On a website, a tiny hand clicks on a watercolor map of the world, then searches for Seattle. We zoom in on a hand-painted rendering of the city's street grid. I wanted to embrace the history of cartography as a way of saying, it doesn't have to be just straight lines. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Watercolor map tiles by Stamen Design.  I thought our work was over. That's it, the machines have eaten the market, and there's going to be no more mapping work to do. So when this came out, it was widely, it was talked about in the press as an alternative to Google Maps, and then more coagently open street map was seen as the alternative to Google street map for a lot of different reasons. So we're kind of part of that conversation. People don't think about who's making these maps, or how they get made, or how they get updated, or any of that kind of stuff. And it's an incredibly complex, fascinating, multi-layered, continuous, ongoing artifact, technical artifact that is made by robots, it's a collaboration between robots and humans. It's amazing, you know? So I didn't want to make a nostalgic gesture, but I did want to call attention to the fact that these maps were being made by people. I really wanted to sort of get this texture of a city to give it almost a hallucinatory quality, where you just would pay attention, not just to it as a directional device, but as something with composition. But the composition, of course, is made by the world, not by us, right? Behind the design. It was mainly a collaboration between Geraldine and Zach Watson. And Mike Mogersky worked with Zach to design a process by which these could be generated using the textures. Geraldine made a number of textures, which we've logged about. And then Zach Watson started making maps out of them and sort of putting them through the different pieces of software that he was using. And then he would go back to Geraldine and say, where do you think about this? And then she would make a new texture for him. And they were able to really adjust the way in which the lines here, you'll see that they're not straight very much by design. They overlap one another. And that's all very intentional. And really the whole point was to make something that you couldn't tell what parts of it had been done by hand and what parts of it had been done by a machine. I wanted that line to be blurred. So it was very much always intended to be and continues to be driven by Open Street. More maps are explored. The data that's underlying it is exactly the same, but there's a number of different steps. There's essentially a rendering process that happens to get something that, from a data perspective, looks much more like that to something that looks like that.  The whole point of this was to make it as bone-simple as possible. I mean, to make something that was highly difficult and virtuosistic and took a lot of resources and just flattened people's ability to access it, make it so that it was... Again, you didn't need to sign up. There's no API. There's no technical. You copy and paste this, put it on your website. You've got a map. Watercolor map tiles use. Rather than having to do a screenshot and do all that nonsense, you should just be able to adjust the size and then this is where we show you all the different styles that there are. There's more than are on the front. So there's these images that get made and then you can go to results and you can see all the maps that people have made. Examples are shown. This was another thing that was just really distracting to me as the project developed. It was just like, where in the world do people care about enough to make these images? And it turns out, thousands and thousands and thousands of places. And why did somebody pick this particular... This looks like it was done for a school project. Somebody's doing a project about Southeast Asia. People are just making these for use in their projects. And there's one every couple of minutes. Some maps are in color, others in black and white. Some feature hundreds of streets, others few or none. On maps. The most viewed place on Google Maps is your house. That's where people always go. It's an amazing phenomenon. You have a map of the whole world. You could go to Petra, you could go to the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, you could go to Antarctica, you could go anywhere, but where do you go, your house? And in some ways that's a grounding gesture of if I know my house is on there, I can recognize that my house. That's sort of a touchstone that means if this is accurate then everything else must be accurate. And I think something like that is going on here. There's a lot of places that they care about, which can be as broad as Europe or as narrow as a park. We zoom in on a green space. And that's the sort of wonderful thing about these maps and maps like this in general, is that there's this kind of, people care about them. Watercolor Map Tiles website, 2012 to 15. Designed by Eric Rodenbeck, Zachary Watson, Geraldine Sarmiento, Nathaniel Kelso, Ligurski, Stamen Design.


Do you like paying less taxes? What if there's a way that you can achieve this while also investing in the lucrative world of exploration and mining? We're joined with WCPD founder and president Peter Nicholson to speak on the world of flow through investing and how can help you come tax time. Peter, welcome. Yeah, thanks for having me, Brandon. And thank you for coming on. Well, first and foremost, what are flow through shares and why should all Canadians be aware of them? Can you walk us through an example of how this would benefit someone's taxes? Sure. Flow through shares have been in the tax code since 1954. So that's three years older than RRSPs. The government of Canada wants you to do more RRSPs. That helps with, of course, retirement, less pressure on the government. They want you to do TFSAs. That's tax free savings accounts. Again, another tool like RESPs for the kids and flow through shares. So those are the categories. There really isn't any other government supported tax policies. There are other structures to save on tax, but those are usually what someone may be called a loophole, that taking advantage of the government. This is not that case. I want the listeners and the viewers to really understand this is something that government wants more of because it's been in our economy for so long since 54. Canada is blessed with with terrific mineralization and also oil and gas. But we've been weaning ourselves off that, of course, to get the zero carbon. But with new minerals, we need them more than ever to get to zero carbon. Those are what we'll talk about as the critical minerals. A flow through share. These are small companies. The business is made up of small exploration companies are taking on the risk, very similar to venture capital. They have one out of 10. You get something exciting in a drill bit and one out of 100. You get a junior mind. So the government understands that and they want to shoulder that risk with our investors and they will allow you to get 100 percent to the tax tax deduction on the money you invest very similar to the RSP. So if you had a three hundred thousand dollar salary, there's a maximum of what you can buy of this number, but they're big maximums, roughly 30 percent of your income. That could be ninety thousand dollars on three hundred. And that would bring your income down to two hundred and ten thousand. Now, the government understands these are small companies. If they find something big, then bigger companies buy them like a tack or a barrack. Meanwhile, they don't have much revenue. They're up there looking usually they don't have any revenue, but they've got expenses. So we would do, let's say, a five million dollar drill program where a client would buy three hundred thousand of that five five million dollar drill program. And because the flow through company has no revenue, the government allows them to take that five million dollars of business losses on the drill bit and flow through to taxable corporations and Canadian individuals. That's the word flow through. Yeah, I appreciate that. I think a lot of people maybe haven't heard of it before, or maybe they have a misunderstanding of what they are. They're incredible tools to be able to use for not just your capital gains like you were saying, but your taxable income as a whole. So that's very fascinating. And hence why people use this. Now, are all flow through shares made equal? What are the various types of flow through shares? And are there certain provinces that provide more incentives than others? Correct. Yeah. Yeah. There there are there are I would call there's four separate categories of a flow through share. And we're going to start with the the CEE or the 100 percent tax deduction with no other credits. And then there's another category called CDE Canadian Development Expenses and CEE is exploration expenses. Both of those two categories. We like to give to because they fit quite nicely with corporations that have passive income. If you have an operating company like I do or have a holding company, anything I have interest income and for the first year, first time in years, I'm getting a four percent interest, let's say, on a million dollars of cash. That's in my operating company. That's 40 grand. We can shelter that 40 grand and it's taxed at 50.6 percent. So those particular categories are perfect for for corporations because they have no tax credits and an additional deduction after the 100 percent deduction, CEE is underground drilling. OK, so you found the resource and you're generally going you know, sideways to see how big it is, not going down from above from from above drilling down. And because there is less risk, you're again defining how large the resources you've already found it. They give you just the 100 percent tax deduction and CEE. So perfect fit for Corpse, CEE Development Expenses. You're building out the mine. This is the other category. So the resources have been found. We're all excited it's going to be a mine in the next five years. So these would be all the expenses of growing and developing that mine. And it's over a 10 year time period. You're going to get 45 percent deductions this year, the first year. And then the remaining 55 percent are amortized over the next nine years. You get most of your deductions on CEE by about year six or seven. You've already gobbled up about 80 percent of them. So those are corporations. Now the exciting part is individuals super flow through. Since 2001, the federal government is not only giving you 100 percent tax deduction, if you're in grassroots explorations, they call super. There hasn't been a discovery in that particular land area, and they will give you a 15 percent federal credit, plus the 100 percent tax deduction, but only individuals can use credits. So that's why we were at our firm at WCPD. We would tailor make the structure to fit. You want something your personal, you're supposed to probably need some. Maybe your adult children are the business. They need some. And of course, your corporation needs some. So it's not unusual. Someone could have multiple minds and getting back to your provincial credits. So provincially, Quebec is the best. They'll give you an extra 25 percent. Manitoba, Saskatchewan are 30 percent provincial credits. Quebec comes to them because there's no capital gain on the Quebec portion. So Quebec is by far the best, followed closely by Manitoba and Saskatchewan. And then 20 percent in B.C. There's five percent in Ontario and then the rest are zero. So that would be Alberta, residence, the Atlantic, Canada. You would just get the 15 percent federal and no provincial. Once again, we would choose if someone had a Quebec drill program, we would choose a Quebec taxpayer because the taxpayer has to be in that province to be able to use those provincial elections. B.C. drill programs, we give to B.C. taxpayers. And then the last piece is the new critical mineral that just came out in April. Yeah. The most exciting thing I think has happened to our industry in, well, I've been doing this for 36 years. I'm very excited about critical minerals and the federal government is supporting us. They've given another 15 percent federal. So let's just call it 30 percent federal credits when you're looking for their 17 critical minerals on top of the 100 percent tax deduction. And remember, a tax credit for the viewers is twice as good as a deduction. A credit of 30,000 is 30,000 off your income tax, a tax deduction of 30,000. And when you're at the top, a rate of 50 percent saves you $15,000. So the 17 critical minerals, the big ones are copper, nickel, lithium, cobalt, scandium, you know, the list gets long, of course, uranium. These are all of the minerals that are going to get us to zero carbon and save our planet. Yeah, I appreciate the answer. But I mean, there's categories and will tailor to fit perfectly whatever that whatever the client wants. I appreciate that very much. I've heard about flow through shares for years. I've taken part in it in the last couple of years myself, but that was the best explanation I've heard on the various different ones. So I do appreciate that very much. Sometimes a long-winded answer is a good answer. My next my next question for you, the federal government is aiming to help facilitate investment in growth in a critical mineral space. Just like you said, critical mineral flow through shares are one of the incentives they created for this. Are you seeing this avenue increase in popularity since it was introduced? And is it enough to spur more investment into the industry? Yes, for sure. And I'll give you some history.  Even to 5,000, we've been needing copper and heavy metals and to make our to make our utensils. And as we got through the last hundred years, 150 years, mine does not have a good reputation. It's starting critical minerals is changing that. We've been known as having bad human rights issues, of course, in Central America, South America and Africa. We've had issues with the environment, right? Clear cutting and damaging the environment. So we've been we've been the money industry has been improving on that. But it really took critical minerals to be in the forefront. It's been in the Wall Street Journal almost every week or every second week. It's been in the London Times, it's been the Globe and Mail, the Financial Post. People are talking, we need 10 times more of these these these electric minerals to be able to hit zero carbon. So I went from being not very well liked at a cocktail party. Oh, you're in the mining business five, six years ago. I don't know how we got invited to this great event to now being embraced that you know that I'm a positive, a positive for the environment, not a negative. So that means a hell of a lot. And I think we're we're we're just in the any number one. We're at the very beginning of a 20 year bull market in critical minerals. It just hasn't really taken off yet. But once people understand that we have to find 10 times more, that's a massive demand. And there's not a lot of supply. And we all know what that means in economics. Prices will go higher and money will be made. And I've been telling a lot of my clients, it's time to pivot from your technology you've done so well over the last 20 years. The real estate you've done phenomenally well when interest rates have dropped for the last 40 years since 1979. Everything has done well. It's time for critical mineral commodities to have its time in the sunshine. Yeah, once again, very well said. Well, lastly, if someone is looking at a hefty tax bill this year, how do they reach out to you to see about potential flow through investments? And when does that window tend to close in terms of being too late in a given year to find one that's right for them? Right. Well, look, we go right to the end. I go right to December 31st. We've always had some closings on the 30th, where we're trying to find, you know, new product. It is tighter in November, December. There is an infinite amount, especially what we do. What we're specializes in is what we call the GIC of tax reduction, where we find a liquidity provider to de-risk this volatile investment. So we can you can own the flow through shares for just one second in time and then and then sell it to a AGF Resource Mutual Fund, a Royal Bank Resource Fund, Sprots Fund. So those are those are an interesting thing. And we can talk about that more for people that are interested. But I would say now is the time, the later you wait, the harder it's going to be. Then we also have next year, we'll have 12 months of doing flow through shares. You tend to have the best pricing, I would say, usually in the summertime. And it's a little quieter from April to August, it's due to the best time for individuals to be buying this in corporations. If you're an issuer, if we have a viewer here that runs a mining company, they they they like to get good premiums and they're usually in the driver's seat now at the end of the year. Same thing with the same thing with our liquidity providers and before and usually in the early months before a federal budget. People are always these are so good branded, they don't want to take any risks that there could be a negative tax law change. I don't see that coming. I've been talking, I'm based in Ottawa. The politicians want more drilling and they want more giving, which a lot of our clients use to flow through shares to give to their favorite charities. So I think we're we're good. And how do you reach me? Well, you can Google Peter Nicholson. I'll just give you my private cell number. Happy for anyone to take anyone's call. I've got a team of 20, but I'm at<PHONE_NUMBER>. You go to our website. It stands for Wealth, Creation, Preservation, Donation. And myself and my team would be happy to answer your questions and educate you further. Fantastic. Once again, Peter, thank you so much for your time. Always a pleasure speaking with you and like you. You were just saying that if anyone wants to reach out with your an issuer, investor, corporation, you know where to turn to now. Thank you so much, Peter. Well done. Thank you. Bye bye.


Good, thank you. My name is Wadamaya from Ghana. My name is Joe Walilotua from Yuba, South Sudan. And everyone in here is telling me I need to look for you. Yes, yes. Because you are the only one who is running the only boat cruise in South Sudan. You are in the right place at the right time. Welcome to South Sudan, my friend. Thank you so much. But I really want to know why you decided to start something like this in this country. Well, that's a very good question to ask, actually. Gecko Tour is an adventure as it sounds. It's a tourist company. Obviously, we're here to authentify the authenticity of the South Sudan experience. Coming all the way from Ghana, I'm sure the stories that you heard were not pleasant about South Sudan. No, they told me not to count. Exactly. You're probably expecting to be in bunkers or hiding behind trees from bullets. But this is it. This is the story that's never been told. So you guys are blessed with the river now.  And that is the main motive of Gecko Adventures. We wanted to show the world one of the most... We have so many beauties of South Sudan. But out of the many beauties, it's the river now, which is one of the longest in the world. But nobody ever tells this story as you can see it here. Me and you here standing in South Sudan. What you see in the news is not the same thing that you see as you hear with me. So that's what we're here to tell. And we need the whole world to know that just apart from the history of South Sudan, we are hopeful and we are here to change the narratives. And the future is bright for this country. That is so beautiful. So let me know, tell us the kind of services that you guys provide in here. Obviously we provide the experience. Not just any other boat cruise where everyone just hops in and observes. When you come in here, we want to give you the experience of this beautiful part of the world, which is South Sudan. This is a fully serviced boat. We have a bar here. Downstairs there's serviced lavatories. We have all the safety equipment in place. We have your first aid kits. We have fire extinguishers. We always have two divers on board at all time to make sure that in case anything goes wrong, you're in good hands. Basically, we also provide life jackets. We're obviously not wearing one because we are not... That makes you comfortable. We have two divers, we have a life jacket. I have to experience this. So the point is you don't have to know how to swim for you to come here. We can take care of you with that. You don't have to swim for you to come here. Exactly. So safety is number one. Exactly. What do we see this company in the next five years? Well as a secondary vision for the company, being locally owned and incorporated, it tells you that you're in safe hands because the people that run these services actually are from the country and they know each and every corner of South Sudan. So when you come and experience Dubai with us, you're in safe hands. So the vision is tomorrow if you want to go to... I don't even ever heard of the Badangilo National Park. We are one of the biggest migratory routes in Africa from east towards South Sudan. It happens in South Sudan. That way it's called the Badangilo National Park. So in future if you want to go and actually experience that part, we should be able to take you there on game drives and even maybe charter flights. The dream is big but the dream is big. Very big. Do you believe that Africa is the future? Africa is definitely the future. I don't have to say it but you can see it yourself. And if you have the chance to change one thing in the entire continent, what would that can be? Working together as Africans, we have to stand together and actually bring out the beauty of our continent. Amazing. Tell us something that we don't know about South Sudan. What you don't know about South Sudan? What you think we don't know about South Sudan.  But now we're here. Can you tell us your experience from what you've been told back home? I mean, South Sudan is beautiful, amazing people and trust me, the food is the best. I want to say thank you so much for talking to me. We want to add something to it. Yes, basically as being one of the youngest nations in the world, we have a history. Exactly. And we cannot be defined by our history, obviously. And now that we are here as the young people of this country, we have a very big role which is the aspect of national building and it's not one person job, it's all our collective responsibility. And we're here to give it our all as young people to make sure that we change the heritage of what tomorrow will be like. So don't hesitate, come and visit South Sudan. It's a beautiful place and he will tell you guys more about it. Thank you so much for coming to South Sudan and enjoy your stay. Is it affordable too? Well, we try and make it as affordable as possible. As I've told you about our amenities, that means that we have a very high operational cost obviously. So we're trying to make sure that everyone comes and have the experience. Wow, I want to say thank you so much for talking to me. You're welcome. Thank you. Thank you. I've been telling you guys that don't believe the stories that you've been hearing. Like I said, when I was coming to South Sudan, everyone was telling me not to come. Yeah, I am. I'm not boozing by the way. This is coke, bro. This is coke. I was enjoying my boat cruise and I found out that, you know these guys, I know they went back in China and I don't know even why they are in this country. Oh, okay. But how is South Sudan, man? We've known each other since, since what? Since 2007. It's a virgin country that has not been exploited. Wow. So there are so many opportunities here. Wow. And South Sudan is not what they picture it in other... So you have to tell them to come here and then enjoy the virginity of South Sudan. Yes. Don't come and break it. Come and enjoy it. Thank you so much for talking to me, man. Thank you, bro. Brother, man. It's nice to see you. Yeah, man. One of my ideas is South Sudan. I just want to know, where are you born and raised in South Sudan? No, I was actually born in Sudan and I grew up in Australia. That's where I came from. Born in Sudan or South Sudan? Sudan. Now we're an independent country. So you gave South Sudan not knowing? No, no, no. Right now I'm in South Sudan, right? No. You're in South Sudan. Born in Sudan. Yes. And now you moved to Australia. Australia, yes. And you're back in South Sudan. But you've come back to the first place. I came back without... I believe in this country. And this is my country. And we have to be part of the narratives. And only us can make changes in this country. We can't point fingers at people and say why aren't they doing this, why aren't they doing that. It's important for us to make changes in this country to build a home and a future for our children, our great-grandchildren. Wow. We're the leaders of this country. Do you know that a lot of South Sudanese are living abroad? Yes. I mean, if you haven't messaged them, what would that message be? What I'd like to say is, guys, whatever qualifications you have, come home. We need you all. We need you. This is where it's happening, South Sudan. This is a place where things can happen overnight. Just take a flight, get on it, and come home. How long have you been in South Sudan? I've been here since 2008. But I got on and off. Do you regret moving back in here? Oh, I'm never going back to Australia. Never. Wow. Never. Thank you so much for talking to me. Thank you. Thank you.


I want to take some time to talk about health care reform because it is bound to come up within the next four years, most likely two years if it's going to have a chance of passing in whatever form that may be. But before we get started, I do want to take some time to debunk this myth that I've even heard among leftists that Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 Democratic Party primary is somehow evidence that the Democratic Party's base rejected Medicare for All and that voters overall rejected Medicare for All because we all know that voters made a strategic calculation. They chose to support Joe Biden because they believed rightly or wrongly that he was more electable than Bernie Sanders. This is what was burned into their brains by the mainstream media. So it's not, you know, a repudiation of Medicare for All because Bernie Sanders lost. Let's be real about that. Having said that though, Bernie Sanders as his campaign gained momentum, Medicare for All did as well. And the private insurance industry was absolutely shitting themselves as they saw Bernie Sanders rise. In fact, when he reintroduced his Medicare for All plan, health care stocks literally dropped. And as a result, private insurance companies started to actually offer more benefits to the public because they knew they had a PR crisis on their hands. And voters looked like they were going to opt for the candidate that was going to get rid of private insurance. Now, during this time, health insurance companies actually backed Biden because he was the one candidate that they viewed could not only beat Bernie, but save their asses. Now, unfortunately, they got what they wanted. Bernie Sanders was defeated and effectively the threat of Medicare for All has been neutralized, at least for now, in their eyes. But they got more than that. Not only were they saved by Joe Biden's campaign being victorious, basically when it comes to private health insurance companies, they had to stop worrying the minute the Democratic Party primary was over, because regardless if Joe Biden won or Donald Trump was reelected, the status quo would be preserved. Private insurance companies would not be going anywhere. The only time they were fearful was when they believed that Bernie Sanders was going to be the president. But now it's not just that they've been saved. Their lives have been spared. But they're now in the driving seat once again, because according to the Daily Poster, they have basically been able to write Joe Biden's health care proposal, at least when it comes to COVID relief and what he wants to do about the fact that millions of people are losing their employer based health insurance. Now, before we talk about that and read that article, I just got to say that like any folks who ran the Democratic Party and their argument about against Medicare for all, rather, is that people like their employer based health insurance. Let's just remember that all of these people look like dumbasses right now, because during this pandemic, how many people lost their jobs as a result of COVID-19? And as a result, lost the insurance that was connected to their jobs. So that argument has imploded and now none of them are saying anything. Do you hear Amy Klobuchar or Pete Buttigieg or John Delaney trying to come up with some different solution? No. And the issue isn't that they actually believe that this is what they were paid to say. If you take financial contributions from the private insurance industry, from Big Pharma, then you are going to work backwards from the conclusion that private insurance is good and single payer Medicare for all is bad. But in actuality, the opposite is true, because when it comes to Medicare for all studies show not only is it more affordable, but it actually works better. There's a reason why once you adopt a single payer system or a national health care system, you don't go back from that. Like imagine if Canada or the UK converted from a private or from a public system to a private American like system.  Otherwise, you know, citizens would would rage over it. Americans don't know what they got. So if you give it to them, it's going to be a lot harder to take away from them. So look, here's the thing. I'm willing to forgive any politician who was wrong about Medicare for all, but it's now actually revisiting their position during a pandemic, because I think that this proved that they were wrong about Medicare for all. Private insurance is not desirable and it's volatile. We don't need more volatility when it comes to health care. We need stability. So what Bernie Sanders is proposing is absolutely brilliant. And it's the bare minimum that we should expect from government during a pandemic. So as Jacobin reports, Bernie Sanders is pushing a new proposal as part of the stimulus bill that would give everyone free health care during the pandemic. His plan would get us qualitatively closer to Medicare for all. And we should all rally behind it. Now, this makes sense because we're in a pandemic and we don't have time to be playing games and arguing with our private insurance companies if we even have health insurance at this point.  He's saying, look, you all told me and the American people during the primaries that Americans love their employer based health insurance. Well, now they're losing that. So if people will actually hate Medicare for all, as much as you said they would, then prove it. Let's expand Medicare to everyone during the pandemic and we'll test your theory out. Let's put it in practice, but they will not do that because they know that if they actually do what Bernie Sanders is proposing, which is common sense during a pandemic, you're not going to be able to take it away from people. Once you give them health care, it is going to be incredibly difficult to take it away once they realize that they've been missing out this entire time. Once they realize that they're getting a raw deal compared to our neighbors north of the border in Canada and the UK and any developed, reasonable country. So, you know, this is something that I really hope people do rally around because it's not like we're seemingly too unreasonable. We know that Joe Biden doesn't support Medicare for all. So we are responding to that. We're trying to work within those, you know, unique parameters. But we're saying, OK, well, we know that permanently we don't we're not going to get Medicare for all under Joe Biden. So let's just do it for the duration of the pandemic. Yeah, we know what that's going to turn into. So it's really clever on Bernie Sanders' behalf. And look, he may not even be thinking that far ahead. He may not even be playing like 90 chess. But this is what will happen. Like you can't give somebody something and then take it away. It's incredibly unpopular. It's why politicians have failed from both parties to cut social security because they love social security.  So the question is, since Joe Biden is not on board with what I think is reasonable, Medicare for all, at least during the pandemic, what is he actually proposing since people are losing their health insurance and since now the crisis has worsened? Well, as Julia Rock and Andrew Perez of the Daily Post report, President-elect Joe Biden's new covid relief plan does not adopt existing democratic legislation to expand government-sponsored medical coverage, nor does it propose a promised public health insurance option. Instead, it adopts proposals from health insurance lobbying groups recent letter to lawmakers demanding lucrative new subsidies for insurance companies at a moment when those corporations have recorded record profits as millions lose coverage and many face claim denials. Biden's plan would shovel millions of dollars to private health insurers by providing subsidies for Americans to buy coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, which are far more expensive than government health care programs and have at times been plagued by high rates of claim denials. The plan would also subsidize Cobra continuation coverage through September, allowing workers to keep their employer health insurance plans when they're laid off. Those initiatives, which could further boost insurers' skyrocketing profits, were recently recommended in a letter to lawmakers from America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, two insurance lobbying groups in Washington that have opposed the expansion of government-sponsored health care programs. A few days later, after the letter was sent, AHAIP said that health insurance providers are eager to assist the Biden health team. I'm sure they are. Biden's inaugural committee has received donations from at least two major health insurers, Anthem and Centine, which both offer plans on state marketplace exchanges. Centine CEO bundled donations for Biden's presidential campaign and Biden's first major campaign fundraiser was headlined by Independence Blue Cross's CEO. Now, the article states that the public option, at least for now, has basically been sidelined and there are conflicting reports and indications about whether or not Joe Biden has moved away from it altogether. I wouldn't be surprised because we've been here before. We've seen this story. He proposed the public option and then backed away from it during the Obama era. But basically think of how absurd this system is.  Like we already do this. Like we pump millions and millions of dollars into the health care system and into these private plans so that way they'll be cheaper and offer more benefits and it never is a long term solution. Otherwise, the Affordable Care Act would have ended this debate.  We know what the solution is. Like the fact that we're still having this debate is insane. As Jen Perlman says it, like anyone in 2020 and 2021, like in modern era American politics that doubts Medicare for all, these folks are so loony that they are comparable to flat earthers. It's not like a matter of disagreement. We know exactly what needs to be done and what will deliver health care to every single American Medicare for all and we don't stop there. After we get Medicare for all, we then work to move towards a national health system like the UK has always expand benefits because we know the minute that we get Medicare for all, it is going to be under attack by capitalist forces. So it's just it's deeply infuriating and frustrating to me that even in a pandemic, it's not common sense to these folks to just opt for Medicare for all at least temporarily, but they know that if they did this, it would be a death sentence for these private insurance companies. Because again, try taking something away from people that they love. It's just not very popular. So overall, I will say that Joe Biden absolutely is a disgusting human being for denying health care to Americans during a pandemic. The fact that he didn't support Medicare for all before make made him morally defective, in my opinion. But the fact that he still denies it during a pandemic shows that as a human being, he is absolutely disgusting, morally bankrupt and borderline psychopathic.


AOM-LEALL We will start this afternoon with portfolio questions and question number one is from Ian Grey We ask the Scottish Government what the impact could be on Scotland's future ability to develop and promote its culture of the reported reduction in funding for music tuition in schools The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the role that music culture and creativity play in people's lives across Scotland roedd gan gy получилось. Wrestling shoes? mae'r rygwiant am dda Fund���ing yng不好意思 oечь, neu rwyddan yn rhan? Mae'r rygwiant enthusiastic i'r guldas ymd lích, awn ei bod해� analyst Ar cuanto allunwedd tolwyddon mommyll – arall, dderbyn bwysig invitedes iawn mae gyfosiarau oligodd ddechrau i gyfosiarau lleolol aelodiaeth. Aelodiaeth y lleolol wedi'i cynnig, ddydw i lŵr i unrwy o'i jywiol, â i'n gweithio ei bwysig aelodiaeth i gael penderfynol i gaelu amddangosol yn gyfosiarau nobl sydd yn gyfosiarau lleolol ei ddarparu oeddennig. a chydegwydr all measure 190. Rydyn ni yw'r panfê cancelled villig hwnnw ac yw bai nhw I disloc snapn i'w parmily запис cymdeithas i gydag ein byddii astuig a'u συrch ac yn ei ddweud hynny os ym ymwyffref for the sake of Scotland's cultural future. Astrall? I agree about the importance of music tuition in schools. I have to point out that he mentions that the figure is 7 per cent. 7 per cent is, of course, the real term that this Government, which this Parliament has received from the UK Government since 2010-11. Councils, as I have mentioned, are, despite that, receiving a real terms increase in the share of the budget that we are able to give to them. However, it is important to say that some councils, and I can think of some, I could name some, not least, for instance, the council in West Lothian, which has a bigger part in Midlothian, which has increased its fees from nil to £205. There are some councils who will wish to take a look at their action in terms of what we I hope would agree on, which is that free or music tuition should be available in an accessible form and should not prejudice its availability to anyone on grounds of their income. Liz Smith, could I ask the minister whether he would give Parliament a guarantee that, within the Scottish Government's working group on music tuition just now, that it will look at the private partnerships deal with public partnership? Obviously, if it is a question of finding additional money, which it seems to be, then that partnership deal could be very important. The Scottish Government always works on partnership with different agencies. It is worth saying in the context of music tuition that there has long been an agreement since the days of the working group on music tuition and schools, instrumental tuition, that any course that is leading to an SQA qualification should be provided free, and it would certainly concern me if there were evidence of that not happening around the country. On the subject of music tuition, will the minister join me in wishing system of Scotland chairman Richard Holloway all the best in his recently announced retirement? The minister might be aware that Richard Holloway spoke recently to a reception here in Hollywood that I hosted for the 10th anniversary of the Systema Scotland's big-noise orchestras. Does the cabinet secretary agree with me that one of Richard Holloway's legacies is transforming the lives of children, young people and communities through an intensive and immersive musical experience, thus significantly improving the potential of people from disadvantaged areas to live a more enriched and fulfilled lives? Richard Holloway certainly deserves congratulations on that count. His vision and drive have been fundamental to creating and extending Systema Scotland's outstanding work in our communities, which has benefited so many children in the past 10 years. Systema Scotland has been a huge success in the member's constituency and elsewhere and is making a real and positive impact in our communities. Systema Scotland now reaches 2,500 children weekly and independent evaluation has highlighted that, as well as increasing the confidence, aspirations and self-esteem in the children and young people involved, Systema Scotland is making a real and positive difference to communities across Scotland. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to promote tourism in areas that are served by the M74. Transport Scotland has recently introduced signs to the M74 that signposts its nearby towns such as Dumfries, Lockerbie, Gretna and Echelfechan. Visit Scotland currently has a £130,000 memorandum of agreement with Dumfries and Galloway Council to promote the region. Visit Scotland will also receive £500,000 for marketing the south of Scotland region in 2018-19. I welcome the fact that towns across my constituency are finally on the motorway signs. Will the minister undertake to put pressure on Transport Scotland to reconsider its rules around brown signs for tourist attractions? Many of the smaller tourist attractions and tourist businesses across Dumfries and Galloway are struggling to make their way through the bureaucracy. I cannot claim to speak for Transport Scotland directly on that matter. I will make sure that the member has a response on that. It is suffice to say that the pressure that has been put on this issue from a number of members in the south of Scotland has been helpful in ensuring that the places that I mentioned are highlighted on those signs. However, we should certainly be open to all ideas to make sure that Dumfries and Galloway and the Borders are made much more clearly advertised and that the beauty of that region is more clearly advertised to all who visit Scotland. Emma Harper Thank you, Presiding Officer. The cabinet secretary is aware of my on-going campaign to encourage people to visit south west Scotland, and now the minister is aware. I echo Oliver Mundell's comments. Current signage on the M74 from the central belt going south gives the impression that there is nothing for 90 miles until you reach Carlisle. Will the minister agree to meet me to explore options for adapting M74 signposts to feature Bonnie Dumfries and Galloway and the beautiful Scottish Borders with the aim of encouraging further tourism, which will, in turn, give the local economy a much-needed boost? Mr Mundell, as someone who originally is a native of the Borders, I would similarly take offence to the idea that there is nothing between Glasgow and Carlisle if that is at all being suggested by anyone. I can certainly also pay credit to the fact that the member has raised the issue with the Government and Transport Scotland, and I believe that he has had some results, as we mentioned, on the issue of naming individual towns and villages. Her comments about naming regions and the wider south of Scotland borders and the Mfries and Galloway region are now on the record, and I hope that we will be noted by all concern. Presiding Officer, to ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether the promotion of Scotland as a destination for film, television and other productions is best achieved through Creative Scotland. We backed the screen sector with an additional £10 million of funding this year and approved the joint proposal from Creative Scotland and its partner skills and enterprise agencies to set up a dedicated screen unit within Creative Scotland. That unit, which will be led by a new executive director with screen industry expertise, will bring increased focus and coherence to public sector support for the film and television industry. Plans for its delivery are well underway and the promotion of film and television, which is already carried out by Creative Scotland, will, I believe, sit best within the unit. Parliament's culture committee agreed unanimously and on a cross-party basis to support the promotion of Scotland as a film and television location as a separate, standard-owned organisation. Given the overwhelming evidence that we heard from industry supporting that position, why does the Government not accept it as well? The report certainly recognised the contribution of the screen unit for the work that it does, and I welcome the fact that it acknowledged that. I believe that the method that has been set out and that has been identified by supporting screen is the best one, rather than creating new agencies. Since 2007, record public investment has gone into the screen. However, on the issues that the member raises around structures, it is important to say that there are three industry reps on the advisory committee on screen and that we are recruiting three new members on to the Creative Scotland board, specifically to represent expertise in film 2. I do not agree with the member's view about a standalone agency, but I am sure that we are agreed on the importance of supporting the industry. The question from Tavish Scott talks about the promotion of Scotland for film production. Back in 2013, Fiona Hyslop said that what we need is a film studio, particularly with a very effective sound studio, is part of that complex. We still do not have a film studio in Scotland. The new screen unit's action plans include finalising a business case for studio capacity and securing new space within 12 months. Is the minister confident that the screen unit can deliver that? We share the sector's ambition to see the creation of additional film and TV infrastructure working with Creative Scotland and Scottish Enterprise. We continue to actively encourage proposals from developers and to stand ready to assist in any way appropriate to aid their delivery. We have welcomed and we continue to welcome proposals from developers and we are, as I say, willing to assist in any way appropriate to aid progress on that front. The Scottish ministers have granted planning permission and principle to develop a mixed-use studio development at Pentland on the outskirts of Edinburgh, which is one example of our commitment in this area. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to support community groups to ensure that they leave a cultural legacy from the year of young people activities. A great deal of activity is currently under way to make this year a catalyst for new ways of working with young people at a local level. Through our Create 18 fund, the Government is supporting young people to work with community groups throughout Scotland to plan and deliver high-quality community events, helping young people to showcase their talents and contributions to their local communities and helping to change attitudes and perceptions of young people. We are also working with local authorities to give young people the opportunity to have their voices heard and to create a lasting cultural change by putting young people at the heart of local decision making and the co-design of the services that they use. I thank the minister for his answer. Groups such as Universal Connections in Rutherglen and Cambaslang and Terminal 1 in Blantyre have events planned throughout the year to mark the year of young people. From the forever young event in Cambaslang to the musical showcase featuring children from across my constituency of Rutherglen, it is good to see local groups fully on board with this great initiative. Can the minister advise on whether a legacy evaluation will be undertaken to measure the success of this year's year of young people in order to learn from the positive lessons for the next theme year in 2020? Yes, we are developing an evaluation framework for the year of young people, which will ensure that the aims and objectives and outcomes of that year are met. That will measure the success of co-designing Scottish Government policies 2 in order to create a lasting legacy beyond 2018. All that complements the evaluation that young scots are leading, and they are doing so looking at the overall co-design element of the year. The Scottish Government is certainly committed to ensuring that the programme of themed years engages with young people and will continue to invite representatives from children and young people's organisations to join with us directly to ensure that their interests are fully represented. One community group is already doing invaluable work in supporting young people in the islands. I represent the Orkney youth cafe. Unfortunately, funding difficulties mean that, if not resolved by the autumn, the doors of the youth cafe could close. I ask the minister to ask his officials to engage directly with the board of the youth cafe to ensure that one of the legacies of the year of young people is not the closure of this vital facility. Although I have not been involved personally with that particular organisation, I am very happy to accede to the member's request to ensure that officials meet him and the board to see if there are any opportunities for a conversation that would be helpful. Thank you for saying that. Is the cabinet secretary aware that for community groups to deliver invaluable cultural benefits, support from qualified youth workers is needed, but evidence given by Unison Scotland to the local government communities committee last year stated that youth worker jobs have been substantially cut across Scotland. Does the minister agree with me that job losses and services will leave a negative legacy in communities who have suffered the brunt of these austerity cuts? Clearly, the contribution of youth workers is very important to a number of the programmes that we are mentioning. In some cases, those will be employees of local authorities, and I do not wish to repeat the points that I made earlier. However, the Scottish Government is always willing to work with all who seek to promote not just youth workers but also the people that they work with. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on organisations in the culture and tourism industries that discriminate on the basis of ethnicity operating in Scotland. The quality is at the heart of the Scottish Government's ambitions for a prosperous and fairer Scotland, and it is critical to how we meet the challenges and seize the opportunities that will allow us to thrive in the 21st century. We published the race equality action plan in December 2017, outlining more than 120 actions that we will take over the course of this Parliament to secure better outcomes for ethnic minorities in Scotland. Ivan McKee Thank you. The minister may be aware that Israeli airline Israel is commencing flights from Edinburgh to Tel Aviv shortly. Unfortunately, millions living in the area itself will be unable to board these flights in the Edinburgh airport solely on the basis of their ethnicity, as Palestinians living in the west bank are not allowed to fly through Ben Gurion airport, unlike Jewish Israelis living in settlements next door. Does the minister agree with me that such discrimination on the basis of ethnicity has no place in modern Scotland? The Scottish Government would clearly deplore and condemn any institution or business for that matter, which discriminated against its customers on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality. It is up to the UK Government to decide which airlines fly to the UK, but the Scottish Government's views about the rights of the people of Palestine are a matter of record, and the ones that are widely shared across this Parliament. The minister confirmed that the Scottish Government, through, for example, its enterprise agency or Visit Scotland, will not support financially or otherwise businesses or organisations that operate within a system of apartheid, such as Ivan McKee's outline. Visit Scotland does not have a relationship with the airline in question. As I understand, the flights in question are inbound charter flights weekly. They are not a service that is promoted directly to customers within Scotland. Visit Scotland, as I said, does not have an on-going relationship with it. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its talks with the EU following the First Minister's recent meeting with Michelle Barnier. The First Minister visited Brussels on 28 May for a series of engagements that included a meeting with Michelle Barnier. Michelle Barnier showed an openness to listen to the Scottish Government's views on the Brexit negotiations. The First Minister outlined key issues of concern for Scotland, including the need for urgent clarity on the future EU-UK relationship, and the strongly held Scottish Government position that Scotland and the UK as a whole should remain within the EU's single market and customs union. Would the minister agree with me that a no deal Brexit would be catastrophic for Scotland and its economy? Would he also share my concerns that the UK Government having allocated less than a day to debate and vote on all those amendments to the EU withdrawal bill? As the member clearly appreciates and many other members will appreciate, it is important to understand just how helplessly confused the UK Government's present position is. I noticed on my way here just watching Prime Minister's questions where the Prime Minister seemed more willing and able to give an account of the House of Lords versus House of Commons pigeon race, which is important, although I am sure that the cause represented there was. She was able to offer any explanation of how either the Lords or the Commons would reach a conclusion about the hurried bill in question. I also think that it is quite a situation for us all to have reached where we are debating some of the most dire consequences of a no deal Brexit, and we should all work together to ensure such a thing never happens. Thank you very much and that concludes our cultural tourism and external affairs questions. We turn now to questions for the justice and the law officers. We start with question number one from Julian Martin. To ask the Scottish Government when it last met the divisional commander for the north-east division of Police Scotland. I regularly meet the deputy chief constable of Police Scotland, Ian Livingstone, who has responsibility for operational policing across Scotland. I understand that DCC Livingstone met representatives from Aberdeenshire Council and Murray Council on 29 May to discuss a range of issues that are relevant to policing in the north-east of Scotland. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The north-east area can struggle to recruit people into public service as it has to compete with a relatively high-wage labour market and a housing market that is stubbornly expensive. Can the cabinet secretary outline what has been done to make policing an attractive career proposition, and can he point to any discussions that he has had with the divisional commander on specific training and professional development initiatives in the north-east division, and what has been done to enhance policing skills, particularly in a changing landscape where crime moves off the streets and goes online? There have been a number of challenges with recruitment in the north-east, which is due to the particular economic situation in that region. There has been concerted efforts made in the part of Police Scotland in order to enhance the recruitment approach. I am pleased to say to the member that that has resulted in Police Scotland confirming that there is a full complement being met in the north-east as a result of those actions. The member may also be interested to know that police officer pay for new recruits to Police Scotland is the highest in the UK. New recruits into Police Scotland receive a salary of over £24,000 a year, while in England and Wales new officers could currently receive just under £20,000 on starting. I understand that there are proposals to drop that further to £18,000 for apprentice police officers. Police Scotland's recruitment, training and development work is continuing, and that has been taken forward by the interim chief constable. I know that a new leadership and talent team in Police Scotland is currently taking forward a leadership strategy, and that will provide leadership development at all levels and will take forward new options for talent management and career development, including for those in the north-east of Scotland. In relation to the member's point about cybercrime and cyber capabilities, which are key priorities in the 2026 strategy, Police Scotland is committed to recruiting suitably cyber-skilled specialists to counter the threat of cybercrime, and a new cyber hub in Aberdeen has recently opened, where cyber officers and staff are co-located with appropriate technology and equipment that will bring their overall investment over the course of the five cyber hubs to some £5 million in order to help to ensure that they can address the increasing threat coming from cybercrime. In the north-east, anti-social behaviour has skyrocketed. It is up 41 per cent in Aberdeen, 34 per cent in the Shire and 20 per cent in Angus. Perhaps due to the issues that Gillian Martin highlights, the number of local divisional officers is falling. The number of special constables is near enough to have since the formation of Police Scotland, and the Crime and Justice Survey tells us that fewer people than ever are aware of a regular police patrol in their area. Does the cabinet secretary accept that there is a link between less visible policing and increased anti-social behaviour? As ever, the member tends to take a rather simplistic approach to those matters. He recognises that, in tackling anti-social behaviour, it is important that a range of different avenge agencies work in co-operation to deal with that. Police Scotland is an important element of that, alongside local authorities and other voluntary organisations and community-based organisations. It is important that the local authorities in the north-east of Scotland work in partnership with Police Scotland in addressing issues relating to anti-social behaviour. I hope that the member will be realistic and honest in the approach that he takes to that. He encourages local authorities in the north-east to make sure that they are working in a co-operation with Police Scotland to address those issues in an effective and responsible manner. Question 2 has not been lodged. Question 3, John Finnie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service ensures that the anonymity of rape complainers is protected during and subsequent to trial. So, Minister of General, Alison Derrolo. Thank you. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service is absolutely committed to supporting rape complainers in giving their evidence at trial. Section 92.3 of the Criminal Procedure Scotland Act 1995 enables the court to clear and close the courtroom during the evidence of the complainer in a rape or similar sexual offence case. Prosecutors routinely make this application to the court to support the complainer in giving her best evidence and to protect her identity. The decision to clear the courtroom is for the court, but represents an important and appropriate departure from the general principles of open justice and that criminal proceedings are held in public. At the same time, the established practice of the Scottish media is that the identities of those making sexual complaints will be protected. Guidance is provided to the media in the published independent press standards organisation editor's code of practice. John Finnie. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I thank the Solicitor General for that comprehensive and reassuring response. The Solicitor General will understand concerns that exist about victims of rape being identified online, particularly on social media, and the use of autocomplete functions by search engines such as Google can result in people who are searching for information on a case being presented with details of the complainer. Has the Crown Office, Procurator Fiscal Service, held any discussions with Google, Facebook, Twitter or any other such companies regarding the issue? Can the Solicitor General indicate if there has been any convictions as a result of a person's anonymity being breached? The internet and social media, in particular, undoubtedly present a set of challenges for the administration of justice and, indeed, all other aspects of civilised society in Scotland. So far as rape complainers and protection of their identity is concerned, COPFS would encourage any rape complainer to bring any matters of concern to the attention of the authorities. Certainly, for our part, the Crown would consider the facts and circumstances of both the individual case and the related posting or publication in order to decide whether any prosecutorial action was available and in the public interest. Fear of unwanted publicity is a natural and legitimate concern among rape complainers, and the views, interests and welfare of those complainers are at the heart of the work that we as prosecutors do in bringing sexual offenders to justice. Equally, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting the needs of witnesses to help to ensure that they can give their best evidence with the minimum anxiety about the process, including anxiety about anonymity not being protected throughout their lifetime. So it is a wider issue than simply the prosecution of crime. Cases will be examined to see whether individual criminal offences have been committed, but there is a bigger picture, a wider set of issues, and I am confident that the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, who would be responsible for wider legislation in this area, would be interested to hear and give careful consideration to evidence about particular concerns and the way that the system currently operates at present. To ask the Scottish Government when it will report on the consultation on its review of the regulation of legal services. The member will be aware that the review of the regulation of legal services is independent of the Scottish Government and is chaired by Esther Robertson. I am aware that the review under 2K called for evidence earlier this year and I understand that the chair intends to publish the consultation responses shortly. I expect the final report in the autumn. May I ask the minister to take careful cognisance of anything that is written in that report about the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and the ability of citizens to be able to take complaints about solicitors and cases further on appeal? At the moment, I have constituents who are finding themselves disenfranchised, as they do not have the ability to appeal anywhere other than the court of session, which of course is prohibitively expensive. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I should just, in light of that particular question, perhaps refer members to my entry in the register of interests, where they will find that I am a member of the Law Society of Scotland. I do hold your practicing certificate, albeit I am not currently practicing. What I would say to the member is that the independent review of the regulation of legal services is also considering how to improve the complaints process. I feel quite confident that we will see recommendations along those lines when the Esther Robertson presents her report. However, I can also say to the member that, in the meantime, the Scottish Government is working with the Law Society of Scotland and the SLCC to identify improvements that can be made in the shorter term. Those improvements will require secondary legislation, which we will bring forward to the Parliament after the summer recess. I remind those in the chamber of my entry in the register of interests as a practicing advocate. Following on from the question that has been put to the minister, does the minister agree with the current SLCC chair, Jim Martin, who commented that the current legal complaints system is simply not fit for purpose? Will the current system now be overhauled to protect consumers and provide proper regulation? I can say to the member that I have had several conversations with the SLCC and the Law Society of Scotland, and I think that it is fair to say that they do not always take the same view of those matters. However, as I have said to Linda Fabiani, the report that we have commissioned the review rather of the regulation of legal services that the Scottish Government has commissioned Esther Robertson to complete will report soon. As I say, we will reflect carefully on the recommendations that are put forward, and we will then engage in a wide discussion in which I would invite Mr Lindhurst to participate. 5. Kenneth Gibson Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government what the level of recorded crime was in 2006-07, and the last year for which figures are available. In 2006-07, there were 419,257 crimes recorded by the police. The latest year for which national statistics are available is 2016-17, when 238,651 crimes were recorded. That represents a 43 per cent decrease, which includes a 49 per cent fall in non-sexual crimes of violence. The national statistics for 2017-18 will be published in September this year. Kenneth Gibson I thank the cabinet secretary for that very positive answer. I am delighted that, thanks to the hard work of our police officers, the policies of the Scottish National Party Government and the fact that people are generally becoming more law-abiding, that crime has fallen so substantially making our streets and communities safer. Does the cabinet secretary agree, though, that there is no room for complacency and that a continued focus on reducing all crimes but specifically domestic violence in those of a sexual nature remains crucial? Cabinet secretary. I agree with the member that, although we should welcome the significant reductions that we have seen in crime, we can never be complacent and we need to maintain our focus on reducing levels further, including areas in relation to domestic violence and sexual crime. The Scottish Government has published its equal safety delivery strategy that sets out a range of actions that we are taking to tackle violence against women and girls. The member will also be aware that we took through the Domestic Abuse Scotland Bill, which introduced a new offence that criminalises a course of abusive behaviour towards a partner or ex-partner and, crucially, includes the issue of psychological abuse alongside that of physical harm. Alongside that sign, we have provided some £30 million between 2017 and 2020 to support a large range of projects to tackle domestic abuse and violence against women. On sexual crime, the Solicitor General and I have established an expert group to look at the prevention of sexual offending involving young people. The group will identify fresh actions that we can take in order to prevent harmful behaviours being conducted by young people and mitigate the effects that they have. Daniel Johnson Thank you, Presiding Officer. One concerning aspect in the most recent statistics on recorded crime was the continuing trend regarding falling detection rates. Detection rates in the capital continue to lag the rest of the country, just a third of crimes being detected compared to around a half for Scotland as a whole. In the context of the most recent plan that is submitted to the SPA board, given that local federation members have told me that police time is stretched more than ever in Edinburgh, does the minister agree with me that, if capacity is created, that should mean more officers on the street rather than fewer? Michael Matheson I recognise the concern that the member has raised. In the past couple of years, for example, in the Edinburgh area, there have been particular problems around housebreakings, which Police Scotland has taken action in relation to specialist operations being mounted in the capital in order to address those types of concerns where they have identified an on-going problem. No doubt local commanders through the executive team within Police Scotland will look at what further measures need to be taken here in the capital and in other parts of the country where there are particular localised issues around detection matters and particular types of crime. The member made reference to the issue about increasing operational capability, which is a key part of what Police Scotland and the SPA have set out with 2026. An important element of that is making sure that they increase their operational capability in supporting front-line policing, something that I support. At a time when the 2026 strategy was published, I believe, and I recall that it was welcomed by Opposition parties as well, what will be important is that Police Scotland and the SPA continue to drive that work forward as they take the implementation of 2026 forward. Liam McArthur I bear in mind what the cabinet secretary said about the welcome fall in the numbers of crime, particularly violent crime. Does he share my surprise and concern at Police Scotland's decision to take forward training of around 50 per cent of the police officers in Orkney in use of tasers for routine deployment? If the member will be aware that the reason that the special trained officers were introduced, some 520 of them helped to improve resilience around tackling issues relating to violent crime and crimes that involved a violent instance or a blade weapon in order to provide greater protection to police officers. We have only seen, in the course of last week, the risks that some of our police officers face. Of course, the member will also understand that those risks are equally shared in rural communities, where additional response times to support police officers can be longer than they can be in urban areas. Taser has been one of the tools that could assist in helping to provide greater protection to officers. I support the roll-out of the special trained officers across the country, including in our island communities, that will be used in a proportionate and inappropriate fashion to deal with incidents that do have elements of violence attacks to them and where there are bladed weapons. The special trained officers are being provided with specific training in how to use those devices as and when appropriate. I think that that is about enhancing police officers' safety overall, no matter what part of the country in which they operate. To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to amend the entitlement to access legal aid. Despite significant financial pressures, the legal aid system in Scotland is one of the leading jurisdictions in Europe in terms of scope, eligibility and expenditure per capita, with 70 per cent of our citizens eligible to some form of civil legal aid funding in almost all areas of life. As noted in Martin's Evans independence strategic review of legal aid, substantial cuts to legal aid entitlement in England and Wales have dramatically reduced the scope of legal aid available in family, social welfare, debt and housing law cases. The Scottish Government will not follow that approach. Our vision is that Scotland is a global leader in supporting citizens to defend the rights, resolve problems and settle disputes. Richard Lyle. I thank the minister for that answer and can I welcome what she has said today. Could I ask though what plans, if any, the Scottish Government has to review in particular support to those who face additional challenges, including from low-income backgrounds, in order to ensure that they can access the justice that we all rightly wish to see served? The legal aid system in Scotland is already one of the most generous in the world and around 75 per cent of those who apply for legal aid receive that at no cost. The recent independent review that I referred to in my first answer made recommendations that would ensure that the high degree of support continues and those proposals will certainly be a priority in our consideration of how best to proceed with reform of the legal aid system. 7. Pauline McNeill. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on recent changes to the terms and conditions of interpreters used by the Scottish Court Service. The Scottish Government has a framework agreement for interpreting, translation and transcription services that is used by Scottish public sector bodies, including the Scottish Court and Tribunal Service. There are two suppliers on the framework agreement. There has been no recent changes to the framework terms and conditions. The Scottish Government does not contract directly with individual interpreters. Any terms and conditions of employment are a matter between the interpreter and the contractor. Pauline McNeill. Is the cabinet secretary aware that a group of interpreters recently went on strike due to recent terms and conditions by global connections, where they removed their payment for travel time? Will the cabinet secretary not agree that there should be a public interest in this matter, since it is governed by his office? In the case where interpreters have their travel time not paid to them, they would be in effect earning less than the minimum wage. Will the cabinet secretary not concern to us if we had interpreters who all be employed on a self-employed basis, who are earning less than the minimum wage, working in our Scottish courts? Surely that deserves some scrutiny. As I mentioned, the Scottish Procurement is aware of the issue of one of its suppliers having recently changed their terms and conditions with the interpreters in relation to the allocation of work and the rates of travel and expenses that they provide to them. The fixed rates in the framework agreement that the Scottish Government has in place are inclusive of all early rates. Travel up to 70 miles, expenses and management fees. Suppliers are required to bid on the basis at the tender stage on the principle set out within the framework agreement. It was for the bidders in their tendering response to decide what fully inclusive fixed rates were appropriate to cover early travel rates, including travel up to 70 miles, expenses and management fees. However, the Scottish Government does not contract directly with interpreters, and it is for the contractors to agree rates of pay with their own staff. However, if the member wants to write to me with more details on the matter, given that it relates to the Scottish Court and Tribunal Service, I will ensure that the chief executive of the Scottish Court and Tribunal Service responds to the concerns that the member has raised. Thank you very much. That concludes portfolio questions. Thanks to ministers, justice officers, law officers and members.


This is Chris Pike. My friends call me Bigsy back in action today I'm an ideogram, and I got a quick tip for you guys If you're a youtuber a small youtuber or an upcoming youtuber and you don't have Photoshop or you don't have design skills I'm gonna show you how you can create images in particular YouTube thumbnails for free using AI and more importantly, it'll have the correct Wording or the correct text in it for example here I have a French Bulldog named Kingston and I came up with this weird whimsical Illustration of a French Bulldog reading a book and he's sitting in a chair like a total boss the total the next in is Spelled correctly and I did a few generations here. Let's take a look at another one here Not quite as good, but the wording here is correct and this one here This is kind of more photorealistic although the dog looked like it maybe peaked its head into a volcano The wording is correct again guys. This is completely free and this is why it's interesting It's also got this new thing called magic prompt that's in ideogram now before I go any further here If I click on settings, you'll see here that I've got up 23 of my 25 prompts So I can run this 25 for free So that gives you a hundred different images you can select from so it's pretty damn good all things considered So here we go. I'm on idiogram dot a I free to do let's come up with an idea for a YouTube thumbnail So what is this one? This is about I don't know. Let's say I've got a dog. Let's do another one of an English Bulldog named Kingston Was he not reading a book maybe he's playing Playing on the beach. Let's just go with something silly on the beach his name Kingston is on a sign something like that and before I hit generate look at this here You'll see here that I've got magic prompt This is allows you to create generations that bring in lots of other unique ideas that you may not have thought about like The last one I said, you know dog Kingston playing, you know reading a book, but it put him in an armchair It gave him, you know, like glasses and all sorts of weird things So I tend to leave this on auto But if you have a very specific prompt you can turn this off and if you want all of your shots to be with magic prompt So you just want to see hey program go crazy. Give me your best go for it So I'm gonna leave it on auto let also the ratio 16 to 9.  This is their latest model it launched yesterday I believe it is awesome And if you don't want anybody seeing your stuff you can go public to private anyways, there you go I'm you can add in some more things over here. I guess while I got you I can make it like an illustration style I could 3d render it here. Maybe I want it in a poster and I don't know. I'm just having some fun here I don't maybe one more thing. Let's go with vibrant. Okay, there you go So these have all been added in as additional styles on top of my prompt I'm going to click on generate keeping my magic prompt is auto And then I'm going to come back when it's done show you a few examples of what we got for youtube thumb All right, so that I took a few seconds here and this is the first batch of course I'm just going to click on this one here and there we go. We got a french bulldog. He looks a little sad I'm not going to lie. So maybe I would remix this but we've got our sign.  This could be an example of a, you know Of a thumbnail that I could use for youtube. Let's click on this one kigston english bulldog He'd even want a little further and it actually I don't know if it meant to say bulldog with the old spelling But there you go. You can see that here. This is another example Here's another example kinston. This one got it wrong. So two out of three Three out of four. Well that O is a little odd, but there you go guys This is just one example of what you can do now If you want to go ahead and make some changes you can click on these three dots or the ellipses And I can edit it. I can share this. I could download the image. I can remix it So if I don't like the fact that it has let's say a Illustration style I can take that out if I want to add to it and say, hey, you know, this is great But um, let's use a purple And yellow, I don't know color. Yeah, yeah, purple and yellow. Yeah purple and yellow color Prominent sure let's make him prominent sure whatever something like that, you know, just have some fun with it Maybe a palette would be a better way to pronounce it or describe it But whatever and if I wanted to make magic prompt on all of them for example, I can go ahead and do that Click generate it will regenerate them. It'll remix them Again, you'll see how fast this is already at 51 63 Done crazy. Look at that purple and yellow like I asked for there It did it Kingston spelled correctly. Although the N and G is a little bit close together And there you go. Click on it and maybe I like this one click the ellipses Download it done guys. That is that simple. I've created a youtube thumbnail And again, if I click on this here, you'll see I've got 21 prompts left, which means I've got 84 More images I can generate today for free. That's all there's to it guys. Thanks for watching


season long prop bet, you're going to give me your pick. Prop party, Dave, you're up first. All right, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, over or under 4,550 and a half regular season passing yards. He's an MVP quarterback, but he's not really a big yards guy. You look at his career high, it's 4,600 yards. That came 10 years ago, by the way. You know, the other make-a-quarter backs of the generation, Brady's 5,200, Peyton 5,400, Breeze 5,400, Big Ben 5,100. Here's a guy that's never been over 4,600. Yeah, we get an extra game this year, but his average 4,200, basically over his 11 seasons that he made it through the end of the year. I'm going under. All right, Ed coming to you next, over or under a six and a half regular season receiving touchdowns for first year Titan, Julio Jones. Big question here is who is Ryan Tannehill going to throw to? Yeah, I like AJ Brown a good bit, but Derek Henry is not going to be this constant red zone running back. Eventually, defenses are going to stack the box. And so Ryan Tannehill has got to score touchdowns through the air, not too many options, probably going to Julio Jones. Give me the over. Okay, Pony, your turn. Let's focus on a running back now. Take on Barclay. The Giants taking a long-term approach here to his return from injury. You go in over or under 1,125 and a half regular season rushing yards for Barclay this season. Oh man, get on the Pando Sportsbook now and bet that under. What a great bet that is. Only two guys went over that rushing total last year and I know it was only in a 16 game season. The take one Barclays missed a lot of time the last two years plus. Think about this, Lisa. How many times are the Giants actually going to be leading in the second half where they lean on Barclay? They got a terrible offensive line. They're going to throw it a ton. Take the under and we already know limited workload here in week one. Thank you, Pony.  Here's a fun one for you over under 900 and a half rushing yards for Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Well, this is a tricky question in a perfect world. I would usually say that Lamar Jackson, well, he would cut back on running the Rockwood since he's refined that passing game a little bit and we've seen the rushing yards dip over the last two seasons, albeit that he has been over a thousand yards. I just don't see him doing what he's going to look to do when it comes to reducing those. There's injuries, of course, J.K. Dobbins and Justice Hill and with Lady on Bell in the practice squad. I just see Lamar Jackson running the ball more of necessity. So I see him going over that 900 and a half yards this season. It would be interesting to see if he gets over that thousand mark, too.


Welcome to ToffeeTV it is the Everton News Daily sponsored by Unibet for more great transfer news head over to Unibet's blog where they've got some great writers with all the latest stories like we'll be covering today so if you want to head over there read their blog do so the link is in the description Everton have signed the fourth signing of the season it's Jean-Philippe Gababan from Mainz for an undisclosed fee around it's probably around 25 26 million pounds isn't it on a five-year contract he's a centre midfielder defensive centre midfielder who can play centre back and also play right back he's a Ivory Coast international he played in the African Nations and he's a good player apparently a very very good player the player will come in and obviously will be a replacement for a Drisagana guy who's obviously left up for Parasigian man he'll wear the number 25 shirt so that's all done and dusted you can go and get that on the home or the awake it if you want it and it's good news it's very very good news that we've gone in there and got a player straight away a player with versatility and someone who obviously will go into centre of midfield when he when he's when he's available of course because he has just returned from the African Nations so we might have to wait a few weeks into the season so we see him so we seem up to full speed but it's fantastic that they've got the business done straight away and we've gone and got on man which is really really good news me and Baz have done a video on him so go and check that out straight away if you want another sign and hopefully on the horizon is Moisey Ken he's due and no I said yes he was due for his medical today but he's due for his medical tomorrow and hopefully that signing will be concluded over the weekend there's no issues with it there's no problems with it it's just been a case of getting out all the paperwork signed off and he'll come in tomorrow and hopefully there is medical sign done and dusted and that'll be another one through the door before next Thursday's deadline ahead of next Saturday start of the Premier League so really really good news that it looks like we're going to get two players in and hopefully you know maybe the opportunity for another two or three before that deadline closes the manager saying he wants it he wants a centre back and I don't know if you're aware today but on social media certainly Twitter FreeZoomer has been trending Everton fans making their feelings known that they want Katoomer to come back to Everton permanently so that has been trending on Twitter today we'll have to wait and see whether Everton have any luck getting Katoomer whether Chelsea will change their stance whether they still feel like they need him or whether they're willing to cash in on him it's going to be a tough one obviously with them having that transfer ban so we'll wait and see I'm not holding my breath on that one but we'll we'll we'll wait and see what happens next week stranger things have happened them you know with Marcel Brands pulling the strings anything is possible so we'll wait and see on that one Nathan Broadhead he's gone on loan for the season to Baird and Albin he also signed a one-year extension to his contract so that's excellent news for him as well hopefully he'll go to Baird and get some first team football and we'll see what happens once the season's finished maybe they'll they'll have more of an idea you know what his future holds and obviously we've seen players go out on loan so far and we've seen players leave the club as well some of the younger players like Joe Williams did yesterday so Evan and I imagine over the next week we'll start to really tidy up the squad and try and get the likes of Mo Bessage out Niass out Kevin Morales out possibly Balasi but I suppose for some of those players they could go after our deadline closures with them the deadline for Europe not till the end of August so there's no rushes such for those players as long as they're leaving the country and maybe you'll find the likes of Balasi will go to go back to Anderlecht with Vincent company but that doesn't have to happen till the end of the month so we're waiting to see on that and maybe some of those young players will go out as well the likes of Morgan Feeney maybe could go out on loan we'll have to wait and see on that one anyway so there you have it this has been today's Everton news daily as player assigned which is always good news isn't it John Philippe Gabbaman I hope you like Gabbaman too there you go I'm delighted with it check out that video as I said me and Baz have done on it loads of stuff out there on our YouTube channel at the moment as well as our Patreon channel if you want to check that out please feel free the links are in the description don't forget to give this video a like and if you haven't already subscribed to the channel I'll see you later


My name's Fran Perrin. I'm the founder and director of the Indigo Trust. We're a grant-making foundation that supports civic technology projects in Sub-Saharan Africa. We've been lucky enough to fund my society over many years now and more recently we've funded partnership work between my society and civic tech projects across Sub-Saharan Africa. The exciting thing for Indigo was to see real local need and commitment and skill in many different African countries but a desire to work with international partners like my society who had the experience who tried these projects before. We wanted to fund both ends of the relationship to make it as equal as possible but to allow the best skills from both sides to come through and give it the best chance of success. I'm excited by the potential of these projects in countries where improvement in transparency can make a massive difference all the development outcomes. We at Indigo are quite a high risk funder. We like to look at early stage projects that have amazing potential but need time to prove that potential before they can graduate onto larger donors. So we concentrate on making small, fairly high risk grants to civic tech projects that could one day go on and have a massive impact. What I look for in civic technology at the moment is not necessarily the most cutting edge or fashionable technologies. It's use of civic tech really applied to local context. So some of our projects are going to be best on feature phones but aimed at communities who are already using that technology allowing them to access data in a particular way. We love open data projects but where it's getting data to an audience that will really use it. My hope for civic tech is that it helps us reach the last mile of communities and countries where access to information is really crucial to empowering people to change their own lives. I'm really excited as well about where civic tech can improve philanthropy itself. I want philanthropy and grant making to get better by using the technologies we're hearing about at TicTec. I wanted to come to TicTec because I think it's the best concentration of practitioners, academics, thinkers in this field that I've come across anywhere. It's only halfway through the first day and I've already been inspired, had my thoughts provoked and I can't wait for the rest of it.