Firm closing

[Banker]

9 hours ago, Kopek said:

Are the Nobles playground areas and even the football facilities getting a ratepayers subsidy? Where do you draw the line?

I suppose the issue is should government both national & local be running various things at a loss paid for by those who don’t use them eg sports centre, cinemas, theatres, golf courses etc etc

[GD4ELI]

12 minutes ago, Banker said:

I suppose the issue is should government both national & local be running various things at a loss paid for by those who don’t use them eg sports centre, cinemas, theatres, golf courses etc etc

Sport - yes.

[Banker]

6 minutes ago, GD4ELI said:

Sport - yes.

In competition with private sector with state subsidies?

[GD4ELI]

2 hours ago, Banker said:

In competition with private sector with state subsidies?

Yes, if it means that the 'common man' can enjoy a sport that would otherwise be too expensive.

[The Phantom]

17 hours ago, GD4ELI said:

I don't agree - he was expecting a rapid victory. He did not plan for the very poor quality of his officer corps. he has to get this ammunition to Russia, meanwhile the US is arming the Ukraine with some excellent battlefield weapons that Putin could only dream of. Don't underestimate the amount of intelligence the US has from their surveillance satellites and comms systems.

The Russian Army doesn't really do NCOs (corporals, sergeants etc) like the west.  We train them quite extensively to make tactical decisions and lead the squaddies from the pointy end on the ground.  Russia however does not empower them in such a way, these are the main reasons that their responses to changes on the battlefield are awful and why so many high ranking officers are getting hit, as they are having to go to the front and make decisions there themselves. 

It really has descended into a very interesting battle of two doctrines.  One (is now) nimble, fast, high tech and creative.  The other is a giant stupid lumbering beast that smashes away here and there. 

I'd also take the whole N Korea supplying weapons with a pinch of salt.  If anything their weapons are probably worse quality than the Russians.  They then have the logistical problem of getting them there (look how long it's taken the West to supply Ukraine effectively and they have much better logistics).  Finally I reckon Kim wouldn't want to hand over that many weapons (they are literally only asset). 

[Newsdesk]

33 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

The Russian Army doesn't really do NCOs (corporals, sergeants etc) like the west.  We train them quite extensively to make tactical decisions and lead the squaddies from the pointy end on the ground.  Russia however does not empower them in such a way, these are the main reasons that their responses to changes on the battlefield are awful and why so many high ranking officers are getting hit, as they are having to go to the front and make decisions there themselves. 

It really has descended into a very interesting battle of two doctrines.  One (is now) nimble, fast, high tech and creative.  The other is a giant stupid lumbering beast that smashes away here and there. 

I'd also take the whole N Korea supplying weapons with a pinch of salt.  If anything their weapons are probably worse quality than the Russians.  They then have the logistical problem of getting them there (look how long it's taken the West to supply Ukraine effectively and they have much better logistics).  Finally I reckon Kim wouldn't want to hand over that many weapons (they are literally only asset). 

If N Korea are supplying they will only be triangulating Chinese kit and microchips to try to make it look like China isn’t supplying direct. 

[Roger Mexico]

14 hours ago, BriT said:

To be fair the DTC ratepayers do pay a heavy subsidy to Pulrose Golf Club. If the restaurant does turn over 150 Sunday lunches they could charge them a higher rent as I don’t see any Douglas ratepayers getting 10% off what they eat. I heard a slightly different version of your story above one where the guy running the chippy got the money to buy it from the covid loans issued to the old business. Manx gossip is always fairly toxic. 

Do we know how much the subsidy is even?  The last time I can anything explicit about the Golf Course in the Accounts is for the year 2016-17 which gives this breakdown:

So the loss was around £150k, which seems fairly consistent over the years.  After that the Accounts get very vague with the stuff reported at Committee level, though there may be more information among the papers for those.

The 2016-17 accounts also include this interesting snippet:

So it looks as if they gave the total use of the Clubhouse to someone in return for them managing it.  I'm sure most businesses would like a deal like that from their landlord.

[The Phantom]

28 minutes ago, Newsdesk said:

If N Korea are supplying they will only be triangulating Chinese kit and microchips to try to make it look like China isn’t supplying direct. 

True, but the Chinese support for Russia has been kind of tepid to be honest. 

Unless that's just a ruse.  But personally I think the Chinese are smart enough to see that Russia has backed itself into a corner from which there is no favorable exit and they don't want to be seen to be backing the loser (it will happen, just a matter of time).  But then maybe a good reason to route through Kim.  Although I've got a feeling the Chinese will want to hold onto as much materiel as they can for Taiwan. 

[Asthehills]

1 hour ago, GD4ELI said:

Yes, if it means that the 'common man' can enjoy a sport that would otherwise be too expensive.

I am pretty sure I could have been a half decent rally driver but couldn’t ever afford it.  Where do you draw the line?

[The Phantom]

6 minutes ago, Asthehills said:

I am pretty sure I could have been a half decent rally driver but couldn’t ever afford it.  Where do you draw the line?

I'm looking forward to the Polo Pony rentals.  We've already got the infrastructure in place for them thanks to the Prom Trams. 

[GD4ELI]

30 minutes ago, The Phantom said:

True, but the Chinese support for Russia has been kind of tepid to be honest. 

Unless that's just a ruse.  But personally I think the Chinese are smart enough to see that Russia has backed itself into a corner from which there is no favorable exit and they don't want to be seen to be backing the loser (it will happen, just a matter of time).  But then maybe a good reason to route through Kim.  Although I've got a feeling the Chinese will want to hold onto as much materiel as they can for Taiwan. 

China has no desire to prop up a rival, because in the long run they are rivals.

[SleepyJoe]

China will look at opportunities a weakened Russian Federation may present it

[GD4ELI]

5 minutes ago, SleepyJoe said:

China will look at opportunities a weakened Russian Federation may present it

Spot on

[NoTailT]

On 9/12/2022 at 12:45 PM, SleepyJoe said:

China will look at opportunities a weakened Russian Federation may present it

Precisely. Be the friend for now, then kick me when they’re down and take any business they can.

[offshoremanxman]

On 9/12/2022 at 4:27 AM, GD4ELI said:

CNN has very good reporting on the conflict.

On the eastern front, a stunning week of Ukrainian success and Russian failures - CNN

Looks like they’re getting closer now it looks like Ukraine has turned things around

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11212515/Putins-limousine-hit-loud-bang-possible-attack.html

Rumours several of his security team have been “detained”