Gorgeous blue and white 2 piece set
This 2 piece set is a classic design featuring tumbled aquamarine nuggets and glass pearls in light blue and white, and accented with silver plated disc spacers. The necklace is carefully strung on beading wire with wire guards and crimp covers for a finished look. It has a silver plated, smooth toggle clasp and is nearly 24" (61cm.) long. There is also a matching pair of earrings using the same beads with silver plated fishhook ear wires. They are 2" (5cm) long.
About Trusk4u
In this shop you find gorgeous, colorful beaded and wirewrapped original jewelry designs. There is something for everyone here, including jewelry for girls. If you are looking for that special event check out her Wedding/Special Occasion section.
Meet the Owner and the Designer Teresa

I have always been a creative and resourceful person, mostly out of necessity.My first real crafting love was sewing,and I have tried countless other crafts. Jewelry making started as another hobby, but has grown into an obsession!I love everything about it from choosing the materials to selling the piece.(or enjoying it myself!) My shop on Etsy is my first online shop and has been open for 14 months. I have 2 other online shops and also sell at a local craft co-op store in Hillsborough called Whimzee. My goal is to provide beautiful,unique pieces of jewelry at affordable prices. I am happily married,have 2 grown children, and two dogs. My roots are in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan(the portion that is on top of Wisconsin),and I spent most of my married life in the Chicago metro area. We've lived in North Carolina for several years now.See for yourself; check out her shop at http://trusk4u.etsy.com/
This giveaway has ended. Congratulation Melanie Graff From Alberta, Canada.

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Most cellular providers give, or deeply discount, cell phones which they provide to customers at the time they commit to a two year contract. Without the cell phone plan however, the cost of a cell phone can be a few hundred dollars. Although getting a cell phone which is offered by the service provider is generally the most affordable option, there are a number of situations in which it really isnt feasible. Whether a cell phone is lost or damaged and requires replacement before the start of a new contract period, the user has a need which is more temporary, or if an additional phone is needed beyond that which was provided, consumers sometimes find themselves looking for less expensive alternatives.

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Written by Roberto Sedycias Two decades back, in emerging economy like India, the cell phone was being associated with the concept of luxury. Today, for most people around the world, the cell phone has become as normal as owning a wrist watch. It is virtually impossible to imagine a world of communication without the existence of cell phones. More than a necessity, very much like wristwatches, cell phones are also being considered a style icon. Hence, if one carries an expensive and latest model, it becomes the centre of popular attention. In fact, cell phones having an attractive look, impressive color, and latest technology always become the matter of discussion among the users.

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1. Bilateral trade plays very important role in any countrys diplomatic relations. Would you please share with us your any specific plan to strengthen the diplomatic and cultural ties between the two countries in the days to come?
With the blessing of our leaders our countries have already signed more than 29 agreements and MOUs which guideline us in all spheres of bilateral cooperation and brotherly relations. Pakistan and Uzbekistan have been enjoying cordial bilateral relations since the independence of Uzbekistan in 1991. Apart from historical, ethnic, cultural and Islamic bonds, regional cooperation also fosters cooperation between the two countries. The only Central Asian state adjoining to all the others, Uzbekistan is geographically fine to be found to turn into the leading power in the region. Uzbekistan has a long historical and cultural tie to the Turkish, Persian and Arab worlds, which are the natural direction for expanded foreign relations. More people-to-people contacts, business missions, industrial exhibitions, delegations and exchange of cultural activities would be instrumental to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries.
There is a need to develop academic and cultural exchange programs. In this regard the memorandum of understanding that was signed between International Islamic University Islamabad and Tashkent Islamic University Uzbekistan, Area Study Centre, University of Peshawar Pakistan and Institute of Oriental Studies Academy of Sciences Tashkent Uzbekistan are the greats. This kind of interaction improves the relations between states and in this case, undoubtedly, would facilitate the creation of better understanding between Pakistan and Uzbekistan. Academic interaction would necessarily enhance cooperative relations between the two states and would develop academic and cultural exchange in different areas of research in various disciplines.

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ModernMedicine.com wanted to make sure the voice of the health care professional was heard by the Obama administration. So it organized a roundtable at the Cleveland Clinic. Hospital administrators, family practitioners, public health officials, professors and others engaged in a freewheeling two-hour discussion that touched on everything from the future of primary care to managed care to what steps the Obama administration should take.

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Binge drinking caused an estimated 43,731 (54.9 percent) of the 79,646 alcohol-related deaths each year from 2001 to 2005 in the United States, and is more common among men than women, with whites aged 18 to 34 those most likely to drink in this way, according to a report published in the April 3 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

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Cardiac muscle cells continue to renew after birth and throughout life in humans, according to a study in the April 3 issue of Science. In a related study in the April 3 issue of Cell Stem Cell, inhibition of DPP-IV combined with treatment with granulocyte colony stimulating factor increases the recruitment of stem cells to the heart, increases the formation of new blood vessels, and improves survival and cardiac function in mice surgically induced to have a myocardial infarction.

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New Delhi, March 31 (ANI): Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is likely to discuss current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan with the United States President Barack Obama during their upcoming meet, said Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon here on Monday.
Dr. Manmohan Singh is expected to meet the U.S President on Thursday (April 2) on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in London.
Menon, while talking to media in the capital, said that the two leaders would discuss ways to take forward the strategic bilateral relations and security situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan would also come up for discussion.
I think the situation in the region including what happens in Afghanistan and whats happening in Pakistan will certainly come up during discussions. As far this comprehensive strategic review of US policy, which is in the process of being rolled out and being discussed also at various forums, we welcome the very clear expression of will to carry through the struggle against extremism in Afghanistan and its roots in Pakistan, which is contained in new comprehensive US strategy. India has a direct interest in the success of this international effort and India is ready to play a constructive role as a responsible power in defeating extremism of all kinds, said Menon.
Menon also said that the composite dialogue with Pakistan couldnt resume until the perpetrators of last year Mumbai attack that killed at least 166 people would be brought to justice.
What we are looking at is bringing the perpetrators of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai to justice and credible action to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism in Pakistan from which Mumbai and various other attacks on India have taken place in the past. We are waiting, said Menon.
Reacting to the reports of 1300 systems in 104 countries being hacked during a vast spying operation suspected from China, Menon said that all relevant measures would be taken to safeguard Indian systems.
There were attacks mounted on computers in 103 countries. That of the four servers from which the attacks were mounted - - three were in China and one was in the US. And that there is no proof to link this to governmental activities in China or the US, said Menon while adding: We do what we can and what we need to, to prevent it or even if it does happen to make sure that the consequences are well non-catastrophic and actually the consequences are minimized to the extent we can. So we take both defensive and other measures to try and deal with it.
There have been media reports that state Canadian researchers have uncovered an Internet spy network that has allegedly hacked computers owned by governments and private organizations. The reports also state that the Indian Embassy computers in Washington are among the hacked computers.
The Summit, second since the global financial crisis started in the middle of last year, will be attended among others by US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordan Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

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Lahore, Mar. 27 (ANI): Female commandos of Pakistans Elite Force have alleged that their administrative staff is forcing them to work in place of their male colleagues, who are often on vacation.he female commandos said that the moharrars (administrative staff), who were bribed by male commandos for showing them on duty, deputed female commandos for VVIP security, motorcades, escorts, point duties and patrolling despite the legal provisions.
The Elite Force was established to provide security to VVIPs, and to arrest terrorists, kidnappers and other high-profile criminals. Out of 666 Elite Commandos, 22 are females.
Currently, six female commandos are deputed with a VVIP mans wife, five are on medical leave and one is a sportswoman.
Usually male commandos were deployed with motorcades and to provide escort to VVIPs, and female commandos often served duties with female VIPs.
However, lady commandos told the Daily Times that Elite Force in-charge was compelling them to serve sensitive duties.
A female commando said she and her lady colleagues were assigned duties with the motorcade of Kharasan-e-Razdi (Iranian province) Governor Muhammad Jawad Mohammadi Zadey when he visited Lahore in January.
Another lady commando claimed that she had been assigned patrolling duties on the route of the Sri Lankan cricket team just a day before the Liberty incident.
On the first day of the match, female commandos were told to patrol inside the stadium. Six of my colleagues also remained on stand by for two days at the hotel where the cricket team was staying, so that they could accompany the Sri Lankan team to the stadium, she said.
Lahore Elite Force In-charge Inspector Faisal Yousaf denied the allegation that female commandos were being deployed without their consent or against the rules.
However, he admitted that female commandos were assigned security duties with VVIPs only if male commandos were not available.
Elite Force Deputy Superintendent of Police Haji Abbas said, As there was no difference in the training of male and female commandos, both can perform duties alike.

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Flip And Grow Rich is a technique used in real estate and housing industry and even though it sounds easy to execute, there is a time consuming procedure to. And if you have some white hairs, you already know that in a time consuming procedure, anything can go wrong at any step. Even though a salesman can make it sound simple, there are pitfalls such that if you fall in them, you end up paying an extremely high price, like you might end up losing everything.
It means you basically buy properties on the cheap and then sell them for a high price. At a principle and fundamental level, its called arbitrage. You havent really created anything new but you have used some information in your favor. FTC usually looks disapprovingly at these practices so be careful when you either get into such schemes as a seller or a buyer.

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Japan can collaborate in Indias capital intensive markets: Kondo
Japanese companies should look at more trade opportunities in India and its tertiary industries as India has opened up sectors like finance, retail and applied research industries, said Dr. Masanori Kondo, Senior Associate Professor of Economics, International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan at Seminar on Japanese Business in India: Strengthening Ties; organised here today by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). As Japan is seen making gains only in capital intensive markets in India, this is an opportune time for Japanese companies to improve their business image in India, he said .

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The true nature of healing is generating optimum energy in order to fully enjoy living your life. Healing is much more than a technique of doing, it is a state of being; being at peace with ourselves, our bodies, our relationships and our lives. Let's explore how to create more healing energy to beat cancer, improve your health and the quality of your life.

To get started, we need to explore the nature of health and let go of some outdated concepts. During childhood, were taught that healing is only a means to fix and cure. We learned that healing happens as a reaction to illness or something to focus on when we're sick. Most traditional methods of healing in our culture are about fighting and conquering illness and disease, not about creating wholeness. Healing is simply a return to wholeness.

Wholeness honors and respects all four levels of your being; the physical, the emotional, the mental and the spiritual. When you respect these four levels, they can produce a synergy of wholeness. These four levels of being are the foundation of wholeness that leads to optimum health. Genuine healing begins by achieving balance on all four levels.

The first level of healing is with your physical body. It's the most visible aspect of our being. We can easily identify and see the symptoms of illness physically. However, the lack of illness doesn't define a state of health and wellness. Unfortunately, many people use their body as the only barometer to determine if they are healthy or ill. You'll soon see that the physical body is only the first of four bodies which must be used to evaluate your actual state of health and wellness. Healing begins by making choices to care for your body.

Ask yourself these questions to evaluate your relationship to your body.
Do you appreciate your physical body? Do you find it easy to accept or do you constantly criticize it? Are you ashamed of your body? Are you measuring it against standards of perfection that are impossible to achieve? If so, then ask yourself why and write down your answers in a journal. Writing it down helps you to reflect deeper. These four questions will help determine your current relationship with your physical body and can be a catalyst to jump-start your healing process.

You may discover you have been in a very dysfunctional relationship with your body. If so, forgive yourself and begin to accept, appreciate and respect your body, just as it is. Acceptance, appreciation and respect will quickly change the dysfunctional relationship with your body.

A Few Suggestions to Respect for Your Body;

Exercise daily
Eat nourishing foods with live energy such as fruit and vegetables.
Breathe deeply to continually renew your energy.
Expose your body to sunlight in small doses on a regular basis.
Sleep well and allow for plenty of time to rest and revitalize.
Discover new ways to experience pleasure and comfort.
Accept any physical limitations and love your body as it is.

The Second Level of Healing is with Your Emotional Body.

The next level of healing is within your emotional nature. We were never taught how to keep our emotions healthy. Instead, we were encouraged to devalue and repress our emotions. This unhealthy relationship leads to emotional stress and reduce your natural healing ability.

What constitutes a positive emotion versus a negative one? Many people divide their emotions into categories of "good" and "bad" feelings. The "good". On the other hand, the "bad" emotions are deemed unacceptable, and we tend to ignore, deny or repress them. It is our judgment of our emotions that create the dysfunction and illness at this level.

Judging emotions as "good" and "bad", creates emotional negativity. Traditionally we're taught that when we feel the "good" or as I call them, "expanding emotions", then we are being positive. However, if we feel the "bad" or "contracting emotions", we believe we are being negative. This division of good and bad regarding your emotions produces dysfunction.

You'll begin to create healing on this level rapidly by changing how you define your emotions. Let go of the judgments of good and bad, instead, think of them as expanding and contracting. For instance, think about breathing and ask yourself, "Is inhaling good and exhaling bad?" No you need to do both to breathe properly, and so it is with your emotions. When you let go of the conditioned judgments from your childhood you will take a major step toward emotional health and well-being.

Being emotionally aware of your feelings regardless if they are expanding or contracting is being honest about how you really feel. Self-respect is not having to apologize for how you honestly feel, it is a state of honoring your thoughts and feelings.

Every emotion is a natural feedback mechanism to gain greater understanding of how you're doing in your life. They are meant to provide guidance on your journey through life. To fully respect yourself is to be honest with how you feel emotionally. Only then can you change it. Denying emotions keep them alive and can haunt you for years.

How to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Your Emotional Body.

It begins with honesty and a willingness to feel and express your emotions and then release them. Whether its anger, hurt, love, or joy, the emotions need to be felt before they can be released. This creates a positive emotional state of being. How we relate to our emotions determines their positive or negative impact in our lives.

Can Love be Negative and Anger be Positive? Yes, they both have the potential of being either positive or negative depending upon how you relate to them. Unexpressed love can be tremendously negative. Repressed love can change the chemistry of your body, your blood pressure and eventually contribute to heart disease. Love on an emotional level is energy. When we refuse to let energy flow, it becomes repressed and can cause many physical complications.

How to begin honoring your emotional nature:

Begin to give yourself permission to feel all of your emotions without judgment and to express them constructively. You can best do this by journaling. Write down your feelings on a regular basis is a great way to express this energy and release it from your emotional body. It may take some practice, but it will ultimately lead to a healthier state of being.

The Third Level of Healing is on the Mental Level

The power of our minds (or the mind) is limitless. How do you relate to this God-given gift, called your human mind? Do you recognize the value of it to change your life or do you disregard your mental power? Most people have never been taught to appreciate the power of their minds.

Mental empowerment begins by making a personal choice. Understanding how the mind works, and how to use the mental tools that are available to you, begins mental empowerment. The four mental tools to create wellness (as well as any other change in your life) are:

1. Imagination
2. Thoughts
3. Beliefs
4. Choice

Four mental tools contain the power to improve or destroy your life. They create the nature of your attitude and your self image. You can not fully understand your inner power without owning these tools and using them to create the life you desire.

Mental healing begins by making a choice to use the power of your mind.

THE CHOICE: To believe that your thoughts are powerful and that they attract and create your experiences... or, to believe that it doesn't matter what you think, that life isn't a choice; it is only an experience that you have no control over.

If we deny our thinking and imagination, we are out of alignment thus, we are disempowered on the mental level of our being, leading to illness rather than wellness.

When you believe your mind holds the key to your personal power, you become more conscious of your thoughts and choices. You understand that your imagination is where all change begins; First in your mind, and then in your body and life. Make the choice to understand these tools, learn about them and use them to lead you closer toward healing and wholeness.

Disempowered individuals believe that the imagination is just "pretend" and has no power, it is only make-believe. When we engage our imagination and visualize the healthy expression of ourselves in our minds, we will create the blueprint of our future. Your imagination is a preview of your lifes experiences. Use it!

How to Access the Power of Your Imagination to Change Your Life.

The quickest way I know is to practice visualization and guided imagery techniques. You can discover how to focus your attention and use your imagination by learning to meditate. It is the safest method I know to gain access to the power of your mind. (See my guided meditations)

The Fourth Level is Spiritual Healing: Your Relationship to the Divine.

Your spiritual nature, regardless of your religion or lack of it, is about a personal and private relationship with the Divine, with God. What is God? Most simply put, God is Love. To honor God is to honor your relationship with love.

Beyond the emotional expression of human love is divine love. This is a love that begins by being understanding, compassionate and forgiving. Divine love is so much more than emotional love. It is the ultimate state of being. Being a loving person becomes the foundation upon which you establish permanent healing and activate your life-force energy to create the wholeness that leads to mental, emotional and physical healing.

Spirituality is your personal relationship with God. If God created All-That-Is, then everything is a creation of God (love). Spirituality is the way we relate to our lives with love - or without it. Spirituality is not a ritual we do on Sunday, and it's not a book with rules and regulations. Thats religion. Spiritualitys only rule is love. Love is the way you relate to living your life.

Spirituality is your personal relationship to everything in your life. Spirituality is your relationship with your body, emotions, and mind. Spirituality is your relationship to your work, money, family and friends, and it all hinges upon whether those relationships are based on love and understanding or judgment and separation. Being loving is the most healing and powerful experience to change the nature of your life. It is the ultimate healing energy.

When we honor our relationship with God we recognize that our free-will choice to love God is really about choosing to love ourselves and everything and everybody in our lives.

The true nature of healing is focused on loving yourself enough to:

Nurture your body by meeting its needs for health
Honor your emotions and handle them honestly
Value the power of your mind to overcome resistance to change
Knowing that spirituality is simply about choosing to love
Ask God for healing and strength to reach your full potential
Remember that God isn't separate from the physical world.

The true nature of health and healing becomes the way we live our lives, not just a quick and temporary cure to fix or keep our body alive!

Spiritual healing is a choice available to everyone regardless of your religion. The choice to access the power of your Soul whenever you choose, to remember you are loved by God and the way to love God is to love your life. Applying these secrets will increase your healing energy and create positive changes on all levels of your life.

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Terrorism Havens: Pakistan - Council on Foreign Relations
Does Pakistans government support terrorism?
It has, and experts say that Pakistans military and Interservices Intelligence (ISI) both include personnel who sympathize withor even assistIslamist militants. ISI has provided covert but well-documented support to terrorist groups active in Kashmir, including the al-Qaeda affiliate Jaish-e-Mohammed, which investigators linked to the December 2001 attack on the Indian parliament and the February 2002 murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl. President Pervez Musharraf made promises to stop Kashmiri militants from crossing into the Indian-held sector of Kashmir, but India insists Musharraf has yet to stop the terrorists movements.

How did Pakistan respond to September 11?
Pakistan, which had backed al-Qaedas Taliban hosts before September 11, abruptly reversed course and threw its lot in with the U.S.-led antiterrorist coalition. Under heavy U.S. pressure, Musharraf condemned the attacks and pledged Pakistans unstinted cooperation two days later. Pakistan has since become a key U.S. partner in its campaign against al-Qaeda, even as the perpetually turbulent, nuclear-armed Muslim country has teetered on the brink of war with India over the disputed province of Kashmir. Experts say Musharraf, who came to power in a 1999 coup, is under enormous strain: America is demanding that he crack down on Islamist militants; Pakistans religious extremists and some intelligence officials are furious at him for abandoning Afghanistans Taliban rulers and softening his line on Kashmir; and Pakistans main political parties are shunning him because hes resisting the restoration of democracy.

Do all Pakistanis support the war on terrorism?
No. Despite its governments cooperation with the United States, Pakistan is home to many Islamist extremists, some with links to al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. Militants have conducted several terrorist attacks on Americans and other Westerners in Pakistan since September 11, including the abduction and murder of Daniel Pearl and the June 2002 car bombing of the U.S. consulate in Karachi, which killed twelve Pakistanis. Thanks to shared Islamist sympathies and ethnic ties, some Pakistanis have also helped Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters fleeing from Afghanistan take refuge throughout Pakistan. U.S. officials are concerned al-Qaeda could regenerate itself in urban areas and in the Northwest Frontier province, a lawless tribal region on the Afghan border inhabited by Pashtuns, the Talibans dominant ethnic group.

How has Pakistan supported the war on terrorism?
By becoming a major U.S. partner and staging area for the war in Afghanistan. The United States considers Pakistan one of its most important allies in the war on terror. Pakistan granted overflight rights to coalition aircraft, let U.S. forces use two Pakistani airfields, and shared intelligence about suspected terrorists. Pakistan has also worked with the FBI to capture suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives who fled into northern Pakistanincluding al-Qaeda operations chief Abu Zubaydah and the alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Muhammadand in some cases has committed its own troops to hunt down al-Qaeda holdouts. According to the State Departments 2004 Country Report, Pakistan continues to pursue al-Qaeda and its allies aggressively through counterterrorist police measures and large-scale military operations. Osama bin Laden is widely believed to be hiding in the remote tribal region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Musharraf says Pakistani troops had their best chance of capturing bin Laden from May-July 2004, after the army launched an offensive along the border with Afghanistan. But he says the trail has now gone cold.

After the July 2005 London bombings, in which the bombers were of Pakistani decentand at least one of the suspects visited a Pakistani madrassaMusharaff outlined a new approach for cracking down on extremism. He has decided to monitor hate sermons from mosques; require that all madrassas be registered and foreign students expelled; clamp down on inflammatory material; and prohibit militant groups from collecting funds. Pakistan also responded to the bombing by detaining more than 200 suspected Islamist militants.

Have U.S. personnel operated in Pakistan?
Yes. U.S. soldiers have joined Pakistani troops on raids in the tribal border regions, and the FBI is contributing information and agents to the pursuit of al-Qaeda holdouts. U.S. officials say they need Americans on the ground because the Pakistani military is not doing enough on its own, and Pakistan-watchers say the government remains reluctant to pursue terrorists at home because it fears an internal political backlash. Moreover, Pakistan has not wanted to launch large-scale military operations against al-Qaeda while many of its troops have been amassed along the Indian border due to tensions over Kashmir, a festering conflict that has flared up several times since India and Pakistan gained independence.

How does the Kashmir crisis affect the war on terrorism?
Its a large, frightening distraction, particularly since both Pakistan and India have nuclear weapons. Tensions over Kashmir, which spiked after a December 2001 terrorist attack on Indias parliament, have diverted U.S. and Pakistani resources away from the pursuit of al-Qaeda. Experts say the fate of the disputed Muslim-majority province is fundamental to Pakistans national identity and Musharrafs rule; observers say the general was able to seize power because his predecessor backed down in a 1999 showdown over Kashmir. Meanwhile, Indiaalso an American partner in the antiterrorist coalitionhas accused the United States of hypocrisy for working with a Pakistani government that India says continues to support terrorism.


Weigh in on this issue by emailing CFR.org.

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Islamabad, Dec 27: Pakistan has redeployed thousands of troops to the border with India, officials said on Friday, in a dramatic escalation of tensions with New Delhi in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.
In Islamabad, senior defence and security officials said troops were being moved from the northwest tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, hotbeds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda activity, to the eastern border near India.

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DAWN Group of Newspapers, published by the Pakistan Herald Publications (Pvt.) Limited (PHPL) was founded by the Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the father of the nation. The group began its publication, the DAWN newspaper, in 1947 immediately after independence and has ever since emerged as one of the high brow English Newspaper of pakistan with huge circulation.
This newspaper has a wide readership because it is trend setter and its editorials always choose an independent and pro Pakistan policy. This is the most read newspaper in specific classes e.g. Ambassadors, Ministers, Professors, Teachers and Students. Dawn has recently launched English News Channel that has been running successfully.
Dawn has an extremely neat and easily navigating website including the left sidebar. All important links show different pages of hard version of Newspaper that makes easy for the readers and visitors to pick the link they are interested in; including Front Page, National, International, Local, Business, Editorial and Opinion.. Website has segregated its columnists in the same side bar and links to their Mags. Website gives link to the Online Dawn News. The news in Pics is very praiseworthy feature of the site.

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Report by: Center for Research and Security Studies, crss.pager@gmail.com
This is the weekly pager from the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad, Pakistan. CRSS firmly believes in academic neutrality and takes up issues that both the State and Society of Pakistan are faced with. We are a non-profit and non-political organization committed to promoting rational and critical thinking. This pager is also available in PDF format from our website.
Mutihidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) is the political party that dominates Karachi, Pakistans largest metropolis. Hyderabad, the Sind provinces 2nd largest city, is also under MQMs political domain. MQM draws its strength from working class and lower/middle strata of the society and prides itself for being an anti-feudal and a secular party. Karachi is among the most literate cities of Pakistan and is dominated by two ethnicities, Urdu speaking Mohajirs and Pashto speaking Pashtuns. In fact, Karachi has more Pashtuns than does Peshawar, the provincial capital of NWFP. Addressing a large gathering of Karachites via telephone in early November, the Quaid (supreme leader) of MQM, Altaf Hussain warned the Sufi-loving people of Sindh and peaceful people of Karachi that a systematic campaign was underway to Talibanize Karachi. He pointed that the areas of Pakhtoon Abad and Sultan Abad were particularly of great concern to both the MQM and the government of Sindh. Now, Baitullah Mehsud is sending his people to Karachi and many cable operators, CD shop owners and girls schools have been asked to shut down their operation because they are un-Islamic, Altaf said. He alleged that the Taliban elements have collected nearly 2 billion rupees in ransom over the past two years and there were nearly 5 million small arms in the city. He urged the MQM activists to be ready to defend themselves and get training in self defense and get arms licenses. Altaf criticized the sluggish response and flawed intelligence of the government and announced that every party worker of MQM will defend their city and you should be able to keep waking up in the night to check such miscreants.

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Report by: Center for Research and Security Studies, crss.pager@gmail.com
This is the weekly pager from the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), Islamabad, Pakistan. CRSS firmly believes in academic neutrality and takes up issues that both the State and Society of Pakistan are faced with. We are a non-profit and non-political organization committed to promoting rational and critical thinking. This pager is also available in PDF format from our website.
Mutihidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) is the political party that dominates Karachi, Pakistans largest metropolis. Hyderabad, the Sind provinces 2nd largest city, is also under MQMs political domain. MQM draws its strength from working class and lower/middle strata of the society and prides itself for being an anti-feudal and a secular party. Karachi is among the most literate cities of Pakistan and is dominated by two ethnicities, Urdu speaking Mohajirs and Pashto speaking Pashtuns. In fact, Karachi has more Pashtuns than does Peshawar, the provincial capital of NWFP. Addressing a large gathering of Karachites via telephone in early November, the Quaid (supreme leader) of MQM, Altaf Hussain warned the Sufi-loving people of Sindh and peaceful people of Karachi that a systematic campaign was underway to Talibanize Karachi. He pointed that the areas of Pakhtoon Abad and Sultan Abad were particularly of great concern to both the MQM and the government of Sindh. Now, Baitullah Mehsud is sending his people to Karachi and many cable operators, CD shop owners and girls schools have been asked to shut down their operation because they are un-Islamic, Altaf said. He alleged that the Taliban elements have collected nearly 2 billion rupees in ransom over the past two years and there were nearly 5 million small arms in the city. He urged the MQM activists to be ready to defend themselves and get training in self defense and get arms licenses. Altaf criticized the sluggish response and flawed intelligence of the government and announced that every party worker of MQM will defend their city and you should be able to keep waking up in the night to check such miscreants.

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Many nations have failed to stem mental, physical, sexual abuse

(New York, November 24, 2008) - Many migrant and domestic workers still face abuse and exploitation in Middle Eastern and Asian countries because governments have failed to adopt measures needed to protect them, Human Rights Watch said today ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25.

Few domestic workers have access to the justice system in the countries where they work, and even those who are able to make complaints of physical or sexual violence rarely receive redress, Human Rights Watch said.

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Eric Nash can barely contain his excitement waiting to hear from Health Canada whether he can start growing marijuana for 250 patients.

That would be just the start. There are tens of thousands more who are ailing across the country clamouring for his organic B.C. bud.

"There is a great opportunity here for the government to collect significant tax revenue currently being lost to the street market," Nash, one of the best-known legal cannabis producers, enthused.

"With the current global financial crisis, this court ruling is certainly a bright light in dark economic times. We're just waiting for clarification. I figure our production would increase significantly from several pounds to 150 pounds or more immediately."

Now that the Federal Court of Appeal has struck down the government's monopoly on supplying medical marijuana, Nash believes commercial agricultural production of pot is around the corner and the sky's the limit.

His local company, Island Harvest, has cleared the industrial security regulatory hurdles so the company meets the standards set by Ottawa to grow the much-demonized plant.

"Our vision is to have a sustainable commercial agriculture operation," he said. "There's no reason we can't achieve that. Look at the number of compassion clubs, look at the number of people using marijuana to relieve a headache or pre-menstrual cramps!"

More and more research is supporting previous anecdotal evidence that cannabis may have a wide range of therapeutic uses from the treatment of Alzheimer's, depression, glaucoma, epilepsy and cancer to HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and ADD/ADHD. Its most ardent promoters say cannabis may be an addition to the modern pharmacopeia that rivals Aspirin in the breadth of its applications.

It doesn't take a genius to realize the potential profits are staggering.

Until now, the government's poorly administered medical program has artificially depressed that market by making it difficult for patients to qualify, supplied what many consider poor-quality marijuana and imposed an arbitrary restriction on qualified licensed growers to supplying only two patients.

Doctors, too, have exacerbated the situation with their reluctance to prescribe marijuana, claiming they have no guide on dosage or the usual pharmaceutical medical studies to rely on. That is changing, slowly.

Nash explained there have been three relatively recent, serious analyses of the medical marijuana market, which give an idea of its scope and potential.

The Canadian Medical Association Journal did a survey in 2000 and estimated the number of self-medicating marijuana patients to be 1.9 per cent of the population; a Price Waterhouse report prepared for Health Canada two years later concluded it was more like four per cent of the population, and a report in 2004 by a member of the federal government's advisory committee on pot suggested the reality was closer to seven per cent.

(Health Canada, after eight years, has issued roughly 2,500 exemption permits to needy patients.)

Regardless, Nash said, based on the four-per-cent model, that puts sales at more than $400 million annually.

More optimistic projections say the medical market, including ancillary products such as vaporizers and paraphernalia, could be as high as $20 billion.

Add it up: The government sells maybe $1 million a year worth of the pot produced in a Manitoba mine, and compassion clubs across the country sell about $10 million worth of cannabis products.

By far the vast majority of patients who need marijuana as a medicine continue to buy their drugs from the black market. It's a crazy situation: imagine if diabetics had to go to a corner dealer to score insulin.

That's one of the fundamental reasons behind the court ruling Oct. 27: the medical marijuana program set up by Ottawa at the turn of the millennium isn't working.

The government adopted the Medical Marijuana Access Regulations (MMAR) and accompanying bureaucracy in 2001. It has modified it since then in the face of judicial warnings that it was constitutionally inadequate, but it still can't pass muster.

The courts find that offensive.

This new judgment heralds a tectonic shift in the country's medical-marijuana regulatory regime and perhaps even the drug laws. It may even invalidate the cannabis prohibition.

Two B.C. Supreme Court justices sitting on separate cases (one about simple possession, the other production and trafficking) are currently seized with that question.

If they agree that because a section of medical program is unconstitutional the criminal law cannot be enforced, it would also mark the triumph of a Trojan horse strategy by cannabis activists to achieve legalization by expanding medical access.

Just as liquor was once obtained via prescription, cannabis could be regulated in a similar fashion, obviating the need for a criminal prohibition.

No matter how you look at it, the federal court decision promises an economic boon immediately for the hundreds of legal cannabis producers and increased opportunity for many others.

Nash said it was good news for both the consumer and producer.

The former government communications worker and his partner, Wendy Little, have been growing since 2002 and proselytizing longer than that. Their book Sell Marijuana Legally is a huge hit; they created an online users' group for patients and growers, and they teach courses.

But medical growers across the country have been restricted, a policy that results in a huge gift of revenue to organized crime.

B.C. bud's staggering numbers

Stephen Easton, an economist at Simon Fraser University and with the Fraser Institute, has done the most respected work on the size of the domestic pot industry.

He sat down earlier this year in Denny's with one of B.C.'s biggest dealers and went over his numbers.

"He figured it out differently than I did, using lights and ballasts," Easton said. "But he worked out the numbers with me and it all worked out. He told me it was very close. He was quite surprised. I was very happy about that. We had a really good talk. He was really helpful for me."

Since Easton's original estimates, the domestic marijuana market has undergone some changes, but nothing cataclysmic.

"The fluctuations in the dollar are the main economic factor," he said. "It has gone up and down and that pushes these guys."

For most of the last few years, the most significant factor has been the various improvements in border security triggered by the 9/11 terrorist strikes.

In the 1990s and even throughout the early part of this decade, tons and tons of Canadian marijuana flooded into the U.S. market carried by anyone with moxy and a decent plan.

People were backpacking across with as much weed as they could carry in the Interior, or kayaking across with a stash of bud worth as much as emeralds.

Between 1990 and 2000, the Canadian pot market doubled in size fuelled primarily by the increased hydroponic production of B.C. bud.

Nationally, we apparently spent $1.8 billion toking up - just shy of the $2.3 billion we burned on tobacco.

By 2006, when he did his calculations, Easton said the numbers indicated a provincial wholesale market of $2.2 billion. You could increase that to $7.7 billion retail if consumers paid top dollar for their bud.

That dwarfed any other B.C. agricultural product.

The result on the street was easy to see: a proliferation of gangs duly documented by the RCMP, as every crook plucked what Easton called "the low-hanging fruit."

The tightening of the border has had several effects.

Not just everyone can take it across now, with underground sensors, heightened air traffic scrutiny and the deployment of the military. Smuggling now is more the purview of the very organized and the very desperate.

At the same time, U.S. authorities have charted the rise of their own domestic production as American states relaxed enforcement and sentencing - the opposite of the 1980s and 1990s when their stiff attitude drove marijuana growers north.

In California alone, Berkeley, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Santa Monica and San Francisco all have officially told police to make marijuana offences their lowest priority.

Evolving production

Pot production in California rivals Canada's total output.

Similar initiatives have been adopted in other states and cities such as Seattle, Denver and even Missoula, Mont.

With the north-south route to market more problematic, more B.C. bud has moved east to feed eastern appetites or find a less monitored area of the border before turning south. The Mounties have responded by increasing surveillance along the Trans-Canada on the Prairies, resulting in large seizures.

By far the biggest factor in the marijuana market in recent years, however, has been the revolution in production - the ease, predictability and most importantly the portability that has come with advances in indoor cultivation that mean great weed can be grown anywhere.

The RCMP have been reporting huge busts in Eastern Canada as production has sprouted in the Maritimes and Ontario, reducing their appetite for West Coast pot.

In Ontario, whose provincial production is said to have surpassed B.C.'s, authorities have uncovered two separate operations each capable of producing $100 million worth of cannabis a year.

B.C. bud ruled in the 1990s when the underground marijuana trade was responsible for keeping afloat many small communities buffeted by resource-market gales.

Our pot even had cachet even up until four or five years ago but these days, be you in Charlottetown or Joe Batt's Arm, Nfld., you can easily obtain good seeds and fail-safe equipment and within a few months be producing marijuana to rival B.C.'s best.

Nevertheless, Easton explained, when you are looking at a commodity and domestic production, it's all about the money.

The rise of the dollar in recent years worked against growers and exporters, but its recent fall provides an upward fillip.

"I imagine with all the market turmoil the domestic marijuana industry will pick up a bit," Easton said. "it's just had a 15-to-20-per-cent bump in two months."

Some estimates in the 1990s suggested as much as 50 cents of every dollar generated in some Kootenay towns could be traced directly to pot.

With the international financial tempest wreaking havoc again with commodity prices, B.C. bud may yet help ride out the storm but probably not to the same extent.

"We'll just have to watch housing prices in Nelson," Easton laughed.

Mexico considering legalization

Sitting in Kitsilano eating breakfast before meeting the city's police board, former Drug Enforcement Administration agent Celerino Castillo III nodded his head furiously.

"Yes, yes, it's all about the money," he said. "The money, it's all so corrupt."

Castillo spent 12 years in the USDA infiltrating Manhattan drug rings, destroying jungle cocaine labs and training anti-narcotics agents. The climax of his career was pulling the curtain back on drug-smuggling by the Nicaraguan Contras with links to Lt.-Col. Oliver North and the CIA.

From the Amazon to the slums of Mexico City to the ghettos of America, Castillo has had a front-row seat on the western hemisphere's drug world and come to the conclusion it's time to abandon our current approach.

Mexico is again considering legalization because of the violence and social upheaval caused by illicit drug trafficking, and Canada should be headed down the same path, he says. So should South America and, of course, the U.S.

The money is too corrosive.

"The corruption is everywhere - every month we arrest a law enforcement official, every month," he insisted, "whether it's a border patrol agent or a customs agent or a DEA agent or an FBI agent. We arrest a law enforcement officer once a month, It's huge. The amount of money is just so big. 'I have a mortgage to pay, I have to send my kids to college.' That's always the excuse."

He shakes his head.

He explained that in his state, drug couriers once arrived with suitcases of cash to deposit in local banks: "Now they buy the banks. Especially now with this upheaval. Who else has the ready cash?"

He laughed.

"But that's actually how they're money-laundering today - they buy a bank," Castillo added. "There's no way we can keep up."

In retirement, Castillo has become a featured speaker for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an association of former police, corrections and judicial officers who want to change drug policy.

"There's more production, more product and more of everything than there ever was. The war on drugs doesn't work," he said.

"All I'm hoping for is people to start to listen and educate themselves about what's going on in the world," he said. "I know first-hand. I've seen it from an agent's point of view.

"It's affecting and destroying a lot of families. For 40 years we've been trying this John Wayne approach and it's not working. The bottom line: There are a lot more drugs today than we had 40 years ago."

'These are the dealing tables'

Dana Larsen ushers me into his new marijuana dispensary in the 800 block of East Hastings Street.

The former NDP candidate, who stepped down during the federal election when his recreational drug use was publicized, has renovated the run-down storefront and is promoting a new compassion club.

Like Nash, he thinks the medical pot market is about to expand exponentially and legally.

"There's no smoking in here," he said as he showed me around the spartan office. "But there's a vapour lounge two doors down in the Seed Bank where you can light up after you leave."

There is a modest reception area and a large back room. It's clean but unfinished.

"These are the dealing tables," he said, pointing to a handful of folding tables separated by office screens to provide a measure of privacy.

He laughed.

"I guess I should call them dispensing tables."

Larsen, who used to be the leader of the B.C. Marijuana Party and Prince of Pot Marc Emery's lieutenant, thinks the time has come to move into the medical field.

"I think there's enough of a market in town to support another dispensary," Larsen said.

"There are more than enough patients who need reliable, quality cannabis products than the current two clubs in the city provide."

His menu of cannabis products included six strains of dried marijuana, four kinds of hash, two pot products in capsules and double-strength bon-bons - cannabis-infused organic chocolates.

The pot ranged in price from $7.50 a gram for Pine Cross up to $8 a gram for Sweet Tooth; pressed Kif (soft hash made with a sieve) went for $8 a gram; and very potent Bubblehash, which was extracted using water and ice rather than a sieve, went for $25 a gram.

In Oakland, Calif., the private dispensaries that support the state's medical marijuana program are said to be generating revenues in excess of $70 million a year.

Medical marijuana could help the sick

Michelle Rainey is one of roughly 2,500 Canadians with a licence to possess and use marijuana. She's also a celebrity in the medical marijuana world and on YouTube.

Rainey has Crohn's disease and finds her home-grown pot an effective replacement for her previous expensive regimen of pharmaceutical drugs.

She believes the country's health-care system could save a fortune if there was a working medical marijuana program, and those who could benefit from cannabis could easily shift away from other medications.

The roughly 110,000 Canadians suffering from Crohn's disease and the 90,000 living with ulcerative colitis, for example, are estimated to spend $162 million a year for prescription drugs.

Many of those people are already benefiting from marijuana, Rainey said, but many, many more could be.

Consider too that many battling cancer and HIV/AIDS find edible cannabis products work to stimulate the appetite, but they've got to buy them on the street.

"We have a huge problem with physicians being apprehensive about signing for patients even though the proof is there," Rainey said.

"Our seniors, for instance, are spending their pensions on big pharma only to end up with more aches and pains when all they may need is a puff or a brownie!"

Rainey has facilitated more than 70 exemptions for local patients, 30 suffering from Crohn's: "I receive dozens of e-mails from people suffering every day from all over the world who have discovered cannabis alleviates pain and nausea. The government should not be preventing people from getting access to an effective medicine."

The courts agree.

In its decision, the Federal Court of Appeal did more than simply hand Ottawa a legal loss. It said the government had been knowingly dragging its heels since at least 2003.

As a result, lawyer Kirk Tousaw told B.C. Supreme Court that this decision renders the criminal law invalid based on that history of jurisprudence, which ties enforceability of the criminal law to the existence of a constitutionally adequate medical access scheme.

He said the judgments in Ontario courts and now the federal court mean the state of the law is unclear and therefore criminal sanctions cannot be imposed.

In this latest case - called Sfetkopoulos et al v. Attorney General of Canada - some 27 patients with exemptions to possess marijuana for medicinal use applied to Health Canada for authorization to designate Carasel Harvest Supply Corporation as their marijuana producer.

Health Canada refused, saying that violated the regulations that restricted growers to supplying only two patients at a time.

But the Federal Court Trial Division agreed with the patients and declared section 41 (b.1) of the MMAR was contrary to s. 7 of the Charter because it threatened their liberty and security of the person by preventing them from choosing their marijuana producer.

The judge accepted that sick people should have access to marijuana for the treatment of serious medical conditions and they should not be forced to risk imprisonment to buy their medication on the black market.

He interpreted the constitutional guarantee of security of person rights to include access to medication without undue state interference.

Ottawa appealed and lost.

Court rebukes government

The appeal court agreed with the trial judge - the medical marijuana scheme was constitutionally deficient - and rebuked the government.

The three judges said the Crown had brought forward a case dismissed by the Ontario Court of Appeal in 2003, that nothing had changed and the marijuana access regulations remained flawed.

In the unanimous 2003 decision, the justices similarly complained about Ottawa's failure to deal properly with this issue.

In their terse three-page decision a fortnight ago, the justices refused to suspend the impact of their ruling to give the government time to amend the regulations.

Health Canada spokesman Phillipe Laroche said the department was still studying the ruling and had not decided on its response.

Now, Tousaw has argued that those charged or convicted while the medical marijuana access scheme was deemed unconstitutional should have their convictions overturned or their charges stayed. That's thousands of Canadians.

In particular, Tousaw says Ryan Poelzer should have his conviction overturned.

Poelzer was charged May 18, 2007 and there is no disagreement about the facts. He was smoking a joint on a B.C. Ferry as it pulled into Langdale and that offended an off-duty cop who called the RCMP. As he stepped off the ferry, Poelzer was arrested and in his backpack police found 78.3 grams of marijuana, 8.6 grams of hash, and assorted paraphernalia and pro-drug literature.

In spite of Tousaw's argument that the cannabis prohibition was invalid, or alternatively that the status of the prohibition is so confused that prosecution constituted an abuse of process, the provincial court judge in the case decided B.C. jurisprudence had declared the medical marijuana scheme valid and therefore the criminal law was fine and Poelzer in clear violation of it.

But Tousaw says the B.C. precedents are wrong and fly in the face of this latest ruling.

The Crown disagrees.

Federal lawyer Peter Eccles said the MMAR requirements are reasonable given the legitimate societal interest in controlling the distribution of a "potentially harmful drug."

"They ensure only those with a bona fide medical need for marijuana, verified by appropriate medical declaration, obtain legal access," Eccles said. "Mr. Poelzer is not such an individual."

Perhaps.

Two B.C. justices will render their opinions soon on whether there actually is a criminal marijuana law in force at the moment or whether de facto legalization has occurred because the medical access scheme is unconstitutional.

Market issues 'need to be addressed'

The question is how will Ottawa respond to the federal court decision.

Since the impugned marijuana access scheme is a product of regulation rather than statute, the government can quickly promulgate new rules.

"They could make cosmetic regulatory changes," Nash acknowledged, "which would force another court challenge. But I think the judges are pretty fed up with them doing that."

And for good reason - sick people should not have to deal with the black market.

Nash said it's time to get medical marijuana out of the courts, properly regulated and controlled.

"It comes down to consumer choice," Nash said. "We have people across Canada who want our organic product. Patients want different price ranges, they want different strains, they want different hybrids. There are market issues here that need to be addressed. When you go to a pharmacy do you want to be told you can only have Bayer.

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Mike Shields


There may be reason for some retailers to be hopeful about the upcoming, expected-to-be-quite-gloomy holiday shopping season -- if your brand sells products on the Web, that is.

According to new @Plan report issued by Nielsen Online, Web shopping is mainstream behavior, as 78 percent of adult online consumers purchased something on the Internet over the last six months. Perhaps not surprisingly, travel was the top online shopping category, as 38 percent of users made some sort of travel-related purchase over the past six months, according to Nielsen's latest @Plan report, which is based on surveys of close to 36,000 U.S. Internet users 18 and older.

While credit card management and online banking placed second and third in Nielsen's survey, more encouraging to retail brands are the large number of users who continue to shop for products on the Web despite the rough economic conditions of late. Nielsen found that 40 million unique users -- or 28 percent of the online audience -- purchased at least one item of clothing on the Web over the past sixth months. Similarly, 26 percent of users purchased a book. Hotel reservations (18 percent), auction purchases (16 percent) and events (14 percent) all rated high in the report.

Whether this trend toward more regular online shopping translates to more holiday shoppers turning to the Web for bargains this season remains to be seen. But clearly the majority of consumer barriers and concerns about online shopping have been lifted. "Most consumers see online retail as a primary benefit of the Internet," said Nachi Lolla, research director, commerce, Nielsen Online. "The sheer convenience of being able to comparison shop from your home or office has become all but irresistible."

Added Lolla: "Possible early concerns about online security have been sufficiently addressed, and consistent on-time delivery and reasonable shipping costs have bolstered consumer confidence. The challenge for retailers is no longer how to lure shoppers online, but how to differentiate their brand among all others. Heading into this competitive holiday shopping season, selection, price and customer service are the key areas [in which] retailers can shine."

Which online retailers have drawn the most shopping traffic over the last six months? Nielsen's top five: eBay (49.2 million visitors), Amazon (48.3 million) Wal-Mart (25.3 million), Target (23.8 million) and Netflix (14.3 million).

Adweek is a unit of the Nielsen Co.

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