Voluntourism and Volunteer Africa Programs

The new buzz word going around the tourism industry is "voluntourism". The trend for people visiting developing countries means that many tourists would prefer to spend at least part of their vacation doing an activity that is personally enriching and in some way helps out a local community. Volunteer Africa programs that allow people short-term volunteer opportunities are being offered by organizations that send volunteer forces to Africa.

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Madonna Takes a Stand For Africa

Africa and its troubles have been on the receiving end of new schools, visits to refugee camps, raised awareness for AIDS and the fighting in Darfur by well-heeled superstars that have the celebrity profile to draw global attention to whatever they say in public. Jessica Lange, Angelina Jolie, Mia Farrow, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Bono and Madonna are among the notables that are speaking out and actually doing something to help the developing country. The publicity Madonna received when she adopted a 13-month-old Malawian boy rivals the attention that fell on Jolie when she adopted her first African child.

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Remembering The Tragedy of 9-11

September 11th, 2001 marked the day this country lost a sense of security...a day that our patriotism was put to the test and some of our family members, friends, colleagues, and fellow Americans were turned into victims. A normal New York day was transformed into a hellish nightmare that began as nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners originally headed for California.

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Tort Reform

The complex U.S. legal system requires attorneys to work exclusively in specific aspects of the law. The tort lawyer lobby is powerful in Washington, DC because it donates more money than any other campaign contributor and enjoys the empathy of the many elected legislators, who are, in many cases, lawyers. As a result, the health services have been seriously impacted.

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Northern California Fire Strategy Working - Fires Allowed to Burn, Find Out Why

The Forestry Department seems to have gotten a handle on the challenge of forest management in the California Mountains. Perhaps, you will recall that there were some 1200 fires burning during the summer of 2008. Most of those fires have in fact burned themselves out, but a few are still burning. The fires still burning are well away from anyone's home or any remote mountain communities.

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Why Should You Even Get a Reverse Phone Look Up Service

Imagine yourself sitting comfortably in front of the television watching your favorite primetime show when all of a sudden, the phone rings. You stand up and answer the phone, but no one answers on the other end of the line. A few moments later, the phone rings once again, but the same thing happens: no one is answering on the other end of the line.

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A Storm in a Perfect Storm

Let me start by saying this, "In the end it will not matter how much you have". Why such a dark start you ask, try starting your life over after a hurricane like Gustav destroys everything. I live in baton rouge, la where the power was out for days, the food supplies lines were cut, and some people committed suicide cause the pressure was so great.

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Reverse Phone Scan - Why Would You Even Need to Lookup Phone Numbers? Here Are a Few Reasons

There are times when we want or need to know certain things yet we feel at a loss because we cannot have it. The number one reason why we cannot have it is because we have no way to access that information. The need to get it is present, but the means are not. In these cases, we simply feel frustrated and helpless. We fell that something is lacking.

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Get Back at People! Do a Reverse Phone Scan

Imagine this scenario. A woman is having suspicions about her husband. She notices that there are a lot of calls and text messages coming from only one number, but the contact has no corresponding name to it. She asks her husband about the matter, but he just shrugs and says that it is just a plain business contact. Nevertheless, the woman still has suspicions because her husband is a known ladies man.

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Get Rid of Stalkers With a Reverse Phone Look Up

You are busy in a regular day at the office when you notice your mobile phone ringing. When you answer it, you suddenly hear the other line drop. You think that it is getting quite annoying to receive this prank calls several times a day. What is more annoying is receiving phone calls in your landline as well once you go home. You may not want to admit it because of fear, but someone might be stalking you.

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Cabbages, Condoms & Carbon Free

Affectionately known in Thailand as "Mr Condom", Mechai Viravaidya is the founder and Chairman of the Population and Community Development Association (PDA) which he established in 1974 to tackle the population boom that was climbing at over three percent per year. One of Thailand's foremost social entrepreneurs, he was leading the way in philanthropy long before many of today's well-known celebrities got into the act.

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US Government Records Review

Looking for Gov Records review? You are probably wondering if this public records search site really works and whether or not they are worth joining. If you are looking for the records for any particular person, be it their criminal records, marriage details, address, and phone numbers etc., you should be able to find them in online public records sites. These are the important information that needs to and have been recorded in the standard procedures of significant events of any person's life.

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Volunteer Africa Programs Powered by Celebs

Celebrities have in general always been more than willing to help out with local causes, but the very fact they get to travel the world more than the average American means they get to see firsthand what's going on in the world. It's tough for the media to soften the blow or filter the news when you are in the face of a real situation caused by poverty or terrorism.

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Oprah's Drive For Volunteering in Africa

She is an exemplary role model for taking a stand and taking action to do something to help where it's really needed. The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa will house and educate 150 deserving young African girls. It took the superstar talk show host about five years and $40 million to build the facility that according to her wishes, provides the best of everything for the young women.

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The Historian of Fire Buckets

Fire buckets--one of the great innovations of fire suppression technology, and one that today is largely obsolete. Foam extinguishers and other more modern means of fighting oil fires have become the standard, and the quaint red buckets of sand from yesteryear have become for the most part a thing of the past. But one artist is fighting to ensure that the past remains remarkably present.

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On Preventing Terrorism

I remember the day I saw it fall, and how my innocence was lost, yet again, a knife pierced through my thoughts of "safe boundaries". What was once safe, no longer held much meaning. The walls of the WTC seemed so safe, such a great barrier against the "mean streets of New York" every morning getting off the subway which took us right to the main entrance.

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Are Mexicans Really Sucking Dry American Health-Care?

If you've been following my series of columns on the Mexican immigrant issue you know that I have been taking the position that most, if not all, of the vitriolic, hysteria-induced, bordering on the racist, rhetoric about Mexican immigrants sucking dry America's health care system is not based on critical thinking skills. But, rather, it is based on general lack of critical thinking of maybe even the majority of the American Public. This is but one of the anti-Mexican Xenophobe's issues-health care-about which they rant and about which I write.

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Was the Los Angeles-San Fernando Valley Commuter Train Crash an Act of Terrorism?

In Los Angeles the Metro Rail Commuter Train collided with a freight train and killed a number of people. Supposedly the Metro Rail engineer ran a red signal light on a piece of track that is shared with freight trains, what followed next was the worst rail car accident in over a decade (in the number of deaths). It was interesting that the crash investigators were so quick to assign blame, as if it was a simple cut and dry case. One has to wonder was this an Act of Domestic or International Terrorism?

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From Social Seclusion to Sustainable Support

Imagine, you are in your own town waiting for the traffic lights to turn green, and two young boys are putting on a great joggling game (joggling is a combination of jogging and juggling). When they finish, they walk past the cars to collect donations. Now they are standing at your car! What would you do? In Rio de Janeiro, this is a situation that people experience daily.

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Small Rural Newspapers Hitting the Skids - Ad Sales, Recession and the Internet to Blame

One of the Google founders not long ago mentioned that the death of print news was inevitable, and indeed, this would be hard to deny if one has been following the growth of the internet over the last decade or more. Another gentleman at the TED Conference had a piece on "The Internet; The Next Five Years" and his comment was that if we look at the last five years the Internet has totally changed, especially with the rise in social networking sites.

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In Case You Didn't Know

In case you didn't know, 18% of appendectomies are done on patients who don't need them. That's what a recent study at the University of Washington found. Doctors are quick to recommend the surgery without waiting to confirm the diagnosis it seems. Diagnosing inflamed lymph nodes or stomach viruses as appendicitis are common mistakes. So if there is any doubt, ask for a CT scan of your stomach before going to surgery.

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Government Regulations Will Not Help All Homeowners With Big Mortgage If They Lose Their Jobs

The Department of Working Pensions (DWP) has announced changes to Income Support for Mortgage Interest (ISMI). The Department of Working Pensions unveiled a package to assist venerable homeowners to meet their mortgage interest payments should they lose their jobs or become unemployed. The current situation is that if you should lose your job you will not receive any government support to pay your mortgage for the first 39 weeks or 9 months of your unemployment.

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Volunteer Work With Children Brings Benefits at Every Stage

Many high school and college students these days are finding teen volunteer work to be interesting and satisfying, with more and more teens getting involved all the time. There are even some high schools that make volunteer work with children, and other types of volunteer work, part of their basic curriculum. Often you can catch some energetic teens engaged in charity work with a variety of charitable agencies that provide services for children and adults.

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Meet the Rich Kids From My Super Sweet 16 Exiled to Remote Corners of the Globe

Parents who are finally fed up with the spoiled, extravagant and brattitude behavior of the most outrageous divas ever, ex stars of 'My Super Sweet 16', have agreed to exile their teenagers to try life for one week with indigenous tribes in remote corners of the earth. The exasperated parents hope their rebellious teenagers will discover a different view of the world. In a roller coaster ride, 'My Super Sweet 16', a virtual reality TV program, takes you on behind the scenes.

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Engaging in Volunteer Work Abroad is Not Always Cheap

Engaging in a volunteer work overseas program can turn out to be one of the most meaningful and worthwhile things that a person can undertake. In most cases, those who return from a volunteer work abroad experience, come back with stories about the great people they met, of the interesting culture, traditions, and lifestyles they observed, and of the other volunteers with whom they worked side by side. For the most part, people who engage in overseas volunteer work typically have to pay their own way in order to have the opportunity to serve.

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Redemption For Children of War

The blue-eyed blonde Aussie had an anxious wife and baby son back home and questioned his recklessness in venturing into a war zone. Dr Robi recalls his terror, "The first time I flew into northern Uganda, hostilities were quite fierce. I arrived on this tiny airstrip in the middle of nowhere and collected my bags from underneath the plane, and all of a sudden there was gunfire overhead. My mind was racing with panic. I was thinking: Where am I? What on earth am I doing here? But over the next few days as I sat down and talked to the children, it became obvious why I was there. There was work to be done.

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Beautiful Blend of Music & Culture

"Many people in the West think of voodoo as something that is magical," explains Nickens Nkoso, leader of the effervescent Kasai Masai - a musical group from the Congo now based in London. "In the Congo we see voodoo as protection. I see the playing of my music as protecting the music and protecting the people." Known as the Voodoo King, he certainly protects the audience from boredom with his energetic and engaging performance.

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A Journey of Effective Giving

The first two days were very comfortable: but what would you expect when staying in a palace? With the buzz of old friends seeing each other again and new friendships in the making, the excitement was electric, with people getting to know one another and sharing the deeper truths behind their involvement with the Pioneer Club. There were many moving accounts, and many had the a common thread of wanting to contribute to a great cause and learn how to give back effectively.

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The Secret to Success - Dr John Demartini

Dr John F. Demartini is one of the speakers on the extremely popular multimillion-dollar extravaganza DVD The Secret and recently appeared on Larry King Live in the USA. Sales of The Secret are now over 200 million copies. Dr Demartini is a world-renowned leading inspirational speaker and author at the forefront of the burgeoning personal and professional development industry. As an expert in the science of life change, his programmes and books have captured the attention of celebrities, sports stars, noted politicians and corporate leaders from all around the world.

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Wisdom From the Ancients

"I was always the oddball in the family," admits Don Tolman. "I was a vegetarian from the time I was born. I didn't like the smell of meat while the rest of my family weren't vegetarians, and my father was the 'Great White Hunter'." Don's interest in food took on a different dimension at a very young age, not at public school or a school for culinary chefs, but at Sunday School. What he heard there would affect the rest of his life, though he didn't become a priest. When Don heard the Sunday School teacher talk about a food that is mentioned in the Old Testament that made children smarter, he became determined to learn more.

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Current US Postage Rates

The USPS Express Mail service has switched to a zone-based system, while also still taking into account the weight of the package. This could mean decreased prices for packages mailed to close destinations, but increases for those mailed across great distances, such as New York to Los Angeles. Packages shipped via Express Mail over moderate distances should see little to no change in pricing with the current postage rates.

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Homeless in 2008 in Georgia

A February 2006 article in the New Yorker relates the story of Murray Barr, a chronicallyhomeless man living in Reno, Nevada. Police Officers Patrick O'Bryan and Steve Johns had numerous interactions with Murray over many years. They began tallying costs such as arrests, incarcerations, ambulance service, and hospitalizations over a ten-year period. Officer O'Bryan said, "It cost us one million dollars not to do something about Murray." Malcolm Gladwell, "Million Dollar Murray," The New Yorker, Feb. 13, 2006 92% of homeless women have experienced severe physical and/ or sexual assault at some point in their lives.

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Scandalous Celebrities - Wicked Obsession

The sad, tragic tale of the late Anna Nicole Smith comes to mind. She lived a decadent lifestyle at the expense of herself and her children. Abstinence, modesty, chastity, and self control were the furthest things from her mind - and she paid the ultimate price for her indiscretions. Others, like Hugh Grant, developed more discretion in their personal lives. They have wisely stepped up to their game and have distanced themselves from any hint of debauchery.

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Be A True Human Being While Having Fun! Best Ways to Contribute to Society

When you watch television and tune into the news or lifestyle shows you'll see a lot of philanthropy at work. The rich and the powerful always make it a habit to give to charity and to donate to the needy, either it's out of genuine sympathy or just to ease a guilty conscience. But you don't need to be an oil tycoon or a famous movie star to be able to donate big bucks to your favorite charities.

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Information About Mig Welders Available Online

Gas metal arc welding (GMAW), also known as metal inert gas (MIG) welding or metal active gas (MAG) welding is a semiautomatic or automatic arc welding process in which a continuous and consumable the wire electrode and a shielding gas are fed through a welding gun. Originally developed for welding aluminum and other nonferrous metals in the 1940s Gas metal arc welding was soon applied to other steels because it allowed for lower welding time compared to other welding processes.

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US Postage Rates Are Anyone's Guess

US postage rates have fluctuated so much in the past 10 years that it is a challenge just to keep your postage stamps current! At one point, the US postal service even issued a postage stamp that bore only a symbol in lieu of a monetary amount because rates were changing so quickly. With all of this change, how can you possibly stay abreast of the proper amount to affix to your envelope? Three tips can keep you perpetually knowledgeable about the proper postage rates for your mail.

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4 Volunteering Ideas For the Weekend

A leopard can't change his spots overnight and even if by some miracle he can, he shouldn't. Changes generally produce better results if they're done gradually, giving the person making those changes time to adjust and accept the consequences of his actions. If you've decided to try out volunteering for whatever reason, there's no need to give up your entire social life right away.

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Rebel Flag - Mississippi Flag Controversy

Mississippi's state flag, adopted in 1894, would become one of the most controversial flags our country has ever known. Why? Because this new flag included the Confederate Battle Flag, also called the Rebel Flag. More than 100 years later, in 2001, the citizens of Mississippi, voted overwhelmingly (65%) to keep their original Rebel Flag. Mississippi let the world know that they are proud of their Confederate Rebel Flag roots and don't want to change a thing about it.

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Momence and Manhattan Illinois Hospitals Present Local History

History abounds in Kankakee and Will counties, where Momence and Manhattan Illinois hospitals and local history buffs' efforts to preserve traditions have resulted in some great recent restorations. In Manhattan, the Baker-Koren barn (ca. 1898) has recently been acquired as the centerpiece of a new park which the Manhattan Park District is developing. Another local preservation effort is the Momence Railroad Depot Museum, located near Momence Illinois hospital.

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5 Ways to Start Making an Impact

One single deed is said to be able to perpetrate a chain of good deeds, and this is true indeed. Your actions may seem insignificant now, but rest assured that every little thing you do creates an impact on the people around you, an impact that will have reverberating effects. Parents They say it's impossible to teach old dogs new tricks, but this has been successfully disproved time and time again.

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How to Get a Discounted Wall Street Journal Subscription

Chances are, you already know about all the reasons that you want to read the Wall Street Journal. You may want to know what's going on in the world or maybe you just want a decisive viewpoint when it comes to political or business matters. In any case, you already know that the Wall Street Journal is well worth the money that you spend on it, but what if you could get it for even less?

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Princess Diana Charity Work Has Not Been Forgotten

From the moment that it was announce that she would be marrying Charles, the Prince of Wales, Diana found herself in the limelight by becoming part of the Royal Family. During the years from her engagement to Charles until her untimely death in a car accident, Diana managed to win many fans and admirers. Her loss was sorely mourned by people around the world who felt as though they had lost a treasured friend.

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Lean and Green

The initial response of many companies to Sir Nicholas Stern's apocalyptic report into the human and economic cost of global warming is likely to have been denial. Sir Nicholas warned that the risks of inaction are high and that time is running out. But according to the Carbon Neutral Company, just 80 out of the FTSE-100 companies have identified climate change as a business risk, and only 38 have targets for emissions reduction.

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How to Make a Positive Social Impact on Your Community

You don't have to be exceptionally powerful, wealthy, or even good-looking to make a positive social impact on your community. What one person can do may seem insignificant but if done properly and with the right intentions, a single act of kind-heartedness can have a domino effect and eventually, it may even turn your entire community around. Let Your Thoughts Be Known Sometimes, our fears of speaking our thoughts out loud prevent us from trying, much less, doing what we've wanted to do.

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Are We Alone?

This article addresses the question: Are We Alone? and explains how systems of reality can co-exist since they are not really solid as we understand the word. Solidity is simply a matter of perception and there is no such thing as one solid thing in our universe. There are countless other dimensions of reality throughout the universe as we know it. There are even other realities sharing out planet that we do not perceive.

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The Solution For All Your Problems - Translate Your Dreams

Your wild conscience is too powerful and occupies the biggest part of your brain and psyche. Fortunately though, the unconscious' psychotherapy through dream messages, which is in fact craziness prevention, gives you information about everything that you care about, exactly because if you lose your business or job, family, friends, etc., you'll also lose your mental health. The unconscious mind helps you in all fields, to protect you from craziness and despair due to failures and betrayals.

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Auspicious Dates

I was thinking about auspicious dates. The idea is to choose an auspicious date to begin an enterprise, or to start a course, or declare war - for what reason? In ancient times, one chose a date that was auspicious in the hope that one or other of the gods would smile on one's endeavours. My point in writing this article was to make the observation that it seemed very strange that the Chinese organisers of the Beijing Olympics should have chosen August 8th 2008 as an auspicious date to begin.

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Giving Children a Sporting Chance

Not often does one of the most recognisable faces in the world of rugby decide to head up his own charity. While most sporting stars get media coverage more for their antics than their contributions, there is one England rugby legend who is garnering attention for many good reasons. With 27 England caps, a World Cup campaign, the British Lions Tour of Australia and a Commonwealth Games England 7s tournament under his belt, Phil Greening has a reputation for hard work and delivering results. For over 12 years, he played top class rugby for England and premiership clubs around the world. Now he continues his hard work off the field by helping those less fortunate, through Sporting Chance Foundation.

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My Slice of the Cake

During the middle of a small building project, the builder informed me that his price, submitted by written quotation, signed by all parties, had to escalate by some 14%! But we had an agreement I argued...yes, but he was faced with some exorbitant and unplanned increases to his input cost, including but not restricted to fuel; cement and the price of the roof tiles.

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An Angel Gives 100 Percent

After telling people around the world that I was going to set up an international charity and raise millions for kids around the world through televised concerts, I began to wonder if I could really do it," says Molly Bedingfield, who launched the Global Angels Foundation in 2005. "It is one thing to have a big vision, but it is something else to have the ability to make it happen. Do you have the 'follow-through' to actually do it and the strength to pull off something like that? Those fears were the biggest challenge I faced when I conceived Global Angels.

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Why Telemarketers Are Not Allowed To Call Your Cell Phone

Telemarketers are not legally allowed to call your mobile number, but some ignore this, and may even use caller ID spoofing when doing so. If you are concerned about such companies getting your cell number, you have a few options to be sure that never happens.

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Will Segregation In American Public Schools Return?

In 1896, the Supreme Court in America had passed a judgment that established the basis for segregation in public schools. The court's decision was that it was legal and fair to separate students based on their race and color as long as the education given was equal.

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