Hey, what's up guys root at no shell comm here today, and we are going to be looking at some more Python code Today, we're going to be checking out some basic Python functions And now you might often hear the the name functions or methods and these are really the exact same thing They're just two different names some languages call them different things some people call them different things But they really are just the two different names for the same thing But what they really are is a sort of process or like a system or a function or a method and hence the name that That does something that can do whatever you want it to it can take in data It can do as many things as you would like it to do with that data and that could return some data Once it's done. So today, let's check out functions in like the simplest sense I'm gonna get idle started up and you can do the same and I'm gonna create a new window with control n I'm gonna type in my shebang line I suppose you don't have to if you're not on Linux, but if you're not on Linux, you should wonder why you aren't I'm gonna save this as file dot Python I'm gonna overwrite it because I think it's already there, but let's give it a go So now let's let's give ourselves a little prompt or at least let ourselves know what we're doing though Let's type in let's run a function There we go, so now in Python functions are formed with the preceding keyword def or DEF you can see it light up if you're writing an idle and I feel like this means define and this is exactly what you're doing in here You are defining the function so you can call the function whatever you want It's almost like a variable in this case. I'm gonna call mine get info and We are going to need two parentheses where you would normally be typing in parameters But I don't think we need new parameters In fact, we don't since we're gonna be using it as the simplest case today So I'm just gonna put in a single comment here I'm gonna use a multi-line comment so I can end it in that same line That might not make a little bit of sense, but I'm just gonna type in we don't need any parameters But they would go here So that's incredibly long and lengthy and you normally wouldn't have that in a function declaration, but hey Okay, so now we're gonna need a colon and a colon usually represents a Code block in Python. It represents something new that's coming up. That is a different sort of structure so Here is when you're gonna want to hit enter and indent your line if it hasn't already when you're indenting you're bringing in a New thought it's a new function. It's a new it's a new keyword. It could be a conditional statement It could be a loop. It could be anything, but in our case. It's a function. So Just to make things a little bit Actually, let's get this out of the way first though when we're outside of it when we're outside of the function We're on a different line. So let's say print. This is outside the function and Inside let's print. This is inside the function Now See this this little white space here the tab that like sort of differentiates this lot this this function between the rest of the code That is how Python enforces white space. It forces you to have a little bit of an indent and This is so you can separate your code your functions your ifs your else's from your functions from your Backs and forth yada yada yada anything now for some people it might just be a specific style It is definitely a specific style of mine to use a single line comment at the end of at the beginning and end of a code block Just so I can see clearly. This is the beginning and this is the end That is all about style and that's kind of what I was talking about in the last tutorial the last the last guide So that's kind of why I want to let you guys know it's an option It's what you can do if you feel like that little indent is enough for your eyes and you can tell it apart That's that's fine. Do your thing, but I myself am going to stick with my little comments here. So I'm gonna get rid of these things inside and outside of the function though. Actually, let's try it I want to show you guys something pretty cool So we have something that's inside the function in one thing and one thing that's outside the function So if we if we check out our program first we print let's run a function Then we define this function and then we go back to printing. This is outside the function inside the function We're printing. This is inside the function. So let's go ahead and run this. Let's just hit f5 and it's oh There's an error in my program invalid syntax. Oh What do we got here? Is this comment something wrong? Let me uh, oh I have a I Don't want to use that apostrophe. It might it might have a temper tantrum Let's widen the sound a little bit and let's go f9 f5. That's what it is There's an another error in my program screw this comment screw this comment It's giving me too much trouble, but just know that this is normally this Section in between these parentheses is where you'd be putting parameters if you were to use If you were to use those parameters and those arguments I'm gonna get in that in a later video until then it's just really embarrassing that I had so many errors But let's go f5 Okay, let's run a function. This is outside the function awesome Wait a second. That's not awesome. That's not what we wanted whatsoever. We were hoping that it would print This is inside the function. Well what you see here is we have defined the function But we haven't called it What you do is once you finish defining the function you can type in the name of the function and then your Parameter and then your parentheses then you would fill in the parameters as you need But we don't have any parameters. So we don't have to worry about that So let's run a function. We have find the function then we run get info and then we print out this is outside the function So if we do it again, let's run a function. This is inside the function. This is outside the function Awesome, this is what we wanted because we're calling get info So I'm gonna comment this out for the moment this and I don't think we even need This this last line, but what I want to do here. Let's let's give it a little bit more functionality Let's type in a user input equals raw inputs What should we say? What should we say? I'm gonna give it a new line here. So it's a little bit cleaner and Let's print Let's say Tab and then whatever the user types in so now we'll run that Except we have to remember to uncomment that function call Run it again and let's run a function. What should we say? What should we say? Let's say Python is the coolest Language ever Python is the coolest language ever there our functions done. What if we ran it again? What if we ran it another time another time? What if we ran it as many times as we wanted to? Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da see oh, I got an error now But it's gonna keep doing that over and over and over again. It's it's almost like we've taken all this code That's inside the function and replace it with a single line here. That makes things so much easier Especially if we have a whole like a big algorithm or some sort of Process that we need to do over and over again and and it should vary depending on the data that we're passing to it And that sort of thing so that's what we can do here. That's exactly what we can do here and That's awesome that allows us so much more functionality. That's kind of a pun And in our programming because we're able to manipulate so much more in a quicker and faster way So yeah in this tutorial. That's all I kind of want to show you today We're gonna get into parameters. We're gonna get into return types and that sort of thing. We're gonna get into scope But hey, thanks for watching guys. I hope you enjoyed this and I will see you next time


we all know how important it is to set yourselves in a very good positive vibration right from the get-go because how you begin your day is basically going to set the tone for the rest of the day so if you start your day stressed out and in the hurry and and it's all head-dick and you're rushing everything then basically the rest of your day will end up to be the same so if you want to have a positive day that is relaxed and that is productive then you want to start that way and so the great thing that you can do is you can meditate anytime you want maybe if you wake up in a certain time set your clock 30 minutes earlier than when you wake up and use that time to do meditation rather than just sleep a little bit more


So I have a question for you guys. How do you think Hughes' thoughts would differ, or would they stay the same if he was able to attend Obama's inaugural address? If you lived in this point in time, would his opinion be different, or do you think it would still be the same that America still has never fulfilled the American dream? Well, I think that, I think it would definitely be a lot more positive because a lot of like in-lines, between lines 19 and 22, Hughes mentions a lot like, I am the poor, white, fooled and pushed apart. I am the Negro bearing slavery scars. It's more negative, so I think it definitely would be, his views would definitely be a lot more positive if he saw Obama's speech, so. Yeah, I agree with Al. I think that back then when Let America Be America again was written, there were many advances that we haven't made yet, but now, since it's a few years later, we've made many different advances, but still not all, so I think he changed a little bit, but not completely.


industry so more and more I see what happens is almost like a multimodal interviews so there's the there was the in-person interview come in and meet one or multiple people and then you know you have a conversation maybe they ask you questions etc and there was the written test right or on a computer they give you technical questions you come in and answer them like a little exam there's also the online slash video interview which would be there these are preset questions let's say there are maybe five questions and they could be all over the place it could be a brain teaser question it could be a couple of technical questions related to your field and there are a couple of personality test questions right asking about your values and what's important to you and things like that and what you need to do you can't just type the answer you have to record you answering the question and the video recording so you use it on your phone or on a laptop with a webcam and you can do it anytime anywhere right so in your in your free time you can record it and submit it onto a website and but it's the type that I saw is actually a timed recording so you are flashed a question you have maybe like two minutes maybe a little bit longer for you to think and then you have the answer so it tests you obviously it how you perform under pressure right but also test your communication skills and it tests how how well you can handle yourself in an uncomfortable situation in this case you are not talking to a human you're talking to a machine and a lot of people get extra nervous because they feel that they are being observed right behind the machine behind the lens and and this could be repeatedly viewed by people and they just get stage fright almost so it's testing all of those things and I've seen otherwise perfectly good at candidates kind of just you know they just collapse under pressure and they start to you know their thoughts and their answers all over the place right but I've met them in person and they were fine so it's a it's a new format that I observed and and also things like the brain teaser IQ question may be completely unreasonable there may not be even a right answer but they are trying to see how you say I don't know when you don't know so you really you can observe a lot of things in a in an interview like this right how do you graciously admit that I don't know the answer but here's the best I can do and then just lay out your calculation or your logical deduction right to the best of your abilities and and I also saw some some candidates just could not handle it they just they just you know they just freak out because they just didn't know the answer and they felt like I completely bomb the interview what do I do right but you know knowing that there are challenges in life you don't have the answers even at work there will be situations where you have to tell your boss I don't know the answer but let me do the research and get back to you right that's perfectly acceptable you are not a superhuman computer nobody expects you to know everything so it's but again it's seeing how mature you are how well you can carry yourself when you are put on the spot when you don't have the answer whether you crack under pressure you know all of those things


I'm Keith Ghostland, and welcome to All Things LGBTQ. We are taping on Tuesday, December 14th. As we always say, we tape at Orca Media in Montpelier, Vermont, which we recognize as being unceded Indigenous land. And with that, we're going to have some headlines. We are. Some snappy headlines. In the news. Woo! According to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, at least 20 million adults in the U.S. could be LGBTQ. The report analysis data from the Census Bureau says 8% have responded and said they were LGBTQ. That's about double earlier estimates. And then we're going to have a short little piece later, hopefully, about dismantling Roe versus Wade and how that could imperil the core of basic human rights. The Catholic Diocese says that LGBT people are not allowed sacraments. In Michigan, the church has been told that its church leaders must deny baptisms, confirmations, and other sacraments to LGBTQ people unless they have repented. Who's repented here? Yeah, really. I'm sorry, but I thought that bread was kind of stale. And this is one of my favorites. It's an oxymoron. Lesbian Fox News, Tammy Bruce, who claims to be a feminist, said the president was tampering with the sacred words of the Declaration of Independence. Which president? Biden. Well. I was going to get to it. Okay, but Fox News, I figured, her president. And Biden said at a summit that all men and women are created equal. Bruce was president of LA's chapter of now in the 90s, if you can believe that. Oh, I can't believe that. She also says that she is sorry that she got the vaccine. What a decline. I know. So she said, you know, like, well, you know, it's just as men. So he should have just said, oh, men are created. I think she went to Flint and drank the water. Maybe. I don't know. Okay. Lisa Middleton becomes the first trans mayor in California to be mayor of Palm Springs. Oh. I know. Time to vacation. Jesse Smallett has been found guilty on all five counts in a hoax attack trial. It's been three years since the fatal incident.  So we'll see what happens with that. And a transgender woman wins settlement in her suit against California gym. Church fitness denied Christine Wood access to the woman's locker room and other facilities at the gym.  Minnesota town rallies around outed trans child and Hastings residents rallied in support of a trans child who was outed as their mother, when their mother ran for reelection on the school board. Their mother, Kelsey waits was called a child abuser by a political opponent because she affirms her child's identity anti LGBTQ represent Devin Nunes to leave Congress to leave Trump's new media company. Did you know he had a new media company? Yes. It's totally discredited already. And it's already under investigation by the stock exchange for how they're promoting it. And anyway, he's going to be the new CEO. Goodbye to him. Robert Furling's treats threats include saying an attack on New York City Pride march would make the Pulse massacre shooting look like a cakewalk. We'll have more like in that if we can. Lillian Bakhtaria is the first non-binary member of the Atlantic City Council. Atlantic? Or Atlantic? Atlantic. Atlantic. Atlanta. Sorry. Atlantic City. I'm sorry. I threw you off there. And it again, the North Carolina Lieutenant Governor is added again saying that LGBT people are maggots and flies. So he's a charming fellow. Montana State Senator Teresa Manzela says attacks on LGBT people is normal consequences for the choices they make, like holding hands in public. So there's a lovely person. Then we have Obed Steven Sonheim, which I'll get into more later.  He was the seventh grader in Tennessee. He played trombone and practiced with the marching band. He loved to paint. And he loved to paint his fingers. That is like so awful. And then, oh, Wonder Woman, I have a picture, has a super girlfriend in the new comic series. The Amazon Warrior, she has a kiss in the dark night of steel. Wonder Woman's Quidditch was confirmed in 2016 by Greg Ruka, who worked on Wonder Woman's comics for DC during the 2000s. You know, there's a really interesting story, and if I have time, I'm going to get into it about Wonder Woman and the man who wrote it and all the various things. Actually, there was a book written about it. I can't remember the name, but it has some really interesting sides to that story. So if we can, we'll talk more about that. Single All the Way is a cherry, if not cheesy, holiday romantic comedy, Netflix's first gay Christmas rom-com, both cute and safe. And then Los Angeles-based artist, Lauren Wise, not only did Wise paint two murals in LA for the Queer to Stay initiative created by the Human Rights Campaign and Showtime, and opened a solo show, Edelon Vessel at Huron Arts in San Francisco. But they also opened up to the world about who they are. They came out this year as non-binary. And then we have a little story about J.K. Ron's and what trouble she's been up to lately, if we have time. You can have it. She's international, but you can have it. Oh, that's true. I'm willing to give her away, just as a matter of principle. I know. Yes, that's true. I forgot. She's British. Well, the Wonder Woman book is the secret history of Wonder Woman. That was a great book. I loved it. Jill LePore. Uh-huh. Yeah. So we have that. And then there's a story of, what's her name, Wilder, who wrote A Little House on the Prairie. Marjorie? No. Some Rawlins, Wilder? Yeah. No, anyway, Wilder. It turns out that they think Rose wrote the book. Mm-hmm. But... Who was the lesbian? Who was the lesbian who came out as a lesbian. So we thought that might be a little Christian, because they love Little House on the Prairie. And if you watch it, the little girl is a little butch. So they think that, you know, I don't think anybody's actually confirmed it, but... Lori Ingalls, Wilder. Yes. And her daughter was Rose. And Rose, they think, actually wrote them and was a lesbian. And the Wonder Woman book came out in 2014. Yeah, it was really good. I would recommend people to read it. Mm-hmm. Okay, I have a lot to cover. So unusual. I know. I thought maybe I'd just do Asia to start and then do Europe, which I also have a lot about and there are some headlines from Latin America. But let's... The stories from Asia are all positive. Well... Well, this isn't so positive, but it's a positive spin. Six countries refused to show West Side Story due to trans inclusion. They are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Kuwait. And they all signed onto a ban after Disney refused their censorship requests. We know about West Side Story. Yeah. It's an adaptation of the 1961 film. This one is... This current one is written by Tony Kushner based on Romeo and Juliet. But in the original, there was a Butch young woman who is now a trans character called Anybody's, portrayed by non-binary actor Iris Menos. So you know that Tony Kushner wrote Angels in America. And what's good about this story is that Disney refused to bow to pressure. And this is the second Disney film in recent months to be banned in the Middle East. Under a set of similar circumstances, Marvel's Eternals was denied release in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar. After, again, Disney refused censorship requests. It's widely believed that there was a gay couple in the film called Festos and Ben, who share an on-screen kiss. And that's why those countries banned it. So good for Disney. Can I say something about West Side Story that I heard? Sure, you can. Please do. Okay. Well, I heard that... Who did it? Lucas or... Spilberg. Spilberg. But you know, everybody that he had on the crew were white and men. There was not one woman or person of color to be camera person, stage, people, or anything. And you don't get to anybody who is a woman or person of color until you get to like wardrobe. But everybody in the main movie makers were white and male. And the other criticism I heard about it was they made, what was her name? Maria. Maria. Not look like the rest of Puerto Rican... The criticism was that they were trying to find someone who looked like Natalie Wood as opposed to a person who would be Puerto Rican. Well, Marina was Anita. She didn't play in... Yeah, but Natalie Wood played, and she wasn't even Puerto Rican. But... So anyway, that was the criticism I heard about that. Very interesting. I think it's on HBO. Yeah. If you want to check it out for yourself. Well, that's very interesting, Linda, and informative. Now this is a story Keith might relate to. LGBTQI activists in Sri Lanka welcomed major court decision amid the urgent need for reform. So LGBTQI activists have filed a petition in the Court of Appeal against the police in a widely condemned homophobic training session. You know about this? Well, the good news there is that the Court of Appeal has accepted this petition, so it's moving forward. But the recording of the training program went viral in which the purported counselors, what they called her, was seen making openly homophobic remarks to an audience of police men and women. The trainers heard advising police officers against same-sex unions, adding that the members of the audience would not have been born had their parents been gay. She also claimed the governments in Sri Lanka had been toppled over their stance on homosexuality, maybe referring to a previous administration that had at least one openly gay cabinet minister within its ranks. She was over her, she was recorded posing the question, would you like your child to be a victim of a homosexual, to which the audience replied no in unison. It's like that, those sermons of that North Carolina lieutenant governor. So anyway, they're cheered up even though things are pretty bad in Sri Lanka. They're cheered up that at least the Court has accepted the petition and it'll go forward. More pretty good news from Asia, LGBTQ groups cheer Tokyo's same-sex partnership move as a big step forward. So it isn't gay marriage, but same-sex couples in Tokyo can now register their relationship and gain some of the privilege enjoyed by married couples, such as being allowed to rent places to live together and gain hospital visitation rights. It's short of gay marriage, of course. And the other interesting thing is that there's analysis that suggests that having the Olympics there improved things. Rights activists said, I'm sure the Olympics had an impact since Tokyo has been thinking of what kind of legacy they should leave. Also in a more cynical point of view, it's been in Tokyo's interest because they're interested in branding themselves as a major international center and attracting foreign companies, many of which have greater emphasis on LGBTQ rights. More good news, and here's a picture before you, of Nazrul Islam, Ritu, 45, Bangladesh's first transgender mayor. So the small town in Bangladesh has a population of 40,000, it means Ritu— Well, it's more than Montpelio. It's right, it's pretty big. Her victory, she says her victory showed growing acceptance of the hijra community, which is umbrella term for people who don't refer to themselves as either a man or a woman. The glass ceiling is breaking, and it's a good sign. So now I would like to go to a clip if I could, but before we show it, let me describe it. In this intimate yet powerful debut feature, a local transgender filmmaker lays bare her vulnerabilities to reclaim her identity. This is filmmaker Quinn Wong's journey that she's sharing as a transgender woman in Singapore from her days as a teenage boy coming out to her uncommonly supportive family, to her present as a woman about to marry the love of her life. She's located herself within the local trans community. It's a documentary that weaves in interviews with different generations of trans women, including Anita, a former legend of Bugus Street, a world-famous stomping ground for trans women in their 50s and 280s, and Luan Loh, a trans youth activist. So, Wong is age 46, and let's look at a clip. All right. Yeah. When I was 20, I fell for a boy. But you're not a girl, he said. And I felt ashamed for thinking I was a girl. Once, about three, second time now. Oh boy, yeah. It's lucky. So many trans people came and come out. Yes, exactly. And then, in itself, it's a kind of violence already. You know, I've been hiding all these photographs for so long. Yeah. I've been in this past for so long. I'm tired. You can call me Anita. Because in Bugus Street, they call me Anita, you know. They want to know our life. Because they're curious. We feel like we are a star. I feel like I was born there, you know. It's going to be close. There's no more Bugus Street. Very publicly up. I can handle that. Can I truly feel at home where I'm not wanted? By hiding parts of me. Am I complicit in erasing myself the way our institutions are doing? We've always been here and we belong. Mine's a story of instinct and self-determination. This is who I am. A woman who has taken a different path to womanhood. Now, should I go on to Europe or should we go on to our colleagues? Because we have a trivia question. Oh, yes. Let's hear it. Well, let's hear from you, Keith. So, this is this week's trivia. Founded in 1986 as friends caring for friends in an often hostile medical and social environment, this LGBTQ plus organization continues to provide advocacy education in services to members of Vermont's underrepresented communities. So, think about it. So, by now you know she made it official. She was the first lesbian elected to the Vermont Senate. She was the first woman and lesbian to be elected President Pro Tem and she wants to be the first woman and lesbian elected from the state of Vermont to the U.S. House of Representatives. This is the opening campaign for Becca Ballant. I know what can happen when we turn away from each other. My grandfather was murdered on a death march in the Holocaust. I had the knowledge that people can be led astray when they're scared.  And I knew that some people were scared of my kind of different. I think I was a middle school teacher because I did not want any of my students to feel that sense of fear that they weren't going to have someone showing up for them. Ms. Ballant was someone who saw students as people. She accepted everyone for who they were and let us figure out what we liked and what we didn't like. She inspired a lot of confidence, not just in me but in my classmates as well. That's why people like Becca really can just make the world of difference. You show up as a middle school teacher because you believe in possibility that change and growth can happen. When we first moved into our house here in Brattleboro, the neighbor across the fence had an anti-gay sign. I get out of the car and I'm pregnant. And at that moment I felt like how are we going to make this work? From a wave to a conversation to a borrowed lawn mower, things changed. And the sign came down. And we felt the relief that comes when we stop turning away from each other and start meeting each other face to face. I think that we are often encouraged to shut people out. That is not the way forward for us as a community or a state or as a nation. I've never backed away from fighting for what's right. I've done it in my neighborhood here. I've done it in every job that I've had. History in Montpelier.  In Vermont, we delivered the state's largest investment in affordable housing, paid sick leave, workforce development, pathways to good-paying jobs, and we protected reproductive liberty for all. This is going to be a tough fight, but I've been in tough fights before. And I know change is possible. It's not just about how we deliver on a promise, it's how we do that work because we've got to deliver on some big ticket items that families need across this country. Medicare for all from Newport to Springfield, a green new deal that creates jobs from Bennington to Lindenville, paid family and medical leave for parents from Burlington to White River Junction, racial justice and housing justice for all Vermonters. I'm Becca Ballant, and I'm running for Congress because there's always a way forward when we turn towards each other. I'm starting by turning to you. I hope you'll join us. I love that. It's so cool. And we were all on the grassroots call. One of the things is they had 350 people who signed up for the grassroots group. That's impressive. They had hoped to get a donation of $10 per participant for to get $3,500 good opening bid, and then an hour they had over $10,000. That looks good for her. Sit back. Let's enjoy the ride. So, local Garden Dreams CD by Aaron Marcus and Sam Sanders. Aaron's been interviewed by us. Aaron was the person who was responsible for the gender-neutral contra-dances, larks and ravens. Sam, if you've listened to VPR, it's the voice you won't forget. And he narrates incredible poetry to Aaron's music. So, available at Bookspealer. If it's not in stock, ask them to please get it. And Zach will put up the information of how you can get it online. All right. So, if you checked your mail recently, this is everyone's annual fundraising time. Before you just donate, I want you to think about what are the organizations that have really provided services to you? Which are the ones that have enriched your lives? Who are the organizations that you look to for supporting guidance? So, with that said, these are some of Vermont's LGBTQ plus organizations and some of the work they're doing. And I'm going to start with Rainbow Umbrella of Central Vermont and the Women's Discussion Group, which continues to meet. And how long have we been meeting? Over five years. I think about six years. You've been meeting longer than we've been taping this show. Show about six years. And lively discussion, thoughtful discussion. And there's also that book group, but if you're interested, you have to email Linda because she's not going to remember the book that they're reading and discussing. I do remember it this time. And you're the only one who can let them into the group, right? Yes. The book is fairest. My marriage is to loosen. All right. Also want to, again, remember outright Vermont who for over 35 years has done Friday night group every Friday night. And even during the height of COVID, they made sure there was a safe place for our youth. Thank you. Price Center of Vermont, they're doing the Vermont Pride Awards. And by the time this airs, they will have had their streaming event. They are giving their awards this year for health and wellness. Those people who have advanced the LGBTQ plus inclusion and services to from a health perspective, they're giving it to Representative Brian Sheena, who is always out there in the front saying, what can we do? What can we do? What more can we do? They're giving it to Coco Casper, who we highlighted on the previous show, Bad Indian Wife. And even though the title makes you sit up, this is a counseling service for those of us who usually don't get access to counseling that truly can respond to our needs. And they're also giving it to Vermont Cares. Good. Out in the open in Brattaburl, they're continuing to do their radio hour, go on, look for their blog. And the project that they're doing that gets my attention is the Rural Queer Community Care. You think it was my first time talking. And this is their mission statement. We are building resilient and joyful rural LGBTQ communities which entails the radical act of community care. As a rural queer community, we take care of each other through acts of love, creativity, and resistance. We take care of each other by building a community where we are seen, visible, and powerful. And then Queer Connect, both Rutland and Bennington, they continue to do their healing circle. And we've got to get online and join it because it's a monthly event. And regardless of your belief, it's a place to take all of that stuff we carry and just let it go. They're also continuing their sapphic story hour. Who knows? They may invite you back. And they also are doing a group called the LGBTQ Plus Community of Vermont.  Here's a place for you to talk about what are the issues that are of importance to you to develop a sense of community and sort of lessen that rural isolation that we feel at times. So when we come back around, we're going to spend some time in Canada because we may be immigrating. I like sometimes Canada. But until then, you new-fi girl. Okay. Well, I think a lot of people probably have many things they can add to this and this is the dismantling of Roe v. Wade. Constitutional lawyers say we can lose other rights such as same-sex marriage, birth control, and fertilization if the Supreme Court overrides or weakens Roe v. Wade. Supreme Court opinions are often difficult to predict. But a majority of justice on the conservative court seem to be inclined to severely curtail or override Roe v. Wade, which protects abortion rights. It's imperiled. Even interracial marriage could be imperiled because all are rooted in the rights of privacy. And, you know, if you're going to give each state the right to decide what they want, this could be a very dangerous precedent. Also, but interesting was, Newson in California was saying, well, if they allow this, then, you know, as the state of California, we're going to ban guns because if each state has its rights to, you know, do whatever they want and not follow federal law, then, you know, that's what we're going to do. So it's going to be really interesting to see how this shapes up over the future because I imagine, you know, a lot of states might want to, you know, dismantle gun rights or, you know, liberal states might want to do things that, you know, conservative states don't want. And so what does that mean overall for all of us? So, you know, that's very interesting. Move. That's what I was going to say. Yeah. So... And I just like to add, I remember those days when it was up to each state and it was awful. Yeah. I mean, what's frightening is they're supposed to be established precedent. Yeah. And once a decision has been made, a decision has been made, and if they truly do overturn Roe v. Wade, it's not just rights as Newsom was saying, and anything is up for grabs. Right. Then you can do just about whatever each state can decide. It's the whim of the political movement of the court. Right. It's going to polarize us even more.  This has taken place in Torrance, California. Torrance. Torrance. Is it Torrance? Okay. Some messages included photos of black men being hanged with titles under them saying hanging with homies. None of the officers have been charged so far. We'll keep an eye on this case to see how it pans out. But, and the cases were jeopardized because, of course, the lawyers are going to say, well, you know, they were arrested by these police and that's prejudice and, you know, so all of this is going to be a mess. I hope they are. Have they fired? No, no, they haven't. As far as I know, nothing has happened to them yet. The accountability. I know. Robert Failing rings. Threats included attacking a New York Pride march saying this would be a massacre. Shooting looked like a cakewalk. He has been charged with threatening violence against the Pride march. The 74-year-old man lives in Long Island and has been sending threatening messages since 2003. The FBI found him through DNA. He left on his envelopes. And then we have Stephen Sondheim, which I didn't get a chance to talk about last week and here's a photo of him. And he was the theater's most revered and influential composer lyricist of the last half of the 20th century and the driving force behind some of Broadway's most beloved and celebrated shows. Stephen Sondheim won a Broadway's History Songwriting Titans whose music and lyrics raised the reset the artistic standard for the American stage musical. Died early Friday at home in Roxbury, Connecticut, he was 91. His rough-melded words and music in a way that enhanced them both. From his earliest successes in the late 1950s when he wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy through the 1960s when he wrote the music and lyrics for two audacious musicals, assassins giving voice to men and women who killed or tried to kill American presidents and passion in operatic probe into the nature of true love. He was a relentlessly innovative theatrical voice. May I add something? Yes. I happen to watch a clip of the company, of the show company that's been revised that he did and the encomiums were everywhere, people were crying, I kind of cried. I mean it's a terrible loss. The revival took the main character and changed it from a man to a woman. Yes. Yes. And sort of rewrote some of the scripting and it's just as powerful. Amazing. Oh, I know and the songs are really memorable. If we had time I'd like to play some, but I guess not. And we also saw that show by the guy who wrote RENT and Stephen was in it. Right, he figures in that chick-chick-boom about Larson. Yeah. So we watched that, that was kind of interesting. He was his character and not him. He was a character in there. And lastly I wanted to talk a little bit about Wonder Woman. And for those who don't know, noted psychologist, revealed his author best-selling Wonder Woman read the astonishing headlines in the summer of 1942, a press release from the New York offices of all American comics turned up at newspapers, magazines and radio stations all over the United States. The identity of Wonder Woman's creator had been at first kept secret. But the time had come to make shocking announcements. The author of Wonder Woman is Dr. William Moulton Marston. Internationally famous psychologist, the truth about Wonder Woman had to come out at last. Or so at least it was made to appear. But really the name of Wonder Woman's creator was the least of her secrets. According to her author, the veil that had shrouded Wonder Woman's past for seven decades hides beneath a crucial story about comic books and superheroes and censorship and feminism. As Marston goes, as Marston once put it frankly, Wonder Woman is a psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who I believe should rule the world. So... I can go for that. And he was an interesting character. He was married. I can't remember his wife's name. And then he fell in love with somebody else. And so the two women lived in the same house with him for many, many years. And they had like four children, I think. But anyway, it's an interesting... He's an interesting character. And Wonder Woman certainly is. So... Okay. There's a story in Europe that I really want to get to in its entirety. It's my favorite story of the evening. Museum showcases queer relationships in the animal kingdom. Penguins. Many. Actually penguins aren't mentioned. So we're expanding our treatment from penguins. An exhibition in Bärm, Switzerland is highlighting same-sex relationships found outside the human species.  They say they are unnatural. Christian Croft, a biologist at the Institute of Ecology and Evolution at the University of Bärm says, but this is nonsense. He explained that what is unnatural is homophobia. I don't know of a single case of homosexual individuals being marginalized or disadvantaged in the animal world, he said. He's the curator of the exhibition and titled Queer Diversity in Our Nature, a show that highlights the gender and sexuality in humans and other animals and features discussions on homosexuality and its biological aspects. It shows plenty of examples of same-sex behavior found in nature. Dolphins, for example, can form same-sex couples. Male-European rams are known to mate with other males about 6% of the time. Although they have the choice, they aren't interested in females.  A little racy. Oh, me, oh, my. Same-sex behavior has been observed in about 1,500 species and is probably present in all social vertebrates. The reasons for homosexual relationships are not always clear, but we do know that they strengthen social bonds and can contribute to group unity. I don't know if the exhibition contributed to the acceptance of the new marriage law in Switzerland, he said, but it certainly had an impact on my father. He's 87 years old and has never spoken well of homosexual people. But since he came here, he has changed. He realized that same-sex behavior is absolutely normal. Earlier this year, you recall Switzerland became one of the last European Union countries to legalize same-sex marriage. So that's my feel-good story of the evening. I think they would last to have women to vote, too, if I remember right. Well, Linda, the cup is half full. Moving on.  Lewis Hamilton, let's see a picture of him. He's one again. He's in history winning the inaugural Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and here he is in his Defiant Pride helmet. I know. It's his third consecutive race thus far and he's tied in points in the standings for the overall thing. The overall championship will be decided next Sunday and Abu Dhabi racing fans will expect his helmet to appear again and he's going to wear it throughout the Grand Prix as he travels through the Middle East. I think a couple of other people have taken up the banner also like somebody had something on their sneakers and somebody had something on armrest or something. A couple of other drivers. I like that trend. Now let's see another picture of Italian Olympic boxer Irma Testa, who has just come out as queer. She took home the bronze medal for Italy at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and she said winning the Olympics gave her the confidence to come out. Now I'd like to introduce another clip, a Danish documentary called Flea. It's a 2021 animated documentary film that follows the story of a man named Amin who shares his hidden past for the first time of fleeing his country. The film had a world premiere in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It was released in theaters in the U.S. on December 3rd. It was selected as the Danish entry for the best international feature film at the 94th Academy Awards. The film follows Amin on the verge of marrying his husband, shares the story of the first time for the first time about his hidden past fleeing his own country of Afghanistan, his home country of Afghanistan to Denmark as a refugee. So let's look at this clip. This is a video that is... ...tripped. Have you ever told someone about your news story? I'm going out now. My bad news is that my brother is back. We fled with the human scene. What are you doing?  Have you told Kasper about the story? It takes time. I'm going back. It's my past. I didn't move because I wanted to. I can feel something is going to happen. Let's start my story. Some good movies to see. An animated documentary. What an interesting idea. I've never seen one. Yeah. Well, it's kind of like... ...those books, you know. Anime. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. My mind shut down there for a minute. Yeah. Next picture. For the first time, Sweden will have an out-trans minister in government. Here's her picture. Lena-Alexens-Kilblum. Kilblum. Kilblum. There's a new minister, Magdalena Anderson, in Sweden. And she's announced her new minister of schools. As part of the government, she formed on November 30th. This new minister, besides being known as Super Principal, like Super Nanny, for her role consulting low-scoring schools on how to improve in a TV series called The Head Teachers. And she also has 20 years experience in education. She's going to become the first out-trans minister in the country's history. She'll also be the first woman, the first out-trans woman, to have a position in the government in a Scandinavian country. She says, my conviction is that all children can succeed in school. I agree with her. So that sounds like a good appointment. Would it help me? Well, you did succeed. Just eventually. You were pacing yourself. And my last... Why accomplish things when you're young? Then what are you going to do? That's right. You need to, you know, grow into it. All right, we're running out of time. One bad story, my last story from Europe. Gang of Mask, neo-Nazi thugs violently attack.  It's a minute video. I'm not showing it. They all break into the place. I have three stories from Latin America. Chile, marriage equality, it has occurred. Hooray. I could talk more about it. Oh, I like Chile, yeah. Yeah. On Tuesday, they legalized same-sex marriage. They've been working on it for 10 years, since 2010. And so by the time it finally passed, the original couple had broken up. They're pleased. They've broken up. Yeah. Divorce lawyer. Brazilian Supreme Court orders probe into Boris into Bolsonaro for linking COVID-19 vaccines to AIDS. He is awesome. He's been barred from Twitter. Oh. And from Facebook and YouTube after he said that COVID-19 vaccines raised the chance of contracting AIDS.  And here they are.  You see the picture of the three of them. On the left, Manny, a sex worker stabbed to death in Bogota. La Divaza, a homeless non-binary person stabbed in the chest and to death in Rio Hacha, La Guajara, after a scuffle turned into violence. They're in the middle. And then Cristina Castillo Martinez, a veteran LGBTQ plus rights activist, shot in Santa Maria, Magdalena, talking to her family members on the terrace outside her home. So it's terrible. Okay, we got to stop now. We got to get... Okay, it's pretty sad anyway. Yeah. Our next show, I'm going to talk about, there is an injectable form of PrEP that could be available by the spring. It would be a bimonthly injection. And there is associated with that, both the CDC and the FDA is going to be making a recommendation that treatment providers discuss PrEP with any sexually active adolescent or adult, regardless if your sexual practices seem to put you at risk for HIV. So that's a positive move. There's a move within the Biden administration to require private insurance to cover PrEP. Yes. And very disturbing statistics coming out about the rate of HIV infection treatment modalities and access to treatment for Latinx, BIPOC, gay men. And it's not a easy story. Canada, they have finally made it totally illegal to subject anyone to conversion therapy. Even religious people, okay. Goes into effect January 7th. Under bill C-4, the Canadian criminal code will be amended so that those who cause another person to undergo conversion therapy, including providers, will be guilty of an indictable offense. Good. Not only are they outlawing it, if you try to do it, you could be in prison up to five years, both for practicing or promoting. They also put in a provision that you could be sentenced to prison for up to two years for trying to remove a child from Canada for the purposes to undergo conversion therapy. I did not see any religious exemptions. But again, one of the things it says, subject anyone to. So if it's a voluntary relationship, I think that's going to be outside of this. But they also was an individual... Can you be... Can you consent if you're under 18? I don't think you can, right? No. Right. Well, and also in the UK, one of the members of parliament had said that they had been subjected to conversion therapy for an extended of years, and here is the harmful impact of it. So people are coming forward saying, not only should we outlaw this, this is what happens when you subject people to it. First Nation tribes in Canada just voted to form a 2S, which would be Two Spirit LGBTQ Plus Council. This was by unanimous vote. This was the Association of First Nations, which is the sort of overarching organization for the First Nations population in Canada. This marks the first time the AFN has moved to form a dedicated body that will weigh in on Indigenous 2S LGBTQ Plus issues. The AFN, a governing body for First Nations tribes that works in tandem with the Canadian government, will constitute the special council as a recognized principal organ, which will play a similar role to elders and women's councils in the organization. This is huge. What it was sort of footnoted was this vote comes on the heels of Blake Desjardins, the former national director of the Metis Settlement General Council, becoming Canada's first openly Two Spirit member of parliament and a federal election held last month. Good. Very quickly, Quinn, Canadian soccer, first out trans person to win a gold medal, she is pushing that as elders, we need to step up and really work on all of the anti-trans in sports bills that are being directed at our youth. And she called out both the Canadian and the U.S. government saying, why are you not stepping in and doing something? And is Canada doing a better job with that than we are? I think overall, because they didn't lose the four years that we did in which all of those hostile amendment, all of those hostile pieces of legislation were introduced and enacted, but she is still saying there's so much more we need to do, including being visible in our youth sports so that they have role models. And she was the one who said you don't know what a difference this makes. Yeah. Our trivia question. Yes. Founded in 1986 as friends caring for friends. The reason I picked this is this was Vermont Cares who is getting the Pride Center Award this year. And I'm going to sort of break pattern and share personal history. I was one of the friends who founded Vermont Cares. Right. And I remember going into hospitals and taking trays of food into people when the hospital staff was too scared to go in. What most people don't know is in 1991, Republican Governor Richard Snelling nominated me to be Vermont's official point of light. A nomination that was rejected by George Bush Sr. to which I got a personally signed letter of rejection from him. Oh, treasure it. Yeah. Oh, it's embossed in the whole bit. So with that, I think as we go forward, we should always continue to resist.


So Kai, your first start for the club last Thursday night, how did that feel? It was an unbelievable feeling to stay with the first eleven on the pitch. It was a really good feeling. And how did it feel when you found out you were starting when the manager told you in the team? I was a little bit nervous at the first time. But I do my super position before the game and motivated myself before the game. And when I do this I feel better, not so nervous. And how did you enjoy the actual game? You and Charlie up front seem to cause their defenders a few problems? Yeah, it was really nice to play with Charlie. He's a big striker, he's one of the top strikers in the league. It was a good partnership in the forward, so I think we do it well. It's nice to play with Charlie. And we mentioned the fans, you seem happy to want to take pictures with them and spend some time with them. They must play a big part in when you go on the football pitch, you want to do well for them I suppose. Yeah, I said in the first video when I come to the club that I give everything for my team and for the fans and for the club. And I want to give a present to the fans and want to play well and want to go to the fans, want to take pictures. And I want the fans to be happy and that they like the team and not be thinking about the players or the arrogant or something. I think you must close to the fans that you have a good relationship to the fans. When you go on the pitch then, you play very hard, hard working, run around a lot, make a lot of effort to win the ball. Is that important in your game? You want to show that you are hard working? Yeah, I want to show that I'm hard working but I don't think about it to work hard. I do it all my life. I play so football, I learn it so. I like it and I find it nice when people say, well, he's working hard. But I do only my job and I'm happy that everybody is happy about my play. You've been in Bradford for about three months now. How have you been settling in? Yeah, really good. I have a roommate, Callum Guy. We're doing very well, we're laughing a lot. The first time was a little bit difficult, a little bit homesick, with a girlfriend. Now is it not the way sometimes when you have a little bit of a bad day, you're thinking about it. Now is it nice when you are at home and I don't know, can play with your dog or something. But I feel here very nice with the team. Everybody is very lovely, very friendly. And yeah, I have not only teammates here, I think I have found some good friends. You mentioned Callum there. Does he help with your English and to keep you smiling perhaps when you maybe are thinking of home and maybe feeling homesick? Yeah, of course. Sometimes I feel homesick and we just go to the city to drink coffee or something. We're going out or we play together, PS4 or something. Yeah, he's an important part for me. So at the beginning where I was coming here and he helped me a lot. He's a very good guy. And obviously you are not the only German player in the Bradford City squad at the moment. Does that help when maybe you don't understand something in English? You can go speak to one of the other German players and they can describe the words to you? Yeah, of course. At the beginning where I was coming, the first thing that I was doing was going to Rubens Sadelmaier. Went to Rubens Sadelmaier and asked him about paying a car on this. What I should do with a car, should I buy here a car or something? And he helped me a lot. He saved me everything because he's really had a big experience. He's longer here. And yeah, and the other players as well, if Joel Belovsky or Lukas Rader, sometimes we talk about. And yeah, it's helped me a lot. Sometimes you must speak your home language, always speak English. It makes me frightened because it's beginning that I'm thinking in English. And just as you settle more into England and get used to English football, do you feel you can improve and get better as a player? Yeah, everything is going about experience. When you make games, you are used to and you know how you stand to the defenders or something. When you play a lot of games, I think you have this click in. And it's with all when you do some things a lot or often, you're used to and then you're getting better in it.


I am here your favorite My sister Are we ready? Are we ready? So��� say aye?


Last year FAO was commissioned, commissioned ISM to prepare a report that was leading to a nominal framework for MBS in agriculture. And I was involved as the lead author of that report and it's now on the review as well. And I wish to recognize my co-authors in the team here below my name on the front page. And today I want just to share the structure of the framework that we arrived at. And as a keynote, I also want to deviate a little bit with some questions for the panel and the audience on discussion on taking MBS forward. So slide two, please. In short, MBS has evolved from the eco-based approaches promoted by ISM. And as this word cloud tree shows, there are so many concepts and terminologies that are very, very similar. So now that MBS is considered an umbrella approach, perhaps more than a concept for eco-based approaches. And that means it's complementary and shouldn't be seen as competing without a concept. And I think the same goes for the framework that we are proposing here. It's work in progress. So we did a literature review of 3,500 abstracts and it showed that MBS practices often are called MBS when they're used in urban and wetland ecosystems. Less than 1% of those examples that we looked at actually concerned rural and agriculture context. So this is in the trend also to fill that gap in adding it in agriculture context. And for sure, if we had done that review this year, we would have seen a very different turnout. I think as practices also now are reconfiguring themselves as MBS. Slide three, please. So many of us are perhaps used to the trade-offs between production and conservation and looking at them as two opposites. And hopefully we can agree all that the role of vegetation is underutilized, nevertheless. And here we go from the focus on the grain to the plant with its roots and canopy, its interactions to actively contributing to improving ecosystem functions. When we prepared this work in the report, we also took inspiration from Megamont and others. And they help us to pay attention to the possibility to imagine and design and manage new agro ecosystems. So that could be new or unconventional uses of agriculture plants and organisms. Slide four, please. So bringing all this to the framework for native solutions in agriculture, we viewed native solutions as solutions to specific problems in the landscape. And we reduced that to four primary purposes where natural processes are used to improve ecosystem functions of environment that have been altered by humans for agricultural purposes. Benefits to people is also fundamental. It's a given in here, just that it's not really visible on that screen. First, the main purpose is on the crop production, where we look at sustainable practices. The second purpose is more to mechanically control water and soil. This is where civil engineering and green engineering and green infrastructure comes in. The third purpose is on the environmental restoration and mean duration. It's about removing toxic pollutants from agriculture and non agriculture land, water and air, also using agriculture plants. Lastly, for agro biodiversity or biodiversity, this may be as much as restoration as conservation. The ambition here really is also to connect mosaics of nature by practices in the landscape. So in the report, we have listed 53 practices and most of them will be familiar to everyone in this audience. I wanted to draw the attention to the green infrastructure and the mean duration part as we go a little bit perhaps beyond the conventional agronomist or engineering conventional use of plants. Slide five. So this package framework also has a planning tool to it. It should help planners really to progress towards positive impacts for people and the environment. So here the ambition is to look at this framework and sort of fly through the landscape and sequencing these interventions over time. Find a way to start combining practices and connecting them, the small sustainable patterns into bigger ones to gradually connect landscapes over spatial scapes. Slide six, please. So we have the next slide. So here we have a few regional, we've had a few regional conservation and consultation workshops in Asia and some of the criticisms that we have received and that I really appreciate from these consultations is a concept fatigue. We hear that MBS is yet another Western based theory it's got little proof of evidence yet, especially from the developing world. It's potentially even conflicting with developing context where perhaps the public interest or investment capacity and priorities for environmental protection differ from from those in the West. And concepts also don't seem to have time to mature before another one is thrown on the table by donors or even by us in the CJR. So systems approaches like MBS or ecosystem based adaptation really require multiple sectors to collaborate. And often these are actors who have never talked to each other, or really. So they really need time to find their modes of working together on these concepts and developing them for their own. Just to finish off with some of the positive side I think it's really exciting to look at these practices that we're collecting and that we're working with on a daily basis, some of them potentially new income generating opportunities. In this product with FIO and I some we also tested the framework and some planning tools to develop product proposals. To generate those missing evidence from the four policymakers and investors in Southeast Asia slides seven please. And as the global funds are becoming available for MBS. I just really want to start talking a little bit about what MBS is and what it isn't. And I think my question to end this talk really is about if we agree and I think we do that MBS is one way forward. What can we learn from our earlier experiences to avoid that MBS becomes yet another hijacked greenwash concept. Can we make it a longer term commitment so that it gets time to mature and integrate in countries policies so that they can actually see it implemented on the ground before another comes comes and gets the attention. And with the urgency that this planet is in now I really wish to finish off with these beautiful words from Wangari Matai and wish you all strength in the important work that you are doing out there. Thank you.


We are at MK-Romania right now and we're participating at Swift Response 21. Swift Response 21 is a multinational exercise that's taking place with our allied partners. My role for Swift Response is I'm a network technician for the 82nd. So what I do for my job is I configure networks over satellite communications and terrestrial links to provide ABCS systems connectivity back to the 82nd and its coalition partners. My role is extremely important to this exercise because without communications nothing would work. We would not be able to talk to our partners. We would not be able to communicate to ground forces on the drop zone to anybody really. So we're going to be communicating to people in Lithuania, Estonia, here in Romania and we're even talking back to headquarters back of the division. So this mission is about 75% relying upon my team and me to be successful due to the fact that the systems that we use are digital and they take some form of connection to the internet in order to be able to talk across all platforms that we use. So the process is a multi-tier process. First we start by setting up our SATCOM connections to the RHN or our distant end. Then we have to set up the baseband portion which is configuring the routers and switches making sure that we have a good connection through our SATCOM link. And then the next portion goes on to testing the LAN network making sure the computers and phones can talk to our shelter and then from there making sure that we can make phone calls and we can access file sharing things across the world that we need to access. So from getting here to on-ground Romania we had to pick up our equipment coming off the aircraft and then we had to set up our trucks, set up our computers, making sure that we had sufficient power so we were able to plug our computers in and talk to our partners. It's been a long journey but we're successful and we're up 100% right now. So the name that we have for this area is the G6 Operations. So it has our help desk personnel, it has our SSIO section which are our radio operators, it has our network center for the network technicians, our cyber defense team and our server technicians. We have been planning this mission since about February through the setup process and the equipment that we're going to need and implementation. Our experience working with partners has been great. Our partners in peace and NATO countries have phenomenal team players. They're very professional, they're friendly and we love working with them. My favorite part of doing this mission is knowing that our team had a successful impact on providing all our capabilities required by our leadership in order to conduct the mission and talk to their partners.


Good afternoon, and thank you for watching today. I'd like to set out, if I may, the economic measures that the Welsh Government is taking to help businesses through the two-week firebreak that the First Minister announced just yesterday. Now the measures that I will set out today demonstrate our determination to stand with working people and with businesses as we collectively attempt to bring coronavirus under control and give our economy the best chance gyda'r rhiforol dweud. Rwy'r rôl y dyfodol ybydd yma, yr october 2023, ac yn ymwybod ar y dyfodol y 9th. A复 yw cyfnod, sy'n 6 pŵen ymweld y Ffridag, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, dwi'n gwneud i'r fanlunol iawn, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, mae yna, supported by us new yma sy'n lleol sy'n erro. Nolwch cymdeithasyn yma yn ddim yn ei fydd. A'i allan gyfnod yn cyflawn wych yn cylliw y bydd, cyflawn f perdwyr ar gyfer gyflawn ym arddangos ar gyfer gyflawn. Rydw i'n credu i'r clyweddau yma, cyfeidiol yn cyfeidiolaint ar gyfer gyfer gyfrydym yn economi ar gwrth gyrdd o'r clyweddau, a dwi'n gydag dechrau'n nefyd ac sylweddau. Mae'r bywyddoedd a'r bywyddoedd yn ymweld ymlaen i gael ymddangos yng nghymru yn yng Nghymru. Mae'r Fyglwyr Rhywunio Cymru, ym mhwyf yn ymweld 500 miliwn i'r 630 miliwn. Mae'n helpu i'r ffyrdd o'r 100,000 ysgol yw'r ffyrdd yn ymddiad. Mae'r bywyddoedd yn ddechrau'r ddweud, a'r bywyddoedd yn ddechrau'r bywyddoedd ym mhwyf yn ymweld ymweld. Mae'r ffyrdd o'r 5000 ffyrdd yn ymweld i'w gael ymweld, a'r bywyddoedd yn ei gael ymweld i'w gael ymweld yn ymweld i'w ffyrdd yn ymweld. Mae'r bywyddoedd yn ei ddweud o'r 12,000 ym 1,000 a 50,000. Mae'r bywyddoedd yn maen nhw'n mynd i'r ffridd o'r llais, ac felly mae'n andangos gyrtaeth rôl a codi gwahad yr ysgol yn ein gydagon ni.  Felly, yn gwneud o gael y 20 miliwn i gweithio, mae gennym ni i'n gweithio a'n amlwgwch ar gweithio pethau ac mae'n gweithio'r achor i gweithio fel pethau ar gyfer o'r ffairwyr yn gweithio'r gweithio. Mae'n ddiddordech chi 100 miliwn i gweithio'r gweithio. Mae'n cael eu gweithio gweithio ar gwaith. Mae'r ddiddordech yn gweithio'r gweithio'r gweithio sydd wedi gweld gweithio i'r cyfnodau y Gweithfodd Cymru, oherwydd, mae'r cwmaint arall yn cael ei wneud. Mae'n ffordd yn rhan o'r cyffredinol iawn, ac mae'n ffordd yn cael ei bod nhw'n bwysig o'r cyfnodau yw'r gweithio ymlaenol, oherwydd mae'n bwysig o'r gyffredinol iawn yr ysgol ddweud. Felly, ydw i'r gweithio yma yw'r cyfrifiadau sy'n bwysig o'n bwysig o'r gweithfodau, cyd-o'r cyrwydd hwn yn dweud uchelu'r cyd-o'r cyd-wyrthoedd y Swydd.  Mae'r cyfliadau a'r dleidw i'w cyfliadau i'ch gweithio i g müs yma yn cael ei ddweud yr uned gan eu cyfliadau. Undodd wedi'i cydymnau worthy oEL ac yn y cyfliadau'r ysgolod ddechu'r wael pan ddoedd i'r rhaglen i chi i gyd-dwyddol. Mae'r cyd-fŷn iawn erbyn gwneud i'r cyd-fŵr, y gallwn i'n cael ei gwaith i'r trôl gweithio. A mynd i'n mynd i'n mynd i'n cael eu cyd-fŵr iawn, ychydig y chyfbwysig, eich cyd-fŵr iawn yn llwyr. Mae'r cyd-fŵr iawn yn llwyntu cyffredinol a chyfyddiadau rhai o'r pethau oherwydd yna'r cyd-fŵr iawn.  Mae yna peth yn amser, mae hi'n gwneud yn cyfathu yn cael ei gweithio'n môr yn cyfathau'n ei gwerthydd. Mae hwnnw hynno ar y cyfansbeth cyfansbeth sy'n cael ei ffordd – mae'r pryd yn gallu'n cerdd yma eu cyfansbeth yn gyllid i'r ysgolol. Busers and trains used by pupils to access schools and those across the border to England, where current restrictions are different, will be protected. Now I'd like to end by acknowledging very clearly that I recognise businesses in Wales who face a very difficult time over the next few weeks. I hope though that what we are announcing today will offer our businesses, our workers, the people of Wales, the security of knowing that the Welsh Government has your back as we enter this necessary period of action to control the virus and save the NHS. Of course this is a well-being crisis too, with emotional and mental resilience wearing thin, which only makes the need for us to stand together all the more important, just as we did. From March onward we must unite again, in common cause, to support the NHS, to save lives and to protect livelihoods. Now I'll now move to questions, beginning today with James Williams from BBC Wales. James. Thank you very much Minister. From a wage support point of view, this fire break period, as you've alluded to, covers two support packages, the furlough scheme, which ends on the 31st October, and then the new job support scheme. The problem is that some people won't be able to be furloughed for that last week or so. How many people are going to fall through the cracks here in Wales? Do you know that figure? The Treasury told you, which we had told last week, that they weren't going to bring the job support scheme forward. So why don't you have a contingency in place for those people already, and what are you going to do now, looking forward, to make sure that those people don't miss out on their week or so wages? Well thank you James. First of all, for viewers watching this today, there are two different intervention rates for the job retention scheme and the job support scheme. Firstly, the job retention scheme is offering support to the extent of about 60%. The job support scheme is more generous, 67%. We, as a Welsh Government, said to the Treasury that we were willing to make up the difference to provide enhanced support for people during this fire break. That means that we would have spent a significant sum of money, something in the order of £11 million, topping up the wages of people affected during this period. So far, the Treasury has not responded in a way that we would wish them to, however I can say that the First Minister has today written again to the Chancellor with another practical solution. Now it's important to say that we do not have control over tax records. This is an HMRC administrative issue. It's a reserved matter. We need the UK Government to step up and provide the wage subsidy scheme for every single worker who needs it. We expect them to do so, and as I've said, we are willing and ready to provide additional financial support to make sure that that scheme is enhanced for everybody affected. Sorry, do you know the number of people who were caught by this and didn't get answered at that point? Unfortunately, James, all of the data is contained within the HMRC. They cannot share the data with us, and so the HMRC, the Treasury, would have that figure to hand, but they do not provide that data set to us. OK, and I want to talk about non-essential retail, the scientific paper from the technical advisory cell that says that closing non-essential retail basically has very little impact on the RT value. Can you just explain then why they've been ordered to close as well? Well, there are many parts of the economy. There are many activities which, if stopped, if closed, only contribute a small amount to reducing that R number. But in total, in aggregate, it makes a significant difference. And if we open gaps in terms of what sectors should be allowed to open, in terms of what activities should be allowed to be permitted, steadily you decrease the impact of the firebreak, we wish this to be a short, sharp shop to make sure that it's just a contained two week period that gives society and businesses the best possible prospect of them making it through with certainty to the end of the year, particularly through that crucial Christmas period. And I'm sure, James, that most people in retail would wish to have a short, two week period of closure if, in exchange, they get a lengthier period of certainty, contrast that with what's happening elsewhere in the UK and further afield where much lengthier measures are being introduced. This will give retail operators the best possibility of having a buoyant Christmas period. And we'll move on now to Adrian Masters from ITB Wales. Thank you, Minister. And I'd like to go back to the difference of opinion that you refer to with the Treasury, the UK Treasury. The Treasury has said that there is no gap between the schemes. I'm sure you've read the quotes from the Treasury source saying that. There's no no gaps. It's not about the cost that the new scheme is available to as many people as the original scheme. Do you agree that there is no gap? And if that's the case, are you making this point for political purposes? Not at all, Adrian. There may be no time gap between the first scheme and the second scheme, but in terms of the generosity of the two schemes, there is most certainly a gap. And as we've heard Andy Burnham repeatedly argue in Greater Manchester, the job retention scheme currently operating with an intervention of 60% is insufficient for workers there. He's called for an 80% intervention rate. The job support scheme is offering 67%. And in order to bring that 60% to 67%, we were willing to pay UK government to do so here in Wales. But there is also an administrative issue here. We would wish businesses to avoid having to apply for two different schemes during the fire break period. And that's why we asked the Treasury to bring forward the job support scheme so that businesses would only have to apply once and that their employees would benefit from a more generous provision. As I said, the First Minister has written today again with a very practical solution to this challenge. And I don't think it's beyond the imagination, the creativity, the wisdom, or the wit of UK Treasury to be able to resolve what appears to be a very simple administrative issue. And if you've set aside that money, why not use it anyway to top up the scheme because you can... I realise you have other grants, but why not set aside that and say, okay, this is the Welsh Government's job retention scheme? And that's a very reasonable question to ask. A number of people are asking us this. And it's for one simple reason, we don't have access to HMRC systems. We do not have access to people's tax records. We do not have the ability to be able to pay people directly. And even if we did, this is a UK Government responsibility. We are willing to pay for the enhanced scheme for all workers that will be affected during the firebreak. All we are asking the UK Government to do is to administer it for us. But if a business... I'm sorry, this is part of the same question, I promise. If a business were in receipt of the Treasury scheme, they could prove that to you and you could give them the top up as a part of a separate scheme. Well, we're still working through solutions. Our ideal solution, though, would be for just one scheme to operate rather than two. We have multiple challenges with this. One, the difference in the amount of support that work is ultimately get, whether it's 60% or 67%, then also the requirement for businesses to apply for two separate schemes. We really think that during this period of difficulty for businesses, it would surely be better just to have one scheme in place for them to apply through. Thank you. Thank you, Adrian. And I'm going to move on to Mike. Now, Mike Hughes from LBC. Good afternoon, Mike. Good afternoon. I do think I've jumped the cue here, but I'll crack on. Oh, yes. The truth is, though, Minister, that there are going to be winners and losers in this shutdown, isn't there? Those who operate purely within the realms of online the likes of Amazon will be allowed to continue to operate within this shutdown, while those who have a shot premises, for instance, on a high street, cannot. And there's also, you've talked about trying to support businesses in the run-up to Christmas, but there are those who are far more seasonal earlier in the year. We've spoken to one business that does 40% of their yearly turnover between now and the 31st of October. There's a pumpkin grower in Cardiff that we've spoken to today that will have to throw out a large proportion of his crop to sheep because he won't be able to sell it in the run-up to Halloween. There is the risk here, isn't there, that some seasonal businesses in the run-up to Christmas could well be decimated by this lockdown? And this is not just confined to Wales. This is something that's affecting economies worldwide. The difference, of course, is that here in Wales we have the most generous package of support for businesses and working people anywhere in the United Kingdom. And let's just contrast for one moment what's happening that appears in Greater Manchester. And I stand shoulder to shoulder with Andy Burnham in calling on the UK government to make more money available for businesses and working people in Greater Manchester and across the UK because, according to reports this morning, £20 million is going to be made available to Greater Manchester, amounting to what, £8 per person? Our Economic Resilience Fund for just two weeks amounts to £300 million, £100 per person. That demonstrates the extent to which the Welsh government is intervening to support workers, to support businesses, to make sure that we've got a strong economy once we recover from coronavirus. But I do recognise, Mike, that there are challenges that many businesses are facing and that's why as part of the third phase of the Economic Resilience Fund we have that crucial element of business grants that will help businesses develop for the future to overcome the sort of issues that you've identified with the challenge of online retail versus in-person physical retail. We're also going to be investing very heavily indeed in town centres with our town centre first approach so that we can support retail as well as hospitality in towns and on high streets as well. But I recognise this is an incredibly difficult period for businesses across multiple sectors. Some sectors have been far worse, but this is a virus. This is a pandemic that has hit every sector in some shape or form. At the weekend retail groups were urging people to go out and start their Christmas shopping early to try and limit queues and allow better social distancing in the run-up to the day in December. Isn't there the risk that by delaying or stopping people going out and shopping, that you are essentially going to bottleneck it towards the end of the year? Again, a really important point, and this is why we were determined to make this the shortest possible firebreak. Two weeks is the absolute minimum that can be operated if it's to be successful. Anything lengthier than that, you're right, Mike, would have pushed then retail to the position where there would have been tremendous demand, and therefore a footfall on the high street and in shopping centres. We wish to avoid that. We support the retail consortium in calling on people to shop early, to shop in a way that's responsible to be mindful about the pandemic. But that two-week period enables retail then to have a lengthier period as we run through to Christmas. There is no option to do nothing. So the alternative would be perhaps to have a lengthier period of time of closures or restrictions, which would only then push pressure even closer to Christmas. And that in turn would have posed an even greater threat in terms of driving up transmission rates as we reach December 25th, and we wish to avoid that. That's why we have opted for this responsible, short, sharp firebreak right now. I must apologise. I did indeed offer my third place there. It actually should have been Adam Hale from PA. Apologies, Adam. I'll take it personally. Don't worry about it. I've returned into a similar question just asked. Your firebreak has been criticised by some cause for disproportionately affecting certain people, certain industries. Those industries like non-essential retail contact services, like hairdressers, especially in areas where the levels of COVID are low, they are being disproportionately affected, aren't they? They're disproportionately taking a hit. But the point, Adam, is that they will get the same support from this Welsh Government. They will get that support regardless of whether they are forced to close or close, and those businesses that are forced to close will be eligible for a generous package of support, the most generous package of support anywhere in the United Kingdom. And again, add stress that this is for just two weeks elsewhere. Restrictions are being imposed for four weeks, for six weeks, and potentially longer if the tier system in England does not operate correctly and they have to revisit that entire scheme. Who knows how long businesses may end up suffering in England. Here in Wales, we have taken the responsible course of action, which is a short, sharp firebreak. Thank you. We hear what you're saying about wanting the Treasury to help you out with the job support scheme date, meaning that there must be people who do fall between the gaps and the level of wage at a time for a week during difficult times. But do you accept that the consequences of that considering it was your decision to bring in this lockdown at a time but at first working something else with the TUMAC? The consequences fall on you. After all, your government has throughout this pandemic pride in itself on working out the details of things before first making decisions. What are a number of important points to make here? First of all, we developed the two-week firebreak in conjunction with local authorities, with business groups, with trade unions, with all manner of stakeholders. We haven't had a 10-day stand-off with any part of Wales over the measures that we've announced. We have brought businesses, local authorities, trade unions with us. And that's important because it demonstrates that the proposals that we have outlined are the right proposals. But it's absolutely essential that the UK government honos its commitment and makes sure that it delivers on its responsibility in supporting working people through the firebreak. And the easiest and best way to do that would be to bring forward the job support scheme. We are happy to invest there or there about £11 million to enhance the job retention scheme to the level of the job support scheme so that we can bring it forward. All that the UK government needs to do is to administer it. And in communications that we've had with the UK government, it's appeared throughout that there is no gap in terms of the time. All we are asking for is a simplification of the process so that businesses don't have to apply twice and so working people get the best possible outcome. And I'll now move to Mark Smith, Wales Online. Thank you very much indeed, Minister. While large parts of Wales have been living under local restrictions for up to six weeks now, there are also several counties that have not been subject to any substantial measures for a long time. What's your message to business owners in places like Pembrokeshire and Powys that have been trading in a COVID compliant manner in relatively low incidence areas but can now find themselves subject to closure and could we see a situation where not an essential shops are able to open in some counties on or after November the 9th while remaining closed in other areas when faction rates are higher? Well it's our intention to move to a national scheme after November the 9th and I would say to those businesses in those parts of Wales that have not yet been affected by local restrictions that the virus is catching up, that it's catching up and it will overwhelm the NHS across the whole of Wales if we do not take the action that we've outlined. And so I do have every sympathy for businesses who have been incredibly responsible in acting in a COVID compliant way. But at some point this autumn, every part of Wales would struggle to deal with the rising cases of coronavirus and our NHS across Wales including in sparsely populated areas of Wales where capacity is not so great would suffer terribly as a consequence and so it's better to take a two week firebreak than to wait until further in the autumn for those parts of Wales where incidence rates are not so high for them only to suffer from a lengthier period of restrictions particularly in the run-up to that vital festive period. Thank you very much. And secondly from both perhaps a health and economic perspective what thought was given to perhaps narrowing the strict firebreak lockdown rules so they only applied to the elderly population and those most at risk from the virus is there perhaps an argument to let everyone else in society continue without these restrictions for the benefit of businesses and people's mental well-being? Well of course we've looked at all options and I think what's really important to note here is that the technical advice group to Welsh Government have produced a comprehensive report concerning the firebreak that looks at options including those that you've just identified and its conclusions are compelling that unless we operate the firebreak in the way that they recommended and which we will now be implementing the NHS would not be able to cope with rising cases in the winter and if you look at where cases of Covid are transmitted it's often within domestic dwellings. The virus in terms of its transmission is blind to the age of people it will transmit through households regardless of whether you are young or old. We have to introduce measures therefore that protect every person from the transmission of coronavirus in order to reset the pandemic in Wales and that's why we have opted for this responsible short, sharp firebreak. Now I'm now moved to Bramwyn Jones from The Daily Post. Thank you Minister. The reality TV show I'm a Celebrity is due to take place at Gwrech Castle in North Wales but we've heard local businesses are expressing concerns about where they should go ahead given they are having to shut down. What are your thoughts on this? I have to be honest Bramwyn I've been rather busy of late so I haven't been following the toils of I'm a Celebrity get me out of here. Clearly I'm delighted that the series is being filmed in Wales in North Wales at Gwrech Castle which is a phenomenal location. If it can continue in a Covid safe way then clearly it has long-term benefits in terms of promoting North Wales and I think the point there is that it has to be conducted in a Covid safe way and I know that the producers of I'm a Celebrity get me out of here are incredibly keen to demonstrate that they can produce a show of this nature during a pandemic in a responsible way and you know it may well be that the television watching public just needs something like that right now because as the number of journalists have identified there is a well-being mental health crisis at the moment and we do need things that can unite people and this sort of programme can often do that. Thank you. And my second question First Minister Mark Drakeford said any benefits from the firebreak will not be known until after the two-week period that's finished. If the coronavirus figures are still rising or are still a concern after will you look at further firebreak national lockdowns or would you rule them out? Well clearly we won't see the impact of the firebreak until there is that lagged period beyond us so it could take two weeks as you identify. If everybody acts in accordance with the regulations then we will see a significant decrease in the R number it could decrease from 1.4 down to 0.8. That would in turn buy us enough time and give us the headroom to get through to Christmas and the New Year. It's in everybody's interest therefore to comply with the regulations to adhere to the rules during the two-week firebreak but of course we could not rule out the possibility of introducing another firebreak in the New Year if over the Christmas period transmission rates increased dramatically. We're going to be taking advantage of the coming two weeks to develop what I've said already will be a national scheme which we can introduce after November the 9th which will hopefully suppress transmission rates through the autumn and through the winter but I cannot rule out the possibility of a further firebreak potentially in the New Year but what I'm determined to do is to make sure that businesses and that people have the greatest degree of certainty in their lives and the way that they operate so that they know that they have a good period of time between any firebreaks to get the best out of the business opportunities that exist and that they have as many freedoms as possible. And I'm now going to move finally to Andrew Nuttall Nuttall at the leader Andrew, good to see you. Minister, a message do you have a message for businesses sort of worked ahead of this firebreak that they may be able to survive the two weeks? I know of a lot of stealing from the initial lockdown and with training not going ahead they'll still have bills to pay and staff will be able to watch the message to those. You're absolutely right Andrew that we couldn't just rely on UK government support for workers in the form of the job retention scheme and the job support scheme because there are other operating costs that businesses have to shoulder and particularly during a two week firebreak they won't have any income there will be no turnover and therefore Welsh Government rightly and responsibly step forward with the 300 million pound economic resilience fund and the third phase of it. So 300 million pounds is going to be invested in businesses for two weeks. That's a huge sum of money and it gives businesses an enormous amount of armour to be able to weather that two week period and it also then buys businesses the best prospect of being able to get through to Christmas with a great degree of certainty about being open and operating and I think that's what businesses being calling for throughout this pandemic a greater sense of certainty and that is what this Welsh Government is going to be giving them. Thank you and then sort of on the flip side of that a lot of people who will be on sort of higher incomes may not have as many worries as families that live on low incomes. They may too be struggling to pay bills and sort of keep their heads above water and keep their families fed. So what is your message to these people during the lockdown that may potentially have their bills cut their income cut further? Or? Absolutely again you know poverty rates in Wales is something that we are acutely aware of and that's why we have the discretionary assistance fund operating for people who are hardest hit. I'd encourage people who fall into you know that bracket that you've identified Andrew to seek support through the discretionary assistance fund but I'd say to all citizens you know we're approaching Christmas now more than ever we need to show solidarity and care for one another this is going to be a tremendously difficult period a dark winter and we need to look out for one another especially those who are most vulnerable. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.