilge that Manx Radio spews out but today the subject matter of the two programmes I thought was really important.

News from Mannin Branch of the Celtic League:

Doesn’t time fly? It seems like only yesterday that Canadian Broadcaster CBC interviewed the Speaker of the House of Keys Steve Rodan SHK about tax transparency and of course Steve waxed lyrical (see link):

http://www.cbc.ca/…/kpmg-tax-sham-could-lead-to-criminal-in…

Well that was almost a year ago at the July 2015 Tynwald so where are CBC – KPMG et al up to now?

News from the Celtic League:

IOMTODAY is trailing a story in the Examiner suggesting politicians may gerrymander their way out of the ‘terrible pay dilemma’ they have by simply adjusting the pay spines they are linked to (I can think of a pun based on spine at this point!)

It seems that this may be the ‘winning’ formula that the Emoluments Committee led our own resident ‘Wizard of Oz’ Steve Rodan SHK may have come up with. Here’s a link to the committee:

On 23rd June the referendum on whether the United Kingdom will leave or stay in the European Union will be held. The European Union (EU) is an economic-political union made up of 28 member states located primarily in Europe. The build up to the referendum has seen a variety of claim and counterclaim about the benefits of leaving or staying in the EU.

News from the Celtic League:

Maintaining a Lt Governor in a time of austerity is outrageous as I explain in this item on Manx Radio.

By the way my maths were ‘slightly’ out as it is probably £10/12 thousand a month more than the figure I cite! Makes you wonder how long this madness can continue:

Here’s the story with a clip at the link I presume the full interview may be (have been) used of Mandate:

“Celtic League criticises post

News Release Fom Culltre Vannin

Building Conservation Forum

Culture Vannin has established a new committee to raise awareness of the Island’s built environment. The Building Conservation Forum was set up last summer in order to explore ways of promoting and protecting the Island’s historic buildings.

News From The Celtic League:

I wrote yesterday about the Chronicles of Man and that provoked several queries from Celtic League followers in Wales, Ireland and Scotland seeking more details.

The question of Celtic artefacts held in institutions primarily in the South East of England (London) area has long been contentious. To add insult to injury often these artefacts whose provenance to the institutions in question is questionable are loaned back to the countries from which they were removed.

The Republic of Ireland and Wales carry Celtic hopes for Euro 2016. The 2016 UEFA European Championship, the international men's football championship of Europe organized by UEFA is to be held in France from 10 June to 10 July 2016. The European Championship final tournament will be contested by 24 teams, Euro 2016 kicks off on 10 June, with the final a month later on 10 July. Of the teams who qualified for the tournament Belgium, Germany, Spain and the hosts France are amongst the favourites to lift the trophy.

News from the Celtic League:

Wikipedia (see related link 1) records the Calf of Man (the small Island and bird sanctuary off the South of Mann) being gifted to the ‘National Trust’ in 1939. But this was not the Manx National Trust it was the English body.

When a Manx National Trust was eventually established in 1951 it did nothing to rectify the anomaly taking the view as it does now over the Chronicles of the Kings of Man and the Isles that a donation of this type to English institutions is inviolable.

News from the Celtic League:

The option of independence could become more of a viable concept if the UK breaks its own umbilical with the EU. It is not just in Scotland that this is being postulated but as this ITV News (Channel Islands) indicates the possibility of Jersey of a confederation of both Jersey and Guernsey going it alone would be practical (link):