Archive for December, 2009
Participate in teh Golden Garth awards
Written By: - Date published: 12:25 pm, December 16th, 2009 - 25 comments
James at Editing teh Herald has started the Golden Garth awards aimed at rewarding the recipients at the Granny. You should all get over there and suggest candidates. I’m puzzling on it myself because there are so many good candidates. I’m aware that some think that the Dom Post is worse than the Granny, but […]
The wage freeze is dripping
Written By: - Date published: 11:06 am, December 16th, 2009 - 1 comment
Over at FairDeal, NZEI have announced that the support staff in schools have managed to get a wage increase. The campaign by support staff members and the wider union has finally resulted in a settlement of the support staff collective agreement. There is now a $14 minimum rate for Grade A, a $14.62 minimum rate […]
Worth 1000 words
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, December 16th, 2009 - 72 comments
Cartoon by Nick Anderson.
English’s big promises proven hollow
Written By: - Date published: 9:25 am, December 16th, 2009 - 26 comments
An extraordinary moment in Question Time as John Boscawen skewered National’s hollow promise to close the wage gap with Australia by 2025. Watch the video and listen to Bill English’s voice. He was simply left high and dry when Boscawen asked him for some actual evidence that the gap is going to close: Boscawen: By how much […]
Why deny: the bought priesthood
Written By: - Date published: 7:57 am, December 16th, 2009 - 54 comments
There are some very wealthy industries that make their money off burning fossil fuels and emitting greenhouse gases. It is in their financial interest to prevent action to tackle climate change, so they fund lobby groups and denier propaganda. There is a large population of ‘useful idiots‘ who soak up this propaganda and repeat it. They […]
Open mike 16/12/2009
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 16th, 2009 - 33 comments
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Nats offer Maori flags & baubles, not representation & jobs
Written By: - Date published: 11:13 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 12 comments
NZPA: The Maori Party has withdrawn its support for a government bill after its bid to have Maori members on polytechnic councils failed. The Maori Party put up an amendment which would have ensured that councils had at least three Maori members. The Government didn’t accept the amendment and it was defeated. The Maori Party […]
Brown picks up momentum
Written By: - Date published: 4:20 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 29 comments
It’s interesting to look at the trend behind the headline 11 point poll lead Len Brown has opened up over John Banks as reported in today’s Herald. In April Brown was only rated as preferred mayor by 6% of Aucklanders verse 17% for Banks. A head-to-head poll in late July put him one point ahead […]
Labour’s flag strategy
Written By: - Date published: 2:48 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 44 comments
Colin Espiner: After making inroads in the latest TV3 poll, Goff has clearly taken fright after the reaction to his nationhood speech. How else to explain his perplexing decision not to comment on the announcement by Prime Minister John Key that the Maori tino rangatiratanga flag will fly on Waitangi Day? This decision by Key […]
Scientific conspiracy on a global scale
Written By: - Date published: 1:54 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 40 comments
In a recent post my good friend and fellow concern troll DPF covered the Associated Press review of the leaked “climategate” materials. The review concluded that the science of global warming was genuine. But DPF had some concerns: “My worry is that there is now a mindset where only data that fits the thesis is […]
Neolibs’ great experiment in meltdown
Written By: - Date published: 12:45 pm, December 15th, 2009 - 41 comments
With huge infusions of EU cash and deregulation that brought in foreign companies looking to make a quick buck, Ireland’s economy grew pretty quickly over the past 25 years. On the back of their new-found wealth, Irish governments implemented a neoliberal revolution – cutting taxes for the rich, privatising public assets, the usual formula for […]
Nats’ ‘stimulus’: $200K per job
Written By: - Date published: 11:45 am, December 15th, 2009 - 12 comments
National claims it created 2,300 jobs with its stimulus spending. Of course, most of this supposed stimulus was smoke and mirrors – re-announcing existing spending – and 2,300 is bugger all when there are over quarter of a million Kiwis out of work. But I had a few more problems with this announcement. Firstly, I […]
The Dom Post’s op-ed pages
Written By: - Date published: 10:47 am, December 15th, 2009 - 34 comments
Reading the Dom Post’s editorial pages over my morning coffee today, I had one of those moments when you suddenly remember how insufferably, shamelessly right-wing our print media can be. Top left is an editorial attacking the teacher unions and confirming the newspaper’s support for the National Party’s education policies. The feature op-ed is the […]
Maori flag, so what?
Written By: - Date published: 9:34 am, December 15th, 2009 - 46 comments
I’m fine with a flag representing Maori flying on Waitangi Day. Some argue there are constitutional concerns with flying a flag representing Maori self-determination next to the New Zealand flag. They say it implies (as Pita Sharples seems to believe) two separate sovereign powers in this country, the Government of New Zealand and Maoridom (represented […]
Why deny: the useful idiots
Written By: - Date published: 7:29 am, December 15th, 2009 - 91 comments
According to myth (it seems), Lenin called socialists in the West ‘useful idiots’ – people whose ideological fervour saw them accidentally aid the realpolitik aims of the USSR. Similarly, an army of useful idiots are the greenhouse polluters’ best weapon as they attempt to save their right to pollute for profit. These are people who […]
Open mike 15/12/2009
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 15th, 2009 - 15 comments
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Sharples: ‘ETS short-sighted, that’s why we supported it’
Written By: - Date published: 1:00 pm, December 14th, 2009 - 27 comments
I could hardly believe my ears when I heard Waatea News on RNZ this morning. Pita Sharples admitted that the Maori Party knew supporting National’s ETS would mean worse environmental outcomes and would cost the country $110 billion in subsidies for polluters but they did it anyway to keep the price of fuel a bit […]
US Style Cow Stalls – what aspiration!
Written By: - Date published: 12:10 pm, December 14th, 2009 - 46 comments
In a year when New Zealand factory farming practices for pigs (and earlier for chickens) have been widely exposed and shocked the country, our dairy industry is looking at adopting similar practices for dairy cows. In a year when climate change has been on the world agenda as never before, our dairy industry is attempting […]
Getting it right
Written By: - Date published: 10:25 am, December 14th, 2009 - 22 comments
Colin Espiner has a piece in the Dom Post today attributing Labour’s four point rise in the polls to Goff’s ‘Nationhood’ speech. He goes on, in what can’t help but be interpreted as a wee dig at The Standard: after 30 years in politics, it’s also possible [Goff] knows the electorate a bit better than […]
Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs
Written By: - Date published: 9:45 am, December 14th, 2009 - 8 comments
“Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs” reads the headline! It’s a bit misleading though. A more accurate headline would have been – “Labour Govt stimulus creates 2300 jobs”. How’s that, I hear you cry? Follow the money: The Government estimates its economic stimulus package has created about 2300 jobs through increased infrastructure spending of more than […]
Why deny: the lobby groups/polluters
Written By: - Date published: 8:00 am, December 14th, 2009 - 93 comments
This is the first in a three part series on the climate change denial industry. I’m trying to understand why there is such a powerful, well-funded, and ideologically solid body of opposition to a body of scientific evidence that even the scientists employed by one of the chief denier lobby groups called “undeniable” (in a […]
Open mike 14/12/2009
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 14th, 2009 - 12 comments
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Fomenting happy mischief. Indeed!
Written By: - Date published: 4:41 pm, December 13th, 2009 - 53 comments
David has a new innovation at the sewer. The old comment voting system has been enhanced to, amongst other things, hide comments when they receive enough votes against. I had some fun testing this last week under various logins that I set up some years ago and keep active. It looks like an innovate quantitative […]
Deserted cities
Written By: - Date published: 8:50 am, December 13th, 2009 - 39 comments
I think it is a pity that the currently dominant country / culture in the world, America, has had such a short history. Pakeha history in New Zealand suffers from the same limitation. All of our history has been about expansion and growth. “Progress”. It seems to us to be the natural state of affairs. […]
Open mike 13/12/2009
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 13th, 2009 - 17 comments
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Levin Arrest and Police Escort
Written By: - Date published: 8:31 pm, December 12th, 2009 - 156 comments
This is a guest post by Jasmine because I couldn’t be bothered writing it myself 😉 Today Rochelle and I were hanging out in Levin, as you do on a Saturday afternoon, and decided to go check out the local layer hen slaughterhouse. There was no one around so we decided to climb the fence […]
Dual obligations
Written By: - Date published: 8:24 am, December 12th, 2009 - 19 comments
The more I ponder the scrapping of the TVNZ charter the dafter it seems. There are obvious downsides. What is the upside? What possible reason could there be to further weaken the already vestigial representation of our own culture on our main free to air TV channel? The only reason I’ve seen given is “dual […]
Open mike 12/12/2009
Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, December 12th, 2009 - 20 comments
Topics of interest, announcements, general discussion. The usual rules apply (see the link to Policy in the banner). Step right up to the mike…
Drinking Liberally – Auckland
Written By: - Date published: 5:01 pm, December 11th, 2009 - 5 comments
The final Auckland Drinking Liberally takes place NEXT TUESDAY upstairs at THE KINGSLANDER and features political commentator/national campaigns director for Finsec/all round nice guy Andrew Campbell. Andrew has a weekly spot as the leftwing commentator on National Radio’s Nine-to-noon show on Mondays. He’s coming to give us his ‘end of year review’ and what to […]
Deniers are traitors
Written By: - Date published: 2:31 pm, December 11th, 2009 - 116 comments
Strongly worded piece by Chris Trotter this morning: In the war for nature, the deniers are traitors … The question of why war, alone of all our endeavours, possesses the power to inspire such tremendous collective exertions and unstinting sacrifices by human communities is not a new one. Ninety-three years ago, the American scholar William […]
Experts: Power reforms wasteful, expensive
Written By: - Date published: 1:10 pm, December 11th, 2009 - 18 comments
Associate Professor Earl Bardsley, Waikato University: taking Tekapo A and B power stations from Meridian and giving them to Genesis means Meridian must now rely on a rival company, through some kind of protocol, to provide a significant amount of the water inflow to Lake Pukaki, which supplies Meridian’s line of Waitaki River power stations. […]
- Final day for public feedback on Treaty Principles Bill
The legislation proposes to rewrite the treaty principles long-defined by the courts ...2 days ago - How you – yes, you! – can be a godsend to a new parent
Everyone can help lighten the load for a struggling new mum or dad. Here’s how. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. As I recently ...2 days ago - Dame Tariana Turia to be laid to rest today
Dame Tariana died on Friday, aged 80. ...2 days ago
- ‘Man had eel in his bum’: Remembering the story that almost broke the Herald
Summer reissue: This year the Herald on Sunday celebrated a significant birthday. Hayden Donnell takes a look back at one of its most defining moments. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and ...2 days ago
- How Wellington became a cornucopia of Malaysian food
Summer reissue: Our capital is a far cry from hot, bustling Kuala Lumpur, so why is this freezing city full of excellent Malaysian cuisine? My dad once told me that there are more Malaysian restaurants in Wellington per square kilometres than there are back in Malaysia. He was completely ...2 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Tuesday 7 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago - Daily crossword, Tuesday 7 January
The post Daily crossword, Tuesday 7 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...2 days ago
- Five Pacific region geopolitical ‘betrayals’ in 2024
COMMENTARY: By David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report With the door now shut on 2024, many will heave a sigh of relief and hope for better things this year. Decolonisation issues involving the future of Kanaky New Caledonia and West Papua – and also in the Middle East with ...2 days ago - Labour should apologise to Dame Tariana Turia’s whānau – Willie Jackson at tangi
Willie Jackson was among politicians past and present paying respect to Dame Tariana today - and made the call for an apology over her treatment during the Foreshore and Seabed controversy. ...3 days ago
- ‘Ghost of Suharto’ marks Prabowo’s new phase in West Papua occupation
SPECIAL REPORT: By Paul Gregoire United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) provisional government interim president Benny Wenda has warned that since Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto took office in October, he has been proven right in having remarked, after the politician’s last February election, that his coming marks the return ...3 days ago
- Should I get a weighted vest to boost my fitness? And how heavy should it be?
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rob Newton, Professor of Exercise Medicine, Edith Cowan University ZR10/Shutterstock Exercise training while wearing a weighted vest is undergoing somewhat of a renaissance. Social media posts and trainers are promoting them as a potential strategy for improving fitness and health. ...3 days ago
- Live: Hīkoi mō te Tiriti supporters invited to honour Dame Tariana Turia at tangi
The Prime Minister is visiting Whangaehu Marae to pay his respects. ...3 days ago
- How do mosquito repellents work? A chemistry expert explains
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daniel Eldridge, Senior Lecturer in Chemistry, Swinburne University of Technology kamitana/Shutterstock It’s summertime, and for many of us that means plenty of time outside – and, unfortunately, mosquitoes. The combination of the increase in temperature and plenty of water is ideal ...3 days ago
- Even calm people can fly into a rage behind the wheel. Here’s how to curb your road rage – befor...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Milad Haghani, Senior Lecturer of Urban Risk & Resilience, UNSW Sydney Marian Weyo/Shutterstock If someone bumps into us on the footpath or in the mall, we’re generally quite forgiving. We instinctively apologise or step aside, and usually don’t scream at, stalk, ...3 days ago
- Relentless warming is driving the water cycle to new extremes, the 2024 global water report shows
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Albert Van Dijk, Professor, Water and Landscape Dynamics, Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University EPA/MIGUEL ANGEL POLO Last year, Earth experienced its hottest year on record − for the fourth year in a row. Rising temperatures are changing ...3 days ago
- Continental drift: why the need for critical minerals might change the way we define Earth’s zones
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rupert Sutherland, Professor of tectonics and geophysics, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington Office of Ocean Exploration and Research/NOAA, CC BY-SA Continents and oceans have scientific definitions that underpin international law. The idea of dividing the world into geographical ...3 days ago
- Do natural fabrics really keep us cooler in summer? Here’s the science
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nisa Salim, Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering, Swinburne University of Technology Dasha Petrenko/Shutterstock The Bureau of Meteorology has warned Australia is facing one of the hottest summers on record. As the weather warms, many of us reach for light-coloured ...3 days ago
- 3 drugs that went from legal, to illegal, then back again
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Philippa Martyr, Lecturer, Pharmacology, Women’s Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Western Australia Peruvian Syrup, containing cocaine, was used to ‘cure’ a range of diseases. Smithsonian Museum of American History/Flickr Cannabis, cocaine and heroin have interesting life stories and long ...3 days ago
- Dreading the school or daycare drop-off? How to handle it when your child doesn’t want you to go
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kylie Ridder, Lecturer in Early Childhood Education, Murdoch University Kiefer Photography/Shutterstock You’re doing daycare or school drop-off, you’re already late for work, and your child’s lip starts to quiver. A tremble turns into a wail, a wail into heart-rending cries as ...3 days ago
- Perfectionist leaders can push their teams to meet high standards – but it can backfire and stifl...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gamze Koseoglu, Senior Lecturer, The University of Melbourne fizkes/Shutterstock Have you ever kept a brilliant idea to yourself, fearing your boss’s reaction? This hesitation is more common than you might think, especially when working under perfectionist leaders. Some of the most ...3 days ago
- 5 tips to ace a job interview – including how to prepare for the question they’ll definitely ask
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kerry Brown, Professor of Employment and Industry, School of Business and Law, Edith Cowan University Photo by Anna Shvets/Pexels If you’re back in the job market, or looking for your first position after graduating, you’ll need to think about how to ...3 days ago
- Why you should treat workplace friendships like your diet – aim for balance and variety
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Stefan Korber, Senior Lecturer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau Getty Images The list of organisations abandoning the option of fully remote work for employees has grown recently, with the likes of Amazon, IBM, JPMorgan and Meta ...3 days ago
- Sunglasses reflect more than the light: a brief history of shades, from Ancient Rome to Hollywood
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Margaret Maynard, Associate Professor, School of Communication and the Arts, The University of Queensland State Library Victoria Sunglasses, or dark glasses, have always guarded against strong sunlight, but is there more to “shades” than we think? The pupils of our ...3 days ago
- Inside the fast rise and faster collapse of the acclaimed K Road restaurant Cotto
Summer reissue: The Auckland eatery closed its doors with no warning in late 2023, prompting concerned customers to ask the simple question: what went wrong? Stewart Sowman-Lund finds out. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read ...3 days ago
- Dunedin’s secondhand bookshops, ranked and reviewed
Summer reissue: Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member ...3 days ago
- Stanford braces herself for a year of cuts – and reform
“Next year is going to be a tough year for me, because I’m going to have to make some very, very difficult decisions,” Education Minister Erica Stanford says.That means cuts. Or at least replacements.“This is the problem in education: we never stop doing things.”This leads to a disjointed system, where ...3 days ago
- Protecting our democracy by reforming Parliament
Opinion: Aotearoa New Zealand currently exists in an unstable world. Democracies are under challenge across the globe, and we are not immune.As the inhabitants of one of the world’s oldest democracies, New Zealanders are accustomed to electing their Members of Parliament every three years and we value the importance of ...3 days ago
- The Mars search for meaning
Tech billionaire Elon Musk is resolute in his determination to establish a self-sustaining human settlement on Mars and is actively developing technology to achieve his mission. It’s an intriguing prospect, and if achieved, humans would only be able to potentially survive in some kind of biodome, but it once again raises ...3 days ago
- Hīkoi mō te Tiriti supporters invited to honour Dame Tariana Turia at tangi
Dame Tariana Turia's advocacy for Māori rights was the inspiration behind the Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, organiser says. ...3 days ago
- What I learned (and didn’t learn) from four years of home education
Summer reissue: For four years, Shanti Mathias learned at home, with her siblings as her only classmates. How did it affect her? The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to ...3 days ago
- An insomniac’s guide to getting to sleep when it’s hot and muggy
Summer reissue: It is not easy, but it is possible. The Spinoff needs to double the number of paying members we have to continue telling these kinds of stories. Please read our open letter and sign up to be a member today. Ah, sleep. Those six to eight gorgeous ...3 days ago
- ‘I need to make you suffer’: My near decade of violent harassment by a man I barely know
Summer reissue: Zeni Gibson has been stalked and harassed for nearly nine years by a man she rejected when she was 17. This is her story. As told to Madeleine Holden. Cover Stories are longform journalism supported by Spinoff Members. Support this work here. Spinoff Cover Stories are now available ...3 days ago
- Daily crossword, Monday 6 January
The post Daily crossword, Monday 6 January appeared first on Newsroom. ...3 days ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Monday 6 January
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions. .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-title { font-size: 1.2em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles .entry-meta { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items: center; margin-top: 0.5em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .entry-meta { font-size: 0.8em; } .wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles article .avatar { height: 25px; width: ...3 days ago
- This past year saw policing get ‘back to basics’ – Minister Mark Mitchell
RNZ sat down with Police Minister and Emergency Management Minister Mark Mitchell for a year in review, across his portfolios. ...4 days ago
- Tangi for Dame Tariana Turia welcomes figures from throughout the motu
Visitors and dignitaries from around the motu have been welcomed onto Whangaehu Marae, near Whanganui, as the tangihanga for the co-founder of Te Pāti Māori enters its second day. ...4 days ago
- Countering Foreign Interference Bill A Dramatic Attack On Free Speech And Rights
We know that the impact of this kind of legislation is to silence legitimate political activity. In particular this is likely to be the case where people are advocating for policies that are contrary to the position of the current government. ...4 days ago - Abducted Gaza doctor’s life in danger due to torture – call for immediate international interven...
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor The fate of Palestinian Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, who was “arrested” by Israeli forces last month after defiantly staying with his patients when his hospital was being attacked, featured strongly at yesterday’s medical professionals solidarity rally in Auckland. ...4 days ago
- The Wāhine Māori leading NZ’s largest education union
Ripeka Lessels (Tūhoe, Ngāti Awa, Te Arawa, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa)Ripeka Lessels had been an educator for 20 years before she decided to become involved in NZEI Te Riu Roa’s Māori governance body, Te Reo Areare. It’s here she believed she could do the most good for tamariki Māori.As someone who had ...4 days ago
- Four myths of career breaks
Opinion: Why is it that whenever we meet someone new, we default to asking about their job?We could ask almost any question about their interests, background, or values, but still we ask “So, what do you do?”It turns out, this common, seemingly innocuous phrasing carries much deeper undertones of perceived ...4 days ago
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