A very good evening aspirants, welcome to the Hindu newspaper analysis brought to you by Shankar IAS Academy. Today's date is 1st of July 2023. Displayed here are the list of news articles that we are going to discuss today. So without much delay, let us get into the news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. Yesterday, our Prime Minister Mr. Modi spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin through phone. During such conversation, many matters were discussed by the two leaders. They discussed Russian-Ukraine conflict. While discussing the conflict, Mr. Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy to end the Ukraine conflict. PM Modi also spoke about upcoming contacts between the two leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the SCO virtual summit, the BRICS and G20 summits. Apart from this, Mr. Modi also informed Mr. Putin about his recent visit to the USA. In response to these talks, many political experts say that India is balancing the USA on one hand and Russia on the other hand. See, this is an act example of soft power diplomacy of India. So in this news article discussion, let us learn about soft power diplomacy of India and some of the challenges associated with it. Firstly, what is soft power? See, the term soft power was first coined by the American political scientist Joseph Ney. Ney defined soft power as the ability to alter the behavior of others to get what you want, preferably through attraction rather than compulsion. To put it in simple words, soft power refers to the ability to achieve goals by attraction through political, economic and moral or cultural influence. Or we can say that soft power is the country's ability to influence others without resorting to aggressive pressure. I hope you got it. Now coming to India's soft power diplomacy. See, India is an enthusiastic proponent of soft power diplomacy. India is known for its rich cultural traditions, including Bollywood movies, yoga, Ayurvedic medicine, heritage tourism and spice rich cosine. India is using these factors to exercise its soft power diplomacy worldwide. In addition to this, the civil society of India has offered religious freedom to Jews, Parsis, Christians and Muslims. This also help India to admire its soft power. Apart from this, India is also providing economic aid to less developed countries to exercise its soft power diplomacy. Now moving on to see about the importance of soft power diplomacy to India. See, globally we Indians are recognized for a strong nation brand and democratic principles. So, the positive soft power allows India to promote itself as a place for tourism, investment, education and so on. So, apart from bringing foreign direct investment into India, the soft power can also bring in strategic investments to India in the fields of defense, space and science and technology. Secondly, the soft power helps in creating goodwill. See, Indian culture and practices have a wide range of respect all over the world. So, projecting our culture worldwide through soft power will create goodwill to India. Thirdly, soft power helps to maintain peace. See, the projection of soft power can help India to establish communication with other countries through peaceful methods. So, the soft power will help us to maintain fruitful relationships with other countries as well. Fourthly, the soft power helps India to build a brand for itself. See, by promoting the non-aligned commitments, democratic values, morals and so on through soft power means, India can create a brand for itself. This in turn yields huge respect to India. And finally, the soft power helps India to project its values and commitments globally. See, the world is now facing multiple problems like climate change, global warming, terrorism, sea level rise and etc. Using its soft power, India can reach out to the global audience to collectively mitigate these multi-fold problems. So, this is about the importance of soft power diplomacy to India. Now, moving on to see about the challenges that exist in the soft power diplomacy to India. See, firstly, India lacks an institutional ecosystem to harness soft power and to represent its national interest in the international sphere. Secondly, there have been major problems in India like corruption, poverty, violence against women, hostility to business, pollution in urban areas, caste discrimination and gender equality. These problems in India also act as a hindrance to exercise its soft power in the global arena. These are the two major challenges for India in exercising its soft power diplomacy. So, that's all you have to make note of from this news article discussion. With these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this editorial article. It talks about the steps that can be taken to unleash the full potential of the India-Africa relationship. See, recently the Vivehananda International Foundation established a 20-member Africa Expert Group, AEG. This group published the India-Africa Partnership, Achievements, Challenges and Roadmap 2023. The editorial here highlights the major points from the report as it is written by the head of the Africa Expert Group, AEG. So, in our discussion today, we'll see the points highlighted in the editorial article. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. See, we all know India is working on raising us a global player, right? This dream of India of becoming a global player depends on the kind of relationship it enjoys with Africa. There are three areas of interest India has in relation to Africa. The first one is trade. The African continent accounts for nearly 17% of the world's population today and will reach 25% in 2050. In addition to this, Africa has a large working-age population and has a growing middle class. All these are signs of a good market. So, if India has a good relationship with Africa, then there is a huge potential for trade. The next one is geopolitics. See, Africa is strategically located in the Indian Ocean, which is a vital shipping route for India. So, by maintaining good relations with African countries, India can secure its maritime interest in the Indian Ocean. The last one is resources. We all know how rich Africa is in mineral resources, especially it has rich mineral resources like gold from South Africa, diamonds from Botswana, uranium from Niger, oil from Niger and Angola, natural gas from Algeria, iron ore from South Africa and cobalt from Democratic Republic of Congo. I hope aspirants who gave 2023 problems will not forget the cobalt and Democratic Republic of Congo. So, India has a huge appetite for all these resources. If a stable relationship with Africa is ensured, then India can have a steady supply of these resources that will aid in its growth path. See, all these make a good relationship with Africa a necessary precursor for India to make it a global player. Lot of other countries have recognized the importance of Africa and started taking necessary steps. Even there is a competition among countries like China, Russia, the United States, the European Union, Japan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for strengthening their relations with parts of Africa. They are doing this to ensure market access, gain energy and mineral security and increase political and economic influence. Among them, China is the front runner here. See, China has a policy for Africa and has plans to become the biggest trade partner of Africa. For example, since 2007, Chinese leaders have visited the continent 123 times while 251 African leaders have visited China. In addition to this, China has invested enormously in Africa in terms of money, materials and diplomatic push. All these are lessons for India. So, now what are the steps that India can take to continue improving its relationship with Africa? See, the first step is the strengthening of political and diplomatic cooperation. The editorial suggests four steps that can be taken to strengthen the political and diplomatic cooperation between India and the continent of Africa. Number one, the India Africa Forum Summit must be revived and the frequency at which this summit is conducted can be increased. Number two, a new annual strategic dialogue between the chairperson of the African Union, AU and India's external affairs minister should be launched in 2023. Number three, India must take steps to ensure the entry of the African Union into the G20 as a full member. Number four, the ministry of external affairs must have a secretary exclusively for Africa relations to ensure the full implementation of India's Africa policy. The second is defence and security cooperation. See, to enhance the defence and security cooperation also, the editorial provides a number of steps. Firstly, India and Africa must expand dialogues on defence issues. Secondly, collaborations must be made in the area of maritime cooperation. Thirdly, India must also expand its line of credit to Africa to enhance its defence exports to Africa. And finally, India can provide training for African security personnel in the area of counterterrorism, cybersecurity and emerging technologies. These steps can ensure defence and security cooperation between India and Africa. Now, in the area of economic and development cooperation, the editorial provides three suggestions. Number one is the creation of an Africa Growth Fund, AGF. The Fund will ensure access to finance. Secondly, a special package for cooperation in shipping will earn great dividends for both the stakeholders. Number three, steps must be taken to deepen cooperation in science and technology. See, these will ensure economic and developmental cooperation between India and Africa. Lastly, there is socio-cultural cooperation. To enhance socio-cultural cooperation, a lot can be done. Firstly, interactions between universities, think tanks, civil society and media organisations in India and select African countries can be encouraged. Secondly, the National Centre for African Studies can be set up in India. Thirdly, Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation, ITEC and Indian Council for Cultural Relations. ICCR scholarships, which are awarded to Africans, could be named after famous African figures. Fourthly, visa procedure of African students who are planning to take up higher education in India can be liberalised and they can be provided with a short-term work visa. So, if all these suggestions are fully implemented, India can unleash the full potential of India-Africa relationship. See, make note of all these points, very, very important points. To make it easy for you, we have structured it like a main's answer. Whenever they ask about Africa, you can write all these points. It will be relevant at any point of time. Okay? So, with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now, look at this article from editorial page. The headline reads, The Governor's Move is Dangerous and Constitutional. See, recently, the Tamil Nadu Governor dismissed Minister Sendhil Balaji without the advice of the Chief Minister, but later the Governor backtracked on his decision. Despite that, this dismissal order has raised concerns because this is going to set a dangerous precedent. Also, it has the potential to destabilize the constitutional system and the federal structure of our country. So, in our discussion, we'll try to understand this important constitutional issue. Before that, the syllabus relevant to this news article is highlighted here for your reference. You can go through it. First, we'll try to understand the issue at hand. But to understand this issue, we need to look at the relevant articles of the Indian Constitution and get some clarity. Take article 164 of the Constitution. This article says, The Chief Minister shall be appointed by the Governor and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister and the Ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the Governor. Let me explain this article for you. See, according to this article, the Chief Minister is appointed by the Governor without any advice from anyone. However, when it comes to appointing individual Ministers, the Governor can do it only on the advice of the Chief Minister. This implies that the Governor does not have the discretion to appoint Ministers independently. The reason is simple. The Chief Minister alone has the discretion to choose his Ministers. He decides who the Ministers of his Council will be. Therefore, by logic, the Governor can dismiss a Minister only on the advice of the Chief Minister. Now let's take a step back and examine the historical context. See, the Government of India Act 1935, which was enforced during the colonial rule, section 51 clause 1 of this Act says that, The Governor's Ministers shall be chosen and summoned by him. They shall be sworn as members of the Council and shall hold office during his pleasure. See, this section makes it clear that the Ministers shall be chosen by the Governor. So, they hold office during his pleasure. Further, subsection 5 of section 51 says, The functions of the Governor under this section with respect to the choosing and summoning and dismissal of Ministers. Make note here, dismissal of Ministers. And with respect to determination of their salaries, shall be exercised by him in his discretion. See, two things are clear from section 51 clause 1 and section 51 clause 5 of the Government of India Act 1935. One, the Ministers are chosen by the Governor. Two, they are dismissed by him at his discretion. Thus, the Governor during the colonial rule had absolute discretion to choose a Minister and dismiss him. This is the higher and fire approach. However, after India gained independence, our constitution established a different constitutional system. The Governor became a mere constitutional head. He or she has to act on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister. Also, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar made it clear in the Constituent Assembly that there is no executive function that a Governor can perform independently under the constitution. The power to choose and dismiss Ministers lies with the Chief Minister because the Chief Minister is the one who has the discretion to form the Council of Ministers and recommend their removal. Now, you may ask, then ma'am, what do the words, the pleasure of Governor mentioned in article 164 imply? See here, the words refer to only the formal act of issuing the order of dismissal. This should be done by the Governor only on the advice of the Chief Minister. See, we just now saw that section 51 of the Government of India Act 1935 confers on the Governor the discretion to choose as well as dismiss the Ministers. Now, it is important to note one thing here. When the Constitution was drafted, the words chosen, dismissal and discretion present in the Government of India Act 1935 were intentionally omitted. This omission made it very clear that the Constitution did not confer any discretion on the Governor to choose or dismiss an individual Minister. Also, the Supreme Court has provided judicial clarification in various cases to clarify the position of the Governor in India's constitutional setup. For example, see the Samshir Singh case of 1974. Here, a seven-judge constitution bench declared that the President and Governor should exercise their formal constitutional powers only in accordance with the advice of their Ministers, except in well-known exceptional situations. Then, in Nabam-Rabbi versus Deputy Speaker, a Constitution bench of five judges reaffirmed the principles laid down in the earlier Samshir Singh case. The Court clarified that the discretionary power of the Governor are limited to the postulates of Article 163 Clause 1 of the Indian Constitution. We know Article 163 Clause 1 states that the Governor shall exercise their power and functions with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. Now, finally, the author concludes by saying that, the dismissal of Ministers by the Governor of Tamil Nadu without the advice of Chief Minister is constitutionally incorrect. The Supreme Court has consistently held that the discretionary powers of the Governor are limited. They must act on the advice of the Council of Ministers. Newspaper reports suggest that the Governor later held back his order of dismissal. But the author says that the issue of dismissal of a Minister without the advice of the Chief Minister is one which clearly destabilizes the constitutional system. So, that is all you have to note from this news article discussion. In this news article discussion, we saw in detail about Article 164 of the Constitution. We also saw about its historical context with respect to Government of India Act 1935. Then we understood about the role of the Governor with respect to the dismissal of a Minister. So, with these learnt points, now let us move on to the next news article discussion. This news article says that Pakistan is getting a new IMF bailout amounting to 3 billion dollars. This bailout will help Pakistan to avoid defaults. Before this, in 2019 itself, Pakistan has received a 6 billion dollar bailout package from the IMF. This is about the news article given here. In this context, let us look at the lending instruments of the IMF. See, unlike development banks like the World Bank or Asian Development Bank, the IMF does not lend for specific projects. Instead, the IMF provides financial support to countries that are facing crisis, mainly balance of payment problems. The financial support is provided to create breathing room as crisis affected countries implement policies that restore economic stability and growth. It also provides precautionary financing to help prevent crisis. Moving on, let us see the various lending instruments of the IMF. See, the first one is the standby arrangement SBA. The standby arrangement SBA provides short-term financial assistance to countries facing balance of payment problems. Historically, it has been the IMF's lending instrument most used by advanced and emerging market countries. So, when a country receives fund through standby arrangement SBA, then that country must take measures to address the problems that led the country to seek funding in the first place. The SBA is provided in tranches and before each tranche is provided, the IMF reviews the country's policies. The current bailout package of Pakistan is provided under the SBA facility. The second one is the standby credit facility SCB. See, the standby credit facility SCB provides financial assistance to low-income countries with short-term balance of payment needs. The SCF is one of the facilities under the poverty reduction and growth trust that is BRGT. Here note that both SBA and SCF are provided to avoid present prospective or potential balance of payment crisis. Now, when the BOP crisis extends for a protracted period, then the IMF provides support through the extended fund facility and the extended credit facility. Both these facilities provide financial assistance to countries facing serious medium-term balance of payments problems because of structural weaknesses that require time to address. To help countries implement medium-term structural reforms, these facilities offer longer program engagement and a longer repayment period. The advanced and emerging economies are offered EFF and the low-income countries are offered ECF. In 2019, Pakistan used the EFF to get financial support from the IMF. Apart from this, for urgent balance of payment needs, the IMF has the rapid financing instrument RFI and the rapid credit facility RCF. See, both are designed to provide financing to countries that are experiencing a sudden and unexpected balance of payment needs. Here the RFI is mainly used by the advanced and emerging countries and the RCF is used by low-income countries. The next one is the short-term liquidity line SLL. The SLL is provided for IMF members with very strong policy frameworks and fundamentals who face potential moderate short-term liquidity needs. These countries with strong policy frameworks fall into BOP shocks due to external shocks. The SLL aims to minimize the risk of shocks developing into deeper crisis and spreading to other countries. Now the next one is the flexible credit line FCL. See, the FCL is provided to countries with very strong policy frameworks and track records in economic performance. Financial support received under this facility is used to prevent crisis from happening. Then the precautionary and liquidity line PLL is designed to meet the liquidity needs of member countries with sound economic fundamentals but with some remaining vulnerabilities that preclude them from using the flexible credit line FCL. So basically countries with good economic fundamentals but not good enough to receive funds through the FCL use this PLL. Finally there is the resilience and sustainability fund RSF. The resilience and sustainability funds RSF provides affordable long-term financing to countries undertaking reforms to reduce risk to prospective balance of payments stability including those related to climate change and pandemic preparedness. So these are all some of the lending instruments of the IMF. Initially it might be a little bit of confusing but when you revise it more than twice you can get it. It is a very potential area to ask a problem's question. So make note of all these static part and whenever a news appears regarding lending mechanism of IMF you can recheck and revise the notes. So that's all regarding this news article. With these learned points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. It says that Mr. Tushar Mehta has been reappointed as the Solicitor General of India by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet. Six additional Solicitor Generals of India were also reappointed. So in this context let us quickly learn about Solicitor General of India. See the Solicitor General of India holds the second highest legal office in India just after the Attorney General of India. So you can imagine the Solicitor General as the right hand of the Attorney General. They basically work together to provide legal counsel to the government and they also represent the Union of India in legal matters. Also note that the Solicitor General is supported by several additional Solicitors General who assist him in his duties. Now very briefly let us understand the hierarchy of these legal positions. See the Attorney General of India is the highest law officer in India. He holds a constitutional post under article 76 of the Constitution of India. On the other hand the position of Solicitor General is merely statutory meaning it was created by an Act of Parliament. Now let us see the appointment process. See the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet ACC recommends the appointment of the Solicitor General. This committee is chaired by the Prime Minister. After receiving recommendation from the committee the President officially appoints the Solicitor General. But know that the proposal for the appointment starts from the Department of Legal Affairs. It moves through various levels of approval before reaching the ACC and then the President. Now let us talk about the tenure of Solicitor General. See generally the Solicitor General is appointed for a term of three years. However they hold office during the pleasure of the President which means they can be removed at any time on the advice of the Prime Minister and Union Cabinet. The Solicitor General can also resign from the position by submitting their resignation to the President. Here you should note that they are eligible for reappointment after they cease to hold office. Now moving on to the functions of Solicitor General. See they have certain responsibilities outlined in the law officers condition of service rules 1987. The Solicitor General performs legal tasks and offers advice on legal matters delegated or assigned to them by the Government of India. They also represent the Indian Government in cases brought before the Supreme Court by the President under Article 143 of the constitution. Additionally the Solicitor General appears on behalf of the Government of India in cases where the Government is a party either in the Supreme Court or any High Court. They carry out any additional responsibilities entrusted to them by existing laws. Now remember this there are certain limitations to the role of the Solicitor General. See they cannot defend an accused individual in a criminal prosecution without the consent of the Indian Government. Also the Solicitor General is restricted from holding briefs for any party in any court except for the Government of India, the Government of a State or any entity where the Government has a significant interest. In simple words they are not allowed to take on cases and represent any other than the Government of India, the Government of a State or any entity where the Government has a big stake or interest. See we know that the Attorney General is a member of Parliament right? He can take part in debates and discussions that happen in both the Houses of the Parliament. They can voice their opinion, present legal perspectives and contribute to the legislative processes. But on the other hand the Solicitor General does not have the same rights concerning their participation in Parliament. They cannot counsel any party against the Government of India. The Solicitor General is also prohibited from accepting appointments to positions within businesses or entities without the permission of the Government of India. Also they cannot advise any ministry, department, statutory organization or public sector undertaking unless the references received through the Ministry of Law and Justice. So that's all regarding Solicitor General of India. Make note of all these points and revise it whenever you get time. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now look at this front page it is about Amarnath Yadra. The Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has flagged off the first batch of pilgrims from Bahavati Nakhur in Jammu. So this is what the news is about. So in this context let us learn some of the basic facts about Amarnath Yadra. See people take this Amarnath Yadra to visit the Amarnathji Cave which has a Sivalinga made of ice. This Amarnathji Cave is situated in the Mount Amarnath which is in Anantnag district of Gemma 1, Kashmir. This pilgrimage site is at an altitude of about 13,000 feet from the sea level. Since it is located in high altitude the cave is covered by snow for most of the year. The entrance of this cave is accessible only during the summer. This year 3488 pilgrims are taking this Yadra from two bases of Pahalgam and Sonamarh. The Jammu and Kashmir Police, Army and CRPF takes care of the security issues. See one of the astonishing fact about the Sivalinga in Amarnath Cave is that it is basically a stalagmite covered with ice. See the ice linga is formed by a trickle of water from a cleft in the cave's roof. The Sivalinga gets its full shape in May after which it begins to melt by August. The water freezes as it drips forming over time a tall smooth ice stalagmite. So in this context we shall see about what is a stalagmite and a stalaxite. See both stalagmites and stalaxites are found in limestone caves. How are they formed? See whenever rainwater enters into crack in the rock it passes through organic material and it picks up carbon dioxide gas. This results in the formation of carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is a weak acid and it passes through joints and cracks in limestone. This carbonic acid reacts with the limestone rocks and dissolves the rock and forms calcite. When this water which holds the dissolved rock is exposed to the air in the cave the carbon dioxide is released and calcite is precipitated on cave walls ceilings and flows. This calcite deposits results in the formation of stalaxite and stalagmites. Remember when the calcite happens in the ceiling of the cave it forms stalaxite. So the stalaxite hangs from the ceiling of the cave. The stalaxite or downward dripping. So when the calcite happens on the floor of the cave it forms stalagmites. So a stalagmite is an upward growing mount of limestone deposits on the floor of a cave. In case of Amanath cave the melted ice just drips above the stalagmite below and this stalagmite is covered in ice over time and it appears like a shivalinga. Since the shivalinga gets its full shape in May and begins to melt by August the month of July becomes the perfect month to visit the site. That is why the Amanath Yatra also happens during this month. Hope you can understand how a stalaxite and the stalagmite forms with these learnt points and now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Take a look at this news article. Our Neolithic era Kelt was discovered at an archaeological excavation at Boothi Natham in Dharamapuri district. See here Kelt refers to prehistoric stone or metal tools. So in this news article discussion let us learn about the Neolithic culture in Prulam's perspective. See as the name itself hinders Neolithic culture refers to new stone age. It is actually the last stage of the stone age. In India early evidence for Neolithic culture is found in the Indus region and Gajetic valley. The time period of Neolithic culture dates back to 6000 BC to 1000 BC. Now let us quickly go through some of the characteristics of Neolithic period. See Neolithic period for the first time plants and animals were domesticated. Wheat and barley or commonly cultivated crops sheep goat and cattle were commonly domesticated animals of that time. The tools used were made of stones and they were polished. Stone axes were used in Neolithic age so this means that for the first time agricultural activities were carried out in the fertile soil deposited by the rivers. For the first time pottery was also developed in this period then permanent residents were made using mud bricks. So as a result of all these developments the hunters and gatherers began to settle in a particular place. One important point to note here is that people of this age don't have knowledge about metals. Now let's quickly go through some of the important Neolithic sites in India. See Neolithic sites in India are classified on a regional basis. First we'll look at the Neolithic culture of northwestern India. These sites have the earliest evidence of plant and animal domestication in India. Some of the important sites of this region include Mehargarh, Rani Kundai, Sarai Kala and Jallilpur. Now coming to the Neolithic culture of cashmere see it was contemporary to the Indus valley civilization. Burza home is the important site of this culture. In this site one particular feature is that domestic dogs were buried with their master. They used handmade pottery as well. Now moving on we'll see about Neolithic culture of Ganges valley and central India. Important sites of this region include the people of this region used pottery with cored impressions on the surfaces. Next we shall focus on Neolithic culture of south India. See the Neolithic centers of south India are concentrated in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and northwestern part of Tamil Nadu. Some of the important sites of this region are Vatkal, Hemek and Hellur in Karnataka, Naharjuna Konda, Ramapuram and Veera Puram in Andhra Pradesh and Payampalli in Tamil Nadu. One unique feature of this region is that ash mounds are found in the center of the settlements. Now finally we shall see about the Neolithic culture of north east in India. See in this region Neolithic culture appeared very late as much as 2500 to 1500 BC. Some of the important sites of this region include this region has the evidence for shifting cultivation. Stone and wooden memorials are built for the dead in this region as well. That's all regarding this news article. In this news article we learnt briefly about Neolithic culture of India. So with these learnt points now let us move on to the next news article discussion. Now take a look at this news article. This news article talks about the issues around the South China Sea and India's stand regarding the issue. See know that the Asian countries and China are currently negotiating to develop a code of conduct in the South China Sea. Recently Mr Manalo the visiting secretary of foreign affairs of Philippines visited India. Our external affairs minister S J Shankar met with his Philippines counterpart Mr Manalo. India has called for the parties involved in the issue to follow the decision of 2016 arbitration. The two leaders highlighted the need for resolving the issue in a peaceful manner and following the international laws especially the U1 clause. That is United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Now let's see about the decision of 2016 arbitration that the news article mentions here. See due to the developing conflict between Philippines and China with respect to the South China Sea on January 22nd 2013 Philippines approached the permanent court of arbitration under the provisions of U1 clause. The court had given its verdict in favor of the Philippines on July 2022 but China outrightedly rejected this judgment. China claims that it has the rights over the South China Sea up to the nine dash line. So here our India has stated that the parties involved in the issue should follow the decision of this 2016 arbitration. Now moving on the news article mentioned that the Asian countries and China are currently negotiating to develop a code of conduct in the South China Sea. Now let's see what are the issues in developing this code of conduct. See the first issue is that Asian countries they stand on a single side but they don't have a common stand on all issues. They have different opinions on matters like what to do when collusion happens such as how to deal with third parties whether the outcome of this negotiation is legally binding or not if it is legally binding then who will enforce it and if it is not legally binding then what will be its status. Likewise in many places Asian countries don't have a common stand which is an issue. So the countries are negotiating right now we have to wait and see in what direction this progresses. On the other hand while China is building artificial islands in South China Sea Philippines is trying to send as many assets as possible to South China Sea to assert its rights and protect its fishermen. So this is what is given in this news article since UN clause is an very important article you should be aware of the development in UN clause especially regarding South China Sea that is why I chose this news article. So these learnt points now let us move on to the next part of the news article discussion which is the preliminary practice question discussion. Now look at this first question three statements are given and you have to find how many statements given here is or are correct. Now look at the first statement stand by arrangement and stand by credit facility are provided to avoid present prospective or potential balance of payment crisis. Now look at the second statement extender fund facility and extender credit facility are provided when the BOP crisis extends for a significant period. See here these two statements are actually correct we saw that in the discussion right. Now look at this third statement India has received packages from IMF through both SBA and EFF. See this statement is actually correct India has received packages from IMF through both SBA and EFF. In 1981 India received funding through EFF and six times between 1957 and 1991 India received funding through SBA. So the correct answer for the question here is option C all the three. Moving on look at this second question four places are given and you have to find how many places are part of Chota Chardham pilgrimage. See here the correct answer for the question is option C only three actually Chota Chardham pilgrimage consists of four sites they are Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. Know that Amarnath is not a part of Chota Chardham. See if these four places are Chota Chardham if the question asks about Chardham alone then it refers to four important pilgrimage sites in India which includes Badrinath, Dwarka, Puri and Rameshwaram. So the correct answer for this question is option C only three. Now moving on see here four positions are given you have to find how many positions are constitutional post in India. Here the correct answer for the question is option C only three. Here Solicitor General is not a constitutional post. We saw in the discussion right so if you eliminate that you can easily arrive at the answer. Now moving on this is a statement type question two statements are given statement one people from being nomadic began to settle and build houses. Statement two the agricultural practices got developed during this period. See here the correct answer for the question is option A. See here both the statements are actually correct and statement two is the correct explanation for statement one. I am saying this because people began to settle and build houses because they started growing their food on own due to the development of agricultural practices. Domestication of food crops changed the people from being nomadic hunting and gathering community into a settled agriculture based community. That is why statement two explains the statement one. The questions displayed here are the main practice questions for you today. Just go through the question try to write an answer and post it in the comment section. With this we came to the end of the news article discussion. If you like the video hit like do comment and do not forget to subscribe to Shankar AIS Academy YouTube channel. Now thank you for listening


Hello, Yukon 28209. Yes, this is Candy Mattson.  Got some blackmail you want to unload? Are you the victim of some vulgar extortionist? I know a girl you should meet. She may not be the greatest private eye in the world, so what if it does cost you three or four hundred dollars? She sure is sweet. She's Candy Mattson. Like to meet her? Hello. Candy Mattson? Well, I wasn't sure when I looked in the mirror this morning. Had a rough night, eh? Oh, there have been rougher ones.  As to who I am, you'll find out very shortly. What I want is you. How romantic and over the phone yet. Let me finish. What I want is you to lay off that cable car business. Oh, that. Well, I'm afraid I can't. You see, I was sitting beside him when they discovered his transfer had been punched sort of permanently. That's how things happen with me. I get into the craziest routine. You see, I used to be a model. I've been told I have the proper displacement for such a career, but I found there wasn't enough money in it. A girl has to maintain a nice apartment on Telegraph Hill, keep enough clothes to highlight the displacement I mentioned, and also eat, doesn't she? Sure. Though I turn private eye, you meet a better class of people, mostly named Rigger or Mortis. Now, take this cable car deal. It's positively fantastic. But after all, this is radio, isn't it? Like to hear how the whole thing happened? Leave us trip along to act one. I wanted to get downtown that morning, but I couldn't take the F-car on Stockton. They were ripping up about 87th Street, which is par for the court. So I walked down Telegraph Hill and up to Mason. That's where the Bay and Powell cable car stopped. All aboard! Come on, Lana, show that shapely ankle. We've got to make the Fairmont by Whitsentide. The car was loaded, and so was the character next to me. I tried to budge into the seat between him and a fisherman's wharf, Dowager. But I couldn't quite make it. I'd forgotten my shoehorn. Say, pardon me, but would you mind reading your Wall Street Journal over that away a bit? I'd like to sit in here. Oh, if you insist. A night of old. He budged his hips a quarter of an inch, and I slipped in. Ready for my rocket ride over the hill and down into town. The trip, as usual, was uneventful. Three smashed fenders and several choice words I'd never heard before. But I wrote them down. By the time our prairie schooner reached the turntable at Market Street, the crowd on the car thinned out. But the buster was still beside me. His head buried in common and preferred. Market Street! I started to get down.  We're heading back up the hill. Boyfriend? Oh, Sue. He looks like the advanced man for Lewis and Clark. How do you like that? He fell asleep over his socks and bottom. I looked again. Hipsy wasn't asleep. Hipsy was stone cold dead on Market. What a twist. I, who always went on the prowl for a whodunit, get one literally tossed into my lap. He just hadn't gone out of this world's purine life. Oh, no. There was a steady slurp slurp of blood trickling down his vest, just north by northeast of the equator. After a half-hour wait full of questioning by homicide legmen, I knew my morning shopping tour was rained out. And after all, I was only going to buy an emerald clip to match the glint in my eye. Well, that would have to wait. I knew the next step. I grabbed a cab home. I wasn't long and waiting. Right on cue. And if it was the right cue, it would be Lieutenant Ray Mallard from headquarters, daintily pressing his cuticles against my apartment buzzer. I was right. What? I've been expecting you. Come on in, Mallard. You've been expecting me. Why, Candy? Naive little rover boy, you. Have a drink? No, no. I'm not in the mood. Just make it a double. Sit down, Mallard. Let's be civilized.  It is off. Oh? Candy, for once I'm puzzled. You're just saying that. Yeah, because it's true. I've checked and rechecked. No matter how many loose ends I tie together, I still get no connection between you and Dwight Ellsworth. Dwight who's worth? Ellsworth. You're extremely limp traveling companion on the cable this morning. Mallard, I can give you an angle on that. Yeah? Yeah. The angle being that I didn't know him from Adam. Level? Straight. Oh, look. This mediocre dialogue is getting us nowhere. What did you haul your size 11s in here for? Frankly, I don't know. Here, fill it up, Wendy. You're not just going around in circles, Mallard. You're going around in doubles. Yeah, yeah. Like I've said before, Candy, you've got a pretty view from here. Oh, wait till I turn around. I mean from your window. Look at that chip down there, just docking. Hmm? Where? Down there. There's romance for you. Probably just in from the far east. Here's your drink. Oh, thanks. You know, it is sort of romantic.  Hmm? On a honeymoon? No. That's what I thought. South Seas. Mallard. Don't call me Mallard. Why not? We're just playing for ducks, aren't we? Oh, very crisp. Playing for ducks. No, Candy, we aren't. Not in this case. We've got a dead man in our hands, a rooty dog. We've got a dead man in our hands, a rooty toot-toot shot right through the heart. And you were sitting next to him. Sure, sure.  You heard me. Lift your hindquarters and get back to headquarters. Candy, I don't like that look. You've got something on your mind. Yeah, yeah, but you wouldn't recognize it if I told you about it. Ah, one word of warning. Don't dabble. You're in deep enough. Got it? Got it. Here's your hat. Grab it. So long, Mallard. See you around to jailhouse sometime. By full thumbs.  That great, big, kind of attractive Mallard. He missed the boat. Oh, he saw it, but he missed it. It was that ship he saw docking. That was the first time I came out of the dark since my tunerville ride down the hill in the morning. I needed help. So I called an old friend of mine, if you can call that help. Rembrandt Watson was his name. He was a photographer and other things. He spent most of his life in the dark room dabbling with bottles. His negatives and prints were sharp. His thought process is not quite. But he'd given me assistance in the past, so I called him. Rembrandt Watson speaking. Photography, portraits and camera work. Yes, Rembrandt, I know. Also available for gardening, janitorial service and babysitting. Rembrandt, it's candy. Especially at the over 21. Oh, candy?  I was experimenting with a new type of formula. 90 proof for 100. 100. And candy, it works beautifully. There's a delightful little pixie in a pink ballet skirt in my living room. Well, leave her there and get over here immediately. To my place, take a cab. I'll pay for it. I'd much rather have a handsome carriage with a brace of chestnuts. You've got them in your head. Now just do as I say and get over here. Floating, Rembrandt. Dad Frick, where's the man to take me? Cloak, gloves and topper. You're wearing a sport coat and slacks and you know I have no man.  You have no man. Now, Rembrandt. Every man should have a woman. Every woman should have a man. It's the incontrovertible law of the universe. Candy, you should have a man. You. Sure. I'm no longer a man. I'm a sprite transcending the world. Well, stop transcending a moment and come down to earth. We've got a job to do. How poetic. How idyllic. We've got a job to do for money. Eventually. Oh, one of those. Very well, my dear. Bring me up to date. Well, I don't really know if I can or not. Good. I'll be right back. And I shall leave and return to reformula. Oh, no. What I mean is the whole story is so fantastic. You'd never believe it. I might. Try me, Candy. Well, I get on a cable car and sit next to a character reading the Wall Street Journal. A strange coupling. A cable car and the Wall Street Journal. Yeah. And when we get to the end of the line, my friend next to me is dead. Probably the ride down the hill frightened him to death. Uh-uh. He looked like a used punch board.  Can they? My little ballerina friend in the pink skirt is more believable than what you just told me. I told you it was fantastic, but none of how it happened. Now, sooner or later, Mallard is going to come out of his fog. And when he does, I'm going to be out of a fee. A fee that so far doesn't exist, my pretty. It will, if my hunch is right. Now, here's what I want you to do. Go down to the Chronicle and get all the back files you can on Southern Island Steamship Company. The Chronicle? A pleasure. I have a few questionable companions. They are who indulge in formulas. Stay away from those companions and just do as I ask. Very well, my dove. I go, but entirely against my will. And where will you be? Around town, Rembrandt. I've got to do some legwork. Let me assure you, Candy, you have just the right equipment for it, too. What a joint. I bet they mount slit gullets on the walls instead of deer heads. Well, come on, Candy.  Yeah, miss. What'll it be? Nothing right at the moment, except information. Information? Why are they both free? What do you want to know? Well, I'm looking for the purser of the Dwight Sonia. I hear he does his sure duty in here. That's right. Name Campbell. I had it on the table over there. It belongs to him. Thanks. Hello, sailor. Hey, Campbell. Wake up. Leave me alone. Come on. Snap out of it. Who are you? What do you want? My name is Candy Matzen. I want to ask a question. I'm only drinking. No way. Not until I find out what I want to know. Dwight Ellsworth was murdered this morning. What? I thought that would bring you to. Well, that's the nicest news I've heard since VJ Day. What do you want to know? Where did his brother live? That's dude. He's got about as much spine as a water reel. Never mind. I want to find him. He seems to keep his whereabouts. His secret is an atomic stockpile.  He lives out in Cichlis, 25 Dashel Road. Good. A bartender, buy my friend a little reward. And one for yourself, too. So far, so good. Oh, how did I know about Campbell, the purser? Well, you see, I have quite a few friends, most of whom my pal, Mallard, doesn't approve. I had a cab and navigated the driver out toward Cichlis. It was so foggy I couldn't see the meter. But I paid him anyway, gave him a neutral tip and dismissed him. There it was, 25 Dashel Road. An austere-looking cabania. One that dared you to ring the front doorbell. I dared. I had the awful feeling I should have been around at the side door delivering hand laundry. Good evening. Except for the fog, yes. Is Mr. Ellsworth in? Yes, he is. But I'm afraid I must ask you to leave. There has been a death in the family. I know, that's why I'm here. Come in, please. Thank you. Walk this way, please. Oh, I'm afraid I couldn't, even if I lived to be a hundred. Mind your tongue, young lady. You're in the house of an Ellsworth. Oh, Toyty Toyty, the old babe had delusions of grandeur. No, no need to get uppity with me. I've mingled with royalty. I once played a bit part in a Rita Hayward picture. But this old gal was really something. She couldn't have been more than 45, yet looked like something out of the Barats of Wimpole Street. She ushered me into a large-ceiling living room, and there on the divan was my boy. His head lowered into his hands and quite obviously touched. Quite obviously. Roger, this young lady is here to see you. I believe you mentioned your name. Candy Mattson. Mattson? Are you in shipping, too? Of a sort. Oh, this is my wife, Miss Mattson. You'll pardon me if I don't seem hospitable, but my brother was murdered this morning. I know. I was sitting next to him when it happened. You were? Don't talk to her, Roger. I don't trust her. This whole thing is a threat of some kind. No, it's not a threat. It's a business proposition. I'll come right to the point. You see, I'm a private detective. Oh, one of those persons.  I want to get this show on the road. Yes, I'm a private detective, and I'm in a spot, too. The police think I'm connected with the case in some way, so I'm here for a double purpose. I'm listening, Miss Mattson. Roger, I forbid you to speak with this woman. Too late, Mrs. Ellsworth. Now, this is it. I'm in this business to make money. Give me a check now for $300, and I'll find out who killed your brother. And I'll also clear myself. Roger, I'm warning you. Naturally, you want to see the killer of your brother brought to justice, don't you, Mr. Ellsworth? Don't you? I... Yes, yes. Here, I'll make a check out right now. Thank you. Just make it out to Candy Mattson. Payable today. The lovely collection of guns you have, Mr. Ellsworth. You hunt much? Oh, yes. Yes, my wife and I are quite fond of shooting. She's an excellent shot. There you are. Thank you. I'll be in touch with you sometime tomorrow. Mr. Ede didn't say a word. She just stood there against the fireplace and shot sparks through me. After I waved the check in the air a few times to dry the ink, she showed me to the door. Very clever, aren't you? Taking advantage of a weak-willed man? I wonder who made him that way. Don't cash that check. I mean it. Don't cash that check? Mrs. Ellsworth, $300. I need the money, badly. I need some new roles for my player piano. I buzzed back downtown. I wanted to cash that check in a hurry. I knew of only one person who would give me the most green at that hour of the night. Uncle Charlie, the honest miller who ran the chase room. Uncle Charlie, in the strict sense of the word, was the gentleman. So with a tender little pat on my cheek, he cashed the check and I went up Telegraph Hill and home. All of a sudden, my eyes did a couple of inverted loops. All of my lights were on. Who's in here? All right, speak up. Come join our party. You don't scare easy, either, Candy. Got something on your mind? Well, how ducky, a midnight soiree. What goes on here? Well, chicken you had in the icebox is delicious. It was delicious. Looks like you've done everything but eat the bones. Your vintage is superb, too, Candy. Have a little formula? No, come on, what gives? That's my line, Candy. What gives? You're in on something and I want to know about it. Oh, Mallard, believe me, it's nothing. I'm just trying to parley a couple of hunches. What are they for? I meant to tell you, Candy, I had remarkable success down at the Chronicle. There's everything you want on that steamship line. Rembrandt, did you have to tell the whole world? Candy, you chide me unnecessarily. I merely had the clippings on the table when Hawkshaw here walked in on me. Okay, Candy, take it from there. I can't tell you yet, Mallard. Nothing makes sense yet. I've got about four loose ends that need tying off. I'd only put two men to following you. I'd save myself a lot of grief. Two days, that's all, Mallard. Just give me two days. I think I'll have it for you. All right, but don't forget, the boys down at Kearney Street headquarters don't love you the way I do. Two days, no more or less. I gotta go. Thanks for the foul, chicken. Ah, very gay. Here, Rembrandt, here's $50 for you. Fifth day, my word. What's all this talk about a recession? Go on and take it. Go someplace and stabilize the economy. I whipped through the old newspaper clipping. It was all there. Fire at sea on Ellsworth's ship. Two seamen lost off Ellsworth's ship near Honolulu. South Sea Island line ship loses rudder and storm. On and on it went over a period of three years. I threw the papers back on the table. Helped myself to some of Rembrandt's formula. Turned down the lights and went out on the porch. The bay was dark except for an occasional path of light from a passing freighter. I sat down to think and think. Then, quick, quick, just like that, two little tumblers in my mind fell into place. Only one thing to do and that was to do it the hard way. The next morning, just as the ferry building siren was announcing 8 o'clock to downtown San Francisco, I got Rembrandt on the phone. Candy, what on earth are you calling me for at this hour? Can't help it, there's work to be done. I did my work last night. So extremely well that I'm just going to bed now. Sorry, you'll just have to delay your sack time. Meet me at the corner of Mason and Union in ten minutes. Right where the cable car stopped. Now, what are we going to do? We're going to take a cable car ride. What? One of those bouncing, jerky little contraptions? Not the way I feel this morning. Oh, yes, you are. Union and Mason in ten minutes. All right, Rembrandt, get on. This is the silliest thing you've ever done, Candy. Maybe, we'll see. Dwight Ellsworth was already on the car when I got on here. And alive. How could you tell? He mumbled something when I asked him to move over. Sounds logical. Although I once remember stumbling into a corpse who mumbled for hours after it'd been liquidated. Rembrandt was in one of his rambling moods so I let him alone. The car pulled over Mason Street down Washington and then swung on to Powell and up the hill. Now I watched the buildings and apartments carefully. It was a little red brick building, now a big apartment house, a woman's residence club and so on. Then over the hill, more apartments and the possibilities petered out at Bush. Well, only one thing to do. Canvas all those blocks between Washington and Bush. Okay, Rembrandt, off the car. The strangest corpse I ever did see. What'd you say, Candy? Off the car, come on. Now what? I just want to get to bed. Well, not for a long time, boy blue. Now here's the pitch. You take this building and I'll take the next. We'll alternate as we go along. Ask if a tall woman with a horsey face and dressed something like Queen Victoria ever lived around here. Oh, Candy. I know it sounds wild, but it's got to be done. A horse with a tall face and dressed something like... Oh, Rembrandt, look at me.   Got it. Okay, get going. It was slow and tiresome. And the answers I got. A tall gal dressed like Queen Victoria. Oh, sister! That was about par. Nope, nobody like that ever lived here. Are you positive? Dane, who fits that description? Yeah, I'm positive. The morning wore on and so did we. We were over on the other side of California Street now, so we stopped and had a bite to eat. I had pickles with mine and Rembrandt had olives on toothpicks in a glass. And again, we picked up the hunt. My heart was suddenly making with a rumba. There, just on the other side of Clay, in front of a three-story red brick house was a police squad car. There was a little knot of people gathered around. Daintily lifting my crinoline, I did a mel pattern down the block and up the front steps. I didn't have any trouble finding the room. The door was wide open and there was a body on the floor. Four representatives of the law were buzzing back and forth. One of the buzzees was Mallard. Well, my little ambassador of violence. Why is it you're always around the extremely dead, Candy? I've got no time to brandy the ad-libs, Mallard. Who is it? I don't know yet. No identification. Let me see. Oh, a pen pal, maybe. I was right. I knew it. Knew it? Knew what? You're right. He was a pen pal. He wrote me a cheque. He wrote me a cheque last night for $300. His name is Roger Ellsworth. Very interesting. Must be open season on Ellsworths. Okay, Candy. Time you filled in in the blanks. Start. Wait a minute. I want to look at the window over here. Mm-hmm. Mallard, there are a couple of younger Ellsworths living around town here. I'm sure you'd like to see them say healthy. Yeah? Get out to 25 Dashill Road and pick up an old crone also named Ellsworth. Five will get you 20. She's the one you're after. All right. But you get back to your place and stay put. Understand? I want to have a more illuminating chat with you. Oh, Mallard, I'm just like putty in your hand. The moon was coming up over Diablo and spraying a path of silver on the bay. Still no Mallard. I wondered what could be wrong. Well, this was it. This was the showdown. You seen a tall face with a horsey woman? Oh, Rembrandt.  Oh, what's the use? Now what's the matter? What's the matter, she says? I've been roving all over Powell Street ringing doorbells. Where did you go, you traitor? Oh, Rembrandt, I'm sorry. In the excitement I forgot all about you. What excitement? There's been another murder. In a moment, there's going to be another. I'm looking right at you, Candy. Oh, cool. Have some formula and stop snorting steam. What was that? Your window, Candy. It just shattered. What? Oh, wait a minute. That window didn't shatter by itself. Quick, get the lights, Rembrandt. Now duck down here.  This isn't a game, believe me. Candy! Candy, are you all right? Yikes, it's the gum shoe. Yes, I'm all right. Where are you, Mallard? Over here. Two houses over. We've got your girlfriend trapped on the roof next to you. Don't move and stay covered. Okay. All right, Mrs. Ellsworth, are you coming down peacefully or do we have to play cops and robbers? I'm not coming down until I get that Candy Maxon. She did it.  That was your own way. Okay, loosen her up a bit, boys. Better than the 4th of July.  Is that what we're talking about? Ready to come down, Mrs. Ellsworth? No, I'm not! It was a miracle, Candy. You must have moved slightly just as she shot at you. Oh, when it was too close, I can tell you. She's dead. Oh, decidedly. I think she was dead before she hit the ground. That one shot got her. We went out to her house and she was just driving off when we got there. We traveled her up to North Beach, lost her for a block, and then spotted a car at the top of the hill here. We arrived just as she was getting on the roof next door. Okay, now you tell me your little dream. Well, it was that ship docking that set my wheels going around. The name Ellsworth started burning in back somewhere. You saw the clippings we dug up. The South Sea Island steamship lines were slowly being sabotaged. I did some checking, and I found that the insurance companies weren't going to renew. Yeah, I don't know why I didn't tie that in sooner.  I went out to the place on Dashel Road, and when I left, I was pretty sure the old girl had knocked off her brother-in-law. Why? Well, for several reasons. One, she was a venomous old witch.  And her husband admitted she was a darn good shot. I also saw one little pot gun that was very interesting. It had a silencer on it. Uh-huh. That was the one she used on you tonight. And also the one she used on Dwight Ellsworth from the window of that apartment where you found her husband. How do you know? Go back there. You'll see a nice little bullet hole in the curtain with burned powder all around it. Now, don't tell me that... Yes, I'm telling you that she rented that place knowing that her brother-in-law always went downtown on a certain cable car. She waited that morning until we were riding by, and she plucked him. I have now heard everything. And the reason? Dwight Ellsworth, rather than fighting the insurance companies, had decided to sell his steamship line. But the old gal thought she'd beat him to the punch by knocking him off. The steamship company would then fall into her husband's hands. Ah, what about her husband? Well, after he gave me the check and I left, they evidently had a fearful row and she spilled the beans. Somehow, she lured him down to that place on Powell and gave him some lead poisoning too. And that's all there is to it. Candy, I wish you'd have told me all these things earlier. We might have been able to save the life of Roger Ellsworth. I wouldn't do any good because if she hadn't killed him, I was going to. What? While I was waiting for you to get here, the phone rang. It was Uncle Charlie, the honest miller. That no good Roger Ellsworth. His check bounced like a brand new golf ball. What's so funny, Mallard? Listen in again to the further adventures of Candy Mattson, Girl Sucker. Well, that's the way it goes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. In this case, nobody did. Except Rembrandt. He'd docked his darkroom with $50 worth of formula. And that's the kind you use on negatives either. Let's see, murder on a cable car, Dwight and Roger Ellsworth done in as well as the old gal. One check that bounced. That really does sound fantastic, doesn't it? But I told you this was radio, didn't I? Oh, wait a minute. Maybe I did come out ahead of that. On the way out, Mallard leaned on and kissed me. The first time it ever happened. You know, at times it's kind of fun to be in the arms of the law. Listen again next week at the same time. For excitement and adventure, just dial Candy Mattson, Yukon 2-8209. Heard tonight were Helen Cleave, Jack Cahill and Harry Becpo, Jack Thomas as Rembrandt and Henry Lef as Mallard. The program stars Natalie Masters as Candy and is written and produced by Monty Masters. This has been a presentation of NBC, the national broadcasting company.


Okay, investment, investment expectations is the magic, you know, phrase of the day investment expectations for 2022 we're deep into it already here in community matters with Richard Wertheim and he is he is not a financial planner he is something else. So Richard, can you distinguish. What I originally called you and what you really are. Yeah, I, a lot of people. I understand we don't really see the difference so we're we're fund managers we actually manage a portfolio we build it we do our research on individual positions and then we. Yeah, so we're not. We don't help people plan their, their, their retirements or you know where the guys are actually the cold face, creating the products, and then a financial planner may may or may not use our products we don't offer them. We may in the future. But it's, it's the distinction is we're not the middleman where the, where the guys are actually making an investing in about, we're all about the returns less about sort of a broker, if you will. And that's my whole life so it's a, it's a distinction I think particularly here in Hawaii that's lost a lot of people, because there aren't, there's no fund management, there's no institutional business here in Hawaii.  It's I mean so we're, we're, you know, they're just semantics, we are like a mutual fund, but we're more probably similar to we call ourselves multi strategy, or a type of a hedge fund, even though we're not really. That is the wrong connotations for what our investment objectives are but these are just names, but yes, in a sense, we're fun. That's what we are. We literally are fun we're actually transitioning right now into a fun so no more individual accounts. So it's all it's run it is a fun it's called the Fort Street asset management fund. Okay, no more individual accounts Wow. I hope you continue to talk to me. Well, it depends if you buy me lunch. Would you take a virtual lunch never mind. You get your pizza. I get my pizza. I can work with that. I can work with that. Yeah, now we still have some individual accounts will still have that capacity but really the focus is to have the fund allows us to operate. More efficiently, and it also allows us to enhance or broaden our investment scope, which is really important given the world that we're in today, and we talk about that so our focus is really equities. We've run a proprietary portfolio net focuses because that's where my expertise is, but the world today is becoming more complicated and I think you're going to have to have more tools in your toolbox. So that's what we're preparing. So in the toolbox in the magic box of tools. Is there what is known affectionately as an algorithm. There could be. There are all sorts of strategies out there. You know, it's there are a lot of different ways to skin a cat. It really depends on sort of first and foremost what your objective is and then second, what you understand and what you get access to. So yeah, I mean some, some strategies use algorithms and it's not, it's not an area of expertise for me but I'm familiar with guys who run those strategies having been, you know, around the fund management business for 30 plus years. And, you know, some of them are run very successfully. You know, some of them are black boxes you have no idea how they do it. But it is, it's fascinating. And if I would have talked to my younger self today I would definitely, you know, have told myself to do more work on the quantitative side and less on the qualitative. But if you have that capacity. So yes, so there's, yeah, it could be it's not it's not a big area for me. If we're looking to do less of a focus but I'm open to anything you know there's, there's, it's, it's particularly in this world. Having, like I like to say these days, having as many or more arrows in your quiver is better and not riding on a one trick pony. Sometimes that works, you know and there we've been in a phenomenally phenomenal period of incredible growth.  And you were going to have to the playbooks have to be adjusted. Yeah, I mean I really like the idea of talking to your younger self but Richard what about talking to your older self. What about talking to the Richard Wertheimer of say two years from now wouldn't that be helpful. Sure. Yeah, I think maybe two years from now. Yeah, I think, you know, it's, I think when you making predictions about the markets is difficult and mostly a waste of time. And you shouldn't be thinking about where the world is going so if you think about two years from now. I think that we have now crossed the Rubicon and we aren't a different place and inflation plays a big part in that and that's, you know, if if we've heard a lot about it last year expect we're going to hear a lot more about it in the next few years and that really changes the investment strategy for a lot of people it's going to make bonds in particular very unattractive. And I think people, like, you know, just just the second ago we're just talking before we got on here. They're, they have a lot of bonds because in the old days just holding bonds and getting you know generating yield. It was easy, and they provided a hedge against equities.  But if you look back over 100 plus year period. It wasn't always the case it's more of an anomaly, and inflation is kryptonite the bonds and so there's going to be a lot of people. struggling to find a home for their money and there are alternatives. I mean equities is the obvious one. Even though we're in for a bumpy ride right now as the fed titans. Again, keeping it simple, owning equities and not trying to worry about the market so much. And if you can, this is what we try to do is have a sensible portfolio have great companies, hopefully you buy them at the right price, or a decent price. Being a position to be able to sustain any of the bad times because they always come. You don't know how long, and don't touch it. I mean the best thing to do is, you know, we are our strategy for the equity portfolio is quite simple. We're going to find great companies, buy them at reasonable prices, and be patient, don't do anything. And that sounds easy, but it's really hard because what's a good price, and what's a great company. Yeah, and what, and what changes would drive you to sell that company that looks so good before. Don't sell so that our strategy and again there's a lot of different ways to skin a cat you talked about algorithms and quant funds all different types of funds out there and having I you know my in my younger days I was a trader I was a proprietary trader and literally we would trade every day would be in and you know markets, you know trying to like, but that's a, you can make money doing that but over the long run, it's really hard. And I think the, I looked at my own, my own track record over the years, and that's how we created this, this fun is to protect our assets, and to figure out a sensible way to compound them. And so selling if you got a great company why sell it. Just hold it. If it goes down more and you're either hold it, or you buy more price you get excited if you have that ability to do that. So, you know the mistake that most of us make is we, we are too active we feel like an investing, like we have to, if we don't do something then we're not being productive and it's the exact opposite. You know, I was in anticipation of this discussion I took a look at the website for CNBC, which, you know, at a time years ago and I was more interested in the day to day ebb and flow in the market. I was interesting to me I haven't watched it in a while but there was a, there was a little piece there that was that was really interesting it was a fellow named Steven Heller. Heller used to be the Fed, I guess. Yes. And he's criticizing the current Fed. He's saying that the current Fed should have raised rates a long time ago, and they just didn't have the cojones to do that he said he did not use the word cojones by the way I'll be clear about that. He said they said they should have and now they have to sort of catch up with the inflation. You agree. I think that's probably true.  I don't think anybody would fault them for what they did. They put they haven't done is even now, on one hand they're talking about tightening which is great they're behind the curve that they're, they're, they're starting too late. But they're still also loosening at the same time so it's really hard though I mean the, you know, I don't. I do think they have to accelerate the pace of rate hikes and also start shrinking the balance sheet which is these are all tightening measures basically to basically soak up some of the excess liquidity. And so Steven, I was absolutely right. I mean a lot of people are saying this is not. And now the market is is adjusting to that reality. That's what you're seeing. You know, that that plus we've had, you know, you mean that you mean that volatile day a couple of days ago and it was all over the board that was an adjustment to the rate hike issue. And the, you know, markets discounting negatives trying to figure out what what this new information means and what it means for for fund, ultimately is about fundamentals of the economy. And, and really what drives share prices is two things in particular, it's the earnings capability of the of the of companies general, and then also their yield that they generate. So that that's what if you're the and these things are all related obviously because when things are loose the one miss misconception I think by a lot of people is they, they have this sense because of the pandemic that the sky is falling and that things are really bad out there and there are problems out there I'm not trying to belittle that this very real issues. But from an economic point of view, the economy is red hot I mean that that's why you have inflation. So, when you have that kind of strength, it means that that a lot of companies earnings are quite good and that is ultimately what's driven the stock market stock prices over the last two years. That's what's happened it's like what the Fed did was I hate the word unprecedented but it was historically we've never seen anything with so much money and it's still out there so it's I wouldn't get too negative I just think we're adjusting to this period where now the Fed realizes that they've built this the mother of all bonfires through on a bunch of rocket fuel this is in March of 2020 started and lit it and when they did that we've said this is going to this is definitely going to set off some very significant consequences and we're seeing it now with inflation and inflation is very tricky, you know, in terms of what it means for the economy and politically and obviously runaway inflation have severe, you know, historically from historical context. And I'm not suggesting that's going to happen I think we're going to get waves of inflation so inflation will rise and then it'll kind of come back off and it rise again but it's really hard to make, make very big predictions and proclamations. But I do think we are heading into a different world. So on one hand in terms of how you manage a portfolio today. I think you have to be. I think that the market's going to be tough for the next six months.  But I don't think that this necessarily means that it's the end by any stretch of anything it's an opportunity. I think you should look at it like that that that the prices come off. You know the economy is still growing. The world is still spinning will be okay. I don't think it's but I do think that as we go further out. I think we're going to the what's worked before is not going to work in the future. So two years from now I think you're going to have to find alternatives and there are alternatives. I mean you mentioned that before. What are the alternatives. I think you know running a sensible equity portfolio and not trying to guess this is a lot of people say oh the market looks so high I'm nervous or stop trying to guess yes I mean you can. So there are times when the market gets excessive and then at times when it gets oversold so and you have a choice to I wouldn't I think for investors stop trying to worry about whether where we are in that because it's really hard to know the problem is you get the other side right but you get the other side wrong so in general is just write it be in a position to allow yourself to write and that's what we try to do we build portfolios we go for our portfolio is is it can weather those storms and we can sell through and that's you know that's the first one of the main parts of it specifically when we're talking about alternatives to bonds conventional bonds. You know they're now you're yielding negative 1% plus on the 10 year. Why would you want to hold that it doesn't make any sense to me that you're losing money right off the bat so this conception that we have where bonds. They throw off a 56% yield to do anything of the worry about and then they protect us when the markets fall when the equities fall it's no longer the case and I don't think it's going to be the case in the future. So the alternatives are equities, you can hold some cash. I think having some some strategy that allows you to have treasury inflation protected securities, but it's not that simple you have to be able to put together a strategy there's a certain level of expertise that's involved in that beyond even what I do I mean it's so you know for me it's finding guys and I know people who do that we incorporate in that strategy. Finding I think real assets in an inflationary world will do better, meaning real assets have a lot of real estate or real or real estate investment trusts that are listed in the market you can get access that way. Infrastructure, six funds, they're sort of, they could be resource related commodities timber energy related things that inflation environment tend to be better than a lot of the alternatives out there. And the list goes on so you. So anything that that is is uncorrelated to conventional bonds and and ideally uncorrelated to equities. That's that's the sort of direction that I think people should be should be looking. And it's definitely the way we're going. We're even for ourselves, we, you know, we have a certain expertise, we manage our equity portfolio. We're pretty competent that I'm doing for a long time. But we are also looking to expand beyond that because we see that that the future again I don't know nobody knows exactly how it's going to pan out but I think that that it's a, we are in a regime change. And I think a lot of people don't really are not ready for it yet and they're unfortunately it's going to be a rude awakening. Well, yeah, let me talk just break down a little bit of that. So you talked about first, first, what about precious metals, what about gold is gold something that falls within that category of alternative. Absolutely. I mean, there's, there's a lot of my point is just there's a lot of alternatives out there. We own gold, we've own gold forever. But, you know, we had a lot of it in 2020, when the markets collapsed. You know, that was that really helped our portfolio. It's that for me, it's, it's that hedge that safety mechanism that gold plays. It's, you know, there's no, there's no very little. You see the gold miners have some cash flow attached to it, but basically it doesn't generate any cash. It's just a, you know, it's a store value and historically, you know, it's useful. So I would say, and then there's debate on this, but depending on what kind of inflationary world, it should probably do better than a lot of the alternatives out there. So the answer is yes, precious metals, gold in particular. Absolutely. I think having an allocation makes sense. You mentioned utilities or energy rapid energy and I wanted to ask you about that. We had a show a couple of days ago with an energy guy out of Florida.  He's talking about, you know, the increase in demand for energy because, you know, we have a lot of appliances and computers and stuff that requires energy. We have new technologies coming online. And although, you know, renewables are not, you know, at a point now, just yet, we're going to say they're driving the whole thing. They're, they're definitely in the future. And so utilities are not an old lady stock anymore. Utilities can be very exciting and you mentioned utilities. And so I would say, I see if you agree that utilities to look at utilities really requires a certain amount of expertise, because of all the moving parts and utilities these days. So what are those level, what are those areas of expertise and what considerations enter into what part of the energy world you buy into. And that, there's a number of related pieces to that utility. I have to be careful utilities because they are quasi fixed income so if rates are going up, then that's not, that's not usually not great for utilities. So I don't, I'm not, I'll probably bearish on utilities per se. However, there are some utilities out there that are making the switch to renewable, and that's pretty exciting, but the multiples that they trade on right now is too high. So, which brings to another point and it relates to energy. When I think we're at our belief is we are a point where both for bonds and for equities. This is a time to increase exposure to what we call short duration assets, as opposed to long duration because long duration is more sensitive to changes in interest rates, particularly when they're going up. So an example of a long duration asset be the 10 or 20 year bond, or high tech stocks that don't have that traded, there can be great stocks or they can be stocks that have no profit, and they trade out high multiples. So those would be long duration short duration would be stocks that have perhaps lower quality companies. And this is the way to define that is a lot of energy companies are those type of lower. quality companies that are cheap, and they traded lower valuations. And so that's kind of how we reposition the portfolio a bit, you know, we, we don't like to switch strategies midstream, and we don't, we prefer not to rent stocks we prefer to own them forever, as we don't sell them. But if you want a short duration asset you're probably going to have to sell it at some point so we don't personally have too many, but the way the world is going to your point about talking with energy. As we transition, and we've had this view for a while but as you transition from dirty or dirty energy to clean energy. It's not that simple. And it actually what's happened it's created more demand for legacy energy. And that's why you're seeing prices go up and that's why you're seeing even in Germany today with Ukraine. I mean they're shutting down all their nuclear energy plants, and we've been long new uranium for for many years now, a number of years. And that belief that that transition is going to be very important for that we will rely even more on the older energy company so those are short duration assets that are that are cheap that they're they're throwing off a ton of free cash flow right now. And the returns are, you know, over the short term going to be very impressive. So, I mean I think we, I would love to own some of those renewable energy stocks, but I'm going to wait for them to create reasonable prices as as with a lot of the high quality tech stocks. We do a lot of the, we do a lot of work trying to analyze where we think fair value is, and it's that's it's really hard to do but there's there are a number of ways you can calculate that our focus is on price to free cash flow in particular. And that's why when we look at the markets like this we actually get excited, because this means we're going to be able to buy great companies. And we're going to be able to get a reasonable price. And the, the math on that is lost on a lot of people, but it's that that power of of incrementally getting a better price and what it does for your ultimate returns is so significant. If what you're looking to do is really have your get boost your returns and let them compound is really the key, the key to that is just don't touch it, you know, let it let it compound because those companies, they, you know, if they're good. They'll take that free cash flow and they'll reinvest it in the right way and get a better return better than we can ever do that's why we give them the money. So you're an international guy.  I don't speak Thai, I speak three dialects of Chinese. I'm remembering it and talk you gave me help me understand that nobody in Taiwan speaks Thai. Yeah, I think I was in China and they kicked me out or they told me I had to leave. And this is this is 35 plus years ago. And yeah, no, I, they said it. I said I want to learn Chinese and they said well you can go to Taiwan so I don't want to learn Thai. Yeah, no, I, yeah, I spent, I spent 30 some odd years in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. So I want to ask you about, you know, the international basket, if you will, now. There's plenty of stress in the world, plenty of, you know, strange doings, if you will and risky threatening doings without, you know, going into detail on Ukraine or Taiwan for that matter. I wonder how you feel about international issues right now. Yeah, you know, it's funny. I is reading a book by you're the Israeli historian philosopher. Yuri, I can't remember his name. Yeah, yeah, another guy is fabulous guy. One of his paraphrasing but the, the, the, you know, we're all afraid of change, most of us, and we fear it and, but historically speaking, the one constant that we have is change. And so we are going through a period of change. Okay, you know, this is what's going on, whether it's China or Russia, United States, domestically, all these things, even with the pandemics, and it's, you know, often around pandemics we have these sort of shifts. So, it doesn't mean change is bad and change is good, it's just change. And there will be challenges. There'll be some great things that come out of it and some horrible things. So, I think, you know, as it, so I think we are seeing that now and China is obviously and Russia, but China in particular is, they are expanding and from a historical point of view they, they are are in the process of reverting to their mean of where they were for the for for thousands of years, you know, I'm not exaggerating they, they were the ultimate power and so it's, that is somewhat not a surprise and I don't think anybody should be shocked by that. But what it means for the world order is you know, who knows I mean is there will be there'll be competition and there'll be challenges it's, it's, it's, you know, I still have my money on the United States. I think we have a phenomenal system is messed up as it is. And, and changes needed here as well. China is is a is a formidable competitor and they will be and we're just going to have to figure out how to deal with that. Having said that, I think they are a very fragile place and I think I've talked through a couple of conversations we've had through think tech on China, it is, you know, it is, I admire them, and yet I worry about, I mean, what they've done with themselves into a corner, and that's affected their economy, and it's going to be interesting how they extricate themselves, will they will they get out of it. More than likely they'll figure it out. But there could be some challenges along the way and we invest, you know, globally. So that's, you know, we pay attention to these things. And one of the things that from an investment point of view is probably not a bad time to be looking at or thinking about allocating a bit more money to some of the internet, you know, outside of the United States necessarily.  So I'm not, I'm not. I think a lot of people come on talking heads. Smart, famous people. One, one, one, one gentleman who I know was on recently on on the Bloomberg and it, they make these massive proclamations and I think it's not helpful. They may be right.  But there's an element of that. I, and, but I do think internationally I think that there are some opportunities I think China over. I think once they get themselves out of this sort of COVID issue. I think, you know, there's going to be opportunities there. What about impact investments and other there are people around who would like to direct their investments to high, high moral high principal companies. I think it's relevant. More from a moral philosophical sense I I'm, I'm actually, you know, we get we get really excited about these trends and this is a massive trend. I mean it economically or commercially, I probably shouldn't say this but I'm skeptical about the actual results. And I, and there was an article not too long ago, I think this week in the Wall Street Journal or in Bloomberg I can't remember talking about this that that that the evidence is not there yet that it that it's actually a sensible from from a returns point of view, way to invest but but ethically obviously it makes a lot of sense but I think a lot of people are jumping on it and running around say yes we are and so we want to do you know that it makes them feel good whether it makes a difference, you know, or not I don't know. I grew I and so we, you know, just from talking around book, we don't pay as much attention to it we probably should have we wanted to raise more assets. We're sensitive to it, we're open to it but I'm a bit skeptical that person. The most important area I want to cover with you is optics. You know we have a good part of the press in this country is is is calling us in a crisis in a crisis of a democracy and a crisis over government in general a crisis over the social safety net the success or failure of the administration. You know there's a lot of threatening and climate change don't think of climate change as well these things happen and they're all pretty threatening and a lot of the press. On both sides of the coin you know are saying we are we're failing. And a lot of people believe that, although today I read an article I forget where it was to say now you stop that just stop that because it's not that bad and we'll be okay. On both sides of the coin but bottom line is a lot of people in this country from various persuasions feel that we are in an emergency situation. They feel that the sky yes the sky is falling. I mean, not necessarily in terms of the market, but in terms of the economy inflation coven you name it. And because they feel that way, right or wrong, you know, some of them are right some of them are wrong. You know they are going to change their investment strategies, they're going to change their consumer strategies, they're going to change their way of feeling about inflation and dealing with inflation and all that. So, you know, when I was a young child in college, they taught me in economics 101 that it was all a matter of public confidence. And if you look at public confidence today, it ain't. So my question is how come the stock market and all these investment vehicles keep on going up. I mean, you're reflecting a level of confidence but you can't find it. You can find a confidence. Is my imagining something what is happening what is going on here. So there's an impact that we could spend another half an hour just on some of those issues alone. You know in terms of where the country is and some of the, the issues which look, I'm, you know, when I was comparing the system and still extremely bullish on the United States, because I spent so many years of my life outside of it. But we have some absolutely major, major issues in this country that need to be fixed for sure. And, and they're, they're fundamental.  What was it democracies the, you know, is, is a democracies the worst system but it's the best or something like that is the best, you know, there's the best one out there. Yeah, we know what you mean yeah you know what I mean it's still it's still the best of all the alternatives it's the worst but it's still the best of all the alternatives. So, in terms of the markets though and in terms of just confidence levels. I think you have to be really careful we get, we get so influenced by the media, and God knows what else and we think that confidence, if you're talking about confidence and the markets, I think right we need to separate that out because it's not what drives the market which drives the markets, ultimately I guess that earlier, it's it's fundamentals it's is, you know, now fun now confidence will play into the economy. But you've had just to put it in perspective. Yes, I mean consumer confidence me demand is is is very strong right now. But I don't think you can. Let me step back the way that people often have to I hear that a lot for people that oh you know confidence is slow and public confidence, whether it's in the economy or inflation or the government, but that's not what drives the market. It's, it's, it is, you know, how could you invest that why I want to take all my money out of the market I'm not that's too that's, it sounds too risky like that's that's absolutely not the way it is a factor that's in there but it's not it's not the main thing I would say please don't look at that, because that I've been doing this for so many years I can tell you that is not what drives that that determines the level of the stock market. If you have, if you have no faith in the economy and you think that things are really going to stop growing. Yeah, we have bigger issues if you if we think that's the case that we've hit as a country, or as a world but as a country specifically, then I suggest that you should be buying canned food and building your bunker and getting your guns because otherwise it is, it is kind of people doing that. And I'm not like I'm not saying I'm always, you know, come from the old country. It's, I'm ready. I'm, it's my mentality is, I never discount anything's possible. You know, I just want to be prepared, but at the same time, you can't, you know, you have to. And if you if you if you operate with that mentality you never do anything then you don't actually take those risks, and you, I think that this, this country is still going to grow, and growth will equate to higher values in certain assets and so you need to be exposed sensibly and be able to ride the ups and downs, inevitably, because they absolutely always happen. It doesn't go straight up and doesn't go straight down it goes all over the place. But over time, as long as that growth as long as the world is growing or the country's growing and we are, you'll do okay, you'll do okay that with a tricky part is inflation inflation really makes it throws a curveball into the equation, the math, very simple, it's, it affects us, you know, it affects prices and everything. And it's a Milton Friedman said it's inflation is a is a everywhere and all the time a monetary phenomenon it's actually more of a behavioral and psychological thing and that's why it's not going away that it's out of the bottle. We got to that's going to be the challenge you asked me what I'm worried about is how do we deal with inflation, how do we deal with the type of debt that we have as a country, how does that play out and and it's going to be really interesting how that you know there they're going to be the tough choices that are going to be in front of us, not necessarily for you and me Jay but for you know the kids that are coming up next. Yeah, they're going to have to pay our bills is what's going to happen. You know, you're not worried about the need to take a wheelbarrow of Deutsche Marks or Zlotties down to the grocery store for a loaf of bread. No, but that is that you have to as a student of history you have to recognize that's what I'm that is the ultimate fear because that's that's how you get the Nazis. That's how you get all sorts of throughout history. I mean this is hyperinflation and I'm not suggesting that that's going to happen I think we're going to inflation, but I think it's going to be waves of inflation we're up and then down up and down and I don't think it's going to I think we were we understand it enough we have the tools at this point and I think we have the the willingness, you know the the ability, the sensibility to use those tools to basically moderate the effects of that but I think once it's out there like I guess that's the thing about this monetary and it's it's it's there it's going to be very tough to put back into the bottle. But that doesn't mean you go out and you just, you know, hold only cash, but it doesn't because cash is also going to suffer. This is this is where the from an investment point of view. And so we don't I don't have all the answers we continually evolved our strategy and how we approach this, but we use the same basic building blocks and we just add on to that. And I think that the ultimate message you know beyond the stock market but just as to your point about the world and the United States and this divisiveness these changes. You know you got to have faith and you got to have hope. You got to recognize how bad it is but just you can't lose that because that's the stuff that ultimately gets us through it. And you got to observe you got to be alive and and sentient and follow the action, whatever you wind up doing at least you have to be in contact and a good consumer of better news. Well, Richard, I am, I'm sorry we can't have a meal in person. But we as I said before the show we could share a virtual pizza. And if you or I go out and buy a lot of canned food, then we could do a canned food virtual lunch if you will. I prefer I prefer pizza. If you get it from New York, that would be better. There you go. What is your website so people will know what it looks like. It is street am asset management.com. All right, Richard worth I was so nice to know you so nice to talk to you. Thank you so much for having this conversation with me. It's a pleasure. Thank you.