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Meeting date: Wednesday, June 21, 2017
Meeting of the Parliament 21 June 2017
Agenda: Motor Neurone Disease Global Awareness Day, Business Motion, Portfolio Question Time, Freedom of Information Requests, Agriculture, Business Motion, Parliamentary Bureau Motions, Prohibited Procedures on Protected Animals (Exemptions) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017 [Draft], Point of Order, Decision Time, Stroke Care
Motor Neurone Disease Global Awareness Day
Prohibited Procedures on Protected Animals (Exemptions) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2017 [Draft]
Question 1 has not been lodged.
Dentists (Rural and Island Communities)
2. Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address the reported shortage of dentists in rural and island communities. (S5O-01136)
The Minister for Public Health and Sport (Aileen Campbell)
There has been a substantial increase under this Government in the numbers of high street dentists providing national health service dental care in Scotland. We recognise the potential challenges facing very remote and island communities, and that is why we have put recruitment and retention allowances for high street dentists in place. The areas where those allowances are available are reviewed annually to ensure that the needs of our island and rural communities are reflected.
I thank the minister for that answer, but that has had little impact. She will be aware that a dental practice has closed in the Uists and that there are proposals to close another one there. The lack of dentists in Lewis means that 6,000 people are without a dentist, and there is a similar situation in Shetland, where people are being asked to fly to the mainland to access private dental treatment.
Nothing that the minister has specified has changed that. It is not enough, and she knows that poor dental health impacts on an individual's overall health. What is she going to do to ensure that my constituents can access dental services close to home?
Aileen Campbell
In relation to Lewis, officials have been working closely with the health board over the past few months. We expect a new high street dental practice to open in Stornoway within the coming months. As soon as an opening date has been confirmed, we will be sure to let interested members know about it.
As for Shetland, capacity is being built. This is the first time that a high street dental practice is offering NHS dental services. The opening of that in Shetland will enable the board to free up the PDS—the public dental service—to ensure that those islands that are further away from the Mainland of Shetland have access to dentists.
I should point out that the Government's record is strong when it comes to dentists. More than 91 per cent of people in Scotland are registered with an NHS dentist, compared with only 52 per cent in September 2007. What we inherited in 2007 has been drastically overcome, and we will continue to build on that record to ensure that people across the country, regardless of whether they live in rural or island communities, get the access that they deserve.
I wish to question the minister further. It is not just about dental health. In Caithness, there are plans for NHS Highland to pool services between three medical surgeries, which is totally unacceptable. Does the minister have a view on that, or is that acceptable, too?
That is slightly tangential, but the minister may briefly respond.
We will endeavour to ensure that we engage with the member about the issues. The Government is ensuring that there is adequate local provision for people who require medical help and support, as well as ensuring that we have the clinically driven evidence that is required for the appropriate siting of specialist services, delivered in a safe way for patients. We have a strong record in ensuring that medical support is provided in localities that are suited to people.
On the issue that Edward Mountain raises, we will continue to work with him to ensure that that provision can be enhanced.
I have a relevant supplementary question, Presiding Officer.
I remember a situation in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire years ago, when there were queues round the block to register with NHS dentists, such was the demand of patients relative to the shortage of NHS dentists. How has the number of dentists being trained and employed to deliver NHS services changed over the past decade?
The minister will note that it is for the chair to decide what is and is not relevant.
Okay. Thank you, Presiding Officer. However, Gillian Martin is right and correct to point out that there has been significant change over the past 10 years, and part of that success has been down to the opening in 2008 of the Aberdeen dental school, which is near the area that the member represents and has helped to increase the supply of dentists in the north of Scotland by 31 per cent over the same period.
Again, over the past 10 years, the number of dentists, both independent and employed, providing NHS general dental services has increased by almost 30 per cent, and we now have nearly 3,350 dentists in Scotland providing NHS general dental services. We continue to train dentists to ensure that the dental workforce of the future reflects our population's needs, with 178 students expected to graduate this year, compared with 133 in 2008.
Registered Nurses from the European Union (EU Referendum)
3. Colin Beattie (Midlothian North and Musselburgh) (SNP)
To ask the Scottish Government how many nurses from the rest of the European Union have registered to work in Scotland since the EU referendum was held, in light of a recent report suggesting that there has been a 96 per cent decline in the United Kingdom as a whole. (S5O-01137)
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Shona Robison)
It is important to note that, despite the huge drop that the member has referred to in registrations across the UK as a whole, the Nursing and Midwifery Council has actually recorded an increase over the year to May 2017 of approximately 7.4 per cent in the number of EU-trained nurses registered to an address in Scotland.
Colin Beattie
The cabinet secretary might be aware that, as the nursing establishment has expanded following the application of workforce planning tools, the boards have a number of vacancies to fill. Does she therefore agree that losing the option of freely recruiting nurses from elsewhere in the EU will result in great strains on the national health service and might impact on patient services across the region and particularly in my Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency?
I very much agree with the member. The Health Foundation figures that the member has referred to show a 96 per cent drop in the number of nurses from the EU registering to practise in the UK as a whole since July last year, and it is extremely concerning that only 46 EU nurses registered in April. The point is that, without EU nurses, it will be even harder for the NHS and social care providers to find the staff that they need to provide our services. That is another negative consequence of a hard Brexit, which is, of course, something that we need to avoid.
Dean Lockhart (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con)
I remind the cabinet secretary that nurse shortages existed for a long time before the EU referendum. In fact, when she was health secretary, the First Minister cut nurse training places by a fifth. Does the cabinet secretary therefore accept that the current nurse shortages in Scotland are a result of that decision?
What Dean Lockhart has not acknowledged is the fact that we have more qualified nurses and midwives than we had previously; indeed, under this Government, the number has increased by more than 2,700 whole-time equivalents. Of course, there is more to be done, which is why, this year, we have seen the fifth successive rise in student nursing and midwifery intakes to bring us closer to delivering our commitment to creating 1,000 extra nursing and midwifery training places over the course of the Parliament. I would have thought that Dean Lockhart would welcome that.
Recruitment of Nurses and Midwives (NHS Scotland)
4. Bill Bowman (North East Scotland) (Con)
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to support NHS Scotland's recruitment of nurses and midwives. (S5O-01138)
Workforce planning is the responsibility of national health service boards, which have fully delegated powers to recruit and plan their workforce in the way that best serves the needs of their population. The Scottish Government works closely with NHS boards in their recruitment efforts and a great deal is already being done to deliver sustainable solutions to workforce challenges.
Since 2007, the number of qualified nurses and midwives in NHS Scotland has increased by 6.7 per cent, or more than 2,700 whole-time equivalent qualified staff. We have also recommended a fifth successive increase in nursing and midwifery student intakes in 2017-18. Finally, a national health and social care workforce plan is being developed to strengthen workforce planning practice, including within the nursing workforce.
Bill Bowman
The Royal College of Nursing wrote to me this morning. It said:
"Nursing morale is low, and teams are struggling to recruit and retain the staff they need".
The latest figures show that the nursing and midwifery vacancy rate stands at 4.5 per cent, which is the highest rate ever reported. With unfilled posts at that level, how will patients receive the care that they need?
We work very closely with the RCN. I meet it regularly and, of course, I listen to any concerns that it raises.
On nursing vacancies, in some specialties in particular, the creation of more posts has an impact on the number of vacancies, but it is important that vacancies are filled. There is work with boards to ensure that, as we drive down agency costs and the reliance on agency recruitment, part of the solution is the filling of substantive posts. The work with boards to ensure that vacancies are filled is on-going.
There are challenges in particular specialties such as paediatrics and district nursing that are partly linked to the creation of new posts. There is, of course, a major expansion of health visitor posts, which will take time to fill, but great efforts are being made to do that.
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
Under the cabinet secretary, we have seen a workforce crisis, with more than 2,500 nursing and midwifery vacancies. When will the cabinet secretary publish the workforce plan? Will she do so before the summer recess? When will she clamp down on the £175 million of agency spend? When will she scrap the NHS pay cap? Should we accept that the cabinet secretary who helped to create the problem cannot be the one who can fix it and that, instead, we should wait for the expected reshuffle and ask the next health secretary the questions?
Such a charmer.
The workplace plan will be published before the recess.
The Government has less agency spend than the agency spend that we inherited from when Labour was in power. As I said in my previous answer, we have a lot of work under way to drive that spend down, but it is still less than what we inherited.
On the pay cap, I hope that we can address pay issues with the staff side. As I said previously and as the First Minister has said, it is important that we take that issue forward. We very much recognise that inflation and costs are rising. Discussions with the staff side are under way in order to find a way forward that we can jointly agree on.
Anas Sarwar might want to reflect on other parts of these islands. Nurses' pay under the Scottish Government is higher than that in any other parts of these islands. In particular, the lowest-paid staff in the NHS in Scotland are paid over £1,000 more than those in other parts of these islands.
We have done a lot of work, and we will continue to do that work in partnership with the staff side.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Chief Executive)
5. Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
To ask the Scottish Government whether the health secretary has met the new chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and, if so, what was discussed. (S5O-01139)
I have met the new chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Jane Grant, and we discussed matters of importance to local people.
Stuart McMillan
Does the cabinet secretary agree that the appointment of the new chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde gives the board the opportunity to significantly improve its communications with elected representatives and the wider public, not least on matters to do with local service changes?
Yes. I expect all health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to meaningfully communicate and engage with all local stakeholders in line with national guidelines and standards, especially when local service changes are proposed. I know that the new chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is taking the opportunity to review a number of arrangements at the board and that she is fully committed to working effectively with local representatives and local people in the best interests of patients.
Maurice Corry (West Scotland) (Con)
The people of West Scotland are concerned about the suggested moving of general practitioner out-of-hours services from the Vale of Leven hospital to the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley. Locally, that is viewed as going against the spirit and substance of the vision for the Vale. The public are concerned about the time and distance that would be placed between them and a primary care source. Will the minister confirm whether the move of GP out-of-hours services from the Vale will go ahead?
The issue of out-of-hours services is challenging, because NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has found it difficult to recruit GPs for those services. Despite that challenge, the board has to continue to provide a safe service and it is looking at the best way to do that. I expect the board to ensure that people in the locality of the Vale of Leven hospital continue to get a good and safe out-of-hours service.
Our wider work on out-of-hours services, which is led by Sir Lewis Ritchie, is to set up urgent care hubs that are multidisciplinary in nature to ensure that we do not rely solely on GPs to provide out-of-hours care. That is a sustainable solution, but it will take some time to roll that out across Scotland. I will be very happy to keep the member informed about the progress of that work.
Ivan McKee (Glasgow Provan) (SNP)
The cabinet secretary will be aware that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has decided to proceed with its plans to close Lightburn hospital, and that the final decision will be passed to her. When does she expect to formally receive the proposals and what will the process be for their consideration? For example, would she be interested in meeting users of the current facilities?
I expect to receive the board's formal submission shortly. As in all such cases, I will carefully consider all the available information and representations before coming to a final decision, which will include meeting local service users and stakeholders to hear their views.
The member will be aware of the history of Lightburn hospital. I have said—as the First Minister did, previously—that I would not consider approving proposals that do not address the concerns that were expressed in 2011, when the issue was last considered. The issues that were raised then have to be addressed effectively.
With regard to how long it will take to make a decision, I will take as long as is required to fully look at all the issues and to meet local people, as the member would expect me to.
As the cabinet secretary said, the fate of Lightburn hospital in the future remains in her hands. In her deliberations, will she consider the fact that many current users of the hospital will not be able to travel to the proposed new sites in Stobhill and Parkhead, as there is no bus service? I am sure that she is aware of the very low car ownership of people in the east end of Glasgow. Will the cabinet secretary take that factor into account in her deliberations as, if people cannot access the service by public transport, they cannot access the service at all?
I will look at accessibility and transport issues, because they are important. I assure Pauline McNeill that I will consider those issues as part of my deliberations.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Meetings)
6. Neil Bibby (West Scotland) (Lab)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what issues were discussed. (S5O-01140)
Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet all health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to discuss matters of importance to local people.
Neil Bibby
I last met the health secretary at a protest in Paisley against the closure of the Royal Alexandra hospital children's ward, which the Scottish Government had said was safe. She cannot ignore the fact that thousands of families and national health service staff in Renfrewshire are totally opposed to the closure. The health secretary said that she would listen. Local Scottish National Party politicians might be silent, but the message from families and staff is loud and clear: the RAH should not be downgraded and the children's ward should be saved right now. Will she and the Scottish Government prove that they are finally listening to families and staff, and stop the closure of the RAH children's ward without any further delay?
As Neil Bibby will be aware, after I had the pleasure of meeting him on 19 May I had a very important meeting with local parents, who are the most important people in all of this. At that meeting, which they felt was constructive and a good format for their views to be heard, I gave an undertaking to hold a series of further local meetings with local people. That is the right process to go through. I would have thought that Neil Bibby would appreciate my taking the time to meet as many local parents as possible. It would be very odd if he thought otherwise. I will continue with that process. I have another visit planned for the beginning of July, when I will visit the hospital and meet more local parents as part of the clear service change process that is laid out for ministers to follow.
Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes
7. David Stewart (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
To ask the Scottish Government what initiatives it is supporting to tackle obesity and type 2 diabetes. (S5O-01141)
In line with the evidence, we have invested in a range of programmes to tackle obesity by making it easier for people to be more active, to eat less and to eat better. Those programmes include football fans in training, the healthcare retail standard, the eat better feel better campaign and a £50 million investment in active schools between 2015 and 2019.
In tackling type 2 diabetes, our newly formed expert group is leading on the development and implementation of a diabetes prevention framework, which will complement our wider health strategy, to identify high-risk population and support early diagnosis, treatment, education and lifestyle management.
Five per cent of the population of Scotland has diabetes, and there has been a 25 per cent increase in diagnoses since 2008. Diabetes costs the national health service around £1 billion a year in direct costs. The nine processes of care for diabetes are a key tool in preventing avoidable complications such as kidney failure, heart attack, stroke, sight loss and amputation. Will the minister introduce robust reporting and monitoring processes to assess how well every health board is delivering those services to people with diabetes?
I appreciate the interest that Dave Stewart takes in the issue. The annual Scottish diabetes survey aims to be published within 12 months of the end of each calendar year, so information is already being gathered for the 2016 survey. In addition, the expert group is looking at a range of areas in which we can enhance our knowledge of diabetes.
The obesity strategy consultation will be important for the preventative work that we need to undertake to help people to avoid getting diabetes in the first place. Tomorrow, I will speak at a podiatrists conference on some of the work that they are doing to enhance their knowledge of how to treat people with diabetes and how to help them to cope with the impact of the disease.
Maree Todd (Highlands and Islands) (SNP)
What is the Scottish Government doing to support the development of more innovative approaches to improving the treatment of conditions such as diabetes?
Examples of current innovative approaches include my diabetes, my way, the current small business research initiative innovation process to develop personalised care and education for people who have type 1 diabetes and the work of the Scottish diabetes research network, which supports the set up and delivery of clinical and epidemiological research across Scotland.
Innovation is one of the priorities of the Scottish diabetes improvement plan, and we will continue to provide the support that the diabetes community needs to develop and adapt innovative approaches to ensure that people get the help and support that they require.
Adult Psychological Therapies (Waiting Times)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce waiting times for adults referred for psychological therapies. (S5O-01142)
The Minister for Mental Health (Maureen Watt)
We have put in place a £54 million comprehensive package of support to improve access to mental health services for adults and children, which will provide funding for additional staff, for workforce development and for in-depth improvement support to local services. In this first year, £4.3 million has been awarded to boards across Scotland to build capacity within mental health services. Further funding has been awarded through NHS Education for Scotland to provide each board with an individual tailored offer of funding and workforce development.
As part of a comprehensive package of support for boards, £4.6 million was announced for Healthcare Improvement Scotland to establish a mental health access improvement support team, which is working in partnership with boards to improve access to mental health services.
I am glad that the hard work of staff in NHS Forth Valley has resulted in improvement in child and adolescent mental health services in recent months. However, waiting times continue to be a problem for adults who are referred for psychological therapies in NHS Forth Valley. According to the most recent figures from the Information Services Division, only 40 per cent of adult patients who were waiting for psychological treatment were seen within the Scottish Government's target timeframe of 18 weeks, which left nearly 500 people waiting too long for support. Does the minister agree that NHS Forth Valley needs more support to address those concerns?
Maureen Watt
I am glad that Dean Lockhart has acknowledged the great improvements in waiting times for access to CAMHS in NHS Forth Valley—the rate has gone up from 57.1 per cent in 2015 to 99.7 per cent in 2017. That shows the value of the improvement team's work with the board. The member should be aware that the initial focus was on CAMHS; the team and boards will share the lessons that they have learned in CAMHS in order to improve delivery of psychological services to adults.
As a result of the higher profile of mental health, the number of people who come forward for psychological therapies in Forth Valley has almost doubled. That is why it is important that we increase the number of lower-intensity interventions for people who want psychological therapies.
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
The minister will know that there tends to be a sharp drop-off in referrals for psychological therapies among adults over 65. As part of the £54 million package of support that she mentioned, what work is the Government doing to reduce that inequality and ensure that adults throughout Scotland have the same access to psychological therapies, regardless of their age?
Monica Lennon is right to say that people should have access to services regardless of their age. I am well aware of the work that is going on in that regard through the age in mind initiative. The mental health strategy emphasises the approach "Ask once, get help fast", which applies as much to people over 65 as it does to anyone else.
Hospital Waiting Times (West Scotland)
10. Jamie Greene (West Scotland) (Con)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce hospital waiting times in the West Scotland parliamentary region. (S5O-01144)
I announced on 30 May that £50 million was being made available to NHS Scotland to help to improve performance and reduce waiting times for patients. The funds are being distributed across all territorial boards, including those in the West Scotland parliamentary region. West Scotland boards will receive up to £23 million in total from the additional funding.
Jamie Greene
In the previous quarter, NHS Ayrshire and Arran had the worst waiting times of any health board in Scotland, with only 73.6 per cent of cases meeting the 18-week referral-to-treatment guarantee. In March, that meant that more than 2,000 people waited too long.
Will the cabinet secretary say why NHS Ayrshire and Arran's performance is at the bottom of the spectrum? What support might she offer the board to help it to improve? More important, when will she set out a timeline for when Scotland's health boards will meet the Government's waiting times targets?
I recognise the particular challenges with waiting times performance in NHS Ayrshire and Arran. The board has been allocated £3.7 million to improve its waiting times performance. Part of the challenge is to do with recruitment and retention of key specialist staff, which has been a long-standing issue in Ayrshire and Arran. The board is being supported to look at solutions to the problem in order to enable it to overcome some of the challenges.
All boards are drawing up their plans on waiting times improvement and recovery performance; those are due to come to the Scottish Government very soon. I will be happy to keep Jamie Greene informed of the detail of plans for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, if he so wishes.
Colin Smyth (South Scotland) (Lab)
In the previous quarter, 95.6 per cent of patients who were waiting for chronic pain services in Ayrshire and Arran waited more than 18 weeks. To put that in perspective, I say that in the quarter ending in March this year, of the 295 patients who were referred for chronic pain, only 13 were seen within the target 18-week period. Does the cabinet secretary agree that that is completely unacceptable? What specific action is the Government taking to ensure that those who are suffering from chronic pain in Ayrshire and Arran are given the treatment that they need within the Government's target time?
A lot of work is going on. The Scottish Government gathers figures for chronic pain services and the waiting times for them. That is unusual; such figures are not gathered in other places. However, it is very important that we use that information to make the improvements that are needed. Aileen Campbell, the Minister for Public Health and Sport, has established an expert group that is considering how to make the improvements. Support will be given to NHS Ayrshire and Arran and elsewhere in order to make improvements.
I agree with Colin Smyth that NHS Ayrshire and Arran's performance in the matter is not acceptable; it is not as we want it to be. We know that chronic pain has a severe impact on the quality of life of people who suffer from it, so it is very important that that work be taken forward. I am sure that Aileen Campbell will be happy to keep the member updated on progress.
Waiting Times (NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde)
11. Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
To ask the Scottish Government how many patients in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were not treated within the legally guaranteed treatment waiting time in 2016. (S5O-01145)
In the year 2016, more than 85,100 patients in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde were seen within the legal treatment time guarantee, and around 3,000 patients waited longer than 12 weeks.
I recognise that some patients are waiting too long for treatment, which is why I have made £50 million available to NHS Scotland, with up to £11.2 million being made available to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. That additional funding will build up its capacity to ensure that all patients are treated in a timely fashion.
Despite the actions of the cabinet secretary, treatment waiting time guarantee failures are actually going up and not down. As she has said, the independent statistics show that more than 3,000 patients waited longer than the Government's own legally guaranteed treatment target. To put that sharp increase in context, from March 2016 to December 2016, there was a 5,600 per cent increase in the number of patients who waited more than 12 weeks.
How can the cabinet secretary justify that rise? Does she recognise the impact that it is having on patient care and the extra stress that it is putting on our staff? Does she not recognise that this is just one more example of her complete mismanagement of our national health service?
The reason why I announced the £50 million is that I recognise that waiting time performance needs to improve and the impact on patient care.
The £11.2 million that I mentioned in my first answer will be deployed to deliver the plan for improving its waiting time performance that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has been working on. That money has not had an impact as yet, because the plan is being drawn up and the money has only recently been announced. The waiting time performance improvement that we expect to see over the next few months will be of benefit in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and of course elsewhere in Scotland, as the money begins to have an impact.
The cabinet secretary has answered the initial part of my question, which was about what investment is being made in the NHS to improve waiting times. Can the cabinet secretary outline what additional support is provided to health boards to reduce waiting times?
Officials work closely with boards to improve waiting time performance. That is why officials are working with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to agree a plan for increasing activity to support the reduction of waiting times, with a particular focus on those patients who have the longest waits.
In addition, a big programme of reform is under way to modernise the out-patient journey in order to ensure that performance related to out-patients improves. A range of changes are laid out in the modern out-patient programme. That work is important in making sure that those who come through the system get to the right health professional as quickly as possible in order to have their needs assessed.
Question 12 has not been lodged.
Cervical Screening Awareness
13. David Torrance (Kirkcaldy) (SNP)
To ask the Scottish Government how it promotes cervical screening awareness. (S5O-01147)
The Scottish cervical programme is supported by a range of national and local resources, including a suite of public communication materials that are also available in a number of languages; a new advertising campaign, which was launched in February this year and was developed in partnership with Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust to raise awareness of cervical screening among women aged 25 to 35; various local initiatives, including cervical screening awareness workshops; drop-in clinics for women from disadvantaged backgrounds; dedicated staff working with women with learning difficulties; and workshops run for staff by national health service boards to promote cervical screening.
The Scottish Government is also working closely with Cancer Research UK and colleagues in NHS boards to develop a facilitators programme to support and promote cervical screening in general practices and pilot projects to target uptake among those who are less likely to participate in screening. We are also investing up to £5 million of funding from the cancer strategy in screening programmes to reduce inequalities in access to screening in Scotland.
David Torrance
The majority of cervical cancers are caused by a persistent human papillomavirus infection, which causes changes to the cervical cells. Will the minister provide an update on progress on HPV primary screening in Scotland?
The United Kingdom national screening committee recommended the introduction of HPV primary screening in January last year. Following that recommendation, a full and detailed business case has been developed for implementation of the recommendation in Scotland and was considered by the Scottish screening committee at the start of this year.
The SSC recommended to ministers that HPV primary testing should be introduced in the Scottish cervical screening programme over the course of the next two years. We are now working with NHS National Services Scotland and NHS boards across Scotland to implement that change.
NHS Forth Valley (Meetings)
14. Angus MacDonald (Falkirk East) (SNP)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Forth Valley and what issues were discussed. (S5O-01148)
Scottish ministers and officials meet NHS Forth Valley regularly to discuss matters of interest to local people.
Angus MacDonald
Clearly, the cabinet secretary and members in the chamber are aware that NHS Forth Valley has met waiting time targets for those needing specialist child and adolescent mental health support. There has been a marked improvement over the past year, following support from Healthcare Improvement Scotland. I note the cabinet secretary's response to question 8 earlier. Can she advise the chamber what action the board is taking to improve the performance of its adult mental health service?
As the member said, within Forth Valley there has been a focus on child and adolescent mental health services and NHS Forth Valley is to be congratulated on its progress and hard work to reach this point. I will be looking to see that the team and board share the lessons on best practice in improving access to and the delivery of psychological therapies as things move forward.
As well as the improvement support, the £54 million package of support to improve access to mental health services includes funding for additional staff, workforce development and capacity planning within local services, which will support improvements in adult mental health services. We remain determined that we will hit our 90 per cent target. and we will continue to work with boards to ensure that that happens right across Scotland, including in Forth Valley.
Hospital Food (Quality)
15. Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that the highest-quality food is served in hospitals. (S5O-01149)
Patients have a right to expect high-quality and nutritious food that meets their specific needs and aids recovery. The Scottish Government has a strong set of nutritional standards in place for hospital food and, in March 2016, consulted on refreshed and expanded guidelines in "Scotland's National Food and Drink Policy—Becoming a Good Food Nation", which advocates greater use of fresh, seasonal, local and sustainable produce.
Brian Whittle
Given recent revelations about public food procurement and given that our hospital food comes through the central Excel contract, does not the minister recognise—as her colleague in education does—that an inquiry into the nutritional value of hospital food is appropriate? [Interruption.]
I hope that you could hear that, minister.
I apologise, Presiding Officer. I did not hear all of the question, but I think that it was about procurement. Our contracts endeavour to encourage more local sourcing through an increased focus on fresh, local and seasonal produce. An increasing proportion of food has been sourced from Scotland, and recently the Scottish Government convened a cross-industry meeting to examine increasing Scottish sourcing through public sector contracts, at which we agreed to look at how we can build much more capacity for local producers, streamline the contracts process to make it more accessible for local producers and increase regional buying.
We take the issue very seriously. Scotland was the first country in the United Kingdom to develop a document specifying catering guidelines and nutritional standards for food in hospitals, so we will certainly look to see where improvements can be made. We have already made improvements across our hospitals, but there is no denying that good-quality food is part of the healing process, and we will endeavour to make improvements where we can.


You will take a leading role in developing, implementing, analysing and maintaining the firm's approach to the partners' financial relationship with the firm. This includes the fiscal and statutory requirements together with the provision of information to management and individual partners.
Leading and managing change from the outset in bringing together the existing Partners' Affairs and UK tax teams into one team and refocusing the team on efficient delivery.
Creating a control environment for the Partners' Affairs and Tax team - focussed on improving processes and implementing the necessary changes.
Proactively participate in challenging and driving performance, driving innovation to improve the partner finance offering.
Partner finance accounting processes - driving change and improvements in this area by taking charge of the process; understanding transfer pricing; FX, remuneration, tax payments, tax reserves and other related issues.
You are not required to be a tax expert - you will drive the changes that the expert teams need to make to ensure a control environment with best in class use of existing systems and processes.
This will include leading on resource management / strategy within the Partners' Affairs and UK tax team.
Responsibility for the operational UK tax work for the group including the UK tax returns for group entities and individuals and the UK VAT returns.
Coaching and managing the team and setting direction to drive upcoming changes in systems and technology. The UK tax team and Partners' Affairs team includes a number of tax qualified professionals and is supported by the International Tax team and external advisers.
Proactive planning for the newly combined Partners' Affairs and UK tax team to meet objectives, through development and coaching of team members.
Setting direction for the team and providing senior guidance and support to the Partner Reward Senior Manager and UK Tax Manager in their management of the day to day operations of the team.
Ensuring adequate resourcing and appropriate structuring of the team with the future in mind, allowing for an agile approach to service delivery whilst upholding quality, accuracy and excellent service levels.
Reviewing the financial policies, procedures and standards by all offices within the group in relation to partner finance and partner accounting.
Ensure appropriate standards of financial stewardship across the partner finance balance sheet including appropriate controls, reconciliations and verification.
Prepare high quality, well thought through financial information and analysis suitable for senior management, the Board, Audit Committee and Equity Committee.
Plan and manage the year-end process work to produce current account statements for each partner.
Technically outstanding (IFRS) with relevant finance/accounting knowledge and skills - experience of operating in a global, multi-currency business environment.
Energetic, motivated and confident manner; able to communicate, influence and negotiate at all levels.
Strong leadership and team management skills with the ability to train and empower staff.
Able to set the agenda on adding value through innovative ideas; looking outside the organisation for solutions and changes to keep the role and team content contemporary.
This is a senior position on which the management are heavily reliant. The role involves regular contact with the Finance Director and CFO, as well as the Firm management team; a highly professional approach is a must.


The whole vintage movement sometimes is getting really boring! It is all about wearing this and that old and sometimes used outfit. I'm not against it but it really gets on my nerves whenever I see a piece of cloth that is tottaly ripped and destroyed being sold. This could be donated, maybe or at least give it a try to fix it and then sell it. On the other hand I really love upcycled products! You create something new using something old ,your hands and above all your human imagination. That's quite what we do with my girls.


text:
Heinrich Böll	More
Heinrich Böll - Biographical
Heinrich Böll - Facts
Heinrich Böll - Nobel Lecture: An Essay on the Reason of Poetry
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I was born December 21, 1917 in Cologne, on the Rhine, the son of the sculptor and cabinet-maker, Viktor Böll, and his wife, Maria, née Hermanns. Between 1924 and 1928 I attended elementary school in Köln Raderthal, and from 1928 to 1937, the state-run Kaiser-Wilhelm classical secondary school in Cologne. In spring 1937 I began as an apprentice bookseller (publishers, retail trade, antiquarian) for the Matth. Lempertz company in Bonn. I left this apprenticeship in spring 1938, started my first attempts to write, gave private lessons, read a great deal. During autumn 1938 I was conscripted into the national labour service, and released in spring 1939 after completing a six-month term of compulsory service. Because the completion of labour service was a precondition for permission to study at the university, I was able to begin my studies of Germanistics and Classical Philology during the summer term of 1939. Late in the summer of 1939 I was conscripted into the German Army shortly before the outbreak of the war. I took part in the Second World War; in autumn 1940, briefly in France, from 1941 to 1942 (after a severe case of typhus), in the replacement units in Germany, from early 1942 until summer 1943, along the English Channel coast in France, between summer 1943 and autumn 1944, in the Soviet Union, Romania and Hungary, from spring 1945 on, for a few weeks in western Germany, where I was taken prisoner by the Americans, and interned until October 1945 in a camp in France, and then for a few weeks in October/November 1945, in an English camp in Belgium.
As early as December 1945, I accompanied my wife and a few relatives in their return from evacuation in the countryside to Cologne, where over the years we settled down in a destroyed house. I started to write again, while simultaneously working on repairing the destroyed house, I started my studies again – merely formally, because proof of occupation was necessary to obtain a food rationing card. From 1946 to 1949 I published short stories, and in 1949 my first book, a novella, called Der Zug war pünktlich, was published. After a first invitation to a meeting of the "Gruppe 47" in 1951, I met many German postwar writers with whom I afterwards became friends. I owe particular thanks, and hereby give them, to Hans Werner Richter, Alfred Andersch and many others that I cannot name in detail. Even if there occurred brief or permanent controversies during, or after, these meetings, the Gruppe 47 liberated many German authoresses and authors out of their isolation in a destroyed and fragmented postwar Germany. In 1942 I married Annemarie Cech, who has been irreplaceable, not only as my wife and companion, and not only as fellow experiencer and fellow sufferer in the fascist drama during the Nazi reign in Germany, but also for her critical awareness for language.
Our first child, Christoph, died in October 1945. Our sons Raimund, René and Vincent were born in 1947, 1948 and 1950 in the rubble of Cologne and grew up there.
Between 1950 and 1951 I worked as a temporary employee in the Cologne Bureau of Statistics. From summer 1951 on I have lived as a freelance writer with a fixed postal address in Cologne, but with a continually shifting place of work.
From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1968-1980, Editor-in-Charge Tore Frängsmyr, Editor Sture Allén, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1993
This autobiography/biography was written at the time of the award and first published in the book series Les Prix Nobel. It was later edited and republished in Nobel Lectures. To cite this document, always state the source as shown above.
Heinrich Böll died on July 16, 1985.
MLA style: Heinrich Böll – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Wed. 17 Jul 2019. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1972/boll/biographical/>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Prehistoric Science – Complex Mathematics Encrypted in Art
Part 1 - Athena Engraving - the World's Most Important Picture
Despite appearances, the Stone-Age engraving shown below is not a free-hand drawing.. With revealing accuracy, it's constructed to exact ideas. It's to be treasured as a direct proof of profound knowledge of Mathematics, playfully encoded into Art 14,000 years ago.
A shrewd eye espies constructionism through the engraving's pseudo-naive facade; indeed, there is a hermetic level to be found, bursting with mathematical meaning. It is a masterpiece of cryptographic Science-Art.
Though submerged in great depths of time, it emerges as a major factor in the modern era ; it is precedent to many actual topics of interest and forces conclusions in dramatic contrast to the Mainstream History.
Imbued in science and power, the portrait of the young lady seems backlit by a divine glow, thus, when trying to think of a name for the girl, after consideration of several pantheons, I chose to call her Athena. The engraving then takes its name from her.
Already minutes after I had first laid an eye upon the image, viewing it became adventure which was later to turn into a discovery. It was so ancient, yet somehow sophisticated. I could feel it; the engraving was whispering strangely at the thresholds of my perception.
Eventually, my philosophical approach to art analysis had struck the vein of advanced prehistoric mathematics. Knowledge of the engraving's basic geometry, had positioned my efforts for an unexpected windfall; the solution to "Nazca Monkey", the giant glyph of a monkey from the Nazca Lines, Peru, became a low-hanging fruit, for it advertizes the same (basic) geometry. Indeed, both Science-Art works arise from the same exact construction in creating a common template (the Seal of Atlantis). From there, they continue with different ideas but in the same spirit. The odds against such replicating by one of the other by accident are cosmic; therefore, if the engraving and the monkey are rule setters, then La Marche engravings and Nazca Lines are both authored by one and the same agency (onwards - the Agency). You be the judge: Should this ironclad fact be considered newsworthy?
Thereafter, the internet controversy over the so called Abydos Helicopter from the Abydos temple of Seti I and Ramses II drew me in; subsequent analysis indicated that these glyphs do not constitute a so called palimpsest, but instead, they are constructs of an exact nature at whose birth had stood the Golden Section. That gives credit to the idea the anomalous glyphs had been engraved as we see them today. It's only natural to suppose that the same above mentioned agency could be involved in their creation, as well... So, quite a few people now credit the "Abydos Helicopter & the Golden Section" study with providing compelling evidence of the official archaeological explanation, the Palimpsest theory, being wrong. It garners the attention of a steady stream of readers, sometimes peaking in thousands of hits per day, as someone somewhere stumbles upon it and publishes a link. It is most popular among my webpages. The only other well frequented article on my site is about the "Baalbek Trilithon", which proves that the trilithon wasn't built by Romans.
The Abydos Helicopter experience had spiked my interest in another controversy regarding ancient Egypt - Was there a common ground plan for the three great Giza pyramids? To my surprise, I was able to document that the ground plan, as measured by Petrie, can be derived from the fastest construction of the regular five-pointed star (it takes only thirteen steps). That was an astonishing development, for the same method is rather heavily featured in the Athena Engraving, and it culminates the concept of the Nazca Monkey! These three premodern instances of the method are still the only ones I had ever come across; it seems that everybody else chooses other alternatives in modern times!
The Exact Reconstruction of the Layout of the Great Giza Pyramids presents an academic effort whose virtues may be objectively weighed against the rest of the field. In other cases my research ran a one-horse race; here, it ventured into a problem, which has been worked on by many ever since 1883. Leading such a distinguished field with a convincing solution, which cannot be beaten in accuracy, must earn some brownie points, for instance with readers doubtful of my work's mettle; so, the Giza layout article would be a good starting point for getting to know it.
The "Frame", the outer boundary of the image, is the doorway to the realm within and presents some dynamic geometry and meaningful numerical maeasurements. It is also a very good place to start reading for its concept is clear and simple. Over and over, it invokes Pi and Phi to a varying number of significant digits until there is no doubt in one's mind that it's meant to do that.
All in all, it is no doubt disappointing to see readers not paying much attention to the mutually connected and thusly most important parts of my research - the Athena Engraving, the Nazca Monkey, and the Giza site plan. On the other hand, the popularity of the relatively simple articles on the Abydos Helicopter and the Baalbek Trilithon is somewhat encouraging that all is not lost yet.
Construction of the Ground Plan of the Great Giza Pyramids from a Clean Slate
Since 1883, the year Sir William Flinders Petrie published his geodetic survey of the three great Giza Pyramids, the data has been analyzed for geometric, and numeric significance. To show that the three pyramids are parts of the same plan, there have been attempts to generate the layout of the three from pure ideas. By and large, Giza abounds with inspiring relationships. But, to safely pin ideas on the designers, those have to be built in with compelling accuracy. There are many examples showcasing the knack of Giza builders for accuracy, setting high standards for us.
This study presents a method of replicating the site plan of the three pyramids exactly to Petrie's specifications when the results are given to the tenth of an inch (2.54 millimeters). On average, my reconstruction differs from Petrie by just a little over a quarter millimeter, so there is plenty of room to spare and still be on the mark.
Usage of Sacred Geometry would seem most appropriate for the sacred grounds of Giza. This study complies beautifully, as it sets out with the most elegant Golden Section construction of all. How glad will the skeptically leaning academy be to hear of this development? Not very, I suspect.
There are several versions of the above columns of the widths W-Z and A-B. Their substitution for one another is instrumental in establishing the exact position of the Great Pyramid, and the center of the Second Pyramid.
New study - Proof that Giza's Groundplan is 15,000 years old
If the groundplan of Giza is 15,000 years old, how old are the pyramids themselves?
Giza Pyramid temples & the Golden Section
The pyramid temples are conspicuous by the inordinate quantity of golden rectangles in their layout. This article is content to establish the fact, and goes no deeper.
The Abydos Helicopter & the Golden Section
Abydoská helikoptéra & Zlatý řez ( Czech version of the above article)
©Bruce Rawles background photographed in November1992
If this were modern art, we'd have no doubt that it clearly shows a helicopter next to a stacked formation of three harder to identify advanced craft. Disavowal stems strictly from the fact that this art is over 3,000 years old, and we know that there was no advanced technology and science in our misty past - don't we?
The scene had caused some sensation in the nineties, but soon Egyptologists claimed to have identified at least two sets of overlapping hieroglyphics in it. This proffered a simple scientific explanation: What we see is a palimpsest, i.e., an accidental illusion. First there had been some original glyphs, which were later hidden by plaster, and replaced by a set of different glyphs engraved partially in stone and partially in plaster. Eventually, the plaster had crumbled out, and the overlapping hieroglyphs began looking like images of modern craft.. With this simple explanation, science had prevailed once again over sensationalism, it would seem.
The present scientific consensus depends on the assumption of Chaos as the creative force behind the Abydos Helicopter scene. To thwart the consensus, and to disprove the Chaotic explanation, it must be shown that the glyphs obey a clear rational order. Simple testing does indeed lead to such a conclusion : The Abydos Helicopter scene is not a palimpsest, it is a design.
Hesire's engraving & the Golden Section
This case is really simple. The rods, which Hesire holds in his hands are key to the solution of the layout. The Golden Section is definitely involved.
The Nazca Monkey Report - The Seal of Atlantis
14,000 – 2,000 years ago – Nazca Lines, Peru - Someone had profound knowledge of Mathematics, and a method of encoding exact ideas into Art
The mystery deepens, when we observe how the giant ground drawing of a monkey from Nazca, Peru is identical to the Athena Engraving in that it uses the same starting configuration, and encoding system. What emanates from our seemingly primitive subjects of study is abstract and elaborate scientific thought - enough evidence in fact, to force the conclusion that the creators of La Marche, and Nazca were part of the same agency. It appears that they worked on the same project - to provide legacy spanning the Old and the New Worlds across the gulf of millenia.
A stone tablet from Stone-Age France, and a prehistoric glyph from a sun-baked desert in Peru share one original template. This is a unique geometrical figure, which seals the issue of existence of an advanced prehistoric agency. For want of a better candidate civilization from prehistory, I dubbed it "the Seal of Atlantis". Honestly, trying to present a hypothesis on the identity of this Agency would be mere speculation, although one thing is obvious, the longevity, and omnipresence of the Agency from at least 14,000 BP until at least 2,500 BP (pyramids), or even later, should Nazca Lines date into the first millenium AD. Considering the potential influence of the Agency bearing upon the modern times, perhaps, it might be a good idea to learn how to read the ancient code. Its importance may be of cosmic proportions..
This configuration, the Cone & Square seems to be terribly important at Nazca, as well as La Marche. Note that there is some resemblance to the masonic Square & Compasses...
Interesting art - an eye of a monkey, a sol spinning off balls of fire... Did I author it? Absolutely not! Whoever did the Nazca monkey, must have had this on the drawing board once, as well.
Nazca - Giza connection
The glyph of the monkey is much simpler than the Athena engraving. Its structure seems to focus on recording the fastest method of how to construct the regular 5-pointed star, the very same method which forms the foundation of the Giza pyramids.
Stone-Age France
The rock shelter of La Marche near Lussac-les-Chateaux, southern France - a Stone-Age Academy?
Athena Engraving - Born of Euclidean Geometry
......................................................................
Early on, I had translated some elements of the drawing into the above configuration, in which a cone and a square are found superimposed over each other in some instantly visible harmony. The possibility of a logical explanation of the configuration wouldn't let me rest until I found it a couple of months later.
The solution is a classic, yet, some people have the nerve to insist that I had conjured the solution out of thin air; so, it is important to note the sequencing of the events, which, I believe, precludes untowards manipulation, or outright fraud on my part:
* The identification of primitive geometric elements in the engraving came first. For better or for worse, these had been permanently fixed in position (and still are).
* The big test came afterwards; was there a higher level, on which the elements connected logically?
The odds were heavily stacked in favor of Chaos over Intelligent Design because that was the rule for prehistoric art. From the outset, the experiment was in no way under my control, it was searching in the dark for a surprise. Had I failed as expected, I would have written the whole thing off as educational fun.
The consensus among critics insists that in any sufficiently complex drawing some order will be discovered, which could be construed as intelligent despite being unintentional! Therefore, critics equate involuntary, accidental natural order to intelligent order. They insult true intelligence by elevating an earthworm's intelligence to the same level. Understanding the axiom that a random act will produce a weak, random order, at best, and witnessing the great theoretical depth of the Athena Engraving, should clarify that the two are not alike.
Finding the solution to the Cone & Square configuration was the critical breakthrough to a real discovery. At the time, I had no idea that it emerged right into the center of a great controversy with topics like the Golden Section & Antiquity, Advanced Mathematics in Ancient Egypt, Lost Science, Lost Advanced Civilisations, and Alien Visitations. Magdalenian science-art is where the mystery begins, but where it ends, nobody knows.
The geometric creations within Athena's torso belong to the Square, the second part of the basic Cone & Square configuration. Here we see the "Pyrostar" configuration.
Image boundaries - A Game of Semantics
Boundary lines form the simplest aspect of the image - the "Frame". The distances between adjacent points of the Frame in millimeters give a set of thirteen whole numbers. It is a Smart Set, enough to show off advanced knowledge of properties of numbers, Pi, Phi, Equinoctial Precession (mathematics and astronomy), as well as ability to produce brilliant logical puzzles..
Sadly, the very act of analyzing a set of numbers for rational meaning will elicit charges of indulgence in Numerology & Witchcraft. Yet, the Frame is a perfect illustration of what is not numerology! Numerologists apply analysis to random data, and then blatantly misinterpret their results, as revelations of hidden meaning. In contrast, the Frame smashes all records in the amount of thematic rational meaning compressed into such a small group of numbers. There is no way to improve it. It is patently artificial.
Some of the quotations given by the Frame are very impressive:
Pi = 3.1415926535897932384626433832 Twenty-eight decimals
Phi = 1.6180339887.. Ten decimals
The following classic approximation of Pi appears seven times!
355 / 113 = 3.141592..
Equinoctial Precession - Osiris Numbers - number 432
The Frame encodes the rate of equinoctial precession at par to today's state-of-the-art measurements. This fact suggests that the rate has not changed much at all since, a valuable tidbit of information. It took modern instruments in the hands of scientists to arrive at this value. What did it take in prehistory?
Frame's Geometry
a: The Hex-Machine – a family of three hexagons
b: Two systematically related 5-pointed stars
Baalbek, Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
If the image seems too big for this page, look again. It is not nearly big enough. The panoramic view does not even span the Trilithon, the three blocks of stone in a row on the west-side of the Baalbek Terrace. They are in a class of their own, by far the heaviest stones ever transported on this Earth - Super-cyclopean, Hyper-colossal, Über-duper, or a term of your own, take a pick. The block on the right steadies the Jupiter's temple. The temple looks Roman, the platform looms alien. We know that Romans built the temple, but archaeological opinion also credits the blocks to Roman achievements. Yet, there are some hefty reasons, and some very small, but telling details, which put the orthodox academic platform on shaky ground. The blocks must be thousands of years older. Is the technology of the prehistoric agency which left us La Marche engravings, and Nazca Lines behind their anomalous existence?
The Headless Venuses
Another La Marche engraving. It is known as one of strange La Marche engravings of headless obese females. Of course, the strangeness is due to the perception being utterly wrong. There are so many other things to look at. The obese woman without a head is an illusion.
Below: A couple of impressions from another La Marche engraving.
The Oldest Image of a Horseman?
A cut-out from an image on a wall at Les Trois Fréres, France,
also dating back to the Magdalenian period of the Old Stone Age.
World's Oldest Image of a Gunfighter?
Stéphane Lwoff was under the impression that this guy was dancing. I took the liberty of re-orienting his drawing, and suddenly, the stance looked natural, what with the figure's feet firmly planted on the ground.
The Face on Mars & the Golden Section
The overall shape of the famous 'Face on Mars' in terms of geometry is a stack of three Golden Rectangles.
I stand by this result, whether it is an accident of nature, or not, the formal coincidence is there.. It's not complex enough, however, to warrant a jump to conclusions about its artificiality.
For reader's amusement, and mine as well, another face on Mars appears to facsimilate my high-school grad picture. This is quite a grand illusion, as 'pareidolia' goes. Strangely, the timing of my findings had coincided with the nearest approach of Mars to Earth in decades ☺
Fostering love of mathematics is a calculated risk..
© Jiri Mruzek - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Your opinion interests me very much. Please, send comments to: mynameatyahoodotcom


text:
Pipeline Rupture Detection: A Path to Meet Minimum Rupture Detection Standards
PHMSA Compliance, Pipeline Safety / By Russel Treat
In 2010, two pipeline incidents occurred, both of which had worsened impacts due to the time required to identify a rupture and isolate the incident. These two incidents led to the eventual introduction of the "Valve & Rupture Rule."
Marshall, Michigan: An operator did not detect a rupture for more than 17 hours, leading to the unplanned release of 840,000 gallons of crude oil.
San Bruno, California: An operator was unable to isolate a gas transmission line for more than 90 minutes, leading to natural gas igniting and causing a fire.
In February 2020, PHMSA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), "Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection Standards," to revise the pipeline safety rules related to pipeline rupture detection for both natural gas and hazardous liquids.
According to PHMSA, the proposed revisions to the safety regulations are designed to mitigate ruptures and reduce the consequences of large-volume, uncontrolled releases of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline ruptures.
In July 2020, the PHMSA committees GPAC and LPAC met to discuss the proposed revisions to the regulations. The result was consensus about some aspects of the proposed rules, but also concerns about the applicability of the rulemaking in certain situations. As a result, there will need to be further discussion about the fine points regarding rupture detection included in the proposed rulemaking.
However, there are key takeaways for pipeline operators as you consider taking the ideal path to meet the minimum rupture detection standards when operating onshore pipe that is subject to federal oversight.
What is the Definition of a Pipeline Rupture?
In the proposed rulemaking, PHMSA attempted to introduce a definition of a rupture. Their goal was to quantify a rupture to create clarity for pipeline operators.
The proposed definition of a rupture for natural gas operators was a 10-percent / 15-minute rule. If a pipeline operator sees an unexpected 10 percent change in flowrate or pressure in less than 15 minutes, then the issue should be addressed as a rupture and appropriate action should be taken to shutdown and isolate.
The rulemaking is noble in its attempt to minimize adverse outcomes in the event of a rupture by clearly defining a rupture. However, as discussed during both the GPAC and LPAC meetings, the metric is not feasible in the majority of gas pipeline systems and liquid pipeline systems.
For example, the LPAC committee noted that liquid systems experience rapid hydraulic transients as a part of normal operation. The committee specifically discussed a new, modern system that recently placed into service. After conducting their research, they reported that the system would have produced dozens of false positive events where the 10-percent / 15-minute rule would have been met, but where no rupture occurred. The argument was that being required to shut down service during each such "rupture" would cause more harm than good.
Clearly, more work will be required on this aspect of the rulemaking. However, there is an important takeaway for pipeline operators.
PHMSA will likely allow for some flexibility in how the definition of a rupture applies to each operation. Specifically, there will likely be a different definition for gas versus liquid. The key is for operators to document the criteria their operation uses to define a rupture and then validate that the operation is following those criteria in their systems and procedures. In other words, "this is how we define a rupture, and can we prove that we're able to identify such an event."
Identification of a suspected rupture event is one critical step in the process. The second issue this rule addresses is the ability of the operator to timely shutdown the pipeline and isolate the event.
Responding to a Rupture
Again, a key takeaway from the discussion was that the nature of the impacts and mitigation are different for gas versus liquid pipelines.
Natural gas will be dispersed in the air, but is a fire risk until it is dispersed. In the case of the San Bruno incident, much of the damage occured due to fire that destroyed homes and spread as the gas escaping from the rupture was on fire and flowing at high pressure until the operator shutoff and isolated the line.
Liquids will flow on the ground to a low area where they collect or are dispersed into a waterway. In the case of the Marshall incident, the released liquid entered a waterway and the impact area expanded until the operator identified the presence of a rupture.
The proposed rule establishes a response time starting with the identification of a rupture, and ending with isolation. While the issues for gas and liquids are different and while the final rule will consider additional input, operators can likely expect no more than 30 minutes to isolate following identification.
Consider the System for Detecting a Leak versus a Rupture
The focus of leak detection is the detection of the smallest leak possible. By comparison, the focus of rupture detection is to address a rupture as quickly as possible. Further, the methods for effectively detecting a leak vary greatly for gas versus liquid systems. Historically, a Computerized Pipeline Model (CPM) is not an effective means to detect a small leak in a gas pipeline system.
If you're looking to place a monetary value on potential impacts of a leak compared to a rupture, think about ineffective leak detection costing millions of dollars and ineffective rupture detection costing hundreds of millions of dollars.
That's why optimizing a system for leak detection is different from optimizing a system for rupture detection. Both types of detection are required for a reliable Leak Detection System (LDS). An LDS can help pipeline controllers and support personnel in the following ways:
Quickly detect ruptures.
Reliably detect small leaks.
Accurately locate the presence of a leak or rupture.
Understand what a leak alarm indicates.
Execute the appropriate response.
Execute a timely response.
In the 2010 Marshall Incident, one of the factors contributing to the severity of the incident was that the operator misinterpreted alarms. As a result, the operator twice tried to restart the system before learning that a rupture had occurred. The consequence of the two attempted restarts was a significant increase in the volume of crude oil that was released from the system and leaked into the environment.
This incident highlights the need to have an effective LDS to find the smallest leak as quickly as possible before it turns into a rupture. Fortunately, there are industry best practices found in API 1175 to help pipeline operators develop the appropriate system that aligns with PHMSA guidelines.
Consider Adopting API 1175 to Support Leak Detection
The next step for operators is to consider implementing best practices to support leak detection. API 1175 is accepted as the industry standard for managing a leak detection program in a hazardous liquid pipeline. This includes how to select the appropriate LDS, how to develop the optimal leak detection culture and strategy, and monitor leak detection program performance.
While API 1175 is currently not mandated by PHMSA to support leak detection, this recommended practice is often incorporated by reference in PHMSA rulemaking. For example, in the NPRM that was issued in February, PHMSA referenced API 1175 as one of the recommended practices their agency will use to continue addressing the effectiveness of Leak Detection Systems for "other non-rupture type leaks through its rulemaking on the safety of hazardous liquid pipelines."
Another compelling reason to adopt API 1175 in your operation is to align with the industry-wide goal of supporting zero incidents through the implementation of Pipeline Safety Management Systems (Pipeline SMS).
API noted in their API 1175 whitepaper that operators need a mitigation strategy should a release occur, and the appropriate leak detection program is part of successful mitigation. API 1175 provides operators with valuable guidance on what needs to be included in the program, including how to create the appropriate safety culture that supports leak detection.
Ultimately, taking this step will help reduce the likelihood of a leak advancing to a rupture and help your operation continue to meet the minimum rupture detection standards.
Talk to EnerSys for Leak Detection Support
Pipeline leak detection and rupture detection is increasingly valuable for pipeline operators as the industry continues to strive for zero incidents.
Additionally, the proposed rulemaking from PHMSA has pushed rupture mitigation efforts to the forefront, especially as the GPAC and LPAC committees continue to work through the proposed revisions to pipeline safety rules for natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines.
As you review and weigh the applicability to your operation, we recommend taking an important step of implementing a leak detection system in alignment with API 1175 or a rupture detection system.
We are capable of developing a leak detection program for pipeline operators, helping to select or develop a rupture detection system, and also helping midstream companies review where some form of leak detection is applicable by law.
– Contact us today to discuss how we can support your operation's efforts to mitigate rupture detection. We can be reached by phone at 281-598-7100, by email at sales@enersyscorp.com, or by contacting us through our website.
– For more insight on the Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection Standards NPRM, I recommend that you listen to my Pipeliners Podcast episode with industry expert Keith Coyle of Babst Calland. We discuss in-depth the GPAC and LPAC committee meetings and the impact of the NPRM on pipeline operators.


text:
Q: Fail yarn application from container program I have written a yarn client which asks for some containers from YARN

*

*one container for application master on which I run my application master

*application master asks from another container for running my application

the problem is even after my application fails on the second container the application is marked as successful.
Can anyone please help me figure out a way to mark my application as failed if my application fails on the container
Client.java
    import java.io.File;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileStatus;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileSystem;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.ApplicationConstants;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.ApplicationConstants.Environment;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.*;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.client.api.YarnClient;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.client.api.YarnClientApplication;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Apps;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.ConverterUtils;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;

public class Client {

    Configuration conf = new YarnConfiguration();

    public void run(String[] args) throws Exception {
//        final String command = args[0];
        final Path jarPath = new Path(args[0]);

        // Create yarnClient
        YarnConfiguration conf = new YarnConfiguration();
        YarnClient yarnClient = YarnClient.createYarnClient();
        yarnClient.init(conf);
        yarnClient.start();

        // Create application via yarnClient
        YarnClientApplication app = yarnClient.createApplication();
        ApplicationSubmissionContext appContext =
                app.getApplicationSubmissionContext();
        ApplicationId appId = appContext.getApplicationId();

        // Set up the container launch context for the application master
        ContainerLaunchContext amContainer =
                Records.newRecord(ContainerLaunchContext.class);
        amContainer.setCommands(
                Collections.singletonList(
                        "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java" +
                                " -Xmx256M" +
                                " com.paytm.lending.datamart.yarn.v2.ApplicationMaster" +
                                " " + appId.toString() +
                                " 1>" + ApplicationConstants.LOG_DIR_EXPANSION_VAR + "/stdout" +
                                " 2>" + ApplicationConstants.LOG_DIR_EXPANSION_VAR + "/stderr"
                )
        );

        // Setup jar for ApplicationMaster
        LocalResource appMasterJar = Records.newRecord(LocalResource.class);
        setupAppMasterJar(jarPath, appMasterJar);
        amContainer.setLocalResources(
                Collections.singletonMap("simpleapp.jar", appMasterJar));

        // Setup CLASSPATH for ApplicationMaster
        Map<String, String> appMasterEnv = new HashMap<String, String>();
        setupAppMasterEnv(appMasterEnv,jarPath.toUri().getRawPath());
        amContainer.setEnvironment(appMasterEnv);

        // Set up resource type requirements for ApplicationMaster
        Resource capability = Records.newRecord(Resource.class);
        capability.setMemorySize(256);
        capability.setVirtualCores(1);

        // Finally, set-up ApplicationSubmissionContext for the application
        appContext.setApplicationName("simple-yarn-app"); // application name
        appContext.setAMContainerSpec(amContainer);
        appContext.setResource(capability);
        appContext.setQueue("default"); // queue

        // Submit application
        System.out.println("Submitting application " + appId);
        yarnClient.submitApplication(appContext);

        ApplicationReport appReport = yarnClient.getApplicationReport(appId);
        YarnApplicationState appState = appReport.getYarnApplicationState();
        while (appState != YarnApplicationState.FINISHED &&
                appState != YarnApplicationState.KILLED &&
                appState != YarnApplicationState.FAILED) {
            Thread.sleep(100);
            appReport = yarnClient.getApplicationReport(appId);
            appState = appReport.getYarnApplicationState();
        }

        System.out.println(
                "Application " + appId + " finished with" +
                        " state " + appState +
                        " at " + appReport.getFinishTime());

    }

    private void setupAppMasterJar(Path jarPath, LocalResource appMasterJar) throws IOException {
        FileStatus jarStat = FileSystem.get(conf).getFileStatus(jarPath);
        appMasterJar.setResource(URL.fromPath(jarPath));
        appMasterJar.setSize(jarStat.getLen());
        appMasterJar.setTimestamp(jarStat.getModificationTime());
        appMasterJar.setType(LocalResourceType.FILE);
        appMasterJar.setVisibility(LocalResourceVisibility.PUBLIC);
    }

    private void setupAppMasterEnv(Map<String, String> appMasterEnv,String jarPath) {
        for (String c : conf.getStrings(
                YarnConfiguration.YARN_APPLICATION_CLASSPATH,
                YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_YARN_APPLICATION_CLASSPATH)) {
            Apps.addToEnvironment(appMasterEnv, Environment.CLASSPATH.name(),
                    c.trim(),File.pathSeparator);
        }
        Apps.addToEnvironment(appMasterEnv,
                Environment.CLASSPATH.name(),
                Environment.PWD.$() + File.separator + "*",File.pathSeparator);
        Apps.addToEnvironment(appMasterEnv,"JAR_PATH",jarPath, File.pathSeparator);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        Client c = new Client();
        c.run(args);
    }
}

ApplicationMaster.java
import java.io.File;
import java.util.*;
import org.apache.hadoop.conf.Configuration;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileStatus;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.FileSystem;
import org.apache.hadoop.fs.Path;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.ApplicationConstants;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.protocolrecords.AllocateResponse;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.api.records.*;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.client.api.AMRMClient;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.client.api.AMRMClient.ContainerRequest;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.client.api.NMClient;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.conf.YarnConfiguration;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Apps;
import org.apache.hadoop.yarn.util.Records;

public class ApplicationMaster {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

        final String appId = args[0];

        // Initialize clients to ResourceManager and NodeManagers
        Configuration conf = new YarnConfiguration();

        AMRMClient<ContainerRequest> rmClient = AMRMClient.createAMRMClient();
        rmClient.init(conf);
        rmClient.start();

        NMClient nmClient = NMClient.createNMClient();
        nmClient.init(conf);
        nmClient.start();

        // Register with ResourceManager
        System.out.println("registerApplicationMaster 0");
        rmClient.registerApplicationMaster("", 0, "");
        System.out.println("registerApplicationMaster 1");

        // Priority for worker containers - priorities are intra-application
        Priority priority = Records.newRecord(Priority.class);
        priority.setPriority(0);

        // Resource requirements for worker containers
        Resource capability = Records.newRecord(Resource.class);
        capability.setMemorySize(128);
        capability.setVirtualCores(1);

        // Make container requests to ResourceManager
        for (int i = 0; i < 2; ++i) {
            ContainerRequest containerAsk = new ContainerRequest(capability, null, null, priority);
            System.out.println("Making resource request " + i);
            rmClient.addContainerRequest(containerAsk);
        }

        // Obtain allocated containers, launch and check for responses
        int responseId = 0;
        int completedContainers = 0;
        while (completedContainers < 2) {
            AllocateResponse response = rmClient.allocate(responseId++);
            System.out.println("response.getAllocatedContainers().size() "+response.getAllocatedContainers().size());
            for (Container container : response.getAllocatedContainers()) {
                List<String> commands = new ArrayList<String>(Arrays.asList("$JAVA_HOME/bin/java " +
                                " -Xmx256m " +
                                " com.paytm.lending.datamart.yarn.DummyApplication " +1 +" "+
                                " 1> " + "/var/log/hadoop-yarn/containers/"+appId+"/"+container.getId()+"/"+ApplicationConstants.STDOUT +
                                " 2> " + "/var/log/hadoop-yarn/containers/"+appId+"/"+container.getId()+"/"+ApplicationConstants.STDERR
                        ,"exit 100"));
//                List<String> commands = Collections.singletonList(
//                        "$JAVA_HOME/bin/java " +
//                                " -Xmx256m " +
//                                " com.paytm.lending.datamart.yarn.DummyApplication " +1 +" "+
//                                " 1> " + "/var/log/hadoop-yarn/containers/"+appId+"/"+container.getId()+"/"+ApplicationConstants.STDOUT +
//                                " 2> " + "/var/log/hadoop-yarn/containers/"+appId+"/"+container.getId()+"/"+ApplicationConstants.STDERR
//                );
                // Launch container by create ContainerLaunchContext
                ContainerLaunchContext ctx =
                        Records.newRecord(ContainerLaunchContext.class);

                Map<String,LocalResource> test = new HashMap<>();
                LocalResource test1 = Records.newRecord(LocalResource.class);
                FileStatus status = FileSystem.get(conf).getFileStatus(new Path(System.getenv("JAR_PATH")));
                test1.setResource(URL.fromPath(status.getPath()));
                test1.setSize(status.getLen());
                test1.setTimestamp(status.getModificationTime());
                test1.setType(LocalResourceType.FILE);
                test1.setVisibility(LocalResourceVisibility.PUBLIC);

                Map<String, String> env = new HashMap<String, String>();
                for (String c : conf.getStrings(
                        YarnConfiguration.YARN_APPLICATION_CLASSPATH,
                        YarnConfiguration.DEFAULT_YARN_APPLICATION_CLASSPATH)) {
                    Apps.addToEnvironment(env, ApplicationConstants.Environment.CLASSPATH.name(),
                            c.trim(), File.pathSeparator);
                }
                Apps.addToEnvironment(env,
                        ApplicationConstants.Environment.CLASSPATH.name(),
                        ApplicationConstants.Environment.PWD.$() + File.separator + "*",File.pathSeparator);

                test.put("simpleapp.jar",test1);

                ctx.setLocalResources(test);
                ctx.setEnvironment(env);

                ctx.setCommands(commands);
                System.out.println("New Launching container " + container + " with command "+commands);
                nmClient.startContainer(container, ctx);
            }
            for (ContainerStatus status : response.getCompletedContainersStatuses()) {
                ++completedContainers;
                System.out.println("Completed container " + status.getContainerId());
                System.out.println("Container state "+ status.getState());
            }
            Thread.sleep(100);
        }

        // Un-register with ResourceManager
        rmClient.unregisterApplicationMaster(
                FinalApplicationStatus.SUCCEEDED, "", "");
    }
}

DummyApplication.java
import com.amazonaws.regions.Regions
import com.amazonaws.services.s3.AmazonS3ClientBuilder

object DummyApplication extends App {
  val s3Client = AmazonS3ClientBuilder.standard().withRegion(Regions.AP_SOUTH_1).build()

  val bucketName = "lending-data-science"
  val objectKey = s"27059/test${args(0)}.txt"
  val objectContent = "This is the file content."

  println(s"creating file with name: ${objectKey}")

  s3Client.putObject(bucketName, objectKey, objectContent)
  throw new RuntimeException("Dummy Exception")

}

I need a way using which I can fail my application if exception occur in DummyApplication.java class

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


5 items matched name="Gallant O'Driscole".
This name was registered in August of 2003 (via Atenveldt).
Per chevron vert and argent, two double-bitted axes argent and a compass rose sable.
(Fieldless) Between and conjoined to two serpents erect addorsed each nowed argent a roundel vert.


text:
Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook x Public Economics x Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics x Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics x clear all
Corporate Regulation
Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance
National Government Expenditures and Related Policies
Conditional Election and Partisan Cycles in Government Support to the Agricultural Sector: An Empirical Analysis
Jeroen Klomp and Jakob de Haan.
in American Journal of Agricultural Economics
July 2013; p ublished online May 2013 .
Journal Article. Subjects: National Government Expenditures and Related Policies; Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook; Agricultural Economics. 11971 words.
We examine the effect of elections and government ideology on public funding to the agricultural sector using a panel model for more than 70 democratic countries from 1975-2009. We find...
Green growth, degrowth, and the commons
Michael Jakob and Ottmar Edenhofer.
in Oxford Review of Economic Policy
Journal Article. Subjects: Welfare and Poverty; Publicly Provided Goods; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; Environmental Economics; Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity; Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook. 10718 words.
The concepts of 'green growth' and 'degrowth' occupy central positions in the public debate on the relationship between economic growth and the environment. While proponents of the former...
Resource Funds: Stabilising, Parking, and Inter-generational Transfer
Anthony J. Venables and Samuel E. Wills.
in Journal of African Economies
September 2016; p ublished online October 2016 .
Journal Article. Subjects: Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook; International Finance; Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; National Budget, Deficit, and Debt; Economic Development; Non-renewable Resources and Conservation. 9815 words.
The paper explores strategies for managing revenue from natural resources, focusing on the balance between domestic and foreign asset accumulation. It suggests that domestic asset...
Sovereign Wealth Funds and Natural Resource Management in Africa
Samuel E. Wills, Lemma W. Senbet and Witness Simbanegavi.
Journal Article. Subjects: Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook; International Finance; Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance; Corporate Governance; Corporate Regulation; Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue; National Budget, Deficit, and Debt; Publicly Provided Goods; National Government Expenditures and Related Policies; Economic Development; Non-renewable Resources and Conservation. 8386 words.
Non-renewable resources dominate nearly one quarter of the world's economies. Over half of these economies are developing, with many in Africa. Managing resource revenues is one of the most...


text:
Here, you'll find a complete digital archive of the entire run of the Regina Leader-Post from 1883 to recent papers (with a three-month delay for current issues). We are so pleased to offer complete access to an exact, searchable PDF scan of the entire newspaper from its earliest days when it was known as The Regina Leader, right up to the Leader-Post we know today.
The Regina Leader (1883 – 1890)
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Regina Leader-Post (1930 – 2010)
Regina Leader-Post (2011 – current; delayed 3 months)
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PLEASE NOTE: Current issues are delayed by 3 months. If you require the most up-to-date issues of Regina Leader-Post, please use PressReader.
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Meet the NEW Mermaid Shimmer Collection of Swig! New Fun Multi Color Purple and Aqua Swirls..
SWIG 12oz Mermaid Shimmer Personalized Laser Engraved Wine Cup Stainless Steel Travel Mug Thermos Custom Printed ~ Laser Engraved Permanently onto the travel mug, not with decals that peel or wash off.
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Hand washing is recommended for your Swig because the high temperatures of the dishwasher may affect the insulation technology of the cup.


text:
The bioaccumulation potential of a series of LAS homologues and isomers were evaluated in flow-through studies with fathead minnows. The BCFs were 87 L/kg for a standard mixture typical of LAS in European detergent formulations (average alkyl chain length = C11.6) and 22 L/kg for a representative environmental sample (filtered Mississippi river water, average alkyl chain length = C10.8).
In a supporting study, the bioconcentration of LAS in the marine shrimp Palaemonetes varians was measured in a radiotracer study.The BCF55 for shrimp was calculated to be 159 L/kg. A DT50 of 14 hrs was calculated, and only 1% of the body burden of the test substance remained in the shrimp after 8 days.
The bioaccumulation potential of LAS has been evaluated and found to be low based on aquatic data in fish. BCF values ranged from between 2 and < 1000 L/kg, with a BCF value of 99 for the 2-phenyl isomer of the C12 homologue. In vitro study demonstrate that low bioaccumulation is due to rapid biotransformation. BCF values for mixtures can be calculated based on the weight fraction of each homologue. The calculated BCF was 87 L/kg for a standard mixture typical of LAS in European detergent formulations (average alkyl chain length = 11.6). The calculated BCF value was 22 L/kg for a representative environmental sample (filtered Mississippi river water, average alkyl chain length = C10.8), demonstrating that BCF is decreased by environmental processes such as biodegradation and absorption, which reduce aquatic concentrations.


text:
Trump Boasts He Can Deliver 6 Percent Economic Growth. Sadly, No.
Speaking a shale industry conference in Pittsburgh last week, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump made a bold promise. "My entire economic plan," Trump boasted, "will create 25 million new jobs over the next 10 years, assuming an average growth rate of 3.5 percent, and I believe we can reach beyond actually 4 percent growth."
Leaving aside the jobs number for a moment, there are a few problems with Trump's GDP pledge. For starters, less than a year ago the reality TV star was promising to deliver not four, but six percent economic growth. Making matters worse, no President since LBJ has averaged four percent GDP expansion.
Unveiling his third tax plan in less than a year, Donald Trump last week declared, "I believe it's time to establish a national goal of reaching four percent economic growth." But he didn't stop there:
"My great economists don't want know say this, but I think we can do better than that. Now, they're upset. They'll be very upset. But I think we can do and maybe substantially btter than that."
And just how much better is "substantially better?" On September 28, 2015, Trump provided an answer. As the Wall Street Journal reported:
Donald Trump boasted Monday that his newly unveiled tax plan could supercharge the U.S. economy, pushing annual economic growth as high as 6%, as he upped the ante with Republican presidential rivals over the growth benefits from their competing proposals...
Asked about the economic growth he expected his plan to generate, Mr. Trump responded: "We are looking at a 3% but we think it could be 5 [percent] or even 6 [percent]. We are going to have growth that will be tremendous."
That kind of growth would be tremendous. But Trump's scheme is ridiculous for the same reason Jeb Bush's "Four Percent Fraud" was as well. As I noted when Jeb promised four percent annual growth because "it's a nice round number":
As it turns out, since Ike was in the White House only two presidents--Democrats John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson--averaged at least 4 percent GDP growth over their tenures. And no President named Bush ever reached that mark even once in 12 years...
After all, four percent GDP growth isn't just higher than the post-World II U.S. average; it is a figure that has been reached only 27 times in that period. And in that span, two of the worst performers in the White House were Jeb's father and brother.
Since 2000, GDP growth has averaged a little less than 2 percent a year. Since the Great Recession of 2008 hit, labor productivity has expanded by less than 1 percent a year. As Neil Irwin explained in the New York Times last week, that means Trump can't get there from here. Our aging population and his planned crackdown on immigration mean a return to the boom days of 1950 to 1973 simply isn't in the cards:
Add it all up, and is Mr. Trump's promise of 25 million new jobs over the next decade and 3.5 percent annual economic growth possible? Only if a burst of innovation arrives that makes every worker's labor go further, and if millions of new immigrants arrive from overseas or the ratio of American adults who want to work rises far higher than it has ever been. Absent all that, the math just doesn't work.
Unencumbered by either truth or history, Donald Trump made a vow about his economic blueprint to his audience last week:
[It] will be completely paid for in combination with proposed budget savings. It will be deficit neutral. If we reach four percent growth, it will reduce the deficit, it will be accomplished through a complete overhaul of our tax regulatory, energy and trade policies.
Of course, Trump's gambit is far from deficit neutral. His massive tax cuts for the rich and added spending will produce a hemorrhage of red ink, adding up to $6 trillion of new debt over the next decade according to estimates from the conservative Tax Foundation and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Undaunted, the man whose companies declared bankruptcy four times and who brought you Trump Airways, Trump University and Trump Mortgage says, "Believe me."
"You can visit our web site, just look at the math. It works."