Welcome, welcome to the trap. Alright man. J-O-N, you ready to get this started? Cause look, I gotta ring the bell and let another black mug in. It's always that time of the month. It's literally that time of the month. Now look, I don't have much commentary on the subject today. I'm gonna do a lot of listening. There you go. This is not my area of expertise at all. My man. Well, first of all, we have Melan and Demion Crump today in the trap. The owner's and creator of Jewel Pads. Give me some game. I don't know nothing about this. Well, a lot of people, man, they blown away when they find out a man is behind a female product like this. A very intimate female product. Absolutely, absolutely. But obviously, females have cycles every month. Women have cycles every month. So that's one of the things we wanted to get into in our entrepreneur endeavors. We wanted to get in a necessity field. You know, something that you didn't have to keep reselling over and over again. And we created a better mousetrap for women and young girls monthly that's on their cycles and that we're panty liners. Because our products contain a Nobel Prize winning material, our absorbency system. And we've had a lot of success because we demonstrate and we show people how good it is versus telling them. And that's been our secret sauce that's been putting us over the hump. Secret sauce? Yes, sir. Yes, sir, man. It's been a blessed business, man. Bad, man. How did this come about? Well, actually, some guys called me to come to Tampa. You know, I'm always looking for new ideas, investments. And they called me and they said, man, you need to come see this. The best thing they could have done, they never told me what it was. So I'm glad they did it because I wouldn't have went. They did it and told me, Santa Terranapolis, man, come on, I'm going to hang up the phone. And they said, just trust me, come see this. So I went down to Tampa, Florida and when they pulled out the pad, I was about to get up and walk out. Because obviously I got a wife and three daughters, so I'm familiar with Santa Terranapolis. And some say, stay here and watch. They did the demonstration, blew me away. I said, we just changed the world for women. When I saw that demo of the product, we took it and we never looked back ever since, man. We took things to the next level with it. You've never been lost for words, man. I've been watching your children. This is education for me. Yeah, man. So it's been really, really good with it. I never expected this. Yeah. This is crazy. It's surprising because a lot of people don't realize that, first of all, women are your biggest consumers. That's number one. And when you have a product, a necessity product that's catered to women, you got a grand slam and especially something that helps keep them comfortable and dry during that time of month. And actually even my mother, for example, my mother is 81 years old, but she wear our panty liners every day. See, these are things that they do. And this has been a truly corporate dominated space.  I mean, literally they make billions of dollars off of Santa Terranapolis and panty liners.  Right. So right now we are the only 100% African-American-owned Santa Terran African and panty liners in the world right now. Yeah, in the world, man. Hey, what's up? It's Carlos Miller here. Are you in the mood for some pizza, maybe a juicy chicken sandwich or some street tacos from your favorite local restaurant? Well, whatever you're in the mood for, DoorDash has your cover. DashPass is a membership that offers unlimited $0 delivery fees from thousands of restaurants, grocery stores, and even the convenience store. With your membership, you can save on average $4 to $5 on each order you place for delivery or pickup. If you're ready to save some money on your DoorDash orders, use promo code BLACKMARKET for 50% off your first order of over $12 or more to sign up for DashPass. That's 50% off your first DashPass order. Up to $20 value, use promo code BLACKMARKET. Say goodbye to delivery fees. Get DashPass from DoorDash today using promo code BLACKMARKET. When you've got zero delivery fees, you're free to get more because you can. Start your free month trial today. In the world right now, man. So we kind of carved out our space in it. What's the difference? The difference is we have a Nobel Prize winning material called Graphene. The two gentlemen that discovered Graphene in 2004, they won the Nobel Prize for it in 2010. So people thought we were losing our mind. Like, dude, you're putting a Nobel Prize winning material in something women are going to discard and get rid of, but they underestimated the lives of these women out there, man, because a lot of our wives, our daughters, our granddaughters, we don't realize what they go through monthly. For example, as a man, if I be transparent, my wife handled all that. I didn't know nothing about what she went through, my daughters went through.  And it wasn't until I got educated, when I started going all around the country, all around the world, I've been a unique Jamaica Trinidad. I'm talking about in terms of doing what we call focus groups. And I started understanding with these women and these young girls going through, it was bringing tears to my eyes.  For example, in the United States alone, man, we have 600,000 hysterectomies that are done every year on average, the majority of them black women. Because now doctors can't figure out why they cramped so bad and different things that they do, so they're literally just yanking these kids and these children wounds out. They can't have kids, but it's all because of the chemicalization of these tampons and sanitary napkins that they have on the shelves. After we've done our research and doctors have educated us. So now for us, man, we are God sent for a lot of women. I mean, the testimonies, the business that we're getting is mind-blowing. On now, we've changed the game for them because now they do have a better solution and they don't have to go through the solid suffering that they deal with on a monthly basis, man. What's this box you got right here? That's right there. It's just a sample box of our product, meaning that in terms of how it looks, it has our branding and our logo on it.   He said no. No, let me show you. And this is our packaging. We got to show the packaging now. We got to show the packaging now. And that's another thing, too. We wanted to make sure we did a first-class job and stand out in terms of our look. I mean, this is beautiful. As they know we have. This is real nice. You know, so we have our, you know, that's our best seller you're holding. That's the top seller right there. The moderate flow. It's called our moderate flow. That's what I got. It's our panty liners without wings. No, this is for keeping the real moderate in light. You feel me? Heavy flow. And the women call these the Wakandas. This is our overnight. Big, long, yeah. No, no, no. That's for the 350s. Yeah, that's the, that right there is a pad that really does wear. Yeah, man. This is crazy. So we bless with our success as a company. We just opened up a brand new 14,000 square foot headquarters in McDonald's. George on the south side. Yeah, man. We've, we launched the company June 1st, 2019 and on a $6 product, we've done over $7 million in revenue, man. That was something. So we bless, brother. Yes, sir, man. We bless with it, man. Say that. What's up, man? What you doing? You know, just here. Just here. Learning to. You here to support your dad? Yes. Yes, I am. That's what's up. That's the president of logistics, man. She get everybody, their product, all the women, because currently right now we've serviced over 500,000 women so far in the United States. Let me get my shark tank on.  Biggest customer? I'm glad you asked. Yes. You won't believe it. I will. You ready? I will. Yes. The Amish. 65% of our revenue come from the Amish. Yes, we've been up there. How did you all make the connection? Well, there's actually an African brother. And that's another thing. That's another fun fact. We have more men ambassadors of his product than we do women. So an African man, his wife used the product up in Centerville, Michigan. They had some Amish connections with some of the influential people in the Amish community. They went, gave them samples of the product. The women used it, came back, figured, hey, we need to get your CEO, the guy up here they brought me up there.  Did the demonstration, shared the vision. Man blew up like wildfire. And they have just, they purchased, I'm talking about, they purchased 25,000 packs. 10,000 packs.  But the majority of our revenue comes from Amish. 65% currently right now. Now we've been up there four times. We just got back from, well last month, we were in Ship Shawana, Indiana. Never heard of that. Yeah. On the horse and buggy, everything man. They came and got you on. What's up y'all? How you doing? I'm just playing as Carlos Miller here. There are a lot of things to stress about in the world, but figuring out what the cook shouldn't be one of them. Take the stress at a meal time with a meal kit from our sponsor. Hello Fresh. Hello Fresh makes cooking so easy that everything you need to prepare a meal is right there in the box. I'm serious. Go look. They aren't America's number one meal kit for no reason. Hello Fresh offers 50 menu and market items to choose from every week, including vegetarian, calorie smart, and gourmet options. Provided plenty of varieties. Look, I tried the crispy Cajun chicken sandwich with these potato wedges. I'm telling you, it's better than fast food. We have a special promo code for our listeners. Go to hellofresh.com slash blackmarket14 and use the code blackmarket14 so you can get up to 14 free meals and three free gifts. I'm putting you on game right now. On the horse and buggy. No, we flew in. We drove to them. But while we were there, we rode the horse and buggy, ate with them, visited our land. You know, they good at furniture and craftsmen, did all of that. Actually, we got a big event here in October. We got the, we had the porch building by the airport, the North American headquarters. We rented it out for two nights. They're all coming in. You bring in all the Amish people. Not all of them. Some of them are coming. Oh, you mean it's okay. Some of them are coming in for an event we having at the porch. You made it sound like they were, I think they're probably all coming. No, no, no. Not all of them. Probably. It's only about 10 of them coming. We have 700 people coming in, but it's only about 10 that's coming. Oh. What was it like over there in the Amish community? It was amazing, man. We were... Relaxing. Yeah, sitting down. That's what I actually said. It's a different world because they don't deal with technology. They own a lot of land. They're into farming and they're into furniture. That's like two of their key things that they do, just learning about their history, sitting down with them. And keep in mind, we black. So, you know, now... Keep in mind. Yeah. Like Africa. Yeah. So, we there as blacks with these people and just sitting with them, and I'm really... I'm blowing away how they have accepted us and the fact that they don't have a problem that a black family owns this product and this company and they are pushing it the way that they are is mind-blowing to us. But it shows the favor, man, that we have on our lives. We bless with it. That's what's up, man. Well, where can they find the product online? Well, they can actually go to rain, R-E-I-G-N, rainpads, ads.com, go to rainpads.com, and you can go right there. And actually, if you live in Atlanta area, you can click pick up and you can literally come out of headquarters and pick it up. Or if not, then we can obviously mail it to your front door. But we have a lot of people that swing by the corporate headquarters and pick their products that live in the area. Well, I guess it only makes sense for me to ask this lady why the ladies should switch to this product. What would you tell them? It makes a huge difference. You're talking to them. I ain't even listening. I'm over here with you, Dan. Man, tell them. It makes a huge difference because a lot of the products that sold in the stores, it does contain harmful chemicals. And once you transition to our pads, you get to see and feel the difference. Your period is not as longer and it isn't as harsh. The cramping, your mood swings, literally I went from seven days to three. So literally in and out, no pain.  Exactly. Just in case I meet the right one. Yes. So you definitely feel a difference when you use rain pads. How do women feel about their men showing up with pads and shit? They love it. They love it. You'll be blown away how women, when you're getting in front of the room and we're doing, like I said, we do focus groups. A lot of times I'm doing the presentation. Okay. So literally, like at our corporate office, we have a conference center in there with chairs where people come in and we educate them about what my daughter was talking about during the demonstration and women are blown away because they're feeling like, okay, wow, finally, men are sensitive to this arena. Because remember, we wasn't dealing with it. We didn't, we wasn't paying attention to it. I didn't know. I knew they wanted us to deal with it. Me neither, man. Had I known that they wanted us to show up with the necessities. Yeah. And they love it, man. And they love themselves a lot of trouble, probably. They love it. The fact that they feel like we care now and it's something that we're concerned about. And then you're educating us because my dad was the one to tell me that the product that I'm using is actually cards and more harm. That's a good day. That's the part they ain't going to say nothing about. I've been looking out for you, baby girl, man. Absolutely, man. Stomping it up on the gold mine. What were you doing before this? Actually, we've been entrepreneurs since I got out of the Navy in 94. Okay. So I'm from New Orleans. I had a mobile detailing service. I flipped houses. I promoted concerts. Man, UNESCO, Rolex watches. You did. Yeah. I was lending off good times, man. Open my jacket. I do it. Yeah, I got it. I got plenty. I got it. Right, man. So that's who I was. And Hurricane Katrina brought us here. Yeah. So I came here with my wife and my four kids. I got a son as well with two days worth of clothes. And my thing was, I wasn't looking for a job. I was looking for the business. So I wanted to know what the movers and shakers was, started networking, going to events, just making my bones here, man. And I'm always looking for that next idea and found this. And this is obviously the best business I've ever been in in my life. Yeah. Well, I wish you mother's success. And whatever y'all want to see from the black market over there in 85 South, you got it, man. Man, thank you for having us, brother. Thank you again, man. Appreciate you, man. Thank you, brother. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hey, man, you got to ring the bell. Let them turn the black market and open. Excellent spotlight, man. The black market. We right here. We out of here. 85 South.


Texas over eight and a half wins cash it or trash it I'm gonna say trash it I'll believe it when I see it and I'm a fan but right now we don't even know who their quarterback is who is it Hudson card or Quinn Ewers they've recruited well but they're untested in key spots I think they'll lean on their running game but their schedules tough Alabama early Baylor late possible L Oklahoma always sneaky tough Iowa State I think they're an eight-win team and no more Stark will be fine but let's not go crazy here


The first item of business is portfolio questions, and the first portfolio is Covid-19 recovery and parliamentary business. If a member wishes to request a supplementary question, they should press their request-to-speak button during the relevant question or press R in the chat function. To ask the Scottish Government when it will provide an update to Parliament on when it plans to bring forward legislation to incorporate human rights treaties. On the ambitious recommendations from the national task force for human rights leadership, the Scottish Government has committed to introducing a world-leading human rights bill during this parliamentary session, and we are on track to do that. The programme for government set out that we would be consulting on the bill in the coming year. That consultation and indeed the bill itself has been developed collaboratively with a wide range of partners and stakeholders from across Scotland. We will continue to provide updates to the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee on bill progress and timings. I look forward to hearing what I hope will be a comprehensive update on the progress of the UNCRC bill next Tuesday in the Cabinet Secretary's statement. Can the Deputy First Minister set out when he expects to introduce specifically legislation on the four human rights treaties that are committed to incorporating into Scots law, including the UNCRPD and UNCDOL? Can he confirm whether he will seek appropriate legal advice and work with the UK Government to ensure that future legislation is within devolved competence? In relation to the points from legislative competence, it is the obligation of ministers to ensure that that is the case and to present bills accordingly with the certificates that make that point. In relation to the incorporation of other treaties, as I indicated in my earlier answer, the Government is under way with this work. There will be consultation in the coming year and, of course, we will keep Parliament updated on specific timings and, of course, as we set out legislative programmes on a year-by-year basis during the parliamentary announcements, further details will become clear to members of Parliament. There is frustration about the lack of progress on the incorporation of the UNCRC, and I know that there will be a statement next week. Can the minister tell us that this will be the end of the process rather than another consultation or review group or process? We need to get this sorted quickly, so can the minister guarantee that? What I would assure Mr Rennie about is that, although we have been addressing the issues in connection with the specific points raised by the Supreme Court, which will be the subject of my statement to Parliament on Tuesday, we have also been undertaking the preparatory work to implement the elements of the bill that are uncontested in terms of the Supreme Court judgment. That work is under way, and my statement will obviously update Parliament on where we have reached in our consideration of the Supreme Court judgment. The Scottish Human Rights Commission has expressed concern over UK Government plans to run forward legislation to replace the human rights act with a new bill of rights. Can the Deputy First Minister confirm whether proposed reforms could take place without unsettling current devolution arrangements and what actions the Scottish Government will take to oppose any regressive proposals? At this stage, I am unable to give Stephanie Cullen the reassurance that she understandably and rightly seeks. The human rights act of 1998 is embedded in the legislation that led to the establishment of this Parliament. The powers of this Parliament and the way they are exercised is inextricably linked to the provisions of the human rights act. The fact that the UK Government is now going to essentially replace that legislation raises all sorts of issues about the consideration and handling of human rights issues, but it also raises the danger that the devolution settlement upon which this Parliament is founded may be destabilised as a consequence of that legislation. We do not know yet the answer to that question. We know that there is new human rights legislation emerging. Once the bill is published, we will scrutinise its content very carefully in order to assess its full impact. We will update Parliament, and I can assure Stephanie Cullen that the Scottish Government will resist any attempt to, in any shape or form, diminish the human rights that were entrenched in the human rights act of 1998, which led to the foundation of this Parliament. Before I call question number two, I understand Mr Whittle would wish in advance to apologise to the chamber, as he has advised he will need to leave the chamber immediately after he has asked his question. Question number two, Brian Whittle. To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to improving data collection and data management across government as part of the development of policies relating to the recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government is committed to improving data gathering and management to produce high quality and impactful research supporting our recovery from the pandemic. That includes the data and intelligence network, a community of data experts promoting best practice on the sharing and use of data in response to the pandemic. The network has produced a range of resources including a data catalogue and work to improve data set quality. Research Data Scotland provides a way of systematically organising Scotland's data and offering researchers a quicker and clearer access to data. It developed the Covid-19 database for quick data set linkage, now holding 36 data sets and supporting 68 Covid-19 related studies. The business support partnership programme, data and analytics work stream is also seeking to improve data set linkage abilities to gain a more holistic view of business support offered during the pandemic. Brian Whittle. Sorry, Deputy Minister. I should have obviously acceded to the fact that I do have to leave straight after my question about the constituency case. I thank the cabinet secretary for that answer. The cabinet secretary will appreciate that throughout the pandemic having easy access to reliable data on everything from Covid cases to details of businesses eligible for support has proven vital to protecting the public and allowing our response to the virus to be targeted as possible. As we look to recover from the pandemic and build greater resilience against future challenges, does the cabinet secretary agree that improving how the Scottish Government gathers, stores and uses data could bring significant benefits in every policy area from future NHS workforce planning to health outcomes to hitting educational attainment targets? If he does agree with those steps, what steps is the Scottish Government doing to address the shortfall? The issue of data management is central to every aspect of government policy and government actions. It helps us to identify the most effective targeting of support to assist individuals who may face difficulties during the cost of living crisis, for example. It helps us to manage the implications of Covid in the national health service and a whole variety of other elements. The programmes that I have set out through the data intelligence network are designed to ensure that we are constantly reviewing that approach to data management and data handling to ensure that we achieve all of our objectives in this respect and that we can effectively deliver government policy. What we have learnt from the Covid pandemic is that we need to have in place systems that can readily deal with the distribution of resources to a wide range of recipients, whether they are individuals or businesses. That had to be developed at pace during the pandemic, but we are obviously looking to entrench those approaches to ensure that we can be equipped for any eventuality in the future. That is material to the coronavirus recovery and reform bill, with which Mr Whittle is familiar. 3. Greg Hoy To ask the Scottish Government what cross-government discussions regarding the remaining Covid-19 hospital restrictions have taken place as part of its Covid recovery strategy. As Covid-19 infection prevention and control guidance is confined to healthcare settings, there are limited cross-government discussions outside of health directorates regarding Covid-19 mitigations. Development of Scotland hospital Covid-19 guidance is done in conjunction with NSS anti-microbial resistance and infection prevention and control, and supported by the independent expert group Covid-19 nosocomial review group. The Scottish Government continues to work in partnership with NSS and relevant policy teams in reviewing and updating Covid-19 hospital guidance in light of emerging scientific and world health organisation advice. I thank Mr Swinney for that answer, but on-going Covid restrictions in Scotland's NHS are causing avoidable harm to patients and a restricting patient flow, which results in on-going pressure on waiting times. Does the Deputy First Minister agree with me that appropriate hospital visits play an important role in the patient's treatment and recovery? As part of his Covid recovery strategy, will he commit to working closely with ministerial colleagues and officials to ensure that normal processes and procedures are resumed and maintained in hospitals wherever this is clinically safe and possible? I agree with the last part of Mr Hoy's question that hospital visiting, when it is clinically safe to do so, is absolutely essential, but I rather part company with the start of his question because it rather suggested that that is not the approach that we should take, because all of what the Government is doing is founded in clinical analysis in relation to hospital visiting. I think that we have to be very careful. We are all familiar with the issues of the nosocomial transmission of Covid. We have to be very careful to ensure that we are taking the right clinically advised steps in relation to hospital visiting so that we can protect the population that is in hospital and those who are visiting for legitimate purposes. We will take an approach that is driven by clinical analysis and clinical advice, and it must be, as a consequence of that, we must make sure that it is safe for individuals to be visiting in such a context. Question number four was not lodged. Question number five, Paul MacLennan. To ask the Scottish Government what role a Covid-19 booster vaccination programme this winter will play in its Covid recovery strategy? Vaccination remains a critical component in our response to Covid-19. Since its beginning, the Scottish Government's Covid-19 vaccination programme has been guided by the expert advice provided by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and Senior Clinicians. JCV advised in February this year that an autumn-winter booster programme for 2022 is likely to be recommended for those at higher risk of severe Covid-19, such as those of older age and in clinical risk groups. The JCVI will continue its on-going review, and the Scottish Government understands that the committee is likely to make a further announcement with more precise details of timing and eligibility for the anticipated autumn-winter programme in the coming weeks. We stand ready to consider any further guidance on the JCVI as it is issued. I ask what consultations have taken place with local authorities and health boards in regard to possible vaccination venues this winter. There is an on-going dialogue with local authorities and health boards about the delivery of the vaccination programme, particularly in relation to the issues of convenience and locality for individual areas. That is a complex exercise, and the vaccination programme has led to the distribution of, in excess of, 10 million vaccinations in a relatively short space and time. The programme, when it operates at a population-wide scale, opens up different opportunities around locations than if it is a more limited vaccination programme for older people and for the clinically vulnerable. Of course, if the programme is targeted on those groups, the issues of access and locality are ever more significant. I assure Mr MacLennan that those questions will be considered very carefully with local authorities and health boards as we apply the JCVI advice. A constituent caught Covid in February this year, and now three months later she has it again. She is completely vaccinated. It was bad before, but this time it has floored her. Given that Omicron variants BA4 and BA5 waves are on their way, I am pleased that the cabinet secretary is indicating an extension of the booster programme. Could I encourage him to look at this particularly for those aged 50 and over, including those with underlying health conditions, like diabetes or asthma? Will he urge the JCVI to move quickly, given that both those new strains are thought to be very contagious and there is a level of vaccine escape?  I am sorry that Jackie Baillie's constituent has had the experience that she has had. I think that Jackie Baillie will be familiar with the fact that the Government follows and has followed to date. As have other Administrations in the United Kingdom, the advice of the JCVI. We have made clear to the JCVI at different stages our enthusiasm for elements of the vaccination programme to be undertaken and for that to be undertaken perhaps at faster speed than ordinarily might have been the case. I will certainly discuss the issues that she has raised with me with the health secretary, who leads on dialogue with the JCVI in that respect. Fundamentally, Jackie Baillie will understand that the JCVI operates independently of Government and provides high-quality clinical advice to Government. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what modelling it has undertaken to estimate the impact on its Covid recovery strategy of removing population-wide testing and contact tracing at the end of April. The decision to make these changes to our testing policy was informed by the latest available evidence and advice from Public Health officials and clinicians. That included modelling the epidemiological impact of the changes in testing policy. The Scottish Government continues to model the latest Covid-19 trends and the results are published online in the modelling the epidemic report. Alongside our evolving response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government's Covid recovery strategy will continue to focus effort and resources on bringing about a fairer future, particularly for those most impacted during the pandemic. Can I thank the Deputy First Minister for that answer and ask, given the challenge of new variants most recently identified in Portugal and South Africa, what risk assessment the Scottish Government has done on the impact of ending routine testing, given the on-going health issues raised by Jackie Baillie as well as long Covid, and does the Deputy First Minister agree that without a commitment to free vaccines in low-income countries and across the globe, we are not safe until everyone is safe? I agree entirely with the latter part of Sarah Boyack's question and indeed over the course of the vaccination programme, the Scottish Government has supported practically and in terms of the pressure that we have applied to achieve exactly the objective that Sarah Boyack has set out. As I indicated in my earlier answer, the change to testing policy was included in the modelling of the pandemic. We are continuing to monitor levels of Covid within our society. There are various modelling exercises undertaken in that respect around wastewater, for example, which is showing the declining prevalence of the virus and hospital admissions and cases. In relation to new strains and variants, we will continue to engage with the international clinical community on the research that is emerging in that respect, and we will be able to reflect that in the choices and decisions that we make. To ask the Scottish Government for what reason a number of written parliamentary questions have not received an answer by ministers within the required time scale. The Scottish Government is committed to answering all parliamentary questions as quickly as possible within the deadlines agreed with the Parliament. In the first quarter of 2022, the Government answered 90 per cent of written parliamentary questions on time, exceeding the Parliament's own 80 per cent benchmark. The Government produces quarterly statistics available for the Scottish Parliament Information Centre, which show how many parliamentary questions were cleared after the substantive date and those still outstanding at the time of audit. I thank the minister for that answer, but I think that the number of rise smiles around the chamber probably points to the fact that things are somewhat awry from the picture that he paints. Indeed, there is a growing problem, and it is not just Opposition members, but I have also had this conversation with SNP Bank Bench as well, that there is a problem both with the timeliness but also the quality of answers. I have had three answers that have taken over four months from the cabinet secretary. It is not just timeliness but also the quality. I had an answer from the cabinet secretary for education, which was simply a hyperlink to myjobscotland.gov.uk. Answers that just refer me to Spice, as good as their work is, I know where they are, I can ask them myself. Also, answers that are just links to previous answers, regardless of the rate, sum up to six months old. I want to know the answers from the Government today. Ultimately, it is not just me or other members that the Government is setting down, it is my constituents, because I am asking questions on their behalf. Can I ask the minister to reflect on that? Ultimately, the answers that are given should be considered to be answers to the whole Parliament. If ministers are not happy to answer questions in the way that they do written in the chamber, they should not be submitting them as written answers either. Will the Government undertake to improve matters both in times of time but also, importantly, quality of written parliamentary answers? In regards of time, we are, as I repeat again, 90 per cent in the first quarter were replied in time. However, there are many factors that the member should take into effect with the impact on the time that it takes to provide substantive answers to written PQs, resourcing pressures for the Government's need to prioritise activities, for example, by a response to the pandemic. However, delays can also be caused through difficulty and the interpretation of the questions or by taking steps to ensure that answers are properly researched, accurate and above all open and helpful to members. As always, I will try to be as open and helpful to all members of the chamber at any time. At any time, if the member wishes to have a chat or discussion about any of the issues, my door will always remain open for Mr Johnson and others. Something that interests Stephen Kerr? With no hint of irony at all. With any form of majority government, if anything, it is more important than ever that the strongest standards in transparency and scrutiny are upheld. Just this week, we heard of the abysmal adherence to the freedom of information laws from the SNP Government, with shady interventions from ministerial advisers going undocumented. Written questions are treated with similar disdain by the Scottish Government, often not addressing the question or simply stating that they have already been answered when they haven't. With the Scottish Government in the news for its secretive handling of the ferry's fiasco, should Scottish ministers not be doing far more to earn the public's trust? I think that Mr Kerr will understand that we had a public opinion poll only two weeks ago, and the public trust was with the SNP. Once again, we have Mr Kerr's hyperbole when it comes to his interpretation of what is published out there. I think that we need to be very careful when we are discussing those matters, because Mr Kerr seems to just think that he can say what he likes, when he likes and just shout about absolutely anything and he is correct. His interpretation is not the same as everyone else in this room, so he needs to have a wee thought to himself about how he conducts himself in future. That concludes portfolio questions on Covid-19 recovery and government business. We will now move on to the next portfolio. We will move on to the next item of business now, please, so that everybody is in place. Question 1 on the portfolio net zero energy and transport will be Gordon MacDonald. I would remind all members who wish to ask a supplementary question to please press the request to speak buttons during the relevant question, or to enter the letter R in the chat function. To ask the Scottish Government what measures are available to stakeholders seeking to manage invasive species and mitigate their impact. Invasive non-native species are a key driver of biodiversity loss. It is estimated that they cost the Scottish economy around £300 million annually. The management of INS is fundamental to our efforts in tackling biodiversity loss. The Scottish Government provides funding streams to stakeholders seeking to manage non-native invasive species. Funding has been available, for example, through the forestry grant scheme, the biodiversity challenge fund and, through NatureScot, direct funding for projects of strategic national importance, such as the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative. The new nature restoration fund also includes management and eradication of INS in its objectives. Gordon MacDonald. I thank the minister for that answer. A survey found that there are an American mink present in the Pentland Hills regional park in my constituency and that their presence can have an absolutely devastating impact on native mammals and ground nesting birds. Does the minister share my view that there is a pressing need to keep the impact of invasive species on Scotland's ecosystems to an absolute minimum and that steps should be taken to ensure that they do not undermine work to restore and enhance biodiversity? I share my view. That is why we are providing support to projects such as the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative, which is tackling both invasive plants and mink along rivers in an area of 29,500 square kilometres in northern Scotland, and more than a third of Scotland's total area. In the past four years, more than £1.5 million has been invested via the Scottish Rural Development programme to tackle rhododendron, which threatens our precious Atlantic rainforest. However, we recognise that there is always more that can be done. There are a number of supplementaries. I take the first one from Maurice Golden. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Beaver activity can and is having a negative impact on farmland, biodiversity and rural communities, especially in Tayside, where they were released either accidentally or illegally. The Scottish Government's new translocation scheme aims to help, but it still lacks details, so can the minister provide answers to the following questions? When will the new rules launch? How many trappers have been trained? How many translocation sites have been identified? How long will the scheme be funded? I thank the member very much for that question. I am really excited about our Beaver translocation initiative. It is an excellent way of managing where there are conflicts between beavers and other land users. Although I disagree with the member about biodiversity loss, beavers are excellent at improving biodiversity by creating natural wetlands. They are a reintroduced species. When my father grew up here, there were no beavers and they were extinct, so that is a success in Scotland. We are going to publish a new beaver strategy. I believe that that is to be published in June, and I very much expect that that member's answers will be in that strategy. What measures are available to the Scottish Government to ensure that invasive species are not being brought into Scotland through international airports? I thank the member very much for that question. Of course, that is a very live issue for us, given the issues around Brexit and the now delay of 18 more months on the checks at the border checks. That is a particular concern to my plant health colleagues. We are very concerned about biosecurity, and I am happy to write to the member in more detail about that. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on using Scottish Waters Reserves to fund a £100 rebate for customers. It is vitally important that Scottish Water continue to invest in infrastructure to provide a high-quality service to the people of Scotland. Revenue raised from customer charges is essential to deliver Scottish Waters investment programme. Scottish Waters cash balance is not a surplus of funds. It is substantially allocated at any time to investment projects on a rolling basis. The average water charges in Scotland is already lower than that of the average in England and Wales. Also from 1 April 2021, we increased the maximum discount available from the water charges reduction scheme, which is available to customers in full and receipt of full council tax reduction to 35 per cent, up from 25 per cent. That enhanced scheme is providing support to over 470,000 customers. I am grateful to the cabinet secretary for that response, but at a time when Scots are experiencing the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, Scottish Water is sitting on at least £500 million of reserves, and its senior executives are getting eye-watering bonuses—not salaries, but bonuses—of £92,000, three times the average wage. Does the cabinet secretary believe that that is right? Will he now roll out further rises of RPI plus 2 per cent for next year, given that inflation is expected to be at least 10 per cent? As I mentioned, cash reserves that Scottish Water hold are not a surplus of funds. They are cash reserves that are there for identified projects that have to be delivered. They have to then hold working cash balance, which is allocated as those investments roll out, and it must hold that within it. That is exactly what that funding is helpful for. That will go up and down during the course of the year and over different years. It is important that the member understands how the budgeting process operates, which he clearly does not give her a question. The member will recognise that, by extending the council tax support scheme that we provide for Scottish Water charges, it means that, because we have extended it to 35 per cent, it means that those households that are in receipt of full council tax reduction discounts pay less in this year's water rates than it did back in 2021. The member will recognise that targeting support during the cost of living crisis to those households who have the lowest income is a key priority. That is exactly what the scheme does. It supports those households who have the lowest income to assist them with their water charges. Actually, this year, it reduces their water charges. On a very rough calculation, the chief executive officer and managers of this publicly funded company cost around £1.5 million, as well as the bonuses that Jackie Baillie talked about. Has the cabinet secretary reviewed whether such spend provides value to the public purse and considered whether such public funds could be used to reduce bills? As the member will recognise, the board of Scottish Water is responsible for the rumination package of its staff, including its chief executive. When it comes to value for money, we just have to look at the base salary packages for some of the water organisations in England, where they go up to almost, in some cases, almost £1 million. Clearly, the level that Scottish Water's chief executive has paid at is considerably lower for a comparable-sized organisation in other parts of the UK, but it is important that we make sure that we are using public money efficiently. I am sure that the member will recognise that Scottish Water has now been voted by its customers as one of the most efficient and effective public utilities in the UK, given the progress that it has made in its investment, recognising the significant progress that it has made. The important thing is that the money in Scottish Water that it makes stays in Scottish Water, unlike the privatised systems that the Tories operate in. To ask the Scottish Government how it will respond to the UK Government's consultation launched on 9 May regarding the proposed expansion of its warm home discount scheme. Minister Patrick Harvie. The warm home discount is a GB scheme, providing an annual £140 rebate to around 210,000 vulnerable Scottish households. Last year, we proposed an expanded replacement scheme, but this, sadly, was not agreed by the UK Government. The UK's new consultation proposes to continue the current scheme separately in Scotland with just a £10 increase. We will, of course, be urging the UK Government to listen to Scottish stakeholders and to do much more to protect the most vulnerable households. Is my understanding that the uplift would mean that rebates are provided to an additional 50,000 families in Scotland on top of the 230,000 already receiving rebate payments? I ask the minister to confirm that he is not in any way going to disrupt the additional payments, which could be very considerably important to families across Scotland, including in mid Scotland in Fife. Minister. Well, Liz Smith is correct about that figure of 50,000 more households. I think that it is worth putting that in context, of course, because the price cap rise last autumn created 50,000 more fuel-poor households. Then it rose again in April, pushing 140,000 more households in Scotland into fuel poverty. Further, big increases in energy prices are anticipated in October, and we fear that that could see almost a million Scottish households in fuel poverty by this winter. In comparison with those figures, I hope that Liz Smith will acknowledge that extending support to 50,000 is a pretty paltry response to the cost of living crisis that the Conservative Government is overseeing. Does the cabinet secretary exercise the minister's knowledge that, while all measures to support households with rising energy prices, including energy efficiency measures, are welcome, the crisis is now. Although existing measures, including the warm homes discount consultation and that further £13 million is welcome, support is not being put in place fast enough or at the scale that is needed. With Ofger now estimating that 613,000 households in Scotland are in fuel poverty, what discussions has the minister had with the UK Government about more immediate assistance to deal with energy price increases now? As a wait-and-see approach set out by the UK minister, Greg Hans, last week to our parliamentary committee, is just not acceptable or good enough? I certainly agree with Fiona Heslop's characterisation of the scale and pace of a response that is required and that that is very clearly lacking from the UK Government. I mentioned in my first answer that we have repeatedly proposed improvements to the warm homes discount and expanded scheme that would be combined with other measures in Scotland, and the UK Government chose not to take up our proposals and to delay any confirmation even of the continuation of the scheme. I do hope that the UK Government will do more. It is very clear that there is huge pressure on them, even from some of their own backbenchers, to do more and to act more swiftly to support people in relation to the cost of living crisis. The figures that I mentioned earlier speak for themselves about the scale of response that is required. That will be a life or death decision for some individuals and families this year and as we approach the autumn. I very much hope that the UK Government will reconsider its approach and do so urgently. Meanwhile, the Scottish Government will continue to do everything that we can with our powers, and in particular with the energy efficiency measures that we are supporting to cut people's fuel bills that way. While it is great that many people are getting help with new boilers under the warmer homes Scotland scheme, the decision in May 2017 to its good non-traditional construction properties from funding for external wall insulation means that a lot of expensive energy is still wasted. That affects many local authority houses. Would the Scottish Government consider a review given the current cost of living crisis? While those types of properties are included as part of our fuel poverty and energy efficiency scheme, for example, we have provided £64 million to local authorities to deliver external wall insulation through our area-based schemes this year. Those local schemes target fuel poverty and benefit exactly the kind of hard-to-treat properties that the member describes. The approach has improved the homes of more than 100,000 fuel-poor households since 2013. Many of those properties are external authority properties in mixed tenure blocks. They are often very technically complex to insulate and require other essential repairs. The neighbourhood approach to improvements is often the best solution all-round. We are continuing to look at more ways to provide help with insulation, and over the coming months we will consider all the options to insulate and improve more homes. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with ScotRail regarding returning rail services to pre-pandemic levels. Throughout the pandemic, Transport Scotland officials have worked closely with the rail industry via the rail recovery task force to ensure that scheduled train services have met overall passenger demands. While passenger demand remains well below that scene prior to the pandemic, I fully expect ScotRail to keep its timetable under review, with scope to adapt where feasible to provide the most reliable service for passengers. The minister omitted to mention that ScotRail revealed that from next week, nearly one-third of its services will be cut. That is 600 daily services across Scotland, and at this rate they will have more ferries than trains.  Minister, do you share ScotRail's view that the unions and drivers are to blame? If not, who is responsible for another calamitous chapter in SNP's nationalised rail? I do not agree with the characterisation from Mr Finlay of this Government's handling of bringing rail services into public ownership. However, to reflect on some of the substantive points that he has made today, I think that we have seen 225 services affected with 138 full cancellations, so I would encourage any passengers who are watching to please check online in terms of the availability of services today. Mr Finlay is correct that, due to some drivers not taking up the option of overtime, Sunday and rest day working, ScotRail has announced today plans to run a temporary reduced timetable from 23 May, which is next week, to give a more stable and reliable service for passengers. We know that people want certainty when they travel, and ScotRail has therefore looked at how best to give that certainty during what is a really challenging time for passengers. I recognise that absolutely. The temporary timetable will see services reduced by a level, but ScotRail will keep that under review, which is hugely important. It is worth saying that an extension to the rest-day working arrangements and additional payments for staff was negotiated with ASLEF, and it continues to be in place until October of this year. I appeal to a union to campaigned so strongly for public ownership to come back to the table to negotiate an agreement so that we can deliver on the timetable expectations, which should have been coming forward from last week with the new timetable. The approach that the Tories have taken to rail relations elsewhere in the UK is a prime example of how not to engage with a workforce. The UK Government refused to increase pay during the pandemic, and recently we had a communications chief at Network Rail saying that rail workers should have probably worked harder at school. Does the minister share my disgust at these events, and will she join me in condemning the disdainful attitude of the Tories towards rail workers? Minister, please extract the relevant bits to the initial question. Minister, in your response, if you could respond to what the member was trying to get at in terms of the fact that a supplementary must be relevant to the initial question. It is disappointing that the UK Government appears not to be doing more to resolve the dispute south of the border. However, in Scotland, we have ensured that our general-grade non-driving railway staff have already received the previously negotiated and agreed 2.2 per cent for this year, while negotiations continue with both ASLEF and the RMT. Can the minister tell us how long the devastating 30 per cent cut in services will go on for? As I have already alluded in my response to Mr Finlay, the situation will be kept under review. I think that it is worth saying that without Covid and the impact on training, Scotland would have trained an extra 130 drivers by this point. That would have eliminated Scotland's need for drivers to work overtime in recess, but I will be speaking to Scotland later this week to ask for the update that Mr Simpson has requested. I will be more than happy to share any further details on that with him. Before I turn to the next question, could I please have less commentary from a sedentary position and a bit more courtesy and respect on the part of all members to each other? Question 5, Emma Harper. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with TransPenn and Express Network Rail Scotland regarding the reported frequent cancellation of rail services on the west coast mainline, particularly impacting travellers using rail services at Lockerbie station. Rail services run by Avanti, West Coast and TransPennine Express Scotland at Lockerbie railway station are cross-border rail operators that are managed by the Department for Transport, though Transport Scotland participates in regular cross-border operator task force meetings. For the first part of this year, TransPennine Express services in particular have been impacted by the Covid-related issues and industrial action. However, recent performance data shows an improvement since February this year and from this week, and I can advise that TransPennine Express has increased calls at Lockerbie offering customers broadly and early service northwards and southwards on weekdays. I thank the minister for that response. Passengers need assurance that services will be available and on time. I know that the Scottish Government does not have control over TransPennine Express, but would the minister agree with me that the sooner rail is fully devolved, the quicker we can provide certainty to passengers travelling to and from Lockerbie station? Emma Harper is right. We need certainty for passengers in terms of travelling and in terms of which services are operating. We heard that in the previous question. Mr Harper is also right to say that full devolution of rail powers is the long-stated aim of this Government, bringing track and train together and ensuring that we have the levers we need to create that sustainable rail service into the future. In the meantime, passengers must be reassured that, during times of disruption, alternative options are available. I will raise the services at Lockerbie directly with the UK rail minister when I meet her next week. Officials will follow up with the operators to see what we can do to help to improve on people's recent experience on that particular service. This is the worst train service in Britain. There is a fair bit of competition for that title. The problems are not new. Passengers from Lockerbie station have been treated as second class since this very franchise began. When the minister meets her UK counterpart, will she join me in calling for an end to this failed franchise and it brought under new management? I will raise some of the issues that Mr Smith has alluded to in terms of his constituents' experience of this service. I have a suggestion that the minister will find might focus the minds of the Government. Will the minister make a commitment that for every day there is strike disruption, the ministerial limos will remain parked in solidarity with the ScotRail passengers? Yes or no? I do not really think that that is relevant at all. I appreciate the member's wish to try to conflate the two issues, but if the minister wishes to make some comment and response, please go ahead. No, Presiding Officer. I do not see the relevance of that to this question at all. Mr Kerr, perhaps we could just do comments through the chairs. Thank you very much indeed. Question 6, Clare Baker. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on progress with the Levenmouth rail link, including the planned reopening date. We are committed to delivering the new railway that will reintroduce passenger services for the first time in more than 50 years, benefiting communities, businesses and visitors in the Levenmouth area. Transport Scotland and Network Rail are working closely with their industry partners and currently expect to deliver the transformational project by spring 2024. Construction is under way, with the first mile of track and drainage already completed. Work continues on the route structures and site compounds are being established at key locations to provide strategic links to on-site activities. The minister will be aware of the strong desire from the community for the rail link to be the best that it can be. What discussions has he had with Network Rail about the delay in the public consultation and the need to get that under way? In recognising the importance of the community's input into the station design in particular, what flexibilities are there in the budget for a station that would meet the needs and ambitions of the community and is designed for a growing population? I am grateful to Clare Baker for that supplementary. There is currently consultation being undertaken and it is important that that is undertaken comprehensively. I hope that Clare Baker will join me in congratulating the communities that campaigned long and hard to ensure that we have reached the point where we can see the completion of the project in the very near future. I will happily write to Clare Baker regarding the budget issues that she raises, but I would hope that, for the time being, she agrees that consultation should be undertaken and that the time is necessary to ensure that people's voices in communities affected are heard. It has been a dream come true for communities who campaigned for the Levenmouth Rail route to now see the tracks actually being relayed. The route also opens up opportunities for a rail fate facility working with Diagio, Malcolm's and other local businesses. Minister, it took 17 years for the Highland Spring Rail fate facility to be designed, developed and built. What role can Transport Scotland play in accelerating the development of a rail freight facility on the Levenmouth line, especially given the climate emergency? Mark Ruskell is right to acknowledge the hard work of campaigners and the positive opportunities for expansion of rail freight. That is an economic as well as an environmental opportunity. The Scottish Government is leading the way with the first of the kind of target for growth of rail freight, as well as significant investment. We look forward to opportunities to include rail freight within all of our investment, and our approach to Levenmouth Railway is no different. We are working with stakeholders, including local businesses and Fife Council, to ensure that we maximise the economic, social and environmental benefits for the area. I am sure that we will all commit to continuing to proceed with that with the momentum that Mark Ruskell's question demands. Before I call question 7, I would like to take both questions 7 and 8, but I really need brief questions and brief answers. Question 7, David Torrance. Thank you, Presiding Officer. To ask the Scottish Government how my ambition is expressed in the first annual report to Parliament on the progress in developing the environment strategy for Scotland coincides with the findings of the latest IPCC report. Minister Mary McCallan. The Scottish Government's environment strategy sets out our overarching environmental response to the global climate and nature crisis. Recent reports from the IPCC, as highlighted by the member, show that increased urgency of those efforts. The environment strategy progress report, which will be published in March, recognised that, while Scotland has made great progress in cutting our emissions, we must now go further and faster to reach our target of 75% reduction by 2030. We are considering all options on how to accelerate that progress. David Torrance. I thank the minister for that answer. Leading scientists previously stated in the wake of the latest IPCC report that the UK Government is moving too slowly to tackle a climate emergency. Meanwhile, the UK Government's Brexit minister declared that he supports exploiting every last cubic inch of gas from the North Sea. Does the minister share my concern that, if Tories get their own way, Brexit will become an act of environmental as well as social and economic vandalism? I absolutely do. The Scottish Government has made clear our commitment to remain aligned with the EU on environmental standards. The EU, of course, is a beacon of progress in environmental policy. That is, in stark contrast, to the UK Government, whose cringeworthy entitled Brexit freedoms bill seems intent to abandon legislation that has protected Scotland's environmental interests for almost 50 years. The Scottish Government's support is giving to local authorities to enable them to reduce scope-three emissions. Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson. A Scottish Government is committed to continuing working closer with local authorities to tackle the global climate emergency. We published new climate reporting guidance to public bodies, including local authorities, in October 2021, which included specific guidance on reducing indirect scope-three emissions. The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform and the Minister for Trade, Innovation and Public Finance also wrote to the chief officers and public bodies on 16 March 2021, with a call to action to decarbonise the £13.3 billion annual public sector supply chain. A follow-up Scottish Government procurement note in 2020 also highlighted the national sustainable procurement tools in order to support that work going forward. The Scottish Government has not set a target for reductions in scope-three emissions. That is a hugely important part of emissions from local authorities, covering, as the cabinet secretary said, procurement and supply chain issues. Instead of working with councils and offering support and expertise in funding, they have simply given an exemption when it is inconvenient to do the work. Why has the Scottish Government simply abandoned this issue because it is too hard? It becomes a pattern in here with Mr Kerr getting things badly wrong. The Scottish Government has already issued a guidance on the regulations that were approved by the Parliament back in Ducott previously, which have been set out for local authorities. It says very clearly the responsibility that they require through the new guidance that public bodies need to publish details on what they are doing to tackle scope-three emissions, which is part of the procurement duty process. Importantly, which I am sure Mr Kerr will welcome, the data that was published recently, shows that emissions from public bodies operations and electricity use has fallen by a third since 2015-16. Emissions from public bodies and electricity use has halved since 2015-16. It clearly does not like the information that I am providing it with. I have already asked members if they will please listen to the answers given in terms of ensuring that the question session is meaningful. What I am asking for is an answer to the question that I asked. Not what he has written down in front of him from a civil service briefing. Mr Kerr, that is not a point of order. The chair is not responsible for the substance of ministerial responses or indeed anybody's responses. I would ask, please, for some courtesy and respect right across the chamber so that we can ensure that we make these sessions as productive as possible for all. Please resume, cabinet secretary. There are many other useful data points that I could give to Mr Kerr, which I am sure he would not like to hear as well because it would not feed the narrative that he has about trying to talk down on local authorities. However, the final point that I will make is that Mr Kerr will recognise that the regulations have been put in place—well, I think that he now recognises that the regulations have been put in place—but it is for local authorities as corporate bodies to set their target dates. That means that it is for local elected members that are responsible for setting out how they will do that. That is for local councillors who were diselected over two weeks ago. I know that the elections two weeks ago were not good for Mr Kerr and his party, but I trust local authorities to get that right. It is very clear from their track record over recent years that they are doing exactly that, but they will be doing it this time, with even less Tories involved in doing it. That concludes portfolio questions, and there will be a very short pause before we move on to the next item of business, to allow front-bench teams to move positions should they wish.


Alrighty, so Wonderlands dropped their map. I can finally talk about some of the new things that I heard about. I guess I'll go into detail about the first one in just a sec that it doesn't elaborate a lot of these things on the map. So I'll try and do my best to talk to you guys about everything I know, but I'm gonna tell you right now that the food at Winterfest has been extremely upgraded. So I saw a little sneak peek somewhere and I'm gonna say based off of what I saw, it looks absolutely delicious and I'm really excited to try it this weekend coming, not this weekend, but the next weekend, sorry. So there's a lot of really good desserts and menu items that you guys are gonna get to explore, so I'm really excited about that. There were obvious signs of pulling in the event. Obviously for those of you that went to Winterfest last year, it was a lot slower than it was the year before, but I have a feeling this is gonna be a really busy Winterfest. I'm kind of a little nervous about the size of Winterfest, but there's been a few upgrades to a few things. There will also be a potato spud bar located next to Tim Hortons in the Manchu Walk location. So similar to Hershey Park, you can get baked potatoes styled in different ways. So that's really exciting. So we'll start right off, Candy Cane Poutineery, which is located next to Pizza Pizza on International Street. We'll be serving some dessert style poutine options. So that's really cool. My company I work for actually does this as well, and they're really good. So if they're anything like that, I'm really excited to see some of the options they have there. They have funnel cakes and churros and then funnel cakes and butter tarts depending on which location you go to. The one with the churros will be at Fightertown and then the one with butter tarts will be the one in Med Faire. Dancing Lights will now be at Flying Canoes for those of you that don't know Dancing Lights is the buildings that dance to almost like a synced show. So that's really cool. It's one of my favorite things there. It's always done really well. The light tunnel, which is called Northern Starlight will lead you towards Courtyard, which is now Mrs. Claus' kitchen. That's replaced the marketplace and marketplace where all those gift shops and donuts for those of you who don't know, you gotta try the donuts and the cookies from that one shop. They come every year. They're amazing. They're super nice and they're delicious. But that, the marketplace will now be in the arcade next to Leviathan. The arcade that was in there has now moved over to Jester's Courtyard in Med Faire. So number 11 on the map across from the bat will actually be an arcade that will be functioning this year. So that's new. What else? The Christmas, yeah, went over that and Elf on the Shelf, which is a photo experience located near Leviathan. It shows it kind of like that little arcade section right next to the new pizza pizza. It'll be right there. One of the cool things is Polar Party has received an upgrade, or depending how you are, I think that's gonna trigger some people that watch me. But it will no longer be like dancers. It's gonna be hosted by the Tannenbombs and it'll also be from what I've heard a while ago actually is it's gonna be a karaoke event. So guests will be able to go up and sing Christmas carols with the Tannenbombs and they'll be hosting the, it's almost like a Christmas party is the theme of that. I have heard that Tinker's Toy Factory is going to be the exact same as it always is with some really cool, fascinating upgrades to some of the choreography and the show. So I'm really excited to see all that because Tinker's Toy Factory is absolutely amazing. Some things that have changed is the Tundra Twister will not be operating. Neither will Snoopy's Racing Railway. But an important change is that they've gotten rid of the orbiter path. Holly Jolly Trolley has been canceled. That is a Cedar Fair decision, not a Wonderland decision. So again, the shrinking of the event was a Cedar Fair decision.  But you're gonna see a lot of corporate decisions moving forward with this park. But yeah, that's all I have so far on Winterfest. Again, you're gonna wanna pay attention to the food because I've heard there's been some significant upgrades to the food this year and I'm really excited about that. A key note is that the shows will not be running after December 31st according to the park map for this year. So Winterfest after December 31st for one week will just be food, rides and lights. There'll be no shows. But again, that could be an error on the map but I don't know how much of an error that would be if it was distinctly put in. And yeah, they have a new thing where they actually mark which rides bigger guests might have an issue getting into on the park map as well. So I thought that was really cool for them to include. And yeah, that's all I have right now. Have a great week, final one week countdown to Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland. You all know that I'm a huge fan. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, type down below and I will try and respond to any of them and maybe get an answer from the park for you guys. Anyways, have a good one guys, bye.


Hi everyone, Joe for jasperjasecasebreaks.com. Happy Thursday coming at you with 2019-2020 Panini, Flawless Collegiate Basketball. Some pretty good stuff here. One box, random hit break number one. There you go. Pretty easy. Open the box, show you the hits, type in the hits, randomize your names. Randomize these names right here, match you up with a hit and see what you get. Good luck. Now as I was mentioning off camera, there is a chance there could be an extra hit inside the slider box inside the case. If that's the case, I'll do my best to kind of combo it on the fly and just roll with it. There it is. Let's pop this open here. So let's just say that's box A and that's box B. Like that die right there. One, two, three for the top, four, five, six for the bottom. And it's four. One, two, three, four, five, six. So this will reserve for random hit break number, this is number one, right? So random hit break number two, which we could pretty easily run back tonight. I think we just have to sell some spots straight up and then just do one filler pack when we're in breaksville. We can run back the other side. Yeah, that would be nice Townsend. A Zion RPA would be just what the break doctor ordered. All right. So we'll do this first and then there's the three encase cards. I got here got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. Yeah. So I think there's an additional card here. So we'll combo it up with something. All right. First out of the gate is 17 out of 20 Marcus Camby premium ink autograph. So we'll type these in the order that I'm pulling them. Ooh, this is nice. Two out of five jersey and autograph, a Fox in the box, the Aaron Fox star swatch signature. Train whistle hit to 11 out of 25. We've got David Thompson, premium ink autograph. Men's East State got just a relic only one out of 15 Kevin Porter Jr. in his USC gear. I think Kevin Porter Jr. is very happy in Cleveland right now. 13 out of 20 13 out of 20. Nice patch, nice autograph, a bit of a thinner card here. Admiral Schofield. It's got a pretty nice autograph. Four out of five. Another train whistle. That's going to mean to kill Alexander Walker. Go Hokies Jersey and autograph. A dual autograph coming up. It's teammates DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome nine out of 10. It's pretty sharp. And we got 24 out of 25. Jared Culver three color patch and autograph. Now we'll go left, right and center on the on this. Oh, there it is. 12 out of 25 two color patch and autograph Zion Williamson Townsend called it the rookie, the patch and the autograph on the right side is another nice one. Rui Hachimura diamond autograph. Nice rookie gem signatures 18 out of 25 Hachimura. And in the center is going to be another nice one. Kelden Johnson rookie gem signatures two out of 25. And that tells you that all the gems are naturally mined, not lab grown. All right, there it is. Now I'm going to pause the video. When we come back, we'll have the hits typed in and then we'll run the randomizer and see who gets that Zion RPA. I'm going to pause it. Be right back. Don't go anywhere. All right. Welcome back. Got all the hits typed in here. There's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. Perfect. So we ended up comboing the David Thompson autograph with the Kevin Porter junior patch. Good luck to these folks right here. Let's roll it and randomize names and hits one in the three, four times your names first one two, three and four. We got Townsend down to Townsend one and a three, four times for the hits one, two, three and fourth and final time after four. We got the Hachimura down to the comboed hits and the Zion's in the seventh spot. And it's that Zion's going to go to Jay Goins. Nice one, Jay. Thanks for getting in. That's with the spot that he bought straight up Townsend. You got the Hachimura 18 out of 25 diamond autographs. That's pretty strong enough with the Nikila Alexander patch auto four out of five all aboard the big hit express. We got Roy with the Jared Culver patch auto 24 out of 25 Townsend. You got the Deer and Fox a Fox in the box patch auto two out of five all aboard. Nancy with the Kelton Johnson two out of 25 diamond auto. That's the encased one. Tommy with the Marcus Camby 17 out of 20 autograph Jay the Zion 12 out of 25 patch auto. Narik with the Deandre Hunter Ty Jerome dual autograph the Virginia teammates nine out of 10 dual autograph and Townsend with the rest the Admiral Schofield 13 out of 20 and the David Thompson and Kevin Porter junior combo not too shabby ladies and gentlemen second half. Maybe a maybe a John Moran in second half. These two are combo. There's the Hachimura diamond auto. There's the Kelton Johnson diamond auto and of course the Zion two color patch and on card autograph all encased up a nice flawless sticker looking real real sharp. And there you have it. I'm Joe for jazzy's case breaks dot com. Thanks for watching. Thanks for breaking with us. Second half is in store. We've got to do the full spots and then just one easy filler pack then we're in breaksville. Thanks for watching. I'm Joe for jazzy's case breaks dot com. We'll see you next time. Bye bye.


There are 13 key vitamins required for human health. Vitamin B12 is one of the water-soluble vitamins, the B vitamins. It's unusual in comparison to all the other nutrients in that it's not produced by plants, it's not produced by animals. Vitamin B12 is the only form of nutrient that we get from soil bacteria actually and we don't directly eat the soil obviously but it gets taken up and eaten by animals, things like ruminants, things like cows and they can harbour B12 synthesising bacteria in their guts. And then that's where we get our vitamin B12 source from when we eat a nice juicy steak or some other meat or dairy products. To make vitamin B12 commercially we need a swimming pool of bacteria, a huge quantity of bacteria. The consequence of this is that it's also the most expensive vitamin on the market and it would cost you about £20,000 per kilogram. That's about a third the price of gold. Around 90% of all the world's vitamin B12 is produced in China. If for instance there were tensions this would likely give rise to a crisis in effect a global B12 crisis. Vitamin B12 deficiency was really first identified with people who suffered with what's known as pernicious anemia. It's a non-iron based anemia. It was first shown that to overcome that people had to eat raw liver extracts because liver is a good source of vitamin B12. Milder forms of deficiency can give rise to minor neurological problems that people can appear to have a fuzzy feeling on their tongue. They can have pins and needles. Under really extreme conditions it can give rise to paralysis to death. From a dietary point of view we know that as people move to sustainable plant based and crop based diets the vitamin B12 level is dropping, especially those transitioning from vegetarian to vegan diets are prone to vitamin B12 deficiency. We can estimate that upwards of 5% of the UK population could be defined as vitamin B12 deficient. In other countries such as India for instance where it occurs a much higher level of vegetarianism possibly upwards of 90% of the population have low B12 levels making them either insufficient or deficient for the nutrient. So there are lots of ways that we can get vitamin B12 into our diet. Obviously meat and dairy products but actually things like seaweed are quite good sources of vitamin B12, algae in general and certain kinds of mushrooms. All of those are quite good sources and ultimately it can also be taken through supplements as well. A big thing I've learnt which was a big learning curve for me myself as a plant scientist that I take supplements every day is that I usually take them on an empty stomach, I usually don't take them with food and what's really important with B12 in particular as well as lots of other nutrients is that you need to be eating food for special proteins and factors to be released that enable you to take up B12 effectively into your body. If we can get it into lots of different products that you would eat then that's going to enable more effective B12 uptake. One of the first examples of biofortification would have been during World War II when Robert McCance and Elsie Wilson, pioneers in the study of food data and food composition realised that with the rationing that we really needed to provide extra nutrients in the food and they recommended calcium to fortify the bread and ensure that those key minerals were provided to the population. Our work on B12 and plants, it started serendipitously. I'd been at a rotary meeting, we'd had a talk there about growing daffodils. The person who gave the talk had brought some daffodil bunches which he was selling for charity and I bought a couple of those bunches and brought them back to the laboratory. It just struck me that whilst we put them in a vase that perhaps what would happen if we added vitamin B12 to those daffodils? And so we added some vitamin B12 and after a couple of days cut the daffodils up just to see if the vitamin B12 had moved into the plant. I really wasn't expecting that to happen. It was quite a surprise to actually find that significant quantities of the vitamin could then be detected in the daffodil leaves. Around the same time we were actually approached by a school who were quite interested in doing a science project during their science lab. We'd done our daffodil experiments and we'd shown that the daffodils could absorb vitamin B12 but of course those were using cut stem daffodils. It seemed like an ideal opportunity for us to ask the question can vitamin B12 be absorbed by the root of the plant?  It takes about a week which fitted in with their science lab. With the school we were able to show that the vitamin B12 was absorbed from the root into the leaf of the garden cress itself. A hugely exciting finding this demonstrated to us for the first time that there was a real opportunity to develop plants that were biofortified with vitamin B12. And it was terrific to have school children involved demonstrating and telling them that they had made a basic scientific discovery. You're the first person in the world to know that fact. What we find is that only certain plants were able to absorb vitamin B12 but one of the plants apart from garden cress were garden peas. The great thing about peas is they're just big sponges for lots of vitamins essentially. I'm a plant scientist by training but I'm trying to see how can I optimise how we can get B12 into the plants and how the environment can affect how plants take up this nutrient that they don't naturally need and whether we can manipulate and tailor that. A game changer for doing this is vertical farming. The great thing about these vertical farming systems is that it enables you to have a high level of control over the environment so you can really help tailor uptake. So after we discovered that we could biofortify peas with B12, the next step was to see if we could get them into supermarkets, for example, incorporating them into salad bags. Whether it's getting them into salad bags or actually selling the pea shoots by themselves, it's a great way of incorporating the nutrient into people's diets and the net cost of this should only be about five pence per item. Plant-based diets are much more sustainable and much healthier for the planet. There's an inevitability that we have to adopt more of them and ultimately, as we move more towards sustainable diets, it's very important that we get this question of nutrition addressed when things like vitamin B12 are key to this.


The Nigerian Liberal Congress, NLC, has commenced the two-day one-in-strike and announced following the removal of fuel subsidy by the federal government. Monitoring the compliance etiquette, State Secretary, the State Chairman of the Nigerian Liberal Congress, Comrade Kolakbo Olatunde said the level of compliance is slow, hoping tomorrow will witness a total lockdown. Speaking for Olatunde said this was just a one-in-two, the federal government urging President Tinibu to increase the workers' welfare. The Chairman of Trade Union Congress, Nakeda State Comrade Shola Adigun said the TUC opted out of the strike because the union was not carried along by the NLC before the strike declaration was made. The fuel used to be 197, from 197 to 500 naira, and from 500 naira to six plugs, it is on the high side. Today and tomorrow, to assess a one-in-strike so that they won't be thinking that, they won't be saying that they are not aware of it. With this one-in-strike, they should know that the father of strike is looming, and that is why we are here today. They have called our people to meet him, but we've not seen the outcome. Anybody that want to agree with Labour should be able to agree in to to and put it black and white, and we signed so that at the end of the day, there won't be a crisis. Nobody is proving superiority or wanting to show to the world that you are more passionate for Nigeria workers, you are more passionate about the welfare of workers or citizens than the other. We have a common battle that will be lived when you come together, reasonably, and fight.


Our next caller is Graydon from Alberta, Canada. Hey Graydon, how can we help you? Hey guys, first off just want to say absolutely love you guys found your show just a little over two years ago and it's absolutely helped my training a ton. So just wanted to ask I played basketball and football like my whole life growing up and my offseason training was always centered around like bodybuilding type movements. But I've wanted to start a powerlifting program and I'm wondering what are the benefits and detriments of incorporating bodybuilding movements into a powerlifting program. Oh okay great question. You know of all the strength sports I would say bodybuilding and powerlifting have probably the most to learn from each other. There's a lot of value that powerlifters can get from doing certain bodybuilding movements or even focusing on hypertrophy and there's a lot of value that bodybuilders can get from from you know learn that they'll learn from powerlifters. So here's the stuff that I would avoid for powerlifting. I would avoid lots of the isolation movements or over emphasis on lots of isolation movements you know lots of side laterals and you know kickbacks and those kind of exercises. There's a little bit of value for powerlifting in that especially if there's an imbalance but not a ton. Now the value you get from bodybuilding for powerlifting really mainly revolves around the type of volume the changing the angles and a little bit of hypertrophy. If you get a powerlifter and you get them to add a little bit of muscle or size there all of a sudden their stability goes up and they feel like the more in control of the bar. So you could do higher reps cycles of higher reps unilateral training so powerlifters do a lot of bilateral type training but if they went through a cycle where they did you know lunges for example front squats single leg type exercises when they go back to the powerlifting they typically notice better stability in their lifts they feel more stable in their in their heavy lift. So those are the things I'd look at because bodybuilding is really good for just for size and for balancing the body out a little bit more so than powerlifting I would say. So there's one major detriment that Sal didn't address that I think you should definitely know that both bodybuilding and powerlifting do a disservice to athletics is that a lot of the training is like in the sagittal plane like everything is. Well I'm surprised I was going to comment that you had bodybuilding as the the go-to training program for those sports. Yeah so that's the the real bummer about both those I mean sports is so much rotational strength right there's so much in that if you get really really strong in one plane it does really hinder that and and that's a lot of times where like injury happens I know where my injury happened playing basketball I was because I train like this I train mostly in the you know powerlifting bodybuilding type of world or modality and then I still like to go pick up a basketball every once in a while and it just I mean that's where I hurt myself. Great is your question to get better at basketball or is your question to get better at powerlifting? Better at better at powerlifting like I really want to make some like major strength. Yeah but he's also off-seat he's also you do you still play sports? No no this is just oh I said that was growing up I played a lot of sports and that's all I really knew about training was like watching Steve Cook videos and training. Got it got okay I misunderstood so I was under the impression this is just off season because there's a lot of value in bodybuilding and powerlifting style workouts in and off season to any sport as long as you just keep in mind all the stuff that I was talking about but okay so if you're not even worried so but that's the thing you got to be careful of though I just want to let you know that like if you start to move in this powerlifting bodybuilding world and if I don't know if you still get the itch to go play ball every now and then like I do yeah so be careful because you get really strong in one direction you ask the body to rotate left or right or turn in a sharp direction or you know slow down real quick and go the other way and it's just you haven't been training that way but yet your muscles are really strong from bodybuilding and powerlifting and that's a lot of time where the injuries occur well just one thing I've noticed from bodybuilders that convert over to powerlifting especially with the deadlift is just like technique wise like a lot of like trying to really pull and you know having their elbows just slightly bent to really like muscle up of the weight versus training their body to you know really master the technique of it and really apply you know the force and get their body to to go through the proper mechanics of it so you know spend some time not really like stacking the plates right only but really like honing in on the the technique of of these main I would go I would go powerlifting 80% or maybe 90% of the time 10 to 20% bodybuilding and you're going to get carry over you'll get some good carry over you know for example powerlifters nowadays this was never the case before but nowadays you see powerlifters doing bicep curls I mean they used to say they used to make fun of doing curls but then people were tearing their biceps and so now you see more of them doing bicep curls here and there to prevent that from happening so and same thing with tricep you know exercises you see them doing more press downs and cable exercises so you know if it's 80 to 90% powerlifting 10 to 20% bodybuilding you'll get great carry over for your powerlifting well great are you following do you have any maps programs uh no I want to start maps power okay I was one I guess is it are you saying that it's better to like in a powerlifting program to do your powerlifting program and then incorporate a week or two of bodybuilding or bodybuilding movements in your powerlift follow maps powerlift I would just focus on powerlifting yes follow maps powerlift it's got everything you need you'll be you'll be set yeah and you're trust I mean a good example of how good you'll still look don't worry I don't know if you follow our buddy Ben Pollock but Ben Pollock is a bodybuilder powerlifter guy who goes back and forth between two who's also who helped write that program with us but that's black belt stuff we gotta master it first yeah yeah just follow the maps powerlift program we'll set we'll send that over to you Graden oh awesome thank you so much no problem I I totally uh misunderstood yeah I know when you were answering I was listening to you I was thinking the same well when I read I play I oh it's as I played right so past tense but I was assuming that like he said and then he brings up offseason I thought he was going to go but he was just telling us his sister but he did still say that he will go play so and this is this is both my big injuries that I've had have been because the last you know decade plus I've been you know bodybuilder powerlifter guy you're asking your body to do something different you're putting a big engine in a car without great handling for example that's right your horsepower is going to increase and so yeah if you're not you know maintaining the the quality and integrity of your joints it's you're gonna feel it well the irony is injuries always happen from lack of strength it's just the lack of your specific strength right so you can get really strong in one area but you're weak in others and that means that you're gonna your risk and the risk of injuries increases absolutely because you know like you said you're I was if I was out of shape right as far as strength wise and I just laid off a plain basketball for let's say two years but wasn't lifting went back to playing basketball I would less likely be get injured but because I built all that horsepower up built all that muscle then went in there trying to do movements like that that's where you get trouble now that I understand his question better it seems to me like a lot of what we answer to with people that really want to still incorporate their cardio they they don't want to lose you know this endurance but meanwhile they want to build their strength well he wants to get into powerlifting and really like indulging that but doesn't want to lose the bodybuilding thing you know part of it talk about a modality though that really is going to you know play well oh yeah and his question really is is there a detriment it's like well no not unless that's the majority of your training I mean bodybuilding training is not for looks not going to give you more stamina and that'll help with your powerlifting because bodybuilding is more volume typically higher reps you're gonna be better at hypertrophy which is good you'll do more of the unilateral type exercises which I've you know I've noticed in myself backing off the bilateral stuff doing the unilateral stuff go back to the bilateral stuff and then I'm able to surpass my previous past but but but keeping like just taking the time to just focus on that you know is you're going to get the skill of it and then you could get creative and interweave them together but really to just focus on that's going to be massive for him


The Saints are using Taysum Hill as a tight end, and fantasy football managers need to recognize it. Hill saw a pretty high 17% target share back in week 6, and he followed that up in week 7, with a 9.4% target share. Prior to those games, his target share was well under 4%. The change can be seen in his route participation. Over his last two games, he has run around 62% and 71% of New Orleans drop-backs. His previous season high before week 6, 43%. This is making him viable in fantasy football, because not only is he now scoring some points through receptions, but we know the touchdown upside is already there. We know the Saints use him on the ground at the goal line. You should be looking at Taysum Hill off the waiver wire this week.