In 2011, people around the world fought for their human rights, and governments either helped or harmed the cause. These are some of the major human rights issues that caught our attention in 2011:
World Hunger: Over 925 million people still do not have enough food to eat. World hunger has been aggravated by climate change, growing more grain for ethanol, lack of money to buy food, seed, or farming implements to grow the food, war, HIV/AIDS, rising gas prices, lack of rights to use water sources, and the farm subsidies that wealthy farmers of Western countries receive to grow more and saturate the market, leaving poorer farmers in other countries unable to sell their harvests. The economic depression of the United States has also increased the number of children who go to bed hungry at night.
Arab Spring: People across North Africa and the Middle East protested against their repressive governments, and some were successful in overthrowing them. While the Western world believed that Arab Spring was all about establishing democracy, there is a growing fear that secular dictators will be replaced by Islamists, who have potential to take more freedoms away from the people--especially from women.
Occupy Wall Street: On September 17, 2011, the Occupy Wall Street movement (OWS) began in the United States. Inspired by the popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, the Occupy Wall Street movement is a people's movement that protests against the increasing influence of corporations and financial institutions over the democratic process and the common good. OWS gave birth to the slogan "We are the 99%!", calling attention to the fact that 1% of the nation holds most of the wealth and power. For the most part, demonstrations have been non-violent, but police and National Guard have pepper sprayed, beaten, tear-gassed, and trampled demonstrators with horses, even though the police and military are also part of the 99%. OWS has expanded to all states of the union, and if nothing else has made Americans reflect upon their attitudes toward work, wealth, power, and the right to demonstrate against the government.
"LGBT Rights are Human Rights": A conversation about LGBT civil rights in the United States has begun, starting from the top.
On February 23, 2011, Attorney General Eric Holder delivered a memo to Congress which set out the Department Of Justice's position that classifications in laws and government policies based on sexual orientation should be subject to a heightened standard of constitutional review due to the long history of discrimination against LGBT people, among other factors. The main purpose of this memo, to reconsider the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), started a conversation on the federal level but did not result in a repeal.
On April 6, 2011, Rep. Barney Frank introduced the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA, H.R. 1397) to the 112th Congress House of Representatives to ban workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Various representatives have tried to get ENDA passed since 1994, without success; the Civil Rights Act still does not include sexual orientation or gender identity under their non-discrimination policy.
On September 20, 2011, the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell took effect. The repeal followed decades of research demonstrating that open service by LGBT people does not impair military readiness or cohesion. While gay and lesbian people can now serve openly in the military if they so choose, many still do not feel comfortable doing so, and gay and lesbian enlisted people still will not receive federal or military benefits for their partners.
On December 7, 2011, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a historic speech before the United Nations, stating that it is a violation of human rights to commit discrimination or violence against people because of their sexual orientation. While the federal government of the United States still does not recognize same-sex marriage, and it allows the states to determine whether or not to include sexual orientation or gender identity in their anti-discrimination laws, as well as give each state the freedom to determine how they will address LGBT issues or not in K-12 environments, being LGBT is not a legal reason to imprison someone, stone them, or put them to death in the United States, as it is in many other countries in the world. Thirty seven out of fifty three African nations have made it illegal for gays to exist. The United Kingdom has threatened to cut their aid to African nations who do not abolish these laws. Meanwhile, Russia and the former Soviet republics, many Middle Eastern nations, Latin American nations such as Ecuador, and southeast Asian nations such as Malaysia and Indonesia go uncriticized by the West for their anti-LGBT legislation.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Beating the System
In 2012, it may be a lot harder for college students, people with disabilities, minorities, and low-income citizens to vote. Different states have proposed or already passed legislation that would keep the following folks from voting:
-- College students with a college issued student ID from that state (as opposed to a driver's license), simply because they could be paying out of state tuition;
-- Low-income urban minorities who do not drive, and therefore do not have driver's licenses;
-- People with disabilities who do not drive, and therefore do not have driver's licenses;
-- People released from prison, whether or not they paid their taxes.
You can read it all here: Voting Law Changes in 2012, a report published by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. It is rumored that Republican-dominated states are passing these laws to reduce the number of potentially Democratic voters in their districts.
-- College students with a college issued student ID from that state (as opposed to a driver's license), simply because they could be paying out of state tuition;
-- Low-income urban minorities who do not drive, and therefore do not have driver's licenses;
-- People with disabilities who do not drive, and therefore do not have driver's licenses;
-- People released from prison, whether or not they paid their taxes.
You can read it all here: Voting Law Changes in 2012, a report published by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. It is rumored that Republican-dominated states are passing these laws to reduce the number of potentially Democratic voters in their districts.
Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty
Roger Thurow and Scott Kilman, journalists and winners of the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award, wrote a book that all Americans should read. This book reveals all of the reasons why many African countries do not have enough food to eat--the reasons that will make people ashamed of the current system of food production and distribution, farm subsidies and the World Bank. Enough: Why the World's Poorest Starve in an Age of Plenty (PublicAffairs, 2009) will shake Americans into action to stop this insanity.
Most of the world does not have enough to eat. The African continent has the highest food security risk; this means that most African countries are unable to grow enough food to feed their populations, and that many of those same African countries do not have enough grain stored for emergencies:
Over the decades, many Americans have asked why there are so many starving Africans. This question is almost always followed by, "Why can't they feed themselves? They have all of that land--why don't they work hard to farm it like our ancestors had done?"
In many African countries, the majority of the population is engaged in some form of agriculture. Many tribes have been engaged in farming for centuries and take pride in their connection to the land. Unfortunately, people in these countries have lost expertise due to the slave trade, internal warfare, disease, and colonialism. The colonizing powers often had little or no interest in helping African farmers embrace scientific advances or technology that would make them self-sufficient and have no need for what colonizers dumped upon them. When the African nations fought for independence, the colonizing powers left them without infrastructure that would support modern agriculture or trade.
University of Minnesota graduate Norman Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution, first brought the concept of "hybrid vigor" to Mexican wheat and corn farmers in 1940. Borlaug's experiment, originally designed to create strains of wheat and corn with immunity to the rust that was killing crops, significantly increased crop yields. With assistance from the United States and Mexican governments, Borlaug developed a sustainable agricultural system in Mexico. Borlaug brought this system to India, China, and other Asian countries. In no time, many of these countries were able to feed themselves, export grain, and develop urban industries. It was easy for these countries, though--all of them already had ancient systems of irrigation and roads that allowed farmers to bring their harvest to market. This was not the case in most African countries.
Egypt has claimed the Nile; two treaties set in colonial times blocked upstream development of that water source. The Nile runs through nine African nations--Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. While Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo usually have sufficient rainfall for agriculture, the Sudanese and Ethiopians have been restricted in how much water they could take from the Nile. Imagine watching a rushing river flow through your village while your fields are cracked bowls of clay and everyone all around you is dying from starvation. Only recently has the Egyptian government decided to enter talks with Ethiopia in regard to water rights for agriculture.
While Borlaug brought his Green Revolution to Latin America and Asia, the United States and other Western nations were also using these techniques. They were growing so much food that farmers were losing money. Governments of these nations gave farmers subsidies to keep growing, and to send the surplus grain to African countries. At the same time, the World Bank and the Reagan Administration told African nations that agriculture wasn't a profitable enterprise for them, and that they should spend their time and energy developing industry. In the meantime, these same powers provided no guidance to the African nations as to how to do this, either. It was during the Reagan Administration that the world saw the millions of famine victims on television, which led to rock concert benefits and a Japanese man named Ryoichi Sassakawa to contact Borlaug and offer to join him on a trip to Africa to continue the Green Revolution there. Former President Jimmy Carter also joined, and together they formed the Sassakawa Africa Assocation. While the Sassakawa team proved that science can help farmers increase yields anywhere around the world, their success can only be sustained with money for seed, fertilizer, and maintenance of equipment, as well as infrastructure that supports the farmers in the first place.
Most agricultural aid to Africa from the West came in the form of grains, peas, and beans--including types that the African farmers could easily grow in their own countries, and still did as well as they were able. The West sent almost no aid to Africa that would help them develop their agricultural systems or infrastructure. The African farmers could not make a living from their crops due to the heavily subsidized and protected market for Western grain, and so the Africans grew less. This meant that, if there was a drought or a war, the Africans would have no surplus of their own on which to depend; many were being forced to leave their farms and depend on Western food aid. During the genocides that took place in Sudan, Rwanda, and other African nations, the people killed were farmers, and their farms and crops were destroyed by the enemy who did not want them to ever return to their land. A generation of children have grown up in refugee camps, and they have lost their connection to farming. Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases are taking away healthy farmers, leaving old grandparents and children too young to work behind. In the meantime, few of the struggling farmers can afford sufficient food for their families in troubled times; children grow up chronically malnourished, or die from starvation or deficiency-related diseases altogether.
Starvation affects nations for generations to come. When a significant percentage of the population suffers from chronic malnutrition, those people do not have the energy or health to study, work, or even bear and raise healthy children. When disease strikes chronically malnourished people, even the most effective medications cannot save them, because their bodies are too weak to accept the antibiotics.
People of the African nations are all too aware of these imbalances; some fall under the influence of terrorist organizations who want to destroy Western countries. Others simply fight for resources for their own tribe, or their own family. Eradicating hunger is a human rights issue; maintaining the current system will lead to increased terrorism and suffering for all human beings on this planet. After reading Enough, many Americans will feel as if their government and the media has lied to them all this time about African potential; the book is a call to action, to protest current farm subsidy legislation in order to help out some of our fellow 99%.
Most of the world does not have enough to eat. The African continent has the highest food security risk; this means that most African countries are unable to grow enough food to feed their populations, and that many of those same African countries do not have enough grain stored for emergencies:
Over the decades, many Americans have asked why there are so many starving Africans. This question is almost always followed by, "Why can't they feed themselves? They have all of that land--why don't they work hard to farm it like our ancestors had done?"
In many African countries, the majority of the population is engaged in some form of agriculture. Many tribes have been engaged in farming for centuries and take pride in their connection to the land. Unfortunately, people in these countries have lost expertise due to the slave trade, internal warfare, disease, and colonialism. The colonizing powers often had little or no interest in helping African farmers embrace scientific advances or technology that would make them self-sufficient and have no need for what colonizers dumped upon them. When the African nations fought for independence, the colonizing powers left them without infrastructure that would support modern agriculture or trade.
University of Minnesota graduate Norman Borlaug, known as the father of the Green Revolution, first brought the concept of "hybrid vigor" to Mexican wheat and corn farmers in 1940. Borlaug's experiment, originally designed to create strains of wheat and corn with immunity to the rust that was killing crops, significantly increased crop yields. With assistance from the United States and Mexican governments, Borlaug developed a sustainable agricultural system in Mexico. Borlaug brought this system to India, China, and other Asian countries. In no time, many of these countries were able to feed themselves, export grain, and develop urban industries. It was easy for these countries, though--all of them already had ancient systems of irrigation and roads that allowed farmers to bring their harvest to market. This was not the case in most African countries.
Egypt has claimed the Nile; two treaties set in colonial times blocked upstream development of that water source. The Nile runs through nine African nations--Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo. While Rwanda, Burundi and the Congo usually have sufficient rainfall for agriculture, the Sudanese and Ethiopians have been restricted in how much water they could take from the Nile. Imagine watching a rushing river flow through your village while your fields are cracked bowls of clay and everyone all around you is dying from starvation. Only recently has the Egyptian government decided to enter talks with Ethiopia in regard to water rights for agriculture.
While Borlaug brought his Green Revolution to Latin America and Asia, the United States and other Western nations were also using these techniques. They were growing so much food that farmers were losing money. Governments of these nations gave farmers subsidies to keep growing, and to send the surplus grain to African countries. At the same time, the World Bank and the Reagan Administration told African nations that agriculture wasn't a profitable enterprise for them, and that they should spend their time and energy developing industry. In the meantime, these same powers provided no guidance to the African nations as to how to do this, either. It was during the Reagan Administration that the world saw the millions of famine victims on television, which led to rock concert benefits and a Japanese man named Ryoichi Sassakawa to contact Borlaug and offer to join him on a trip to Africa to continue the Green Revolution there. Former President Jimmy Carter also joined, and together they formed the Sassakawa Africa Assocation. While the Sassakawa team proved that science can help farmers increase yields anywhere around the world, their success can only be sustained with money for seed, fertilizer, and maintenance of equipment, as well as infrastructure that supports the farmers in the first place.
Most agricultural aid to Africa from the West came in the form of grains, peas, and beans--including types that the African farmers could easily grow in their own countries, and still did as well as they were able. The West sent almost no aid to Africa that would help them develop their agricultural systems or infrastructure. The African farmers could not make a living from their crops due to the heavily subsidized and protected market for Western grain, and so the Africans grew less. This meant that, if there was a drought or a war, the Africans would have no surplus of their own on which to depend; many were being forced to leave their farms and depend on Western food aid. During the genocides that took place in Sudan, Rwanda, and other African nations, the people killed were farmers, and their farms and crops were destroyed by the enemy who did not want them to ever return to their land. A generation of children have grown up in refugee camps, and they have lost their connection to farming. Malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other diseases are taking away healthy farmers, leaving old grandparents and children too young to work behind. In the meantime, few of the struggling farmers can afford sufficient food for their families in troubled times; children grow up chronically malnourished, or die from starvation or deficiency-related diseases altogether.
Starvation affects nations for generations to come. When a significant percentage of the population suffers from chronic malnutrition, those people do not have the energy or health to study, work, or even bear and raise healthy children. When disease strikes chronically malnourished people, even the most effective medications cannot save them, because their bodies are too weak to accept the antibiotics.
People of the African nations are all too aware of these imbalances; some fall under the influence of terrorist organizations who want to destroy Western countries. Others simply fight for resources for their own tribe, or their own family. Eradicating hunger is a human rights issue; maintaining the current system will lead to increased terrorism and suffering for all human beings on this planet. After reading Enough, many Americans will feel as if their government and the media has lied to them all this time about African potential; the book is a call to action, to protest current farm subsidy legislation in order to help out some of our fellow 99%.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Christmas and Children's Rights
Many people around the world are celebrating Christmas today. Christmas is the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, although no one really knows exactly when He was born, and not all people of Christian faiths agree on the exact date.
All we know is that a special child was born on that day, with the potential to change the world. It had been prophesied that this child would be the next "King of the Jews". The infant was in great danger, as King Herod of Judea had ordered his soldiers to kill all male infants so that Herod and his line could rule forever. Only one man had the courage to give Mary and Joseph a place to hide and give birth to this special child.
Knowing the background of Christ's birth gives Christmas a brand new meaning. To celebrate Christ's birth is not necessarily recognizing the birth of a new religion, or even recognizing Christ as the child of God. Celebrating Christ's birth is recognizing that all children born on this Earth have the potential to change the world. For this reason, all children deserve food, clothing, and shelter. They deserve a loving family who will make them aware of their potential and help them achieve it. They deserve the opportunity to express themselves and to be heard. They deserve our protection, guidance, and support.
It has become a tradition to give children presents during Christmas. No matter what the gift, it should be given with the intention of developing a child's potential, showing them love, and helping them bond with family and community. Many people give donations to children's charities during the Christmas holidays, hoping that needy children will eventually have the opportunity to reach their potential.
There are still many parts of the world where it seems that children are born to suffer. This is especially the case in parts of the world where girls do not enjoy the same freedoms or safeties as boys, or where children are sold into slavery, prostitution, or rebel armies. In the United States, there are nearly 500,000 children in foster care; many of these children suffer from severe emotional problems stemming from unstable living conditions, neglect, and abuse. Around the world, more children are receiving autistic spectrum disorder diagnoses; without a supportive family and community, and without the right educational environment, many of these children will never reach their potential. As more Americans lose their jobs, more children are seeing their lives downsized from a house to the back seat of a car.
While we give our own children Christmas presents and holiday memories of favorite foods, movies, and games shared with family, we should not forget the children in our community who will not have those things. On Christmas, if not more often, we should make the time to visit a child who needs to be reminded of their potential, and reminded that no matter how bad things get, good adults still exist who can set an example.
All we know is that a special child was born on that day, with the potential to change the world. It had been prophesied that this child would be the next "King of the Jews". The infant was in great danger, as King Herod of Judea had ordered his soldiers to kill all male infants so that Herod and his line could rule forever. Only one man had the courage to give Mary and Joseph a place to hide and give birth to this special child.
Knowing the background of Christ's birth gives Christmas a brand new meaning. To celebrate Christ's birth is not necessarily recognizing the birth of a new religion, or even recognizing Christ as the child of God. Celebrating Christ's birth is recognizing that all children born on this Earth have the potential to change the world. For this reason, all children deserve food, clothing, and shelter. They deserve a loving family who will make them aware of their potential and help them achieve it. They deserve the opportunity to express themselves and to be heard. They deserve our protection, guidance, and support.
It has become a tradition to give children presents during Christmas. No matter what the gift, it should be given with the intention of developing a child's potential, showing them love, and helping them bond with family and community. Many people give donations to children's charities during the Christmas holidays, hoping that needy children will eventually have the opportunity to reach their potential.
There are still many parts of the world where it seems that children are born to suffer. This is especially the case in parts of the world where girls do not enjoy the same freedoms or safeties as boys, or where children are sold into slavery, prostitution, or rebel armies. In the United States, there are nearly 500,000 children in foster care; many of these children suffer from severe emotional problems stemming from unstable living conditions, neglect, and abuse. Around the world, more children are receiving autistic spectrum disorder diagnoses; without a supportive family and community, and without the right educational environment, many of these children will never reach their potential. As more Americans lose their jobs, more children are seeing their lives downsized from a house to the back seat of a car.
While we give our own children Christmas presents and holiday memories of favorite foods, movies, and games shared with family, we should not forget the children in our community who will not have those things. On Christmas, if not more often, we should make the time to visit a child who needs to be reminded of their potential, and reminded that no matter how bad things get, good adults still exist who can set an example.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Hannukah and Human Rights
Hannukah (also spelled "Hanukkah" or "Chanukah") means "rededication" in Hebrew. It is also known as "The Festival of Lights". Hannukah commemorates the Jewish Maccabee rebels re-capturing a temple that once served as a Jewish temple, then was captured by the Greeks to worship Zeus.
The Maccabees did not care so much about what gods or goddesses the Greeks worshipped, but it seemed that the Greeks used this specific temple--a formerly Jewish temple--to practice rituals that would purposely insult the Jews living in Greek-occupied Jerusalem. Those Greeks slaughtered pigs in the temple, and this was a purposeful display of disrespect and dishonor toward the Jews. By fighting a battle with the Greeks to reclaim their temple, the Jewish Maccabees made a statement--that regardless of what culture, science, technology, and religion the Greeks brought to Jerusalem, the Jews would not allow their culture and religion to be ridiculed or destroyed. In effect, the Jewish Maccabees told the Greeks that while they may be citizens of the Greek Empire, they would never stop being Jewish.
Hannukah lasts for eight nights; each night a candle is lit on the menorah to commemorate the lighting of candles in the reclaimed temple. Many Jewish people place their menorah in a window or a public place. This is as much a display of pride in one's Jewish identity as the commemoration of an ancient battle to save a symbol of Jewish identity.
There is a Jewish population in Saint Cloud. While the date of first Jewish settlement in Saint Cloud is unknown at this time, Jewish people have lived here long enough to raise children and grandchildren. In many American cities, even ones which are not known for their Jewish communities, a menorah is placed next to the Christmas tree or nativity scene in public places to recognize that Christians and Jews are equal. To this day, a menorah has not made an appearance next to any Christmas trees or Nativity scenes in public spaces in Saint Cloud, which implies to an outsider that a Jewish community does not exist, or is not to be seen or heard.
The Maccabees did not care so much about what gods or goddesses the Greeks worshipped, but it seemed that the Greeks used this specific temple--a formerly Jewish temple--to practice rituals that would purposely insult the Jews living in Greek-occupied Jerusalem. Those Greeks slaughtered pigs in the temple, and this was a purposeful display of disrespect and dishonor toward the Jews. By fighting a battle with the Greeks to reclaim their temple, the Jewish Maccabees made a statement--that regardless of what culture, science, technology, and religion the Greeks brought to Jerusalem, the Jews would not allow their culture and religion to be ridiculed or destroyed. In effect, the Jewish Maccabees told the Greeks that while they may be citizens of the Greek Empire, they would never stop being Jewish.
Hannukah lasts for eight nights; each night a candle is lit on the menorah to commemorate the lighting of candles in the reclaimed temple. Many Jewish people place their menorah in a window or a public place. This is as much a display of pride in one's Jewish identity as the commemoration of an ancient battle to save a symbol of Jewish identity.
There is a Jewish population in Saint Cloud. While the date of first Jewish settlement in Saint Cloud is unknown at this time, Jewish people have lived here long enough to raise children and grandchildren. In many American cities, even ones which are not known for their Jewish communities, a menorah is placed next to the Christmas tree or nativity scene in public places to recognize that Christians and Jews are equal. To this day, a menorah has not made an appearance next to any Christmas trees or Nativity scenes in public spaces in Saint Cloud, which implies to an outsider that a Jewish community does not exist, or is not to be seen or heard.
Oldest Human Rights Commission in Minnesota Dismissed
The Human Rights Commission of Golden Valley, Minnesota was established in 1965, making it the first appointed commission in the state to address human rights issues. Since then, 49 human rights commissions have been established in other cities and counties in Minnesota...but just this Thursday, two days before Christmas, the Golden Valley City Council has fired its Human Rights Commission.
The Human Rights Commission asked the Golden Valley City Council if it could form a task force to investigate the use of unnecessary force used by police officers. Since 2008, there had been two reported incidents of police brutality in Golden Valley. The City Council was against the proposed task force, claiming that the methods of data collection that would be used to gather information from the police force would ruin peoples' reputations and violate the Data Practices Act.
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey will be seeking more information.
The Human Rights Commission asked the Golden Valley City Council if it could form a task force to investigate the use of unnecessary force used by police officers. Since 2008, there had been two reported incidents of police brutality in Golden Valley. The City Council was against the proposed task force, claiming that the methods of data collection that would be used to gather information from the police force would ruin peoples' reputations and violate the Data Practices Act.
Minnesota Department of Human Rights Commissioner Kevin Lindsey will be seeking more information.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Somalia Pleads with US Over Wire Block
Somalia is pleading with the US government to reverse their decision to block money transfers from the Minnesota Somali community to their home country.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States. Most of those Somali families send money home to their relatives; without that money, Somalia would have a complete economic collapse. The Minnesota Bankers Association decided to shut down the Somali money wiring agencies, known as hawalas, due to evidence that two Somali women in Rochester wired money to al-Shabab, identified as a terrorist organization.
Money transfers to Kenya and Ethiopia, countries where other Somali refugees live in large populations, have also been affected by this decision to block money transfers.
All accounts with those money service businesses will close on December 30th if Sunrise Community Banks--the banking system that handles the bulk of money transfers from Minnesota to Somalia--does not receive legal and regulatory relief. In the meantime, Minnesota politicians Senator Al Franken and Representative Keith Ellison are looking for solutions.
Minnesota is home to the largest Somali population in the United States. Most of those Somali families send money home to their relatives; without that money, Somalia would have a complete economic collapse. The Minnesota Bankers Association decided to shut down the Somali money wiring agencies, known as hawalas, due to evidence that two Somali women in Rochester wired money to al-Shabab, identified as a terrorist organization.
Money transfers to Kenya and Ethiopia, countries where other Somali refugees live in large populations, have also been affected by this decision to block money transfers.
All accounts with those money service businesses will close on December 30th if Sunrise Community Banks--the banking system that handles the bulk of money transfers from Minnesota to Somalia--does not receive legal and regulatory relief. In the meantime, Minnesota politicians Senator Al Franken and Representative Keith Ellison are looking for solutions.
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