Run it up, they run it back. Run it up, they run it back. Run it up, they run it back. Good morning, Thursday morning. And welcome to Run It Back here on FanDuelTV. Introductions first because we've got some huge breaking news right off the top here, but stadium insider Shum Sharaniah, Chandler P, Lou Will, my name is Michelle and Shums, wake up, look at my phone, as a healthy person does, and then boom, Minnesota Timberwolves, the number one seed with huge news, Shums. What's going on? Carl Anthony Towns, I'm told, has a meniscus tear in his left knee. He's going to be sidelined indefinitely. The last 24 hours, Towns has been researching, talking, getting second opinions from doctors on how to move forward here, what treatment plan is best for him, and the potential need for surgery as well from what I'm told. I mean, this is just devastating for the Timberwolves. They're the number one seed in the Western Conference, 43 and 19. We know Carl Anthony Towns, he's a competitor. And finally, he has a chance now to win at a really high level. And he's in the midst of a big season, 22 points a game, almost nine rebounds a game, three assists, shooting 52%, 51% from the field, 43 almost from three point range.  And the Wolves are the second best record in the NBA behind the Celtics. So just tough timing for him as the playoffs are about a month away. Dude, this is when sports are just an absolute kick in the butt. Yeah, they've been flip-flopping with Oklahoma City. Denver Nuggets are right there. Guys, Chandler, obviously, how bad is this, really? It's bad, and I've had an abundance of meniscus tears and surgeries and rehabs. And there's a couple of different options here. It's fully torn if they're going to stitch it back together, if they're going to remove it fully. But no matter what, he's looking like he's going to miss a lot of time. And it's obviously with the procedures and the technology, everything's getting easier. But this is just a huge blow. This is a team that really has shocked the world, how they've begun the season, how they sustained that, how they still continue to be at the top of the Western Copper standings. But it's just tough. We talked about yesterday, fully loaded. A lot of teams don't really fear this team. And now you take away their second best player, arguably their first best player on some nights. It's a huge blow. And they do have guys that they can sub in, not read. Thank God they re-signed him. And he's had a great year. And they can go small with Kyle Anderson, McDaniels. But you can't really replace Carl Anthony Towns. This is a huge blow to them, a team, obviously, with high expectations now after how they got off to a hot start. But this is going to make that first round matchup even more difficult for them if Carl Anthony Towns is not able to play. Lou, I mean, this is about as bad as it gets.  They are, I think, three games ahead of the Clippers, who are in that four spot. If you had to kind of look at it now, and I know Nasreed can do something, but do you think this Timberwolves team is going to fall as far as maybe four? Man, it's going to be a fight. We talked about this final stretch of games. Everybody needs to go in healthy. And this is a huge blow for the Minnesota Timberwolves. We've talked about it all year, them and OKC being one and two, being at the top of their Western Conference and seeing if they can survive those positions to get to the postseason. And with Kat going down, this is a huge blow for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Good thing they got going for them, the Pelicans are fifth. But they're three and a half games back from that fourth seed, so do they slide all the way to four? We don't know. We don't know how the Clippers had a big win last night. OKC is still playing well. So you've still got teams right there that are playing good, competitive basketball. With Kat being out, that gives Nasreed an opportunity to play extended minutes, who's probably going to be a sixth man of the year candidate for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Obviously, you still have Ant-Man, who's going to anchor them on offense. You've got Rudy Goldberg, who's also going to be a defensive player of the year candidate as well. So they still got a lot of firepower, still got a lot of role players that can give them great opportunities to keep going. I don't see them sliding all the way to four. Luckily for them, this happened with only a limited amount of games left in the season. If some catastrophic happens, I see a slide. But I think they remain top four. See, I think they could slide all the way to four. They're only two and a half games ahead of the Clippers. I think that these teams now are getting fully healthy. They're starting to peak. And again, when you look at the standings, there's so much basketball left. It's hard to kind of see and try and pick your match up. But if they get to the fourth seed and they play in New Orleans Pelicans in the first round, it's probably their most favorable match up, honestly. So there's too much time to tell right now. All I know is the Thunders are playing well, and they're healthy. The Nuggets are playing well. They're healthy. And the Clippers are playing well, and they're healthy. So those three teams, I think, are better teams anyways. But again, they're even, right? They're even with the Thunder. And they're one game ahead of the Nuggets. So I definitely think there's going to be some shifting in the top three. But again, I think Nasri, this is on him. They re-signed him for this reason. He's a very capable player. And then this is Anthony Edwards. Like, you're the guy. You're the guy with Cronin at the Towns. Now there's even more on your plate to dominate and to help kind of finish this season strong. Hey, tell me, you know, this also is going to come down to scheduling as well. I'm curious to see what they have left on the schedule. You know, if they got some favorable match up, some games that they can sneak by and get through these tough times, I think they remind. I definitely don't have them sliding out of the four. You know, we're saying them sliding to the four slot. Very much possible. But I think if they got a favorable matchup, they got some favorable matchups coming up, I think they survive. Yeah, they'll definitely be home quarter advantage. They're not going to follow six games and get to the five spot. Yeah. And just overall, like, I think we got to give Colin three times this flower. We've all, you know, we entered the season talking about what's his future? What is the future of the term will look like? That, you know, the combination of Rudy Gobert and Carl Antony Towns together. Will it work? And clearly they've had amazing success. Chris Finch has gotten all these guys to buy in and play at a high level. And Colin Antony Towns show that he can be a number one, number two, any given night on a championship contending, playoff contending type of team. The other thing I'm curious though, Chandler, from your perspective, from a big man perspective with Colin, they tell like, how do you navigate a meniscus tear? Like, is it like, he's obviously going to miss a level of time. Is there any chance, is there any positive news income? Like, what's the most positive outcome here that we can get? It's tough because if it's a meniscus tear and we're talking this range of motion is bad, his strength is bad, he's probably got like a real limp depending on the tear here. So it's not like he can just rehab, get PRP, you know, varsity blues, court is on him up and him play. Like, this is something that usually requires surgery. And for a guy that moves the way he moves, explosive, athletic, seven footer, it's tough. And again, you're not going to want to rush it, but you're obviously, I think that they're, you try and handle it now. And if they do make a run and then he can somehow get back in the second round, maybe or something like that. But this isn't something that just heals overnight. Again, they have to look at the scans. I'm sure they're getting second and third opinions, but there's usually two options. You either stitch it back together and let it heal, which requires a longer rehab process, but obviously you want to salvage that meniscus, really the only cushion in your knee. And it's crazy, but to remove the whole thing, that's a shorter rehab. But then again, that's going to lead to future problems that I have right now that is inevitably leads to like a knee replacement way down the line. So it's, I don't think he's coming back. When you see a torn meniscus, he's getting surgery and he's out for at least a couple of months.  That is my journalistic opinion.  Not the only injury though, this is that time of year where just kind of hold your breath and hope. Evan Mobley, however, got that sprained knee, left ankle situation.  Yeah, the expectation is Evan Mobley will be out an extended period of time. He's going to miss at least a week before he's evaluated it again, but the sense around the team is because of how significant the swelling is in his ankle, they're going to need to wait to see that swelling of the spring go down before they can really go and establish a timeline. And just the fact that that significant swelling has been there, it's still there. It's led a lot of people there to believe that he'll be out a period of time here. And this is not the first time he's missed time. He was out in December, January with the knee injury and now it'll be an ankle. The Cavs though, they have played well in his absence. And I think there's obviously confidence within that group that they can try to write the ship depending on when he's going to be back. I mean, guys, we'll start with Mobley and then we can obviously add on the fact that Donovan Mitchell's still out.  Insert Dean Wade, Michelle, this is his chance. He had a game yesterday, stay hot. You're going to get more minutes now. The good things is they're deep, right? They have guys like Jared Allen, Carissa Burt Struse. They have a deep, the Georgie Neanderthal, and they go small ball. This is a huge ball. This is your double, double guys averaging 16 and 10. He's solid, he's so balanced. He's such a great lob threat. It's tough when we're talking about his injury while their best player, Donovan Mitchell's out as well. And it's just tough. This is part of it. This is who can stay the healthiest sometimes is the most important thing. And this team's kind of been up and down with their main guys, including Darius Garland, out for a lot of the season. So when they're fully healthy, this team's been dynamic. You saw the run they went on. You see how elite they can play. They have a little bit of everything, but get healthy, Mobley.  You're thinking when we want to get to the playoffs when we face the Boston Celtics and the Eastern Conference finals, we want to be healthy. So whatever they have to do, whatever that recipe looks like to get fully healthy for that, do it. Because I think they do have enough to get by a first round matchup, not fully healthy, but then it's going to get tough. So the East is wide open. They're only threat, maybe the Bucks, but they're going through the Celtics and they have some time until they play them. So this is tough, but I think they have a deep enough team to kind of tread Walter while he's out. OK, so just for the record, you guys, last night against the Hawks, Dean Wei played 30 minutes, nine points, which is technically up from his average. So maybe this is the beginning of something. The reality. Lou, let's figure it out. You heard all that. I mean, they're sitting in that third spot and that huge win against the Celtics let down loss last night against the Hawks. But Donovan Mitchell is also out for we don't even know how long. Do you see them staying in the three spot, Lou? Yeah, I think their record buys them some time. You know, they're three and a half games up on Orlando to stay put in third. And like Chandler just mentioned, they still got a lot of firepower, still got a lot of guys that are active that can still get the job done for this group.  You know, Chandler is mentioning Dean Wei.  I see that he's having some injury issues as well. I like Strauss. And I like Karris Leverte to give them that push. You know, even though they're guards, but I think offensively, if you can have some guys to kind of sustain that.  I think they got enough to survive this. I think they stay put in the third. My goodness, there's a lot going on. Shams, you also have news on Ben Simmons. What's the latest there? Ben Simmons out for the season.  He had season ending back surgery last year. And again, his season is over now. He played, I mean, he's played 57 games over the course of his three seasons in Brooklyn. He's missed 114 of those games. I mean, in the grand scheme of this season, Ben Simmons was a non-factor. He did not play much at all this season. The Nets were pretty much a sub 500, 500 type of team when he was on the floor. When he did play six points a game about eight rebounds, about six assists. You know, obviously for him points wise, it's just gone down every season. We hope for sure that health wise, he gets there and he figures it out. But this is just another lost season for Ben Simmons in Brooklyn. He is done for the year. Good Lord, Lou, he's got a year left, 40 mil. I mean, if you're the Nets, what are you doing at this point? Who knows, man? I don't know. You know, at this point when it comes to Ben, I just, I really want him to just, I just want to see him be healthy and play the best basketball. His body allows him to play. I don't think he'll ever get back to all star caliber. I don't think he'll ever be a number one type of guy on a team again, unfortunately. And this is all due to injuries. This is all due to his body not being able to hold up. This back issue has been consistent. It's been persistent. It looked like it's not gonna go anywhere. This is gonna be something he's gonna have to rehab again. Hopefully he just gets healthy and have an opportunity to continue his career somewhere or with the Brooklyn Nets at this point.  I don't know what you're gonna do. It's tough just because the size of that salary is insane. So it's not like you're just gonna wave them. You're not gonna cut them. You can't trade for them. No one's gonna take that contract. Maybe now going into his last year expiring deal, you can kind of throw something together, but it's just unfortunate. And he only played 15 games this year. I mean, look at his numbers, six, seven and eights. Very Draymond green type numbers. It's just, we expect so much more from him. Number one pick, all-star rookie. You know what I mean? So like we had these expectations for him and he got the contract that, so with that there comes expectations. And I was in a similar situation and whether it was health, it was, you know, you were miserable. You've heard reports about his mental state not being there. Nobody knows himself like he knows himself. So like Luke said, I'd love to just to see him get healthy. I'd love to see him happy and find peace somehow. It just seems like it's not on the basketball court. And it's not going the way he thought it was. And when one thing leads to another and then it's his back and then it's this. And then it's, you know, all the drama surrounding him and his name, his contract. I think he just needs to get out of this contract somehow and get on a minimum deal. And I still think he can find some value where he can help a team play 10 to 15 minutes a game. And, you know, and because it's shocking because when I was at the end of my career, I was, I couldn't move, I couldn't play. I'll watch him sometimes. He still looks athletic. He can still get out and transition. So to me, there's still something in the tank. It's just, it's just mind blowing because how far we've come to where he was to now. So it's sad, I hate it for him. You know, as a player, as a person, I'm glad he's financially secure to get to live a great life after basketball.  He wants to play at an elite level.  It's brutal all around. So I just hope he finds peace somehow because it's been a real long, long, you know, two, three years for this guy. It sucks for a lot of reasons. So all the things that you just said, sort of his legacy is what it is.  And that's unfortunately sort of what has followed him at this point. We love to assess trade value even when guys are still active in their sports. We're doing it over in the NFL side with Russell Wilson. Is that the worst trade ever? So I ask you, Chandler, is this Ben Simmons trade that the Nets made was this the worst NBA trade that you've seen? It's hard to disagree that it isn't. I mean, with that clip making $40 million next year, getting paid as a max player pretty much with the production he's given, it's hard. And what's crazy, we were talking about the Rudy Gobert trade last year, how that might be the game and that turned around. So hopefully there's light at the end of the tunnel. There's been some bad contracts. Look, my contract was horrendous. I couldn't play it. The John Wall contract was horrendous. There's been some bad contracts and it's just, it's a shame because a lot of that has to do with health and availability. When he plays, he looks great. He looks strong. He can still be a solid Ben's player for years to come. He's still young-ish. But yeah, man, this gotta be one of the worst, which is awful. Yeah, you don't want to be that guy.  All right, we are gonna take a quick break. Shams, you had a busy night morning. Thank you. We will see you tomorrow. When we come back, we'll be joined by Jamal Mashburn here on Run It Back. Run it up, run it back, yeah, yeah.  York City, born and bred, Jamal Mashburn. I'm the man. Yeah, you know it. And I can't sing to men. Hey, anyway. Clicks, I'm the man. Oh, that's right. An NBA All-Star, 11 seasons in the league. Jamal Mashburn joining us now. Jamal, we gotta start right off the back because the nickname, Monster Mash. I love nickname origin stories because some people give them to themselves and others are assigned. So there are two different stories. One, that you got it playing in Harlem. The other option, though, is something to do with Dickie V. So where did it come from? Well, I know Sweet Lou can attest to this because he has the best nickname in my opinion, you know? So I will go with Sweet Lou on that one. But for me, it actually started in Harlem. But as you know, when you get to ESPN, other people want to take credit for it. So that's what Dick Vautau did. It actually started when I was a sophomore in high school and I was playing in the tournament. And I think it was... I forgot where it was at up in Harlem. And the guy on the microphone was just chatting and saying, Monster Mash. And then the next day, a reporter in Daily News ran that as a caption and just stuck from there. And then went to University of Kentucky. They would play that Monster Mash, a Halloween song and all these different things. And it just rolled from there. Oh, that's perfect. Yeah. Mash, I gotta tell you this story. So I was supposed to play in the Rucker four different times. And every single time I flew in New York to play in the Rucker, it rained. So I don't think it was meant to be for me to ever play in the Rucker. I tried four different occasions and it rained for... You being a Harlem guy playing in the Rucker, man. You gotta give me a great story about those days. Well, you know what, Lou? For me, I grew up right across the street from Rucker Park. So it wasn't actually a treat for me to play in the Rucker. I grew up watching, you know, when it was a pro-am at the end of the day, and it wasn't the EDC classic, which it turned into you were going there and watch pros like Mark Jackson, Ed Pickney and those guys. And I really played before them when they would have pickup games and different things like that. And then when I got a chance to play in the Rucker, it was a phenomenal experience. It was different. You had the guy in the microphone. You know, every time you do something great, they give you a nickname. Even though I already had a nickname, they kind of just piggyback off the monster mash. And being a kid from Harlem, it was a special place to play. A lot of tradition. I'm surprised when you were going up there and they had those rainy days, they didn't have a rain outside. It usually was the Gaucho Gym. And I know Vince Carter played in the Gaucho Gym. So I know you retired now, my friend. We don't need you in Rucker Park. You just come be a witness to it. Yeah, that's done. That's out. Yeah, yeah, yeah. By the way, it caught me crazy, but I think the Rucker Park rims are a little bit low, Mesh. I remember I played there one time and I was banging and eating out there. And I was like, do I got more juice or this rim slightly low? So let me tell you a little secret about that. You're actually correct. The basket that was closest to the street was actually lower and it's actually built on a slope, you know what I mean? So it goes downhill a little bit. So you're actually right. It was a little bit lower. And I remember back in the day, everybody used to go over there because they had to snack back rims and everything like that. And they were lower. So you get a chance to dunk on them before you can actually dunk on a 10 foot rim. So you're actually right. That's awesome. Mesh, you played not in one of the craziest college basketball games. Some people say it's the best game where Ladiner hit the shot. Looking back on that, can you appreciate that game or is it still just piss you off seeing the clips? It comes around every March, you know? I can set my watch too when people start asking me about that game. You know, I was fortunate enough to participate in it. And I think it was the best college game that was ever played. And I think a lot of people agree with me on that. Even though there was a winner and a loser, people got to remember Duke back then was the Chicago Bulls of the Michael Jordan era.  And Kentucky was coming off a probation at that particular time. And it was our first time in the tournament. So nobody expected a lot of us. And we went out there to compete. And I mentioned this before. You had two Hall of Fame coaches and Rick Petino and also Mike Shyshevsky. And it just felt like they took a step back and let the players play. And as you guys both know, that can be difficult for some coaches, especially at the college level. I know, Lou, you never experienced that. But at the end of the day, a lot of coaches want to have their imprint on the game. And I think those two Hall of Fame coaches really step back and really allow the players to have their own input on the game, which was, I call it, it was probably one of the best pickup games I ever played in. It was just a free-flowing. Everybody was kind of in a zone making plays. But it was a great opportunity played in the old Philadelphia Spectrum, which is no longer around. So there's a lot of history attached to it. But every March I get the call, what about that Duke Kentucky game? If he misses that shot, do you guys win the national championship? I would say no. And the reason why I say no is because I don't think we were prepared. People don't realize how emotionally high and low we were in one setting. I think we would have faced, I want to say would have been Cincinnati with Nick Van Exel, I think it was, or the Fab Five. I don't think we were prepared for them coming out of that game. And then the following year, we went to the Final Four and lost against the Fab Five. So I don't think we would have won the championship. But being in the Final Four, that would have been more impressive, but we weren't prepared to win a title at that particular point. Why are you so wise about it? I feel like most people will be like, yeah, no, we definitely would have won. Let's just keep it going. Sometimes wisdom brings you back to reality. So that's how I kind of positioned it. Yeah, exactly. Let's talk about USA Basketball, the select team, which was the college guys. And you beat the 1992 Dream Team. So take us back. What's it like to step on that court to look over there and see those guys and then beat them? Well, for me, it was, and I would say for the rest of us, Chris Weber, Alan Houston, Ronnie Rogers, Penny Hardaway, Alan Houston. I'm leaving a couple of guys off of it. You know, during that particular time in the 90s and also in the 80s, all kids wanted to play in the Olympics. And that was one of my dreams was to play in the Olympics. And I was disappointed that we didn't get that opportunity, but we got the call to practice against them. They shot us a ball and come and practice with us in La Jolla, San Diego. And our coach at the time, or the select team side was Roy Williams. And he did a great job of just, you know, reminding us that, you know, they chose some other people, essentially, and to get the best out of the situation. So we stepped out in the court and we beat them the first day in the scrimmage, but they kicked our butt the rest of the six days.  And then you got David Robinson jumping and you got Magic Johnson yelling out call signals and stuff like that. You know, it was intimidating, but also as a competitor and somebody that wanted to kind of see what it looked like, what the pros would feel like. It was also a litmus test to see where I was at. And I tell people that was the day I got drafted. You know, I came back to summer school. It was the end of my sophomore year and then Coach Petino called me in his office. He said, after your junior year, you're gonna be turning pro.  So I credit that sequence of events for me to get drafted and also for me to realize that I could play at the professional level, you know, because you have no idea. You're in college, you can speculate, you can think about it, but until you get in live action and see the speed and the power and what you're up against, it's really different.  Okay, I have two follow-ups. Number one, did you guys run into Larry Bird at the hotel during any of this? Everyone's always fascinated by what Larry Bird says to people. Did he say anything? So my man Larry Bird, it was me and Chris Weber. We were coming into the hotel and we checked in.  So NBA and USA basketball had completely one floor. And so we're walking down this long hallway and I say to Chris Weber, I say, yeah, that looks like Larry Bird. And the first thing you notice is how tall Larry Bird is. And he comes by and walks, he says, are you those college guys that we're competing against? He's like, yeah, Mr. Bird.  It's going to be a long week. And I'm like, wow.  It's like, this is Larry Bird. You know, how do I take this? You know, am I insulted? You know what I mean?  So, but he was phenomenal. I mean, Larry Bird has always been one of my favorite players. And if you recall, he was dealing with back injuries at the end of his career. So he couldn't sit down. He had to lay down on the floor. And I remember a time we were, it was the first day we beat them. And Rodney Rogers had said something to Larry Bird. He was like, ah, you haven't had to jump shot since 88 or something like that. And I think magic hurt it. So the next day, and Lou and Chanley, y'all can appreciate this. The old NBA was if something was working, keep going to it. And I remember Larry Bird actually on the sideline calling out, all right, Rodney, one dribble, pull up right. And he'll do it, make the basket. Next play now, Rodney, one dribble, pull up left. Oh, I'm going to the basket now, high off the glass, left hand. And it was remarkable how Magic Johnson and Larry Bird connected. And just on those conversations and different things like that and the competitiveness, it really showed me how special Larry Bird was because if you can do that as an injured player, imagine how he was as a healthy player. So Larry is one of my all-time favorites.  Correct. Chanley, you're exactly how they're going to do it. Yeah.  Yeah, can't do nothing about it. Can't do nothing about it. Another thing I remember about that was how good Michael Jordan was. That, because when we were practicing with him, we would practice somewhere else and then we would come in and watch them practice and then go scrimmage with him. And if we would sit down and watch and if you watched it and you knew nothing about basketball, you would like Michael Jordan. And that dude with the ball head is the best player out there. And I remember Charles Barkley singing that Gatorade commercial while we were playing the game. Like everybody wants to be like Mike. And it was a phenomenal experience. It was just such a good time as a basketball fan to be watching all this. All right, so Coach K went on to suggest later that perhaps maybe Chuck Daley threw the game. Is there any validity to that? There's no... First of all, he was the assistant coach. You know what I mean? Let's keep that in mind. And there was no way... The thing that I do remember was that we beat them and they called the game. So we didn't even get a chance to finish. I think they called it in the middle of the third quarter or the fourth quarter or something like that. And they took the scoreboard, they took the score down when the press came in and everybody did their interviews and different things like that. So I think he was probably referencing... I think that was more for glorify a story and their participation and different things like that. But everybody was competing on that floor. So I don't see how Coach Daley had that much control to tell anybody not to do something because they were all playing. Michael was playing hard, all those guys were playing hard. So to me, that was a little false. And you're describing the most competitive humans in the world. I don't see a world you tell them guys to take it easy. Yeah, I don't see a scenario where you like, chill out, MJ. Yes. Get there as well. Yeah, I don't see a world in that. No, I think... I'd like to see that though. Yeah, I don't think it happened. But in the next six days, the intensity ratcheted up. And it was... They were different. They were different, for sure.  What is that like, that sort of reality check? It's horrible, you know. I would say that the first thing that I noticed was playing for the Dallas Mavericks is... At the University of Kentucky, we flew private planes, and then the Dallas Mavericks in my first year, we actually flew commercial. So that was the first different. Yeah, and we were... The Dallas Mavericks was the last team to get a charter plane at that particular time. So that was different. And then also, too, what I recall is, in the NBA game, and you too can appreciate this of being former players, when you're on a bad team, you know it's over in the third quarter, at the end of the third. It's just like one of these things where you can't push past it, and then guys are sitting on the bench talking about what we're gonna do tonight. And then once that happens, it's all the floodgates open, and when you have about 50 of those of what we're gonna do tonight, ain't nobody showing up towards the end of the season because it's nearly nothing to play for. I gotta tell you, since then and now, Dallas has definitely gotten it together. Yeah, I got it. They're coming. Listen, as a visiting player, their accommodations are A-one now. What was one of your comment... Welcome to the NBA moments. I'm sure with this season, you have plenty. Yeah, I think my welcome to the NBA moment was my first exhibition game, because I held out, I think, for a couple of weeks or so in training camp, and it was playing against Dominique Wilkins when he was with the L.A. Clippers, and also Mark Aguirre, and realizing that I could play. I think I scored 12 points at that particular time. And as you guys know, once you get out there, you just kind of figure it becomes all about playing basketball. So that was one of my welcome to the NBA moments, and then also playing against Akema Lajuan, watching him and his footwork and his post-play. It really showed me how much I had to work on my game throughout the off-season if I really wanted to have a long NBA career. So my welcome to the moment in the NBA was, if I'm gonna stay here, I gotta prepare every summer to get better. So tough rookie season, second season, Jason Kidd comes to Dallas, and the Triple J's were formed with you, Jimmy Jackson and Jake Kidd.  I'll tell you what, if we could have sold tickets to practice to watch us play with Jason Kidd and watch people get hit in the head with balls because they didn't know the pass was coming to him. Phenomenal passer, one of the fastest guys in the N64, at that time, 215 or so. One thing I do recall about Jason Kidd was he had trouble with the points part of it in a triple double. I remember there were games, multitude of games where he'd be like eight points, 15 rebounds, 12 assists and things like that. And I'm like, Jake Kidd, you can't get that scoring, but he was a phenomenal teammate along with Jimmy. It was a good time, but I think at that time we had Dick Mata as a head coach and we were on the upswing. And I think Roy Tarpley was reinstated, so I had a chance to play with him. Phenomenal teammate, but Jason was the guy that stirred that drink and Hall of Fame career.  He would have way more triple doubles under his belt if he could have hit a couple of free throws or a jump shot when he played with me. Had to earn that J, so that was always his end of the game. Yeah, exactly, yeah. Okay, so I'm glad I got this question. We only got a few seasons of three Js, which is unfortunate. And of course us civilians, we blame Tony Braxton. So can you shed some light on what happened here? Why didn't we get more of you guys? I think it was a combination of things. The story behind that was, we were in New York City and I think one of my other teammates was dating one of the Braxton sisters or something like that. And me being from New York, I went home and hang with my people. And I think Jimmy and Jason were waiting to go to the studio and it never actually transpired. And then something happened with Tony Braxton was on a radio in Dallas and she had an album coming out called Secrets and they asked her a question about Jimmy and Jason and that whole debacle and she kind of amplified it where she said, you know, I don't kiss and tell and was kind of promoting that album and different things like that. Great for her, but bad for us, you know what I mean? And I wish we would have had more time together. I think at that time, Don Nelson senior came in and he was a general manager or the head coach and he traded Jason first to Phoenix and I went second to the Miami Heat and then I think Jimmy went to the New Jersey Nets, I believe.  And I think what we missed the most was veteran leadership at that particular time. We were all trying to plan our flag and NBA and trying to tell people who we are and what we're capable of and it never really materialized in anything long term, but you know, we were a unit to be dealt with and but we did have no veteran presence and no leaders to show us exactly how to be a professional in the NBA. And we had to learn on the fly and that's hopefully difficult for young players. You go from Dallas to a loaded Miami Heat team alongside Tim Hardaway, Alonzo Morning. This is actually around a time where I began to be an NBA fan. Before that I was in the college basketball heavy. So around your Miami Heat stint, that's when I began to pick up on pro basketball. What was that like going from Dallas to a team like the Miami Heat at that time? So a funny story about that. I actually requested, I was, I got to know one of the minority owners. They had sold the team and I think Ross Perot Jr. took over the team and one of the minority owners lived in my neighborhood and I knew they were going in a different direction and we built a relationship. And I said, Hey, I think I want to move on from here. And he said, Jamal, you know, you've been great. Give me a list of teams that you want to go to. And I said, Miami Heat and also the Indiana Pacers. And the reason I chose those two was because Larry Brown was the head coach at the Indiana Pacers and Pat Rowley was at the, was at the heat. And I was looking for stability at that particular time. I was coming off a knee injury. I was one of the first guys to have microfraction knee surgery and still continue to play but lost a lot of athleticism after that surgery. And when I got to the Miami Heat, I give Pat Rowley credit for really teaching me how to be a professional basketball player, what's required, you know?  And as you guys know, moving through a 82 game season, exhibition games and playoffs, that can be awfully difficult to do especially if nobody's shown you the ropes. He was one of those coaches that his thing was how can we get 1% better? And he would also explain to me, why does the 1% matter? And he would sit me in his office at Jamal. There's a difference between shooting 39% from three and 40% from three. Here's what your paycheck will be. So Pat Rowley always kept it a professional. He kept it 100 with me. He was always honest with me. I'm a season ticket holder now with the Heat. And so I go to a lot of games and see him in that president's box and different things like that. He's a lot more calmer now than he was when he was coaching me. But we have a great relationship but playing with Alonzo Morning, you know, Tim Hardaway, we were a close-knit group. We had a chance but we lost to the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference Final the first year I got there. And then for some reason, you always match up against the Knicks in the playoffs after that. I don't know if that was TV related or what it was, but every year, no matter if we were a one-seat or eight-seat, the Knicks was in our sights. All right, good. Glad you brought up the Knicks. Oh, sorry. Oh, go ahead. I had Michael Fraction in 2015. How the hell did you come back from that? Because I still could barely get out of it from it. Yeah, it was one of the things for me was that I was probably in my third year and I really had to figure out what type of player I can be while nursing that injury. And as you know, there's no explosiveness.  You just can't do the same thing. So if you go back and watch any film on me, my game changed a little bit from going to the basket to being a mid-range guy, essentially. So for me, it was one of those things where I had to evolve as a player because I was physically limited in what I can do and cannot do. So I couldn't work out as much in the off-season as me as playing a lot of pickups. So I had to regiment my workouts to a certain degree because my knee would swell up. But I was able to survive and become an all-star in my 10th year. And I think I'm one of the few players that's been able to persevere through that injury, but it changes your game, for sure. And it changes how you walk, how you run, pain and different things like that. So it was a lot of perseverance and a lot of thought into how I cannot stay in the NBA while being a different player that came in. So you mentioned the Knicks because in the 90s, you guys have four consecutive playoff situations.  But kids today, I mean, we're always looking for the next big rivalry. And you think back to actual rivalries like this one. So if you could explain what a real rivalry in the NBA feels like, because we have the Jeff Van Gundy Alonzo morning image, like things happened here. What was that like to be in the middle of it? You know, there was a lot of backstories that we won't talk about between individuals that made it a rivalry. Fair enough. And there were, it was also Pat Rowley, who also coached the Knicks and went down to Miami.  Not just after COVID, but even when I play, you probably have a lot more Nick fans in the arena than you would have Heat fans, because the Heat organization is still a young organization. But also too, what I think is makes a good rivalry when both teams are winning, you know, and there's something to play for it. It feels like a college atmosphere more than anything, not quite Louisville, Kentucky, or Indiana, and whoever you want to put in that, in that a rivalry situation. But it's closer to a college atmosphere, and it becomes competitive. But also too, playing against Larry Johnson and Charles Oakley, you feel it in the morning, you know what I mean? And it's very interesting. I still talk to Charles Oakley on occasion when I see him down in New York, we very rarely talk about the rivalry or anything like that. But a lot of those guys have been good friends, good competition, and everything like that. So I think it takes winning, it takes tenacity, and also a lot of other backstories that people are personally involved with that makes it unique. We're playing the Van Gundy. Just watching Van Gundy go out and then disappear in human bodies is like my favorite part to watch over and over again. Jamal, I don't want to let you go. I know you're doing something very important, so I want to make sure we touch on that before we let you go here. But the colorectal cancer campaign, the awareness, what do you got going on there? Well, I partnered with Exact Sciences to keep awareness or to share awareness with people who are 45 and older to get screened. You can go to boxoutcoloncancer.com for more information. But why it's dear and near and dear to my heart is my mom in my 2003 All-Star season was diagnosed for colon cancer. And if we were to screen it early, we probably wouldn't have gone through certain obstacles in the healthcare system with her. She was in remission for 18 years, passed away, not from that, but from something else, a heart condition, pre-COVID. So anything that I can do to honor her and her experiences and to share awareness and to let people know that this is preventable if you take care and get screened in the proper way, you can live a long, happy life and it won't be to the detriment of you. And if you don't want to do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones that you want to be around for some time. So that's my personal connection and that's what I'm up here doing. So anytime I can spread awareness and things that have happened in my particular life and share with other people. And also, Anna Helen Mashburn, who was near and dear to my heart. And I'm a single child and she was a single mother. And so I do everything in her honor as I move forward in life. Very important stuff. And you're right. It's one of the ones you just can check for. So just go, go do it. We appreciate it. Jamal, can listen to stories for hours. Thank you so much. We appreciate the time. Thanks y'all. Have a great one. Good talking to you guys. All right, we'll be back. We'll run it back in a minute. We'll run it back, yeah.  Guys, I don't know if you saw this video because, you know, we spend a lot of time watching them, but there's a Bucs fan on Monday that was given a chance. Every free throw made 50 bucks, right? That should be easy.  Well, let's see what he did.  I think he made one. 45 seconds is tough. But I mean, it's one shot. It's hard to probably beat so fast, man. I know, but it's the same miss for 45, 30 seconds. I'm not making an excuse for him. Good. How do you not tweak it? He's probably terrified. There's 50 bucks. Man, that's embarrassing. There's 50 bucks. I wouldn't even want the 50 bucks. I'd be so embarrassed. I'm not with him. And you're wearing a jersey. Like it's a whole thing. It's just an embarrassing moment. That's crazy. Listen, and those type of fans are the guys that are always online trolling, trying to tell you how to do your job. I wish we could go find that guy online, and I'm sure we could, and see if he's one of those dudes that makes stupid comments, because then we could have a field day for the rest of the year. All right, we got it. He's a target now. I want to go to his Twitter. I know. I do too. He could be a really nice man.  We don't know. Break time. We'll come back and wrap things up here and run it back. Run it up, then run it back.   Bull's Jazz towards the end here. We get Colin Sexton fouling DeMar DeRozan, and then John Collins gets into a bit of an altercation here with a Bull's assistant coach, Chris Fleming. Here it is. Boom, out of nowhere. Yeah, so Colin said that Fleming shoved him for no reason. You're seeing the video here. What's going on, Lou? Boys, why can't we get along? I don't know. It looks a little confusing right there. It looked like the assistant coach kind of put his hands on him a little bit. Right. And shove, shove. No big deal, though. No big deal. I know, but why are you putting your hands on? I don't know why you're putting your hands on anybody. That's a wonderful question. And right here, this is where you get choked out. This is the part of the show you get hands put back on you by a younger, much stronger young guy. So everybody relax. Everybody looks like he was separating John Collins and the referee. Like, who? Yeah. Stand down, assistant coach. I know I was watching that one because I'm trying to live bedding out this week, you guys. And Utah did make quite the comeback, but not enough. I'm not good at live bedding. I will get there, though, Chandler.  You keep talking about live bedding. Is that your, is that your vibe? It's my thing right now. I'm trying to see if I can figure out a way to be good at it. This is. Do you, do you win them? I got you. I'm going to show them to you on the internet. That does it for us. We'll be back tomorrow. Enjoy your night.


Welcome here to the Miller Community Room at South Burlington Police Headquarters. This is a very exciting Monday morning, not only is it a payroll morning, but we're here to swear in our next Deputy Chief Police, Sean Briscoe. To kick off this morning, we'll have the city manager, Jesse Baker, say a few words. Thank you. Thank you, Chief. So apparently, we only take candidates with SB as the initials. I think we're going to go by Burke and Briscoe for the rest of our time. Thank you all for being here this morning. Sean, thank you for joining our teams and sincere thanks. I wish your family was here as well so we could extend our thanks to them. This is a really exciting moment for the city. Not only are we bringing on another of the best to our team, we have to go out of state to recruit that best. That's not always the case. We grow amazing professionals here in Vermont, but from time to time, we do bring in experts from out of state. So you'll hear from Sean Briscoe a bit more about his experience, from the Chief about why we thought he was a great fit, the work he's done with always building trust with the community, looking for new ways to innovate, public safety is exactly in line with what we are trying to do here in South Burlington. I also want to take a moment just to thank those who are on the interview panel. This was an incredibly complex interview process, with many, many rounds with many community leaders and city leaders at those tables. As a result, we really ended up with a great candidate and next deputy chief for our community. So again, Sean Briscoe, thank you for being here, Chief. Thank you for leading a great process with Daisy as well, and I will turn it back to the Chief. Thank you. I always have to do that, and then I have to tailor my remarks after the manager hits all the highlights. So that's how the hierarchy works here. But again, like the manager mentioned, this was a process that had quite a bit of rigor to it, and we identified a candidate that is just an opportunity in a lot of ways. There's been a ton that's been going on in policing since 2020. We've been highly scrutinized on a national stage. Locally, we have a fantastic police department with an amazing community that supports the police department. Our city council, as evidence in the investment in reinstating the deputy chief process, city management and getting us the technology and tools and helping us with our hiring processes to help sustain operations here have been second to none. In 2021, 2022, we lost about 20% of the police department to retirement. And that is a phenomenon that has been seen across the country. We've been able to make those gains back. And I highlight that simply because it's like being on a sports team. Like when you get behind in a game, you're really under the pressure. You can kind of get in that moment and you can feel sorry for yourself and suffer there. Or you can figure out the best next steps and a path forward for success. And that's what we've been doing. We've had eight officers come through the academy process, some of whom are still in the field training process, learning from the best in the state of Vermont and how to be police officers, and then looking toward what's going on in this community in terms of growth, a little more urban grit, some challenges that we're seeing in our policing. We found Mr. Briscoe, who has actually kind of lived this experience. But during his time, the Saratoga Springs Police Department, an area not too far from Albany, area highly influenced by a large entertainment venue, a racetrack, adhering to horse racing, and a community that's similar in a lot of ways, demographically, and also some of the unmet social service needs that pressed upon their resources as police professionals. So I think this is really a great opportunity for us as an organization and more broadly for advancing public safety and what policing means in the city of South Burlington. So without further ado, we'll have our city clerk administer the oath of office. And once D.C. Briscoe is D.C. Briscoe, I'll present his badge. So if you want to stand up. This is my first one, so we're doing this together. Oh, me too. Okay, two oaths today. First is the oath of allegiance and then the oath of office. So can we raise your right hand? Repeat after me. I state your name. D.C. Briscoe. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will be true and faithful to the state of Vermont. That I will be true and faithful to the state of Vermont. And that I will not directly or indirectly. And that I will not directly or indirectly. Do any act or thing injurious. Do any act or thing injurious. To the Constitution or government thereof. To the Constitution or government thereof. So help me God. So help me God. Under pains and penalties of perjury. Under pains and penalties of perjury. Okay, and next the oath of office. Amen. Aye. Aye. It's the official. Do solemnly swear. Do solemnly swear. That I will faithfully execute the office of deputy police chief. That I will faithfully execute the office of deputy police chief. For the state of Vermont. For the state of Vermont. And will therein do equal right and justice. And will therein do equal right and justice. To all persons. To the best of my judgment and ability. To the best of my judgment and ability. According to law. according to law. So help me God. So help me God. Underpains and penalties of perjury. Underpains and penalties of perjury. Congratulations. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. So as it goes in policing, we all wear a badge. Those badges are adorned with a badge number. And Deputy Chief Briscoe will be known as Officer Number 632. Present your badge to you. Congratulations, sir. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. I mentioned to Chief Burke earlier, this is a really cool looking badge. So I had to start off with that. Thank you very much for the warm welcome. I've been very excited to join the team here in South Burlington. When I left Saratoga Springs about a year and a half ago, I thought that I was done with police work and passing the baton to the younger generation. After being in the private sector for about a year, I felt the need to come back in. So I started looking. When I saw the announcement for Deputy Police Chief here in South Burlington, it looked like a great fit. I was welcomed in to several interviews, conversations with Chief Burke, Daisy. The rest of the staff here, everyone has been welcoming straightforward. And I couldn't imagine a better place to continue my law enforcement career for the Sarabu future. This is a fantastic place. I'm really happy to be here. I know the city manager hit on some of the highlights of who I am and what I've done. But I think the most important thing is that I tried to lead my professional life with one key word and that's empathy. And it's important for a law enforcement officer at any rank to understand what's going on in the lives of the people that you're serving and protecting to try and put yourself in their shoes and to give them not only law enforcement services, but social services and understanding and compassion and everything that you do. And I think that is the prominent thing that I'm gonna bring with me here to South Burlington. And I'm really looking forward to get to know each and every one of you and thank you all for coming. This is a great turnout.


Rwy'n cael ei ddweud, oedd mae'n cael ei comi digol y bydd ydy'r ei cyffredinidig, ond ganwethef yn ein anhygiad, a'r prifnwysiwyr mae'n cy Weinidog Alexander Brannad. Rwy'n cael ei ddweud, mae'n cyffredinidig fel chi fod y cyffredinidig. Felly, rydw i'r callen maen nhw'n gweithio rydw i gyffredinidig sy'n iechyd ym gyfer Thomas Jackson i ddw i ddweud gyfrif melodych yn ffamilynau o ddoch chi eich ddawr oeddiad i gwybodaeth to sharing information, and thirdly, I note my register of interests regarding farming. With that, I can ask the Scottish Government what assurances it can provide that it has taken all required steps to protect consumers, food safety and the farming industry following the discovery of BSE on a farm in Aberdeenshire. I thank the member for his opening remarks there. Clearly, it is extremely disappointing to have a confirmed case of BSE in Scotland. However, I can provide full assurances that all required steps have been taken to protect consumers, to protect food safety and the farming and food sectors. We have put in place a co-ordinated response that has been led by Scotland's chief veterinary officer and the animal health and welfare team in the Scottish Government. The response has involved the animal and plant health agency, Food Standards Scotland and the Health Protection Scotland, and I can provide the following details. Firstly, I want to be clear that the animal that was diagnosed positive for BSE was not destined for the food chain and its carcass was disposed of appropriately. There are strict controls in place to protect consumers from the risk of BSE. Those include controls on animal feed, the removal of the parts of cattle, most likely to carry BSE infectivity, and consumers can be reassured that those important protection measures remain in place. Second of all, animals on the holding were put under movement restrictions to prevent their movement off the holding. A small number of animals on the holding will be culled this week and tested as a precaution. An animal and plant health agency will conduct a detailed investigation to seek to identify the source of the disease. Thirdly, controls to protect animal and public health that were in place before the case remain in place now. That includes controls on the content of animal feed and the removal of the parts of cattle that are most likely to carry BSE infectivity. I thank the minister for her answer. Can we just ask what progress has been made in identifying all the necessary information about the animal, the more important all of its offspring and where they are? I can assure Mr Burnett that we are taking this very seriously. There are detailed investigations under way. As some of those investigations, we will not see the conclusions of identifying the source or the cause of BSE if it is possible to discover that. We will not have the results of that for at least perhaps a month or perhaps longer than that. Now, there have been four cohorts and one of the offspring of the affected animal will be slaughtered. As I said in my initial response, those will be tested purely as a precautionary measure. From the very limited investigations that we have been able to do so far, again, we await the outcome of the further investigations that will hopefully provide some more conclusive information that I can bring back to Parliament. We have not particularly identified any particular problem in the feed, but, as I said, this is just the very preliminary investigations that we have been able to undertake. As the details become clearer, and as those investigations are completed, I will bring that information back to the member and, of course, back to the chamber. What guarantees can the Scottish Government provide that all fallen stock on Scottish farms have been tested for BSE prior to this outbreak? If anything, as devastating as I know that this outbreak has been, not just for the farmer involved but for the wider industry and the shock that it will have been to have this case. If anything, it shows that the surveillance and the measures that we have put in place since the original epidemic in the 1990s are working, because we were able to identify this case quickly. As soon as that case was identified, the other precautionary measures were put in place immediately as soon as that was determined. It shows that the surveillance measures that we have in place are effective and they are working. As an example, we test around 20,000 fallen stock every year. We have a very good system for surveillance, and the fact that we were able to pick this up and identify the case so quickly and react in the way that we did shows that the work that we are undertaking and all the precautionary measures are working. Maureen Watt The British Veterinary Association has said that it is pleased that the comprehensive and robust veterinary surveillance system was able to quickly and effectively detect that potential risk. Both the farmer and the vet involved deserve praise for their part in identifying this case, allowing the authorities to put in place appropriate precautionary measures. Maureen Watt, what impact might this case have on Scotland's BSE now-negligible risk status? I thank the member for that question. The recent case means that Scotland will lose its negligible risk status, but that means that we are now at a controlled risk status, which is currently the same as the rest of the UK. This is a process that we can reapply to be part of, but it takes 11 years—it will be 11 years—from the birth of this affected animal before we will then be able to apply for the negligible risk status again. That is something that we have also seen in other countries across Europe that have been affected by BSE, such as in the Republic of Ireland and in France. Shortly after gaining negligible risk status, Scotland also had isolated cases of BSE, which meant that it lost that again shortly after. That could well be the tail end of the epidemic that we saw in the 1990s. It is a status that we can reapply for, but we are currently at the same status as the rest of the UK. Mike Rumbles will be followed by Stuart Stevenson. Following on from that very question, because we have now a change in our status, what implications does that have for our beef exports from Scotland? What is the change? As far as we are aware at the moment, we are determining that there will be a negligible risk. In other countries, where we have seen a similar status where they have had the negligible risk status, they have lost that and returned to controlled risk. We have not seen any impact on their trade or on the impact on their wider beef sector. We would hope that it will have—it will not be too much or present too much of a problem for the beef sector in Scotland, but it is something that we will be keeping a close watch on. Stuart Stevenson is to be followed by Peter Chapman. While Scotland has one of the most rigorous regimes for monitoring and detecting BSA in the world, are Government vets reviewing our processes to see if that might be driving the need for any further changes or tightening? Again, as I said in an earlier answer, I think that the controls and the measures that we have in place have shown to be working by the very fact that we were able to pick this case up so quickly and act in such a quick and responsive way. Of course, if the investigations that come about as a result of this identify any possible areas for improvement, that is something that we would look very seriously at and very closely at and potentially take forward any improvements if those are to be made. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and I have to declare an interest as a farmer. Firstly, I think that it is important that we put on record and that we all send our support to the farmer concerned, Thomas Jackson. I am reliably told that he is devastated by the case of BSA in his farm, and we must make it clear that he has done nothing wrong. I think that that is important to put on record. My question is, can the minister tell the chamber what extra costs and procedures are involved at slaughter, because of our downgrading from negligible risk to controlled risk status? I thank the member for that question, and I would completely echo the sentiments that he has expressed there about the farmer involved in this. Obviously, this is no fault of his own, and this is understandably devastating for the farmer and for his family as well. However, I would say that we have seen isolated cases that have happened elsewhere where countries have had negligible status and lost that. We, of course, await the outcome of the investigation into this case to see if we are in a similar situation here, but we are definitely working with the farmer, and we would obviously do all that we can to try and support him. In terms of the extra costs that could be involved in our losing the negligible status and between that and the controlled risk, that is something that I would have to look back and get back to the member on, and give him a more detailed response on that answer. The minister and others have mentioned the discovery of BSE in one of his herds, which has been devastating for Thomas Jackson and his family. What particular support has the family and the farmer been given, and what other local beef producers should do if they have any questions about the situation? I thank the member for that question. I understand that the Animal and Plant Health Agency has provided the farm, which has been in close contact with the farmer, and they have provided them with the details of the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution. That is a charity that can offer practical and emotional support for farmers and their family's wellbeing. NFU Scotland has also obviously been in contact with the farmer, and, as I understand it, it is also providing support and assistance. I know that Mr Burnett is also keen to provide that support, where that might be relevant and appropriate. I completely understand the member's point about the wider concern that there will be among the Aberdeenshire farming community. I would urge any farmer with concerns to seek immediate veterinary advice, but I would also say that I am intending to attend the Thainston mark this Friday, where I will be on hand to discuss whether farmers have any concerns that they want to raise with us directly, and perhaps if they feel that there is more support or assistance, we could be offering them. I will be there to listen to those concerns to see whether there is anything else that, as a Government, we can do to help to support them. To ask the Scottish Government what investment is planned for the A83 at the rest and be thankful. The member will be aware of the significant landslide that closed the A83 at the rest and be thankful on Tuesday 9 October. At 3,000 tonnes of debris, that was the biggest landslide on the rest and be thankful in at least a decade. Further deteriorating weather conditions during storm callum caused additional secondary landslips. Since 2007, we have invested £69 million in the maintenance of this trunk road, including £11 million at the rest and be thankful on landslide mitigation measures and the local old military road diversion. The mitigation measures have had an impact with some 2,500 tonnes of debris retained by the Nets on Tuesday 9 October. Looking ahead in the current financial year, a maintenance programme for the A83 totalling £6 million is being delivered. That includes £1.7 million on new roadside catch pit works for further landslide mitigation at the rest and be thankful. That is part of a £4.4 million part of work that started in 2017-18 and will run into 2019-20-20. I have arranged for an A83 task force meeting to take place on 15 November, where the recent incident and wider issues will be discussed with local and regional stakeholders. Can I thank the cabinet secretary for that response? I know that he himself visited the site of the A83 during the nine-day closure, and I am grateful to him for doing so. He will be aware, as he has already stated, that that coincided with the closure of the old military road, which is the usual diversion route used. Indeed, people had to travel an extra 58 miles in many cases as a result of both those closures. Whilst the rest and be thankful is technically in my constituency, the impact is most keenly felt by residents and businesses in Mike Russell's constituency of Argyll and Bute, and I know that he has been active in raising this within the Scottish Government. Will the cabinet secretary join me in thanking the staff that worked tirelessly to return both roads to use? Will he ensure that the task force, which is due to meet soon, will draw in all interest to work on a solution? I am grateful for the member's question. I would like to offer my thanks to the staff who worked tirelessly over an extended period of time in very difficult circumstances to restore the rest and be thankful. When I visited the site on Friday, it was very clear to me that it was a very significant landslip that had taken place. In fact, at the point when I arrived, a further landslip had just occurred on the site. It was the secondary landslip that breached defensing and reached the old military road. The decision not to open up the old military road was the correct one, as has been proven by the events that unfolded. The staff carried out a fantastic job in trying to restore the road and having it opened on the 18th of this month. The task force had an opportunity to have a debrief on the events that took place over the course of the past couple of weeks. I know that Mike Russell and Jackie Baillie have a standing invitation to attend, but it is important that we have an understanding of what did happen and where we are at with the mitigation measures that are taking place at the present moment, and whether further measures need to be implemented as we move forward in the months ahead. The cabinet secretary will be aware, of course, that this is not the first time that the rest and be thankful has had to close, notwithstanding the welcome mitigation measures, but the consequences of each closure for the local economy and for local people is hugely significant. Many people now believe that there needs to be a permanent solution. I would ask the cabinet secretary to agree to meet with Argyll and Bute Council to discuss that and, secondly, to commission a full options appraisal to deliver certainty for local people in businesses that rely on the A83. I recognise the significant inconvenience and frustration that are felt by those in Argyll and Bute who were affected by the closure of the A83 at the rest and be thankful. That is to be regretted. There has been a significant amount of work that has been undertaken to try and implement the mitigation measures. As I have mentioned, they have had an impact on the sites that it stands at the present moment, where the route would have closed in the past couple of years that the nets have actually prevented that from occurring. Clearly, given the events that occurred in the past couple of weeks, we need to revisit this issue. The last report was completed in 2013. The red recommendation is the one that was taken forward and that work is still on-going. There is work to install the catch pits, part of which is being completed. What I have discussed with Transport Scotland when I was on site with it is our work that we could take forward more quickly in order to speed up that mitigation work. I know that they are also very close to securing the land and to allowing the tree planting to take place. Again, if we can speed up that process, we will help to support some of the mitigation work. However, I am open to looking at whether there are further measures that need to be taken forward in order to address the issue on a permanent basis. If they are identified, I will give it every effort that I can to make sure that they realise as we move forward. I commend the staff for the hard work that they did in recent events on the A83. The A83 is the main trunk road coming into Argyll and closure leads to people suffering fuel poverty, isolation and inability to access vital services such as hospital visits and things like that. If the most recent landslide had occurred hours later, there could well have been fatalities, does the cabinet secretary agree that no other trunk road such as the M8, M74 and M9 will be allowed to function at this level of disruption? As I have just mentioned, I regret that the disruption was caused by this particular landslide. Anyone who knows this particular site will know of the particularly challenging topography of that area, where there have been long-standing issues with the landslides in that particular area of the road. The work that has been taken forward as part of the mitigation measures is to address those concerns. However, given recent events and given the scale of this particular landslide, we need to look at whether there are further measures that need to be taken forward as we consider the impact that it has recently had. I am committed to making sure that we do that, and there will be no doubt that the task force will want to give due consideration to that when it meets on 15 November. I apologise to John Finnie and Donald Cameron that we were not able to take any further supplementaries, but we are a little bit pushed for time this afternoon.


Personal notice stages my stock and trade if the job's too tough for you to handle you got a job for me George Valentine write full details Standard Oil Company of California on behalf of independent Chevron gas stations and standard stations throughout the west Invite you to let George do it the ugly duckling another adventure of George Valentine My dear mr. Valentine Having devoted my entire life to music to the management of concerts development of singers I find that sometimes my knowledge of simple human nature is lacking a Friend of mine needs help quite desperately a woman who gave up her own musical career Just for the sake of a man who is as cold and bleak as Incapable of tenderness as the music he composes of the dreary stone house that they hibernate him His name is Edmund Salter. He is very ill. It's true But caring for him has made his wife even more than ill She can't even smile anymore Nor will she tell me her oldest and only remaining friend the strange secret of her unhappiness her worry her fear Perhaps even her danger Mr. Valentine since I must leave shortly for New York the opening of a new ballet Will you please please come immediately do meet me at the Salters home? It is far out on Ocean Drive Pacific Bluffs, California sincerely Yasha Hardwick come on George he won't mind hey I'm just beginning to wake up. It's the husband playing Edmund Salter It must be mr. Hardwick said composer and it never occurred to me But there was an Edmund Salter who was famous you couldn't prove it by me concert pianist When I was in school he performed once But there's something strange about him. He's a little tiny man George makes a lot of big music.  Oh, excuse us. We were just listening to I have absolutely no statement to make for the papers And if you think you're going to hear a personal private record just a minute. My name is George Valentine This is miss Brooks You're Mrs. Salter aren't you the friends of Yasha Hardwick from town. Yes, that's right. Oh, excuse me He has such odd friends. I never would have guessed. Oh, I'm one of the artists don't be offended Yasha's staying at the hotel, but he's on his way over now. I think you may wait for him here Mrs. Salter is is that one of your husband's own pieces. He's playing Johann Sebastian Bach. Oh Well, I didn't know I just Sebastian Bach lovely Edmund plays it so neatly so cleanly so precisely Alongside of my husband's own music, you know Bach sounds like Chopin like the springtime like like boogie woogie What's that? Like something with blood in it, Mr. Valentine I'm afraid my husband was much too self-centered to be ever quite capable of What's the matter Mrs. Salter? Oh, pardon me. Yoo-hoo. Yoo-hoo Mary. Mary, darling, may we come in? Of course you may. Hello, Bertha And you too? Oh, this is Emil darling my new husband. I told you about Mrs. Salter Well, you get such handsome husbands. Don't you Bella? What does she say?  I rush back. He's a friend of Yasha's Bella Miss Brooks, Mr. Valentine. Oh, Mrs. Bella Rappo Emil Rappo. Oh, hello. How do you do? Such a pleasure.  No, no, no alongside of Edmund Salter I would call myself a bricklayer. Oh, he's so modest too and polite and such a friendly smile Ah, yes, so Mrs. Salter... Mary, darling, I understand how upset you are. I rush back from San Francisco just the moment I heard But if only I hadn't left here yesterday, it was such a tragic surprise. Yes, you rush back.  I've been just waiting for you. I've been just waiting to slap your face Mary, darling. What in the name of... Why on earth did she do that? Why? To hit you. I don't know lady, but it seems... Oh no, no, please both of you. The poor thing must be almost out of her mind.  Phonograph? It's making it worse for her. It sounds so real Well, I will shut off the phonograph. We should have guessed it, Angel. Yes, it happened late last night. She wired me. He had another attack Edmund Salter. The ugly duckling is finally dead Since moving here, Mrs. Salter seems to have changed so, Valentine. In the old days she used to be alive and warm and so cool Now she's a nervous wreck. Sure how do we go by that? But what exactly... Well, Mr. Valentine, her husband, Edmund Salter, he was called aloof. The sort of man who would keep things to himself Go on I strongly suspect there was some specific thing, some secret of his that might bear on the way she is. If you could only find it Perhaps in some of his papers there is a box of them somewhere, I'm sure. And it will be easier now that he is dead Yeah, yeah, now that he's dead. And Salter died of his illness, of course. Another attack I... I haven't talked to the doctor about it No, neither have I. But the doctor's name is Robinson. Miss Brooks is getting in touch with him for me You're curious? Wouldn't you be? Haven't you noticed all the bottles and medicines in this house? Well, of course, but... And a good many of them with red labels? Drugs? Maybe poisons? Mr. Valentine, I asked you here to Pacific Bluffs because I was afraid for Mary Salter She had the foolishness to devote her life to a man incapable of love A selfish man, a man she may have feared for some reason, but...  He made it on concerts, invested wisely, I suppose Why? Why now that Edmund Salter is already dead, do you still want me to go nosing around for what was wrong between him and his wife? Well, I... Could it have been money? Mrs. Salter's career was never very successful, was it? You've managed them both Who gets his money now, Mr. Hardwick? Well, really, Mr. Valentine, I haven't the slightest notion I can answer that Mrs. Rappo I get some of it You do 25 or 30,000, I suppose 30,000? Well, there's nothing to be surprised about I started Edmund Salter on his career, you know Loaned money for his studies, his first concerts You see, there was a day when I had money to give to musicians There's a precarious thrill in being a patroness of the arts It's true, Mr. Valentine Mrs. Rappo has started a great many young people And I doubt if the ugly duckling ever paid her back He certainly did, the tables are reversed, that's all He knew that I needed help now And so does that pupil of his Pupil? Yes, Miss Diana Luskin, her name is She lives in your town, Mr. Valentine A great deal of promise, I've heard But no career's worth much unless you have a little money to start out on I see Salter was planning to give her some too And what about the rest of it? The rest, Mr. Valentine To his wife, naturally All the rest, the house, everything, to Mary, of course That's what I've always understood Where else would it go? What else was there in Edmund's life besides music and And his wife? George, hold me! George! None of your business None of your business I found her burning things in here, George I didn't mean to interrupt, but the door was open And she was so startled, screamed at me to get out Some sheets of music, that's all it's worth That's all there was No it isn't Those other papers weren't music But it's my house, I can do what I like A little fire might warm this house up Yeah, sure, of course you can, Mrs. Salter But you just found this stuff, didn't you? It was in the box there Your husband's name on it My husband's dead It's my estate now I can do what I like Now I can do anything I like That's right, operate a long distance It's a city number all the way Miss Diana Luskin What? Curiosity's getting me, Angel Say, tell me, Dr. Robinson Isn't it quite possible that Edmund Salter Could have been given an overdose of a wrong Or a wrong dose of medicine That somebody could have wanted him to die? No Oh, wanted Well, yes, yes Maybe I don't know about that But did it actually happen? No But Dr. Robinson I was with Edmund Salter For the last 12 hours of his life What? There is absolutely no conceivable possibility That the man died from anything Other than natural causes Oh, I see Your party doesn't answer, sir Oh, what's that operating? I said I'm sorry, sir But I have the correct number now And your party doesn't seem to answer Oh Brooksy, maybe we're just trying to open Some hidden boxes and private lines That shouldn't be open Shall I try again later, sir? No, no thanks, Operating Might as well cancel the... Hello Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, but never mind Hey, look, say hello again, will you? Valentine What in the name of... Lieutenant Johnson I was calling Diana Luskin What are you doing there? You can't talk to her, she's busy I'm busy watching the rescue squad Bring her around What do you think? Bring her around Oh, the young lady drank a little too much wine as all Out of a little gift bottle Sent to her yesterday From up where you are Pacific bluffs And what do you think was in that wine, Valentine? Poison We'll return to tonight's adventure Of George Valentine in just a moment A squeak or a rattle in the family car Is annoying to say the least But even worse, it's a sure sign That something could be wearing out And 60% of all auto repair bills Could be avoided If drivers remembered one simple rule Chassis lubrication at regular intervals That's how the protective service Offered you by standard stations And by independent chevron gas stations Can save you a lot of money Ask them for their expert lubrication job Every thousand miles It's one of the surest ways To keep your car out of the repair shop For here they're specially trained To catch every single wear spot And they use over a dozen RPM lubricants Each one tailor-made To do an important, wear-saving job It's a protective service That not only assures longer car life But a smoother cushioned ride Free of squeaks and rattles Ask for it every thousand miles At a standard station Or an independent chevron gas station Where they say, and mean We take better care of your car Now, back to tonight's adventure Of George Valentine The ugly duckling is dead A strange cold man Wants a concert pianist And then a composer of perfect, concise Cold music Edmund Salter is dead The doctor insists his death was quite natural But there's nothing natural About any of the little group of people Collected in the lonesome stone house Overlooking the ocean near Pacific Bluffs And so if your name is George Valentine It's no great surprise when you learn That a distant beneficiary of Salter's will Diana Luskin was made ill By a gift bottle sent from Pacific Bluffs By a drug, a poison Which you very soon confirm Could only have come from this very same house Some of Salter's medicine Here, George This is the room we caught Mr. Salter bringing those things in They're sewing room, huh? There's the little box of her husband She took the papers out of Whatever they were I don't know what I expect to find, Angel The doctor's already rounded up all the medicine bottles For fingerprinting it Stashes, that's all This folder of music is the only thing left Manuscript paper Something he wrote himself All we've got left to tell us The story of the ugly duckling Hmm Bum, dum, dum He's out of your class, George Here, let me try What was that? I don't know Thought you said everybody was downstairs Well, I... And here I think The next room was the study of the library Yeah Empty Sounded like something metal The porcelain's still there, maybe Only whoever it was George! Oh, Mr. Valentine Oh, I didn't know it was you Honestly, I... I just heard someone coming What are you doing, tickering with a stove, Mr. Hardwick Prying around? George, at least he wasn't burning anything The grate's cold No, no, of course, I'm just curious Like you are, Mr. Valentine I can't stand not knowing Not knowing what? That's just it, that's what I hired you to find out That Mary has had to destroy many things recently All has thought she had to But there was nothing in the ashes there Except these two little loops of ribbon Let me see Hmm, must have been Pink ribbon Silver threads kept them from burning completely Yeah, and burned some time ago Now, wait a minute Here, corner of a newspaper Corner of the lid, see Last week's newspaper Pink ribbon Lady, not exactly Mary Salter's style, is it? Well, nor her husband's The ugly duckling So I doubt if my discovery amounts to much Mr. Hardwick, do you remember what happened To the ugly duckling in the fairy tale? What? Come on, Angel, bring that music The duckling turned into a swan, Mr. Hardwick A swan Well, of course I can play this Mr. Valentine, but Salter Should have wanted it buried He would probably turn in his grave Shall I leave this door open too, George? Yeah, that's right, Bruxy Mr. Salter's still in the back parlor Oh, I bet she doesn't stay there long Oh, don't worry, she'll hear it all right You know, whatever this thing is It's tied up one way or another with the papers We know she did burn There, you see It is soupy, too much sentimentality Keep it up, you're doing fine If the while is gone It's gone It's gone You're doing fine The one thing Edmont Salter always had was Dignity Calm, concise clarity Too cold for the commoner But musicians' music Never mind the lecture, Mac Hey, Bruxy, look Yeah, here she comes It's a magnet, all right Hey, Neil, a little nerve Scrapple! Hello, my pet, how do you like this, this hot third Sunday? What is it? Come on, keep playing It's a new work of Edmont Salter's, Mrs. Rampo What? Oh, no! Oh, yes, what the man says is true, my pet Poor fellow, he would die all over again If he couldn't hurt anyone whilst hearing it Let me see the pages Mrs. Rampo, I'm sorry, but I want him to keep playing Did you look through the pages? Here, I can take the back one No, no, I don't read music that well, but will you... That's not what I mean, it's program notes What? On the backs of the pages Edmont always typed his own program notes That he insisted on Let me see I can read it To whom it may concern It is my absolute wish that the accompanying work Be performed by a pianist of the first rank Preferably in Carnegie Hall They're poor idiots While I realize that it is the departure From my usual technique I consider this work my most personal composition There are some loose leaf notes Attached in explanation Or perhaps, confession Those notes, George, maybe those were what she burned Yeah, yeah, go on, Mrs. Rampo Confession I call this work The Secret Sonata And I dedicate it to the two Secret loves Hey, Mrs. Rampo, wait, don't tear that up Give it to me, will you?  And you, Bella, sonata to the two Mary, why do you stay here?  Mary, please Amy, you go on playing, please, please But so fast you took, I do not understand You heard the lady Buster, play it Here, have some more music, stay here with them, Boxy There's only a waste of time for any of you You're coming with me, ladies, both of you That's better, let's leave the husband out of this Mr. Valentine, I want you to clearly understand For years I was a patroness of music I was a patroness of Mr. Edmund Salter That is absolutely all It's all in the music For Carnegie Hall For the world to hear I sacrificed my own career, my entire life for that man Mary! You know the secret now, Mr. Valentine My jealousy My husband's infidelity I'm sure there's nothing more you need to know I'm very sorry, Mrs. Salter But the other half of the sonata The other of two loves A young woman who was sent some poison from this house You were in there, a policeman came to the house He said his name is Lieutenant Johnson And he wants to see you You bet he does, lady I'm trying to tell you There's still a little matter of attempted murder Oh, but Johnson, for the love of Pete You heard me, Valentine, there's no case Oh, but Diana Luskin was male poison That's attempted murder, that's... They bottled their own wine in this house Sure, some drug got into it by mistake But not enough to kill a mouse All I knew was she was sick from the stuff She'd come for me at the local police But I know now there's only one person Who could have sent that stuff to her Sure, sure, Mrs. Salter herself She's the one sent the poison, all right A vindictive gesture Vindictive gesture? That's what it'll be called What else could we ever prove? Oh, so that's it Mrs. Salter was the one who always gave that medicine To her husband She'd have known how much to use for a lethal dose, wouldn't she? And there's the case right there The important thing is, Miss Luskin herself refuses To bring charges of any kind She says it must have been a mistake, too We can't make a case without her help She's already in touch with Salter's lawyer And he came down here just behind her Yeah So Mrs. Salter was just a jealous woman Who was married to a two-timing heel And the other two women involved Are so afraid for their reputations Or maybe I should say a musical career for one And a new husband and meal ramble for the other That they'll do anything to keep it quiet, too That's about it Johnson, my best Go and offer my apologies To the lady of the house Mrs. Salter, what did you burn this time? The pages of the sonata that were still there In the piano? What do you mean? What did the lawyers say about burning the sonata? About going against your husband's wishes Is they... Well, I did it before they came They thought it was in the best interest Of my husband's memory The whole little guy on top of the musical pedestal I devoted my life to him, Mr. Valentine I never once suspected Toward me, he was always Well incapable of tenderness And sentimentality Why don't you cut it out? What? Tell me something, Mrs. Salter What was the rest of the deal to hush it up With the lawyers and Mrs. Bella Rappo And maybe they've talked again to Miss Luskin on the phone I don't know what you mean I've already talked to Mrs. Rappo myself I don't know if it was any more, is she? And the girl isn't taking hers either, is she? Not if there's a scandal to go with it Oh? Well... Mrs. Rappo's got her husband a meal to think about And I suppose the girl thinks too much of the memory Of your husband or too much of her own career They'll both refuse that money Mr. Valentine... That was the price you asked for burning the sonata, wasn't it? The price for interfering with your husband's Supposed desire to have that thing performed at Carnegie To wear some bad music and nasty program Notes like the family wash in public I had to burn it before I didn't want it to happen Oh, yes, yes It happened just the way you planned it, lady There'll be no constant You'll get all the money Yeah, pretty neat Except that it's not going to work Simply because of your bad timing Bad timing? You said you tried to burn the music before Well, and Mrs. Sota, why didn't you?  And how did Yasha Hardwick know Yes, you told him about it And if you knew Then why hadn't you already looked into it? Your husband was an invalid? Yes, why didn't you burn the sonata days ago? I'll tell you why, lady It's because you wanted the big secret to be uncovered Just the way it was today Oh, I know none of what I've said is concrete But this is Just one page from that sonata But it's all I need I stuck it in my pocket on a hunch And the hunch is right, isn't it? Oh, no This is what I'll take to his publisher Who can examine his musical figure The same way a handwriting expert examines a forgery No, no, get me to him, please Please, let me have it Let me have it Because that's it, isn't it, lady? It was you who made up the whole nasty thing About some very nice people And I don't know why I didn't realize When I heard what bad music this was Because he didn't write the sonata That was your fraud, Mrs. Salter You wrote it Still nothing you can do, Mr. Valentine Even if I did write it No So long as you don't interfere with Salter's will How can I know? It was such a joke, that sonata Making people believe that he could be sentimental Capable of tenderness Mrs. Salter, I guess there isn't any way You can be punished Except maybe one You see, there's one thing I've left out A couple of pink ribbons They've been burned in the stove In your husband's study a week ago I showed them to Mrs. Rappo She said they'd been tied around the letters He wrote to her, which she'd returned later on What? He never wrote to her? They were just friends, he was incapable of... I suppose he burned those letters himself So as not to hurt you by finding them after he died Funny, isn't it?  Well, when she said goodbye to me She looked like she'd seen a ghost Did she? Well, I'm afraid Mrs. Salter's just beginning to realize How badly she wasted her life What do you mean by that, George? Oh, well, nothing, I guess But maybe it made me think about things a little Huh?  Getting sentimental? I've been out of my league That's all I wonder if there's any place around here We could catch some good Dixieland music Who drives the kids to school in stormy weather? Who uses the car To do the family shopping and other errands Around town In a lot of families, these are Equally shared duties And if you want to be extra nice To the person who's going to use the car next Let me give you a tip Before you put the car away, make sure There's plenty of chevron supreme gasoline In the tank This premium quality gasoline is climate tailored It's specially blended For each season of the year Based on weather reports from your Driving area Further, it's tailored to each different altitude And temperature zone in the west That's why chevron supreme Makes all your short trip driving More pleasant For it gives your car faster starts Smoother pickup and traffic Ping-free power on hills You'll find you can't buy a better gasoline For today's high compression engines Try chevron supreme tomorrow Get it at independent chevron gas stations And standard stations Where they say And mean We take better care of your car Tonight's adventure of George Valentine Has been brought to you by Standard Oil Company of California On behalf of independent chevron gas Stations and standard stations Throughout the west Robert Bailey is starred as George Let George do it is written by David Victor Jackson Gillis And directed by Don Clark Virginia Gregg appeared as Bruxy Jane Christie was heard as Lieutenant Johnson Larry Dobkin as Hardwick Irene Tedros Mary Lee Patrick as Bella Jane Ovello as Emile And Victor Robbins as Robinson The music is composed and presented by Eddie Dunstetter Your announcer John Heaston Listen again next week, same time Same station to Let George do it This is the Mutual Don Lee Broadcasting System


Our living marine resources are among the most precious on the planet. They provide food and livelihoods and support ecosystems essential for our survival. Their state and health is critical and requires urgent attention. Monitoring their status is crucial to manage them effectively and sustainably. For over 50 years, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has assessed the state of world marine resources to support policy formulation and decision making. But as dominant fish stocks change and the tools to assess them evolve, FAO is updating its methodology to achieve a picture of the state of world stocks that has never been seen before. Combining the latest scientific evidence and information, this upgraded methodology will provide more accurate indices for the status of marine stocks and allow researchers to give a clear understanding of the state of global aquatic stocks, facilitate capacity development, target management approaches to improve the sustainability of our precious resources. This methodology is not just a tool for measuring stocks. It's a catalyst for change. By enhancing the transparency and ultimately the sustainability of fisheries, it will empower communities and safeguard our planet's natural resources for future generations. Let's work together to achieve this blue transformation for the people, for the planet.


Education is the most powerful and proven vehicle for sustainable development. Since the launch of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, there has been an enormous progress in achieving the target of universal primary education. However, for Mila an eight-year-old from a remote village in Nepal, the story is different. Mila and her sisters, who were once enrolled in the only public school in her village, no longer attend school. They stay at home and help their parents with farming and household chores. What keeps Mila and sisters at home, high levels of poverty is the number one cause. Most families rely on basic farming to sustain their livelihoods, so they cannot afford to pay for their children's education, which is free only till primary level. The other reasons are conservative cultural and gender norms, social exclusions based on caste class systems, lack of good infrastructure, standard curriculum, trained teachers and natural disasters like the 2015 earthquake. There are many villages like Mila's, poor and plagued by conventional patriarchal norms that exclude women and lower caste groups to attain education. Also, the failure of the government to allocate enough budget on infrastructure, transportation and education compels children to make precarious journeys on dangerous roads to get to their schools where a good quality education is lacking. Natural calamities just add to the despair. But on the bright side, there is hope for Mila and her sisters. First and foremost, it is essential to create an equal and just society where people from all walks of life are treated impartially. This can be achieved through policy amendments and awareness programs. Next, the government should provide free education in all public schools till the 12th grade, so that girls like Mila can also go to school with their brothers. Plus, there is a need for well trained instructors, good teaching materials and a standard curriculum. Teachers must adopt practical teaching methods and create a fun learning environment for students. Likewise, reliable transport services and good infrastructures are necessary, while free lunch provision and incentives like remedial educational courses to struggling students before or after school hours could be very beneficial. Despite global efforts to improve the education sector in countries like Nepal, the school dropout rate is still high. Education in this part of the world is not only important to eradicate poverty and illiteracy, but also to change flawed social, cultural and political norms. With combined efforts from the international change makers, the government and local communities, we can help children like Mila to have access to quality education to learn and get the skills they need to lead their countries and live productive and fulfilling lives. Education is not a privilege, it is a human right.