Nigeria's Minister of Finance budget a national plan in Zainab Ahmed on Thursday announced that the planned removal of fuel subsidy in June 2023 has been suspended. She added that preparatory works will continue in consultation with the states, other key stakeholders including representatives of the incoming administration. We'll take a look at this today on the breakfast. We also will be looking at what the issues most prevalent in stopping violence towards children are. Today we will be asking the question how to battle and stop child abuse in Nigeria. And also we'll be looking at the papers to see what the headlines are and try to see what comments we can get from our analysts. Good morning and welcome to the breakfast Friday flex edition. I am Maureen. And I am Nyam Gul. It's good to have you and like we said Friday flex we're hoping that you're going to flex. Yesterday was really terrible going away from work wherever you may have been going from to your house. I went from here to Jodubega which is a journey of 30, 35 minutes and worst case scenario should take you 45 minutes. Guess what? I left here at 4.30. I got home at 20 minutes to midnight. Because it rained. Because it rained and there was a lot of traffic. So what is the correlation between rain and traffic and what is the government not doing or what are we not doing to make sure that whether it rains or not we can move freely in Lagos. It was terrible. I mean 45 minutes journey max taking more than 6 hours is unheard of. You know it's something that we know that whenever it rains in Nigeria there will be serious traffic and the question you ask is quite germane what is the government doing or not doing to make sure that this doesn't continue. Because just as you suffered many people across the state suffered. There are people who live in areas where their roads are terrible and if without the rain it took them 2-3 hours to navigate the road when it rains you can only imagine what it would take them to get home because once it rains the water covers the bad spots and so motorists are very careful you don't know where to go in and where not to go in so it further slows the movement and that is why when it rains traffic builds up the more and so traffic goes haywire. And I don't understand why even high-brow areas like Vi and let it rain it's a terrible sight. There are so many people who even if they wanted to go home they couldn't leave their offices because everywhere was flooded so they just stayed inside their offices and waited for the water to go down a little bit before they can cross into the road especially if you don't have a car to enter that water sometimes it's a problem for the cars and everything so I don't really know what government is doing I think they need to do more to make sure that the drainage system is better especially here in Lagos. Yes, people may be in discipline because they throw things into the gutters and all that but they should think outside the box and see how these kind of problems can be dealt with here in Lagos. Yeah, it all begins and ends with leadership really and they all eat to the people to steer the direction if you put in place laws implement them to make sure that environment is protected. I mean Lagos Island is aka Waterland so everybody knows that's why when it rains you almost need canals to paddle through. Coupled with the fact that even the water is not good enough anyway. And then we live in a country where there's no public water as it were because there used to be a time you could find taps in places, you know. You're taking me down memory lane. There in our Secondary School days we play on them, go turn on the tap, drink water and continue playing. Today who touch you? If you don't get money for pure water you're on your own or you take water from home, you know, it's not funny. Then people have to make boreholes for themselves, drill boreholes for themselves and I hear they're trying to make a bill to come so that you have to pay to be able to drill water in your house, you'll have to pay taxes, you'll have to do a lot of things. Why don't just give us the water, let's pay the taxes and not let us have to be the ones that will have to provide water for ourselves and then pay you the taxes.    It doesn't make sense. It doesn't make sense, like you said. So what then are you providing, in essence, as government? The receipts for the tax. It's sad. Okay, well, we live in Nigeria and we thank God for small messes because in Nigeria everything can be turned into humor so we can laugh over it and I'm sure that's why our mental health is where it is. It could have been worse than the way it is, but we shouldn't be laughing at things that are really, really bad and we need to tell the people that are responsible to sit up. Okay, I'll give you an example of a very annoying thing and I'll mention a name, the Abia State Governor. What's his name again?  Guess how much? 500 Naira. And then when someone, the person who was interviewing him was asking, 500 Naira, your excellency, he said, are you asking me? Do you know what 500 Naira will do to a poor woman? Imagine that.  Again, I would say in an opaque country, seventh largest oil producer in the world, if you compare what Nigerians and how Nigerians live the way people from Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing nations, the way they live, you'd wonder what has happened to us as a people. And when you talk about comments, you talk about Abia. Abia is in Abia. And the Abia governor has given 500. What kind of thing is that? Abia is a tragedy that we hope would be changed because, you know, I went to that state some time ago and that was around 2009. For the first time I went to Aba and I was eager to see what that place would look like because I've had a lot about Aba, you know. And I was shocked to see the sorry state. Oh, it's true. Is it the roads or the heap of refuse? Oh, my God. It was terrible.  And at the end of the day, as it's become the case in Nigeria, many of the governors are not even able to pay the salaries. Oh, well, I don't know if you use the right words. You said they are not able to. I think they just don't want to pay salaries. That's what I mean. They're not able to. I don't know because this is not like, okay, there are no funds coming up or coming into the state. There are things that you're doing, misplacement of priorities are there. There are people you're settling and all that. And I used to work, let me live a beer, I used to work at some point with the governor of a state and then let me not mention the state before I get lynched. We would go out as a press crew and sometimes we wouldn't even have water to drink. We would have to buy the water ourselves as a press crew and put it in a bus and be drinking.  Sometimes it was very, very dangerous. But do you know, there was money always voted for the touts that would come around. Of course. They would come around. And they would give them a particular envelope to go and share. And the press people don't have anything, even the water to drink. Nigerians have made the mistake of focusing most of their efforts on the federal government. I've said that repeatedly. The states should be focused on, which is why a one-time finance minister, Ngozi Okonjoywela, published the allocations to the states so that citizens will be able to follow up and question their governors as to how these funds and monies are spent. The state governors in Nigeria, most of them are not creative enough. They've not been able to make the states viable enough to be self-sustaining. And that is why we're hearing all this. And the sad thing is, he will waste four years doing nothing and then come back to vie for another four years. When he comes to vie for another four years and then we will vote, it's our person. Even if it's a thief, it's our own thief. It's our turn to produce a thief. So I don't know. We have to sit up in Nigeria and make our leaders accountable. See what is happening in Sudan right now. Why would people be engaged and not be paid? Why would we even have to hear that kind of a story? Now they told us it was 5,500 people and then they've come up with another figure that is more than 3 million people Nigerians who are living in Sudan. I know we mentioned it the other day that we hope that the people who are being, the number being called, they will find out if there are others that went there, whether illegally or anything, but so long as they're Nigerians. But the figure from 5,500 moving to almost like 4 million or 5 million is outrageous. It is outrageous. I don't know. Though I heard that $100 has been given to each of the returnees totaling to $149,700 to empower them to get to their homes. Well, numbers. Questions as to how many of them are there? How many of them are students? How many of them are not students? How many of them when they are legally or undocumented, we don't know. I guess these are questions we'll be asking at the end of the day when our people have come home first. For me, that is the important thing. Let them leave that war-torn zone. Then later we can talk about the money and all of that. Now life matters the most at this point in time. We know our people and our stories. But let our people come home first. Let them be safe. Leave the war-torn Sudan. Come home to us safely. Then we can begin to analyze the Kobos and the Nairas who took what and who didn't take what. We can ask them how it was that every bus was hired for about 30 million from the calculations I made. How much they paid for every bus that was hired to take them to Egypt. You calculated it's about 30 million and I was asking myself, what is it to buy a bus? A fresh bus. The question I'm asking right now is what happened? Why did the buses stop? But that we'll take a look at later on. Right now it's time for us to take a look at the theme of the day, isn't it? The value of a good deed for the soul. Stopping a wrong where we say it. So, well Nigerian leaders should hear that and we too should hear that because like they say, stopping a wrong where we say it like they say, when you see something say something. Some of these things we are the people who cause it. Somebody goes to office steals the money, comes home you give him a cheap density title. We have cost it. Somebody goes there does a very good job, comes out and you tell him that it was a fool. He should have stolen when he was there. And then you don't recognize them in the society. So what do you think that kind of person should do when he has the opportunity or the next person who is going there that is seeing you do that. Go there with the mindset of representing your district stealing and making sure you get the largest share of the cake. And you know another thing that Nigerians do these days which is very appalling is the fact that they find someone in trouble and instead of jumping to help and rescue the first thing that comes to mind is how to snap it, how to record it how to upload it and be the first person to break the story. It is unbelievable the level of decadence the level of immorality the level of lack of love that is being experienced and displayed this day in Nigeria but across the globe. And like we said when we see something sometimes we laugh because we turn everything to humor here in Nigeria. That's how at some point all of us including the people who had the power to change things were laughing because when kidnappers began this thing it was a thief it is because you are tracking that's how they can't kidnap you is because you don't have a high gate that's why they can't kidnap you. Now we have one of the trending topics is that bandits have kidnapped Zamfara district head we've seen also where they've kidnapped lawmakers, sitting and ex-lawmakers we've seen where they've kidnapped people high profile people in Nigeria and then we ask how did we get here how did it let this thing to fester in our country. The district head of Kusuwa Daji in Kaurah Namoda local government of Zamfara state Ibrahim Sarkin Fada was kidnapped and this happened at his residence. In his own house he came early in the morning and shot several bullets and took him away very sad then. Kidnapping has become one of the most lucrative businesses in this part of the world. There was a time when it became so bad that in some parts of the east we were told that negotiations got to 30,000 Naira they kidnapped people and then you pay 30,000 Naira to come take your people. 30,000 Naira. We've already touched on these federal governments spent 1.5 billion to evacuate 1,500 Nigerians from Europe over Russia Ukraine war. This is not exactly what we talked about we were talking about Sudan the 1,500 they spent 1.5 billion Naira to evacuate them. This one is not really that much in the news because what Nigerians are really what's on the lips of Nigerians at this moment is that of the Sudan war which has actually become very intense the ceasefire agreement is not respected just as it was never respected in the first and second instances this time around it's still not respected we hear that gunfire is still there it's become intensified it's become intensified Nima also paid 1,497 returnies $100 each to help them find their way home when they get to Nigeria. That was for the Ukraine war $100 in the black market it's about $750 per dollar so that would be about 75,000 Naira what am I saying 75,000 Naira for each person to find their way to where they come from okay I don't know if we have the video of the Nigerians stranded in the Sahara desert because drivers refused to move on with them they left them there in the desert because they were not paid the drivers were not paid and these drivers possibly maybe Sudanese maybe Egyptians I don't know where they got the drivers from there you have visuals on the screen the children lamenting that they have been left in an unknown zone I saw some of the videos trending they said they didn't know where they were at that point in time imagine that this is totally you know so they are carrying placards even outside the country so it has to degenerate into the point this is not good for Nigeria's image we will be protesting even outside the country and how do we even defend the government in things like this do we have audio to this visual what is happening tell them what you want tell them what you want we need justice we need to go we need justice we need to go they are talking to you they want to ask you a question before we start this journey we have to go the question is poorly equipped poorly organized and the students are here stranded for the past four days there is no access to food, no access to clean water no electricity nothing and even just as we sit in here almost everywhere you can hear gunshots we are not safe most of the ladies here we spent days without taking baths no enough bathroom no enough water no water at all nothing at all nothing like we Muslims look at it like we have to work very very fast to face this water to perform ablution well there you have those visuals that trended yesterday from Nigerians who are stranded in Sudan well on their way from Sudan to Egypt because that was the plan to move them from Sudan to Egypt from where the police would lift them and bring them back to Nigeria but yesterday we were inundated with visuals and reports of how the buses convened them from Sudan to Egypt stopped midway and the Nigerian students there began to lament and cry because they didn't know where they were and we began to wonder why on earth will the bus drivers stop what went wrong with the arrangements and was there no money were they waiting for checks were they why if they had the money to rent the buses we suppose that the entire money that was voted for that was available so why were the bus drivers not paid because that was the report that came that they were not paid who was holding the money exactly at some point Abikadabri Honourable Abikadabri released a tweet where she explained that there were a lot of the problems and that the buses had continued to move we're hoping we're going to have an update that will gladden our hearts 500 5500 people now almost 5 million we're yet to see how it's going to be why will Nigerians in that kind of number even go to Sudan that means there are fundamental problems that will make someone to leave a country like Nigeria a country that is even poorer than Nigeria to Sudan to Sudan of all places and all that and then we had this same situation almost the same situation in Ukraine and people were also ferried back home and this kind of money that was spent on the people 149,700 dollars was spent on evacuating the people back to Nigeria and 100 dollars was given to everybody to come home or to go home to wherever they are does it mean that there are stories we've not still heard from that exercise in Ukraine or why is it that now that they have the experience from Ukraine we were expecting that in Sudan it will be more seamless and then now they also have health from air peace for free so they should have had more time more money more support and everything to make sure this thing is seamless and I just wonder Nigeria makes you wonder, doesn't it? Nigeria we hear while you are still watching the breakfast on Place TV Africa it is Friday flex edition of the program Moran will be taking me out today yes it's Friday we need to flex and you have to take me out well let's see how much you can flex women empowerment nowadays we should be the ones to be spoiled well unfortunately for you Nyamgul I am not a feminist I like being a woman I like being soft I like being pampered I like being a strong man in charge taking good care of me I am not advanced by strong man do you mean the muscles or the purse? everything okay ladies and gentlemen it's still Friday flex on Place TV Africa we are going to take a short break and in that short break we'll bring you the weather report when we return we'll be looking at the papers stay with us


Okay, we're back. We're live. I'm J. Faidele. This is Think Tech, and more specifically, this is Community Matters, and we're going to talk about cannabis today, marijuana, because everything in our world is being affected by COVID, and why not marijuana too? So for this discussion, we have a very knowledgeable person. In fact, the medical professional person, this is Wendy Gibson-Diviani. She's a PTA, an RN, and a BSN. Let me break that down. What's a PTA, Wendy? I was a physical therapist assistant for about eight or nine years. Okay, we know RN, we know that one, and BSN, something about nurse. Bachelor of Science in Nursing, yes. Okay, okay. She's a member of the American Cannabis Nurses Association, plus the cannabis, oh, she is a cannabis nurse educator. Do you teach classes? I do. I travel around, and I lecture mostly to healthcare professionals, other nurses, and doctors about how the endocannabinoid system in the medical cannabis works. Then we have, she's a field organizer for the Drug Policy Forum, and for you guys who are going to take the final exam, that's D-P-F-H-I. Okay, what is a field organizer for the Drug Policy Forum, Wendy? Well, the Drug Policy Forum works on changing drug law in Hawaii. So mostly, I try to help educate people about what bills are in motion, how it will affect the medical cannabis patients and program, and then rally support for the bills. So I'm also an activist. Okay, an activist. Great. We like activists. Activists is a way to, you know, a progressive policy, that's what it is. The Medical Cannabis Coalition of Hawaii, and I guess that means you're a field organizer for them, M-C-C-H-I, right? Yeah, Medical Cannabis Coalition of Hawaii is a project of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii, and it's specifically set up as a support network for medical cannabis patients in Hawaii. Okay, I think we qualified the witness. Now, let's get to what's really going on here. You know, if you thought that because we had COVID, cannabis was quiet, it's not really quiet, it's a lot of issues. So first of all, let's get a state-of-the-law thing. Where are we? We're in recreational, yeah? We're recreational and lit. We're not in recreational? We're not in recreational. We've had a medical cannabis program in Hawaii for... I'm sorry, I meant to say that. To me, it's a continuum. Okay, so we're in medical cannabis now, and of course, there's a lot of people who want to see it go recreational, and they, you know, had there been a legislature until Monday. Monday, it's very opening, you know that, right? Today? All those bills are going to pick up again. We'll see what happens, and it's not a lot of time. We're already in May, right? By the middle of May, it's almost over anyway. So the question is, what is the status of it now? It's medical. You've had a fair amount of legislation about it. You've had some contention about it. You've been involved a bit on the cutting edge. Where are we now in terms of cannabis in Hawaii? Well, we were picking up some steam. We got a medical cannabis dispensary bill passed in 2015. We opened our first dispensaries and labs in 2017, and they were trucking along, okay. But then when COVID hit, a lot of changes happened to not just the program, but the first thing that happened was the legislative session ended on March 19th, and there were bills in motion that were designed to help patients in the medical cannabis program. What were those bills? Why don't you take a look for us? Sure. We had one that provided employee protection. So medical cannabis patients, an employer couldn't refuse to hire a medical cannabis patient just because they had cannabis in their bloodstream, and they also couldn't fire a patient just for having it in their bloodstream also. There was one bill that would allow insurance companies to pay for the medical cannabis. There was a bill that would have helped with regulation of CBD products and allow the hemp farmers to sell tested products. They also had a bill that would allow dispensaries to offer edibles and delivery services, and one of those bills in particular was Senate Bill 2787. It made it through two Senate committees, one House committee, and then the session ended. So we were hopeful that that one would have passed, would have been very helpful. But it's unlikely that any of these bills are going to be passed this year. You're saying that because, not because there's a sentiment against them so much as there's no time. Yeah, it's not top priority. Priority, right? Okay, at the end of the day, it's probably most budget. So you'll have to start again. Is next year by any other no? I think so. So these bills carry over then, huh? I believe so. Well, yeah, I believe so. I believe it would. Okay, well, they don't have to do something about that because of the way this this has been so discombobulated. Yeah, all right. So there's had an impact on future improvements to the program, but it also had an impact on the patient registry and the dispensary system. So up until March, when the stay at home order was given, the number of patients in the registry had been increasing by about 700 to 900 patients a month. And then each month, there's another 1000 patients that renew their cards. And that money supports the program. At last count, we had the program that it supports. I mean, you have these these dispensaries, they're all separate businesses. So what's the program? The patient registry to administer through the registry. And that's a government program. Yes. But the government doesn't provide any funding for it. You have to get the funding out of these registration fees. Yes, we try to be as self sufficient as can be. Well, it sounds like you have to be. Yeah. Yeah. Last count, we had about 28,000 patients. And according to the CDC, most of these patients are at high risk for severe illness if they are exposed to COVID. Explain that to me. I saw that in your notes. By the way, Wendy wrote notes out. And we're going to have it published in an 800 pound book. Why do you say that? Well, our patients, the average age is 51, but we have a fair number over 6000 patients are over age 66. Most of them have chronic and debilitating diseases and multiple diseases. And including. So it's a it's a it's a logic thing. If a person needs medical marijuana, if that person qualifies for the prescription of medical marijuana, then the likelihood is that that person has comorbidities that make that person vulnerable to COVID. Am I right? That's correct. Yes. So the we have patients who are immune compromised and have multiple comorbidities. Okay. All right. So I think, you know, what I want to get to now is exactly how is the market reacted to COVID? I mean, COVID sort of snuck up on us. And sometimes we acted prudently. And sometimes we didn't act at all. And sometimes we overreacted. So I guess, I guess my question is, are more people seeking and using the registration, you know, the license, so to speak, and using cannabis now than say in January, as COVID increased the usage of cannabis in the state of Hawaii? No, we have some obstacles to that. The first one is that no new patients can be certified using telehealth. The current rules say that telemedicine can only be used for follow up visits, not for certifying new. Why can't I just call my doctor by a primary physician, go down there and say, look, you know, I'm, I feel like I'm vulnerable. You know, I'm vulnerable.  If the doctor already knows me, it's a follow up. So then the patient who wasn't using cannabis before can have telemedicine with the doctor as a follow up, and then get a prescription for cannabis. Well, only once you're established as a medical cannabis patient, that then they allow telemedicine for the follow up visits for those patients. Oh, that does, that doesn't sound rational at all. Because cannabis may be, you know, another medicine for an ailment which existed before COVID came. In other words, if I'm concerned about my vulnerability, if I'm concerned about any one of my core morbidities and I would like to have cannabis now, even though I had it before, I can't get it. Is that what you're saying? Well, it's a lot more difficult now. And Hawaii is the only state in the nation that hasn't enacted any special protections for these patients. They haven't relaxed any of the guidelines. And a decrease in the number of new patients will greatly reduce the revenue needed to run the program, first of all. Okay, this is Wendy Gibson. We're going to take a short break. We'll be right back after this break. We're back. We're live. I'm Jay Fidel. This is Wendy Gibson. And she's a nurse and she's into the marijuana cannabis movement, so to speak. And we're talking about how cannabis and the use of cannabis and the legislation around cannabis has evolved in the time of this session, this year, and this COVID.  And, you know, if I'm going to be taken to the hospital, then I really like every medicine I could possibly have. There's been some suggestion, hasn't there, that COVID, that cannabis is an appropriate what do you want to call it, not a therapeutic, but a medicine to put you better at ease if you're having a crisis like COVID. Am I right about that? Well, cannabis may be useful in helping treat COVID or preventing it. And there are some studies going on right now in three countries that look promising, but, you know, studies take a long time to conduct. So we don't have any hard, fast answers right now. But we do know that cannabis does have some good anti-inflammatory properties. Well, it's all about anti-inflammatory, when you get into the lung phase of it, right? The body handles the inflammation, the body makes greater inflammation. And that greater inflammation, that damages the lungs, we're right. Yeah, so in the phases of the COVID infection in the lungs, later on, not early stages, but later on, when it turns into what's called the cytokine storm, that's when cannabis medicine might be the most useful. And one of the trials is using cannabis alongside cortisone to see if they can use less steroids to help treat lung inflammation. Okay, why is steroids good or not good in dealing with COVID? Well, steroids are useful for reducing inflammation, but they carry a long list of harmful side effects, really damaging side effects. And so the healthcare professionals are trying to get away from using so many steroids. Okay, and cannabis can help you do that? It potentially could, yes. Okay, but it's not, it's not happening. Now you said that with trials going on, where and who and how far advanced are they? Israel has three studies, they're focused on- You leave it to Israel, they're always a step ahead, aren't they? Oh yeah, we rely on them. So they're looking at a CBD inhaler that might help heal the lungs. They're looking at, they're doing that study that combining it with steroids to see if they can use less steroids. And then they're also using, that's just CBD for those two. And then the third one is going to be using whole plant extracts to see what effects it might have on lung infection in general. So what are the results so far? I believe they were able to use less steroids, so promising. Okay, so are we doing anything here? Are we just watching other jurisdictions? United States, the best we can do as far as research is looking at it as a potential disinfectant for surfaces. Oh, let's talk about that. Wow. You know, there's so much being published about this. Gee, I mean, everything you've talked about, it was in the paper in the last 24 hours. Not about cannabis, but about the need for disinfectants. In fact, Hong Kong Airport has initiated a huge number of things to make it safe, and to make travelers think it's safe. Disinfecting the whole airport with these new machines, including machines that look like the little telephone booth that you walk through, except this telephone booth disinfects you. I mean, technology is rolling out and these questions are rolling out. And so if cannabis is the answer to at least one or two of them, that's fabulous. Okay, so we have cannabis trying to suppress the immune reaction, and therefore reduce the damage that the immune reaction has to the lungs. Now, what was the other thing you mentioned a minute ago that it does? Well, to help heal the infected lungs, reduce the amount of steroids, and just to see disinfectant. You mentioned this. Why is cannabis a disinfectant? Well, cannabis has some antibacterial and antiviral properties. There were some studies done, I believe Italy again, showing that it could control MRSA, the methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. So the antibiotic resistant strains. This is inside the body. Yeah. Inside the body. Inside the body. How do you take the cannabis? You just ingest it, and it has a disinfectant property to it. I'm not sure I would have to go back and look at that study. It was probably not done on humans. It was probably done in lab. Okay, it's not like Lysol though. No. I'm only kidding. No. Yeah. Okay. This is really interesting. Not for injection, not for injection. Okay. Okay. All right. So, okay. So, you know, but the problem is you have this kind of resistance, or what did you call it before, lack of priority. Even at a time when we ought to be going all guns to try to find ways to ameliorate this disease. And who knows, we might have a secret solution for at least some of the problems in cannabis. Well, research on cannabis has been suppressed for so many years. It's a huge struggle. It goes back to the time the federal government put it on, you know, that schedule. And so, you know, when Eric Holder, even under Obama, Eric Holder was giving you a hot foot on so many things about moving money around and all this. If those federal problems been resolved, you mean knowing a little about our president, I doubt it. Has he been, has he warmed to the subject of allowing cannabis to cross state lines and to allow bank accounts on cannabis proceeds? No. To my knowledge, the people he relies on are not at all in favor of anything like that. Okay. Now, what about the state legislature? You talked about priorities that I'd like to drill down on that a little bit. Do you have any, do you have any champions? Do you have anybody sitting in the state legislature who champions the cause, who champions these bills that you have introduced this year, maybe more next year? Not that I'm aware of. Not right now at the moment. In the past, we had some good champions, but I'm not sure where they are right now. Well, it could be that, again, as you said, priorities. Right now, the priorities are a little scattered, but they're all around COVID. Well, can I talk a little bit more then about the two main problems that we're having? So the first one being that we can't, we're having trouble certifying new patients because telehealth is not allowed. And that's been really hard on our providers because the healthcare professionals, the doctors and nurses who do the certifications are not seeing patients face to face. And patients are, because they're more at risk of catching diseases, they don't want to come into the clinics anyway. And that problem is spilling over into the dispensaries. Patients who are at high risk of getting infected don't want to come into the dispensaries. The dispensaries have done their best to keep everything clean, to protect the patients by using social distancing and having special hours for patients who are most at risk and that kind of thing. But the dispensaries have also asked patients who are not feeling well to stay home. So that's not good for business. Then, and the dispensaries were already struggling financially before this all hit. And they're not going to be able to get any of their monies back through any federal programs because the federal government does not recognize medical cannabis. Years ago, not too many years ago, when was the medicinal bill passed two or three years ago? For the dispensaries? 2015, we passed. Five years ago already. Yeah. But the first ones came online in 2017. It took two years to get the whole program. Like it was a fair amount of bureaucracy. That's the bureaucracy with a capital B that took so long. But now it seems to me that there's all the reason in the world to look at this more carefully. In fact, when those bills were pending in the first place, there were a bunch of doctors who testified about them and who appeared in various seminars, you must have been at those seminars, advancing the notion that cannabis would be the subject of medical research here in the islands. And Hawaii would be ahead of other places because we had an initiative that would allow for medical research on the benefits of cannabis and the effects of cannabis. Has that happened? There is some research going on. The problem is obtaining research materials. So getting the medical cannabis to use. They can get pieces and parts, synthetics, but not the whole plant medicines very readily because the real strict controls on that through the National Institutes on Drug Abuse, and they only have one grower. And I don't know if you're aware of the research of Dr. Sue Cisley. She's the only researcher who was approved to use smoked cannabis on human subjects that was veterans to see if it helped with PTSD. And the research materials were delivered to her from NIDA. And she said, National Institutes on Drug Abuse, the ones who control the research materials. And she said she couldn't even tell if it was cannabis or not. It had been milled and it had been in a freezer for two years. And so it killed all of the medicinal properties of it. So they really sabotaged her research from the outset. It's too bad. So Hawaii hasn't realized its own wish and which was to me a part of that whole initiative that we were going to do research here. And the federal government has stood in the way.  They didn't ease up for a minute. And the result is that the industry here in other states was hampered and suppressed, if you will. And so I had the impression going in that the people who were going to open the dispensaries, the growers and the people who were going to open the dispensaries, were going to make a fair amount of money. Now, they invested a lot of money. We know that. We had all kinds of angel investors coming in. We had investments from local residents and from investors offshore. And they believed that this would be a worthwhile industry and a good investment. Has that happened? From what you said, it sounds like it hasn't happened in the way they might have expected. They were, I believe, breaking even, but a lot of patients think that they're making money hand over fist because of their high prices and such, but they weren't. Yeah. Okay. So these various organizations, and you're an activist in them, are trying to straighten all this out. But it sounds like you have an uphill road. When you go down and testify on these bills, who's in the room? There's many people show up at these hearings. Aside from patients and potential recreational users, is the medical community there? Who are your champions in the community? I asked you about your champions in the legislature, but now I'm asking about the people who show up and testify. I don't know. There have been so many hearings. It's hard to well, the police certainly show up to testify against some of our bills. They think that's a slippery slope argument. Gateway. The medical community, well, yeah, patients do show up. Drug policy forum, the health and harm reduction people. I'm not really sure. I have a good list for you. Well, it sounds like this is just as much in play as it was five years ago, that people are still making the same argument.  How close are we to recreational marijuana? What stands in the way? How many years do you think we'll have to wait? People were hopeful that there would be a three-year rollout and that would be rolling out next year. However, Governor E. Gay expressed that he would veto any bills and so legislators were not at all motivated to try to pass any bills. It sounds like so many other initiatives where he stood in the way of the natural process. Okay, so at time we have three or four minutes left. I think why don't you tell me everything you want to tell me? Okay, great. For now, you know, you got to put the notes down. The too many notes gets in the way. Just tell me from the heart. Okay, so the two main problems that patients are facing right now are that we can't get new patients because telemedicine is not being allowed for new patients and patients who can't make it to the dispensaries or can't send their caregiver to the dispensary can't get their medicine because we don't have a delivery service. All the other states created some changes to the rules and guidelines so the patients could get their medicine but Hawaii did not do that. They were allowed to deliver prescription medicines. People were allowed to deliver alcoholic beverages but not medical cannabis and so that's very hurtful. There were letters sent to Governor E. Gay and to the Department of Health asking if they could make some concessions during this crisis and now we're realizing that it's not just during this crisis that we need that help. It's because when things open back up again, our patients are still going to be the most at-risk patient population. So what we need is telehealth for new patients and we need delivery service for patients who can't make it into the dispensaries and both of those the letters to both Governor E. Gay and the Department of Health were sent back saying no this can't happen but no no real explanation as to why not and so there's a petition that's been started by a group of concerned people and it's called Parity for Patients and Parity is Equality and medical cannabis patients have been one of the most ostracized and patient populations that I've ever worked with and so we're just asking for equality. The state says they recognize this as a medicine. They need to recognize that this is a medicine and you should be able to deliver it. You should be able to get certified to use it using telehealth. So there is a petition and I'm part of a group called Parity for Patients Coalition and we're trying again with a petition asking Governor E. Gay to please reconsider both telehealth and delivery services for patients. Parity being parity with other medicines all of the medicines in other words to treat the concept as implemented that this is a medicine like all other medicines. Yes absolutely. Well it strikes me that the takeaway here is that that is especially the case the parity point is especially true in the time of COVID and not treating it like every other medicine medicine stands in the way of treating COVID patients allowing them to recuperate and doing research on exactly how cannabis can help a COVID patient or not. We need to have medical research on this and that was the idea in the first place and I think it sounds like we're kind of stuck and one of the reasons we're stuck is the legislature was stuck for most of this session and I'm sure there are other areas in which the legislature also should have been able to move and fail to move because of this very long and very disruptive recess. So I hope you mount the campaign next year again. I agree it's not likely you're going to be priority this year in the remaining weeks or it can't be very long in the remaining session starting Monday but maybe next year. You know maybe we can be hopeful that by June 14th which is the 20th anniversary of having a medical cannabis program in Hawaii that we will see something happen. Okay and I think it's appropriate that we take a look at your flyer for that. June 14th is a medical cannabis day in Hawaii. Yes let's see the flyer for that. 20 years of patients having legal access to medicines. For some this is a celebration of the end of a conflict between state and federal over whether or not cannabis actually is a medicine and yeah. Okay well I hope you come around again Wendy because this is obviously a little stuck right now and hopefully it'll ease up and we'll have some progress and a progressive issue in the near term. So let's circle back. And may I give some thanks. Thank yous to everybody on the front lines especially the people in the healthcare. Sure please. Thank you so I'd like to say thank you to everybody who's on the front lines especially those in the healthcare profession and I would like to say thank you to everybody who helped flatten the curve by doing social distancing and wearing masks. I believe you did make a difference in helping flatten the curve and and thank you for that. Thank you Wendy. Wendy Gibson. So nice to have you in the program. We can talk again.


Maybe it will be helpful for you to adjust your expectations around support from a friend of yours at the moment. I was sharing this with someone the other day and often it's difficult to support someone that you love and care about because you just can't relate to what they're going through. You have no sense of shared experience of it so you feel inadequate to know how to help and show up for them. So maybe adjust your expectations at the moment because I promise you despite what you feel and think, everyone isn't trained to let you down. Hope that helps. Cheers.


And now, for your Strong Europe Spotlight. Four Apache helicopters from Fort Bliss, Texas were flown into Romstein Air Force Base, Germany. This is one of many steps for Operation Atlantic Resolve 2017 and to show Allied Nations' American Forces commitment to a Strong Europe. This is part of being Strong Europe. And Strong Europe is where we stand with allies and partners. And we have a dynamic presence where we're building partnerships with every nation in Europe. In January, over 2,000 vehicles arrived by sea in Bremerhaven, Germany in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve 2017. From Romstein, Germany for U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs, I'm Army Sergeant Danny Debehetz. For more information on this story, visit eur.army.mil.


At this time we would like to honor our team of tradition. The 2005-6 men's basketball team won a then school record 20 games, finishing 29 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in Villa Julli's first appearance. The Mustangs began the season by winning the Pride of Maryland tournament, defeating Johns Hopkins 81-78 in overtime in the final after outlasting Washington College 100-93 in the semifinals. Villa Julli fell to Keystone in the Northeast Athletic Conference Final, but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA field, beating Baruch 86-71 in the first round on Baruch's home floor before falling to William Patterson in the second round. Anthony Fitzgerald was the NEAC player of the year. The special part about this team is this team, and we were in a conference that was not a strong conference at the time, this team got the NCAA bid as an at-large bid. This team was selected by peers of mine in the coaching community on the Regional Advisory Committee and on the National Committee and selected at-large. So we were one of the top 60 programs in the country selected, and even when we went into the tournament, which was in Manhattanville, or excuse me, Manhattan, we weren't picked to be a high seed. We were actually, at that time, there are 16 programs or 16 locations around the country that host first round, and they were called pods. So the number one team was Baruch, and we were the number four team in that pod. We were not predicted to win against the number one seed. This team was that special. Dr. Manning met with the team before the game, and we talked about excellence and success, and we had all-Americans on this team, which we'll have talked about Anthony Fitzgerald as a member of that team and, of course, Wade Hennager on the year, the team before. But the power of this team was the depth. The power of this team was the unselfishness. Many people don't remember that the leading score on that team was Phil Williams in the playoff run. I believe he had 21 or 23 points in that game. Everyone remembers the 25 rebounds Anthony had, but this team was special. So we upend the number one team going into the second night, and this team of distinction showed that, against all odds, without housing, without a lot of amenities that other programs have with the limited budget and with talent that believed in each other more so than superstar talent, that was a model and a team of distinction and actually a team of the ages, that I hope all of our Stevens University teams recognize how they became successful and how they could pay it forward. It is my honor to welcome the head coach of the 2005-06 men's basketball team, Brett Adams. You're getting a double dose of me, so I apologize for that.  Going down that list of academic achievements, Phil Williams went on to pharmacy school, became a doctor of pharmacy. Chris Warren stayed at Stevenson and got his masters. Steven Segears stayed at Stevenson and got his masters. Anthony Fitzgerald stayed at Stevenson and got his masters. Kerry Dugan worked very hard and to get challenged. I had to go to Mark Hurgin getting Kerry in and he showed because of the culture of Wade and Anthony and Kenny and this really intelligent group of students, a culture that permeated. We really believe that we're smarter than everyone else. Drew Ward-Hameel, Vinnie Rigatuso. There were so many others that were on that team that just had that culture of intelligence and when I say smart people don't fail, I mean they just solve it as another problem and that team was a really smart team. But the theme of that team, yes we had all Americans, all conference, Player of the Year, Steven Segears and Anthony a lot of recognition, but the power of that team was family. The power of that team was they were best friends and when I say they were best friends, they weren't just best friends with each other. They were best friends with Siobhan Palmer and Amanda Wilson. They were best friends with the women's basketball team. Back then we traveled together on a charter bus throughout the NEAC League and it was basketball was great at Villa Julie. That in my professional 27 years opinion was the impetus of the success. We had talent, but the question always comes first. What comes first? The talent and then the team chemistry. That team had chemistry before the talent was developed and that team developed into a great team because of the chemistry. It was a great team, it was a team of distinction and before I close, I do have a video. Some of the guys weren't able to be here tonight. Kerry Dugan would have been here tonight but instead I got a video from him. There are two other guys, Corey Garner and Jason Lambert who couldn't be here tonight because they're with Kerry. His video will epitomize what that team was about. I did catch up with Jarrell and I did catch up with Jarre Reynolds who was in San Diego which some of you didn't know but he left here after his first year and then he got into coaching and he's coaching out in California. So Brooks, could you run this video for me? Good evening, Stevenstein University and everyone at the Dick Watts Athletic Hall of Fame. Coach Adams, Coach Barber and my great teammates from the 2005-2006 basketball team. I'm so sorry I'm unable to attend this great event this evening. There are only a few things in this world which would make me miss seeing everyone tonight and being there with my teammates to be inducted as this year's team of tradition. One of which is my wedding which is where I am at this exact moment. Don't worry, I'll have an ice cold beverage here to celebrate. I have so many memories from that year. Winning the Pride in Maryland tournament and getting an at-large bid and being the first team in Ville Julie history to go to the NCAA tournament. There was something special about that team and we had great leadership not only from our coaches but our captains as well. Fitz, Steve, Chris and Phil. You guys did a great job leading by example on and off the court. I will always cherish our friendships and memories from that season. If memory serves me correctly I believe that as your coach Adams stopped practice, locked the basketballs and made us walk in the bathroom and told us we were practicing like we belonged to one of the stalls. Thanks coach. To my big brothers, Fitz and Wade congrats and well deserved. I am not going to try and summarize what you two mean to me and how good you were. I will just say you were great basketball players and even better people. I hope everyone has a great evening. Congrats to the others being inducted tonight. President Manning, congratulations on your retirement. You have done a great job building that school and athletic department. Thanks, have a great night. I couldn't have said it any better than that. It's about family. Actually he's marrying Katelyn Menosh who is also a Ville Julie Stevenson grad in a field hockey player who we met while he was here. Any further ado if I could ask the team of distinction to come up for a quick photo shoot. Stardee, Teddy Saperstein. Coach Stardee, I do need you and I do need coach Saperstein. Let's take it up here if that's okay. Yeah, thanks.


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I can see why there was so much excitement about this book when it was first published two years ago. I can also see why some people found it unsatisfying. Okorafor clearly has a great understanding of and a great love for classic science fiction, Azimov, Clark, Bradbury. She's taken the classic Alien First contact story and given it a distinctly non-Western ethos, which I think the world needs to see. The book can seem somewhat scattershot and unfocused. She throws in everything, including the kitchen sink. And there's more than just science fiction in here. There's a great deal of Western African folklore. And I really enjoyed the final sentence. You can support 30 Seconds Sci-Fi and my other projects by becoming a patron. There's a link in the description below. And visit the 30 Seconds Sci-Fi Tumblr, that's my headquarters. In addition to my videos, I publish links and updates there every day.


With summer months now here, the warmer waters may have invasive species in area lakes actively reproducing. Aquatic invasive species technicians want to remind everyone to be responsible and follow the rules to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. They ask voters to make sure that your boat equipment is dry and clean before launching into any new body of water. Dry docks, lifts and moored rafts should wait 21 days before transported into new waters. Out of Minnesota's more than 11,000 lakes, 5% of those lakes are listed as infested. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.


I would like to congratulate the Muslim community and the Ahlul Bayt and all the Shi'a's around the world for the birth anniversary of Imam Hassan, peace be upon him, the second infallible of Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them, for the dear viewers who didn't get the chance to view our previous episodes. You can log on to our YouTube channel at Imam Hussein 3 TV to check out the previous episodes as well as the daily upload videos. But first off, let's welcome our very dear guest, Sayyid Ja'far al-Qazweeni. Peace be upon you, how are you? How are you brother? Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. Thank you very much. How are you finding? Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. It's a very beautiful atmosphere. Indeed it is. Congratulations as well from my side also. I would like to congratulate you, my dear brother and the dear viewers and the Islamic community for the birth anniversary. As you said, as you mentioned of our second Imam of Ahlul Bayt, Imam Hassan Mushta, peace be upon him, peace be upon him. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah, Alhamdulillah. As she has and as followers of Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them, we believe and we strongly believe that the only path is the path of Ahlul Bayt, the path of righteousness, which leads us towards Allah SWT. And that's the only path because it just combines all the religious aspects and spirituality altogether. Indeed. And for this reason, it makes us representatives and ambassadors of not only Islam but Ahlul Bayt together. So how do we properly represent Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon them? A good question indeed. Indeed, brother, it's a good question. How to represent the madhhab or the path or the faith of Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon him, whatever we are, whatever we are, not only in the west or in the western countries. First of all, it is important to know that if we want to represent someone, an organization, for example, or someone as normal and it's very obvious that we have to know a lot about him. We have to know everything about him. In case we want to represent him, this person or this organization, in case we want to campaign for them, we have to have enough information. In order to be called representative, we have to have the tools and the data, which is the information, all about them. And in order for us to represent the madhhab of Ahlul Bayt, peace be upon him, peace be upon him, first of all, we have to know them very well. We have to know that they are the route to Allah SWT. They are the path, they are the tools, they are the wasila, as mentioned in the Qur'an. Allah SWT has named them with this name because they indeed are the route to Allah SWT. We have to know them more and in case we don't, and in case we're not familiar with someone's ideology, it is normal that we won't be able to represent them well. Because we're going to have lack of information and lack of information will cause us to not be able to finish the route that we were walking, which is representative. So in order to know them more, in order to know them better, we have to pay attention to what they tell us, to what they've told us, to what they tell us until today. As for Allah SWT, they have spoken about everything, just about everything, every single detail in our life, no matter how big or how small it is. We have to listen to them carefully, we have to see what they want from us, what they're trying to tell us, how they want us to be. And we have to also know that no one knows life better than them. No one understands the theory of life and the afterlife.  So it is us that are in need, in urgent need to them, not the other way around. They don't need us, honestly. They don't need us. We need them in order for us to have a better life in this life, in order for us to be moved away and secured and immune from hellfire. It is us that we need them. We need to hold on them.  And as I said, they've spoken about almost every single detail in our life. Mainly, mainly if we come and see what they have spoken about, they have spoken about, as I said everything, but mainly two important things. One, they've spoken about knowing Allah SWT, how to know Allah, how to feel Allah SWT, how to speak to Allah SWT, how to present dua to him, how to recite dua, how to get to know him better. Of course, we won't know a lot about Allah SWT, but what we need to know is through Ahl al Bayt. The best route, the best way to know what we need to know about Allah SWT is through Ahl al Bayt, Allah SWT. The way to success, I mean. Indeed, indeed. So one is knowing Allah SWT, and the second important thing that I would like to talk about tonight that they have talked about is how to deal with others. Meaning that we share this planet and this universe with another over 6 billion human beings and uncountable of living creatures in this universe.  So exactly like the way that I don't like my rights to be taken away from me, I don't like my privacy to be taken away from me. Also I need to respect others' privacies and respect others' rights. So Ahl al Bayt, Allah SWT, they have taught us, they have spoken about this, how to share this planet with another more than 6 billion human beings. And if we include the animals and the planets and stuff, all the living creatures, we're talking about uncountable things and people and other living creatures that are around us. And that we have to respect their rights.  If we go by the system, if we go by the system that He has put for us, that He has created for us, that He has mentioned and drawn for us, then, and the more, let me put it this way, the more we stick to the system that Allah SWT has put for us in this life, through Ahl al Bayt, and they have told us the exact road and how to walk it, the more we stick to it, the safer we will be on the Day of Judgement. That's the truth. That is the truth, exactly the truth that we have to stick by the road and the more we stick to it, we will be kept guarded and we will be immune from hellfire on the Day of Judgement. So our fate, our destiny is all according to our deeds and actions in this life. How my actions were, how my deeds were in this life, it will affect my fate and my destiny in the other life, in the infinite life. And Allah, and also one other thing that I would like to mention here is that Allah SWT has set examples for us, role models, role models we can say, examples of bad in the Holy Quran and in our daily life, and examples of pure good and pure goodness. And Allah and Ahl al Bayt, are the best examples of pure goodness and pure good. And some people, by the way, say that one third of the Holy Quran is about Ahl al Bayt, one third of the Quran. And along with hundreds of other verses, Holy verses that speak about the specific family of Ahl al Bayt, the Prophet and his family, So if you love them, and Allah SWT has told us, if we love them, if we follow them, if we follow their leads, then we will be on the safe side, then we will be on the safe side. Loving them and following them, as I believe is considered a short cut to infinite happiness and pleasure in the hereafter and in the other life. I mean, this life is short enough for us to realize and to recognize it. And what we are hoping that, inshallah, our hereafter, our other life will be pleasure, will be with them. And Allah SWT has told us clearly that if you love them and if you go by their orders and by their recommendations, then you'll be on the safe side and you'll be with them. So that's exactly what we have to do. Now, if we come to some narrations from our sixth Imam, which most of our faith and as Shia'a Imamiyyah, has come from him. He has some beautiful narrations that I would like to point out today. Like one of them says, If people only knew the beauty of our words and what we're talking about, they would have definitely and they would definitely follow us. He also says, Be a campaigner for us. Invite people to our root and our faith and our represent, be our representatives without using your tongues. Also, He says, I'm not very sure about the exact translation of this narration, but the best thing that I could come up with is that Imam is trying to say that be decorations for us and don't be discreet. Don't be insulting to the faith. Don't be insulting to the faith and to us. So what the Imam is trying to say in this beautiful narration is right here. What does it mean that be a campaigner for us without using your tongue? The Imam is talking about the manners, morals. The Imam is talking about how we should live, how we should act. I mean, it's not only about giving lengthy speeches and inviting people and trying to be representatives or trying to invite people to their path, to our path, to the path that we have chosen. But when people, whatever I live, whatever I work, whatever I am available, whatever people see me, if they see my deeds and actions, if they see my manners, then automatically it will be an advantage for me, first of all, and for the faith itself, second of all. This is what the Ahl al-Bayt wants from us, to have good manners with people, to have good manners with everyone. This is what's most important, especially with others. I mean, having been a believer and a believer and praying on time and fasting and giving the zakat and giving the donations and giving all that, the rights of Allah SWT that I have to pay attention to and I have to do is very much important. But Allah SWT himself has told us that my rights, I can forgive you for them. If you have done sins, then I can forgive you for them. But if you have oppressed Ahmed, for example, if I have oppressed Ahmed, for example, if I have taken his rights from him, then Allah SWT has taken this right from himself. It's like he's trying to say that I don't have the right to forgive you for that. Ahmed has to forgive you for that, not me. So Allah SWT is the most Alhamdulillah. He will forgive us. But the most important thing that Ahl al-Bayt always tell us is be careful with others. Have good ethics, have good morals. This way, if you do have good manners and good morals and good ethics, you will assure that you will always have people around you. People will like to be with you. People will miss you when you're gone. People will listen to you when you speak to them. Luqman is some consider him a prophet. And some others consider him just a good man. But Allah SWT has dedicated a whole chapter in the Holy Quran named after him. Luqman and it's like half of the Surah maybe is only the conversation that Luqman had with his own son. Oh my son, be like this, be like this, be like this, be like that. And Allah SWT has chose to take these recommendations and save them in the Holy Quran and name a whole chapter after his name. So Luqman tells his son, Za'ham al-Ulamaa fi majalasim bi rqabatayk. He is saying that always be around scientists, always be around scholars. Crowd them with your knees, be with them, learn from them. You get to learn, we have to learn everything from them when we're with them. Whether it's scientific information for example, no matter what type of science we're talking about here, any type of science. Seek knowledge from cradle to grave. But imagine that this scholar or this scientist that you're with and you want to take from his information, you want to learn from him, has no manners. He showers all the time, he screams all the time, dirty language, high temper, arrogance. How long you can stand him? Personally, I can't stand him that much. For how long? Because SubhanAllah, no matter how much information he's got to pass on to me, but as long as he is arrogant, as long as he has no good manners, as long as he has no good high temper, for example, his screams, he shouts and that I can't stand being with him long.  So parting them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in matters of administration.   Maybe he's not even good enough for that. Maybe he's not, most of the companions weren't at a scale or a level to be consulted by the Prophet, peace be upon him and his family. But what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is trying to tell is what Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is telling his Prophet and telling us is that even though they might not be at a scale or a level to be consulted. But when you do so, this is respect. You show them respect this way. You make them feel more confidence. You give them self-confidence.  So Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala is telling his Prophet that your manners be careful. If you are rough with them, if you are hard hearted with them, then they would have been gone a long time ago.  And the Prophet himself, SAW, says إِنَّ مَا بُعِفْتُوا لِوَ تَمْمِ مَا مَا كَارَ مَا الْأَخْضَاءَ Indeed I was sent to complete good manners as if this was the most important mission of the Prophet, peace be upon him. إِنَّ مَا بُعِفْتَ I was sent to do what? To complete good manners. People's good manners, because there were good manners, of course, before he was sent by the Prophet, peace be upon him. So the Prophet doesn't say he's very exact. He doesn't say that to teach people good manners in general, because there were some. But he says to complete their good manners. So let's go back to the Holy Quran. And there are a couple of verses that I have chosen today. And also this, we go back to the same, to the first topic, to the topic that we, that you brought up in the mention, how to be representatives of the Prophet, SAW. So first of all knowing them, knowing them better, following them, following the path. And also, بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم يا بني أقم الصلاة وأمر بالمعروف وإنهى على المكر. Oh son, observe prayers and enjoy good and forbid evil. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم ولتكم منكم أمة يدعونا إلى الخير ويأمرونا بالمعروف وإنهونا على المكر. Again. And let there always be among you who shall call people to goodness and enjoin equity and forbid evil. بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم كنتم خير أمة أخرجت للناس How are you? خير أمة أخرجت للناس تأمرونا بالمعروف وإذا نهونا على المكر. You were the best people rise for the good of mankind. Why? Because you enjoin what's good and forbid evil. So we see that Allah SAW is focusing on a specific matter which is enjoin equity and forbid evil. It is the heading of representing Ahl al-Bayt SAW. If I don't do this, then I'm definitely not capable of representing Ahl al-Bayt SAW. This was one of their most important missions. You enjoin equity and forbid evil. One of the characteristics of Ahl al-Bayt was forgiveness and humbleness. I mean there was one time Imam Al-Hassan peace be upon him. It's a famous story and you're all assured of it. When a person from Syria met him and he started cursing him. Imam Al-Hassan did not say anything to him.  If you're lost, I can give you directions. If you're hungry, we can give you a lot of cash. We can give you money. And when he saw that, he told them that when I came to Kufa, you were the most hated person in my heart. You and your father. You and your father were the most hated person in my heart. But now you're the most loved person in my heart due to their humbleness and forgiveness. I mean how many people now when someone insults them or swears at them or curse them? It's not easy brother. It's really not easy to be like Imam Al-Hassan Imam Al-Hassan peace be upon him. He was known for like Imam Al-Hassan peace be upon him. He would control his anger. He was very known for this specific manner. They all were definitely. But Imam Al-Hassan, no matter how much they oppress him, no matter how much they talk about him, he would always reply to that with goodness. With goodness, yeah. And with humbleness. And with kindness. And this was one of their ways to... And it should be everyone's way, honestly. To attract the people to Allah. To attract people to Allah's path. Because they were representatives of Allah. And as I said, enjoying equity and forbidding evil is the heading of calling to Allah's path. And it was... What Ahl al-Bayt, peace be upon him, were about. They would always And we as representatives for them, we have to do the exact the same. Self-discipline at the first place. It is very bad for me to tell the youth that why don't you pray and you have to pray on time and I don't pray on time. And maybe I don't pray. Maybe I recommend fasting and how good and how good and good it is. And if I don't do it, then my sin will be doubled. Exactly. It is shameful. How am I going to face Allah, Subhanahu wa ta'ala, the day of judgment? Maqt means that when... See when you want to...  You have to cry and you've got tears. You feel this like there's a stone or something right here. Maqt. So self-discipline that always has to be there, of course, that I have to behave well. I have to be away from your sight. I have to be exactly the same as I am in front of your sight. I shouldn't be double-standard. I shouldn't be double-faced. That, of course. And after that, enjoying equity and forbidding evil. Especially when we're in the West. Especially when we are in the Western countries. I mean, it's everywhere. But especially in the Western areas, we have to show the people, the non-Muslims, the beauty of our path. The beauty of Islam. And the most effective way to do so is to act like it. Is to perform it. Not only say it. Not only say it with a... And this is what the Imam is trying to tell us. Without using your tongues. So especially in the West, when people see someone stand up for others' rights, when they see me stand up against oppression and support human rights, whatever. And no matter if they're Muslims or not. Just a human rights. When they see me do that, they will automatically be like okay, this is how his faith has started. And they will be interested. They will be interested in Islam and the religion of the house. And come and teach me. Come and let me know. How is it? Then you will have the chance to speak more about it and basically attract people to their path. So whatever we are, but especially in the West. I keep on reminding myself first of all and everyone else. I mean when we see Allah SWT also stays in the Holy Quran that he wants no reward for bringing us or granting Muslims except the love of those near of kin. Imam al-Sadaq, Al-Islam, Hassan were asked about this verse. They replied by saying that the love of those near of kin the love of those near of kin the love of those near of kin they replied by saying that they are infallibles the Ahl al-Bayt peace be upon them. You know when we are talking about representing you said organization. I mean it's huge. It's not just you know we are representative of Ahl al-Bayt. Some people might take it with a small eye they don't have significance. You don't put significance for representing such a group. But in the world that we live in today I mean filled with hatred, violence, corruption and especially hypocrisy can we really and actually be immune from being going astray or being misguided into the wrong path? Insha'Allah we can, insha'Allah we can and definitely insha'Allah we can. But before I answer that regarding the Holy verse that she mentioned there is a beautiful notification about this verse that Allah SWT is saying in Arabic is not only love Allah SWT could have said he didn't say he didn't say what's the difference between them? The difference is that I like you but I don't necessarily follow your recommendations. But mawadda means love and following. And obeying orders. That's the exact meaning of mawadda. And also before I answer that question I'd like to mention some incidents that took place with Ahl al-Bayt and to get to know them more and of course you have enough and more knowledge than me and our dear viewers as well but as a reminder of how they were of how they were representatives of human rights and good manners and good ethics and good morals. One day Imam al-Hassan is very close because his birthday is very very near. His birthday anniversary is very close we start off with them with Ahl al-Bayt. He was riding his horse passing by he saw some poor men sitting on the ground eating some bread and water. They were basically poor had nothing to eat had nothing to to wear maybe except what they were wearing. So they were on the ground sitting on the dirt and eating some very humble food so they invited him you're invited why don't you join us they invited him and they knew that he wouldn't reply to that invitation he wouldn't accept that invitation but they were shocked when Imam sallallahu alayhi sallam stopped his horse came down off it and sat on the ground with them and he started talking to them eating with them off that bread and that water and answering them so how were you how was your family how was that he sat with them for a while I don't know how long maybe like half an hour and then he told them that okay I accepted your invitation it's your turn to accept mine now I invite you to my place to my home for lunch so he took them sallallahu alayhi sallam to his home gave them the best food available at his house sallallahu alayhi sallam gave them clothing gave them cash money and turned them from poor to to rich sallallahu alayhi sallam from almost naked to cover with beautiful clothing and and bye bye as the Iranian say it is beautiful how the Imam sallallahu alayhi sallam didn't tell them that no no no I won't accept your invitation why didn't she come first he accepted them he sat with them on the ground he did all that and then he invited them back also sallallahu alayhi sallam Imam Zayn al-Abideen he was as you know very oppressed especially after the day of ashwar the government's eyes were all on him they were waiting for a mistake from Imam Zayn al-Abideen Imam Ali Ibn Hussain Sajjad sallallahu alayhi sallam to to execute him so look at what the Imam our Imam sallallahu alayhi sallam he used to buy he started buying slaves that were in the market back then so he used to buy hundreds of them all he's got all the cash he's got he used to spend on them and keep them from Ramadan to Ramadan during this year he would give them all the knowledge that they need he would give them all the information that they need he would turn them from slaves to representatives of Madhab Ahl al Bayt sallallahu alayhi sallam to scholars ascent I mean being with the Imam sallallahu alayhi sallam for a whole year day after another day after day he would turn them to scholars and then after a year he would ask them to pray for him and he would let them free from his Prophet sallallahu alayhi sallam religion to save Islam through them and Amir al-Mumineen sallallahu alayhi sallam and for example with Ibn Muljam with his own killer how so many times every day during these three days that he was alive sallallahu alayhi sallam every single meal every single drink that they would bring to him he would ask Imam al-Hassan did you give him the same or not did you feed him well or not be careful with him don't let him feel scared don't do that and if I die of his head then it's gonna be a single head from you as well don't make it two one strike as he did to me so you're allowed to have a single strike and if you forgive and that would be great the manners, the ethics the morals that we see with them it's just for me personally I think it's so difficult so difficult to follow their what they exactly do but we have to try our best to to follow their leads to be like them to be like them so we go back to your question of that how can we immune ourselves from being misguided especially in these days as we mentioned very difficult days very hard days not knowing who's right and who's wrong and as they say I believe that this question, the answer to this question has two dimensions practically and theoretical practically what we have to do to immune ourselves from being misguided is again first of all self-discipline and praying on time fasting obeying Allah's orders what He has asked us to do they are very effective by the way especially for example praying on time not only praying but praying on time it makes a big difference and honestly I have felt that I have noticed how big difference it makes in my life when I pray on time for example delay it to and have other important things to do so first of all practically I have to practice what Allah SWT has told me to do and also respecting respecting our parents respecting our parents as well as Allah SWT has always we can notice that He has connected and compared respecting your parents to His worshipping to worshipping him So He has always connected He was always connected His worshipping him to respecting our parents so it's very important if we want to be immune from being misguided during this hard days and circumstance we have to practically practice this respect our parents and also the other Sayyidina I'm sorry to cut you off but we're coming to the end of the show insha'Allah we'll continue tomorrow because we're talking about the topic in several episodes I respected the viewers I would like to apologize for the noise from outside from Ben Haramain it's getting crowded because of the birth anniversary on Hassan as we mentioned so let's thank Sayyidina for coming tonight and stay tuned for tomorrow's episode because we will continue our discussion with Sayyidina Jafal Qazwi and you can also join us by asking questions on our YouTube channel Facebook, Twitter, Instagram Whatsapp Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh Wa alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh Thank you very much