Dear supporters
Tremendous news! Veolia has announced it is withdrawing from the North London Waste Authority procurement process!
WFPSC team would like to acknowledge the huge campaign involving a vast number of groups and individuals that we drew off continually in our own local campaigning, only some of whom include No2VeoliaActionGroup, Jews for Justice for Palestinians, Pinkham Way Alliance, Barnet Green Party, Veolia London Action Group, UK Dump Veolia Information Group, the Global Dump Veolia Campaign, Boycott National Committee, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Friends of the Earth, Human Rights Watch, Who Profits (Coalition of Women for Peace), the Civic Coalition for Palestinian Rights in Jerusalem and dozens of other organisations and groups. Plus lots of local groups including Waltham Forest Council of Mosques with a large number of businesses in the borough, WF Unite, WF Unison, Waltham Forest Trades Council, members of We are Waltham Forest, Wanstead and Leyton Labour Party, WF Labour Group, WF Lib Dems, WF Green Party, plus many other groups and beautiful individuals - all of whom passed motions, signed and gathered in petitions and open letters, emailed, met and debated with Councillors, lobbied the NLWA relentlessly and kept going.
It is hugely inspiring that together everyone has achieved this enormously important success. This is a win for more than just the constituents of 7 north London boroughs holding their municipalities to account over the two 30-year, £4.7 billion totalling contracts, safeguarding their hard-earned taxes and stopping a likely series of ecological disasters. This is a win for all fighting peacefully to free Palestinians from oppression, and to make the world a more responsible, financially fair and ecologically sustainable place.
TONIGHT, FRIDAY, campaigners are heading into central London to celebrate at a pub in Holborn from 6pm - that big pub on the left as you come out of Holborn tube station, down Kingsway!
TOMORROW, SATURDAY, we will hold the WFPSC stall from 11am in Walthamstow Town Square - please pop by to CELEBRATE and spread the news of this fantastic success - and help out at our last stall of 2012!
NEXT WEEK, THURSDAY 27 Dec 1-3pm - a national protest for GAZA outside the Israeli Embassy on Kensington High Street, London W8 5EB to mark the anniversary of Operation Cast Lead - the horrific bombardment of the Palestinian people in Gaza in 2008/2009.
AND IN THE NEW YEAR WFPSC IS CANCELLING OUR 'DUMP VEOLIA' PUBLIC MEETING! We are reverting to our New Year 2013 WFPSC Branch Meeting open to everyone at 7.30pm, on Mon 14th Jan 2013, at Hornbeam Centre, Walthamstow, to organise Gaza support and other activities instead.
It is so encouraging that peaceful, non-violence campaigning is having a strong impact, pulling apart the international mechanisms propping up Israel's unjustifiable, unsustainable, illegal occupation of Palestine.
Free Palestine! And very best wishes for a Very Happy Christmas and Seasons Greetings to All!
WFPSC Team
Waltham Forest Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Patrons: Neil Gerrard, Jean Lambert MEP, Prof Nur Masalha
Facebook: www.facebook.com/walthamforestpsc
Twitter: @wfpsclondon
Web: http://wfpsc.blogspot.com
Post: WFPSC c/o Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe St, Walthamstow, E17 9AH
Email: wfpsc@yahoo.com
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Palestine Solidarity Campaign has issued this statement:
Veolia pulls out of bidding for multi-Billion pound contract in North London
Today (21 December) the North London Waste Authority announced that Veolia Environmental Services ‘ will not be submitting final tenders for either NLWA’s waste services or fuel use contracts’. http://www.nlwa.gov.uk/news/2012/2012/12/21/announcement-on-nlwa-procurement
Sarah Colborne, Director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign, said:
‘Veolia’s bid for this waste contract which covers a vast area of North London was deeply controversial, with local residents outraged that such a toxic company could potentially provide services to them. Veolia is complicit in Israeli violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Veolia operates bus services to illegal Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land, is involved with the Jerusalem Light Railway which was designed to serve the needs of Israeli settlers, and Tovlan landfill which operates in the Jordan Valley.
This decision comes after a recent report by Professor Richard Falk – the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories – in which Veolia was singled out for its activities in the Occupied Palestianin Territories and after Palestine Solidarity Campaign members in the area have been actively campaigning against Veolia’s bid.
‘Desperate measures were used in an attempt to silence those who were standing up for justice and human rights, and opposing violations of international law. A Hackney council resident, Caroline Day, who wanted to put the case that the North London Waste Authority should not work with Veolia, was prevented from speaking at a full meeting of Hackney Council in November 2012. Local media reported that an organisation called UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI) were involved in drafting the motion to prevent Ms Day from speaking.’
‘But even these desperate measures don’t stop the truth from coming out about Veolia’s toxic activities.’
It seems that Veolia's complicity with occupation is causing it to be shunned across the world. In the USA, the St Louis City Board (Missouri) this week declined to approve a city contract with Veolia Water, putting off a vote on the matter until there can be a full investigation into the company's involvement in ethnic discrimination in Palestine. The decision comes after campaigning by St Louis Palestine Solidarity Committee and St. Louis Jewish Voice for Peace. http://www.stl-psc.org/?p=385
Ends
Notes for the editor
Veolia loosing contracts:
http://www.dumpveolia.org.uk/2012/11/16/veolia-campaign-victories/
NLWA announcement: http://www.nlwa.gov.uk/news/2012/2012/12/21/announcement-on-nlwa-procurement
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, Richard Falk: http://www.bdsmovement.net/2012/boycott-businesses-that-profit-from-israeli-settlements-un-special-rapporteur-9893
More on Veolia: http://www.bigcampaign.org/veolia/
Friday, 21 December 2012
Saturday, 17 November 2012
EMERGENCY DEMO - TODAY
EVERYBODY IN LONDON - time to get yourselves
together. PROTEST at 2pm this afternoon, Saturday 17 November 2012, outside ISRAELI EMBASSY at 2 Palace Green London W8 4QB, on Kensington High Street. Although it is near
High Street Ken tube, note the
District & Circle lines are down. So, to get there, go to Notting Hill
Gate tube, and walk (no marching, mind) down Church Street to get to
the demo. See you there.
Friday, 5 October 2012
WALTHAM FOREST PALESTINE SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN - For latest news, join PSC - http://bit.ly/ieoJf8
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Nearly the second Monday of the month again! Join us next week for:
Mon, 08 October 2012
7.30pm-9.30pm
WFPSC Branch Meeting
Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Feedback on actions from last meeting
3. 'No to Veolia!' - further updates on this vital local issue, planning the next steps and local campaign activities
Due to this campaign's importance in this borough, a number of visitors may attend this branch meeting from national PSC Exec, Friends of the Earth, PInkham Way Alliance, NO2VAG, Council of Mosques, WF Councillors and others. Please come along too, to help out with this cross-community campaign to dump Veolia.
4. Updates on other local and national issues
PSC Branch Forum (13 Oct, for PSC paid-up members only); We Are Waltham Forest protest against the EDL (27 Oct); Palestine Lobby of Parliament and protest against Bathsheva (end of Nov); WFPSC churches event (Christmas).
5. AOB
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Nearly the second Monday of the month again! Join us next week for:
Mon, 08 October 2012
7.30pm-9.30pm
WFPSC Branch Meeting
Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH
Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Feedback on actions from last meeting
3. 'No to Veolia!' - further updates on this vital local issue, planning the next steps and local campaign activities
Due to this campaign's importance in this borough, a number of visitors may attend this branch meeting from national PSC Exec, Friends of the Earth, PInkham Way Alliance, NO2VAG, Council of Mosques, WF Councillors and others. Please come along too, to help out with this cross-community campaign to dump Veolia.
4. Updates on other local and national issues
PSC Branch Forum (13 Oct, for PSC paid-up members only); We Are Waltham Forest protest against the EDL (27 Oct); Palestine Lobby of Parliament and protest against Bathsheva (end of Nov); WFPSC churches event (Christmas).
5. AOB
Monday, 18 June 2012
Please note - meeting on 18 June has been postponed.
Sat 23 June @ 12pm noon
Please take action on Saturday against Veolia
Walthamstow Town Square, gathering initially under big TV Screen
Alongside our colleagues from London BDS, please join us to gather urgent petition signatures for the anti-Veolia campaign. Stop criminally-liable international conglomerate Veolia, a financially-discredited company thoroughly complicit in Israeli Occupation malpractice and countless human rights violations against Palestinians, from spending your hard-earned taxes on questionable processes turning our homes' recycling into fuel. Kick international criminality out of Waltham Forest: don't let Veolia get our taxes. See our "Say No to Veolia!" page on this site for the legal and moral submission sent to North London Waste Authority in preparation for their Board meeting happening at the end of this week on Friday 22 June. If you get a chance, join the protest outside that meeting at Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, just opposite the British Library near Kings Cross, from 9am on Fri 22 June.
Mon 16 July @ 7.30pm
Rescheduled - WFPSC AGM
Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH
- Reports on WFPSC activity over the last year
- Elections for officer roles
- Social gathering, a chance to catch up
Other vital campaigns
Please also check the PSC website (http://www.palestinecampaign.org) for all the latest campaigns that need your urgent support, including petitions and ways to lobby your MP on Hunger-Strikers including renowned footballer Sarsak, Child Prisoners and much more. Your support and simple contribution of time and thought to help Palestinians at this particular juncture is vital. Please also note WFPSC is supporting an important Waltham Forest community campaign to remove racism, anti-semitism and fascism from our borough, "We Are Waltham Forest", and would urge you to participate as well.
Many thanks
WFPSC team
Waltham Forest Palestine Solidarity Campaign
Patrons: Neil Gerrard, Jean Lambert MEP, Prof Nur Masalha
Facebook: www.facebook.com/walthamforestpsc
Twitter: @wfpsclondon
Web: http://wfpsc.blogspot.com
Post: WFPSC c/o Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe St, Walthamstow, E17 9AH
Email: wfpsc@yahoo.com
Saturday, 25 February 2012
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Thursday, 12 January 2012
WFPSC Branch Meeting - Mon 16 Jan, 7.30pm at Hornbeam
WFPSC Branch Meeting
Monday 16 January, at 7.30pm
Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 9AH
Two special presentations followed by open floor discussions on:
1) "West Bank Update" - with Rada Daniell
Rada has just returned from three months in the West Bank with International Women's Peace Service, supporting Palestinians under occupation. WFPSC is delighted to get an exclusive look at her short presentation on her recent findings and open a discussion on the dreadful situation for occupied Palestinians in the West Bank at present. In December, during a memorial protest to Mustafa Tammimi (murdered by the Israeli military) Rada, along with several Palestinians and other international demonstrators, were arrested. Alarming pictures of her violent removal into military custody were distributed around the world.
2) "A debate about Zionism" - with Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi
Naomi will lead a discussion on this issue, preceding a national debate on the subject at PSC AGM on 21 Jan (see Motion 9, submitted by various PSC individual members, below).
PSC AGM Motion 9 - BUILDING AN ANTI-RACIST, ANTI-COLONIALIST, PALESTINE SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT - ANTISEMITISM AND HOLOCAUST DENIAL
One of the most potent weapons of Zionism is the accusation that those who support the Palestinians and oppose Israel’s settler-colonial practices are antisemites who want to see a new Holocaust against Jews.
The Zionist movement deliberately blurs the distinction between the ‘Jewish state’ and Jewish people, in order to discredit Israel's critics and cause confusion among the growing number of people whose humanitarian and anti-racist instincts make them eager to support the Palestinian cause.
Both racism and antisemitism are features of Zionism. Virtually all far-right and neo-Nazi parties today in Europe are Islamophobic and support Zionism (while often remaining antisemitic).
The Palestine solidarity movement, by its very nature, is anti-racist. To allow antisemitism or any other form of racism to gain a foothold would be to undermine the very cause that we support.
PSC AGM therefore:
1. Welcomes the statement on the PSC website explicitly asserting its commitment to building a mass solidarity movement, in which expressions of racism or intolerance, or attempts to deny or minimise the Holocaust, have no place.
2. Confirms that support for the Palestinians and opposition to Israel's policies is an anti-racist campaign
3. Calls on the EC to reinforce these principles by:
a) organising a series of forums to build understanding of Israel as a settler-colonial, apartheid state.
b) publishing educational material to develop understanding of:
- Israel’s status as a client state of US imperialism;
- aspects of Zionist history, including the non-Jewish origins and Jewish opposition to Zionism, and Zionism's collusion with antisemitism
- the growing alignment between the Israeli state and openly racist and fascist groups in Europe, including the English Defence League (EDL) and the British National Party (BNP)."
Thursday, 15 December 2011
SOCIAL GATHERING - MONDAY 19 DECEMBER 7-10PM
You are warmly invited to enjoy our social night, getting in gear for the festive holiday season!
A time to catch up and relax properly over wonderful halal food and drink with your campaigning friends:
MONDAY 19 DECEMBER, 7pm-10pm
Dinner at D'Gaf Restaurant! - http://www.d-gaf.co.uk/
11 Leytonstone Road, Stratford, E15 1JA
£20 for a delicious three-course meal including soft drink
PLEASE RSVP - LET US KNOW YOU ARE COMING ON MONDAY!
We really look forward to seeing you!
Monday, 12 December 2011
URGENT ACTION - TELL OUR COUNCILLORS: 'NO' TO VEOLIA!
TOMORROW on Tuesday 13 December at 9am, councillors from seven North London boroughs (Camden, Barnet, Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Islington and Waltham Forest) will gather at Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, WC1H 9JE opposite St Pancras Station to hold a North London Waste Authority Board meeting (NWLA), making crucial decisions about whether or not to award contracts worth more than £4 billion to crisis-hit international services conglomerate VEOLIA.
PLEASE URGENTLY CONTACT Waltham Forest's representatives on the NWLA Board:
- CLLR CLYDE LOAKES - cllr.clyde.loakes@walthamforest.gov.uk
Mobile 07812 160124
- CLLR AFZAL AKRAM - cllr.afzal.akram@walthamforest.gov.uk
Mobile 07799 417418
TELL THEM "NO" TO VEOLIA!
DON'T TRASH OUR BOROUGH:
BIN VEOLIA INSTEAD!
As No2VAG campaign puts it: "Join hundreds of residents from across the 7 boroughs who have already communicated their concern about Veolia's appalling practice history, for example guilty of explosions in 2007 that put residents in other parts of the UK in considerable danger, closing the M6 & M55; to Veolia's grave misconduct in aiding and abetting the Israeli violation of international law and human rights of the Palestinians. No one must be able to say that the NLWA awarded these contracts in ignorance of the complicity of one of the bidders with flagrant and ongoing war crimes."
Tell Clyde and Afzal you want Waltham Forest to have nothing to do with Veolia because:
- Local government regulations allow councils to exclude companies from public contracts if they are guilty of 'grave misconduct'. Veolia operates the Jerusalem Light Rail, the purpose of which is to consolidate the link between the illegal Israeli settlements with Israel. The Jerusalem Light Rail has been criticised as illegal under international law by the UN Human Rights Council.
- When Veolia advertised for drivers for the Jerusalem Light Rail, it stipulated that applicants must have served in the Israeli military and be able to speak Hebrew to mother tongue standard. This blatant form of discrimination, which excluded Palestinians, including those who are citizens of Israel, from applying for the jobs, is not compatible with the anti-discrimination policies of UK local authorities.
- Veolia operates the Tovlan landfill for rubbish from inside Israel in an illegal Israeli settlement in Occupied Palestinian Territory. Interviews with the Palestinians working at the landfill have revealed terrible working conditions - below minimum wages and a lack of safety equipment and procedures (more info available on request).
- Veolia subsidiary YARV Sherutei Noy 1985 was recently awarded a contract to collect waste from Israeli military bases in occupied Palestinian territory. Veolia has now partnered with the Israeli military - which stands accused of committing gross violations of international humanitarian law - and is assisting it to continue its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.
- Veolia operates bus services along settler-only roads in occupied Palestinian territory. When the Palestinian Freedom Riders boarded a settler-only bus earlier this year, they were dragged off and arrested, simply because they were Palestinians.
Sunday, 20 November 2011
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED YOU COME ALONG!
MONDAY 21 Nov @ 7.30pm
Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 9AH
We are incredibly privileged to have two fantastic guest speakers joining us to focus on Jerusalem - Al-Quds al-Sharif, the capital of Palestine
ARTHUR NESLEN
Acclaimed author of Occupied Minds: A Journey Through the Israeli Psyche and columnist for the Guardian, Aljazeera, Haaretz and others, Art is flying in especially to revisit his local London borough roots and speak exclusively to WFPSC about his latest book of compelling interviews with Palestinians — In Your Eyes A Sandstorm: Ways of Being Palestinian — http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520264274
As the publisher says: "Neslen reaches beyond journalistic clichés to let a wide variety of Palestinians answer the question for themselves. Beginning in the present with Bisan and Abud, two traumatized children from Jenin's refugee camp, the book's narrative arcs backwards through the generations to come full circle with two elderly refugees from villages that the children were named after. Along the way, Neslen recounts a history of land, resistance, exile and trauma that begins to explain Abud's wish to become a martyr and Bisan's dream of a Palestine empty of Jews. Senior Fatah and Hamas figures relate key events of the Palestinian experience — the Second Intifada, Oslo Process, First Intifada, Thawra, 1967 War, the Naqba, and the Great Arab Revolt of 1936 — in their own words. The extraordinary voices of women, children, farmers, fighters, drug dealers, policeman, doctors, and others, spanning the political divide from Salafi Jihadists to Israeli soldiers, bring the Palestinian story to life even as their words sow seeds of hope in the scorched Palestinian earth."
“In this wonderful collection, one can hear the Palestinians speaking for themselves and not through others who may distort or dim their messages. Very few collections have brought home to us so vividly and authentically what it means to be a Palestinian today.” — Ilan Pappe, author of The Rise and Fall of a Palestinian Dynasty
"This highly original work is an important contribution to Palestine literature, especially in the way that personal narrative interacts with and enriches collective-national and public memory." — Nur Masalha, author of Expulsion of the Palestinians: The Concept of "Transfer" in Zionist Political Thought
ANDY SIMONS
Indefatigable local human rights activist and fine jazz musician, Andy curates jazz recording collections and writes extensively for many leading journals and specialist publications, as well as writing his own book Black British Swing. He will be presenting his personal experiences of and reflections on the West Bank, following his visit there in the summer.
Please bring family, friends and colleagues to support this exclusive event.
Free entry. Donations for halal/kosher refreshments, Palestinian Zaytoun produce and PSC merchandise. Wheelchair access. ALL WELCOME!
Friday, 18 November 2011
Sat 19 Nov: Boycotting! Mon 21 Nov: Art Neslen book launch!
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Boycott Divestment & Sanctions - ACTION ON SATURDAY AFTERNOON!
Sat 19 Nov
Join us for our exciting Waltham Forest borough day of action, picketing a supermarket and persuading customers to back the successful international campaign to stop buying illegal Israeli settlement goods. People of all abilities, ages and backgrounds very welcome. Please email wfpsc@yahoo.com as soon as possible before Saturday morning to join in.
We will be meeting on Saturday at 12noon in an undisclosed location in the borough. CONTACT US NOW TO JOIN IN!
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Jerusalem speaker event - EXCLUSIVE WRITERS' EVENING ON MONDAY!
Mon 21 Nov @ 7.30pm
Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH
All welcome on Monday to our fascinating speaker event, focussing on Jerusalem. Bring your friends, families, colleagues - everyone!
Special guest speaker and locally-raised author ART NESLEN will be giving an exclusive insight into his new book "In Your Eyes A Sandstorm: Ways of Being Palestinian" allowing many different Palestinians recount their little-known history of land, resistance, exile and trauma. University of California Press (the publisher) says: "The extraordinary voices of women, children, farmers, fighters, drug dealers, policemen, doctors and others, spanning the political divide...bring the Palestinian story to life even as their words sow seeds of hope in the scorched Palestinian earth." We are also delighted to have local campaigner ANDY SIMONS speaking who has recently returned from visiting the West Bank. It should prove a fascinating evening. Free entry. Donations for teas/coffees. ALL WELCOME!
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Monday, 31 October 2011
Thank you for supporting PSC
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Wednesday, 26 October 2011
WFPSC activities for November 2011
Waltham Forest Palestine Solidarity Campaign - November 2011
For latest news, events & campaign resources, join national PSC - http://bit.ly/ieoJf8
Stalls - local action!
Sat 12 Nov & 26 Nov
Wrap up warm, and volunteer to get some fresh air between 11am-2pm, helping with our successful street stall in Walthamstow Town Square. Email wfpsc@yahoo.com to say which day you can do. Experienced team members will be on hand to train you up, organise the coffees and have a great chinwag!
Songs of Freedom - music, food & spoken word event!
Sat 12 Nov
Pilar Awa is very kindly hosting an amazing evening for us at Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH in aid of WFPSC and freedom for Palestinians. Enjoy exciting performances from acclaimed poet Rafeef Ziadah with songs from Pilar Awa plus other special performances during this convivial and cultured evening that will make you think. Doors at 7pm, performances from 8pm. Food & drink available, plus Palestinian Zaytoun products and more. Entry £5 or £3.50 concessions. All welcome!
Boycott Divestment & Sanctions - local day of action!
Sat 19 Nov
Join us for our exciting Waltham Forest borough day of action, picketing supermarkets and persuading customers to back the successful international campaign to stop buying illegal Israeli settlement goods. People of all abilities, ages and backgrounds very welcome. Please email wfpsc@yahoo.com to express your interest in participating!
Jerusalem - speaker event
Mon 21 Nov
All welcome to our special speaker event focussing on Jerusalem @ 7.30pm at Hornbeam Centre, 458 Hoe Street, E17 9AH. Guest speakers include local campaigner Andy Simons who has recently returned from visiting the West Bank and others to be announced. It should prove a fascinating evening. Free entry. Donations for teas/coffees. All welcome!
Lobby of Parliament - national action!
Weds 23 Nov
Take part in this important national PSC lobby of Parliament from 2pm-6pm, focussing on Jerusalem. In the past we have had some success meeting our local MPs at the heart of Westminster and persuading them of the facts about Palestine. Follow the instructions on this link (http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index5b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=3&l2_id=20) to set up a meeting with your MP and coordinate with PSC centrally. Take this opportunity to exercise your democratic rights in full, in person, at the House of Commons.
Boycott Divestment & Sanctions - national day of action!
Sat 26 Nov
This year targeting Tesco, join in with this huge national campaigning day when thousands of people from all walks of life will lobby Tesco in any way possible to disassociate itself from illegal Israeli settlement produce and work with Palestinian producers instead. See PSC's advance information (http://bit.ly/rNGlLc) and get involved - your participation will make a difference!
Remember there are dozens of Palestine events taking place in London and nationally every week. Check PSC's useful listings page http://www.palestinecampaign.org/Index8b.asp?m_id=1&l1_id=4&l2_id=99 and join in!
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