Rwy'n rhoi i gael i fy modd o fod yn ei tuwi, byddwn i nid o gyhoeddwyr ac yn cwiatle ac yn bydd anodol. Os y bydd gwestiadol y bynnig ym mwyfawr 1476 wedi ei wneud yn ddifeniad Cleir Baker yn gyfafodd yr ymgynghorfall, mae'n ddymaewch chi gyda'u cael ei gwyfodd i gweithio ymgynghoraf. I invite members who wish to participate to press the request and speak buttons now, and I invite Clare Baker to open the debate for around seven minutes, Ms Baker. Thank you, Presiding Officer, and thank you to the members who signed this motion and to those who are going to take part in the debate this evening. I know that some of you also had the chance to meet Eilish and her family outside Parliament last week. I would also like to welcome families to the gallery, and I hope that they are encouraged by the support that will be expressed in the chamber. I brought forward this motion after the financial pressures being faced by the yard was highlighted to me by the family of Eilish Claren who lives in my region. I am grateful to them for sharing Eilish's story with me and for the work that they have already done in their campaign to improve funding for services for disabled children in Mid Scotland and Fife and across Scotland. The yard opened in Edinburgh in 1986, and it is a charity that supports disabled children and young people through adventure play, offering creative and inclusive play experiences alongside wraparound support for the whole family. It also supports families to build support networks. It provides a varied programme that includes drop-in sessions, respite specialist sessions with schools, disability training and family play sessions. In 2015, it opened a further site in Dundee and then Inker Coddy in 2016. I will read a couple of quotes from those who benefited from its services. It really is an amazing place and we always feel so welcome and included. The staff are fantastic, and it is the only place where I ever see my little boy relaxed and able to be himself without judgement. From another parent, it is incredibly valuable to have a space where autistic and disabled children can play with other children like themselves in an environment that is built for them. The yard do fantastic work, and there is nothing else like it in Scotland. Ailesh Cavan was born with a rare genetic condition, which means that she struggles to walk, to see like you or I, and she has a learning disability. Those who met Ailesh last week outside Parliament can agree that she is also delightful, engaging, and she knows how to pose for a great photo. For Ailesh and her family, the yard is a place of pure joy, somewhere she can be who she is and not be defined by her disability. In 2016, the yard was delivering support for 550 children, receiving funding of £90,000 a year from the Scottish Government. Now, seven years on, it has grown to deliver family support, respite, school and play services to over 2,300 children in the east of Scotland. However, the funding from the Scottish Government has not increased in line with its growth and support, and nor has there been any opportunity to discuss the need for increased funding to support the growth and demand for the yard. In 2016, that funding was equivalent to £163 for each of the family supported. In 2023, that funding has reduced in real terms to just £39 per family. The decision to roll forward grants from the Children and Young People Early Intervention Fund at 2016 levels makes it very difficult for front-line third sector organisations to meet demand, and consequently, some disabled children and their families are missing out on vital support. Members will be aware that this is challenge poverty week, focusing minds on need for action to tackle poverty throughout Scotland. We know that households with a disabled person have increased levels of child material deprivation, compared with households with no disabled people. A third of Scottish families have extra disability and care-related costs of upwards of £300 per month. I thank Claire Baker for giving way and for the tribute that she is paying to the work of the yard. I have received representation from constituents on Dundee regarding holiday-time play and respite programmes that are partly funded by the council. However, their challenges about those programmes only being confirmed a matter of days before the start of holidays is predictable funding for those kind of respite breaks and play functions, not absolutely critical to allow families to plan, many of whom are in poverty and cannot plan alternatives. I think that the member makes a fair point. I hope that it is one that the minister listens to. We know that families need the more notice they have and the more support they have around them, it does reduce stress and help them to plan their lives. We also know that, amid the cost of living crisis, there needs to be more done to support the families as best that we can. The yard is just one of the organisations impacted by the decisions around funding in this area. Back in April, SCVO and a third sector interface network wrote to the minister raising their concerns about the administration of the children, young people, families and adult learning third sector funds and its predecessor funds. Their letter followed earlier correspondence on the impact of delays on decision making and how they had impacted on voluntary organisations. The letter highlighted the number of changes, delays and challenges around the administration of funding, alongside concerns over how decisions on funding had been made and communicated, stating that its administration was one of the worst that the voluntary sector has experienced, impacting on children and families as well as the organisations that support them. Although the 2016 decision to delay and then cancel successor funds means that funding has effectively continued, there has been no assessment of whether those projects funded in 2016 are still meeting the needs of their communities seven years on or whether the funding levels is now adequate. The rollover affects organisations like the yard by failing to take into account the increased demand for their provision or increased costs of running their services, and so the spend per child has dropped significantly. We know that third sector organisations have a key role in supporting our children, families and communities, even more so in times of crisis, but they work within very limited resources to do so. Many of those organisations have faced huge uncertainty waiting for funding decisions and facing numerous delays in the process. Organisations like the yard are making a vital contribution to the lives of disabled young people and their families. Every £1 that is invested in the yard yields a social return on investment of £23, but the current funding approach means that the amount of money going in is not being adjusted to reflect the increasing demand. While they have received some additional resource to support delivery of the promise, by rolling forward their core funding without adjustment, the yard is affected by being penalised for growing demand. I know that the minister does not want to see organisations like the yard have to fight for support like this, and I am urging her to find a solution. I am asking the Scottish Government to consider a review of the funding model and to ensure that organisations that can demonstrate their impact on supporting children and young people with disabilities and tackling poverty are able to access improved support. I will close with another parent's quote this time from Laurence, who is Ailish's dad. His plea is that our kids will not wait any longer. The First Minister says that his priorities are tackling poverty and improving childcare. Charities like the yard are essential services that deliver both those priorities for some of the most vulnerable children in Scotland. We need to see a fairer funding approach, and I very much agree with that. We move to the open debate. I call for Ben Macpherson to be followed by Martin Whitfield for around four minutes. I also thank Claire Baker for bringing this important debate to the chamber. For most people, when they hear the phrase Scotland yard, they think of the Metropolitan Police. But if you were a young person growing up on the northern side of Edinburgh, it is a park that resides between Rodney Street, which is the boundary of my constituency, Iron Place and Royal Crescent. As a young boy when I went to Scotland yard, it was a part of the park that I was not quite sure what was there, but it sounded really fun. It sounded like it made a difference. It was not until I became a member of a Scottish Parliament that I fully understood when I was invited by Celine Sinclair to visit the yard. I found out just what a difference it made, not just for my constituents, not just for young people and families around Edinburgh, but that it had grown into the organisation that it is now, providing support in Fife and also in Dundee. It was a real privilege following that visit to be asked to sponsor the 30th anniversary and celebration of the yard's contribution to the common good here in this Parliament. Since that time, we have experienced the pandemic. Claire Baker rightly talked about the wraparound support as well as the adventure play services that I experienced on my visit and saw first hand what a difference they make. However, the wraparound support during the pandemic I know makes a tremendous difference. I heard about that from constituents during the period of the pandemic and I heard about that in recent days and weeks, as constituents have written to me in support of the motion and in support of the ask in the organisation. It is important to recognise that, since I was elected as an MSP in 2016, the contribution that the Scottish Government has been able to make to the yard has not been increased. That is, of course, what we are considering today. That is an organisation that is extremely effectively run and extremely effective at private fundraising. It is an organisation that not only makes an impactful difference that is well documented and not only has a strong financial position generally, but has a delivery capacity where every pound invested in the yard generates the social return on investment of £23. We are in very challenging financial circumstances in terms of the public finances, and I am, of course, very aware of that. However, in a period in which we are trying to provide support to families who need the support that the yard provides in different ways, whether that is through child disability payment, which I had the privilege of being responsible for as a minister for some time, or the various other initiatives that I am sure the minister will talk about in her summing up and that others are aware of. In that environment, it seems to me a very worthwhile consideration to meet that ask from the yard, to provide that additional support, to provide that necessary up rating that has not been given since 2016. I know that the First Minister will also be visiting the yard in the next weeks, and I am sure that he will be as inspired as I was by what he does and impressed by what he does. I hope that the Scottish Government can, particularly during this challenge poverty week, consider what fairer funding it can provide to this remarkable organisation. I am very grateful, Deputy Presiding Officer, that it is always a pleasure to follow Ben Macpherson, particularly this evening, on this member's debate. Can I compliment Claire Baker on achieving the slot to talk about our Kids Won't Wait campaign? Before thanking anyone else, I really have to thank Eilish Cowan for perhaps without doubt some of the most entertaining photographs outside of this Parliament, not just because of her enthusiasm, not just because of her ability to capture the attention of those around her, but also for those that surrounded that, and to watch the pleasure of messy play going on. I wanted to take the short time that I have this evening to talk about the power of play, because I think that within the heart of this campaign, within the heart of our disabled children and those family, friends and communities that support them, we can discover the true excellence of play and the fact that it is fun, to watch people cover their trousers in chalk, to watch people push water around, to watch people forget about some of the most difficult periods of their lives, because they are lost playing next to or with someone and just making a mess is incredibly powerful. While I watched this happening while trying to be photographed with someone far, far more photogenic than myself, I made the suggestion that they bring messy play, because I do feel those that sit within the chamber and those that are MSPs in the wider context in this Parliament could certainly take great advantage of an hour and a half's messy play somewhere, just to try and put aside perhaps some of the tensions, perhaps some of the conflicts, perhaps some of the contradictions that seem to fill us so much in our daily lives here, because actually to sit next to someone and mess around with spaghetti in water, to mess around with playdough and as I say to mess around with chalk and even get it on your clothes sometimes brings people together, because when young people, particularly when young disabled people are doing that, to re-quote Claire Baker from one of the parents, they were relaxed and they are able to be themselves without judgement. And I think to achieve that is so important for our young people as they grow up. It can be encompassed in the word fun. I think all of our young people should have a time to have fun, should be able to forget the pressures that perhaps their parents are under, the pressures that places like the yard are under from a financial point of view, and I know the adults that surround these young people do their very most to stop those pressures being reflected in the experience young people have. But to be able to invest a pound and to get a social return of £23 is a phenomenal investment. To do so when you have a giggling child, perhaps two or three giggling and laughing children together, allowing them to forget their disability, allowing them to understand that they are first and foremost human beings, and that the empathy of the community that surrounds them should actually treasure that, because our disabled people bring so much more than what they do apparently at first instance appear to. They bring a humanity that we should measure ourselves against. They bring a kindness that we should try and emulate. And most of all, they actually remind us about what being human is. And in the short period of time that I spent outside with Ailish, you could see that in abundance. In the discussions that followed, you could see from the adults who support and surround the yard, but also the families the real power that if we open our understanding to our young people, to our disabled young people, we can fight the statistics that 33% of Scottish families have extra disability that leads to costs of £300 per month. We can fight the fact that disabled people have higher levels of child material deprivation, 20% compared to other households which is as low as 8%. In our fight against poverty, in our fight to make Scotland the best place for young people to grow up, we must never ever forget, because we will be measured by the experience that our disabled young people have in growing up. I'm grateful deep here. Thank you, Mr Whithfield. Any evidence of chalk, paint or wet spaghetti to be found in the chamber will know who to come to. I call Miles Briggs to be followed by Richard Leonard. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I'm pleased to also speak in this evening's members' debate and to give my support to the campaign that recognises the importance of funding for disabled children in Scotland. I'd like others to thank Claire Baker for bringing forward this motion this evening and welcome the families to public gallery as well. I also want to, as others have, pay tribute to the Yard for the wonderful work that they do to support children with disabilities and their families. As a lot of the briefing said, it has always been a place of pure joy for anyone who's ever visited. It has been my pleasure to visit the Yard on several occasions since my election. I think the first time I visited, within minutes, I was dressed as a wizard and being pushed round in a tricycle or some race car, and it was a fantastic visit, but you really got the sense of what value that brought, not just to children but their whole family and support network. I think that's really important to recognise that in the debate today. Anyone who has ever used the Yard will know that it's a very special place, as many families have told me, but it is also that lifeline with a varied programme, as Claire Baker has mentioned, of drop-ins, respite, transition youth clubs, early years, specialist sessions with schools, family play sessions and inclusive play and disability training, but also that opportunity just to have conversations with other parents about the daily struggles in life that they are facing. I think that that's really important for any family to be able to have that space to have those conversations. An improving support for disabled children across Scotland and providing support for families is important. I think that ministers and cross-party, we all recognise that. Investing in charities like the Yard can help families and children to actually look towards reducing some of the financial burden already, which sometimes disadvantaged these families. In 2022, the Scottish Government decided to roll forward to children, young people and families early intervention fund grant, which had major implications for charities like the Yard, which were struggling to meet the demand. As Claire Baker has already outlined, in the seven years since funding was delivered, Scottish Government's contribution to each family has reduced in real terms by 76 per cent. It's a remarkable statistic that from £163 per family in 2016 to just £39 per family this year. I think that for all of us, we'd recognise the need to do that. On a cross-party basis, I think that that's important. Ministers are aware of that. It is an astonishing fall in funding and something that clearly is going to present challenges going forward. We know what the Yard wants to do. It wants to expand into the west of Scotland, and I think that we all would want to support that work. With that additional funding, those real ambitions can be realised, and I think that that really will present more value for all of us if we can help that to happen. As Ben Macpherson said, charities such as the Yard are absolutely invaluable, but they do not come free and we cannot take them for granted or the facilities and services that they provide. Most of us in the chamber will have a friend or family member with a disabled child, and I think that it's important that we recognise the need for those services to be bespokely funded in Scotland. I'd like to conclude, as others have, by thanking Ailish for her campaigning, the whole family and the wider families who use the Yard for their tremendous campaign to date. I hope that today's members' debate genuinely presents an opportunity for ministers to think again and look towards providing a better deal. The Yard has received just £90,000 since 2016, and that's been enough to support 550 children. However, seven years on, the charity's reach has grown fourfold, delivering family support to more than 2,300 children in the east of Scotland in its three centres. Demand for a wide range of services is growing, and the Scottish Government needs to recognise that, and I hope to rethink that. It means that we're not going to see the Yard able to continue to meet demand if it doesn't receive that additional funding. I sincerely hope that the minister has heard the case this evening to provide a better funding deal for the Yard, and we'll undertake a review urgently to improve that funding model and make sure that we can carry on seeing the Yard go from strength to strength. Thanks very much. Thank you, Mr Briggs, and I call Richard Leonard again around four minutes, Mr Leonard. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Can I thank Claire Baker for bringing this urgent question to Parliament tonight? Can I join with her in welcoming to the public gallery families and workers from the Yard who so warmly welcomed me when I first visited them four years ago. Their latest struggle for a fair funding settlement is a campaign which is driven not only by persuasive argument but by moral force. They have waged it both outside and inside this Parliament, and although there will be no vote tonight, I hope that everyone is clear that we are not merely a debating society, we are a Parliament with powers, and we must be prepared to use those powers, including those budgetary powers that we possess, to speak a language of priorities to address this injustice and to build a more equal civilised and caring society as well, because this evening we will not be judged by our votes but make no mistake, we will be judged by our values. What is happening here is a crime, it is daylight robbery, and it has happened not only because of bureaucratic inertia, delay and cancellation, it has happened because of the deafening silence of political indifference as well. It is simple. The Government's funding for the Yard and other early intervention organisations has been cut. Seven years ago, the Yard secured £90,000 from the Scottish Government's Children and Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund. It then provided services for 550 children with disabilities that worked out at £163 per family. Today, its grant is still stuck at £90,000 but it is now working with 2,300 children with disabilities across three sites. That works out by my calculation at £39 a family, and that is not £39 a week, that is £39 a year. It works out at £75 a week. It is not by accident but design that the Scottish Government called it an early intervention fund because all the evidence tells us the earlier the intervention the better, but it is no good ministers making speeches to party conferences or to this Parliament about being committed, I quote, to getting it right for every child, to, I quote, same outcomes, same opportunities, to, I quote, the best start in life if all you have are words and frameworks but no action and no funding to back it up. The children who were here lobby in Parliament from the yard just last week were 3, 4 and 12 years old. They will not be 3, 4 and 12 years old again, so that is why we have to get this right and it's why we have to get it right now and the money can be found because I tell you that the working people who produce the wealth of this country, the people I represent, would much rather their hard-earned money was spent on these kids in need than on the asset managers and the wealthy bankers who are hoovering up public funds to buy up our land, our peatlands and our forestry. The money is there, it's just that it is in the wrong hands. So we are here tonight to stake a claim for equality, for the flowering of the human spirit, in short to stake a claim for a social revolution. That's why this debate tonight isn't the end, it's just the beginning. We are only just starting to set out the changes that we need to bring about the good society that we all must build to secure a better future for all of those children and their families here with us in Parliament tonight and to all of those watching on across Scotland, all of those who can wait no more. Thank you very much Mr Leonard. I now call Matt Learon to respond to the debate minister around seven minutes. To all members for taking part in this debate, it's been really really nice to hear members' own experiences and understanding of the impact that the Yard has had. Equally, I very much welcome the opportunity to highlight the vital role of organisations like the Yard and to reaffirm the Government's commitment to supporting disabled children and their families. I'd also like to pay particular tribute to Elish, her dad, Laurence and the rest of her family for all their hard work in raising awareness of this important issue. As has already been mentioned, I know that the First Minister is visiting the Yard in a couple of weeks time and is very much looking forward to meeting Elish and her friends, and of course I'd be really delighted to visit myself to see first hand some of the amazing work going on. The Scottish Government highly values our third sector and the contribution that it makes to children, young people and families across Scotland. Our Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund, which I'm just going to refer to for the rest of this speech, is SIPFE, otherwise I think it will take up most of my time, has been providing core funding to 115 organisations, including the Yard, since 2016, helping thousands of children, young people and families. As members have noted, those are incredibly challenging times and we recognise the strain on third sector bodies. In recognition of this, in March of this year, we sustained our £94,500 annual funding via SIPFE for the Yard until March 2025. Funding contribution to the Yard is in recognition of the excellent work that they are doing and the support that they are providing. It was our aim that the continued provision of SIPFE funding would ensure the sustainability of organisations and continued delivery of support to thousands of children, young people and families across Scotland. However, I am aware that the Yard has made calls for an increase in funding to allow them to deliver even more of the valuable services that they already provide, and I have heard loud and clear the calls from the chamber today. Members are all aware of the continued pressure on public finances, but let me assure the chamber and organisations like the Yard that we are determined to do everything that we possibly can to support our disabled children, their families and the people and organisations that support them. I want to reassure Clare Baker and other members that we are in the process of reviewing our approach to third sector funding. Just in response to Ben Macpherson, the review will keep in mind our commitment to feeder funding. I am committed to equality and to improving outcomes for disabled children and young people in Scotland and to ensuring that all children can participate and achieve their potential. We know that families with a disabled person are more likely to be in poverty and that they can be disproportionately affected by the current cost crisis. We are providing funding to Family Fund, who deliver support and direct grants to families on low incomes, who are raising disabled or seriously ill children and young people. Through the Family Fund grant scheme, each family has choice and control over what items they request based on what they need to improve their quality of life. In 2022-23, we provided £2.974 million of funding, which supported over 6,000 families. Our national carers strategy, which was published in December 2022, sets out our cross-government approach to carers financial inclusion. We are currently implementing the strategy to drive forward long-term changes to improve the lives of unpaid carers across Scotland. People who care for a family member with a disability make a vital contribution to Scotland. That is why we have improved support for unpaid carers, including investing more than £80 million in local carers support through local authority carers act funding and legislating to establish a right to breaks from caring through the national care service bill to support people to protect their wellbeing and sustain caring relationships. Despite our fixed budgets and limited powers of devolution, we have also transformed social security provision in Scotland, delivering a system based on our principles of dignity, fairness and respect. The launch of carers support payment, which will replace carers allowance in Scotland, is the next important milestone in our on-going work to improve support for carers. We have worked extensively with carers and support organisations to design an improved service and a benefit that will work for them. Carers support payment will provide an improved service and information to carers to help them find out about and access wider support for themselves and their families. Carers will also continue to benefit from carers allowance supplement, which will, by the end of this year, have paid carers up to £3,300 on top of carers allowance since its launch in 2018. Looking at the child disability payment, since launch, almost £300 million has been paid to the families of disabled children and young people through the child disability payment. We have heard from families about the important difference that this payment can make by helping with extra costs of caring for a disabled child. Over 80 per cent of people's surveys in the child disability payment survey 22 told us that child disability payment had helped to make a difference to their life. To look at other examples, for example, school-age childcare, childcare and activities around the school day are highly important. Children can benefit from improved outcomes through opportunities for play and learning, and access to childcare can support parents and carers to work, train, study or provide them with respite. That is why we are committed to designing and building a new system of school-age childcare that provides care before and after school all year round to those families who need it most. I am grateful for the minister for taking his intervention. I understand the range of policies that she has outlined. One of the key things is often the carers centres that councils are struggling to fund or places such as the yard for that holistic support. I wonder whether ministers considered what that needs to make sure that it is sustainable in the future and where additional funding can be found for that. That is important when people are looking for support or looking to access some of the new benefits that the minister has outlined. Those conversations need to take place often in carers centres or in places such as the yard. I thank Miles Biggs for the contribution. As I have said, we are in the process of reviewing our approach to third sector funding and can certainly look into various aspects in relation to that. This year, we have invested £15 million to design and test new models of school-age childcare that meet the diverse needs of Scotland's families. We are taking a people-centred place-based approach to that, meaning that we will co-design services with people who use them. Through that process, we will utilise existing research and experience from specialist services so that we deliver a school-age childcare offer for children, whatever their needs, reducing barriers for families and supporting positive outcomes. Organisations such as the yard have played the heart of what they do, giving everyone who attends their centres an opportunity to be themselves and, importantly, have fun. I wholeheartedly agree with Martin Whitfield's comments on the importance of play. In fact, I was an outdoor nursery setting today. I have had mud all over my skirt because I was running about with them in the forest, and it was just such a brilliant start to my day and really just reaffirms the importance of that. We in organisations such as the yard understand how important play is for children and young people's growth, development and wellbeing, and because of that, we are committed to ensuring play in law as a fundamental children's right through UNCRC incorporation. I would like to conclude by reaffirming our commitment that the Scottish Government wants to ensure that every child has the nurturing care that they need to get the best start in life. We want to protect parents from stigma and give them the resources and help that they need, where and when they need it, to ensure that children have the responsive care-giving that is required for healthy development. Organisations such as the yard are doing just that, and I am delighted that we are able to continue to support the yard through our SIPFI fund, and I look forward to continuing to work with them. The health and wellbeing of children and young people is a key priority, not just for the Scottish Government, but for our whole society. We know that parents are the strongest influence on a child's life, and by helping parents, carers, families and communities to build better lives for themselves and their children, we can help to ensure that every child has the best start in life. I would just like to thank the member again for bringing this debate to the chamber. Thank you very much, minister. That concludes the debate, which I am delighted to hear Ailish appear to enjoy up in the gallery, and I close this meeting of Parliament.


International organizations endowed with a separate international legal personality generally enjoy immunity from jurisdiction. However, unlike states, international organizations are not sovereign entities. Therefore, the idea that states must refrain from passing judgment on the acts of international organizations out of respect for their sovereignty, that idea cannot be transposed to international organizations. Par in param non abet juridictionem, does not apply in respect of international organizations. In contrast to what happens with states whose immunities exist as a matter of custom international law, as we sow, immunities of international organizations are established under treaties. And such treaty can be the instrument under which the organization has been established, or it can be a separate convention, or both. And for instance, under article 105 of the UN Charter, the UN, I quote, shall enjoy in the territory of each of its members such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfillment of its purposes, end of quote. And pursuant to that provision, the member states of the UN have adopted in 1946 a convention on the privileges and immunities of the United Nations. Many organizations are granted immunity from jurisdiction and also immunity from measures of constraint in order to protect their property and assets. Some have argued that the multiplication of those treaties have created a practice resulting in the emergence of a customary rule of international law under which international organizations would automatically enjoy immunities. However, this is much doubtful and it has been rejected by some domestic courts. Therefore, it is rather safe to say that in the absence of a treaty granting immunity to the organization and a treaty which is binding on the forum state, the state of the church ceased of the matter, the courts of that state have no obligation to grant any immunity from jurisdiction to the respondent organization. When granted under a treaty, the immunity enjoyed by the organization usually relates to any of its acts. Every act of the organization is indeed presumed to pursue the purposes of the organization. In other words, the distinction between Acta jure imperii and Acta jure gestionis, that distinction cannot be meaningfully transposed to the situation of international organizations. Like foreign state immunity from jurisdiction, the immunity enjoyed by an international organization is a limitation to the right to a church as protected under human rights instruments. However, the difference between states and international organizations in that regard is that granting immunity to a foreign state does not amount to radically depriving the individual of the possibility to claim, as he or she could, at least in theory, always sue the foreign state in its own domestic courts. Well, the same possibility does not exist when it comes to international organizations. Very often, organizations do not have courts and tribunals of their own, so that granting them immunity results in the absence of any means of redress for the individuals complaining of their acts. Such result has been considered by the European Court of Human Rights as constituting a disproportionate restriction to the right of a judge protected under Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The landmark judgments in that regard are Wait and Kennedy v Germany and Beer and Reagan v Germany dating back from 18 February 1999, both cases related to labour law disputes concerning the European Space Agency. The European Court of Human Rights admitted that granting privileges and immunities to international organizations was a legitimate objective. In particular, the Court said that, and I quote, the attribution of privileges and immunities to international organizations is an essential means of ensuring the proper functioning of such organizations free from unilateral interference by individual governments. The immunity from jurisdiction, commonly accorded by states to international organizations under the organization's constituent instruments or supplementary agreements, is a long-standing practice established in the interest of the good working of these organizations. The importance of this practice, said the Court, is enhanced by a trend towards extending and strengthening international cooperation in all domains of modern society, end of quote. But in order to be permissible under the Convention, the restriction to the right to a judge resulting from the immunity of the organization depends on whether individuals benefit from available reasonable alternative means to protect effectively their rights under the Convention. And because the European Space Agency had an internal justice system to which labour law disputes could be submitted, the Court ruled that its immunity was permissible under the Convention. In other words, in the absence of any means of redress instituted within the organization and offering a reasonable alternative to domestic courts, the immunity from jurisdiction of the organization must be set aside by the foreign judge whose state is a member of the Council of Europe. And this is a typical example of a conflict between two treaties, the treaty by which immunity is granted to the organization and the European Convention on Human Rights. And such conflict being solved by a balancing of interest tests by the European Court of Human Rights. On the basis of the legitimate character of the restriction to the fundamental right and the proportional character of such restriction. The weight in Kennedy and Beer and Reagan judgments have been followed in many domestic courts of the member states of the Council of Europe and as a result, many international organizations having offices in some of the 47 states of the Council have established internal justice systems in order to keep their immunities. Sometimes the weight in Kennedy and Beer and Reagan judgments have been interpreted as requiring that in the absence of any means of redress instituted within the organization, its immunity must automatically be set aside. However, such radical interpretation is difficult to reconcile with the express requirement under those judgments to assess proportionality on a case by case basis in light of all the circumstances of the case. And furthermore, in a case concerning the immunity of the United Nations in Dutch courts for its alleged responsibility in the genocide at Zebrénica, the European Court of Human Rights has rejected what it called any absolute interpretation of its previous judgments and has refused to consider that, I quote, that in the absence of an alternative remedy the recognition of the immunity is ipso facto constitutive of a violation of the right of access to a court. Therefore, it is possible that the immunity of the organization be appealed even in the absence of any alternative means of redress depending on the specific circumstances of the case. And this is what the Dutch courts did in the Zebrénica case to the benefit of the UN, while they recognized the responsibility of the Dutch state in the events.


You got a neighborhood song. You got a city song. You got a region song. You got a national song. And then you got a global song. How many motherfuckers really going to even reach the national song level?  Sometime the local sound to catch and people will be like, but what's happening now is that everybody is influenced by whoever on. So the sound that you might, you might be from Brooklyn. You might be rapping, but you're not rapping the story of Brooklyn in a mindset and a slang of Brooklyn. You might have somebody else slang. So now it's like, oh, we already heard that.  That was new. His look, his whole thing, the ghetto, but now you're not getting that.


Hi everyone, Joe for Jazmy's casewrakes.com coming at you with a Fun little filler pack right here only 11 69 to chase One team the Jaguars at the very end so one spot out of the 32 that we're selling We'll get the Jags, but first we've got to make you sweat it out a little bit We're gonna do this break right here 2019 prism football hobby pack break number seven Once again, thank you to this group here for making it happen appreciate it There are the teams right here, let's roll it and randomize names and teams four and a one five times The second dice roll will be the Jaguars giveaway four and a one five times Four names and teams though one two three four and five Oh, I probably will Jilo You got to go into it thinking you're not gonna get anything then you'll be happy if you do get something Under promise over deliver four and a one five times for the teams one two three Four, I don't want fifth and final time All right, there's the first Part of the list right there first half and here's the second half right over here and no trades right there No, that's not being negative Rex It's not being negative at all under promising over delivering What's negative is is creating false expectations That's that one spot is easily gonna help you win.  No, that's That's foolishness. That's hubris. No, we're about positivity though. Not not about hubris All right Thanks everybody. Yeah, what is he doing right now given up? Given up runs to the pirates of all teams. All right Well, Kyler auto would be very nice that would make Matt very happy if we found a Kyler Maria rookie auto out of here See what we got Got a Miles Garrett to one thing if I have a Debo rookie car, that's not bad and Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback drew lock So it could be some upside here Denver still go to will and Denver Debo. Where does Debo end up? Will well this card will end up with will and the Niners Maybe Debo will stay with the Niners too, and there's a Miles Garrett. That's also for will 53 out of 175 Nothing too crazy in that pack, but what we're going for here is the Jaguars in Contenders in a three box raker contenders football, which is right over here. So new dice new list Let's roll it and randomize it snake eyes two times easy one and two So after snake eyes two times Top name gets the Jaguars in the contenders football break coming up right after this All right, so there's gonna be a lot of sad faces here especially the second spot Brandon very close, but not quite But thank you for trying. Thanks everybody for trying But name on toddler can be only one name on top after two is Robert Wow I thought for sure will was gonna get in there Robert Gets the Jaguars in contenders football. That's a very next break. Congrats, man. Thanks everybody for getting in I'm Joe. I'll see you next time for the next one. Bye. Bye


A few virtual notes, our speakers for today will proceed in this following order. First, Elizabeth City State University's esteemed Chancellor, Dr. Keri G. Dixon, who will provide opening remarks. Chancellor Dixon will be followed by Dr. Farah J Ward, who serves as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs here at ECSU. Provost Ward will then introduce the university's new artists and residents who will provide remarks. At the conclusion, we will answer any questions that are posted in the Q&A located at the bottom of your screen. All attendees are in listen only mode. If you have any follow-up questions, once the press conference concludes, please provide them to the email address which I will note in the chat. Again, thank you for being with us. At this time, I'd like to introduce Dr. Keri G. Dixon, the 12th Chief Executive Officer and 7th Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University. Chancellor Dixon. Thank you, Yana. Good afternoon. I am Keri Dixon, and I have the honor of serving as Chancellor of Elizabeth City State University. Today is an exciting day in the life of our university. Over the past several years, we have created several innovative programs and initiatives for our campus community. As one of North Carolina's premier institutions, we offer a high quality, affordable education, and provide enriching academic and co-curricular activities for our students. Since launching our strategic plan title Forging Our Future in 2020 and outlining six goals that serve as the blueprint for ECSU success over the next five years, we have been actively working towards achieving each of our institutional objectives. Go one, which is academic excellence, means ECSU will provide first class academic programs steeped in experiential learning that fully utilize our strengths as a university and enhance our region. It also means that we will promote an academic environment that is centered on student success and fosters faculty development in the areas of teaching, research, and service. This afternoon's announcement is an outgrowth of these objectives. We are constantly seeking opportunities for our students to interact with and learn alongside celebrated experts in diverse fields of study. This fuels innovation and broadens our students ability to discover and nurture their passions. From the arts to the sciences, North Carolina is rich with distinguished experts who embody the work and range of study that are praised regionally, nationally, and internationally. We often invite these scholars to join us as part of our community connections performance and lecture series, or offer visiting lecturer activities for them to take advantage of. These celebrated professionals grace stages and lead industries that our students aspire to be a part of upon completing their education. As a higher education institution. We are the resource right here in northeastern North Carolina. It is equally important for us to offer enriching opportunities that we can stand to members of the Elizabeth City and surrounding communities, which in turn fosters community engagement. Our new partnership with the award winning artists acclaimed producer noted scholar and successful business owner. We are here to announce today will open up new doors of possibilities for our students in areas including music, history and business. I am equally thrilled of a commonality. I share with our new artists in residence, as we hail from the same hometown, Winston Salem, North Carolina. At this time, I invite Dr. Farrah Ward, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at ECSU to formally introduce the newest member of our Viking faculty, Dr. Ward. Thank you so much, Chancellor Dixon. Good afternoon. I am Dr. Farrah Ward and I have the honor of serving as Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at Elizabeth City State University. Today's announcement celebrates the addition of the newest member to ECSU's academic community. We sought out a creative, accomplished and inspirational artists to join our faculty and offer our students transformational learning opportunities. Our university has distinguished programs in both music and history and this appointment complements the great work already underway in these academic disciplines. The accolades, portfolio and discography of our new artists and residents are extensive and includes more than two decades of incredible work. At this time, it is my extreme honor and excitement to introduce Mr. Patrick Ninth Wonder, doubted as Elizabeth City State University's artists and resident for the 22-23 academic year. For the next two semesters, he will teach two classes, serve as a consultant to two campus communities and develop new initiatives that engage our students in experiential learning. Ninth Wonder has served in academia as a lecturer and artist and resident at a number of universities, including Harvard University, Duke University, Long Island University, North Carolina Central University and the University of Virginia. As a North Carolina native, he began his career as the main producer for the group Little Brother. He gained recognition and critical acclaim for his production of their debut 2003 release titled The Listening. A Grammy award-winning producer, he has worked with award-winning artists in the hip hop and R&B genres for a wide range of talent, including Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, Destiny's Child, Wale, Merz, Drake, Buckshot, Chris Brown, Rhapsody, Jill Scott and Ludacris. In 2010, he started his independent label Jamla Records in Raleigh, which has fostered the careers of Rhapsody, a Grammy-nominated rapper who hails from Snow Hill, North Carolina, and Durham artists in North Carolina Central University graduates King Draft and Swink. In 2022, 9th was again nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album, noting a collaboration with Robert Glasper, Terrence Martin and Kamaze Washington. He was selected to join the Executive Committee for Hip Hop and Rap at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., where he has an exhibit on the musical crossroads floor. In October 2019, he was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. We look forward to our partnership with 9th Wonder, which will also include engagement with ECSU's Campus Engagement and Student Activities Board and hosting a Hip Hop Symposium. It is my distinct pleasure to formally welcome 9th Wonder to the Viking family, and at this time I invite him, ECSU's artists and residents, 9th Wonder to give remarks. Thank you very much, everybody. This is an honor and a pleasure, especially to be able to be called upon a homegirl from my hometown. That is probably one of the biggest things for me to let all the students know you never know what life can lead you as far as where your life may take you and where other people you grew up with may be. And we're here now 30 years after leaving from Salem, North Carolina here at Elizabeth City State. It's such an important thing for me to be able to give back to my own. It is important for our children to know where we come from, and Hip Hop is a big way to teach that. Because Hip Hop is a gateway to jazz, which is a gateway to American music, which is a gateway to how we got here 400 years ago. And so I'm excited to be here. I'm ready to get started. I had a chance to talk to students beforehand last year, and I know a lot of those students wanted that conversation to continue. So now it will all year long. So I'm here. Plenty of students want to ask me questions. They'll see me on campus. I won't be, I'm not the type to have security or anything like that.  So thank you so much y'all for for let me do this and, and like I said, it's always important for me to give back to my own so I'm going to continue to do that. And I'm ready for homecoming. Thank you guys. Appreciate it. Thank you so much. Ninth, we are thrilled to have you. Chancellor Dixon, Provost Ward, if you want to have any additional comments, I am looking in the chat. And I do not see any specific questions. So if there is anything you want to add, please do do so at this time and I'll try and pin you to the screen. Chancellor or Provost. I thought the Chancellor was saying, going to say something. So that's why I think she's trying, but why she's trying. I will say that, you know, we are extremely happy that ninth will be joining us for this year. One, he will be teaching a general education course. And so that's one of the things when we talked about, we wanted to make sure that he would be teaching a course that any student would be able to register for. And so right now, he will be teaching African Americans and music. The course is not on the course is on the schedule, but it does not have his name yet because we wanted to make sure we announced him, but students will be able to register for that course starting tomorrow. So music to 12 is the course and we are just excited for all the things they will do. I think the Chancellor's volume is working. So I think you can speak now. Can you hear me. Yes. Okay, great, great. I am absolutely excited to have nice wonder on our campus and he was he was very nice to me. When he talked about how we've known each other for, I know, at least 30 years or more.  People know him and I'm just excited that he answered our call and that he is excited about coming to Elizabeth City State University.  And I say that because just at Viking Fist. I had four students come up to me at Viking Fist, and they said Chancellor, it will be nice if you could bring nice wonder back to campus.  I said, you know, he's a busy man, he's always traveling, and people always want his time but let me see what we can work on. And so when he called, I was so excited I called the provost I said you know what, God will work it out. And so I was excited to have to take his call and he and I talked in the provost talked with him and we talked about our vision for his impact, positive impact he will make on our campus as an artist and residents and also the opportunities that our students everything that they will learn from him and learn from people in his network and and who he's connected to. It just opens doors. And so I'm excited that the students asked for this. We were able to bring nice wonder to ECSU for this academic year. And I just know that this is going to be exciting and as he said, he's ready for homecoming I am too. And you know we have a new football coach we have our football team ready. We have the excitement behind coach Hilliard and our volleyball team with coach Brooks. This season and so we're excited about the direction of Elizabeth City State University and having people on the level of nice wonder wanting to come and be a part of our faculty and our Viking family just really helps us elevate everything that we are doing here at ECSU because I always say, excellence without excuse. We are doing what is needed to make sure that our students have a wonderful experience and the quality of faculty that we have here we are grateful for our faculty our staff, and having nice wonder be a part of that is just something that just brings so much excitement to me so Pat, I am happy to reconnect with you and just don't don't tell all our childhood stories now. But we are just so excited to have him and so happy for all of your success knife wonder and I know our students are going to be very excited and grateful to learn from you to be exposed to the music industry as you have been as a successful producer and just you know just opening those doors and making it come become a reality for the goals that our students have so thank you again Pat, I'm excited about it and we look forward to seeing you this fall. Thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that and I'll make sure I keep our childhood stories to ourselves. For sure but again thank you to everybody involved for bringing me down. I know at the NC State Elizabeth City game, myself and Dr. Ward walked down the hall where she said look now, we're going to make this happen. Let's make it happen. You remember that? Make this happen. And I'm glad it did. I'm glad I like again. I had the best time when I came down last time and talking to students and all the students were so ready to receive the information. That's the biggest thing for me just ready to receive information and they all love music, which is, which is incredible too. So I'm ready to get started. Yes, it is what it is ready to get started. I'm glad. There are no other questions. Chancellor, are there any closing remarks that you want to make? Today is an exciting day in the life of our university. Can you hear me? Okay, great. Something's going on with my computer. Now we can't hear you Chancellor. Okay, so I just want to say thank you for those who have joined us. It cut off again Chancellor. I think she's having trouble with her. Oh yeah, now. Thank you again. Technology is our best friend, right? But thank you again for joining us for this very important and exciting announcement and we are again very excited to have Knife Wonder join us for the academic. I think it cut out again. I think she's excited to have Knife Wonder join us for this academic year. Can you hear me now? Yeah. I see a statement in the chat that I think Knife can respond to. Someone said, now you have to be a Viking fan instead of the Duke fan. What's your response to? Not love, not love. I love my people. I love my people. One of the things for certain, they share the color blue. That's great. Yes, yes.  You know, my daughter is going to be playing point guard, going to be an incoming freshman point guard for Winston-Salem State next year. So I don't know what I'm going to do once the state comes to town at that particular point, but as far as the Duke part, you know, it's funny because I will discuss, you know, I will discuss the issues that the Duke family has with the funding of HBCUs across North Carolina. So we'll talk about that. That's great. That's great. Yeah, and we played Winston-Salem State home this year. So you just have to get a special shirt made where you have the Vikings and Ram. Our speakers for today will first be in the following order. First, Elizabeth City State University. Well, thank you all so much for joining us today. And this video will be on the ECSU YouTube page so you can go back and watch it. But I hope everyone has a great day and welcome again, Ninth Wonder, to Elizabeth City State University, Viking Pride. Thank you. Recording stopped. I had to get a chance to meet him before and we talked about a sample. He told me to start a sample because a lot of people told me not a sample because about the clearance and all that, but he was like, no, I'll just go for it and make that good music. That's all I'm trying to do. He's from North Carolina, just like me. He was in a band just like me and his focus was music. And I'm a rapper, so I just feel like he can push me. I can just be like him. Like in details, what steps did you take to ease on into the game? Right now I'm in the process of profiting my craft, you know, learning about music, learning how to lay down my music, learning my sound, learning how to upload my music, copyrights, all of that good stuff. I'm in the building process right now, but for some reason I feel like I'm ready to actually get out there. So really I would ask him, how did he get his foot in the game?  How did he start networking and building with these other great mainstream artists? How did you get out there on the charts, the billboards, your name, everybody sitting and stuff like that? Honestly, how did you get out there? That's what I ask. Some people outside of the people of color, and we're speaking about brown and black people. You know, where your African descent, Latino descent, you know, some people feel like if you didn't come from a certain neighborhood, that you're not supposed to be there, you're not supposed to understand where hip-hop is. Hip-hop is one of those, it's probably the one music art form, new music art form that combines not only the aspect of culture, but color. Former faculty member of JZ's Rock Nation School of Music, Duke University, North Carolina Central, and Harvard University. Grammy award-winning super producer, Knife Wonder, will join the Academy at Elizabeth City State University in fall 2022 as the first-ever artist in residence. In a united effort to develop and enhance the creative and technical skills of ECSU students, Knife Wonder brings years of knowledge to the classroom from real-world hands-on experiences from lecturing at universities, serving as a DJ on main stage, and mixing unforgettable sounds behind the scenes from musical legends from across the world. ECSU is excited to continue to see the talent unfold under the artistry of Knife Wonder. Having worked with Drake, Big Boy of Outcasts, Beyonce, Ludacris, David Banner, Kendrick Lamar, and Mary J. Blige, we look forward to Knife Wonder joining the ECSU family. For more information, visit www.ecsu.edu and continue to follow us on all of our social media platforms. Viking Pride!


Welcome to Digital Asset News, the top stories in cryptocurrency and digital assets, and a big amount of bite-sized pieces. Today we've got some revealing articles. First up, JP Morgan is telling its private wealth clients that Bitcoin is a great diversifier. So we're going to take a look at what they've been saying to their special clients and privates and what they've been saying in public. On top of that, I just want to do a real quick overview of what our friends over there at the Alex Masioli channel at Trade the Chain, we're talking about yesterday and it has to do with F2 Pool, Jerome Powell's comments, and Ryan pretty much getting all out of cryptocurrency. So interesting things. We'll take a look at those, but first take a look at what's going on the market. So first up, as you notice, there is no pool in the background. We are in Houston doing some work on our new investment property. So if you hear some things going on the background, disconstruction work, no big deal. But these are the things that we have to get through because life goes on, business goes on, you just got to be pushing through. All right. So here's what we got for today. First of all, today is March 6th, Saturday. It's a high noon Houston, Texas time. And here's what we have.  So we've got Bitcoin doing okay, but still well below that 50,000 mark. That's what I think is like a mental barrier as that now at 48, 3. So a little bit of a gain, but not by much. It says 1%, but I could have sworn we were at 49, 2 yesterday, but I know you're going to correct. Correct. Check me in the comment section. Ethereum is up 9% in the last 24 hours. And we're looking at 1600. Tether is tether. Nobody cares. But interesting enough, Cardano has fallen into that number four spot. And it's very odd because there's been nothing but great news. And again, like I always say, has anything changed? Has the fundamentals corrupted? Has there been some huge hack as somebody come out and said, surprise, blockchain is created by Hugo Chavez or something? No, it's all the same. And actually, we're doing, I mean, the crypto market is doing pretty good things in the background. The Binance coin, Polkadot, everything's up a little bit except for Cardano. Again, no good reason why, but that is what it is. So pretty good day. If your dollar cost averaging to buy more, I did myself. Doge looking at look out 3%, nice. Ave up 3%, 2% and then down. That's the in the last 24. Well, one arrow and I owe it up. And that's not so big. 3%. So yeah, same old stuff, same old stuff. Let's take a look at the sentiment range, see what's going to be within that 90%. Holy smokes. What is this? Digital note. I have no idea what this is. This is, of course, for the chain sentiment analysis, does a lot of scraping of the web, one of four integration into Twitter. So digital note might want to look at, there's no way. Plus 46%. All right, loop ring plus 6%. And just so you know, these three numbers here, this is what it will vary in between its dates, but that middle number in the next hour, they're 90% accurate with that. So if you want to look at that, it's a link in the description. Let's just jump into today's top story, shall we? All right. So this guy right here, this is interesting. It's interesting because, you know, JPMorgan for the longest time, remember Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, told all of his traders and all the people they work with, he goes, if I catch you trading Bitcoin, I will fire you on the spot.  And that's how he is. But behind the scenes, a little bit different. So and as time has gone on, this, when this happened, this was in 2018, there was a 19 somewhere around there. But behind the scenes, they were telling their clients a little bit, something different. Maybe they were buying a little bit in the background.  So you have to watch out these types of things. But I never believed that JPMorgan was like, nope, this is not going to happen. It's not going to work. If it makes money, it makes sense. And I think that is what they will always look into. And especially crypto currency, digital assets. So what do we have here? So JPMorgan, of course, telling his clients, hey, you should put, you should buy some Bitcoin and crypto. Well, what do they got? JPMorgan private bank has distributed an educational deck to clients to help them understand the basics, risks and potentials of Bitcoin and crypto. Great. So to their clients, whichever, they want to distinguish them as far as like value or whatnot, they said, hey, here are some slides. Here's a slide deck. This is what we want you to take a look at. This is what we think is going to be pretty big as far as diversification. The deck was prepared in February and distributed last week in Europe and Asia as Bitcoin's price rally has drawn attention from financial institutions and investors. And this is one of those things where I always was, it didn't make sense to me for a little bit. And it was actually Mike Novogratz who had a pretty good statement. And he said, look, if you're into some type of asset and you're trying to get it at, you know, when it's really cheap, that's great, but it's very risky to do those things. So you never know what it's going to do as far as like go up or down. He goes, but when it starts to really start to rise up and he says Bitcoin specifically, he talked about it in March, he goes, you know, it's going to go up. You just don't know when it's going to go up. He goes, so when people start to see it really take off after, you know, weeks and months, it has to really start to roll up. He goes, it's not as risky as when it was down in the 5,000, 4,000 range when it dropped like, you know, 70, 60, I think it was like 40 or 50%. And I was like, yeah, I guess that makes sense. I mean, you're not going to get the gains, but it's not as much risk because everybody's going to pile in. And if you look at the mentality of FOMO, there was a survey that was just done actually, and a lot of people that are getting crypto right now, they have no idea what crypto is, like no idea, but they know it's going up and they want to buy that. So if you're just looking at herd mentality, then sometimes it's pretty good just to ride that wave and then get out before the whole wave crashes. But again, this is not financial vice, just entertainment purpose, so anyhow. So this was given to their financial institutions and investors. And this was this part was interesting. It says under the so-called Metcalfe's law, I really didn't know much about Metcalfe's law instead of until Pat Ackerman came along. Pat, thanks so much. And he was talking about Celsius and Voyager and how, you know, the more users you have and the better utility, the network effects and the more, of course, the value of the token will rise. So Metcalfe's law, they actually reference it here in the slide deck. And I say the value of a network is proportional to the square of the number of users. So if you want to take a look at that, as far as Bitcoin, just take a look at all the wallets and then just multiply by that. So Bitcoin's per coin valuation, just looking at wallets, would be about 21,067. Not that, right? It's double that right now. But they state if comparing the current global value of gold to Bitcoin using the 21 million max supply of Bitcoin, then Bitcoin's valuation would be half a million dollars or 540,000. And finally, if applying the global value of money supply, the max supply of Bitcoin, it's probably 1.9 million per Bitcoin. So that's pretty great. So again, take these numbers with a grain of salt. Don't think that Bitcoin's going to go to half a million tomorrow. It's not. Don't think it's going to 2 million tomorrow. It's not. It's a slower game than that. And a lot of pretty smart people think it's going to a million. Jesse Powell over there, the CEO of Kraken says it's going to a million and beyond. But I've heard that same song and dance when I got in 2017. And I do not believe it right now. I think it can go to 150,000 this current bull run. Maybe the next one, I could go up much higher than that. But I am reluctant to go beyond those conservative numbers because that's just who I am. And you know what? I'll tell you this. Between me and you, I'd be very happy if I'm wrong. But I mean, if it goes to 300,000, I'm like, hey, I was wrong. Fantastic. All right. I finished this article up. It says Bitcoin is diversifying, but it's not a protection asset. Sure, I guess so. And it says Bitcoin is not gold, nor do we think of it as such. I don't think of it as gold either. I think of it as gold 2.0. Because it's a great store of value. You can move it to anyone, anywhere in the world within 30 minutes or less. It retains its value. It used to cost a nickel, now it's cost $50,000 or so. And that's why I heavily invest it into it. So as far as gold, retainments, and then moving things, I can see that. When it comes to portfolio construction, it has diversifying properties like gold. Yes, it does. But it's volatility, characteristics, and correlation profile, refute the comparison to the traditional safe haven asset. And I will say this, and that's pretty much it. It goes through some more stuff, but I almost fell asleep reading it. I will say this. All these things that it talks about and about, well, it's not really gold. It's not gold. It's not as stable as gold is. But we got to remember that. Gold goes up, and gold goes down. Bitcoin goes up and down as well. It just goes up and down a heck of a lot more. So it will still retain the value, but the fluctuation in the volatility is going to be pretty great because we are in price discovery mode. Once we kind of hit this equilibrium, remember there's only $21 million, and it's being gobbled up by some big players. But once we hit it, I think it's going to stay like that for a long time. Anyhow, let me know what you think in the comments section. It's just interesting to note that JP Morgan is finally coming around. They were the biggest critics. Now we could just get Dr. Doom Robini to get in our side. Then I know we've got a heck of a bull run. All right. Let's move on to our next piece. So next up, the gentleman over there at the Alex Masioli channel and trade the chain. They had some really good segments, and yesterday was just straight fire. So Ryan, he's in the, let me blow this up so you can see it. He's in the bottom left-hand corner right there. Ryan there just sold all of his cryptocurrency.  And he's not, doesn't really think it, but I think he's like, well, who knows what could happen. And he makes some pretty good points. But what they were talking about yesterday was pretty good. CJ up there in the top right, he was saying a couple of great things. First, he was talking about F2 pool, because everybody's been talking about F2 pool and how they're dumping Bitcoin.  He goes, not that it's ridiculous that they're dumping, he goes, but you have to understand, he goes, what's in global circulation compared to what is going on with how much they are dumping? It is infinitesimal. It doesn't really matter so much. He goes, so when they dump some things, he goes, don't think it's like the end all be all, and that's the reason why things dump. And he made a couple of good points. But I think it's like this. First of all, I think CJ is a right smart guy. But I think that smart money will look at what's going on and go, oh, you think that F2 pool is causing the big dump, and you're going to blame it on them? Well, cool. What I'll do is I'll just go right behind them, and I'll dump my Bitcoin, and I'll sell it, and then I'll wait for everything, all the retail investors to freak the heck out, and watch it just go down, and then I'll buy it back in, let it raise up, and then F2 pool dumps again, and I'll piggyback on them. And then he gives a great point about the stock market crash in 1929, where there's a gentleman, I forgot his name, he shorted. During that time, it made like millions and hundreds of millions of dollars when millions of dollars was like millions of dollars back in the day.  He goes, it was the panic, and it was the fear, and people, you know, bum rushing into the banks and believing that there was going to be a run in the banks, and there was. He goes, so it's just a mentality. So they talked about that. That was pretty interesting, you know, how they go, or how it came to that conclusion, because F2 pool, everybody talks about it. I don't think it's the end all be all. And again, I don't think anything's the way to change. Fundamentals are still the same. Talked about that. Jerome Powell's comments, the Fed chairman where he comes out, and he said something interesting.  Essentially, we're not going to raise the rates, but people were expecting them to lower the rates. And just because of them not helping the market, the market took a big tumble. And I'm like, well, how weak is that that you need this guy to come on and go, hey, we're going to drop the rates so much to help you all out and buy everything back. I'm like, what a weak market.  It's amazing to me that everybody complains about the government until the government doesn't come through from like government. If you need the government to prop up your paper mache market, then what is it all about? Anyhow, so there was that piece. I thought it was pretty interesting. And then Ryan here made some in the bottom left-hand corner, made some pretty great comments about Michael Saylor. And he says, he goes, look, and this is, this is my opinion too. People always tell me, Rob, you understand, Mark is different, all the institutions in there, Michael, so never sell. Elon Musk will never sell all these places will never sell. Well, first of all, I believe Grayscale will never sell because they will never sell the Bitcoin because it's in their, their charter. They can't sell it, right? And Michael Saylor can do whatever he wants to because he owns the majority of the shares. But when you have these big institutions where they have shareholders, you better believe if Bitcoin takes a dump to like 40, 50% and that tanks the stock price, people are like, hey, you work for us, pal. So you better start selling some of that Bitcoin that you picked up, which is now becoming worthless. We don't understand it anyhow. And we were just going along for the ride. So sell it. I think institutions will still sell. And this is the same thing that me and Alex, who was laughing his head off here in the top left hand corner, we believe it. But Ryan here talks about how he goes, look, he was Michael Saylor, he goes, and he made some pretty damning. And they, they were true comments about him. And I'm just going to link this video at the end talks about Michael Saylor and, and the kind of budget that he has for, for his safety and his security budget, how he kind of spends a little bit frivolously, how he made a hundred million dollar pledge for a global college that would, you know, teach everybody everything that just kind of went to the wayside. And he talks about how his company is really just a data scraping company for Facebook. These are Ryan's comments, they're very, very good. So, and any, so he talks about that. And then he, he made a good point about the stocks, the stock of MicroStrategy going down. It was pretty, and it was right. He's right. So if we take a look here at the MicroStrategy stock price, two things come about. Well, first of all, I mean, you had an all time high here on February 9th of 1272, but look back here. It was like 150, 140, once around, around here where they started to, some 18th, no, I think it was back here in August, when they started to buy up, yeah, when they started to buy up Bitcoin, then started to go up here. And then as they bought more and more, then all of a sudden it really just took off. Did it end, did it have anything to do with the company making a new acquisition or them, you know, getting some kind of new huge contract or something? It really was. I don't think so. I could be wrong, checking the comments, but it really all became down to Bitcoin. And that's when the price went to the roof. Now look what's happening. And then Ryan even talked about it. He goes, look, he goes, every time Michael, Michael Saylor would buy Bitcoin, the price would shoot up. He goes, but just a couple of days ago, he bought more Bitcoin, a good amount, didn't move the price whatsoever. He goes, so what do you think is going to happen later on? One thing to consider. And then if you really want to, I'm going to take a line from Diddy. When in doubt, zoom out. So let's take a look at the one year. And you're going to see here, let's take a look at five years. I didn't look, I guess in five years it was doing pretty well at 187. Then a drop down 2018. And it's been creating pretty sideways in the traditional market around 130, 125. And then of course, go from 125 up to 1200. And now to be currently at 620, but still from 120 to 620, really, what are you, 5X there, somewhere around there, but 5 to 6X, 5.5X. That's still pretty good considering the company didn't do anything remarkably different. And that's what it is. But go ahead and check out that video, I'll link at the very end. And Ryan's got a pretty good thesis about why things are going to go down and crash. And that's why he sold all his crypto. Me, personally, I'm hoping Ryan's right. I'm praying that he's right, because guess what? If it does crash, I don't think it's going to last that long. I think it'll be pretty steep, because people will panic and flip the F out, and they will sell like crazy. And with you sell, I will tip my hat to you. I will say thank you so much. And I will buy the crypto that you have sold and give it to me at a very market reduced price. So thank you if you do that. That's it. All right. So hey, thanks for sticking with me through the whole video. If you liked the video and you found some knowledge into it, give it a thumbs up. It really always helps. Also, if you like these types of videos, go ahead and subscribe. A lot of things we talk about are time sensitive. And that is it for today. So thanks for stopping by. Appreciate it. And I'll see you on the next one.


Welcome to the weather forecast for the week beginning, Wednesday, January 4th. Happy New Year, 2023. This is Chief Meteorologist John Hensworth for Lawn Moth Public Media. Hello, Fall Moon, Friday, January 6th. It would be beautiful if it's clear. I think that's part of the cloudy skies going in. The sun is pretty active. There's a lot of sun spot activities in the North and South Hemisphere. And reports of fun or roar going on. So, yeah, sun is definitely active phase right now. If you're going to get drought conditions, I think it's got a little better in the North and a little worse in the South. Not a lot of these storm systems have affected places south of Colorado Springs. Kind of interesting. So there it is, a little relief up here, like down there or something. We'll see as the snow melt soaks into the ground how that changes. Nationally, I didn't see much change except in the Ohio Valley at all, except Lawn Moth accidentally hopped southeast 30 miles. So, new place to drive home to. Here's our snow tally, watching the animation going forward. Started out good, went back to about 100%. And it always format differently each time so I try to get the lines to line up. But here we are after a big pre-Christmas snow dump, one that ruined my forecast, 126% of normal. So, wonderful. Let's keep on going, getting as much snow as we possibly can. A lot of the West is getting a lot more moisture than it has in the years. Another storm in the new year. It was pretty nasty out in the northeast corner of the state of Wyoming. Didn't drop that much. I hit totals in my forecast, pretty good for about half of my forecast locations. And then the snow came just under my window and others. But Lawn Moth and the inch area, pretty good. Over on Boulder, which is interesting to get more. Almost the same, 3.5 inches to a little over an inch. And then you have to add to that almost another inch. Lawn Moth, half inch in this day. Another about half inch or so, almost an inch. There's that 1.2 down here for two days. So it was about a 36 hour event with a big dry slot and some down slope in the middle that stopped the storm for a while. Taking a look at the actual liquid precipitation total is pretty light. So there was a blizzardry out here, but not so much water came out of the system. Severe weather. Got stuff in the southeast as that storm departs the nation. Another system coming in. We're going to see storm after storm crashing into California. They're going to go from long-term drought to at least a short-term drought relief. I don't know what the long-term drought relief made. But you're going to see a lot of lakes and rivers get up to flood stage for a while. It'll be interesting to watch. There's Thursday, more stuff in California and nothing on Friday. Looking nationally, we've got heavy rain. We've got snow. Feet of snow are falling into the cascades and mountains out there. Some interior snow all the way to almost Idaho. Big system coming up in the north, like Buffalo and places like that need anymore. On Thursday, a very complex system with heavy snow possible in the mountains and heavy rain and flash flooding possible. Even in Los Angeles, California. Low coming towards us with no moisture left over. Mountain range after mountain range. Ringing the moisture out in systems like this. Going to Friday, we're going to see system after system dumps snow on the western slopes, which is great. That's where we need the snow for our real snowpack and water supply in the Colorado. Another lot comes over the mountains. That's 10 days. Not much in the way of smoke nationwide. Looking for the next 10 days, the normal high is starting to rise, 43 to 44. Normal low is bottoming at 18. A little teeny chance of showers, this stuff coming over the mountains. On the 7th of January, a little bit of stuff later on the 12th or 13th. There was a big snow storm for Martin Luther King Day in the next day. The next model had totally vanished. Sometimes we're going to show that in the long range. It's way too variable. If you go run to run, storms are hopping four or five states different from what they are in the previous run. So it's pretty much a random number generator at that point. If you look at the water vapor satellite loop, there's a big low in the upper Midwest heading into Great Lakes. We have another big system coming in to the west. If you look at Thursday, there's that low. Making it to the Great Lakes, here comes that next system. We have the ridge over us to finally give us a relatively long temperature. I'm not going to say it's a lot. For the next system, well then you know, it's Tuesday and it's not much. There's a lot of trophy mess and shortwave action going in the west. Lots of showers everywhere. This whole thing kind of comes in and goes to the mountains. A good dose of snow. Even with a low over about one mile. Nothing east of the county held a vine really. Rain in Northern Arizona, they need that. And more rain coming in. Some snow weather in Northern Florida. Let's put it in motion. Watch, this is a very progressive pattern. So the waves are short, sort of on the move from west to east. We have a ridge, then we have a trough by Saturday, dry. Nothing coming, another ridge going into Sunday. So we'll warm up a little bit. Comes another low into California. A ridge kind of forms over the mountains. By Tuesday, trough is digging in and slamming California. We've added a Utah, making a trough. And not much beyond that. So yeah, trough, ridge, trough, ridge. Pretty interesting. Not a lot of cold air around. We have our current cold air that departs just quickly. Boom, it's gone. There it is again. Got lots of warmth to our south. Mountains get a little cool. Going on the weekend. Most of the nation is now above normal, where you see the blues in the west as part of the deeper snow. There's some Canadian air coming down into Dakotas, Minnesota, Great Lakes off the east coast on to Thursday and Friday next week.  We won't see a lot of melt day-to-day, but it will slowly melt. So here we go into Friday, storm hitting snow on the western mountains. Bades out, picks up again in Arkansas. Also Arkansas, Missouri. Big storm hitting California again by Monday. And then another one with really heavy weather on Tuesday. Wednesday, another system comes down, California. We're on northeast part of the state, but nothing on the eastern plains. Sorry, I'm not thrust by the state in the family. Eastern plains is another system here in California. We'll still start making muses. Mudslides and blizzardslide and all that. There's another one. So yeah, very active west coast, progression of storm systems. The next five days, just what we saw, precipitation. This is liquid equivalent. Remains out in the western part of the state. Snow not too heavy, as we've seen some pretty significant snow so far. Better stuff hit some good next 10 days. Some higher elevations get some good snow. So we dig ourselves after Thursday out of the 30s and we hover around in the 40s, see 50 by the beginning of next week. It looks dry a long month for the next seven days. Just interesting to show you the National Water Service and NOAA's Long Range Forecast for January. This is a forecast that was made mid-December. Let's keep this in mind. All the warmth down here, warmth in the west. Let me close up here. Wow, I hit the microphone to shut it off the day later. That's the Longmont trash truck calling. If you take a look at January, two weeks later forecast, all eastern half is now warm and now they got below normal in the west. So it's a dramatically different forecast from the very same month, made two weeks apart. Let's take a look at the precipitation. We had the northern tier of states in Ohio. The valley is very wet, very dry to the south. This is the mid-December forecast for all of January. If you pop to the end of December forecast for all of January, almost nothing is dry. Texas, New Mexico, I'm sorry, Texas, New Mexico and Mexico water and most of the nation is equal to above normal precipitation. I just don't know what to do with forecasts that are so radically different. I'll have to look a lot. We'll do a printout maybe at the end of January to see what actually happens with temperatures and precipitation and see how that looks. Longmont later, Brookfield later, has some other updates and lots of great local news. Check those sites out. This has been Chief Meteorologist John Unsworth. Keep looking out.


In research, bias refers to any systematic error or deviation from the truth that occurs during the data collection, analysis, or interpretation processes. Biases can occur due to many factors, such as the sampling methods, the researcher's subjective judgment or preconceptions, the study design, or the data analysis techniques used. There are several types of biases that can occur in research. Some of the most common types include selection bias. This occurs when the selection of study participants is not random and is influenced by some factor that is related to the outcome being studied. For example, if a study only includes participants who are willing to participate, this may bias the results. Measurement bias, this occurs when the measurement of the outcome or exposure is not accurate or consistent. For example, if a scale used to measure weight is not calibrated correctly, this could lead to inaccurate results. Recall bias, this occurs when participants in a study do not accurately recall information about past events or exposures. For example, if a study asks participants to recall their dietary intake over the past year, their responses may be influenced by their current dietary habits or biases. Reporting bias, this occurs when participants in a study do not accurately report information about their experiences or exposures. For example, if participants in a study are asked about their drug use, they may under-report their use due to fear of judgment or legal consequences. Observer bias, this occurs when the researchers' beliefs or expectations influence their interpretation of the results. For example, if a researcher believes that a particular treatment is effective, they may unconsciously interpret the results in a way that supports their belief. Sampling bias, this occurs when the sample of participants studied is not representative of the population being studied. For example, if a study only includes participants from a certain age group, this may not accurately represent the experiences of the broader population. Publication bias, this occurs when research that produces statistically significant results is more likely to be published than research that produces non-significant results. This can create an inaccurate representation of the overall body of research on a particular topic. It is important for researchers to be aware of and minimize biases in their work in order to ensure that their results are accurate, reliable, and valid.