Max Power

Victoria Road was blocked at midday at the roundabout into Tesco, I turned around in the road and went to Lake Road, which was also very busy, then went to M&S, which was also very busy! Is there something about holidays which makes us want to shop? It got me thinking about how much we consume on a small island, and how much we need to produce to feed and clothe the world! Absolutely unbelievable!

It's a dilemma, but it sounds like it's always been so...

Yes, but unlike the other groups, you'd expect the Bishop to take a position which is morally correct and not partisan to any personal interests. Jurgen Klopp for Bishop does sound interesting though, but Chief Minister might be more appropriate.

None of the LEGCO members should have a vote in Tynwald, that's the hill Hooper should be dying on! I'm not at all religious but it still has a prominent place in society, the Bishop probably represents the largest constituency, although there are no borders to define it. Relying on secular people to do and say the right thing can be very dangerous. We don't know if he has been missed at all, perhaps issues such as assisted death may have some more perspectives?

I wouldn't go far I think, probably Belfast or Liverpool. Things happen there, despite the same moaning and groaning. There again, I could use my Irish passport and move to Italy or Spain, where things are not perfect but I could be compensated by the lifestyle. The island just has a feel that nothing is happening, or ever likely to. Things just get more bland and expensive by the day. Anyone who tries to do anything is blocked by a 'public consultation' or an MHK who has been pestered by a couple of constituents or a clueless civil servant who is out of their depth, nothing is done for the good of the island because it doesn't suit a vociferous minority who want to live in the 1900s, when ironically things were happening here.

It's quite possible, I imagine that the IoM would not be at the forefront of places that ambitious experts, who can create scenarios involving the effects of AI on the island and its workforce would head to? We don't have a university environment, perhaps that's something we should be looking at as part of our future strategy?

It's not quite the same thing, legalising it in a small area doesn't change the supply chain and it's removing the lucrative profits which begins to restrict the supply.

I think we have a serious problem with Heroin as it stands, not sure about Crack? If it's in the open and the motive to supply is removed, there's more of a chance of controlling the trade, and the users.

Shoprite did though?

You can't win a war on drugs, it's hard enough to win a war when you're not on drugs! Seriously, why not legalise the lot? At a stroke you take away the lucrative criminal market and its cache. Then you stand a chance of controlling supply and who gets it, whether taxed or not. Who then would be the victims, people who would do it anyway, and what right do the moral high ground do gooders, who mostly know very little about drugs, have to tell people what they should or shouldn't be sticking up their noses, or whatever? Prohibition created a powerful organised crime network and achieved nothing, the same has happened with drugs. No lessons learned!

We have the Civil Defence!

Microgaming only provide the software platform for gaming. I suppose Pokerstars is too far to walk?

^^ ^^ ^^

I don't buy a Sunday paper so no, I'm not bothered. What I am bothered about is the way that this kind of thing is becoming a regular feature of the services which the SPCo are providing. Surely, if this is happening every month, suddenly, then there should be some onus on the company to provide alternative arrangements for the transport of daily essentials? Since going into government ownership, they seem to have adopted the CS 'kiss my ass' mindset too!

G.E.White have just announced that there will be no newspaper delivery tomorrow due to SPCo maintenance schedules! The Steam Packet are actually going to the dogs, Island's lifeline...phfffft!

I appreciate a view such as this from someone connected with the industry, it does put a bit of perspective on things as I have no idea really, except that our government haven't even got a decent website! The first port of call for anyone interested in investing in anything on the island is a joke! Anyone looking for information about this job would have trouble navigating the thing! Another thing I don't understand, buzzwords such as 'Biotech' and 'Digital Green Economy' and if @Amadeus is confused about it, there's no hope for the rest of us!

I thought we had enough artificial intelligence in government, but then I realised 'artificial' and 'pretend' are two different things!

I have no idea what Hooper is like as a person, but I can imagine the frustrations he may encounter having been given responsibility for a quango like Manx Care!

I was on a training course at Rolls Royce, Hythe Road, London factory prior to the Queen's Jubilee. All the royal cars were in being prepared for the years activities, including a new Phantom limo which was presented for the occasion. We were clambering all over them, practicing waving etc. I'm sure that you wouldn't get close to them today.

You only have to read some of the local social media posts to realise that we have quite a few homegrown unhinged idiots.

I quite like the Royal Family, without them Britain would be even less significant than it already is. It's hard to reconcile the current lot with the brutal Soprano like gangsters who terrorised the country back in the day. Although we are still paying protection money into the coffers at a more alarming rate than ever.

And yet Barclaycard withdrew my card without warning, due to lack of use, mainly due to the pandemic and lack of travel, won’t reinstate or issue a new one as IoM residents are no longer entitled to one. This despite me being a Barclays customer since 1984?

Yes, it’s a fact of life. Many UK based finance and insurance functions are no longer available to Isle of Man residents and businesses. Years ago, several car manufacturers withdrew their car finance facilities from IoM based customers. Then more recently withdrew their lucrative stock funding from their dealers, making it difficult to stock new and used vehicles and leaving them to make more expensive arrangements locally. IoM, a financial centre where you can? Phfffft!

Really, you surprise me?