Michael Sukoff, I'm your host for Thinking It Through, a new bi-weekly show devoted to thinking about and discussing important issues and problems in the local, national, and international news. So welcome everybody. For my first guess of this show, I wanna welcome George Howlin Jr. George is a longtime friend of mine in the interest of full disclosure. He's also a journalist, a father, and he has worked in the field of journalism for a number of years, including radio commentary, print journalism, and I will let him say whatever else he wants to say about himself. Welcome George, welcome to Thinking It Through. Thank you Mike, it's a pleasure to be here. Yeah, I'm really excited about this. First in a series of what I hope will be dialogues with activists and others. As I said, this episode's discussion features George Howlin, who is also, if I'm not stretching it too much, George, a former activist. Yeah, very much so. Thank you, and we'll get into a little bit more of that as the show proceeds. So in this half hour show, we hope to engage in a free falling dialogue concerning two of the major existential threats humanity is currently facing. The climate crisis and Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. And our discussion aims to explore answers to the following questions. Number one, what is critical thinking? What does it mean to think critically? And I'll say a little bit more about that in a moment. Number two, what are some different ways in which people think about the two issues that I've mentioned? And what are some of the assumptions underlying the way that people think about these issues? And thirdly, how would one think about these issues critically? So I just wanna say a little bit more about the philosophy behind thinking it through. There are many complicated and difficult issues to wrap one's brain around in the world today. And we have so much information coming at us from so many different directions. But what we often don't have the time to do is not only hear or read what's coming at us, but to try and examine exactly what's being said and what are the assumptions underlying what's not being said. And to do that from a critical standpoint, by which I mean, number one, listening very carefully, identify some underlying themes and what the person or person's account of the issue that they're describing is. And to try and look a little deeper at those underlying assumptions about how those persons or people are understanding that issue. So in other words, the takeaway of this show is I wanna help all of us to begin to learn how to think critically about contentious issues in the world today. And I believe that this is one of the most important skills we can have as American as well as world citizens. So George, I'm not exactly sure because we didn't get a chance to talk live before we went on air, but is there anything else or more you'd like to say about yourself, your background, or even what might be of interest to you in talking about during our conversation today? Well, I have started out my political involvement in my teens working against the war in Vietnam. And I also became very involved in anti-nuclear energy and anti-nuclear weapons activism in my 20s. And I found it very hard to move forward in the world with this great existential threat that we face in terms of nuclear weapons. And now of course, in the last, and even at that time, we were aware that we were on a terrible trajectory in terms of the environment and the destruction of the biosphere. And that of course has become even more acute in the last 10 years as we have begun to learn about climate change and begun to see the real effects of it. Great, George. Well, I just want to add a little bit by way of background. George and I have known each other since 1981. And what's very interesting and led me to be so excited about having you on today as a guest, George, is that I also, going back even earlier than 1981, I was very concerned about the threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear war. And George and I met, I won't go into the details because we don't have time, but we formed a support group around discussion and supporting each other around what to do in facing these kinds of global threats. And as you correctly mentioned, George, the focus at that time for us and also in the major mainstream media was the nuclear threat. You had a huge military buildup, nuclear weapons buildup between the arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union. And so you and I, George and I came together around trying to get a handle in a group setting about, first of all, how do we take in what's going on in the world and how does that affect us as individuals as well as as a group? So you have anything else you wanna add to what I said, George? Well, I think you summarized it very well. Well, thank you. So I wanna move into the specific issues that we identified at the top of this broadcast, the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine. And as we continue with what I hope will be a dialogue, we would like to highlight the differences as well as the connections between these two issues. So, George, what would you say about the way that you think about the nuclear weapons issue that is either similar to or different from when we first met? The biggest development in nuclear weapons in the last 30 years has been, of course, the fall of the Soviet Union. The Cold War that was being fought between the United States and the Soviet Union threatened the entire biosphere and potentially could kill off humanity altogether. This mutually assured destruction of mad that the Soviets and the Americans were pursuing eventually turned into a really mobilizing issue for a whole generation of activists. Can I interrupt you for a second? Just in the interest of time, I'm more interested right now in how you're thinking about the issue has changed. And let me just add before you go on that I'm bringing this issue in kind of through the back door and it wasn't one of the two issues that we identified at the top. But the reason why we thought this was such an important issue to bring up because the Russian war and intervention in Ukraine has brought front and center the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons. Things should really go in an even worse direction than they've already been going. So I'm sorry, go ahead, George. So with the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Soviet Union, there was hope on the part of many people around the world that maybe the nuclear arms race could finally end. And we could undertake the end of the stockpiling of nuclear weapons and the production of more and more and more. Unfortunately, that didn't happen both because of the unwillingness of the United States to engage in any kind of real anti-nuclear diplomacy under Republican and Democratic administrations. And then of course, the development of a very authoritarian system in Russia that eventually gave rise to Vladimir Putin and his complete lack of interest in any kind of nuclear negotiations. As he has pursued the strategy of intense aggression against Ukraine, as you said, we're now back to one minute to midnight again. That was something that the Union of Concerned Sciences did with the nuclear clock throughout the Cold War pointing out that we were in great danger. And that danger continues today. And how would you say that your perspective on this issue as you just summarized it, your way of thinking through the issue compares with or is different from, say the coverage of the Russian war against Ukraine right now? Because what I'd like us to get at is what are some of the assumptions behind the way you and I, we, you and myself or even the news media portray what's going on in the war, the Russian war against Ukraine, for example. Do you see any differences there? And what I'm trying to get at is in the short time we have, what does it mean to think critically about any kind of issue, whether it's the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the danger of nuclear confrontation. What does it mean to sort of question the way the issues are maybe being presented to us, either through the media, through the words of Joe Biden or through an anti-nuclear activist, for example. Well, Mike, it sounds like to me, maybe that you haven't answered that question more than me. Well, go for it. Yeah, well, I'm, I don't want to, what I want to do is engage in a dialogue around this. Now, I will say a little bit more and maybe that'll help to move our conversation forward. On the issue of Ukraine, for example, most of the mainstream news media coverage and I'm talking about CNN, MSNBC, even the PBS NewsHour, all of the major news outlets through which people in this country and even abroad get their quote, news unquote. There seem to be certain assumptions that are built in to the way they're these issues are being presented. For example, the question, and I do not at all condone Putin's horrible invasion and war against the Ukrainian people. This is absolutely inexcusable. These are war crimes. But what the question, one question that doesn't get asked very much, if at all, in my observation of the media is how did we get to this point? How did we get to this point? And what's often not talked about is that at the end of the Cold War and the breakup of the former Soviet Union, there were discussions between. I guess at that point, it would have been, you know, the newly forming Russian government and the NATO countries, including the US around what to do with Germany. Because Germany was divided into East and West Germany. And there's a whole history to that, which we don't have time to go into. But as a condition of allowing Germany to become one country, the NATO countries, including the US, verbally agreed that NATO would not expand one inch further east. Now, that seems to be completely. Maybe not forgotten. I mean, there are people who know this. But when stories about Ukraine, even background stories about how did this transpire? This is rarely mentioned. If at all. So what I'm interested in doing and having a dialogue around this on this show is to start asking some of these I don't know what you call them, deeper questions or critical questions, because a lot of the that I see of the limitations of our largely corporate news media is they don't give us a historical context for understanding what's going on. So that would be one aspect of thinking critically, in my humble opinion, would be to ask questions about, well, how did we get here in the first place? And what are these assumptions? I guess in this case, the assumption would be. It doesn't really matter what happened up until. Very recently. Because it's not getting. It's not getting talked about largely. So, so this is part of the. And the other thing I mean by thinking critically is mean then going to the root of a problem. Okay. Now, the word radical is a very problematic term because the way it's used in in everyday language and including the corporate media does not reflect its original meeting. The the word radical originally came from the Latin word radicalis, which means going to the root of something. Which means going to the root of something. So I think being able to think critically involves going to the root of an issue. And that's what I think is sorely missing in our in our corporate news culture and even in in everyday life. What do you think about any of that? It's interesting. Of course, we have a situation where historically Russia has felt very vulnerable to the United States and NATO and has reacted defensively because of that. And that really shows the lack of diplomacy that the United States has been able to engage in. But of course, the other side of it is, is that who knows if Putin would have been interested in any kind of diplomacy.  Kind of a kleptocracy where the government exploits the people and the environment in order to enrich themselves. And the United States, of course, our political system has not put hardly any emphasis on opening dialogue and real negotiations with Russia. They've been cast in the mode of the Soviet Union, of the bad guys ever since the beginning of the Cold War and the end of World War II. And it's a very frustrating situation where the people of the world are being held hostage to superpowers, neither of which has any interest in dismantling militarism and getting serious about ensuring the security of the majority of the people in both countries through reaching out and making real concessions to one another and starting down the path of mutual disarmament. Yeah, I just want to mention our time, the end of this program is fast approaching. I think we've got about 10 minutes left, something like that. So I want to quickly turn to the other issue that we identified as something that might be good to dialogue around. And of course, it's impossible to do justice even to one of these issues in 30 minutes. But anyway, you may know that there was a UN report today that came out that warned that humanity has less than three years to slash greenhouse gas emissions nearly in half in order to prevent the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis. Now, this is not really news. Every six months to a year, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has come out with reports like this with increasingly grim predictions if the world's major industrial powers don't take steps very quickly to cut greenhouse gas emissions. But I guess what I'm wondering on a kind of issue like this as with the nuclear weapons threat of the early to mid 1980s, these reports. And in this case, this report is the consensus of the world's majority of the world's climate scientists telling us, look, if governments don't act now to take what would be drastic steps to reduce carbon emissions, it's going to be game over for the climate. And similarly, during the years of the nuclear weapons proliferation and the nuclear arms race between the US and the Soviet Union, humanity was at that point on the brink of a different kind of catastrophe. So I guess my question is what's missing with this picture? How is it that these reports can come out and leaders of major industrial nations like the US, like Russia, like Great Britain can acknowledge these scientific findings and same thing with our news media, but yet nothing changes. And so how do we under what what's wrong with this picture? I'm wondering about your thoughts on that. In terms of climate change, while the science is very clear, science doesn't make policy in the United States and in other major industrial countries around the world. Our political system is, of course, completely and totally rotten due to the huge amounts of corporate cash that control our political parties, Republican and Democrat. Climate change flies in the face, of course, of the petroleum industry and it is one of the major lobbies in the United States, one of the most powerful group of businesses that controls how our politicians behave and they show no inclination to come forward and do anything meaningful about it. I will give Joe Biden credit that in his budget he did try to begin the so-called Green Revolution of switching away from fossil fuels, but his efforts were met with stonewalling by the Republicans, apathy by the general public and mostly silence by the Democrats. Thank you, George. We're going to have to wrap up this conversation but I guess the last thing I want to raise for our and our listeners and viewers consideration is given the enormity of these dangers and the way they're being presented to us, how can we as not only activists but critical citizens think critically about these issues so that we can feel like we can have a say in what happens with the future of this planet? I don't expect you to have an answer to that but I at least want to raise the question. Right now my view is 73 million people voted for Donald Trump in the last elections and we're barely holding on to the basic democratic norms that we have. The idea that we're going to launch a people's revolution against climate change I don't see it happening anytime soon. Well on that somewhat pessimistic. Oh I'm extremely pessimistic. Yeah I want to thank you George. George Helen Jr is a father, a journalist. He's been a political commentator and an activist and George I want to thank you so much for being on Thinking It Through. I hope we can have you back at some point. And thank you all for watching and listening. If you'd like to share any comments or questions about the show you can reach me see if I can remember my new email address. I think it would be my last name Sukhoff, S-U-K-H-O-V at Hawaii-H-A-W-A-I dot E-D-U Sukhoff at Hawaii dot E-D-U. Thanks again for joining us and we look forward to seeing you again here next time. Mahalo.


Hey, what's going on guys? Patriot Prime here once again with another Generation 1 Transformers review And the bot I'm going over in this video is the nautical nightmare from 1988 Hey, what's going on guys?  Patriot Prime here once again with another Generation 1 Transformers review and the Hey what's going on guys, Patriot Prime here once again with another Generation 1 Transformers review. And the bot I'm going over in this video is the 1988 nautical nightmare, Sub Marauder.  Now Sub Marauder did not appear in animation at all here in the states except for his television commercial where he's seen along with the pretenders Bomburst and Skull Gren attacking the Autobot Pretender's Wave Rider, Cloudburst and Landmine. But that's it. He has no more televisioning. Other than that, he wasn't featured at all on television. Now he was featured big time in the jeep. Except for his television commercial where he's seen along with the pretenders Bombburst and Skull Gren attacking the Autobot Pretender's Wave Rider, Cloudburst and Landmine. But that's it. He has no more televisioning. Now he was featured heavily in the animated show in Japan which I believe was called Master Force. So anyway, enough with anim- and the bot I'm going over in this video is the nautical nightmare from 1988 Pretender, Sub Marauder.  Sub Marauder's Shell has to be one of the most imaginative- Sub Marauder's- Sub Marauder's Shell has to be one of the most imaginative creature- Sub Marauder's Shell has to be one of the most imaginative crea- I can't even say it. Detail he has. I guess these are barnacles growing on his thighs. Well they are symmetrical so some kind of armor up there on his arms also. Let's try this again.  So does the Generation 1 Sub Marauder belong in your collection? Absolutely. This is a great looking figure and to find one complete isn't going to cost you an arm and a leg.


Hey guys, how you doing? This is Rich from RichTVLive, so I've been busy, but I heard that Trump has declared no war Since he declared no war, the price of oil has gone down, the price of gold has gone down, the price of silver has gone down, the price of Bitcoin has gone down. Four assets that have been exploding overnight, based on the fact that it looked like this war was gonna escalate, have now turned into something completely different. It's turned into no war. Trump all of a sudden wants to make peace, not war, which is good. It's good. I don't think anybody really wants war, but It hasn't been good for gold. It hasn't been good for oil. It hasn't been good for Bitcoin, and it hasn't been good for silver. So I'd love to know what you guys think about this news, this breaking news, that Trump has addressed the nation in America and essentially said that there will be no war with Iran. I think that that's smart. I don't want to see this escalate. As humans, we're all sharing this world together. I think we need to make love, not war. We need to work as a unit and work together as a world and as people. I believe we're all brothers and sisters and we're all connected. Yeah, we have different beliefs and we have different religions and we have different things that we all do and we believe in, but at the end of the day that doesn't make us different. We're all sharing this planet together and the reality is there's Iranian people in Canada. There's Iranian people in America. There's Iranian people all over the world. So what are you gonna do?  I think this is a good move. I hope that we can get past this now and get back to normalcy. I don't know if that's the case, but hopefully this is a step in the right direction. I'm glad we're not going to worry either, bro. Why would we want war?  Innocent young kids. Those are husbands. Those are sons. Those are fathers. Those are daughters. Sisters. Why? What's gonna come out of it? Iran will make peace. Well, I mean, it'd be nice to see everybody make peace. Hopefully we can all move forward from this and, you know, I guess their goal was to get rid of this one specific general and commander and they did. So they don't see any reason why they should continue to escalate the situation and I agree with it, especially when you think about the fact that Iran has been doing training sessions with the navies of Russia and China and Russia and China and Iran are obviously working together in different ways. So why would you want to go and poke the bear? I just don't think that that makes a lot of sense. But, you know, I'd love to know your guys opinion on it. I'd love to know what you guys think. I'm totally against any type of war. I'm totally against any type of violence. I don't think violence really resolves anything. And typically when you see violence, it's a cycle. You know, one person hurt someone. That person wants to hurt that person back. Now, if it's a country, one person causes harm. The other country wants to cause harm. So it's just a cycle. And in the end, who wins? Nobody. So, yeah, I'm not into the war at all. So, yeah, the big breaking news today is that Trump has declared they will not be a war. And based on that news, the stocks have been falling, specifically gold stocks, oil stocks, cryptocurrency stocks and silver stocks. And obviously those precious metals have been falling. Bitcoin has been falling and oil has been falling today on the news that there is not going to be a war. So it's kind of interesting that we have good news in one sense, but if you're buying gold or you're buying oil or you're buying silver or you're buying Bitcoin, it's kind of bad news for you because they're all going down.  So from that perspective, I'm pretty happy that Trump has made that decision. I think if he came out and said we're going to go flat out, we're going to have a massive war. I think the price of gold would have continued to spike. The price of oil would have continued to spike. The price of silver and gas would have continued to spike. And Bitcoin would have continued to spike. So I think it's a good thing that we're not going to war. Quick thought on Aurora. What's the deal?  You know, the revenue is okay, but the revenue went down last quarter. They need to show that the revenue is going to grow again and they're lacking in profitability. So it's going on. It's pretty simple. I think we all know this. Nothing's really changed. Has anything changed? Yeah, they're doing sales, but we still don't know what the revenue looks like. If they show massive revenue on the next quarterly financials and they show profitability, stock will fly. If they don't, stock will continue to get beat down because right now everybody's saying Aurora is this, Aurora is that. Everybody's beating it down. Everybody's talking it down. So right now there's just a lot of negative momentum, not just in Aurora, but in the entire cannabis sector. So that's why you see a lot of the cannabis stocks are down. And I believe it's going to continue until we have some type of a catalyst that's going to turn the sector around. And what is that catalyst going to be? In my opinion, it has to be revenue. It has to be profitability. There's to be more revenue growth and it has to be profitability. So that is what's going on in the markets right now. If there's anything else you guys want to discuss, you want to talk about anything else that's trending or anything else that's popping, please let me know. Put it in the group chat and we'll take a look at it. Honestly, I don't know why people keep wanting to talk about cannabis stocks, man. At some point you guys got to realize that the cannabis stocks are just not the way to go, man. And I can't be the one to tell you that. Considering I've been the one talking about cannabis stocks for three years straight. So I've diversified. I've moved past it. It is what it is. Cannabis stocks are what cannabis stocks are, man. They are where gold was a few years ago when the gold was dead. Now gold is exploding and green gold is dead. Do I think the wraps will repeat? No. The wraps will not repeat. Not even close. I think they would be hard pressed to even get out of the Eastern Conference. I think they'll do well. I think they'll make the playoffs for sure. They'll be probably in the top four or five seats. But I just don't think they have enough to get through the East and definitely not enough to win the NBA championship, not without Kuwait. Not unless they make some type of crazy move and pick up another superstar, which I just don't think it's going to happen. But you never know. Crazier things have happened. Nobody expected them to win last year.  Yo, what's up, Ross? You're focusing all of your attention on baby? It's a good pick, man. It's a good pick. I like baby. Very good pick. Yeah, I think right now there's so much uncertainty in the markets. Nobody really knows what's going to happen. Nobody knows what's going to happen with gold. Nobody knows what's going to happen with oil. Nobody knows what's going to happen with Bitcoin. Nobody knows what's going to happen with silver. All four have been exploding. Then today Trump goes out and says there's not going to be a war, which is totally unexpected. And all of those assets go down. Cannabis stocks went from deep red to deep green today. Which cannabis stocks? Because when gold is going down, you would think that green gold would go up. Is that what we had? Did we have some cannabis stocks explode? I'm driving right now. I haven't even taken a look at the markets. I was just doing a CO interview, so I apologize. US MSOs went up. Which ones? Which US MSOs went up? Cura. Hey, I like me some Cura. I want to see Cweb jump. I mean, Cweb is dirt cheap. Cweb is the lowest it's been. Cweb, the largest CBD company in the world, on news that the FDA wants all products lab tested and FDA approved when it comes to CBDs. I just killed Cweb. Yes, hexo, Kronos and weed in green just up a bit. Now, ACB only down 2%. Well, that's good. Hopefully the green gold continues to make a move because they've been obliterated for far too long.  We need to go where the money is and if the money is in the big board stocks, we're going to buy big board stocks. If money's in cannabis, we'll buy cannabis. If money's in gold, we'll buy gold. If money's in 5G, we'll buy 5G. We're going to move where the money is and that's the decision that I've made for myself and for our community. And I believe that our community will be a lot stronger and will be rewarded handsomely because of it. Yeah, there's going to be ups and downs in every sector but why sit there and keep buying something that just keeps going down? When clearly we've seen that the cannabis sector has not been our friend in 2019, what are we going to do in 2020? Just keep dumping our money into cannabis? No, I don't think these cannabis companies are going to go to zero. Some of them will, but I don't think it'll be as bad as what some people are trying to say it'll be. Ramdad says the US MSOs are putting in their higher lows for the weekly and monthly. This is a big deal today and it's going to be a game changer. I hope you're right, man. Infinite Possibility says I told you don't worry, no war, don't let fear rule your soul. Hey man, I'm happy you were right. I don't want war, man. The last thing I want is war. It's the last thing I want is war. Now, I haven't bought, believe, I own, believe. I've owned them for quite some time. I own lots of stocks. I'm just holding all my cannabis stocks until eventually they turn back into the green, which hopefully is sooner rather than later because we've been patient for a very long time. Thank you guys. We've got 31 people here. We've got 12 likes. Let's get our likes games up, man. We're live. We're interactive. I'm driving. I mean, it doesn't get any more interactive than this. Thank you. We're up to 14 likes now. It's better. Let's see if we can hit 20. We're up to 15 likes now. 32 people here. We've got 17 people that haven't, 18 likes. 32 people here. Can we hit 20? Next stop, 20. Can we hit 20? 18 likes. Can we hit two more? There we go. 20 likes. Thank you guys. I appreciate that. 66% likes to watch ratio. I can live with that. At least it's a passing grade now. 21 likes. There we go. Thank you guys. So this is going to be actually a big week for me. I will be at the Lyft conference on Friday and Saturday. We'll be interviewing some of the top cannabis CEOs in the industry. I will be interviewing private companies, public companies. I'll be showing you guys, I think there's going to be 280 exhibitors. It's the largest cannabis conference in Canada and we'll be there. We'll be doing interviews. We'll be having some fun, having some entertainment, learning about some of these companies. I'm sure there's going to be all kinds of different speakers that will be speaking. I'll be making videos of them and bringing them to you guys. And if you guys are members of Rich TV Live, members that are Gold, Silver and Bronze members will get access to all the interviews first. And that's just something that we've decided we want to do to really start separating some of the members and just get a better idea of who our top members are. And give our top members access to quality content and information first. And I'm excited about it. I'm excited about the cannabis conference. So obviously I still am very deeply involved in cannabis. What I won't do though is just put all my money in cannabis and just continue to invest in cannabis blindly assuming that they're just going to explode because clearly that's not the case. And I think as investors, we need to diversify right now and we need to invest in the best. If we invest in the best, we'll be blessed. If we don't, there's always a risk that we're going to lose. Especially when you're dealing with penny stocks. Anything under five bucks really is considered a penny stock. So anytime you're buying anything under five bucks, just understand there's less institutional investors. There's less institutional support. And typically you're going to find shorters are going to live in that world. They're going to live in the cannabis sector, specifically the cannabis stocks that are trading at $5 or less. They're going to live in that world because they're going to have more success. That's going to be the world they're going to live in because that's where they're going to have success. So big news, no war. Thank goodness. We don't want war bad news.  So that's the bad news. If you're an investor, the good news is we're not going to have war. So thank goodness. Hopefully we stay on that trend and this doesn't escalate any further. And we just go back to normal. We go back to living our lives and everything goes back to being happily ever after. Thank you guys for watching. If you're not winning, you're not watching. This is your boy Rich from RISTV Live and I'm out.


What's up guys today? I'm gonna be talking about the accession thoughts become things Now I got this from Kai green in a very popular bodybuilder, which you some of you guys might know and He's always repeating the mantra, you know thoughts become things thoughts become things and it really got me thinking about What's the validity of this is this accurate does is do thoughts do become things all the time or is this By different circumstances and I thought back to my life of Different times when I actually had a very clear image of something. I wanted to do a very clear idea For example one time was when I wasn't happy with my physical appearance. I actually used to be very skinny So I put a picture here. I decided to bulk up a bit put a bit more muscle, you know because as a man you kind of feel like your physical appearance is also part of your masculine masculinity and That was something that was very important to me at the time.  I've didn't necessary things got the right information and I actually reached my goal physique and Also, I was very happy about that and That happened purely because I had the idea to begin with and I had a clear idea of what I wanted to do And I did the necessary steps another time was Back in the day if some of you might not know this I used to be Very aggressive kind of like someone says something negative to me I'll be the type of guy that will, you know, possibly punch the guy in the face or or maybe suplex them or DDT, you know, and This took a lot of time to overcome But I managed to do this through meditation which helped increase, you know, emotional stability and Overall like awareness and consciousness consciousness to the present moment see That's another example because I had a problem identified it took necessary steps To become the person I envision myself to be a calm cool collected type of guy, which is what happened, you know and a third one is What was it? Oh, yeah, my psychological awareness. I wanted to know how the brain works how we make decisions how we How willpower affects us, etc. And the path for this was reading a lot psychology books love personal development books and Really getting down to the new inquiry type of details. It's more nuances that most people Overlook on how we work and I managed to do that this year this year I read something like 40 books so far whereas last year I read like maybe five and Yeah, it's because I had the idea in my head and I followed it a clear detailed idea It's kind of like the movie a fight club You've seen it where the main character the protagonist Tyler Durden is his projection of his ideal self So he sees Tyler don't do everything he wish he could become as the same way you have to approach You need actually have an ideal version of yourself in the future and see yourself becoming that person And the only way you can do that is by doing necessary steps, of course I mean it seems simple, but I love people and do a lot people always wondering Why they can't change and why they don't change is because they don't have a clear vision of what they want to become first That's the first step and this is very exciting for me because I see it kind of like a garden You know gardeners love gardening because They do the necessary work get the nutrition Nutrition for the plants the manure the good soil they water it they get the right amount of sunlight on it and Over time after some weeks or months they see the free of their labor They actually see something coming from their hard work that their creation their garden And this is the same thing with yourself your mind and your body and your spirituality you can picture yourself and have a roadmap a Blueprint and over time if you do necessary steps You can actually See the fruits of your labor you can become what you want to become and a lot of people don't see the potential in this They don't see the great abundance there is in the world. They think they're stuck They think that they are the person they are and they're not able to change but you have to understand Us as humans were very malleable, which means we're able to be changed and formed and we can do whatever the hell we want And we need to exercise that free will For example, if you want to be Mother Teresa But all means you'll be Mother Teresa if you want to be Steve jobs you can be Steve jobs You could be anyone is great if you want to be a jackass you won't be Hilla or some evil person. That's that's all within the realms of possibility Anything's possible you can choose it and as long as you fall through You can pave your own path Now Think of this. I just plan to see the thought in your mind. You can do what you want with it You can take this seriously and stop paving your future today or you can disregard it and continue living the life You've been living but just know that it's all up to you the choice is yours. Hope you guys enjoyed this video. Peace All right guys if you haven't already make sure you check out the new personal development global group on Facebook link is in the description Heaps of good shit for you. This is pretty much the go-to place for your personal development articles Free content for everybody and just a whole community that we're building up. There's no spam here Also, you could check out the link to my website the realized man right at this website and You can suss that out if you have something a post make sure you check it out and come on. Anyway, have fun guys. Peace


Call to order this is the 22nd regular meeting of the 2010 2011 common counsel and as is customary our city clerk Thank you mayor Challenges are what make life interesting overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Thank you sue roll call, please Here Racelor here Samson here van der wheel their versey here and wankerman 16 presents Now if Alderman Samson can please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands One nation under God Indivisible with liberty and justice for all Thank You Kevin looking for approval of the minutes of the prior common counsel meeting President Kittleson. Thank You mayor. I move to approve the minutes of the last common counsel meeting second We have a motion in a second under discussion There is no discussion all in favor say aye opposed motion carries Mayor's appointments attorney McLean Honorable members of the common council hereby submit the following appointments for your consideration Jane Coulter to be considered for appointments of the mayor's international committee term to expire for 25 2011 Kerry Coulter to be considered for appointments of the mayor's international committee term to expire for 25 2011 signed by the mayor Thank You Steve that lies over That is all for appointments Moving on public forum no one this evening no public forum this evening mayor's announcements I will be brief this evening. I don't know if everybody noticed but we got another close to a foot of snow In the last couple of days, and I'd like to congratulate our department of public works I'm doing a fine job this year on the on a limited budget I know in my office which always seems to get the Largest number of complaints that the complaints have been much fewer than the compliments this year So I'd like to say thank you to all of our hard-working people in the department of public works for doing a fine job for our citizens And that's all for the mayor's announcements consent agenda President Kittleson I move that all our seas be accepted and adopted all our rows be accepted and placed on file and all ordinances and Resolutions be passed second we have a motion and a second to pass the consent agenda under discussion Alderman Bowers. Thank you just for clarification on 2217 what is the cost of that that we ever finalized the cost on the Remodeling of the first floor On the first floor remodeling Hammond would you like to answer that thank you? It's about 135,000 Thank you Alderman Hammond. Thank you Alderman Bowers. Is there any further discussion on the consent agenda? There is no further discussion roll call, please Lauren hi bulk Bowers hi Decker. Hi Hammond. Hi Hanna. Hi Item and hi hi Kittleson. Hi Montemay or hi Rinfleshe. Hi Racler. Hi Samson. Hi Vanderwheel. Hi Percy. Hi and one 16 eyes Motion carries communications and petitions 2219 and 2220 to be referred Reports of officers to 2221 through 2229 to be referred Resolutions introduced three twenty two twenty two thirty by alder persons Hammond bulk and Rinfleshe rescinding 2010 personal property taxes for four assessment numbers Alderman Hammond Thank You mr. Mayor. I move that the resolution be put upon its passage second We have a motion and a second to put the resolution upon its passage under discussion Alderman Bowers I know these are all referred to us by numbers, but anyway We could get the names of these that are being rescinded They are available from my memory one was the Penn Avenue pub David Cloutier And the other two I I don't remember who they are. They were provided at committee Apologize that they weren't part of the packet, but the reason I ask is numbers don't mean much, but Individual business is what so is there any way that could be included whenever this comes up? I don't see why not I mean again, it was part of the the finance package, which was obviously out there publicly But again, we can make sure it's in there next time. Thank those are the two businesses that I recall Okay, and the other one was I'm sorry. Let me read sorry mr. Mayor one of them also was a AV, but they're no longer in business, I believe All right. Thank you. Thank you Alderman Rindflesch I agree that having the names here would definitely help But just to clarify we're not actually In terms of personal property taxes, they're not being assessed the business they're being assessed to that assessment number So legally in this document, that's what we have to go by is my understanding But I don't say any reason why we can't be attached with with other additional names second also to clarify this isn't the business tax Property taxes. It's the personal property tax portion of that businesses. These were not Businesses that are contesting As we see in the newspaper some larger businesses contesting their assessed value. These were errors done in the assessors Office that were clarified so just to clarify this is not what you've seen the papers This is on a much smaller scale and for mistakes and errors that were made in this Assessors office, right? And if we told this up it looks like it's Somewhere around it's less than four thousand dollars total Any further discussion? There's no further discussion roll call, please Bowers Decker Hammond Hanna Aidenin Con Kittleson Montemayor Rindflesch Racler I Samson I van der wheel I verse II Longman and born I 16 eyes motion carries 2231 by Alderpersons Hammond Bowen Rindflesch designating RBC wealth management as an official Institutional fixed-income securities broker dealer for the city of Sheboygan alderman Hammond. Thank you, mr. Mayor I move that the resolution be put upon its passage We have a motion in a second to put the resolution upon its passage under discussion There is no discussion. Nobody in this council chamber zones RBC wealth management obviously very good That was a joke anyway If there is no discussion roll call, please powers Hi, Decker. Hi Hammond. Hi Hanna. Hi. Hi to men. Hi. Hi Kittleson. Hi, Montemayor. Hi Rindflesch Hi, Racler. Hi Samson. Hi Hi Versi hi Longman. Hi, Lauren. Hi and oh Motion carries 2232 by Alderpersons Hanna Kittleson and van der wheel lifting the hiring freeze in order to hire a firefighter Paramedic Department Alderman Hanna. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I would ask that the resolution be put upon its passage Second we have a motion in a second to put the resolution upon its passage under discussion Alderman Samson Thank you, mr. Mayor. Just just a quick question here. What happens if we do not? approve the hiring freeze for this Disposition and why why are we lifting the hiring freeze in the first place? If I can answer that to the best of my knowledge If we do not Authorize the hiring of this individual by contract which was approved by the Common Council We did set a floor of a minimum number of firefighter paramedics in the fire department If we do not fill this position. We are in violation of that contract. It will be grieved. I would be rather sure by the fire department labor representatives And when I understand discussing this with Tom Rice We would not win that grievance as as a city So we would be Obviously, you know any time a grievance comes forward we do have legal costs and the rest of it that go with a grievance and We would not win that grievance. So if we didn't hire this individual it will be grieved We will not win the grievance and then through that process. We will end up hiring this individual Because the council The council voted to have a minimum number of firefighter paramedics in the fire department Regardless, I'm sorry can't please our list of who made the decision to go below that limit There was an issue we were voting potentially for the council to not Maintain that number when we were going over the budget, but now the fire department for whatever reason we're dipping below that So does it did it matter? Who created the reason why we go below the 67 and in the in the agreement way back run was it differentiated? Wasn't way back when it was over the last year last year then what was it was it part of the agreement? That regardless of who makes the decision to dip below that number. We have to build it back up to that number. I Do not know that for one way or another for effect Alderman Samson. There's a way we could find that out Is it because this this one person from what I see we're going one below is it Is the city in the position where the fire department cannot operate without that one individual? We are I believe Personnel below in the management end of the fire department. This is a this is a represented employee here We are below in the non-represented employee category Which is not Which is a different category and is not under contract So then if we For example do not choose to go And bring the number back up to the minimum 67 with this one individual We go to The grievance issue and we lose they would force us then to hire somebody at that point correct correct We would be legally obligated to hire somebody at that point If that was defining in the grievance process and grievances also cost us money Okay, thank you Alderman Boren Thank You mayor I guess the reason I have some difficulty with this is that there's a great likelihood if we hire this person that The person is going to have to be laid off in a few months based on We didn't have we didn't have the money When we raised the hiring freeze last year to hire before we didn't have the money for that We kicked it down the road now. We're going to hire another person We're going to train that person in an all likelihood at the end of the year when we're not bound by this contract this year And we reorganized the fire department if that's is that if that's what strategic fiscal planning is planning on doing eventually I hate to hire somebody and then have to lay them off in seven months I don't think it's fair to the person just to be in compliance with an agreement that we have with the union It's foolish You know, it's not fair to that person. Thank you. Thank you Alderman Boren all the person mountain mayor Thank You mr. Mayor remember we accepted a hundred thousand dollars from the in concession from the fire department to do this So I would think we could at least keep our word for a few months or else of the hundred thousand dollars goes back some way or another Thank You all the person mountain mayor Alderman punk. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I'd be happy to give that hundred thousand dollars back Tell me how I can do that sign me up for that option that boat didn't go my way I think we had to do with hiring for wasn't that back when we were going to hire for firefighters and in return for four very expensive firefighters who get Cadillac benefits packages we got a hundred thousand dollars for hiring for 55 $60,000 a year expenses with benefits probably We got a hundred thousand dollars. So I urge my colleagues about no, I appreciate what What Alderman Montemay or said about keeping our word? But I think times are different now. We understand the economics a little bit better We understand the challenges ahead of us for next budget year because we solved this budget year through some budget some short Short-sighted short-term budget solutions not long term and adding another headcount that gets those Cadillac benefit packages is economically unsound so I would urge you to vote against it Because we just we can't afford it and knowing what we know about what's going on in Madison right now Even if they do sue it and you know how I feel about that I wrote an article in the paper saying let them sue wouldn't that really reveal their true colors If they were forced to sue the taxpayers in a time of the economics that we're in now So I say I say it's worth that money that we would pay to defend that grievance And so I urge you to vote no to send the signal that a year and a half from now Which you know we grieve it we wait we wait a year from now It could be a very different picture when we're walking into negotiations next summer Based on what's going on in Madison now and and the intentions of the Senate and the house and the intentions of this governor We could be in a much better bargaining position if we sit on this We do not approve it and we wait and let Madison take its course and then see what position went for next year So I urge you to vote no. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you Alderman Bouch Alderman Rindflash Thank you, Your Honor I too I think have some concerns about perhaps bringing somebody on I can imagine myself You know being hired on learning and then also being turned around and laid off in fact in the private enterprise I did have that experience of being hired during growth period and then with less than a year being laid off at Lear It's not very pleasant. It's not very nice However we hear a lot of conversation about running the city as a business and one thing that's that's tried and true in a Business world is when you make an agreement you stick to the agreement You're not going to get very far when you borrow from a bank promise to pay him back and go ah times are different I'm not going to pay that back When you sign a contract with supplier and decide no, I'm not going to do with the contract signs You know my personal commitments to Following through with what I promise as well as trying to run the city as as Professionally as business-like as possible It was made and regardless of how the vote went when the agreement was made it was made and I'm going to honor that So I have a tough time. I guess looking at that individual I think we still need to look overall at the structure of that department, but at the same time You know we're trying to run this city as a business and businesses don't succeed very well And they break their promises to their customers to their employees to their vendors to their banks to whoever So I will support this at this time Thank you all the memory and flesh all the person want to be on again. Thank you. Mr. Mayor The four firefighters to replace the eight retirees That what then hundred thousand dollars that wasn't all a quid pro quo to keep the 77 67 there was also Fire station number five that the citizens wanted open There was a lot of things going on at that time and the fire department tried to help us And that was one of the things that they offered to us and we took it Thank you all the person month mayor Alderman Bowers Thank you I'm going to have to agree with Alderman born We're going to be up front with this gentleman and tell The firefighter are we going to tell him you're probably only going to be here for a couple of months And I don't know what you have to or not or if they read the papers but in all probability He will be gone or she will be gone when the new contracts are Negotiated So I'm going to vote no just because of the fact I hate to see someone hired on and then have to be let go Thank you Alderman Bowers. I see no further lights up here Is there any other discussion there is none roll call please Decker Hammond hi Hanna hi Heidemann hi cut hi Kittleson hi Montemay or I win flesh. Hi racer. Hi. I'm sorry. Hi. Thank you Samson. No Vanderweel. Hi Versi no wongamon. No Lauren no bow. No and Bowers. No Ten eyes six nose motion carries 2233 by Alderpersons Hanna Vanderweel and versi to allocate $40,000 from the medical insurance account to be used for incentive programs sponsored by the wellness committee for Health risk analysis also known as HRA and biometrics programs for employees Well, that needs to be referred okay, that is going to be referred to finance to finance Thank You Sue Okay, moving on twenty two thirty four and twenty two thirty five lie over Twenty two thirty six and twenty two thirty seven to be referred report of committee for twenty two eighty eight by finance recommending approving information technology department policies it zero one through it zero five first reading Thank You mr. Hammond make a moment. I move that the report of committee be accepted and adopted in the resolution Be put upon its passage second. We have a motion in a second under discussion Hammond Just as a point of clarification our new IT director or manager Put these together and it's a great start as to start to bring all of our IT things together So if you haven't had a chance to read it, I'd encourage you to read it And I I think this is just a start of many good things to be coming out of our IT area Thank You Alderman Hammond any further discussion There's no further discussion roll call, please Anna hi Hi to men. Hi Kittleson hi Montemay or hi rinflash. Hi racer. Hi Samson. Hi Vanderbilt. Hi versi. Hi wangamon. Hi Boran hi bow Bowers hi Decker hi and Hammond hi 16 eyes motion carries 2239 report of committee 9 2239 by salvia and grievances recommending amending Charter ordinance number 197 98 regarding the appointment of the city assessor so as to change the term from five years to two years Alderman Hannah Thank You mr. Mayor I ask that the RC be accepted adopted and have the Charter ordinance be put upon its passage Second we have a motion in a second under discussion Alderman Samson Thank You mr. Mayor. Can we just get some clarification as to why we're decreasing the member from five to two please? Alderman Hannah, please the strategic fiscal planning committee Thought that at this time it was prudent to restrict the term to two years Because we're hoping to come up with some meaningful change And we didn't want to tie a director into a five-year term Thank You Alderman Hannah answer your question Alderman Samson. Thank you. Thank you Alderman Hannah Alderman Hammond Thank You mr. Mayor Attorney McLean just a couple quick questions and maybe it's outside the realm of this but Regarding the city assessor is that a state statute that we have to have one does it have to be an employee of the city? Can it be outsourced? What what is the city needs to have a city assessor? There's not have to be a full-time city employee number of cities and villages contract out for with the firms for Assessing services Get that do they have to be under their own department or can they fall under other? Do they have to be autonomous? I guess it's well the city assessor has certain authority and I don't believe you want to get the position where someone above the the assessor that's Qualified and meets the requirements on the statute to be an assessor is told our Or what to assess properties That's one thing that I've always understands it's understood since my first day in the mayor's office Is there's one department that you don't try to influence? It's the city assessor's office It's a big can of worms if you do it's the quickest way to To have hints of corruption in a in an administration as if you're messing with the assessor's office So it needs to remain independent in my opinion Thank you your question. Yeah, thank you Alderman born Thank you mayor When we're voting on this Report of committee tonight. Are we voting on just changing the term or are we voting for a specific person for this position? I know back on December 20th You've brought forth a name This is this is strictly for the term After this is adopted There can't be an appointment for 60 days if I understand the first time We would do an appointment would be the first part of May, okay? So then we're not voting on an individual tonight. We're just looking for the term. Okay. Thank you All about red flesh Thank you, your honor My concerns were similar to what all about born had spoken on And I understand that because there's Discussion of some change as we heard from Alderman Hannah and that perhaps that position We've also heard from the attorney that there's the state statutes certain guidelines It seems to me that if we're looking at making some changes But we need to know what we're going to go up against in the state statutes That should be looked at first before making some some change in the terms We don't have one appointed right now We have an interim we have an interim appointment right now Is there a time frame how long the interim can stay interim until? Such point that one we has to change over I'd be more comfortable Keeping the interim tag on right now until either solid grievances or some other committee figures out what the goal is it's a strategic fiscal You know looking at the long term Then changing the charter ordinance To make it specifically five years to two years if there's something else that can be done or look at direction This is really kind of the first that I've you know I've known from the candidate being pros and we haven't it hasn't come back yet I heard that this was going to be discussed And I pride myself being uninformed but quite frankly this is the first debate I've heard between what they'd like to do and what the state says we can and cannot do I'd rather get more information on this before I vote so I'm gonna vote no at this point in time not because I'm against necessarily a two-year, but quite frankly I don't know if that's the right idea or that's the direction the committee really wants to go. Thank you Thank you Alderman Rufflesh regarding regarding interim appointments. I believe in my opinion interim appointments are until a Permanent person can be appointed Too many administrations use interim appointments to take unqualified people and put them in positions because they do not have to be confirmed by the council And therefore I do not believe in long-term interim appointments I believe that people that are appointed to a position of authority should be confirmed by the council and should be vetted as such Alderman Hannah Thank You mr. Mayor. I had a good conversation with Alderman born earlier today And I feel more comfortable. There's a 60-day public input Opportunity that we get clarification get some answers for all the person in place this question. So I think it's It's moving at the pace at which it should move That is we discussed by the public Thank You Alderman Hannah and Alderman born Thank You mayor Ryan in fairness to the candidate. That's the The person that's the interim in fairness of that person I think they're being compensated for being in from because of the Because of the additional duties. I think I remember that from one of the salving agreements Yes, all interim appointments end up with a I believe it's an 8% raise Is there any further discussion other person Montemure? Thank You mr. Mayor if we do not pass this charter ordinance then We're with the original ordinance of a five-year term if in the future. We do hire an assessor So if at that time we wanted to change it we'd come back to this charter ordinance again If if this if this ordinance amending if if this charter ordinance this amendment to the ordinance does not pass this evening It will remain as a five-year appointment I see no lights if there is no further discussion Too soon Alderman Samson Mr. Mayor, so I just just to clarify was that checked into that we can go from five to two Yes, so that legally we can by changing the ordinance Okay, so so it's not an issue with the state now, so we don't have to wait to find out we already know Steve this is a charter ordinance it doesn't take effect for 60 days if it's upon passage and publication and Doesn't take effect for 60 days allows Citizens to petition for a referendum on it if they wish and also requires the two-thirds vote for passage Thank You Steve Alderman both. Yeah, thank you, miss mayor. No that helped Steve answered partially answered the question I just didn't understand between what Alderman Ryan Flesch was saying Alderman Hanna So if we pass this it passes In the 60-day period that Alderman Hanna was talking about that's would have to be a referendum to undo that is what you're saying Right, okay, and it probably doesn't rise to that. So what I thought I heard Alderman Ryan Flesch saying was Maybe we need some more learning time some more investigation time And I just wanted to clarify what Alderman Hanna was saying it would take it take a lot of effort to undo if we vote to approve it tonight It would take a lot of effort to undo that so it's not like we have this 60-day waiting period where we're actually going to vote on it 60 days from now tonight's the vote so I May vote no I think I'll vote no because of what Alderman Ryan Flesch said just to learn some more before we approve it Thank You Alderman Boak last chance anybody else See no more lights here roll call, please Heidemann nope Ka hi Kittleson Montemay or I Rin Flesch no Racelor hi Sampson hi Vander wheel. Hi Versi hi Wongamon no Lauren no Boke no hours Decker no Hammond no Excuse me and Hannah hi Eight to eight it's a tie vote however the motion fails because it's not a two-thirds majority Motion fails Ordinances introduced 10 2240 lies over matters laid over 11 2141 resolution number 209 1011 by Alderman Boran Authorizing executing a one-year lease for the agricultural property in the town of Wilson Formerly owned by John Poth Jr. Alderman Boran Thank You very Ryan. I move that the resolution be put upon its passage We have a motion in a second to put the resolution upon its passage under discussion There is no discussion roll call, please Kittleson hi Montemay or hi Rin Flesch hi Racelor hi Sampson. Hi Vander wheel. Hi Versi hi Wongamon hi Boran hi Boke hi Bowers hi Decker hi Hammond hi Hannah hi and Heidemann hi 16 eyes motion carries 21 42 resolution number 210 1011 by all the persons Hammond Boke Boran Rin Flesch and Racelor authorizing a transfer of appropriations in the 2011 budget established revenue and appropriation for community development black grant emergency assistance program for center avenue Washington court north 6th street in wisconsin avenue stormwater improvements and establish appropriation For appraisal fees alderman hammond. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I move that the resolution be put upon its pass We have a motion in a second to put the resolution upon its passage under discussion Alderman Bowers Thank you. Yeah, it's this part of the Capital improvements program And how much money are we appropriating to these? This is part of the capital improvements program also part of it is cdbg funded chad. Would you like to speak on this? Chad Peleshek our Manager of economic development This is that money that you'll recall the city received at the end of the year from commerce the 499 thousand This is a total grant of about 1.3 million They originally gave the city 402 thousand through flood recovery dollars Then they amended it and gave us another 654 thousand and then at the end of the year They called and said they had another 499 500 so it's being used over Near the fifth and new york project to expand that out because it had to be specific to that area Per the grant and the dollars that were coming from the federal government Alderman Bowers. Yeah, I guess my next question is This is very good because our infrastructure is really in bad shape, especially from Union Avenue in the south to geely avenue Do does the public works department? Have a priority in certain sections of town or certain areas that they were every year we're going to The cap the capital improvements program identified key streets Yep, and like this year the the project that the city is moving forward out of Assessment dollars would be the south 18th street. We are also scheduled to redo resurface superior avenue With block grant dollars and north avenue as part of an assessment So the they're they look at the Roads that have the most traffic counts and determine what qualifies for what funding and try to get the best bang for a dollar Okay, thank you The capital improvements commission meets on this annually And the capital improvements commission Which takes advice from the department of public works and city engineering On the condition of streets Ways that and deciding which streets get repaired with But this was this is for four hundred and ninety nine thousand dollars that the state was department of commerce I guess they were empty and out the coffers at the end of the year because I think they came forward with this like December 30th or something like that. They found an extra half a million stash someone that they offered us. So we took it Okay, any further discussion on this issue There's no enroll call, please Hi 16 eyes motion carries Ordinance introduced 10 2240 lies over Matters laid over 11 21 41 resolution number 209 10 11 by alderman foreign excuse me authorizing executing a one-year lease I just I just missed a page here. There we go. Let's go into this one Other matters authorized by law 22 41 Will be referred to public protection and safety attorney mclean Other other matters. Thank you your honor 22 42 is a communication from richard hartman president of spoigland county taxpayers alliance Stating their position on the situation of madison with regards to the state budget That will lie over 22 43 is a claim from erin kennedy Back solutions for alleged damages to his vehicle When a city snow plow hit the back of his vehicle when he was trying to slow down because his vehicle was sliding That will be referred to risk management 22 44 is an aro by building inspection submitting the report of building inspection department for the month of Or for the year 2010 Will be referred to public protection and safety 22 45 is submitting various license applications for the period ending june 30 2011 and june 30 2012 Referred to law and licensing 22 46 is an ordinance granting sheboygan columbus institute its successors and assigns privilege of encroaching upon described portions of north ninth street located at 8 33 center avenue in the city for the purpose of maintaining the building to city planning 22 47 Is an aro by the director of human resources and labor relations submitting a request to engage consultive services from the center For political science and public policy research from the university of wisconsin whitewater to perform a two phase analysis for the city Will be referred to finance 22 48 is a resolution authorizing the appropriate city officials to enter into an agreement for consultive services From the center for political science and public policy research from the university of wisconsin whitewater to perform a two phase analysis for the city also referred to finance 22 49 is an ordinance relating to no parking stopping standing so as to change the parking limits On the east and west sides of south 12th place Will be referred to public protection and safety. Thank you steve Move to adjourn We have a motion to adjourn in a second all in favor say aye opposed Thank you, everybody


Sir, may I come in? Good morning sir. Good morning madam. Good afternoon. Good afternoon. Thank you. Faizan Ahmad. Swaimadopur. Your father is in railway. Yes sir. Having or retired? Currently serving. Tell me something about your father's job. How it has changed over the last 30 years or so since your father started working. So my father joined the Indian Railways as an assistant station master in 1992 and has been working since then. Currently he has been promoted to the post of station superior attendant and he is the chief in charge of the station where he is working and under him three assistant station masters and one station master works. With regards to how his work has been changed there has been a lot of modernization and digitization of the working of the stations to reduce human errors. Earlier for example most of the things that had to be done were done manually with the help of appointments on the stations and that led to some human errors or human discrepancies could have been crept in. But due to increasing digitization of the railways the new traffic signal systems with regards to the train working etc. More and more safer the Indian railways have become when it comes to the running of the station. Where he is posted? Currently he is posted in Anta Railway station near Kota itself. So his services have been mostly in Rajasthan? Yes mostly I think four or five years ago he was posted in Madhya Pradesh also at the station of Dannaabada. But generally it is a zone allotted? Yes sir, Jabalpur zone. Okay during your father's time any event mis-happening? Yes sir, from what I can recall around 8 to 10 years ago due to the negligence of one of the pointsmen at the station working at that time there was a small mishap when one of the wagon trains they derailed from the railway tracks. So that is one of the incident. But no casualties? No casualties were there sir, fortunately. Apart from that nothing has happened.  Yes sir, when I was small I think when I was 8 to 10 years old I had once visited the railway station with him and after that due to my studies and all I didn't get much time to visit the station. Social media? Yes sir. What was your phone? Sir, I was responsible for running the social media page and the website of our tech-fest and I was also responsible for promoting the fest I was heading the main team that was designating other students who would go to different colleges of the university and create awareness and role participation of the students over their colleges and handling of the Facebook pages etc. that was being done by me. As per Indian tax laws an Indian what all types of taxes is liable to pay? He may not be required to pay depending on his income but suppose he is having lot of income what all taxes is liable to pay? Sir, the taxes that an Indian has to pay are divided broadly into two categories. First is the direct tax and the second is the indirect tax. The indirect tax amounts to taxes like the GST and the direct taxes can include the income tax, capital gains tax, dividend tax and I think sir these are the some... Wealth tax, wealth tax, gift tax. Sir, wealth tax has been abolished in India, it is no longer there. Gift tax. I am sorry sir regarding... Property tax. Pardon sir, which tax? Property tax. Yes sir, I think property tax is there from what I can recall. And in the indirect it is only GST, nothing else? Sir, apart from GST there are taxes, the vat on fuel, on alcohol, these are also there. What are the security challenges for India? Internal as well as external. Just give me count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. There are several challenges both internal and external that India faces currently when it comes to internal security we have challenges like the insurgency in the northeast then we have the problem of naxalism and Maoism in central India, communist strongholds then we have the problem of terrorism in places like Kashmir and when it comes to external security... Cyber security, cyber is no problem. Yes sir, thank you for reminding me that. Cyber security is a major threat that has been emerging in recent days. For example the attack on the Kundakulam power plant there have been talks about the Pegasus spyware also and other spyware that has been running in the country. So yes, cyber security is a major internal security threat. It can also be covered under the heading of external security threat also. For example, the attacks on the Kundakulam power plant that was carried by the North Korean hackers. When it comes to external security threats we have the challenge of an assertive and a dominant China on our borders then we have the state sponsored terrorism of Pakistan. These are two of the major challenges that we are seeing and I think Nepal and other regional neighbours are also there. Which is the largest union territory? Sir, by area wise or by... Area. Sir, from what I can recall I think Delhi is the largest union territory. Delhi? For 100 months? Sir, I am not sure about that. I will go and read about it. Can you find Delhi in the India map on a small page? Yes, sir. It is very small. It is stuck between the states of Rajasthan. And which is the smallest? The smallest I think Damanandu is there. Lakshadiprija is the smallest. Okay, thank you sir for enriching my knowledge. You have been a mechanical engineer? Yes, sir. I mean, railways and mechanical engineering. Not common, no? Yes. Have you visited any railway workshop? Yes, sir. I... Sir, the wagon repair shop in Kota. I had pursued my final year graduation training, the internship from wagon repair shop in Kota. You must be knowing something about ICF? Yes, sir. Integrated coach factory. Sir, why is it called Indian now? Kapurthala also, we have a coach factory. It is not called like ICF. Why is it ICF? What exactly does it mean? What is the integration involved? It is an integral coach factory, right? Yes. Sir, I am sorry. I am not actually aware about that. Integrated coach. Sir, I think... It is not only coach making. The other things also they do. Okay, sir. Engineering, sir. Unlike Kapurthala. Thank you, sir. I think of bullet trains. Is it going to be a viable proposition? First, tell me about bullet train. Some specifications, speed, is that... Sir, bullet train... The concept of bullet train actually emerged from the Shinkansen train that was running in Japan. The actual speeds may vary from place to place, but from what I have read about the topic, it should be at least having the speed of 300 kilometers per hour. And with regards to India, we have been constructing the bullet train corridor between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. That will be the first one. And yes, sir, since the last 60 to 70 years, as India has developed as an economic powerhouse and a business hub, in that regards, bullet train is important for faster travel between the two industrial hubs of Mumbai, financial hub of Mumbai and Ahmedabad. In that context, bullet train will help reduce the travelling time, will help faster transportation and logistics between the two cities. And I think that will very much help... What is the fare like it will be? Will it be more than airfare or less than airfare? Sir, the fare of the bullet train is definitely a challenge. It is not very less. It is from the route of Bombay to Ahmedabad. It will be more than the airfare between the two cities. Given that, do you think people will prefer to travel with bullet train? Because it may take 6-7 hours at least while air is 40 minutes. Yes, sir. Sir, one of the benefits of the bullet train will be that it will not directly run from Ahmedabad to Mumbai itself. It will serve various intermediate stations and destinations also. For example, if someone has to devote at some station between Bombay and Ahmedabad, that will not be possible with airfare because of air transport. That will be a plus point of bullet trains. If they are to go to Bharata, Bombay-Bharata, flight is there. Bombay, Surat also, now we have flights. Anyway, but there is also some other city will also be connected by bullet train. Are you aware of that? Something in the pipeline? No, okay, no problem. Second problem is IFS, Indian Foreign Service. Very good. Over IPS and all that. Tell me very basic things. Now, what is the difference between Ambassador and High Commissioner? Is there a difference? Yes, sir. What is the difference? Sir, the foreign diplomat that is posted in the embassies of the Commonwealth countries, he is referred to as High Commissioner as far as my debut knowledge goes. And the diplomat who is posted to other countries other than the Commonwealth countries, he is called an ambassador. Very good. Now, two ex-foreign service officers are already cabinet ministers. Can you name them and the departments they are holding? Sir, one of them is Honorable Mr. S. J. Shankar, who is currently serving as a foreign minister. And the second name, I am not able to recollect the moment. Deep Puri. You can recall. Yes, sir. Deep Puri. Thank you, sir. He is... No. Yes. Plus. Plus. Very important portfolio. Petroleum. Keep that. So, if you become IFS officer, maybe one day... Yes, sir. ...you can hope to, huh? Yes, sir. Hopefully. There are a number of bureaucrats who have become ministers. Can you name others? Power minister. Who is the power minister? He sent a railway minister, Mr. Aishwan Kumar. He was also a former bureaucrat. The health minister? Anyway, so what do you think of this? Tendency of bureaucrats becoming ministers. So, will it not send some signal that to an end of their career, just before two, three years before retirement, their loyalty may change? They may not be neutral. So, the Indian bureaucracy has been referred to as the steel frame of the country by... Sir, developed by Patel. And as such, I believe they hold great ideals, which they abide by like impartiality, political neutrality, and the perspective of joining the ministerial services after the retirement or even post-retirement will not hamper the prospects of their political impartiality. Very good. That is the standard you should take. And that is probably the reality also. They are all outstanding in their own way. Don't say that it's a route, passport, sir. Let's not talk about even security concern. Who is the president? What's that? India has been holding the presidents of the United Nations. Do you have address then? Yes, sir. So, three points he made. Can you recall? Sir, although the focus of the prime minister's address to the Security Council was maritime security, apart from that he also talked about counter-terrorism and maintaining global peace and security, which has to be the agenda of today's Security Council. Very good. But on maritime security, what did he say? Sir, with regards to maritime security, the Honorable Prime Minister was talking about the rules-based international order and freedom of navigation that has to be respected by the countries of the world, particularly, for example, in the South China Sea. He also talked about building maritime infrastructure that has to be strengthened, but it should not be at the cost of causing financial constraints or financial problems to the island countries over which these structures are being built. And thirdly, he was talking about some global norms and standards that has to be recognized apart from the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Very good. You are from Kota. Yes, sir. Three important things from Kota. Who would you say, Kota, we think of three things, what are those three? The first thing that usually comes to mind is the coaching factory or the coaching industry of the Kota that has become famous these days. Apart from that, Kota is really famous for the Kota Doria Sardis. One stone is also there, the Kota stone, which is also very famous. And when it comes to cuisine, the Kachoris of Kota, they are also world famous, sir. Yes, sir. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am. Social media and promotion team head in RTO Tha College. Yes. Okay. So, you just said that, you know, you were basically working on social media, two or three social media platforms. Which were those social media platforms? Basically, we were working primarily on Facebook and Instagram at that time with limited activities on video. So, which platform is better for which kind of purpose? Between three of them. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Ma'am, all the three platforms today has their own importance and usages in various fields. For example, when we have to reach a global audience of important dignitaries and personalities, for that regards, Twitter holds great significance. Instagram is primarily was conceived as a photo sharing app and with that regards for traveling tourism, sharing of photographs, event participation, for that Instagram can be used. Facebook today is seeing loss of its fame and significance in the current market when Twitter and Instagram has been overtaking it. So, Facebook, I believe, it caters to most of the rural audience especially when it comes to India and when we have to reach them, Facebook can be a better medium. When you say that Facebook is losing in front of these two, are you talking in terms of numbers or what exactly do you mean by that? Because if you talk in terms of numbers, so who has a maximum number between Facebook and Twitter and Instagram? Mostly, when we talk about numbers, Facebook still has a very massive user base all around the world. Ma'am, the outreach of Facebook that has been declining, the significant personalities that has been, especially in the urban areas, that has been using Facebook due to the recent accusations of laws of privacy and snooping allegations against Facebook. In that regards, it is losing its significance. Let's talk about Twitter. How do you promote yourself on Twitter? How to get more people on your Twitter followers? I am presently, I am not a Twitter user and I am not aware about how things work on Twitter but some of my friends who are engaged in Twitter they believe some tweets that can go viral by sharing and retweeting other posts that can be some of the measures that can be used to promote yourself on that platform. But since personally I am not a user of that platform, I am not aware. Fine, that's okay. In table tennis, can you name some prominent Indian tennis players, table tennis players? Ma'am, Sharath Kamal has been one of the faces of Indian table tennis over the past year. We have been seeing the rise of players like Manika Batra who performed really well at this Tokyo Olympics 2020. Then we have Suthirtha Mukherjee, Swamiji Ghosh has been there. So these are some of the players that have been rising international rankings in the past few years. And where do you see table tennis as a sport in India? How is it placed at the moment? Table tennis has gained huge popularity in the last around decade or 10 to 15 years. When I started playing the game in 2010 and 11 there were not a lot of academies. The interest was not there but with the launch of tournaments like the ultimate table tennis league the lines of IPL opening of new academies bringing of foreign coaches the interest of people in table tennis has been increasing and I am hopeful that in the coming Olympics, table tennis will be able to provide India with a medal. Okay, so why do you study anthropology important for IAS? Anthropology has a significant sub branch in it that is known as applied anthropology and action anthropology which involves the administrators to be using the knowledge of anthropology and applying it for various problem solving and other issues. For example, the knowledge of linguistic anthropology can help an IAS officer who is posted in the ministry of culture to conserve and promote various endangered languages of the country the knowledge of various tribal and their cultures can help us promote and preserve the culture of those places and bring in even tourism for that regards. IAS is an institution for administering and governing the country. Anthropology provides the methodology of field work since an IAS officer is expected to work on the field and understand the problems first hand Anthropology also works on that methodology and it can help. Okay, one last question can you name some key initiatives in the last 7-8 years which has transformed India's transport sector? I think the first initiative that comes to mind is the Bharat Malaparyojna that has been working on building of new highways and improving the already ones that we are having the second one is the fast tag that will reduce the time taken stopping for the vehicles at the toll booths and ensure smoother and faster connectivity the third initiative that I can recall ma'am is Okay, fine Thank you ma'am Are you familiar with the IACC report? Yes sir So the intergovernmental final of the plan was the IACC report that has been recently released that has been the fixed assessment and it has projected dire future for the our planet earth for example, when it comes to globally it said that the climate change that the increasing temperatures of 1.5 degree Celsius will be achieved not now in 50 years but in the coming 2 decades the extreme weather phenomena like wildfires, droughts, cyclones and extreme participation that we have been witnessing in India this monsoon in various places that is going to increase if some solid actions by the various global communities and the countries on the international level are taken the global warming phenomena and climate change is going to worsen and the countries need to increase their commitments in that regard Can you establish the political impact of climate change? So when we talk about the anthropological impact of climate change we have to study the various human impact that has been happening when it comes to economy the developing economy the setting up of various industries building up of dams that is disturbing the ecological balance of that places resulting in more and more global carbon dioxide emissions and other greenhouse gases that is leading to climate change worsening the climate change phenomena So when it comes to the rights of the indigenous people also with regards to climate change and anthropology anthropologically causing that that is also a significant event which is happening so this is some of the things what I can recall right now There are some species which will go extinct and some species which is likely to survive longer compared to other species Uniform Civil Code What do you think? Article 44 of the Indian Constitution calls for implementing a Uniform Civil Code throughout the country to ensure the secular credentials and progress in the country however the recent law commission report of 2018 has pointed out that it may not be the right time to implement the Uniform Civil Code through a top-down approach The initiative for that should be coming from within the people themselves and it should be a bottom-up approach Gradual steps can be taken for progressive achievement of the Uniform Civil Code and in the future sir Uniform Civil Code implementing in our country will lead to overall growth and progress for the people as well as this Electric vehicles Is there any amount of electric vehicles in public transport? Sir, as we talked about the sixth assessment of the IPCC report which is saying that the global carbon dioxide emissions are increasing and bound to increase with that regards electric vehicles can play an important role in curbing emissions although not on their own for example, we have to make sure that the electricity that is produced that has also been produced by renewable sources So sir India is having a various policy initiatives also for promoting the electrical vehicles for example the flame policy, the Delhi government's policy for subsidizing the electrical vehicles that has to be done but apart from electrical vehicles we have to explore other forms of transports also which is focusing on the biofuels ethanol and other fuels which are less harmful for the environment Now you have fake news What are social media what do you call the particles like Facebook and Twitter doing to address the problem of fake news The fake news has become a growing menace with the proliferation of internet in India and the user accounts on Twitter and Facebook With regards to tackling them Facebook and Twitter are making self regulatory regimes that have been using the artificial intelligence to identify posts that may be fake and Twitter is even tagging them on the time for example the posts, various posts of former US president Donald Trump had been post as manipulative and fake these are some of the initiatives that they have been taking apart from that they are collaborating with governments also and other platforms to curb the menace of fake news What historical documentaries do you watch? So basically I I am very interested I get very interested in watching the documentaries which are based on the ancient history of Egypt I watched documentaries based on World War I, World War II also When it comes to India sir I like watching about the ancient NSTs like the ancient civilization of the Indus Valley So what did you learn something new from these documentaries? Let's say Indus Valley civilization There is a lot of content in books So by watching documentaries what new thing did you learn? So first of all documentaries are an audio visual aid and a person through that learns more than just by reading books Secondly sir we can through a documentary actually experience, engage in that I am not asking advantage of documentaries I am asking you whether you learn something new from watching the documentary Yes sir So for example when I was watching a recent documentary on the Indus Valley civilization with regards to deciphering of the script I found out that some encouraging work has been taken place in that with the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms The researchers have been trying out to decipher the patterns of the script was being used in that which I did not learn from the books Okay Hajaan your interview is over