Dealing with climate change isn't a luxury. Dealing with climate change is a life and death issue and it has massive economic consequences. It's the whole world versus a virus. The key is to put the health of people and the planet first. And that's what's happening on COVID-19 and that's what has not yet happened on climate change. Welcome to World Versus Virus, a podcast from the World Economic Forum that aims to make sense of the COVID-19 outbreak. Every week we bring you expert advice and analysis of the global crisis on what could be done to fix it, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Robin Pomeroy. Later in the program, we'll hear from this happiness professor about how we can keep mentally fit during this testing time. Especially during times of crisis, people think this is the time to focus on me and the research suggests that that's not exactly what happy people are doing. Happy people are giving money to charity, focusing their time on volunteering that tends to boost their well-being. Sometimes more than if they were to spend that money on themselves. This week, climate change. COVID-19 is the global crisis, but it's not the only one. Climate change remains a huge challenge to humanity, something that before the outbreak at least, many people, governments and companies were starting to take seriously. But when we come out of COVID-19 and economies start up again, will climate change still be on anyone's agenda? We spoke to Jennifer Morgan, Executive Director of Greenpeace International to see where the world stands on the climate crisis. Anna Bruce Lockhart started by asking Jennifer Morgan, with millions of people made jobless by COVID-19 and just struggling to survive, will they still care about climate change? First of all, I would say that dealing with climate change isn't a luxury. Dealing with climate change is a life-and-death issue, and it has massive economic consequences also for people, for farmers who are suffering droughts in their countries, for particularly people in harm's way of intense weather events, and those are things that are happening right now. But of course, we need to be looking at how to have either people getting back to work in their jobs that they had, or creating just transitions for those to be trained to move into different jobs, and that the government funds that are there are being invested in people for long-term jobs. We have an opportunity to shift coal miners who have been working in those types of jobs into other jobs over time, and we have federal money going into those jobs now. It can't be an either or. We really need to be thinking about these things together. The disruption that's occurring, and the people who are suffering most from this disruption are suffering because our system has prioritized creating wealth for a few and large corporations rather than the wellness of everyone. So the funds that governments are putting forward now and thinking longer-term need to be prioritizing, getting healthcare systems in place, creating resilient societies. Those are societies that are gonna be much more adapt to, first of all, addressing this issue, but then dealing with the next pandemic, God forbid, or the climate emergency that's coming because those are populations and people who don't have the resources there. So governments need to think about that piece. It's a moment to step back and really rethink. You know, we set up a new world order after World War II. We're now in a different world than we were then. I have been encouraged by the Secretary General's leadership really stepping back, looking at the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. What can we be doing differently? And the World Economic Forum, I think has a big responsibility in that as well, to be pushing the reset button and looking at how to create well-being. The world was united in its rapid response to COVID-19. What do you think this tells us about our ability to fight climate change? I think it tells us that when we listen to the science and we understand what's at stake and the risks of what's at stake and we have clarity on what we need to do, we can tackle and address these big issues, these crises. And on climate change, we know what the problem is. We know the people who are being impacted by it. We know that. We know what the solutions are. I think the key is to put the health of people and the planet first. And that's what's happening on COVID-19. And that's what has not yet happened on climate change in many cases because the fossil fuel interests and the large industrial farming interests, they want to keep things the way that they are. There's big vested interests that want their health to come before people's health and the planet's health. And what we're learning from this crisis and pandemic is it is possible to switch it. It really is. But we need to act on what science and people need. What do you think is going to happen to climate action once we start to emerge from this pandemic? Well, I think that the climate action, actually we have to be able to move forward at the same time as we're addressing the pandemic. Because the pandemic is going to last. It's not going to be over quickly. And the way that the world and governments respond to the pandemic, both in how they collaborate together and cooperate together to protect the most vulnerable people and how they recover. So do they recover better and that the world is in a better place? Or do they go back actually to the past? We'll have a massive impact on whether or not we have a chance of addressing the climate emergencies. The climate emergency hasn't gone away. It's still very much with us. And so while we have to prioritize obviously addressing COVID-19, we have to think together and create the world together that we want to see. Factories will be racing to get back into business. There's going to be a global recession. Oil and gas will never have been so cheap. Can we really hope to see any climate progress? I think we can. If you look at how the world will respond with the stimulus packages and the recovery plans that they're making, there is an opportunity to put those funds straight into jobs that will accelerate the pace of the decarbonization. We have a chance to both put people back to work and to chart a different future in a short time frame. But that depends on whether governments listen to people or whether they listen to the polluters. Whether the companies that have caused the problem and in some cases were already starting to shift into a new economy actually move more into that direction. So a lot of that is going to be determined by what governments decide in the coming days and weeks. And do you see any real hard evidence of this taking place? Any particular industries or sectors that are making concrete steps to rebuild the world into a greener, healthier place? There are a few examples. Actually, the Canadian government has put forward a program, 1.7 billion Canadian dollars going into cleaning up orphan wells. They're putting money into loans to finance, reducing methane. The New Zealand government has put forward a strong initial plan that would actually drive the economy into zero carbon. Denmark just announced that they're not going to be giving state aid to companies that have tax havens. These are all examples, I think, of the types of things that can be done. We've heard from the European Commission and a number of European countries that they're going to stay the course on the European Green Deal. And the last example that gives me a lot of hope actually is South Korea. So South Korea, you actually had a people-powered movement before the election that the Green Deal and a carbon neutral economy by 2050 should be part of the election platform of the major parties. And the party that won big in South Korea with very high voter turnout actually has endorsed that. And so now we need to turn it into reality. But I think there are examples of where people understand that the climate crisis just hasn't gone away. There's way more on the local level, how people are helping each other right now, how they're helping their neighbors, how they're making sure that the most vulnerable are taken care of. These are all things that we need to tackle climate change as well. The sense of community, the sense of collaboration and the sense of interdependency that's there of how my actions will determine the life and death potentially of others for COVID, but also for climate. So next week, environment ministers from around the world will be meeting for the Petersburg Climate Dialogue, all to be held online. Can you tell us a bit about this meeting and how it sets the agenda for COP26? Well, the Petersburg Climate Dialogue has been going on for many years now. Actually, it was originally brought together by Chancellor Merkel and other leaders after actually the failure of the Copenhagen meeting to get people back together again to look at how to solve the climate change crisis. And each year, they bring those ministers together and the chancellor speaks and she will speak at this event next week. And they talk through how to address some of the key issues in the negotiations or in their real economy, in their countries. And I think this is an excellent moment for those ministers to connect these dots, to connect the dots between what we need to be doing to create that resilient society to the pandemic and to the climate impacts that are happening and what they can do with their recovery plan so they can rebuild better. So because if they are investing in that renewable energy, in mobility systems that move us into public transport, into electric vehicles powered by renewable energy, that will show up in lower emissions and that will help them meet their Paris agreement goals. Jennifer Morgan of Greenpeace International was speaking to Anna Bruce Lockhart. I'm joined by David Knowles at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. How are you, David? I'm very well, thank you. Surviving. Good, yes, me likewise. You spoke to someone who I was surprised to learn runs Yale University's most popular course. Who was that? A woman called Lori Santos, Dr. Lori Santos at Yale University who teaches happiness. She's the professor of happiness at Yale. More than two million students are actually enrolled in her online course, which is called Psychology and the Good Life. And she approaches happiness from a scientific perspective to try and understand what makes people happy, how he might measure that. And obviously she's a little bit in demand during the coronavirus pandemic. And so we spoke to her asking for some tips on keeping mentally healthy. Happy people spend more time with other people in general. They also prioritize time with their friends and family members. And I think this is really critical right now because that's normally true that happy people focus on being social. But I think especially when we're going through a crisis, if we wanna make it through in the most resilient way possible, relying on other people for support is really critical. Of course this is the hard thing to do in the time of COVID-19 because the social distancing often means we can't be physically hanging out in person with the people we care about. But the research suggests that the act of hanging out with folks in real time, in other words through things like Zoom, what we're doing right now, or FaceTime or something like that, that can be a really powerful way to connect with people because you're seeing their facial expressions. You're hearing the intonation in their voice. You're really able to connect with them in all the emotions that they're experiencing in the moment. And so we need to be making as much use of those technologies to continue staying social as possible. So that's staying social in any way we can. Zoom chats like you're doing with me at the moment. What's another habit she said that happy people have? So something important that she mentioned was that often people are other focused. So focusing on other people's happiness can actually help yourself. Happy people tend to be really other oriented. In other words, they tend to be focused on other people's happiness rather than their own. And I think this is something that culturally can be a little confusing. Right now we have this idea of self-care, sort of treat yourself. I think especially during times of crisis, people think this is the time to focus on me and my taking care of myself. But the research suggests that that's not exactly what happy people are doing. Happy people are giving money to charity. Happy people are focusing their time on volunteering. And the research also suggests if you intervene, if you make people do nice things for others, either donate money or something like that, that tends to boost their wellbeing. Sometimes more than if they were to spend that money on themselves. The research really suggests that doing random acts of kindness, particularly in this time when we're all really struggling can be incredibly powerful. And that's for two reasons. One is like it's a really simple hack to improve your own wellbeing. But also it's doing nice things for other people in a time where lots of people are suffering and really vulnerable. And so I think it just has this positive effect on society as well. She also said that happy people tend to be more in the present than gloomy people. What can we draw from that? So this is an interesting one because it's also linked to your physical health as well that actually by focusing on the present, slows you down and relaxes your body. So it's not just something which is in the mind which is very interesting. Happy people tend to be more mindful. They tend to savor the present moment. They tend to be in the present moment kind of noticing what's happening to them. They tend to have less mind wandering. Meditation can be an incredibly powerful tool right now in the midst of this crisis because it causes you to focus on what's happening in your body at the present moment.  You're kind of bringing it back to the present moment. That can kind of reduce your rumination but it can also have a really fantastic effect on your autonomic nervous system. Right now, many of us are in full flight or flight mode where our sympathetic nervous systems are actively freaking out. Our chests are tight. We're kind of in muscle tension and so on. The act of just paying attention to your breath and really slowing down your breath can allow your parasympathetic nervous system to kick in. That's the part of the system that's the sort of rest and digest part. It's the kind of thing that allows you to put some resources into your immune function which is something that all of us need right now. What did you say about whether people are more selfish? They're looking out for themselves in a crisis. So this is an interesting one because in the media, it's something which actually gets a lot of attention. You've probably seen videos and reports about panic buying, that sort of thing. And it seems as if people potentially get more selfish in a crisis but actually she says that's not true. One of the things that I've found so interesting is people's expectations about the sorts of things that happen in this crisis. I think a lot of us have the lay expectation that these are the times when people get incredibly selfish. These are the times of panic buying and people hoarding toilet paper and things like that. And of course you do see examples of those things on the news. I think that sells newspapers to see these kind of scary things happening. But by and large, I think our hypotheses about that are wrong. What does seem to happen during crisis is that people tend to come together. People donating their time and respirators and things like that. People giving up masks, people stitching masks for healthcare workers, folks coming together to sing on balconies, to express gratitude to the people they care about. That's when you see this incredible acts of what's being kind of called that hashtag COVID kindness. If you look on Twitter and you look at hashtag COVID kindness, you see wonderful examples of this. Professor Laurie Santos was talking to David Knowles. You can read more on our article. A Professor of Happiness explains how to deal with COVID-19 on our website and look for Professor Santos' podcast, The Happiness Lab. Now I'm joined by Linda Lucina from the World Economic Forum in New York who is going to talk to us about some of the coverage of COVID-19 on the World Economic Forum's website. Linda, how are you? I'm good, Robin, how are you? Not too bad, thanks. You've picked three stories for us this week. What are they? I've got three little known tools and resources that are going to be helping us bounce back a little more quickly. So the first is taxes. A piece this week explains how tax administrations worldwide have been working to make things a little more manageable for people and for businesses. They've been reducing taxes, they've been issuing deferrals, and in the longer term, reducing or eliminating tax rates could be really, really important to boost recovery in places like Sub-Saharan Africa where the informal sector is so hard-hit and so key to the economy. So I was looking at tax or tax relief as a way to rebuild the economy. That's called Rethinking Tax in Africa to Respond to COVID-19 by Emi Dushim, who's a tax expert in Kigali. Okay, what's your second story? The second is evaluating research data. A piece this week by Professor of Evolutionary Biology explained that coronavirus has created a need to understand stores and stores of data more quickly than ever before, and speeding things along for researchers have been special online platforms that are allowing for informal and open peer review, and that's ensuring that researchers can be agile but prevent mistakes while they are working so quickly. Well, that one's called how policymakers should use the wealth of COVID-19 data. It's by Rhys Kasin at the University of Ottawa. What's your third story, Linda? My third story involves vaccines. In a time of coronavirus, measles and polio still exist. In fact, measles still infects millions each year, and while resources are being pulled from vaccination efforts, there are groups that are working to keep mitigation measures in place, and that is to ensure preventable diseases in the world's poorest countries don't create a higher death toll and further overwhelm health systems as we fight the virus. Okay, that one's called will COVID-19 lead to the global resurgence of other deadly diseases? Linda, thanks very much for your help. Thanks so much, Robin. That's about all from World Versus Virus this week. You can find all our coverage of COVID-19 at weforum.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and on Twitter using the handle at WEF. Please subscribe to receive the podcast every week. Just search World Versus Virus on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or most of the podcast platforms. Let's end on an up note. To mark Earth Day, which was last Wednesday, April 22nd, a short film was released based on a meeting of a dozen Indigenous leaders from around the world who held councils and ceremonies in November, 2017. The film focuses on what they had to say about the environment. We have thousands of more environmental organizations that existed today than there were 30 years ago. But yet, mothers, life support systems are coming to the edge. And no one is asking why. The elders are saying, we must look inside rather than outside for the answers. The meeting of Indigenous elders was organized by an Alaskan Unangan leader, Ilarian Kuyuks Merkuliev. He told Reuters how their discussions were relevant to a world now locked down by COVID-19. What I would guide people to do would be to take advantage of the fact that the world has slowed down now and that we have to stay home. What led to that? How did I contribute? And what we must do to collectively change the dream that we are living in? So I'll leave you with the sounds of that film, which was released to watch online. And just search for Wisdom Weavers of the world. Remember who you are. Live your traditional wisdom. We need you. The Earth needs you. If we focus on what we dream this world to be, that will become the reality.


dedicated to the strength of the nation. proudly we hail. Starring Alexis Smith in the Professor Takes a Powder. United States Army and United States Air Force presentation. And now here is our producer, the well-known Hollywood showman, C.P. McGregor. Thank you, thank you, and greetings from Hollywood, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to your Theatre of Stars, where famous names of the cinema join us for your entertainment in plays we know you'll enjoy. Our star is the highly popular and glamorous Alexis Smith, and the title of our comedy romance, The Professor Takes a Powder. We'll have the curtain for act one in just a moment. But first, here is our announcer with a brief message of importance. Veterans, your experience in the U.S. Air Force can mean a lot to you. Right now, the Air Force can use your skill in training. You'll be enlisted in grade according to your ability and experience. And if you want to train for a new career in aviation, you'll have opportunity to qualify for one of the Air Force specialist schools. Ask for details about opportunities for veterans at your U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force recruiting station. And now once again, our producer. The curtain rises on act one of the Professor Takes a Powder, starring Alexis Smith as Joyce Gray. Pretty Joyce Gray, author of the best-selling novel, Girl on Fire, is taking a trip back to the little college she graduated from, not so many years ago. Just as her train pulls out from the station, her agent, young Hal Ford, leaps aboard and breathlessly falls into the seat beside her. I made a choice. Just about. Sit down before you collapse, Hal. Thanks. How did I say that before? No, you didn't. You look sweet. Or isn't the literary agent allowed to say that to his most successful author? Well, if he doesn't add another 5% to his bill, then it's all right. Oh, all these nice things I say to you were on the house. I was going to add that I say them from the heart, but I better not. By the way, Girl on Fire sold a thousand copies this past weekend. Hooray for us. Yeah, now let's be serious, Joyce. I'm having a hard time with those Hollywood guys. Your contract is a right of course for your being on the lot next week. Joyce, it isn't too late yet. Let's get off at the next station. Let's call the whole thing off. Why do you insist on going back to Walden College, if you didn't have more important things to do? What are you going to do for seven long days in that Hick College town? I spent four long years there and rather liked it. Hal, now that we're on the train, actually on our way there, no more opposition, please. Here's if opposition from me meant anything. It's this professor Wentworth Welge you're going back to say, isn't it? I cannot tell a lie.  There must be some boy.  What is this strange power some men have? You're willing to ruin a good Hollywood opportunity just to sit at the feet of a dried up old professor.  I want to see his face, hear his voice. You just don't understand, Hal. Yeah, I'll be the first to concede that. But it's obvious enough you can't forget about professor Wentworth Welge. I wish you wouldn't say his name with such special destructive care. He is the reason I'm going back. I've got to. Once I was madly in love with him, believe it or not, I wrote sonnets to him. Well, now I've got to prove to myself that little Joyce is really cured, that he doesn't mean anything to me. You know what I'm thinking, don't you? Yeah, that this is a pretty elaborate way to prove my point. Right. Well, I'll admit it. Besides, now that I'm... Well, now that I've made the best seller list, I want to go back to Walden College where I was such a little mouse and show off. You think that's small and vain and petty of me. To want to go back and show off, don't you? No. No, I don't. I had something to show off about. A wide-ridden girl on fire I'd want to go back to. Hal Forge, you're a good guy. Yeah, one of the original fascination boys. For weeks now, I've been trying to... Well, to convince you that you and I could hit it off together. And what happens? All you can think of is Wentworth Wells, the campus Casanova, the guy who once wrote sonnets to and probably still would like to, worse luck. I think you may be wrong there, but that's what I've got to find out. That's why I'm going back to bury the ghost of an old love. What I'm afraid of is... Well, let it go. That I'll change my mind about the burial? Yep. I don't think so. But you've got to find out for yourself. Yeah.  And from the sound of that motorboat, they're still at it. They didn't use to allow motorboats when I was here. Oh, oh, there's his house. Who's that? Oh, you mean Wentworth Wells. I'm sorry, it's the only way I can say it. Giving it all its full academic splendor. Yeah, very neat, very romantic. A house by the lake. You've made up your mind you're not going to like him. Give me one, no. Make it six good reasons why I should. Well, I suppose there's no use in our standing here. Let's go in. He's expecting us. All right, let's go. Hal, Hal, you know something. I'm nervous. Oh, no. You mean you've got that old sonnet feeling back again? I mean I've got the old feeling I had when I was a timid, wide-eyed freshman. I mean that I'm nervous. Come on, I want to meet this guy who can do that to you. Here goes. Joyce! Hello, Professor Wells. Oh, Joyce, how nice to see you. How very nice. Please, please come in. Oh, this is Hal Ford, my literary agent. Howdy-do, Mr. Ford. Howdy-do. This is Sue Johnson, one of my students.  Oh, Miss Gray, I read Girl on Fire. I read it twice and I think it's wonderful. Oh, thanks. That's very sweet of you. You're going to hear a lot of praise for Girl on Fire, Joyce. Walden College is quite proud of you. Did you read it, Professor? Read it? Of course, and enjoyed it thoroughly. It was so nice of you to come back to Walden. Too bad you can only stay a week. Mr. Ford, Sue, I wonder if either of you would mind if Joyce and I went for a walk along the lakefront. You see, we have so much to talk about. Oh, don't mind me. Joyce, you would like that, wouldn't you? I think so. I'll see you tomorrow, Sue. Yes, yes, Professor Wells. I'll be waiting around. We won't be very long, Hal. We'll come back, Joyce. You sound as if you were disappointed. Disappointed? My dear, what I meant was, well, you've become successful, and I was wondering what would happen to you. What would happen to the lovely unspoiled girl I used to know at Walden College? What has happened, Professor? Professor? Must we be so formal, Joyce? There was a time when, well, when... Wentworth? That's better. What has happened to me? I mean, is there any change? Yes, yes, I think so. There's a new warmth and depth about you. I sensed it in your book. You've become lovely. You've matured. Have I? Do you remember when we used to walk along this lakefront? Yes, yes, I remember. Do you remember this? When we two parted in silence and tears, half brokenhearted to sever for years, pale grew thy cheek and cold... Colder thy kiss. Truly that hour foretold sorrow to this. The dew of the morning sunk chill on my brow. I felt like the warning of what I feel now. Joyce? Yes, Wentworth. I hoped you'd come back. Did you? When I said goodbye, when I suggested we might write to each other... Joyce, that was a long time ago. Joyce, do you know... Tell me. Darling Joyce. Oh, Wentworth. Someone's rowing in. Who is it? Why, it's Hal. Hello, Hal. Oh, hello. They told me I could get to the other side of the lake by rowing over. I am. What time is it, Hal? One o'clock. You want to ride back, lady? Make no extra charge for rowing my office around. That includes their friends, too, Professor Welles. Oh, no, thank you. I think I'd prefer to walk back. How about you, Joyce? Well, I suppose I'd better go back to my hotel. I didn't realize it was so late. Here I come. The gondolier with blisters on his hands. Grab the bowl, would you, Professor? I've got it. Step in, Joyce. In my hand, madame. Thank you, Hal. Joyce. Good night until tomorrow. Good night, Wentworth. Until tomorrow. Good night, Professor. Good night. Having fun, Joyce? What? I said, uh... Oh, stop rowing, Hal. Okay. You know, Joyce, once I met a friend who'd just been psychoanalyzed. You know, sometimes those sessions run into two years and cost thousands in analyst's fees by the time you get through. Well, after two years of wrestling with his inhibitions, this fellow found out that the reason he was in an emotional mess was that he was a stock and bond salesman when he should have been a locomotive engineer. Imagine that. Well, tonight, all this is rather long-winded, but don't help me. I'll get to my point. Tonight, I found out that what I always wanted to be is a boatman. Don't, Hal. All right, I won't. Well, why don't you say it? Say what? All right, I have nothing to say. Besides, I'm only your agent. Well, say it anyway. Say, I told you so. Not me. I don't go in for it. Well, we... we better be getting back to the hotel. Hal. Yes, Joyce? Hal, I came back here to prove to myself I was cured. Yeah, I'm... Hal, I love him. I always have, I guess. That's why I came back. I had to come back. He loves me too, Hal. He told me so. That makes everything just dandy. Oh, I'm... I'm so happy. That's swell, Joyce. Swell.  I'm gonna hold your hat. I'm gonna make time rowing back. I'm gonna prove to you that the volga boatman was just an over-belly-hoed bluff. Here goes. We caught briefly from our story the professor takes a powder starring Alexis Smith to bring you an important message from your government. Ladies and gentlemen, our Army and Air Force are critically short of physicians and dentists. Over 2,000 volunteers from these two professions are urgently needed today to safeguard and care for the health of the men and women who as members of the United States Army and United States Air Force are serving you and me at home and overseas. Young physicians and dentists, particularly those who did not serve in the armed services during World War II, have been asked by their government to act now to volunteer for duty at once. If you are one of these young physicians or dentists, please write or wire either the Surgeon General of the United States Army or the Air Surgeon of the United States Air Force at once and volunteer your services. If you know of one of these young physicians or dentists, please call his attention to this urgent message. Thank you.


Solar-driven H-202 production presents a renewable approach to chemical synthesis. Here, authors perform a mechanistic analysis on the contribution of the sodium cyanaminate moiety to the two electron-oxygen reduction reaction performance of polymeric carbon nitride frameworks. This article was authored by Yu Ba-jiao, Peng Zhong, Jinshu and Yang, and others.


In today's episode, we feature the story of Lukas Wanyama, a Kenyan karateka who's using his talent in karate to positively impact the society. My name is Lukas Wanyango Wanyama from Busea County. I was born in Bukulumi Village. Like for instance currently, I'm staying at Madare. Maybe like whatever I'm doing, I normally work with G4S in K9 unit. That means I train dogs, I work with dogs. But apart from that, karate is my passion. That's why it's not easy for me to go to school. I work with a family of two. We are five boys. I'm the last born. My elder brother lives in Mombasa. He's the one who took me to school in 2004. When I joined high school, that was Buhalare Boys High School in 2004, February. Then I completed my high school in 2007. Then I got a mini grade of C minus. Then I started doing some sort of mobile charging. I learned how to charge CMU to the nearest market centre, which is called Ikonzo Market. When I was in the market, I started charging. When I started charging, I was in Kachini. I opted to start at least something like shaving. Then I went to Kinyozi. The same way. Growing up, Luka Suanyama first a number of odds, among them, the loss of his father. Niki kwa na mami. My dad died in the year 1998. In 2012, nili kuja na kwa na nafasi yaku hanzisha security group kwa market. Then the same that year 2012 is when nili on advert, kwa mba G4S ma ime se ma inataka watu aneze apply. I applied. I was shortlisted, but when I was called to come to Wheat Road, Nairobi, akunot manage to get fair, yaku kuja. Dio yu na fasi Kani Pita. After 3, 2, 3 months even, nika skia kumetanga zwa kisumu. YMCA, nia sitam kwa mba onataka G4S. Nika enda na kwa sababu ya, batimuzuri nili fika uko. Everything, yu process yote nili piti ya na nika chukuliwa. That was 2012. Muizu aneze. Then I was told to report to Mumias. Maijani in Karate started in 2012. Muizu atis happenu nili meet Simon Onyango. He was a G4S instructor. Enda lukwa in charge of physical fitness. G4S Kampan, kwa zi tuweza mandatory for every G4S employee kufanyama zwezi on Friday. The word Karate, ya, it was derived from a combination of two words. First word was kanji from Japan. It is called kanji. It means Chinese character. The second word is called kara. It means empty hand. It is an armed combat of using, our feet, hand in punching, kicking, but it is mostly practiced for the sake of sport in our train. The only way I am allowed to compete favorably is to do sports but we don't advocate kupigana. Many of you know kupigana. Many youth in informal settlements are faced with challenges such as poverty and unemployment which lead to many social ills. I used to trek kutwa ka kibira paka kaha waste bai then nikuwa na fanya na dogi waka tumigini na bebo na gariya dogi but I used to trek sikuwa na jua building yo yota na Nairobi apart from KCC na Tuskis. Nili fanya hivu for one month nikuwa na kujani kajiambia if na kwa natembe hivu kila siku ikazi tanisha na tanito roke na nikuwa mo one day nikuwa uli zaka zi akufanya ya jua kali unskilled manpower to do with the kabros isi mawe zaku pangaku apartments na nikuwa patawatu wambawa kasi mawekana at least absorb you huwe wana fanya mucana tunakulisima pema unanda job badele ya kuwa wana rudi kibira then I agreed madaare niya utali niya utali college life we are ghetto for example madaare uko wasa place mi na ka vijana na mingol nao life we koko see life right here nili life rough number one kuna for example sa parents they are unstable financially sa wakatu na pata waza zia wako stable wakatu mwingi wana utumia wakatu kuenda kuhasol wakatu wana enda kuhasol wuku nyuma they are not caring about family so much kwa sababu wakatu mwingi na tumia kuenda kutafutia wa toto lishe lishe bora kwa sababu waja isi maisha power na slums iko very risky kwa sababu number one kuna congestion watu ni wengi vijana atakama nuwas jana wengi sa iwa na tumia drugs sana wana tumia drugs na kama sa ii na iwa drugs watu na tumia drugs ina leta laziness apart from kuleta laziness ina leta inoafanya wana ingiwa kwa into bad groups na izo bad groups kwa sababu bad groups kuna vitu mwingi izo groups ina kuna mwana starehe starehe na ataka pesa aiyo pesa kwa they are not employed sana bidiwa ingiwa kwa crime as a way of giving back to the society Wanyama founded St. Benedict Karate Club in Madare where he trains youth and street children my journey to empower youths ili anza in 2015 nikiwa madare wafu gota social hall nia khumidepo iyo ni community based project rambaili jengwa kwa nili approach leaders nika wambia nia was practicing karate and I think I can still continue it and through that at least also the same way I can use that karate to the youths local leaders supported me kwa they saw what I was doing will have a big impact to the community kwa sababu empowering youths like for instance girl child is like educating a whole community my club nime gradisha meaning they have been examined by KKF and they found them fit to grade is to be examined is like when you learn in a college or in a school after learning on a later exam when you do that exam if you don't pass then you don't qualify so grading is like being examined doing an examination which is practical a practitioner nai toa karate na karate nai edge provided him to talk for 6 years and above and learn art mimi nipateku as idea nge into their shoes like something like empathy I must fit into their shoes nikuwansani jue what they are passing through for instance like they are using drugs mimi mmonyanu kuja nijulize how can I help them kutumiya drugs first it was just to at least welcome them when they have at least come after we have trained we normally give everybody a chance to express himself talk about his life talk about his challenges talk about zile vituzenya nge penda in his life accomplish then through that ovia skilla mutu kuna vituzenya mataza mimi mmonya kenita fahutina na wengine then we continue working towards kumeksua kwa mba at least skilla mutu aneza pata way forward nivipi aneza fanya nini aneza fikiya goals zile goals akeza niya kuna zo Lukas niko chongo fitness to limit last year actually last year was the perfect time to commit because COVID was in a bond house in Bahia so I will introduce this stuff actually nili pata kaba dine nendele alfajiri but I will comment on kwa live since tu patani kwa mse tu akuna positive vibes niku nge katu untoz back to back fitness nalikesa na kilimudu na kwa sana meni patia confidence na courage akuna woga woga masolatsu na jo kishanzak na kwa mbo kufrutana na mutu aapia nakpatia confidence in life kufesu mavitumba limbali na pia health wise maze imeni sa idea sana his love for karate health back from high school wanyama says discipline is key for a karateka for you to bring light anywhere you must see light first so it was my first it was my responsibility atleast for me I'm the first person who should be more discipline kwa kua kwa uwa I'm going to talk to arataka kwa mpres how maybe Wiliana nioona how I conduct myself Wiliana move around what I do so convincing these kids is very easy because now we develop friendship They see, I love them, they also, at least, maybe see how I conduct myself. Kupata hawa toto niraisana, kwa sababu wan, I'm already, mimi nimi wana light, nimi wana umuhimua karate. So I'm only passing on, na nawa patiya to niki tu na patiya, is something like a legacy, niki tu wama wana nikonayo. So na patiya na also karate is something discipline, it has got rules, like we have got five rules, five rules of karate. Number one, someone should be faithful. Two, there is a endeavor, endeavor means that we should at least work hard in our life, at least to become independent. We should work hard in our life, at least to be more productive. Number three, third rule, we should refrain from bad behavior, meaning you cannot become a karateka if you are a bad guy. Maybe you might have been a bad guy but you must change, that one must tell us, admit that though I was a bad person, lakini mekubali ku change. You should refrain from bad behavior. Then another one is someone should seek character perfection. Lajma mtu akwe na tabiyamzuri. Lajma ukwe na tabiyamzuri, you cannot be a karateka, kamauna tabiyamzuri. Refrain from bad behavior, seek character perfection, be faithful and endeavor. Then the last one we have got, to respect people. Karate goes with respect. Apart from these moves na ni ni ni, sana sana discipline na cheki. Nga faya niki, nikiwa na ma boysuangu maze, as in discipline ben le kuwanzu na get. Historia kuwara frav, hai dai. Kwa sana tena, Siu link na ma street boysu sana, sana, sana. Na niwa sii, wana penda kuwara frav, violence, violence, as in. So niki kanao chi ni, niki tuwa kwa show, niki tuwa kwa show as in design. Akuna jakuwa raudi ni ni ni ni ni, you can do this and it will be humble in your life na cheki. Plasti taku sa idea zi upandewa madre ma glu glu ni ni. Outakwa that we can't shake it. Kamao me omit, sana sana. Nga kwa ako shake it, but through this stuff, tkona ma success. Wanyama boast of several achievements in his Karate journey. I've managed to participate in Kenya Open, that was 2013. It was at Social Hall, Kakamega, 2013. I've also attended Kenya Open Championship at Tuk, Nairobi Technical University, that was still 2013. The other one, I went, it was in Ibushiya. Kenya Open, tuli kwa Ibushiya. Then on that day I was number four, kwa zinili fika semi. Here in Kenya Karate, to Kenya paku, tukona federation. It is called KKF, Kenya Karate federation. Being, style is called Shotokan, tukona our president, tukona our president, Jono Witi, who is the head coach. We have got a federation. I'm an affiliate, meaning that I'm a member there. Based in India, Mumbai, it is called SKC, Shotokan Karate do. They are our representative in Kenya here. The second one is called Koshkul. It is, headquarters is in Singapore, but it is originated from Japan. Me ni branch chief, BC, branch chief representative, Kenya. As a sport, Karate has its advantages. I have more than three cases, what when you are cosmetic and through training you are a pona, bila kupela kwa, hospitality. Also, we have cases to do with things like siko selanemia, me kuna wa toi wengi. Kuna moja happen to have one. Alikuwa siko selanemia, naukiwa na siko selanemia, you cannot manage to reach 13 years. But when I was training that kid, alipela kuna Nairobiosipito, aka uli zwa, umutana na nda wa api, aka ambi wa hua na nda kufa kutrain, and if you are physical fitness. That is when the doctors told their parents, the parent of the kid that, kama umutu yange kwa mba hua ndi, kufanya physical fitness, yange kwa lisha yaga kitambu. Ni litu in Karate 1, to keep my body fit. 2, for my self-defense when it come to really life situation, kwa street wapi when I am working. I work as a free man because I know I am fit. And I use my hands and legs as a weapon to defend myself anyway. Vizana na mtani, na zwa advice for joining Karate, kama sport. Na zwa advice for joining Karate, because you have to keep fit. Wuki fanya zwezi, makonju itata kukari bia, because your body is already fit. Na pia, waki zwezi Karate, hote azaia kukua indolnes. Kusya fanya zwezi, na toko kwa mechoka, uchi sumbona na matu, na danda huna tekshawa. Na na pia, displane, kufanya na kwa moa displane, because mostly our instructors na tuwambi yange kusya trail, isuri bakia bo, pahal. Kendo kwa inze, kaka moa enzako, but avoid mali penyokuna kelele na uchokoze na mambungine. Ki trail Karate wizi nda kwa ulevi, wizi nda kwa futabangi, unia yotraig. It is said that nothing good comes easy. Therefore, here are some of the challenges when yama has encountered. When you start something, there is that maturity stage, kwa sababu, nulini kwa wakati nili anzisha, nili anzisha Karate, to challenges ni mingi, before fikei yo levo ya kusya, makoma nao you have a team, nina kuchukua time, kwa sababu you must train them, wafikei yo levo ya kuna, they can compete favorably. When asked how bright the future is, this is what he says. The near future, I am going to make a big change to the youth, kwa sababu they believe in me, they believe in what we are doing, they have also at least seen the impact of what we are doing, because they are in for it, they are doing it. There is something which maybe I have not mentioned, right now, I am working with street kids, maybe we have got difference between those kids that are home and street kids, now it is very different. Ya, I am working with street kids, those are street from Mulango, Isli, Kidurai, Tiyarem, Dandora you can name it, those street may be, may be the person who atleast who helped me to know them, is called Lenore, Lenore by one of alfajiri street kids. We only had this idea kujua mambuna street kid, na when I met Lenore, we met when I was training kids, Lenore got me when I was training kids at St. Benedict Catholic Church, along Thika Road, near NYS headquarters. He used to come and just to watch what I was doing every day, then one day he approached me and said, I have seen what I mean, I would like when I opened my organization to give you a chance to be interacting with the kids, to atleast be helping us, talking to them, because in that way you will be mentoring them, then I said that will be good, that was 209, through Lenore I've managed to know to atleast what street kids are passing through, their problems they are facing, nime onga ya now, ya nime kua naenda kua na watafuta, those bases naenda iso base, for instance like right now, mimi am their coach, mimi ni kua chuao last year last year but one I managed to train them up to the level that I took them to Nairobi National Lumisium as a club, Al Fajiri Karate Club through me, na as we speak right now vijana when nime manage kutua kwa street they are uncounted. When come to a close, Wanyama does not hesitate to leave a word of advice to the viewer. My advice to the young generation nikuwamba, let us come together, let us know that the greatest wealth on earth is your health and the only project you have is your life. One, two, one, one, two, three, four.


I was debating on making this video about sexual predators in 12 step programs but I was inspired by the Me Too movement as well as the new How Will I Change movement and all I could do is speak my truth. So stick around because this is something that we need to talk about. What's up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem but we focus on the solution and yes sexual predators in 12 step programs are a big problem but we're going to talk about that problem and then we're going to dive into the solution. I have to start this video out with a big fat disclaimer because I need to let you know that 12 step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous saved my life and I wouldn't change it for the world and the best way that I can put this into words is by reading this quote from the AA Big Book which states, we miss the reality and the beauty of the forest because we were diverted by the ugliness of some of its trees. So yes there are some sexual predators in 12 step programs but the programs as a whole are amazing and they can save your life. It's just I need to warn you because I'm the type of guy where I'm not going to sit here and sugarcoat it and say that every meeting that you go to is just filled with amazing people because the reality is there's some scumbags in there too. So hopefully by the end of this video I'll be able to provide you with some solutions that can help you whether you're a woman or a guy who just really needs to get his act together. So when I was seeing this how will I change hashtag and thinking about what I could do because I do a lot already and this is something that I've always seen and thought about but I haven't really spoken up about it and I'm going to share with you a few stories for my friends who are women in the program and this first one is what comes to mind when I think about this. So one of my friends who I actually used to party with and she saw me at my worst she ended up getting three DUIs here in Las Vegas which resulted in her going to jail for I believe about six months. One day when I was driving home from work I saw her walking across the street and I pulled over and I was like hey do you want me to give you a ride and she told me she was on her way to a local club we have here in Las Vegas not that kind of club an AA club and this place it's huge they have three or four meeting rooms it's a hangout spot they got a coffee bar they got like pool tables and video games and like people just go there and hang out so I was like cool I could use a meeting like I'll give you a ride and I'll hang out for the meeting and we get there and as soon as we go outside hanging out and having a smoke all these guys one by one just keep coming up to her and just saying like oh you're new here oh hey my name's so-and-so this is my name here's my number if you ever need help in your early recovery please get a hold of me and I'm sitting there and I'm like are you kidding me right now now I want to make it clear people are very friendly when you first coming into the program but it was very clear that they were praying on her because she was a brand new vulnerable woman coming into the program how do I know this because not one of these men said hi to me and this is a meeting that I never go to so I was not a familiar face for all they knew I could have been my first day clean and they would have had no idea because they focused all their attention on her and this is such a scummy thing to do praying on women who are just getting sober in their most vulnerable state and speaking of a vulnerable state I have to share this next story one of my now friends moved out to Las Vegas in order to get clean and sober and when she got here there was a mix up with the sober living she was moving into and thank god for the women in the program who helped her out during this time but this young woman had lost connections with her family they didn't want anything to do with her or anything like that so when she first got here to Las Vegas she went into a meeting and she shared in that meeting just a complete wreck about how she doesn't have any family she doesn't have anything and she's basically homeless after that meeting a man walked up to her and he said a girl as pretty as you should never have to be homeless like are you kidding me right now those of you who are in the program and have ever been to a meeting you know how hard it is to even open up and get vulnerable and share in front of people and this guy found that that was a right opportunity for him to go over there and hit on her and while she's in this completely vulnerable state like this is the kind of stuff that just enrages me lastly I have to share this story with you as well and it actually happens to be with the same young woman who was just in the last scenario I shared about we always say don't date in early recovery and the list of reasons why is endless and I will make videos more about that for both men and women but one of the main reasons is because there are some very scummy people in the program and those of you who are clean and sober you know when we first get clean and our our drugs or alcohol whatever it was was our life that's what we were connected to once you take those away we're immediately drawn to people we need to fill that void with something and my friend she was going to meetings and there was this guy in there and he was these are her words he was mr. a every meeting he was sharing he was saying very inspirational things and he looked like the guy when it comes to alcoholics anonymous this guy had uh two or three years under his belt and when he started showing her attention obviously she was willing you know good-looking guy she's new in recovery this guy clearly has his stuff together but if you've been around meetings long enough you know that there's a big difference between being able to talk to talk in the meetings and walk the walk outside of the meetings so he ends up asking her out and they start dating and she thinks this has to be a good idea because just look at the way he shares in meetings he must be a good guy he must have his act together but that was not the case this guy had very bad intentions he ended up breaking her heart which almost led to her relapse but thank god she was in a sober living with women who were there to support her and then this guy went on to hook up with multiple other women in the program and she found out that that was this guy's game he finds new women in the program to show off to date them hook up with them and then kick them to the curb and this infuriates me see personally for me like i i'm not innocent when it comes to never being a scumbag to women but when i got sober i raised the bar for myself some people they say okay just getting clean that's where i'm setting my bar but as i started working this program i realized that i was a dirtbag in all aspects of my life and i didn't want to have to hurt women anymore let alone my family my son my friends and all these other people but there are so many people in the program where their bar is at the bare minimum of just getting clean and they still use abuse manipulate women take advantage of them and this brings me back to the next quote from the a big book selfishness self-centeredness that we think is the root of our troubles driven by a hundred forms of fear self-delusion self-seeking and self-pity we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate that's right when we get clean when we get sober we have to learn how to be rid of selfishness and i don't know about you but i literally cannot think of anything more selfish than putting your own libido ahead of the priority of somebody else's sobriety that is probably the most selfish thing that one of us can do to another human being in the program some of you know exactly what i'm talking about if you've been around the program long enough how many people have you seen relapse because of a relationship any respectable man in the program would know how vulnerable women in the program are when they first get there this is completely different than the outside world like men try to justify this by saying she liked me she wanted to date me it was consensual and i hate i absolutely hate to use this analogy but to me it's as disgusting as being a pedophile even if a young person consented to these acts they are not mentally developed enough to make these types of conscious decisions so using that as some type of scapegoat for your own terrible malicious behavior is absolutely disgusting to me people coming into this program are completely broken and they are looking they are reaching for anything to clutch on to and let me lay it out for you real simple you are not what they need to cling on to they need to work on their own self-esteem their own self-worth their own self-love these are the things that should be their priority and if you gave a damn about their recovery if you were properly working this program you would let them heal before you tried any type of a relationship with these women just getting clean in the program but now it's time to talk about the solutions so first this message is for you if you are a man who falls into any of the categories that i just talked about you need to get better quit being a scumbag because you are being a garbage human being and you are being a disgrace to these 12 step programs that are meant to save people's lives so cut it out with the fact that there are billions of people on this planet and you know your vision down to the newcomer is repulsive and i have to apologize because in my other video that i'm going to link up here the info card where i was giving tips about dating and recovery i made a joke about this about not dating newcomers but this is a real actual issue don't do it okay people are hanging on by a thread when they first get clean and it is extremely selfish of you to put that in jeopardy just because you think that they are cute remember this we practice these principles in all our affairs that means even when it comes to our relationships and our own need to be in relationships scratch that not need but want the second solution is pointed at you ladies stick with the women i hate to say this like i hate having to warn women about scummy guys out there i hate having to do that but this is one of the reasons why we say women stick with the women and men stick with the men because there are just far too many people out there who are not working this program properly and they are being sexual predators so women stick with the women find that female support group learn to love yourself you don't need any guy in early recovery to help you with your sobriety you can heal and you can get better and you have women to fall back on go to women's meetings a common excuse that i hear all the time from women in early recovery is but i don't like women i get along with men better i get it i'm the same way i get along with women better than men but i need to tell you this right now get over it you got to get over it because i cannot tell you how many women i've met who in early recovery said i don't get along with women and now that they have a year two years multiple years of sobriety all they can talk about is how they found women who they could rely on in recovery and now they stick with their women so just remember that you got to give it a chance not only just to avoid potential sexual predators in the program but to learn how to feel empowered as a woman and i know as a man i'm not a great person to talk about this but i'm letting you know what i've seen from my experience dealing with women who are in recovery so just remember we are a program that is meant to save lives and we need to start talking about these people who are making the program as a whole look terrible because people are not coming in because of matters like this and it has to change here's the question of the day what is your me too story about sexual predators in 12 step programs leave them in the comments below because the more you share the more we can open up a dialogue about this and potentially find even more solutions again for you men out there be better but if you like this video be sure to give it a thumbs up if you have any suggestions on future topics please live them in the comments below if you're new here i'm always doing videos about addiction about mental health i'm providing solutions to help you with your recovery as well as your mental health so make sure you hit the little round subscribe button right below this box over to the side of me you'll see some other thumbnails click and tap on them to check out other videos on this channel thanks for watching i'll see you next time


Welcome to another International Relations Capsule for Shankar IS Academy. We have already devoted two or three capsules to developments in Afghanistan. Things have been changing very rapidly, sometimes unexpectedly, and it has now reached a very critical stage when we can think in terms of looking at the future of Afghanistan. There are very clear indications as to who has won and who has lost, but there are no clear winners or losers in this war. Everybody realizes that it was the United States which lost the war. That was very clear from the beginning because the United States could not have continued there longer and it was in their interest to somehow withdraw. Therefore, things had started moving even at the time of Barack Obama and it was finally completed by President Biden. So if it was a soft arrangement by which there was a government, even with the participation of the Taliban and the Americans had withdrawn with all their supporters having been evacuated, it would have been a normal withdrawal for the United States. But this looked like a defeat for various reasons. First, they announced certain dates and then did not keep them. They suddenly decided to go. The crucial thing that they did not do was all their supporters, all those who worked for the US government, running into thousands, were not evacuated and they would certainly be the target of the Taliban government. That was a big mistake. Secondly, they did not wait till some kind of an arrangement was made so that either Mr. Ghani or somebody else would have taken power for a short period when the United States would have left and they would not have been dragged into the successive negotiations or decision-making. They could be very impartial. But in all these, United States failed and the general impression around the world is that this has been a big setback for the United States as well as for Mr. Biden. Of course, President Trump has made use of the opportunity to demand resignation by Biden and this has been considered as a great insult to the great civilization of the United States and people say no wonder Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires. But the consequence of this as well as we can see from now is the United States would lose its influence in the region as a whole. Of course, they had good relations with Pakistan. They had good relations with other smaller countries in South Asia. Of course, India, it has a very good relationship, Bangladesh. So United States was a benign power in the region so far. But this has affected its image of a benign powerful nation to which the countries in the region would have looked up to. And that of course will come back to the situation about India and what will happen to us on the count of this. But so there is this feeling that the US has lost the war despite the fact that they fought for 20 years and also spent more than a trillion dollars lost thousands of lives, not only of Americans but also NATO partners, the Afghan people, the Taliban. So many lives have been lost and what have you got back? You got back the Taliban.  And that is why it looked very foolish on the part of the United States to have led to this situation. But the United States is the leading power in the world and everyone will have to reconcile with the United States and United States decision making will have much to do about what happens to the recognition of the new government, the assistance to that government reconstruction and all this US will play a role. That way US has not lost but the impression is created like that because of certain lacunae in the implementation of that decision. As the Taliban want, this is another question everybody believes that they have in the sense that we are very close to forming a government. But more than a week has passed and then why is it that there is no government even today? So this is a question mark. This shows the situation being still rather uncertain. It is true that they are in occupation of the palace. There is hardly any resistance. At least there was no resistance initially. But now we have reports of resistance in the Panjshir Valley where Mr. Masood, the younger Masood is holding forth and Taliban has now dispatched some soldiers to fight the dissidents. But the Panjshir Valley has never under the occupation of the Taliban and therefore they do not know what kind of resistance they will get. And there has been some resistance in other parts of the country also, not specifically against the Taliban but basically nationalist demonstrations, carrying of the Afghan flag on the street and various things. But so far Taliban has reacted with restraint because they have so many constraints in the formation of the government and the future and therefore they are not done in the rush even though there have been reports of the women being shot at, of course people being shot as they rush towards the airport to catch the evacuation flights and so on. So there is a mix of restraint as well as their true colors you can see in the process. The encouraging sign is that they are also talking to other groups which are not entirely part of the Taliban. Taliban itself is a group of several terrorist groups, not so terrorist groups etc. And therefore anything can join in in the process provided they get the leadership and the others abide by their decisions and their plans to run the Afghanistan. But the main problem is the fundamentalist approach. They have been trying to play that down saying that we will be only following the Sharia law. That sounds fair enough because there are other countries with the Sharia law. But with the experience of 1996 to 2001, people are not very sure what they mean by the Sharia law. The Sharia law can be interpreted in various ways and Taliban have not created a manifesto before they won the war. That is what they could have done, explained their policy and how what Sharia laws will apply and how it will be implemented. But one thing is clear that the life and welfare of 14 million women are in danger and that is a danger that everybody senses. Though they have given some instances of women appearing on television and they are being asked to come back to the offices. But what they say and what they do, there is a huge gap. So obviously this whole situation or they're discussing and trying to get as much support as possible, as much recognition as possible from other countries, all these are open questions. In fact, the last time when they ruled from 1996 to 2001, they had only recognition of three countries, Pakistan, UAE and Saudi Arabia. And so they could run without any international recognition. It was possible for them because they don't function in traditional means. Their funding comes from drug trafficking and various other illegal activities. And therefore they could manage. And since then, these 20 years, they have evolved in many ways. The younger people have joined, they are more tech savvy, so they know what is going on around the world. So they have certain ambition about recognition and other countries, their opportunities to go abroad, all these are factors. So on the one side, the traditionalist, the hardcore fundamentalist fighting for their own survival and wanting to establish a certain strict discipline. And on the other hand, there is a certain flexibility on the part of younger people who have their own aspirations. But all this is still in a flux. And therefore, we do not know whether they can benefit from the changes that are going to bring in. Because there is a great fear that this will be the same as the past. And therefore whatever they say and do will be very closely observed by the international community. Many observers feel that the ultimate winner is neither the United States nor the Taliban, but Pakistan. Because we know very well that Pakistan has been guiding and leading the Taliban's struggle. And particularly after the date of date was announced, Pakistan virtually taking the lead in advising the Taliban and also contributing in whatever way they can in order to make it easier for them to come to power. Of course, Pakistan's objective is basically to counter India and their basic approach is to somehow get cashmere for themselves. So if that is their main aim in life, they will naturally try to use the Taliban for that purpose. But there will be a lot of unemployed terrorists in the Taliban after the government is formed. And therefore, it will be useful, it will be possible for them to use the Taliban terrorists in general and cashmere together with other terrorists in the region. And that of course is our major threat. But Pakistan is already considered to be a country which supports terrorists. You know about the, that they are being what is called the gray list of countries who support terrorism. They are not in the white or the black list, but the gray list in the sense that they are under suspicion. And therefore any support that they give to Taliban will itself be suspect. And therefore they cannot bring any legitimacy to Taliban. And one other thing that has happened in the last few days is that there are some comments, observations suggesting that the Taliban is not all that terroristic that they have other good points about them. Quite a few western newspapers and observers are building up kind of whitewashing the Taliban as well, saying that they have some positive elements of that they are not to be afraid of. And there is this tendency also there, which adds to a little more uncertainty. Even in our own newspapers, people have started reporting that after all, Taliban was not all that bad. So whether there will be a combination of support on account of the so-called changes and also the serious threat it poses to women, anti-human rights, etc., will come together in this process, we do not know. Much depends on what kind of coalition is formed at the end. The fact that Mr. Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah were modest and people for reconciliation are also in these conversations. But at the same time, that is the extreme, fundamental is like the Akhani network, which is nothing but the creation of the ISI of Pakistan. They are also involved in these conversations. So how are they going to find a common platform is very difficult to say. So when you talk about the future of Afghanistan, we are not in a position even to say what the nature of that government will be. Who will be ruling Kabul? We can only look at the straws in the wind. We know that the Americans had a setback. The Chinese are very keen to jump in and Pakistan is very excited that they have now a very strong influence in Afghanistan. The Taliban itself is quite uncertain as to what kind of policies they will follow. But the signals are like, for example, when they heard about the rebellion in the Banshee Valley, they did not say, okay, let them be. They sent the fighters there. Then the element, of course, is the so-called Afghan population. The Afghan population often we refer to as a pro-American population because the Afghan forces, Ghani's government and they are very concerned on what will be their future. And that is what we saw reflected in the activities at the airport where people were trying to run away because they thought that the Taliban will have the details of all these people who worked for the United States, as contractors, as guards, as gardeners, whatever. And the United States had the responsibility to take them away. They should have taken them away before they withdrew. Then they would have had all the facilities. Now we are in a situation where they may have to bring in more troops in order to take these people out. Of course, the Americans are still not sure why the Afghan forces did not fight the Taliban. They did not fight even once in spite of the fact that they had all these arms and very sophisticated ammunition. But perhaps they were not able to handle them. The Americans were handling them for them. And just leaving that as a booty for the Taliban may not have any value, but they may not be able to use them. They may be still happy with their old AK-47 rifles inherited from the Soviet Union. So that may be a factor. But there is also suspicion that the Taliban may have earned some goodwill during the period of occupation. Because many of them looked at American forces, not as saviours as sides, but as occupation forces. And the Americans were not spread friendly all over Afghanistan. Therefore, there were same some areas where Taliban used to run the government justice system. And they were quite generous to the people and not very harsh. So that may have been another reason why the Afghans, the people who were supportive of the United States, why they did not put up a big fight. But all these details we will get to know only by and by. So the biggest danger in the future of Afghanistan the way it is shaping up is the China-Pakistan Taliban access. Of course, China was not particularly close to the Taliban during these 20 years. They did not always act in the interest of the Taliban. And they did not work against the Americans the extent they could have done so. Because they probably felt that challenging United States in Afghanistan may not be the interest of the US-China relations in the long run. That's probably why they were restrained. But now they have the advantage that if the Americans have left and Pakistanis have come to the forefront, they can cooperate with Pakistan. And first of all, strengthen the Belt and Road Initiative so that they can have complete sway over the whole region after India, Afghanistan and beyond Pakistan and Central Asia. So there will be considerable financing available for Afghanistan in this process because it will be a continuity of the Belt and Road Initiative. Of course, they will end up in huge debts. But as of now, they will get the hospitals, they will get the schools, they will get various other facilities that people are aspiring for. And that is going to be the big role in China. But China has another interest. China already holds a large percentage of what are called the rare metals, which are necessary in the most modern technology. And these are very small quantities available in certain parts of Africa, now certain parts of Afghanistan. And therefore, they already have a certain control over these materials. And that gives them an advantage with regard to their own technological development, the AI and various artificial intelligence and withdrawn technology and various other things. So they expect, according to many reports, that they would have a big haul of these materials which are available, not yet exploited. And they'll be useful to them and that will strengthen their defense forces, strengthen their technology and make them ready for a battle for dominance in the future. So the time for the Taliban in cooperation with Pakistan is definitely a victory for the Chinese. And they may even become somewhat rigid. On the question of disengagement from Ladakh area. So India has two fronts to look after. Of course, we had these two fronts, Zabi Pakistan, as well as China, both nuclear weapon states. But that gets accentuated. The questions arise more and more on what happens. But the success of the Taliban in forming a government will depend on their ability to remove poverty and hunger. Because Afghanistan is not in its best form at the moment. The money that used to flow from the United States was completely stopped. And will the Chinese be able to support the Afghan people to that extent? Is a question mark. And that's probably one of the reasons why the Taliban wants more recognition and more assistance from other countries. Russia is a surprise because our foreign minister, because rather late in the day, but he visited Iran and Moscow and also Tashkent. And even some of the countries in Central Asia who are with China in the sense they are members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Of course, India and Pakistan are also members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. But that organization is becoming more and Russia is also part of it. What is becoming more of of a Chinese outfit. And so, well, that organization may be used. And therefore, the influence of the Taliban might go on to the Central Asia. So, certainly, it is a victory to them. But how does Russia see all this? It looks like Russia has at least entity decided to back the Taliban. And that is of course to oppose their traditional opponents, which is the United States. And the United States is weak. Who is supposed to be more happy than Russia? And India getting closer to the United States is not a matter of great joy to the Russians. And therefore, they have been showing certain amount of distance from India, even though we continue to import all our military equipment from there. And we have an operation program. We are working in Vladivostok and other areas of Russia. And so, there is no dark of operation between India and Russia. But politically, they have been sending some signals. But they could have held back this open, diffusive reaction to Taliban. They could have been more restrained. And so, that is a surprise. And so is the surprise of Iran. Iran is also indicated that they are willing to accept. Of course, they would want a civilized government and no terrorist groups to be involved in the government, etc. So, but Iran also was not very cautious. They also rushed to the support of the Taliban. So in all this, Russia also and Iran, because remember when the foreign minister went to Iran, he spoke about the consensus that existed in the 1990s among these three countries, you know, Russia on Soviet Union at that time, then Iran and India. But the Iranians did not react to that. They did not say that consensus still remains. They know that the American factor had altered it. So, they're weighing their options, obviously. Nobody has formally recognized, because they're no government. No government is asking for recognition. And they're all keeping their options open. But we know the lineup. We really do not have with the United States becoming less and less interested because of their experience. Then who else is there to oppose the Taliban or to at least restrain them? And there, India seems to be somewhat isolated in that sense. If you look at Europe, there is greater hope there because Russians may not want to impose their ideas on Taliban, on Europeans, because they are looking for greater recognition in Europe and may not act against the interests of, in any case, the Europeans may not act against the interests of the United States. Though they are all very upset about what the Americans did, French President, then Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, they all been very upset that they were consulted. Final decisions were not given to them. And when the situation went out of control, there was nothing that they could do. So, they are very critical. So, they may hold back, they may not recognize the Taliban in a hurry, but they also have not considered the American action earlier respectable. So, this has to emerge. And there is a certain amount of allergy towards China in Europe and they have gone slow on some of the projects and trade, etc. with China. So, Europe is an area which gives them some hope of collaboration, discussion and cooperation. Of course, our problem is definitely that we have always been on the other side of Taliban, whether it was during the Soviet occupation, during the Taliban government, all during the American occupation. All through, we have been supportive of those who stood against the Taliban. And we have had hardly any contacts with them, even though we know that we are in touch with them, we were in Doha, we have conveyed our concerns to them, all this we know. But there is no indication, except some soft words that Taliban used about India saying that we are grateful for the things that India has done for us. We are not going to destroy those, the parliament building and various other things. And we will not target any particular country. But we know that many Indians were questioned outside the airport before they left. And also, there are indications that they have been collecting the information of the Afghans who have gone on the India flight. Of course, Indian embassy has withdrawn their two opinions. Some in India still feel that we should have left the embassy there so that we could contact and discuss issues with them, like the Russians have not gone, Iranians have not gone, Chinese have not gone. But our situation is very different. And I believe that the decision taken by the government of this India is quite right, that we can always go back if the situation is normal. But the inconvenience is being caused to those Afghans who are wanting to come to India on a visit or bring their relatives, some relatives are already in India. So who will give them the visas, etc., or other documents? Well, it's all being in the new technological age, e visas are possible. Then the other concern is what happens to Muslims who want to come back, come to India from Afghanistan. We have the Citizens Act, which has not been fully implemented. But that may restrict our freedom to bring in all those who ask for asylum in India. And we can only get them as refugees because we cannot settle them in India. And we'll have a heavy price to pay in terms of expenses and maintaining these people, all these flights and others. And we hope that several organizations, international migration organization or United Nations refugees, Commissioner and other programs will help India if many of them stay back in India for a considerable time. So the immediate questions are, number one, the evacuation process. President Biden has expressed concern about it and he said that this is the most difficult evacuation process the United States has ever faced. And he also said that we are not sure of the outcome and they have approached several other countries to give them temporary asylum. And they have been successful in several countries helping them out. After all, United States means people will come to collaborate. So rather than these seven is going to meet the most powerful countries in the world, including of course the United States and Japan and others. And they're going to discuss Afghanistan. And there there are some shades of opinion. Some of them believe that they may have to go for sanctions against Taliban if they continue with their terrorist policies. But again, they will give them time to see how they shape up and what other kind of needs they have. So human rights and economic management, if they are able to follow certain principles and show some stability, there may not be sanctions immediately from G7. But this will be a matter to be proved by them. So sanctions may not be supported by G7 at this point. And there is a little time, but how long this time will be, because the longer Taliban takes time to form a government with other like-minded parties, and also with some neutral people who have helped in the past, the more difficult it will be for Taliban to establish itself. And also there is this danger of the protest movements gaining momentum. Suppose the Taliban is not able to take back the Panjshir valley. It's quite possible that this may spread to other regions. And so it is a tense situation. So it is in their interest to see that as quickly as possible, they must form a government and try and seek support from others with a modest, with a moderate and benign agenda. And that whether Taliban will be able to do, we do not know. So if we rush to a government and things go wrong, then we will go back to square one, the situation which was there before the Soviets came into Afghanistan. So challenging times for Afghanistan, for Taliban, for Pakistan, United States, and more than anything else, anything else for India. So that is the concern we have. But we have no option but to wait and see. We have made the gestures that we are willing to talk and cooperate with Taliban. But I do not know what kind of formal reply we have got. So we have done all the right thing, but Taliban knows that India will be their main opponent if they don't refine themselves. But public opinion in India, there are some people who for various reasons seem to think that Taliban is not such a bad option. Anyway, but I do not subscribe to that. So we have to face the situation. And so future Taliban is still uncertain. There are lots of clouds. You don't see very little silver lining. But this is an inevitable situation which we have to face. And I suppose with the kind of emotional and military and political strengths that India has, we shall overcome. Thank you. No, the US cannot do it by itself, but it has to go to the United Security Council. There's a sanctions committee of which we are the chairman, India is the chairman of the sanctions committee of the Security Council. So there is a process. But when you read all these articles, one goes mad. There are so many articles saying so many things. It is very difficult to reconcile the different positions. And the material is so much, in fact, I wrote somewhere that this Afghan situation is contributing to climate change. So much reams and reams of paper for which tons and tons of trees are being cut. So that is another negative contribution of the Afghan situation. So many, many ideas are floating. And we have to look at them, try to use our own intelligence to see whether this is because what is the point in bringing the Akhani into this because Pakistani outfit and they will not be considered moderate by any other partners. So it may be difficult. So I don't think Americans would have made that promise. That is quite obvious. It was partly vengeance, partly to ensure that it doesn't happen again. But as they went along, all those, you know, actually they threw out the government of Taliban, I mean, in 1990, in 2001, very easily in the first few days. Then what happened? But why did they have to stay on? Because there was resistance. And the resistance assumed so many various shapes and sizes. And before they realized it, 20 years had passed and once million dollars were wasted, were spent and all that. And nothing seems good to have happened either to the United States or to Afghanistan in the process. This is like turning the clock back 2001. So it was not very wise. But then international politics, geopolitics, like that, it's not always very logical because there are so many actors involved and nobody knows exactly what actor expects from the conflict. But the origin is very clear and the objective was also very clear. Once they realized that they would be able to remove the government, they should have somehow withdrawn at that time itself. Add any other interest, economic interest, etc., we do not know. But this will all come out later. Okay? All the best. Thank you very much.


I want to thank the moderators for this 28th Annual McLean Conference on Clinical Medical Ethics. Yesterday Monica Peek and Marshall Chin and Laini Ross and Dan Solmezzi, and today Peter Angelos and Emily Landon. I of course want to thank all of the speakers, the speakers were drawn entirely from the McLean Center faculty and from our former fellows, except for Dr. Faust's wonderful talk on receiving the McLean Prize. Those of you who were here this morning heard me say that the first of the 28 McLean Conferences was attended by about eight or nine people gathered around a conference table and held our meeting and the number of fellow, former fellows and attendees has grown over the years. It's been a great delight to have you all here and for you all to thank you very much for having stayed so late on Saturday afternoon. We look forward, I don't have the date of next year's conference, but generally speaking it's the second weekend in November. I'll send that date out soon. So once again my sincere thanks from all of us at the McLean Center and at the University for your participation and attendance. Thank you.


one is the death will we see a dome in Baqi one is the death could we recite siara staring at Fooshra one is the death in Baqi it's beautiful and amazing and we see them of the utmost examples, exemplars on how we should love but there's one lady till today she weeps and she's still alone she's given away four sons and yet she calls out for Imam al-Hussein I have slept countless sleepless nights as my tears I weep not able to comfort my tears at myself, at myself even my shadow at myself was once raised by many pillars my only beauty in its mirror Abbas and his be absent, be king to my shadow I'm so un, there's no light I'm left drawing my son's shadow draw out for me his shadow that I am sunless alone know that there will pretend that my son I set him to bat yet when he is gone and so not a tear in my eyes not knowing how much I would cry thinking I'm smiling a poet comes to he says umul of sorrow speak as the tears of a mother Fooshra sent him go and alone her son is the blood within her veins what happened of Karbala my children only Hussein was born with death upon his tongue in that desert alone children of it waves its dust showered by arrows Zainab world and men's eyes Suha shadow shimmer's love Haida Karbala's dust with my son's blood now of my grief and pain every time I think of him Mashem's moon I sent him for Hussein to an early tomb I raised him so Hussein's name in his heart's a tune were cut for his banner


Patient and family engagement is about engaging patients or their family members in their own care. So as partners in taking their medications the right way or following directions or keeping appointments or knowing the information they need to make the best decisions, that's one level. But there's a whole nother level of actually engaging them as partners as we come up with solutions. And that's what the Patient Safety Movement Foundation does so well. You actually take people who have had experience with the system failing them and you say, okay, help us figure out the solution. And in hospitals that looks like a patient and family advisory council or having a patient on your board of directors, it's not so much their day-to-day treatment. It's actually bringing in their wisdom as a patient and plugging it into decision-making and strategic planning. And that's a huge, huge underutilized resource right now. We're not engaging patients and families. CMS is one of the organizations, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is one of the organizations that made an early investment in person and family engagement. They're the ones that said to all hospitals, you should have a strategy to engage patients and families as partners. That was starting in 2011. Just now we're starting to get data that shows that investment paying off. And the data is showing right now that when you engage patients and families as partners, you reduce readmissions and you reduce falls. So those are the two areas now where we have good, solid, system-wide data. I'm sure that's going to be true for other things we study as well, but that's just what's been studied so far. What the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services did is say, okay, let's really drive six things through the entire system. So let's get every hospital doing this. One of those things is actually having a checklist that you use when you discharge patients. So they get the same kind of information system-wide, you know, not variable, depending on how busy the unit is. But across the hospital, you're using the same checklist technology to actually say, okay, you're being discharged now. Where are you going? Who's your caregiver at home? Do you have a way to get your medications? All that sort of stuff. The second one is bedside huddles or shift changes at the bedside where you actually engage the patient in conversation. So one nurse is leaving her shift. The next nurse is coming on his shift. And as they transfer information back and forth, they actually engage the patient in the conversation. And it's very, very simple. It doesn't need to involve any kind of different workflow, but we've got a lot of resistance from nurses for that right away because they thought it was going to take more time. Once you get into it, you realize it actually saves time. You get information from the patient that actually makes the conversation more accurate. And so that's one that has been pretty much a success story in terms of implementation. I can't think of a story where a nurse who, a nursing unit who tried it, didn't realize, oh my God, this is really, really helpful. The third one is starting a PFAC. Do you have a patient family advisory council that actually is bringing in that wisdom I talked about from your users of care into your strategic planning? Fourth is, do you have somebody who identifies primarily as a patient or family member on your board of directors? So you actually have that experience there at the very, very top decision-making level. And then the fifth one is, really, do you have a medication strategy that really engages patients and families as partners? Because medication safety is such a complex problem. We cannot really ever succeed in getting people to take their medications the right way unless we engage them as a partner and tell them about. So that's kind of the core of what CMS is doing. And we built that bundle of things into our patient family engagement actionable patient safety solution.


The worst IELTS essays. The Memorised Template. Students love these because all they have to do is memorise the template and add in their ideas. The problem is they're full of grammar mistakes, they don't make sense, but most importantly, the examiner knows they are memorised. The writing test is not a memorisation test. And if you use these, it's impossible to get a high score. Instead, follow the golden rule. If you aren't ready to write an essay without a template, you aren't ready to get a high score.