one hung low

The relevance being is that these people (see last week's Courier) left the Island singing the praises of our Parliament and how it is run. Without a thought of how it serves or otherwise the people of the land.. They get shown around and told the history (which I agree is marvellous) and they get taken in. They could probably speak with the likes of Geoff Corkish MLC for hours and be entertained and taken in by his charisma without sussing that he hasn't an inkling about politics other than what he has been fed, not an original thought or idea in his head. Same goes with most of them. I would imagine in the cabinet office they make sure no VIPs speak to Quayle, Malarkey, Vregeen, Quirk or Houghton for too long. The silver tongued bullshitters will be to the fore. The boy Lisvane will be here for a while though. I hope he gets a chance to see what the place is really like. If he does, he'll be that perplexed those eyebrows will be crossed.

Do you think the recent visitors from Scottish Parliament and Jersey were taken in by our lot?

It wasn't so long ago that the movements within the Civil Service were pubished inthe newspapers - new starts, promotions, retirements etc. It's public money and the public need to how their money is being spent. The likes of the Civil Service Commission is worthless. Chairman John Houghton since 2004 - utter numpty - demonstrates how putting such a person in a high powered position and stroking his ego, will make him as manipulable and compliant as needed.

A mate once wrote to Phil Gawne. He didn't even acknowledge, Gill didn't appear to give a damn either but he got his arse kicked out anyway. Whereas their Rushen colleague, the young fella Watterson took the time to reply and offer some advice. That says it all to me. Please let us know what you feel PG has done for his detractors that we won't understand.

I suppose, if you have to ask the question you won't understand the answer. Do a Google search. Better still, ask Philly Gawne, he was riling against the establishment over 30 odd years ago. But I'm pretty sure he has forgotten about those days. Edited to add: I won't even do a LMGTFY, here's a wiki link Edited further to add: Once you've learnt about this "establishment" thing piebaps, you can read up on antidisestablishmentarianism You may be able to throw that word into a conversation in the pub tonight.

..to say nothing of taxpayers money used to make huge pension pay-offs and payments for decades to come. A gold plated Sloc Road pales into insignificance...

There is a logic to spending money quick before the end of the financial year. But it is the same sort of logic that pays civil servants six figure sums to retire early, on top of their soon to come lump sum and pension

Gawne is an establishment puppet but he is too dim to realise it. That's the way the establishment like it.

I think it's was mixture of John North and John Webster who saw the exempt acts through. Wasn't John Bolton given a lot of credit for this. A man who came to the Isle of Man with very little but spied the fortune, and wormed his way right in. There is a saying never ask a millionaire how he made his first thousand. In some cases I would say never ask him how he made his first million.

There are few, if any, reasonable excuses for hiding money away. Being a dictator of a dodgy unstable country could be construed as one. Every one else has to rely on one, and only one, excuse - fucking greed.

I think you are trying to make something out of nothing. The bottom line is that the information is all there and perfectly available. If I want to know anything about a company I can find it. I know, because I did exactly that recently. Also, I don't think it should be simple for people to access a persons data just because they are fucking nosey. Whereas now it's like finding a needle in a haystack. And yet it allows the likes of Bell and Teare et al to say, as you did: "...the information is all there and perfectly available". i think you are intentionally missing the point about this whole subject. The Isle of Man is even more of a secrecy jurisdiction than it was 10 years ago. (But hey, it's just to stop nosey people)

That isn't true. You can go online and get any of that information. Not true back to you. Online (same as going into the registry) You can search by company name or company number. Ok, from there you can get the details for that company but you have to pay. On the Bucks Road 'green screens' (and in the Tynwald Building before that) you could search by a person's name. Not anymore you can't, not any more... So when I hear Allan Bell or Teare say how more transparent the system has become I actually shout at the radio "Fuck off" I don't get what you are saying. I can purchase for a nominal fee every corporate document I want if I want to find out the information you mentioned. There is nothing secretive about it. All the info is there and available to the public. And I don't see the issue with charging for it. It costs time and money to have systems to place the documents online etc. Why shouldn't someone pay £2 a document. Fine, you can have a beef about paying, but it isn't "secretive". The information is all there. Perhaps I should not have mentioned paying, i do not have a problem there. You appear to have picked up a red herring. Under the previous system you could search by a person's name as well as by company name or number. Now only by company name or number. There is a massive difference. Of course.

That isn't true. You can go online and get any of that information. Not true back to you. Online (same as going into the registry) You can search by company name or company number. Ok, from there you can get the details for that company but you have to pay. On the Bucks Road 'green screens' (and in the Tynwald Building before that) you could search by a person's name. Not anymore you can't, not any more... So when I hear Allan Bell or Teare say how more transparent the system has become I actually shout at the radio "Fuck off"

You used to be able to go into the Companies Registry when it was on Bucks Road and look up such as directors' names etc. You can't do that anymore. The Isle of Man has become more secretive in this respect.

Jah hah! That reminds me, of The Bishop, complete with robes, often visiting the Savings & Investment Bank. It did the bank the world of good too. (Mind you, one of the directors was a church confidante and the Bishop got the word that the bank was in shit street a few months prior to the doors closing)

Link here. I'm sure there is going to be plenty more where this came from

Have you looked in the bins Mr Sausages?

Ahhh!! Pop on over and whisper "one hung low?"

I would rather not know if any of my work colleagues use mf, And I definitely wouldn't want to know who they are. I think I would be so disappointed, not sure why though. Very occasionally on nights out the mf word has been mentioned, but everyone, including me, just kinda says, "yeah, I've heard about it, that's all, read it once or twice, erm, by accident"

Beetle

o'shanter

This increase is not too bad. If you are a well paid civil servant or one that has retired on a big fuck off taxpayer-funded pension.