Your coca-cola bottler presents Claudia based on the famous play and novels by Rose Franken Brought to you transcribed Monday through Friday by your friendly neighbor who bottles coca-cola Relax and while you're listening refresh yourself have a coke and now Claudia Claudia eat your breakfast. I'm not hungry mama. That doesn't matter Eat your breakfast. You can't expect to do a whole day's work on half a glass of orange juice. Oh All right. Ah, this is music to my ears It's lovely to see the breakfast table turned on my esteemed wife. You have no loyalty.  They have nothing to do with each other What time do you have to be at the theater? Not for a couple of hours. They're doing a part in the second act I'm not in that must hurt you. The play just falls apart at that point. The minute I walk off the stage Poof! No play. I'll tell it to the author whiff and poof. That poor author you know his hair is turning gray Right before my eyes. He and I have an awful lot in common Why didn't you sleep late if you don't have to go to the theater yet because I woke up? Because I wasn't sleepy Because I want to play with my son for a change. He's going to forget. He has a mother He's going to get along fine without one my point exactly Seriously darling you ought to get more rest by opening night. I'll be a wreck. This pace is wearing me thin These next two hours David. We're going to forget about the theater. Oh, we're going to enjoy your vacation My vacation is getting along fine. Thank you.     Why does everything have to happen at once?  I'm having a wonderful time. I just hope David doesn't feel neglected Say mama. He hasn't said anything. Has he? You may have whispered something into an ear of corn But he hasn't said anything into mine, but then David wouldn't would he if more actresses had a husband like mine There'd be fewer actresses. I get that makes sense Is it Jim Barney? But it is his voice is changing sounded like a woman to me. Oh, I know a woman Better go talk to her and find out.  Remember these next two hours belong to us answer the phone and make your dates later Hello, this is mrs. Norton speaking. Oh, Mrs. Norton.  This is mrs. Abercrombie speaking This is Abercrombie. I'm the Society and Theatrical Editor of the Eastbrook Town Crier. Oh, yes Well, we have a subscription to it already. I understand that you're playing a very important part in the next play down at the summer theater Well, it's not an important part. It's the engine You're so modest and it's so wonderful to have one of our own people appearing in the theater It's a great local interest. It is indeed. You'll make a celebrity of the whole town of Eastbrook But I better tell you why I called we go to that comes out on Monday and your play opens Monday evening Oh, yes Labor Day night. Well, I think it would be of enormous interest and possibly excellent for the theater, too If we could run an interview with you for that issue of the town crier You mean an article about me? Precisely. Now if it isn't asking too much and since the time is so short and I only heard of it last night I'll be right over and we can have a nice small chat together. Oh, well, I'm terribly sorry A few minutes. All right, I'll be right over. Goodbye. Honestly Nobody we know world is certainly full of that kind of people was a mrs.  Can you imagine she wants to interview me you she says? I'm local interest She writes a column or something for the local paper she thinks the readers will be interested Will they think of next should have told her not to come. It's a lot of rubbish David are two hours. Oh, she won't take that long. She better not She want to interview me for anyway the most interesting things about me aren't me at all. Some people is crazy Mrs. Brown, you're talking about the woman I love mr. Norton. I am talking about mrs. Abercrombie I agree with mama I hope she's gonna ask me a lot of questions. Claudia. Don't forget. She's interviewing you not you her I wish she weren't I don't see why all of a sudden just because I'm in a play I have to be in a newspaper, too.  I hope she doesn't quote your grammar I still don't see why if anybody wants to find out about us They think they can walk in the house and and just see for themselves. I'll put a turnstile of the door. Oh There she is smile darling always smile Why doesn't she interview you nobody's interested in me? I am Claudia. I answer the door my nose isn't powdered neither's mine Yours never is David, where are you going? I'm beating a hasty retreat.  Well, of course I will that's what I came for But do let me look around my dear. Oh, you're so young and this house is so sweet The house is much older.  Oh, I'm drinking it all in so I'll be able to convey it all to my readers You're sure they're interested one of our own citizens. Oh, yes, they'll be interested seems amazing to me Is this your first part in a theatrical production? Yes, all how sweet and right here in Eastbrook where we can all come and see you now Sit right down my dear and tell me all about yourself. Well, it's not have you always dreamt of being an actress It's too thrilling when I was young. I rather fancied myself the mod Adams time. Yes, I suppose you're married to Uh, almost a year. We have a baby combining marriage in a career. Oh you modern girls you manage everything so well So far I have not a chance when I was young it was all I could do to manage my home and my children I have three and now they're all grown up and flown the coop and my poor late husband is dead So I just had to busy myself.  Well, I was planning to your so sensible your feet right on the ground I dare say you'll manage both very well. Are you going to have more children? Four more. Oh my dear, isn't that Did you say four? Yes, all boys My husband's the type to have boys. He's an architect. You mean architects can design their own children Oh, so thrilling. I can't tell you how proud we Eastbrookers are to have you in our midst Now look, Mrs. Abercrombie, do you really think it's necessary to print all this? I mean Dave and I are fairly new here and we wouldn't want people to think we Oh, you're going to be very prominent citizens. Oh, yes I understand your husband is designing the new school building. Well, he's drawing up the plans now He's terribly talented and he has delicious taste in wives Well, if that's everything you want to know, I won't take up a moment more of your time But I do want to send the photographers over sometime today to take some pictures of your house and you with your baby and With your husband Do you want to take pictures too? My husband wouldn't dream of that public or your friends though You may not even know them are going to cry to know all about you now. We must have photographs Oh, you're delightful. Don't ever let anything change you my dear I'll try. Oh, this house is just too too charming and what a setting. Oh, I wish I were young again Well, it's been lovely and you've been very kind to let me drop over and interview you and it's been such an interesting interview Oh And just one thing I forgot. Yes, uh, how old are you 19? A woman's never too young to be younger. Is she up by yourself? Hey, has the dragon left? Dragon talking about mrs. Abercrombie. I just saw her out the window and I'm talking about mrs. Abercrombie But I don't think that's a very nice way to talk David after all she was sweet enough to come over here and interview me What? She didn't have to did she she was really very sweet Adorable. I particularly liked her blue hair David Now you mustn't take this attitude towards people being interviewed is a very important part of any actress's career You know, we have to face that now Um Come again. Oh and David darling the photographers are coming over this afternoon. Sometimes you will Shave before they come won't you darling? I'll shave my entire skull, but I'll not pose for any pictures But darling your husband is well somewhat important of great interest to an actress's fans I don't know what you're so impatient about you told me to be nice to mrs. Abercrombie It wasn't my idea to be in this play either, but now that I'm in it I'm in it up to the hilt and I must put up with the inconveniences and the publicity and but uh must I too You know, I wonder if I should have my hair set before the photographers come I'll break your neck and you can have that set.  Well, it was until about three minutes ago David you dope Do you think this one little interview turned my head?  Abercrombie. Why don't you tell a phone? Maybe I should because during the interview I didn't have a chance to tell her anything She did all the talking all of it Claudia come here Come here young woman. David take that look out of your eye. Come here Ouch, David. Hey, what are you doing you? Ha, I'm giving you something to tell mrs. Abercrombie Call her up and tell her your husband has just given you one whale of a spank Oh darling, you're so thoughtful How much a part of american daily life is the friendly red cooler that holds ice cold coca-cola You pause to enjoy coke from the red cooler in stores at sports events at the movies at clubs Now I'd like to call your attention to the fact that you have a white cooler for coca-cola in your very own kitchen That's the family refrigerator Keep plenty of coke chilling in the refrigerator and you can enjoy the pause that refreshes when you're working You can offer refreshing hospitality to guests. Oh mr. King What a sweet person claudia is but we like her. Oh so clever to our readers will just love reading about her Tell me are you planning to see the play? Oh, indeed. I am Well, then you could have saved yourself visiting claudia at home. Uh, well, what do you mean? Well from tomorrow on the theater will be more like home to claudia than home itself indeed Indeed So come around then mrs. Abercrombie come around tomorrow and you'll see why but yes, I'll do that Goodbye mr. King until then so long Every day monday through friday claudia comes to you transcribed with the best wishes of your friendly neighbor who bottles coca-cola So listen again tomorrow at the same time And now this is joe king saying or of war and remember Whoever you are whatever you do wherever you may be When you think of refreshment Think of coca-cola For coca-cola makes any pause the pause that refreshes and ice-cold coca-cola is everywhere This broadcast of claudia was supervised and directed by william brown maloney And now here's a word from your friendly neighbor who bottles coca-cola


The next item of business is members' business debate on motion 9376, in the name of Colin Smith, on atrial ffibrillation in Scotland. That debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Would those members who wish to speak in the debate please press the request to speak buttons? I call on Colin Smith to open the debate. Seven minutes, please, Mr Smith. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer, and thank you to all members from across the chamber for supporting my motion, allowing today's debate to take place about how we can improve care for those with one of the most common types of irregular heartbeat atrial ffibrillation. What is atrial ffibrillation? In a normal heart, the heart's pumping action is controlled by regular electrical messages produced by the part of our heart called the sinus node. Atrial ffibrillation occurs when additional irregular electrical messages are sent from other areas and in and around the atria, the upper chamber of the heart. Those irregular messages make the atria quiver or twitch, which is known as ffibrillation, hence the name atrial ffibrillation. It is a condition that around 96,000 people in Scotland are currently diagnosed with. It is particularly prevalent among older adults, so rates are expected to rise in line with their ageing population. In fact, international data suggests that AF rates could triple by 2050. Given the scale of the condition in Scotland, the cross-party group on heart disease and stroke, which I have the pleasure of being co-convener of, decided to carry out an inquiry to examine how to improve detection, treatment and awareness of the condition. The inquiry process, which included over 250 written consultation responses and four round-table evidence sessions, brought together knowledge from a range of perspectives and the expertise of those involved is clear from the report's 10 key recommendations. However, it was the contributions from those living with the condition that added a real depth of understanding. The voices and the lived realities of those with heart conditions are all too often missing the statistics and the analysis that we use to inform our work on health issues. I am delighted that we are able to incorporate into our inquiry so fully valuable insights and experiences of those with AF. A recurring point raised in our inquiry was the difficulty identifying and diagnosing atrial ffibrillation. One round-table participant Gordon, who has AF, told the inquiry that, I think that the big problem is those who are undiagnosed, who perhaps do not have many symptoms, are not aware that they have AF and their risk of stroke or heart failure are very, very much increased. It was a very valid point from Gordon that AF increases a person's risk of stroke by five times. It is associated with heart attacks and it is thought to be a factor in heart failure. Another participant I have been told in the inquiry that I probably had AF for a long time but did not know what it was. To me the condition was unknown. The response is all too common. I said earlier that 96,000 people in Scotland were diagnosed with AF but it is estimated that 2.6 per cent of the Scottish population have the condition. That is 145,000 people. That means that there are as many as 50,000 people in Scotland today living with undiagnosed AF. One of the key barriers to early diagnosis is the fact that the condition often exists with very limited or no symptoms at all. Indeed, as many as 40 per cent of people with AF experience no symptoms at all and those with parach paroxysmal AF often struggle to gain a diagnosis at all due to the intermittent nature of their condition. For some people, the first indication that they have AF is when they suffer from a stroke. Yet with the right treatment, for example, the appropriate use of anti-coagulation drugs, the risk of stroke for those with AF reduces by two thirds. Given that stroke is the third most common cause of death and a leading cause of disability in Scotland, the benefits of early diagnosis of AF cannot be stressed enough. As a result, although a report stopped short of advocating national universal screening, we propose targeted AF case finding programmes for those most at risk, as well as more investment in the proven technologies for AF detection. We also stress the need for the Government to tackle staff shortages, for example the lack of cardiac physiologists to improve early diagnosis. Diagnosis is not the only issue. Clinical professionals and people with AF alike raise concerns about post-diagnosis pathways and support, and the inquiry revealed the need for more integrated and specialist care for people with AF. Additionally, there were widespread concerns raised about the lack of information for those diagnosed with a condition. 15 per cent of respondents to an inquiry said that they had received no information at all about their condition, and only 33 per cent felt that they had received a detailed explanation. A number of consultation respondents reported that their treatment options were not fully explained to them. One statement, and I quote again, I would have been happier if it had been explained to me why other treatments were not for me. Similarly, Richard Parton, in one of our round table discussions, told an inquiry that atrial ffibrillation is unique to the individual, so each case must be carefully considered to determine the correct course of treatment. It would be good if someone could give an idea of what treatments are available and which are likely to work in each particular situation. It was clear from an inquiry that more needs to be done to ensure that patients with AF are adequately informed and actively involved in decisions about their care. The importance of information extends to the wider public with the need for a public awareness campaign, highlighted by a number of responses to the inquiry, as well as the importance of raising awareness of AF among healthcare professionals. As well as varying levels of information, respondents to the inquiry also reported differences in how often their condition and treatment are reviewed. One stated there, and I quote, would have liked a check-up programme but had little success in asking about drug changes and risks of current drugs. Integrating multidiscipline and care can allow more opportunities for AF patients to receive appropriate reviews of their condition, provided by a variety of healthcare professionals. For example, community pharmacy could have a particular role to play through regular medication reviews for people with AF. The inquiry highlighted the need to re-examine how we identify and ultimately treat atrial ffibrillation in Scotland and very much commend our 10 recommendations to the Scottish Government. If implemented, it will drive forward positive change in relation to atrial ffibrillation and act as a real catalyst towards improving outcomes and the experiences of people living with the condition. I therefore want to place on record my appreciation to everyone who was involved in our inquiry. In particular, I would like to extend their gratitude to those who are kind enough to share their personal experiences of living with atrial ffibrillation. I would also like to thank the members of the advisory panel to the inquiry, patient representatives Jim Bruce and Paul Hodgson, third sector representatives and their organisations, Wendy Armitis from Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland, Morvan Dun from the British Heart Foundation and Colin Oliver from Stroke Scotland. Our academic and clinical advisers Dr Neil Grubb from NHS Lothian, Professor Liz Newbeck from Edinburgh Napier University and Dr Terry Quinn from the University of Glasgow. They all provided invaluable advice for which we are all very grateful. I want to give a particular thank you to Kylie Barclay from the British Heart Foundation. Kylie invested a huge amount of time and effort in supporting this inquiry and ultimately developing the final excellent report before us today, which I hope everyone involved is proud of and is a real positive example of the work of a cross-party group. Creating our report is only the first step. As co-convener of the cross-party group working along my fellow co-convener Alexander Stewart, who continues excellent work of his predecessor, Mary Todd, we are determined, along with all members of the CEPG and advisory panel, to build on the momentum of hope that our report has created. We are committed to working collaboratively with the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland to deliver our recommendations and, ultimately, to make a positive difference to the lives of people living with atrial fibrillation, their families and their carers. We move on to the open debate. We are really pushed for time today, so speeches of under four minutes would be much appreciated, Alexander Stewart followed by Emma Harper. Thank you, everybody. I am delighted to be able to participate today and I congratulate Colin Smith in securing this debate. As we have already heard, atrial fibrillation, or AF, is one of the most common forms of abnormal heart rhythm and is a major cause of stroke in the United Kingdom. AF is, as we have already heard, the abnormal heart rhythm, which the upper chambers have to deal with. The consequences that we have talked about and, as we have heard some statistics again today, 96,000 people in Scotland alone have the complaint and we are aware that 50,000 people still remain undiagnosed. That is a massive amount of individuals who are not aware or have that issue that may at any time have to deal with, so it is very important that we have that awareness and the message that we are trying to do today. In my region of Mid Scotland in 5, 12,188 people have been diagnosed with AF and they will be undoubtedly aware that their condition increases the risk of a stroke up to five times. Stroke is also the most common cause of death in leading cases and disability in Scotland, with over 15,000 people in Scotland having had a stroke in the past year. I am privileged along with Colin Smith to be a co-convener of this group and I have been actively involved in the group and now I have stepped up to take on this role due to Mari moving on. I am so thrilled that we have achieved so much already and I really pay tribute to everybody who has participated. I was delighted to host the British Heart Foundation social science event here in the Parliament on the first evening in February. The event highlighted the charity's fantastic research into AF and the cross-party group have repeatedly held an inquiry. That inquiry has diagnosed treatments and has looked at people living with AF in Scotland. That launch was a fantastic opportunity for us to give that impression and show the case for what we are trying to achieve and the cross-party group are doing all that they can to move that forward. We heard from two of the British Heart Foundation's hugely knowledgeable scientists, Professor Jesse Dawson and Professor Tom Workwood, who have fantastic insight and are doing all that they can to break down the barriers. Both individuals give examples of what they are currently trying to do and some of the fantastic work of studying single-cell heart and taking from individuals who have chronic illnesses and trying to manage that process and working to identify the types of research that require us to be done so that they can attempt to ensure that every individual is given the most and the best possible chance to ensure that they get that as they go forward. The work is eventually improving our understanding of what the case is and the whole idea is taking place. However, as Colin indicated in his presentation, the round-table discussion with individuals who live with it and who have the symptoms and the understanding was very useful for all of us to take on board and get their views and feelings about how it is and what needs to be done. To have the scientists there also contributing their part is vitally important. I would like to pay tribute to all who have worked so hard to pioneer new treatments of AF and to all those who participated in the study and who helped to produce the recent publication. The publication is without question a major achievement and shows us in the best possible light. Working together at both local and national level gives us the opportunity to support the work of the British Heart Foundation and gives us the opportunity to promote on a platform. The scientists, the management and the volunteers enable us to ensure that the message is given out loud and clear. In conclusion, we are here to fight hand in hand with the British Heart Foundation and to support them in driving the change for both awareness and improvement outcomes of people living with AF. I am delighted to have the opportunity to provide assistance and support whenever I can and play my part in standing up to and standing up for improving awareness of eatable fibrillation. First of all, I congratulate Colin Smyth on securing this important debate. I remind members that I am a registered nurse. Colin Smyth's motion states that there are 145,000 people in Scotland who are at risk from stroke due to atrial fibrillation and 50,000 of those people who have not been found yet. I would like to focus my comments today on detection and diagnosis. In the report published by Heart Disease and Stroke Cross Party Group, a focus on atrial fibrillation in Scotland, detection and diagnosis is discussed. AF detection and diagnosis is important in preventing stroke. In the first instance, it is called primary prevention and also the prevention of a further stroke, which is called secondary prevention. Most folks' hearts beat in a steady, regular rhythm, like a ticking clock, as the report describes, 60 to 80 beats per minute at rest. AF is a heartbeat as it is not regular. It is an arrhythmia. Traditionally, the most common method for detecting an arrhythmia is to use the radial pulse and check for 60 seconds. Putting your hands on the patient's wrist, feeling for the radial pulse, that is the pulse at the thumb side of the wrist, the radial artery, is necessary to feel and count the beats for one full minute. A full minute allows the trained individual, whether a doctor, nurse, healthcare support worker or allied health professional such as a physio or dietician, to determine whether the rate is regular or not. A regular heart rate triggers the need for a further test, a diagnostic ECG or electrocardiograph. Documentation on the current vital signs chart, the news score, or the national early warning score chart, where temperature, pulse or heart rate, blood pressure and respiration rate and other vital signs such as blood glucose and urine output are recorded, actually has a prompt now for obtaining and recording vital signs, a box to describe whether the pulse is regular or irregular. If there is an irregularity detected, that leads to the further diagnostic practice. The NHS in Frees and Galloway stroke nurse specialist I contacted last week, Christine Kartner, said that if an irregular heart rate is detected, it is often at a time of admission to hospital, but by that time people may already be experienced in a stroke event. Christine said that the main issue in detecting and diagnosing AF prior to a stroke happening happens outside hospital potentially, so the new technology that is emerging to detect AF is quite interesting to look at. A simple electronic test can be used to validate the regularity or the arrhythmia, called a single lead electrocardiograph. The cross-party group report has made 10 recommendations. I will not be able to review all 10 in the time that I have here today, but number one says that targeted AF case finding programmes for those at risk is something that should be considered. That is over 65 years, those with previous stroke, and I support that potential to look at the technology. The third recommendation is to invest in proven technologies within general practice to detect AF. I like the idea of single lead ECG to diagnose AF as there is certainly difficulty in achieving a 12 lead ECG with accurate lead placement and exposure of the patient's chest and the discomfort of embarrassment for the 12 lead process. I am sure that my colleagues will mention other issues in the report, but I welcome the report and continued evidence-based information to develop the best guidelines to detect, diagnose and treat the 50,000-folk AF that we have not found yet. Anna Sarwar, followed by Rachel Hamilton. I am pleased to be speaking in support of my colleague Colin Smith's motion and the important issue, the focus on atrial ffibrillation in Scotland, a report by the cross-party group on heart disease and stroke raises. I put on record my congratulations to Colin Smith and all the organisations and individuals involved with the CPG and the report that they have done a service for us all in this Parliament and beyond. Atrial ffibrillation is one of the country's most common conditions, affecting as it does around 100,000 people in Scotland who have been diagnosed with the condition and is also feared that as many as 50,000 are currently living with the condition but have not been diagnosed. The condition has serious implications with patients five times more likely to be at risk of a stroke and of those strokes being more severe. I want to briefly recognise the work that all Governments have done. I think that it is important to stress that there is cross-party consensus on moving forward on this and to focus on strokes as one of Scotland's three main killers alongside cancer and heart disease. Strokes are the third most common cause of death and one of the leading causes of disability, so I think that it is right that we give it a focus and a priority. I want to focus my comments and suggestions on three really brief areas. The first one is on the shortage of cardiac physiologists in Scotland. The cabinet secretary, the minister and I have sparred many times across this chamber on the need for a proper workforce plan and on the need to address acute shortages in clinical staff and the need to address a large number of consultant vacancies. Perhaps today the minister might want to address some of those issues as related to this report. Secondly, how we work to improve detection and diagnosis. The use of new technology in the detection and diagnosis can play a key role in a more accurate diagnosis. Indeed, the diagnosis could be carried out using new technology in settings outwith a hospital or GP practice, particularly in pharmacies and community settings, which in itself could help to relieve some of the stress and strains in the acute sector. Diagnostic practices also have to be consistent across the country. There is a variability across the country in diagnostic services for atrial fibrillation, and addressing the staff shortages along with the wider availability of the new technology I think would play a big part in addressing some of the geographical differences in diagnosis. I would also welcome the minister's comments on how we can ensure a more consistent approach across Scotland, how we learn from best practice in other parts of the country and replicate them right across the whole of Scotland. Thirdly, I want to consider the care pathway that patients travel. We know that atrial fibrillation requires a long-term care management plan. That requires the integration of many members of the healthcare team, including cardiologists, nurses, GPs, pharmacists, social care staff and more. There are good examples of best practice across the country, for example in Tayside and Lanarkshire, but everyone should benefit from good practice developed by colleagues in other parts of the country. I hope that the minister can take the opportunity to set out how her department will ensure parity of service no matter which health board an individual happens to reside in. In closing, I realise that we are short of time. The Government has a key role to play, and I look forward to working with the minister and the wider Government to hear her comments today, working directly with the cross-party group on the issue and all the organisations that are represented on the CPG to take forward the wider recommendations in the report so that we can deliver a first-class service for every patient right across Scotland. That can mean example to the rest of the UK, too. Can I ask those in the gallery not to show appreciation or otherwise, please? It does not mean that nobody will appreciate Rachel just because they do not clap. Rachel Hamilton is the last of the open debate contributions. Wow, I have never had that welcome before. I welcome this debate today, a very important debate, and I congratulate Colin Smyth on securing it. I must also declare a register of interest as being a new member of the cross-party group on heart disease and stroke, and I look forward to contributing and helping to build on the momentum of the group's work in the future. I remember when I first met the British Heart Foundation in 2016, and it was clear that atrial fibrillation was all too common and yet not well known. The condition that occurs when additional irregular electrical messages are sent from other places in and around the atria provoking the atria to quiver or twitch, known as fibrillation, has been diagnosed in 96,376 people in Scotland. Symptoms can include palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, fainting or fatigue, but 40 per cent of people with AF do not experience any symptoms at all. As such, the condition may well affect thousands more but remains undiagnosed due to the condition not being known about. From the information gathered, we expect that the actual number of those with the condition could be as high as 145,000. AF can increase the chances of stroke fivefold, as we have heard today, the most common cause of death and leading cause of disability in Scotland. It therefore has the ability to be a life-changing condition and potentially a deadly one. A number of risk factors are associated with the AF, including increasing age, high blood pressure, heart failure, valvular heart disease, previous heart attack, thyroid disease, obesity, diabetes, chronic lung disease, sleep apnea, kidney disease, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption. In January, I welcomed the British Heart Foundation's call for more support to help those who suffer with the condition. Some 1,724 in the Scottish Borders. I welcomed the initiative that encourages the implementation of specialised AF services to facilitate accurate diagnosis and raise awareness. I also want to welcome the excellent work done by Colin Smyth and all the members of the CPG and its 10 recommendations to the Scottish Government. It is no mean feat for a committee to gather evidence from carefully selected advisory panels, and we thank everyone who helped to formulate those recommendations in the report. I also fully support calls to encourage targeted AF case-finding programmes for those who are at most at risk—those aged over 65, those with previous stroke factors and those with existing cardiovascular risk factors. As we know, Scotland and the Scottish Borders have an ageing population, and it is essential that those at risk get the support that is required. In line with that, the Scottish Government should actively promote and support health boards to implement specialised AF services to facilitate accurate diagnosis to ensure prompt, appropriate anticoagulation and to ensure patient-centred management. Only recently did the Scottish Borders receive pulmonary rehabilitation services to help those who suffer from COPD, which is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Before that, it was the only health board in Scotland without such a service. It should not be the case that we find this inequality amongst health boards and ensure that when such a service is rolled out to help those with AF, it is rolled out to all health boards. I am sure that this will be the case, and if it is not, I will help to ensure that it is. I once again like to thank Colin Smyth for securing this debate and thank the CBG and the British Heart Foundation for their work on the published report. The Scottish Government has much to do to support those 145,000 AF sufferers, but its efforts will, I am sure, be supported by all of us here in the Parliament. I now call Aileen Campbell to respond to the debate. Absolutely no more than seven minutes, please, minister. I also congratulate Colin Smyth for bringing this motion forward for debate. I am glad that we have finally got the chance to do so after weather postponed play last week. All the members who have been involved in the report and the inquiry, there is a considerable amount of work that has gone into this inquiry from experts. Importantly, as Colin Smyth articulated, it is important that the voice of those with lived experience is heard. I applaud both Colin and Alexander for their clear passion and knowledge of the issue. I agree with Alexander that it is work like this that shows the Parliament and its cross-party groups in its best light. I am more generally welcome to the opportunity to discuss atrial fibrillation in Scotland and the Government's work to improve AF diagnosis, treatment and care. That has been taken forward by the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland and our third sector partners, including the British Heart Foundation, Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and the Stroke Association. As the motion notes, AF is a common and serious heart condition that is associated with a five-fold increase in the risk of stroke. Although most are diagnosed and provided with appropriate treatment, data suggests that 50,000 people with AF in Scotland are undiagnosed, points raised by many others, but certainly from by Colin Smyth and Rachel Hamilton. That is why our national advisory committee for heart disease and stroke, which includes third sector partners, developed our AF work plan, which aims to support improvement in AF diagnosis, treatment and care. I also appreciate on that point the authoritative and detailed contribution from Emma Harper, who brought her nursing expertise to bear and how we tackle those issues of diagnosis and treatment. I am pleased that the plans, actions and priorities echo the recommendations in the cross-party groups inquiry. I welcome that concord and am pleased to contribute to the parliamentary reception celebrating the report's publication to share our perspective and work to improve AF. I pay tribute to those who contributed to that event, including those lived experiences and those voices that allowed us to have a bit more colour added to the report's findings. It was a pleasure to meet many of those who contributed to the inquiry process, to hear from some of those with AF and also to reflect on our shared commitment, ambitious and consensual to improve the diagnosis and treatment of AF and the care of those affected by AF in Scotland. I was pleased to note the progress in delivering our heart disease and stroke improvement plan commitments on AF is acknowledged in the inquiry's report. That includes the development of AF e-learning resources in heart E and stars, both produced by Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland. Those were funded by the Scottish Government as was a project that tested using smartphone apps to identify AF in primary care, again using modern technology to help advance treatment. That progress galvanised our national advisory committees for heart disease and stroke to work with partners to further improve AF provision across the healthcare system. They produced our AF work plan. Core in this was improving pathways for AF detection and treatment in primary and secondary care. Specifically, this is supporting AF case finding in primary care, effective follow-up in secondary care and identifying AF in people who have already had a stroke to reduce the risk of further stroke. In answer to some of the issues raised by Anna Sarwar, our work plan provides an opportunity to drive forward the improvement that he was seeking and to drive forward far more consistency across the country in treatment, diagnosis and care. Further to the points raised by Anna Sarwar and Colin Smith, we are absolutely aware of the UK shortage of cardiac physiologists. The Scottish Government is considering a formal request to add cardiac physiologists to the shortage occupation list for tier 2 visas, which would ensure that NHS Scotland can maximise use of overseas recruitment options. Reflecting on some of the points that had been made around care for individuals, one of realistic medicines main aims shared decision making by patients and healthcare professionals informed by discussion of treatment options. The AF work plan aims to ensure that the benefits of clinical interventions and technologies are maximised. Person-centred and the plans' aims also include raising awareness among those at most risk of AF, enhancing patient engagement and time to use data to measure progress and inform our next steps to improve AF diagnosis treatment and care. That was an important issue to raise about empowering people. Colin Smith's opening remarks and others about making sure that people are at the centre of the care that is going to be involved in helping them to cope with their condition and making sure that they have an active input into what that care looks like. I recognise all those who contributed to the development of the AF work plan and to note that there were many also actively involved with the cross-parties groups AF inquiry. It is joint work that across boundaries and portfolios such as that to deliver our AF work plan that will deliver the aims of our health and social care delivery plan. We want a health and social care system that is integrated and works together, focused on the principles of anticipating people's health needs, providing the best standards of quality and safety that always puts people at the centre of decisions about their care. Our vision for primary care is at the heart of improvement in AF diagnosis treatment and care. We are working with GPs, the British Medical Association, integrated authorities and health boards to implement the agreed priorities for transformative service redesign in primary care in Scotland. Key to this is the new general medical services contract, which will see GPs become more involved influencers in the wider system to improve local communities' population health with GP clusters working to continuously improve the quality of patient care. Refocusing GP's role as expert medical journalists will see some of their current task where safe and appropriate to do so carried out by wider primary care multidisciplinary teams in the future. It is also important to know that AF should also be set within the context of our wider efforts to drive forward improvement at a population health level. Heart disease and stroke mortality and incident rates have decreased over the last decade and that shows our strategies deliver real improvements, but we want to do more to prevent both heart disease and stroke. We are taking decisive action to address alcohol consumption, reducing smoking rates, encouraging healthier eating, active living and investing to improve mental health services to help to support people to live healthier lives. I will also add to that and align to that is our work to ensure that we can reduce inequalities with manifest those health inequalities that we all want to see reduced. To conclude, I welcome the inquiry report and its alignment with the priorities in our AF work plan. Both reports and both sets of actions give us a blueprint for Scotland to drive forward the improvement and the consistency that we seek to have around AF diagnosis and treatment and again play tribute to the work of the cross-party group and everyone who was involved in making the report and its inquiry so authoritative and allows us to work together to make the improvements that we need to see. That concludes the debate and we will move on to the next item of business which is topical questions.


Climate change is a spiritually and morally urgent matter to us because the power to change comes from spiritual sources. We learned this in dialogue with the people's indigenous peoples in the north. All the land, all the cosmos is sacred, a sacrament infused with meaning. Each being has a purpose. This is the soul and spirit of the land and all life. On this Easter and Earth Day 2019, we grieve the greed, self-centeredness, short-sightedness, and human pride that goes with wasteful and thoughtless consumption of energy resources that are not renewable. Those who suffer the effects of our failure to change are those who consume the least, who are coming as future generations and the non-human communities that may or may not be able to adapt. On this Easter and Earth Day 2019, we hope for spiritual transformation, a humility that comes with awareness that all the land, all the cosmos is sacred, a sacrament infused with meaning. Each of us have a purpose. We are all called to a priestly vocation to be a responsible caretaker. On this Easter and Earth Day 2019, we commit as faith leaders to play our part to honestly and directly name our crisis, to raise awareness of its emergency, and to encourage transformative actions that change our consumption-based economy to one grown into a stewardship economy of care. For the love of all creation.


Thank you, Nahid, for being such a strong advocate for the people who call Calgary home. The pride that you feel for your hometown, and your desire to see every Calgarian live up to their potential, is obvious to anyone who meets you. I also have to thank your chamber president, Adam Legh, for inviting me to be here. And of course, thank you to all of you for coming out so very, very early in what I know is a tremendously busy time of year for everyone. So, you might remember that I made Calgary the very first stop in my leadership campaign back in 2012. Since then, I looked it up, I've actually been back in Calgary 14 times over the years, and parenthesis just since becoming Prime Minister, I've actually made eight trips to Alberta. And on one of those trips a few years ago, at the Calgary Petroleum Club, I made my feelings about Calgary very clear. I said, this place is important, Calgary, Alberta, and all of Western Canada. It's important now, and it will be even more important in the future. And here we are, three years later. A lot has changed. I have a different job and different responsibilities. Many of you have changed jobs as well, too often not as a matter of choice, but as a matter of economic necessity. I'll come back to that in a moment. But what hasn't changed for me since then, and what I hope hasn't changed for you either, is a conviction that this city matters. Calgary is important, important for Alberta and for Canada. What happens in Calgary is important. It's important to Alberta and to all of Canada. And I could talk about economic indicators, but measures like that don't fully capture what's really important, how people are feeling. I know that the last couple of years have been really tough on Calgary. The oil price shock hit markets and companies hard all over the world, but here in Calgary it hit families even harder. I know that our MPs, Kent Hare and Darshan Kang and others have been working really hard to make sure that Calgary is always on top of mind in Ottawa. And part of that, as I've said, has been keeping our government connected to how families are faring, to how people are doing. I had a chance when I was back here in late March for an EI announcement to sit down and chat with a number of Calgarians who were struggling. These were people young and not so young. And I took away two things from that meeting. First, that Calgarians aren't looking for a handout. All they want is a real and fair chance to succeed, an opportunity to support themselves and their families. And second, that the challenges that Calgary has been facing have been felt beyond the oil and gas sector. They've hit the whole community hard. Knowing this, knowing how difficult the last couple of years have been for Calgary and for Alberta as a whole, we've taken some significant steps to help. As I had pointed out, these include infrastructure investments to help Albertans get back to work and to help strengthen and grow the provincial and national economies. Here in Calgary, we're contributing more than $750 million in transformational projects, projects like the Green Line LRT and the Southwest Calgary Ring Road, something that as you know has been in the works since the 70s. For local businesses like yours, better transit and better highways mean better and faster access to markets. For Calgary families, it means that they'll be able to get home sooner at the end of a long day, whether they're coming from work or school or the rink. And by the way, who better to get that done than a proud Albertan who came here as a young man started out as a bus driver and is now building transit systems all across Canada, our Minister of Infrastructure, Amarjit Sohi. Thank you, Amarjit, for all the hard work you're doing. And most critically, these infrastructure investments will create good, well-paying jobs for Calgary's middle class and for those working hard to join it. But we know that government can only do so much. For Calgary to succeed, the energy sector needs to be given a real chance to succeed. So just a few weeks ago, our government approved both the Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion and the Line 3 Replacement Project. Together, these two projects will create 22,000 new jobs, mostly in the trades. And as I said in making the announcement, these approvals are a major win for Canadian workers, for Canadian families and for the Canadian economy. They will give much-needed hope to thousands of hardworking people in Alberta's conventional energy sector who've suffered a great deal in the past few years. They will help provide the growth and resources we need to spur Canada's clean energy transition. And they will prove to Canada and to the world that responsible resource development can go hand-in-hand with strong environmental protection. After all, it was decisive federal and provincial leadership on confronting climate change that made these approvals possible. I said it at the time, and I repeat it today. The Olympics are not going to solve all our economic problems. It's impossible. We are already aware that natural gas and oil industries are important, but they are not the only ones to solve the whole of the economy. At the same time, the development of the Olympics, made in a responsible and prudent, is not an environmental disaster in itself. You see that way of thinking that we have to choose between growing the economy and protecting the environment simply doesn't work. Not anymore. And Canadians understand that. Canadians don't want economic growth at any cost, nor do they want an environmental strategy that treats jobs and growth as an afterthought. What they voted for last fall and what our government has been working very hard ever since to deliver is leadership that gets the job done. I'm talking about the important work of opening up markets abroad for Canadian resources and then working with business, other orders of government, Indigenous partners and civil society to find responsible and sustainable ways of getting those resources to markets. That's not easily done and it doesn't happen overnight, but when you have the political will, when you're committed to having some tough conversations and making some difficult decisions, you can make real progress on both the economy and the environment. And the secret to getting the job done is one well known to all Albertans, rolling up your sleeves and getting to work. We will continue to work hard to build an economy that works for more Canadians while also protecting the environment so that future generations can inherit a cleaner, more prosperous country. We will do it because we know that both are possible and we'll do it because we believe in Albertan and we believe in Alberta and we believe in Albertans. Merci beaucoup mes amis, thank you very much.


Last time on Common Sense Soapbox, Bob to the Future! Reperto! Any plans to open a restaurant? Those tacos were amazing! I would love to, but I don't have the capital right now. If you're looking for investors, I've got some money saved. And now for today's installment of Common Sense Soapbox, Bob to the Future! Oh yeah, I've got the location all picked out. Good spot too. I just need to save up a bit more before I open the restaurant. Does it cost more then? 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 2, 25? Yes. Dang! I'll have to go for a smaller share. Bob, I appreciate that you're trying to help, but even in today's day and age, opening a restaurant is hard work, and Roberto's going to need a lot of capital investments to get started. What? Capital investment? You're a, uh, a capitalist? Say it ain't so Roberto, my beautiful taco man! Bob, a capitalist is just someone who owns capital. Exactly! Bob, do you know what capital is? I sure do. It's money. That's one part of it, sure, but it's a little more complicated than that. I refuse to believe anything could possibly be more complicated than I initially thought of it as. And yet, capital is a really broad term, and it covers a lot of things. Financial assets and debt, sure, but also stuff like chef's knives and tortilla warmers and a payment processing system, even delivery trucks and warehouses. Nuh-uh! Yuh-huh. Capital is just the tools we use to make the production of all the stuff people buy easier and more efficient. Exactly. And because it's more efficient, the final product, these delicious tacos, perhaps, will be more affordable and available for everyone. And if Roberto spends less to make the tacos, and customers like you and me spend less to buy them, we all end up with more resources for other awesome things. Everybody wins. So, capitals just, like, tools? Basically, yes. Like a screwdriver. So why don't you just make your own taco wrenches instead of getting investors and buying them? I know how to make tacos, not any of that other stuff.  Charlie, I'll have my lawyer send some paperwork over to your financial planner. Yeah, you still have lawyers too? I told you it's not a utopia. You know what? The capital thing does kinda make sense. Roberto, you've inspired me. I'm going to become an entrepreneur and start my own company too. But I think I'm going to need some capital first. That's great. I know some places that are hiring. Hiring? Like, for a job? Yeah. Startup capital doesn't grow on trees, you know. You're going to need to earn some money and save up your resources, right? He may have been able to survive being frozen for hundreds of years, but can Bob survive full-time employment? Find out on the next exciting episode of Common Sense Soapbox. Bob to the future!


The National Broadcasting Company at its affiliated stations presents the Pacific story. This is the story of the Pacific. The drama of the millions of people who live around this greatest sea, where the United States is now committed to a long-term policy of keeping the peace. This is the background story of the events in the Pacific, and their meaning to us and to the generations to come. The remaking of Japan. After the most games, our Emperor himself said the war was over. I could not believe it. I was so angry, I cried. The tears fell from my eyes all day. We had lost the war. Soon the Americans would come. We waited. Everything was quiet. When General MacArthur came, and his soldiers raised the American flag over the United States Embassy in Tokyo, I could not think how completely the Americans would change a Japan. Your show is an average Japanese, intelligent, moderately well-educated, a white collar worker. He knew what the men who ran Japan wished him to know, but little more. The Coral Sea? For what battle? He had never heard of the loss of the aircraft carrier Shōho and the other Japanese war vessels in the Coral Sea. A Midway? No. He had never heard of the disaster at Midway, the sinking of the two big carriers, the Kaga and the Akagi, and the two smaller carriers, Hiryū and Soryū, and of all the other losses there. Kodakana? Or you mean our victory there? He had never heard of the sinking of the two old Japanese battleships, the Ae and Hiroshima, and of the other Japanese losses at sea and ashore at Guadalcanal. Nor until Japan collapsed had he ever heard of the Potsdam Declaration. Japan's militarism will be eliminated. Japanese war criminals will be punished. All obstacles to the revival and strengthening of democratic tendencies among the Japanese people will be removed. Freedom of speech, of religion, and of thought, as well as respect for the fundamental human rights will be established. Even after the Americans had come to Tokyo and Yoshio had read the Potsdam Declaration, he did not realize what it would mean to him and to all the people of Japan. Conditioned by years of conformity, he could not realize that the Potsdam Declaration was a design for the remaking of Japan. Until the United States entered the war, Yoshio had his own opinions about Americans. They are, of course, a culturally inferior to Japanese. He had grown up with this idea. They are straightforward, they are good mechanics, but they are like people of the frontier. Mostly, Yoshio ignored them. But they are present enough. They military hate them. This is a mistake. The first orders for the remaking of Japan were issued days before Yoshio saw the first Americans in Japan. For use of the American occupation troops, the following industries, harbors, shipping, aerodromes, and resources will be taken over. The industries located in the island... This was too abstract for Yoshio. The terms too general. MacArthur's forces moved in slowly, unobtrusively. They went about taking over the industries, resources, aerodromes, and naval bases in the same way. Look at those American warships steaming in. I cannot believe it. You see, the decks are cleared for action. See all the guns? Yes. I did not think I would ever see the day when... when American warships would steam into Omanato Naval Base. Or not only into Omanato, but also into Katsuro, Yokosuka, and all the other bases. The naval bases were choked with battered and blasted Japanese war vessels. Some were in repair. Many were waiting their turn to be repaired. And some were hopeless hawks, half-sunkened, or beached, mangled by the ferocity of war. Here come the American troops. I will not look at them. Perhaps they will put us out of here. From now on we will have no right here. The Americans took over the naval bases and the shipping yards, where the vessels had been spawned, which once had driven American warships from the western Pacific. The Japanese stood by mutely. Some of them turned their backs. But there was no turning their backs on what was happening to the Japan they knew so well. On September 10th, an 18-word order staggered them to their heels. The Supreme Command for Allied Powers has directed that the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters be abolished. Effective September 13th. With a single stroke, the Japanese High Command was wiped out. The war-makers who had terrorized East Asia and the western Pacific for years suddenly were mere men. Unimportant men with glittering insignia and summarize swords that meant nothing.  This, Yoshio could sense. Are we to have no generals? What is to happen to our army? Under the Potsdam Declaration, Japanese militarism is to be eliminated. Entirely? All his life, Yoshio had been taught the righteousness, the spirit and the power of the Japanese armed forces. Now this. Now Japan's millions of soldiers and sailors. To Yoshio, the armed forces had been the instrument for getting Japan what Japan needed. He was not exactly clear about the significance of the Imperial General Headquarters. To him it meant solemn generals and military secrets of great magnitude, and now it was gone. All this was on the abstract side for Yoshio. Specific things he understood much better. Quick, get his shirt off him. That's it. Shout himself just under the heart. All right, get that plasma ready. Get into him as fast as you can. Now then, let's have a look at this wound of yours, Tojo. Things like this, Yoshio understood. Why did he not commit harakiri as he should? He misread the Emperor. He did not let us know how the war was going. He deceived us. I hate him. In the next few days, Yoshio learned more about Tojo than he had ever known before. And with what he had read in the newspapers, he learned more about the progress of the remaking of Japan. The end of the war had left him bewildered. Now he was becoming more and more aware of what was taking place. Japan has been reduced to a fourth-rate nation. Japan will not be able to wage another war within the predictable future. He read these words of General MacArthur in the newspapers. And the Zaibatsu, the wealthy family combines which for years have dominated Japan's industry and commerce, and some cunning maneuvers. Look at this in the paper, Yoshio. The Japanese big business appeals to the United States. What do you think of that? The Zaibatsu making a roundabout appeal to America for food and cotton and money. For the Zaibatsu asking for help? Yes, private loans. Do you think America will lend it to them? I think the Zaibatsu is trying to find out something. I try to not understand. Zaibatsu may be trying to find out how they can save themselves. It must be obvious to everyone that the Zaibatsu are now trying to raise the blame of the war on the militarists. What? The militarists? It was also the Zaibatsu. At every turn, they tried to strengthen their hold on our economy. It was the Zaibatsu which would have gained most if they had won the war. If they did not pull their strings on the military, at least they worked hand in glove with the military. The Zaibatsu have covered their trail well, and now they are trying in every way to escape their responsibility. But Yoshio learned that the Zaibatsu could not escape responsibility for their part in the war. By order of the supreme command for Allied powers, the largest Zaibatsu were ordered to dissolve. A spokesman for the Japanese industry which they controlled presented a harikiri sword to the American officer ordering the dissolution. Since you are forcing the Japanese industry to commit a harikiri, perhaps you would like to hold the knife? The Zaibatsu had been called to Yoshio's attention in a way in which she had not thought of them. When the arrest of 40 Japanese militarists, and members of the Pearl Harbor cabinet, as suspected war criminals was ordered, he looked for the names of the Zaibatsu. He knew nearly all the names by reputation. Generals, philosophers of aggression, slithering politicians, leaders of the Black Dragon Society, blustering admirals. More names were to be added, Kurosu and Nomura, Toshio, one-time ambassador to Rome, Matsuoka, the whip-cracker and sword-rattler, General Hanjo, one-time commander of the notorious Guangdong army. The terroristic Black Dragon Society, which for 40 years had been the instrument of Japanese militarism and aggression, was ordered to dissolve. And still more changes were made. The newspapers, though some of them had been more outspoken than ever before, found themselves in hot water. What have we done? All copy is to be submitted for censorship before it is printed. Oh, yes. It must be remembered that the Japanese Empire is no equal of the Allies, but a defeated enemy, which has not yet demonstrated the right to a place among civilized nations. The tone of the colored news you've been printing gives the impression that the supreme commander has been negotiating with the Japanese government. It was not intended? Because of your failure to submit news for censorship, the publication of your newspaper is suspended. Suspended? The suspension was lifted after 24 hours. But with this came additional orders. Effective at once, the new services of all nations will be permitted to the Japanese press. Government news will no longer be available solely to the Domei agency, but will be available to all foreign and Japanese news agencies. That means that the government will no longer control what is printed in the newspapers. Now, what goes out to the mail or intelligence or by telephone or any other way? How much has the government kept from us? Yoshio got the answer to this in short order. Look, a motorcycle airport. Yes. This must be something important. Yes. Look at the big limousines that the motorcycles are reading. They are driving up in front of the United States Embassy. See, that car. It is the Ampros. The Ampros. Then the Emperor is going to visit our General MacArthur. But, Pao, Pao, quickly. Do not look. Think of it. The Emperor visiting the United States General. 40 minutes later, the Emperor came out. Auguste Salom Hirohito drove back to the Imperial Palace as Tokyo and all Japan buzzed with bewilderment. The prestige of our Emperor has been roared. All our lives we have been taught that the Emperor is supreme. No, it was not good. It was not good. The Emperor should have granted General MacArthur an audience in the palace, and General MacArthur should have gone there to visit the Emperor. This is not good. Perhaps. But this will make better friends of the United States and Japan. But what did our Emperor and General MacArthur talk about? The newspapers carried stories of the historic visit. The first event of its kind in 2,600 years of Japanese history. But suddenly all newspapers carrying the story were gone. Also gone with the newspapers that carried pictures of MacArthur towering over Hirohito. Supreme headquarters cracked down. Why weren't these papers distributed? The whole ministry ordered that they not be distributed. Why? The whole ministry said it would have a bad effect on the people. This is a violation of freedom of the press. There is to be absolute freedom of the press. No news is to be suppressed. Yes, sir. All newspapers carrying the story of the Emperor's visit or the pictures of the Emperor with General MacArthur are to be distributed. The newspapers came out. But the importance of Hirohito's visit was played down. Also, it's significant. Actually, the Imperial visit was arranged solely out of the Imperial will. The people must not think that the Emperor had been called to Supreme headquarters. The call was made at the initiative of His Majesty. The Japanese world Yoshio had known was falling about his years. Now he was beginning to understand the meaning of defeat and surrender. He became sensitized to the rapidly changing scene. What could be in the documents that the Americans gave to Premier Higashi Kune? It must be important. The American officers have been working on it for days. Yoshio waited. Then he found out. The Japanese government will remove all restrictions on freedom of thought, religion, assembly, and speech, including discussion of the Emperor, the Imperial institution, and the Imperial Japanese government. The Japanese government will dissolve all political police or any other organizations employed to enforce restrictions. The Japanese government will discharge Home Minister Ewao Yamazaki, also the chief of the Bureau of Police, and all metropolitan and prefectural police chiefs. The Japanese government will release all political prisoners. Premier Higashi Kune got the point. He and his entire cabinet resigned. In his place, Valenshi Dahara, forum former ambassador to the United States, formed a new government. But all this did not dull Hirohito's gleaming importance to Yoshio. We still have our Emperor. He is what counts. To Yoshio, the Emperor had scarcely been touched. But when Yoshio stopped to contemplate how Japan was being changed, he was still in humiliation. He received with apathy the news of the new Premier's order abolishing Vienna drill in Jujitsu. He scarcely took note of the statement of the Supreme Headquarters, which followed. Nothing could exceed the objection, the humiliation, the finality of this surrender. It is not only physically thorough, but it has been equally destructive to the Japanese spirit. At first, Yoshio had thought the changes in his life would be only nominal. As the impact of the changes struck him, he began to understand that the changes would be sweeping and tremendous. And they were. Here's the list, sir. Yes. Fifty-eight million ounces of gold bullionet. Yes, sir. It's valued at two hundred and fifty million dollars. And what is this? Platinum? Yes, sir. I see. Thirty-three thousand four hundred ounces. Yes, sir. And twenty-seven million yen in silver coin. All this was seized from the Japanese government, the Army, the Navy, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Indochina, and several lesser sources. What about the emperor's personal fortune? It amounts to something more than a hundred and six million dollars in gift-aid securities. A good deal of real estate, more than a million dollars in actual cash, and some millions in art treasures and jewels. The emperor's fortune will be used to pay reparations. Yes, sir. Any distinction between the emperor's fortune and the assets of the Japanese government? None. Yes, sir. The time being, these reserves will be kept under our guard in the vaults of the Imperial Mint and in the Bank of Japan. No chances were taken that the reserves might disappear. All this was too far removed from Yoshio's world to have real meaning to him. All he knew about money was that he had never received much of it, and that what he had received had been heavily taxed. His principal concern was for his emperor. But how can they take the emperor's money and permit the Saibatsu, which for years has amassed great fortunes, to keep theirs? The answer to this was not long in coming. By order of supreme headquarters, the Japanese government will tax away the war profits of the Japanese firms and individuals. There will be a capital levy ranging up to 70% on all fortunes. This is good. Now, instead of the wealth being concentrated in the hands of a few, it will be more equally distributed among all the people of Japan. This was Yoshio's reaction. If it meant less money for the Saibatsu, it must mean more money for the common people. But how it would accrue to him as one of the common people, Yoshio was not sure. All he knew was that it gave him a feeling, despite his resentment, that the basic changes being made would, in the long run, make things better for him. This feeling was deepened by the action taken against the great landowners. Yoshio, the Americans say that almost half the farm households of Japan have only about one and one-half acres to work on. Yes, their land is crowded. Yoshio, being a city man, could hardly appreciate how crowded it was. And most of the farmers are tenants. 80%. 80% do not own their land? That is what the Americans say. They must give half or more of their crops for rentals. That is the big landowners who have profit. Yes. The absentee landowners, they have always controlled the farmlands and they have kept the farmers so poor they could never buy their land even an acre and a half. That is what the Americans often say. See here. They say that even with the farmers who till more land than one acre and a half, the average farmers rest in three acres. And they are the ones we must depend on for food? They are the ones. And the landowners have kept them so far in debt that they could never buy their land even if the landowners would sell it. To break this vestige of feudalism, Supreme Headquarters took sharp action. By March 15th next, the Japanese government will abolish absentee land ownership. The Japanese government will make provisions for the small farmer to buy the land he tills on long terms at low rates. The economic bondage which has enslaved the Japanese farmer for centuries will be destroyed, the effects of the directive were sweeping. I can buy my land? This was the Japanese farmer. How? How can I? I have no money and I am in debt. To help you buy your land. But more dynamic, if immediately less apparent, was another result. It's effect on the Zabatsu. Some of the powerful family combines have considered posing as landlords to save themselves. They consider with their trust broken up that they could still retain their power and influence as landowners. But under this American order, they can find no refuge in land ownership. Now they are checkmated. Yoshio went about his work. He received with indifference the news of the crushing of the narcotic industry. He knew that Japan had for years produced illegal drugs. But he did not know that in one year the Japanese had produced enough for 30 years legal supply.  But when he learned that the institutions that drug the minds of the Japanese also were to go, that was another thing. They are interfering with our religion. No. They are taking steps to see that neither our religion nor our schools are used by the military. But they are talking about teaching about our Sun Goddess at Matrasu and the sacredness of our Emperor. No. They object to the teaching of the sacredness of the Emperor and about the Sun Goddess with our history. They say that our history should be confined to facts. And I say this is right. Who are they to say that the sacredness of our Emperor and that he came down from the Sun Goddess at Matrasu are not a fact. We have been taught many things that are not facts. What was fact and what was not were interwoven into a tight fabric a creed in which one was almost indistinguishable from the other. The task was to untangle them to say what was fish and what was foul and to allow each for what it was. Japan's old system of education must be eradicated. The Americans made an exhaustive study. The students of Japan must be taught their relationship to the past and to the world of today and to the world of tomorrow. To a Japanese reared and educated under the old system this was a bewildering innovation. But what does this mean? It means that Japanese students must be brought up in the ways of peace rather than the ways of war. It means that the Japanese must be taught the meaning of representative government in which the people rule themselves. Yes. They must be taught the dignity of the individual. Yes. They must be taught the right of free speech and assembly and religion. All these were concepts of democracy that Yoshio could only dimly understand. To bring them about would require a thorough overhauling of the entire Japanese system of education. It would require tearing some things out by the roots and planting and nurturing some other things. To accomplish this, Supreme Headquarters issued an explicit order. The teaching of ultra-nationalistic ideologies is prohibited. Military drill in schools is abolished. This will destroy our traditions. All educators who are militarists and ultra-nationalists will be removed from teaching. I have taught loyally the ideas I was taught. Is it wrong to teach national ideals? All educators who have been dismissed from their positions. I did not think I should ever see the day when I would be permitted to return to my classrooms to teach. The Americans are right. All discrimination because of race, nationality, creed, or political opinion will be prohibited. We have only tried to protect the pure blood of the Amato race. But now we have lost the war. There is no other choice. The Japanese public at large will be taught the theories and practices of representative government. The Japanese public will be told the part played by the militarists and their collaborators who committed the nation to war with the inevitable defeat and distress which they are suffering today. The public of today was to be told how the war came about and who promoted it. And by the same process, the public of tomorrow was to be educated away from the policies that led to the war. But it was necessary to go even deeper. It was necessary to separate the fact that we were able to establish the history from the legend. For the state had used Shintoism as something more than a religion. But just as I said, they would not stop with changing our educational system. They would also temper with our religion. Yoshio read of the investigation of state Shintoism by the Americans. The state used Shintoism as a tool. There are only about 17 million Shintoists among the 70 million people of Japan. But the state used Shintoism as a free religious ideology. The investigation was thorough. Are you a Shintoist? No, I am a Buddhist.  A school where I was educated was obliged to install a Shinto shrine. Were you taught Shintoism in school? Ah, yes. Thank you. That's all. Now you, what is your religion? I am a Christian. Where were you educated? In Doshisha University in Kyoto. Doshisha University resisted Shintoism as long as it could. But at last it was obliged to install a Shinto shrine. Did you accept Shintoism? Not in place of Christianity. But it was compulsory. So there was no escape from it. That's all. Thank you. How effectively Shintoism had been used did not become apparent until all the findings were in and piled fact upon fact. Bluntly and boldly the sum of it all was set forth. The state used Shintoism as a panel of militarism. With it the militarists reached into every home. They tied the people to their policy of aggression. And with it both did the mass morale of the nation. With it the militarists kept the people in line behind their policies. To Yoshio who had been indoctrinated with state Shintoism this blunt analysis was almost incredible. It meant he had been duped with a glorious promise of better things. And that he had gained only misery and distress and humiliation. He had seen the destruction of his world around him. Now even his thinking was to be changed. All government control and support of state Shinto the way of the gods is to be withdrawn. This was the directive. All militaristic and ultranationalistic ideologies will be removed from the doctrine of the Shinto cult which teaches ancestor worship and the deity of the emperor. All Shinto teaching will be removed from schools. I said that they were interfering with our religion. No, they are not interfering with Shintoism. You may continue to be a Shintoist and so may all the other Shintoists. But state Shintoism as the government enforced it and all of us Japanese will no longer be permitted. How could that have happened? How could so many of us have been misread? I can hardly believe all this now as I could hardly believe that the war was ended until the emperor himself told us over the radio now I have no more anger or Japan is being changed even me. The Shintoist is being implemented by the national broadcasting company and its affiliated independent stations to clarify events in the Pacific and to make understandable the cross currents of life in the Pacific Basin. For a reprint of this Pacific Story program send ten cents in stamps or coin to University of California Press Berkeley, California. May I repeat? For a reprint of this Pacific Story program California. The Pacific story is written and directed by Arnold Markowitz. The original musical score was composed and conducted by Thomas Paluso. Your narrator Gain Whitman. Programs in this series of particular interest to service men and women are broadcast overseas through the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. This program came to you from Hollywood. This is the national broadcasting company.