2006
Rätten att inte prostituera sig
"Allt man får göra får man också göra för pengar, om man vill", påstår
en av skribenterna i det senaste numret av tidskriften Voima
angående vad han kallar "rätten till prostitution" (oikeus huoruuteen). På ett sådant argument tror bara den, som låtit sig förföras av den rådande kapitalistiska ideologin.
Ta t.ex. politikerns "yrke". Under demokratiska
förhållanden är ju politik någonting som man "får göra".
Men är det rätt att göra politik "för pengar"? Kräver vi inte av
en politiker att han eller hon leds av sina övertygelser och sitt
sanningssökande?
I kampen för rätten att inte behöva prostituera sig måste man konstigt nog vara beredd att betala med sin egen person.
2006
Bibliotekets roll i sociala världsforum
Vad biblioteken och bibliotekarierna beträffar har situationen
utvecklats och mognat en hel del sedan WSF i Mumbai år 2004. Det
är slutsatsen av seminariet om "Bibliotekets roll i sociala
världsforum" som Nätverksinstitutet för global demokratisering (NIGD)
anordnade i Malis huvudstad Bamako söndag 22 januari 2006.
För socialt världsforum borde det vara vara lika naturligt att söka
stöd hos bibliotekarier, som det är att anlita tolkar och journalister.
Deltagarna i seminariet, varav flera var vad som på engelska
kallas LIS (library and information scpecialists) från Mali och andra
afrikanska länder tog emot WSF med entusisasm. (WSF i
Bamako var första sociala världsforum på afrikansk mark.) Grupper av
bibliotekarier i olika länder borde nu åta sig dokumentationen av
WSF-processen i sina bibliotek, med start under WSF i Nairobi, som ska
hållas i januari 2007.
Bibliotekarierna skulle kunna förse den globala rättviserörelsen med en tjänst, som motsvarar tolkarnas BABELS. Det var BABELS som skötte den oumbärliga simultantolkningen mellan engelska och franska i biblioteksverkstaden i Bamako.
Ifall en motsvarande förening av bibliotekarier åtog sig att samla in,
organisera och presentera informationen från WSF-evenemangen i sina
bibliotek (ett väldigt projekt!), då kunde den ju få heta BIBELS,
påpekade Antonio Martins från ATTAC Brasil.
Utöver bibliotekariernas roll i socialt världsforum diskuterades också
den allmänna frågan: vad utgör relevant biblioteksservice i dagens
afrikanska länder? (För att inte tala om behovet av nytänkande om
biblioteken i andra världsdelar.)
Progressive African Library & Information Activists' Group (PALIAct
) är en av de nya grupper som vill angripa frågan. Lokalavdelningar av
PALIact sätts f.n. upp i Kenya och Ghana. De två kenyanska
seminariedeltagarna Esther Obachi och Mary Wanjohi är båda
involverade i PALIAct och har nu satt igång med uppföljningen av
Bamakoseminariets slutsatser under WSF i Nairobi.
Deltog i Bamakoseminariet gjorde också Lorimpo Kombaté från
Togo, som berättade om gruppen Communication pour une développement
durable (CDD) samt Open Knowledge Network (OKN), representerat av Peter
Benjamin från Sydafrika.
Chefen för Malis nationalbibliotek Mamadou Konoba Keïta , sekretararen
för maliska biblioteksföreningen AMBAD Lamine Camara samt Anne
Abdrahamane, bibliotekarie vid medicinska fakulteten, Bamakos
universitetsbibliotek, belyste biblioteksläget i Mali. Deras
inledningar och övrigt material från workshopen ska utkomma i ett
specialnr av Information for Social Change (ISC), som redigeras
av Kingsley Oghojafor (Nigeria) och undertecknad (Finland).
Mikael Böök
2006
Vem stod bakom 9/11 ?
Vem stod bakom 9/11 ? Mannen på gatan tror att han vet
svaret. Journalisterna på våra dagstidningar och
TV-redaktioner tror uppenbarligen också att de vet det. Jag vet
det inte.
In reality al-Qaeda operatives tend to be highly educated and their aims explicitly political. Bin Laden, in his numerous communiqués, has always been unambiguous about this. As he laconically remarked in his broadcast timed to coincide with the last US election, if it was freedom they were against, al-Qaeda would have attacked Sweden. The men who planned the September 11 attacks were not products of the traditional Islamic educational system, even in its most radical form. Instead they are graduates of Western-style institutions. They are not at all the protégés of the mullahs.
skriver William Dalrymple i The New York Review of Books (1 Dec., 2005). Man erinrar sig att flera av dessa personer, däribland Osama bin Ladin, i början av sina terroristkarriärer också fick militär utbildning och beväpning av CIA för att kämpa mot Afganistans regering.
De kontrollerade sprängningarna av WTC1, WTC2 och WTC7, som professorn i fysik vid Brigham Young-universitetet Steven Jones leder i bevis i sin artikel ”Why Indeed Did the WTC Buildings Collapse?”, är svår att förklara med enbart insatser från Al-Quaidas sida, hur teknologiskt sofistikerade individer terroristnätverket än må vara kapabelt att ställa upp. Följaktligen inställer sig tanken att den konspiration, som våra massmedia tillskriver enbart Osama bin Laden och Al-Quaida, i verkligheten leddes av mäktiga kretsar inom USA och utfördes med hjälp av deras inhemska agenter, varför inte i samarbete med kompetenta utländska krafter, dvs. Osama bin Laden. Saken borde utredas av en oberoende, internationell domstol.
Den som sätter sig in i saken finner inte mycket som tyder på att den officiella versionen av händelserna 9/11 2001 är sann. Med den officiella versionen avses den politisk-historiska 9/11-rapporten sommaren 2005 från presidentens och kongressens utredningskommission, samt de tekniska utredningar av WTC-tornens kollapser som utförts av NIST och FEMA.
Däremot föreligger idag många belägg för att den officiella versionen inte kan stämma. Argument och fakta som strider mot de vedertagna dogmerna och fraserna har lagts fram av gruppen Scholars for 9/11 Truth, som i huvudsak består av forskare och professorer vid amerikanska universitet, däribland ovannämnde prof. Steven Jones och gruppens grundare, prof. David Ray Griffin. Den sistnämnde har gett ut två utmärkta sammanfattningar av det kritiska materialet (The New Pearl Harbor 2004; The 9/11 Commission report 2005; båda på förlaget Olive Branch Press.)
Några egentliga bevis för att Osama bin-Laden och Al-Quaida var brottsanstiftare och huvudskyldig till händelserna 9/11 2001 har tillsvidare inte framlagts. Däremot har sex av de påstådda flygplanskaparna efteråt påträffats i livet, något som 9/11-kommissionen föredrog att förbigå med tystnad.
2006
At the IC of the WSF in Nairobi (1)
The meetings of the commissions and the plenary sessions take place at the Archbishop Desmond Tutu Ecumenical Centre in Nairobi from 19th to 22nd March. It is a huge conference and training centre of the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC).
The ca 100 IC-members and observers from various international organisations and networks begun the day by decising whether to attend the Methodology Commission or the Expansion Commission. The majority went to the Methodology Commission.
Ca fifteen persons, I among them, chose to attend the Expansion Commission, where I stayed until 5.3. pm (thereafter I participated in the Communications Commission).
THE EXPANSION COMMISSION
The meeting the Expansion Commission was opened and chaired by Moema Miranda from the Brazilian IBASE Institute. According to her and Roberto Savio (from the Inter Press Service, IPS), the work of Expansion Commission (started a couple of years ago at the IC in Miami) is about expanding the WSF process in general, while at the same time it should strike a balance between the great variety of the participating organisations and movements. Currently, one of the priorities is to achieve an increased participation from the USA, Africa and Asia, while Europe and Latin America are seen as being already relatively well represented.
The Expansion Commision also deals with balancing the representation in the International Council, and , more precisely, it is the body which recommends acceptance of new members to the IC.
EXPANSION WSF AFRICA
Onyinga Oloo and Oduor Ongwen from the Kenyan organising committee of the Nairobi WSF (2007) reported on the ongoing expansion of the WSF in Africa. People's Caravans will set out to the WSF in Nairobi from Capetown in South Africa and Bamako in West Africa. The idea is to do political mobilization and have new buses join the caravans at each stop.
Also being planned is a Peace March from Mogadishu (Somalia) to Nairobi.
Oloo and Oduor also told about the replication of (local) social forums in the slums of Nairobi, such as the Uruma Social Forum, where he security of tenure (of habitation) is a major issue.
Human rights, the environment and the historical issues of land are main areas of concern in Kenya, where an estimated 7 percent of the population are refugees.
According to Oloo and Oduor, the orgaisers of the Nairobi WSF have succeded in involving the government of Kenya in the preparations of the event. The (new) minister of planning is informed, and a representative from the ministry participates on the logistics subcommittee. The Mayor of Nairobi is also on board. A formal request for funding has been submitted, and to the government is expected to grant at least a symblic sum to the WSF when the state budget is decided on in June.
An ecumenical gathering here at the AACC decided one week ago to support the Nairobi WSF 2007 and the Caravans.
However, fundraising for the WSF in Nairobi is still only starting. There has not yet been much progress with the international agencies, Oduor said.
Several participants in the discussion noted the failure of the Bamako WSF (Jan 2006) to attract the attention of the media, and, by consequence, the need to inform widely and effecteively about the WSF in Nairobi from now o. Especially, the huge African diaspora in Europe should be engaged in spreading news and information of the event. Emigration-immigration is common issue for Africans and Europeans and should be at the centre of concern before and at the WSF in Nairobi.
Obviously, the People's Caravans will provide good media opportunities, but we need to be sensible about the role of the funders in this mobilisation, Amit Sen Gupta from WSF India said.
MAPPING OF THE PRESENT INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL
The IC meeting in Utrecht (March 2005) decided to map the composition of the present IC. Moema Miranda presented the results of the survey to the Expansion Commission and circulated a copy of the statistical tables and diagrams, which will later be made available via the internet. Note: The numbers I give below are uncertain, as I do not have the results of the questionnaire at hand.
Until today, only 39 IC-member organisations of ca 129 IC-members all in all have filled in their answers and returned the questionnaire. Among them is NIGD. 9 are based in Latin America, 4 in the USA, 2 in Africa, 4 in Asia, 0 in the Middles East and 14 in Europe. The rest are not based in any particular continent or region.
The participation statistics reveal that 7 IC-members have participated i all the 12 IC meetings which have been held (NIGD is one of these); 9 in 11, 8 in 10, 6 in 9, 9 in 8, 8 in 3, 17 in 2, and 17 in 1 meetings. 18 IC members have so far not participated in a single meeting of the IC.
The Expansion Commission decided to :
- send a letter to the IC-members who only have participated in 0-2 meetings, asking them whether they wish to remain members;
- go on with the questionnaire as it (without changing its content) ;
- recommend that IC-members who fail to return the questionnaire after 1 month would not be able to attend the next IC meeting.
QUESTIONS OF INFORMATION AND OPENNESS
Teivo Teivainen's message (previously circulated on the NIGD list) calling for more openness and transparence of the work of the IC had reached at least some members of the Expansion commission on beforehand. I confirmed my support of it, and I added some points of view about how we should cooperate with librarians and libraries in order to secure the availability and accessibility of information about the WSF and its IC. It was decided that the commission should return the questions of information and openness in the afternoon, but that did not happen. One is tempted to remark that the commission is totally overwhelmed already by the task of keeping track of itself and its own work. Thus it is simply incapable of informing others about it. ( By sending you these notes, I for one wish to prove that remark wrong.)
A ROAD MAP FOR THE IC AND THE EXPANSION OF THE WSF
Roberto Savio's constatation that " The IC is objectively responsible for the organisation of the WSF" was not met with any objection. There is, however, much uncertainty about the composition and role of the International Council. How many members do we want it to have, e.g. 100 or 1000 (not even the order of magnitude has been fixed). To what extent can it function without written rules? Should it applie rules of "qualified consensus" ( e.g. 10 percent of members needed to block a decision)
The IC and the WSF badly need a "road map" for its future expansion. However, the Expansion Commission had to constate that more discussions and analyses will be needeed before it can present the precise proposals which would form the essence of such a road map. Once more, a subcommittee was nominated to continue the work until the next IC meeting. I suggested that Teivo Teivainen (NIGD's ordnary representative to the IC meetings) would probably like to participate in its work. The subcommittee, then, will be composed of Moema Miranda (IBASE), Roberto Savio(IPS), Olivier Bonfond (CADTM), Neil Coleman and Bheki Ntsthalinsthali (COSATU), Teivo Teivainen (NIGD) and Amit Sen Gupta.
NEW IC MEMBERS
The Expansion Commission then set out to decide about the 19 new IC-membership applications, one after one. 8 were not considered. 11 were considered. The unanimously recommended new IC-members were: Action Aid International, Habitat international, Poor people's Economic Human Rights Campaign (USA-based), Vashudaiva Kutumbakam (India and Finland based int'l network, supported by NIGD's letter and, at the meeting, by others as well), Grassrot Global Justice Network, Kenya Debt Network, Sodnet (Kenya), PANOS (journalistic, West Africa), DAWN (Women's organisation, Tanzania) , Forin (immigration issues, France based). Some of the applications were left pending for various reasons (not filled the application form, lacking sufficient support etc.).
Two applications aroused controversy, namely that of Askapena-Herriak Aske, a Basque-Palestianian-Venezolan network, and the World Progressive Forum, which is close to the socialist international. The application of Askapena was opposed by the representative of the international trade union movement ICFTU, who said that their members are of the opinion that Askapena is linked to ETA, and therefore, to violent actions. The application of WPF was opposed by Walter Baier from the network TRANSFORM, on the grounds that actors of the WPF, like Tony Blair, are currently waging war in Iraq.
There was consensus that both of these controversial applicants fill the formal critera for membership. However, it was not possible to overcome the differences in political opinion among the particiapants.
I left the meeting of the Expansion commission before it ended, in order to participate in the meeting of the communications commission. Afterwards, I heard that the Expansion commission had finanlly decided to recommend acceptance of Askapena and WPF, while at the same time pointing out that their applications had been opposed.
As for the solidarity fund (to help IC-members from the South to cover the travel expenses for attending IC meetings), it was decided that 3 meetings of the IC should be planned in advance, to allow proper budgeting.
THE COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION AND THE ROLE OF THE LIBRARIES
Roberto Savio, the chair of the Communications commission, opened by calling it an exercise for masochists. The main purpose of this meeting would have been to discuss the media plan of the Nairobi WSF. Funding for the realisation of such a plan are presently being raised in Italy. However, the media plan for the Nairobi WSF could not be much discussed in the absence of the Africans who are, or will be responsible, for that plan and its execution. In addition to Roberto Savio, the participants in the meeting were Norma Fernandez (secretary), Oded Grajew (from Brazil), Esther Obachi (secretary of the Kenya Library Association; observer) and myself.
For Esther Obachi and myself the meeting was, anyway, a good opportunity to present and explain our plans about involving libraries and librarians in the WSF-process. (See my leaflet about the WSF and libraries, which I have distributed to several IC-members and observers.)
Our plans include, more precisely, the training of East African librarians to participate in the WSF in Nairobi and to produce a documentation thereof in their libraries.
Our plans were well received and supported. Roberto Savio asked Esther Obachi and myself to obtain a list of libraries from IFLA with email addresses. The WSF secretariat in Brazil is ready to provide documentation about the previous WSF:s to the libraries once they know where to send it, he said. He also asked us to go on with our efforts to raise funding for the training courses and the documentation project.
Greetings from Nairobi!
- Mikael
At the IC of the WSF in Nairobi (2)
On Monday morning 20 March the international council of the WSF met in plenary to evaluate the polycentric social forum of Bamako and Karachi last January, and to pre-evaluate the PWSF which is to start in Karachi after a few days (24-29 March).
After lunch the plenary continued with the presentation and discussion of the preparations of the WSF 2007 in Nairobi. The first speaker was Oduor Ongwen, a key figure in he Kenyan organizing committee. Oduor works with the Southern and Eastern African Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) and is also a member of the council of the African Social Forum.
During the afternoon and until the evening followed the report of the Methodology commission and a long discussion about the programme of the Nairobi WSF.
SOLIDARITY, NOT CHARITY
The Nairobi WSF must not be focussed mainly on African issues. It should have a strong African imprint, but since it is a World Social Forum it must not be dominated by African issues, Oduor Ongwen stressed. Another way of saying this, repeated by many of the praticipants here, is that the Nairobi WSF must not be about charity for Africa. Solidarity, not charity!
The Kenya organizing committee is presently being merged into an East African structure with members from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The new regional organizing committee will meet for the first time on 22 April to set up subcommittes for content, mobilization, resoutces, communications and logistics.
Keeping in mind the lesson from Bamako, where the WSF events were dispersed in too many different venues, all events of the Nairobi WSF will (hopefully) be arranged in the centre of the town. The government owned Jomo Kenyatta international Conference Center has been selected to be the main venue. Negotiations are going on with the university of Nairobi to use some of the university's facilities. The Youth Camp of the WSF will,hopefully, be located in the park ner the university, which is owned by the city council. Thus a closer interaction between the Youth Camp and the WSF than at earlier WSFs should also be made possible.
The Caravans of buses from Capetown and Bamako to Nairobi and the Mogadishu-Nairobi Peace March should help to expand the involvement of Africans in the WSF. The South African organisers have already designated the routes and stops of the Capetown-Nairobi Caravan.
The website of the Nairobi WSF is hoped to be up and running in 2-3 weeks from now, Oduor said. The suitability of the web concept of the European Social Forum is presently being tested for the purpose.
After Oduor, Taufik completed the presentation of the preparations from the African side by stressing the responsibility of the African Social Forum for the WSF in Nairobi.
THE DATE OF THE WSF IN NAROBI : 20-25 January 2007
The first issue to decide on was brought up by Oded Grajew from Brazil, namely the date of the WSF in Nairobi. Some of the participants wanted it to take place at the same date as the World Economic Forum in Davos which is scheduled to 24-28 January. However, during the discussion it became clear that the Jomo Kenyatta Int'l Conference Centre is very competitive, and that it has already been booked by an Indian organisation at the end of January, starting January 26. The Kenya organizing committee, for their part have pre-reserved the Kenyatta Centre for the period 10-25 January.
The IC then unianimously decided that the WSF in Nairobi will be held 20-25 January 2007.
20 January is opening day.
21-22-23-24 January are full working days.
25 January is the closing day.
The planned World Forum of Local Authorities and the World Parliamentarian Forum will then take place on 26 January.
Roberto Savio proposed that the IC of the WSF will hold a 2-days meeting after the WSF.
METHODOLOGY
The discussion about the methodology - the methodology to be agreed upon and used in the planning and organisation of the WSF - was long and at times tedious. Considering the both multinational and multicultural (in terms of political and organisational traditions) composition of the IC of the WSF, this could hardly be otherwise. However, the chairman of this session, Vinod Raina (from Jubilee South) managed to lead the IC to a number of reasonable conclusions and decisions:
1. A common working committee with representatives from the ASF and the IC will be set up. (This had been requested by Tawfiq.)
2. A working meeting is to be held in June to finalise the working plan. (This is to ensure that the IC, the council of the ASF and the East African organising committee are working on the same plan.)
3. A working group will be set up to do the consultation and mapping of themes for the actual program during 20-25 January. The IC will come up with a proposal about the composition of this group.
4. There should be some ("a few") events which are sponsored by the IC.
In addition to these points, the African organisers are expected to come up with a proposal about how to increase the visibility of marginalized groups of people.
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muzungu, kwa heri, they say, although I do not know what it means.
(Karibu, welcome i s the only word I have learnt so far.)
- Mikael
At the IC of the WSF in Nairobi (3-4)
The reports of three commissions (Communications, Resources, Methodology) were discussed and decided upon. The fourth Commission (Strategy) did not report, but its agenda the planning for the WSFs after Nairobi 2007, was also discussed.
INTERPRETATION DURING THE WSF
In the discussion on Communications, not much was added to what had been said during the two previous days about mass-media relations and strategy, and even less about the libraries. The debate about the problems of providing the WSF events with linguistic interpretation and interpreters, and decent technical equipment for this purpose, took the main part of the discussion. This is, of course, also a main point in the discussion of the Resources. Panos from the BABELS group said that they expect 80 % av the interpreters to be African (and mainly from East Africa?), and 20 % from other parts. All in all at leats 500 interpreters would be needed. He mentioned the figure 300.000 USD as an estimate of the total costs. BABELS is building 150 interpretation booths for the ESF in Athens in April; these should be reused in Nairobi. He asked the IC to participate in the raising of the necessary funds.
Several IC members said that the the FM radio equipment used by BABELS does not meet the needs. The quality of the radios has been bad, said Celita Eccher from ICAE, referring to the experience of e.g. the WSF in Porto Alegre 2005. At the IC meeting itself, we also experienced some technical problems with the radios.
It was decided, firstly, that question of interpreters and interpretation on the one hand, and about the technical equipment on the other hand must be separated and handled by two different working committees.
Secondly, it was decided that both working committeese shall be convened by the East African organising committee; and that both committees should include representatives of BABELS.
DECISIONS ON THE FURTHER EXPANSION AND THE NEW IC MEMBERS
After lunch on the 3rd day, the IC returned to the recommendations of the Expansion Commission. After a first round of discussion, the following decisions were taken:
a) a working group (WG) inside the commission is to make further proposals on the expansion in Africa;
b) a letter will be sent to 52 "non-participating IC-members", i.e. those who have attended only 0-2 meetings, asking for an explanation of their absence and confirmation of their will to remain IC members;
c) the IC makes clear to all that IC-members who do not fill the form of the questionnaire cannot participate in the next IC-meeting;
d) a subcommittee on the restructuration of the work of the expansion commission and the IC is to submit precise proposals to the next IC;
e) a calendar of at least the 3 next IC meetings must be agreed in order raise the necessary Solidarity Fund for participants from the South.
The IC then went on to decide about the new IC members. After a couple of hours, the discussion had to be interrupted without any clear decisions, in order keep the appointment with Kenyan social movements, singers, dancers, dancers, musicians and theatrical actors in the afternoon. At the reception of the Mayor of Nairobi later that day, veteran WSF-activist Chico Witaker later said that the Kenyans saved us.
I will return to this discussion later, in separate notes. On the morning of the 4th day, Chico Witaker summarised all the discussions and put forward a proposal o to reach unity. He stressed that in the WSF, if one cannot agree, one has to continue to discuss, because splits and divides cannot be allowed. Then he proposed that we we accept all the recommended new IC members, including the World Progressive Forum, but with the exception of Askapena Herriak Aske. In this last case, discussions would continue. I had asked him to state explicitely, that NIGD is not opposed to the acceptance of the WPF, which he also did. Chicos proposal was then unanimously supported, and so the matter was finally decided. In addition, a WG was set up with the supporters and opponents of Askapena Herriak Aske, to continue the discussions about that case.
DEBATE ON THE WSF:S POST 2007
Several different proposals were aired:
- to arrange the WSF 2008 in Porto Alegre; this was put forward delegates of the trade union organisations;
- to arrange the WSF 2008 on the border between USA and Mexico
- ta arrange in 2008 only a forum on the forums plus, for instance, "a global day of action for Human Dignity" (Raffaella Bollini).
- to arrange the WSFs herafter only each second year.
The Strategy Commission will (have to) come forth with a proposal before the WSF in Nairobi 2007.
CALENDAR OF THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL
A calendar of the 3 next IC meetings was successfully agreed upon:
6-9 October 2006 in India (probably Delhi or Mumbai). All for commissions to meet during the two first days, IC-seminar during the two second days.
26-27 January 2007 in Nairobi IC-meeting without commission meetings.
April 2007 in Italy, on the same premises as the IC-meeting in Passignano.
An open working group is to prepare the October meeting in India. Nandita Gandhi took on the task to organise fundraising in India for the solidarity fund of the IC.
OTHER POINTS
Further open WGs are to work on
- methodology and mapping of the themes and actions (Amit,
Joel, Demba, Chico, Philip, Moema , Raffaella, Hassan, Tawfik
Joki, Vinod, Brian and others)
- the relation with parlamentarians and politicians
- the integration of the world forum of local authorities with the WSF.
Vanessa Marx presented the plans of FAL. Vanessa Marx (FAL), Chico and Gus Massiah and the conference "Afrique inter cités" in Nairobi on 23-25 Sept 2006 will go further with this issue.
Contributions to the the solidarity fund were made during this IC meeting by, among others, : ICFTU, Caritas, EU Commission, FPH, Ubuntu and Transform.
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Salutations,
- Mikael