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I registered to vote for the first time recently just so I could vote against anyone who set up a website promoting brexit.

The other day I found myself wondering quite why exactly, out of a field with plenty of other not-so-worthies to choose from, I had so particularly taken against Josem, especially as he’s never stood in my constituency and I’ve never read his manifesto. I thought it might have been the tartan cap episode, but on reflection my visceral dislike long pre-dates that. The MTPA thing is a total clusterfuck, but again, it’s relatively recent. In the end I decided it must just be because he comes across as a cynical, chancing prick.

But this goes to the heart of why you are unsuitable for this role. You're happy to listen to “the man in the pub” on the Steam Packet pricing (which is only revenue neutral if it increases footfall). But not experts on global warming. You quote Al Gore’s movie of 15 years ago and ignore the vast amount of additional information that has emerged since. Why would every national government and major corporations be convinced that this is a pressing issue of the need to act if this wasn’t pressing. Do you not think Boris would rather his legacy be building the Johnson Tunnel to Ireland, than nagging people about emissions? Or Shell would rather keep dragging. Let’s face it 15 years ago you saw a widely discredited film on Channel 4 and rather liked it because if it was true it wouldn’t threaten your lifestyle. You did not want global warming to be man made because then you’d have to adjust your thinking. You found your own convenient truth and are clinging to it. This ties in with what happened last year. You found something on YouTube that looked like it support your cozy pre-existing viewpoint and posted it on here. When someone called you on it you became abusive, refused to admit you’d made an error and claimed to be the victim of an ambush. What happens if you’re health minister and a new pandemic hits? Do we keep the borders open or not administer vaccines because something you’ve seen on YouTube is contradictory? Do we do nothing until every single question you have on Climate Change has been answered?

It's not so much the supporting Brexit that gets me, it's the vigorously supporting Brexit and then taking out German citizenship so you wouldn't be inconvenienced by the effects[1]. But there's something particularly Brexit-y about demanding that other people suffer for your principles, but you yourself shouldn't. [1] See also Farage, Nigel.

You make the mistake of not checking the credibility of your information and sources. There is something ironic about someone who says he/she is encouraging others to research. Let’s take a concrete example. 10,000 Manx people are being rubbished for not receiving vaccine. First, I’m rubbishing no one. There are valid reasons to not get vaccinated. It’s a matter of choice. But to choose you’ve got to search and understand the correct information. Not pseudo science conspiracy theorist sites. You need to learn the difference between my personal views, my professional presentations and how I act as a moderator on here. You conflate them. Second, the figure 10,000. It’s a nonsense. Population is 85,000. The number aged 18 to 100+ on GP lists is 72,484. Yet there at 16,000, approx, 0-17 year olds. So the 72,484 is overstated by 3,500, approx. There are many reasons why the 72,484 is an overstatement. They’ve been discussed on here. Actual number vaccinated is 65,284. So, even if 72,484 is correct, but it isn’t, that’s only 7,200 who haven’t. So you’re over stating by nearly 39%. If you knock off the 3500 overstatement it’s only 3700 not vaccinated. So 10,000 overstates by 6300 or 170%. Of the 3700 a few hundred will genuinely have contraindications. That leaves around 3,000 choosing not to vaccinate, by procrastination, not being bothered, or political/philosophical views. And that’s how people like your Dr, or ex Dr, manipulate figures and facts. They take 3,200 and inflate it to 10,000. Then, from wrong figures they draw conclusions, which are inevitably flawed because they use the wrong number set or deliberately misrepresent the numbers.

As a lawyer I'm trained to question mainstream narratives. Challenging is what my reputation is built on. Flat earthers, anti vaxxers, moon landing deniers, freemen of the land, common law citizens, 9/11 theorists, etc all suffer from the same issue, to a greater or lesser extent, for some reason they accept without critical thought or analysis the pap they are sold by snake oil salesmen, people with axes to grind, people who want to cause trouble, or the plain delusional. They don't ask valid questions or have a different perspective. Its much more insidious. Fully agree about the tobacco and asbestos industries. I dont think theyd get away with it now, the bigger the secret and conspiracy the harder it is to hid in the digital age. We've moved on. As for Gates, that's a typical response. You darent put up any links because you know they'd be shot down in flames within seconds, its like Soros and anti semitism and Jewish world domination, its not true and its grounded in baseless prejudice and fear of the unknown and things not understood. As for vaccination, I agree, thorny topic and every parent should research and decide for themselves, and of course its not black and white, most risk analyses/cost benefit analyses aren't.

You just have to know what to search for

I'm quite taken by his lack of political survival instinct. I see that as a good thing,

Exactly. You don't take ballaugh bridge at 160mph, you slow down because it's a bit bumpy. I still think they should go out in the rain and fog. Just slow down for the conditions, it's a time trial after all.

Fascinating stuff - just goes to show how the internet and SM have affected our lives. Over the last few weeks I have been told: Have you heard of the Nuremberg trials? Answer - yes they were the trials of war criminals at the end of WW2. NO they were the trials of doctors doing secret experimental stuff on members of the public! Really I didn't know that. AND do you know what's going on now? No please tell me. It's a global conspiracy - Covid is an invention of the global superpowers to supress the population and inject us with nanoparticles to control our minds. Oh really why would they want to do that and destroy the global economy? Are you stupid? its obvious. Yes, why? No answer. You can't really argue with that sort of stuff - I even got handed a looney tunes printed sheet by a taxi driver on the Victoria Street rank. Oh and by the way, I do have some qualifications BSc MB BS FRCS MD Solicitor(Non-practising) Advocate(Non-practising) albeit years ago. David

Thank's for the summary, 'ole Bean. I sincerely hope you're wrong about Harmer's chance of re-election, and Crookall too for that matter. Both have already had their chance and in my opinion, have proved sorely lacking. I'm looking forward to hearing from Cowin. A serial complainer he may be, but hopefully he has the drive - we already know he has the tenacity - to actually do something about that which he complains. He's been a thorn in the side of government for quite a while now, hopefully he'll be a thorn on the inside of government too. Lord-Brennan's a winner for sure.

I hope government stops putting in free charge points. Why should we pay for rich people to top up their cars? Only rich people can afford EVs. They can also afford to pay to top them up! Besides, it is not the future. Hydrogen fuel cells probably is.

☕ 🫖 📰

Bring it on here as soon as possible. Something which should be a top priority for the new members after election

Nice post Tim

The first Public Meeting for the constituency was held last night in St John's School and really showcased the candidates - for better or worse. Generally speaking it was a pretty dull affair, being very well controlled by the quizmaster master like Alan Corlett. With no opportunity for responding to answers given, it was clinical but fair. The format spread over 2 hours was: 1) Each candidate was given 5 minutes to do an introductory speech 2) Questions from the audience, answered by all 7 candidates in rotation 3) 2 minute closing statements My conclusions on the Magnificent 7 (irony) was: Ray Harmer - spoke quite well, but focussed too much on "what I have done" card and to be honest waffled. Geoff Boot - ditto, but with an air of smugness that didn't sit well. Kate Lord-Brennan - had a real spark and air of passion, and was the only candidate to receive applause Leo Cussons - came across as a lovely man, laid back but rambled which sadly concealed his obvious intellect Trevor Cowin - Spent the whole night waffling on about how he was a serial complainer and bored the audience rigid Tim Crookall - Spoke a lot of common sense with an air of credibility and sincerity Mikey Lee - A nice young man, who was out of his depth, but gave it a go. My money now is effectively on three horse race: Kate Lord-Brennan, Tim Crookall and with Ray Harmer as an outside chance of re-election. Trevor Cowin is too much of a loose cannon, Mikey Lee is lovely but would get eaten alive in Tynwald, Leo Cusson came across as a bit too laid back and Geoffrey Boot - well maybe he should visit Ireland.

Are they the candidates for Douglas East or the cast of 'Benidorm'?

Is that chap about to launch his Guinness over that mardy looking mare?

TONIGHT ONLY. LIVE ON STAGE. THE BROTHERHOOD OF MANN With such hits as "Save all your pension for me" and "Figarout"

But only Guernsey and Jersey charities, surely. Most people don’t broadcast what they do for charities. Unless you’re Josem and trying to get elected.

So if nothing wrong with the concept why change it ...oh wait it was dangerous and not practical for many users . Do one Baker you muppet. Sort your Department out should be your main aim not defending the indefensible

Well, I’ve voted. Returned my postal ballot. Die is cast. In the end I could only countenance purling one out of two of my votes. Theres only one quality candidate, three also rans. I don’t remember a GE with so few quality candidates. Not even a joke candidate here like the last by election. Ah the great days of 11 candidates in Rushen and STV…

The video from last night is now live. Even with that I have problems making out what they said at times.

Was talking to someone who attended Noel Cringles funeral today. No sign of the Chief Minister or the Deputy Governor. Very poor if that’s the case, and a complete lack of standards. There were one or two ex politicos.

Just driven up this road and nobody to be seen working at 4:30pm. There appears to be a length of pavement still to be surfaced and the road markings to be painted to complete the job (admittedly there could be more that’s not obvious). But…….with a few extra hours at the weekend, or yesterday and today, surely this work could have been completed in time for the school return tomorrow 🤷‍♂️

The documentary was "Did Covid Leak from a Lab in China?" More than apportioning blame, it was as much about introducing ethics to labs investigating viruses. Worth a watch.

Ignore these baseless trolls. On behalf of the island i'd like to thank you for all you do mr josem

1. Given that nearly 90% of the adult population is vaccinated, and many of the vaccinated are elderly or clinically vulnerable you’d expect it to be higher. The fact it’s only 5 times higher ( if that were true - it isn’t ) actually demonstrates efficacy and benefit. 2. anyone can shout Nuremberg from the roof tops, you, Heading, a Finnish MP. To answer the point, governments aren’t violating the Nuremberg, they aren’t committing genocide. If you can’t identify the difference between Nazi atrocities and an attempt to fight a global pandemic it says more about you. 3. That’s fiction. Vaccination and the pass system is moving forward apace in France. 4. No.

Again

Pop one in an ice cream cone and the little shits would wolf it down.

Absolutely not the case at all. But it fits a narrative to keep repeating it.

Declan, your post is a lesson to not only SP but any aspiring or indeed current politician. It's whether or not they are able to see it.

Because he's a moron.

What..?

Here you go CLAIM “The MHRA now has more than enough evidence on the Yellow Card system to declare the COVID-19 vaccines unsafe for use in humans.” SOURCE: Tess Lawrie, America's Frontline Doctors, The Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy Published: 16 Jun 2021 Misleading: The number of medical issues (adverse events) recorded after vaccination does not indicate that the vaccine caused them or that the vaccine is unsafe. The Yellow Card scheme allows regulators to identify unexpected rare side effects following an investigation. The British health regulator has done this for side effects identified in this way and concluded that the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines outweigh their known risks. CLAIM “Ivermectin is the only thing we have that treats COVID at all stages […] Ivermectin substantially reduces deaths from COVID and prevents infections”; 50 studies “show ivermectin is not just effective, but highly effective” SOURCE: Craig Kelly, Tess Lawrie, Sky News Published: 25 Apr 2021 Unsupported: As of late April 2021, there isn’t reliable evidence supporting the claim that ivermectin effectively treats or prevents COVID-19. Many clinical trials that studied ivermectin thus far were limited by issues such as a small study population and high risk of bias, while better-designed studies found that ivermectin provided no benefit to COVID-19 patients. CLAIM Ivermectin reduces the risk of death from COVID-19 SOURCE: Tess Lawrie, YouTube Published: 22 Mar 2021 Unsupported: There is no scientific evidence demonstrating that ivermectin is effective for treating COVID-19 patients. Ivermectin’s safety profile is established only for treating parasitic infection, not for treating viruses, including the one that causes COVID-19. Misleading: There are design flaws and methodological limitations of the clinical studies that support the use of ivermectin against COVID-19. However, the video presented these studies as guaranteed proof that ivermectin is an effective treatment for Covid-19 patients, while disregarding the most recent studies showing that ivermectin has no beneficial effects for COVID-19 patients. You see, @ricardo Tess Lawrie does exactly the thing you allege scientists and Dr who have been bought or are toeing the line. She makes things up, she misrepresents, she relies on faulty research, poorly designed, she jumps the gun. Ivermectin will take years to properly test and evaluate. Yet she recommends taking it now, untested in humans, for Covid. You fall into the same position as Ann, Mandy and others. Your “research” isn’t broad, you only read the stuff that meets your criteria and viewpoint. You dismiss the majority of the peer reviewed mainstream because they must be bought. To be fair, you do the same here. You confuse my role as moderator with my personal posts and views.

That seems to be a neat summation of your views and position. If somebody tells me something and it is the sort of thing I want to believe I will and if not I will ignore. Having watched the Energy debate my view is that you have JPW head and shoulders above the rest with DF at the other end. In the middle you have the other three candidates who will attract a range of support. This sort of debate should be meat and drink to SP based on his background and in my view he gave a much more polished performance in this debate than the one at Marown School and if you based your vote purely on this programme you may be tempted to vote for him. That is if you ignore his Michael Grove moment where he effectively decided that the experts were basically wrong on climate change because he had found something on the internet.

He should your right but all thing's considered all he's bothered about is staying on the gravy train . Something he could have done if he had got a grip of his department , been honest and faced up to the issues. Currently he's a few weeks late in making the announcement that we all know he's going to have to make with the new completion date . One side of me says he's delaying it so it doesnt effect his election chances , the other side of me thinks the same. He doesnt care about the people who pay his and his departments salaries . No time for him and for a bible basher he tells too many lies .

He should do...we've got a multi-million pound "improvement" project, engineered around a "shared space" ethos. Which is rapidly proving to be full of hazards for all the groups who are intended to share it?

Hopefully it will not matter after the 23rd September

I would agree with you if it was a level playing field to start with, which it wasn't ! and also if Governments renege on promises made to one group of society, and as the ombudsman has recently found, do their level best not to reveal it to them, who will they pick on next ?

You really think he cares !!??

If anything they need to increase the amount of drugs. Without good quality green to chill them out they'd be drinking alcohol, having fights and causing criminal damage.

Great post that JB. There's also the problem of political disinterest and malaise amongst the electorate. Years ago, a person told me of their surprise when after going to vote and finding that the candidate they'd always voted for, for "many, many years" had decided not to stand again, even after it had been public knowledge for some months prior to voting day. They voted anyway, out of civic duty and without being able to remember who they'd voted for instead, just putting their tick against a vaguely familiar name. I got to wondering how much notice they'd been taking of the local political scene and asked whether they'd read any manifestos or had a question for any candidates calling in person. (These were the days when the majority of candidates took the time to engage with voters in person; I remember my old fella passionately grilling Victor Kneale at our kitchen table about what he was going to do about this and were was the money coming for that). "Oh, we never bother with the manifestos, they go straight in the bin and if anyone knocks they get told straight away who I'm voting for and not to waste my time!" was the almost proud reply, as in Hill Shepherd fashion with Cretters. Apparently, they and their whole extended family had voted for this particular MHK for decades without really taking much of an interest in how they'd performed in the house, their public face or what had been achieved in regard to pre-election claims. Even rumours of criminal activity, later proved as having substance, couldn't sway their allegiance. It's this kind of attitude that has kept poor and ineffectual performers in a job long after they should've been seen off. And it's rife over here. The granny-farmers especially, benefit from this voter malaise. Then there's a sizeable portion of people who no longer vote because their shared experience is that after many years of actually taking the time to engage with candidates in their living-rooms and reading the various manifestos (substantially less in number due to fewer candidates back then) they've become deluded on seeing little change in the way and style of governmental management of the Island so why bother to vote? Maybe the numbers of voters will increase this time around and the vote-splitting candidates bringing some change in the line-ups. But then what?

Nope, but this video interview about it remains… https://www.manx.net/tv/mt-tv/watch/79426/iom-vote-leave-website

Thank you for the link. However, I'm still at a loss as to where this treatment facility is located. Did it ever actually get built?

Cheers Raymondo!!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58476547 Bingo! Yahtze! Ding ding ding! We have a winner. 😁 So the triple lock is inconvenient because wages have gone up so you drop it for a year. The slippery slope begins as pensions will start to fall behind more and more with every subsequent year. One possible reason I see for price inflation will be businesses rebuilding their reserves they depleted over the last 2 years just to survive. Another is going to be ongoing shortages (like those in the silcion chips) which are going to take a long time to get back to normal. Also a lot of the UK agribusiness was based on cheap seasonal foreign labour which has dried up after Brexit & C19 restrictions. Can't see many wanting UK workers wanting to get their hands dirty for minimum wage part-time jobs. If the farmers have to bite the bullet and pay more that'll be passed on.

Letter in the Times yesterday, the author being something of an expert and holding a view on vaccinating kids. Seems logical enough...

He just regurgitates what he's fed. He may not even recognise that lots of it is bull. He's the ideal stooge, when was the last time that anybody else from the Dept went public, personally?

What I find extraordinary is the number of people who didn’t realise raw sewage was still by pumped into Peel bay. I thought it was a well known fact and I was always surprised by the sheer number of people who were happy to swim in shit or let their kids swim in shit but judging by the comments on Facebook, people have been swimming/paddling in the sea completely unaware? In this age of social media how is that even possible? To add to the confusion it seems the ones who objected to a pumping/treatment station (mostly in the newly built housing estates) are the very same ones who don’t want raw sewage pumped into the bay.