NEWS FROM THE MANNIN BRANCH CELTIC LEAGUEPeter Karran MHK and some colleagues were trying to elicit in Tynwald this week some answers in relation to the Sefton situation an issue that although apparently the subject of a previous enquiry is still surrounded by mystery (link): (voir le site) was the usual pattern of answers which invariably were evasive or side-stepped by the Minister cheered on by the half-wit element in Tynwald who would back a government Minister if he said the world was flat because they are so grateful to the Chief Minister for giving them jobs which pad out their pay cheques and ultimately there pension.What eventually did emerge from the exchanges is that on this Island we have companies that are indebted to government in terms of National Insurance and tax receipts and if I picked the rather convoluted exchanges up correctly this is getting worse.It?s also clear that in some instances government?s loans are given to businesses on the understanding they will pay down arrears of Tax and NI.Now surely this is the logic of the lunatic asylum. Ordinary citizens are paying their tax and having NI deducted on the understanding that it goes direct to Treasury this would not always seem to be the case.This is not mismanagement of government finances its chaos. Karran is right to seek answers and no personal invective against him from the Minister should be allowed to deflect that.I found some of the responses to Karran at this weeks sitting pretty cheap particularly coming as they did from Eddie Teare. Teare has been himself the recipient of deeply wounding personal invective and rightly went public to seek support over that. It therefore ill behoves him to stoop to levels he himself criticised.I despair of this government and I despair of most members of Tynwald they have little regard for public opinion or indeed for the incisive questioning of the few decent members still in the chamber. Meanwhile the public look on powerless or disinterested.I?m reminded of that quote from the great campaigner and journalist who fought abuse of power in the United States in the 1950s Ed Murrow who said:?A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.?We have a government of wolves now and the jackals that run with them hoping to get the left-over?s to pad their wallets and pensions. The public purse it seems has become a convenient cash point!Photograph: Ed Murrow campaigning US journalist.BERNARD MOFFATTIssued by: The Mannin Branch Celtic League16/03/16THE CELTIC LEAGUEThe Celtic League established in 1961 has branches in the six Celtic Countries including our own Mannin branch. It promotes cooperation between the countries and campaigns on a range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, military activity and socio-economic issuesThe link for the main web pages is below: (voir le site) this!