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turtlesandfrogs · 3 months ago

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Started the day by reading this article from the NY times, and I'm frankly, disturbed.

Some highlights:

"For decades, farmers across America have been encouraged by the federal government to spread municipal sewage on millions of acres of farmland as fertilizer. It was rich in nutrients, and it helped keep the sludge out of landfills."

Which I knew, and I knew that there were concerns about contaminants from like, the medications people were on. But human waste is part of the nutrient cycle, and it always made sense to me that it should be throughly composted and returned to agricultural lands, and I assumed that people in general were taking the steps necessary to make it safe.

But here's what I didn't know:

"The 1972 Clean Water Act had required industrial plants to start sending their wastewater to treatment plants instead of releasing it into rivers and streams, which was a win for the environment but also produced vast new quantities of sludge that had to go somewhere."

Which, yay, no longer polluting bodies of water, but now that means we're applying industrial waste water to agricultural lands. And have been since 1972. Which leads to this situation, among many others, I'm sure:

"The sludge that allegedly contaminated the Colemans’ farm came from the City of Fort Worth water district, which treats sewage from more than 1.2 million people, city records show. Its facility also accepts effluent from industries including aerospace, defense, oil and gas, and auto manufacturing. Synagro takes the sludge and treats it (though not for PFAS, as it’s not required by law) then distributes it as fertilizer."

So here's what some states are doing:

"In Michigan, among the first states to investigate the chemicals in sludge fertilizer, officials shut down one farm where tests found particularly high concentrations in the soil and in cattle that grazed on the land. This year, the state prohibited the property from ever again being used for agriculture. Michigan hasn’t conducted widespread testing at other farms, partly out of concern for the economic effects on its agriculture industry.

In 2022, Maine banned the use of sewage sludge on agricultural fields. It was the first state to do so and is the only state to systematically test farms for the chemicals. Investigators have found contamination on at least 68 of the more than 100 farms checked so far, with some 1,000 sites still to be tested.

“Investigating PFAS is like opening Pandora’s box,” said Nancy McBrady, deputy commissioner of Maine’s Department of Agriculture."

This is fun:

"The E.P.A. is currently studying the risks posed by PFAS in sludge fertilizer (which the industry calls biosolids) to determine if new rules are necessary.

The agency continues to promote its use on cropland, though elsewhere it has started to take action. In April, it ordered utilities to slash PFAS levels in drinking water to near zero and designated two types of the chemical as hazardous substances that must be cleaned up by polluters. The agency now says there is no safe level of PFAS for humans...

It’s difficult to know how much fertilizer sludge is used nationwide, and E.P.A. data is incomplete. The fertilizer industry says more than 2 million dry tons were used on 4.6 million acres of farmland in 2018. And it estimates that farmers have obtained permits to use sewage sludge on nearly 70 million acres, or about a fifth of all U.S. agricultural land."

There's more, but I wanted to condense it at least a little bit. I am glad we're raising awareness, and I'm glad we're starting to regular the amount in our drinking water, and I hope that we'll find a way to actually deal with PFAS. I am so frustrated that people are exposed in the first place, and in nigh inescapable ways.

Also, to all those people who were like, oh, organic isn't at all healthier for consumers? Guess what the organic standards don't allow to be applied?

#PFAS #contamination #agricultural lands

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follow-up-news · 1 month ago

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Canada and India each expelled six diplomats Monday in tit-for-tat moves as part of an escalating dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada. Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said that Canada was expelling six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, after police uncovered evidence of a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents of the Indian government. Shortly afterward, the Indian foreign ministry said that it was expelling six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner and the deputy high commissioner. It said in a statement that the diplomats were told to leave India by the end of Saturday. The ministry had said earlier Monday that India was withdrawing its diplomats, after rejecting Canada’s diplomatic communication on Sunday that said the Indian ambassador was a “person of interest” in the assassination. A senior Canadian official said that Canada expelled the Indian diplomats first before they withdrew. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

#canada #india

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world-of-wales · 8 months ago

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ＴＨＥＲＯＹＡＬＣＨＲＯＮＩＣＬＥＳ : First Diplomatic Engagement .* :☆ﾟ｡･

On 25 February 2011, Catherine joined Prince William for a somber engagement as they visited New Zealand House in London to pay their respects to all those who lost their lives in the Christchurch earthquake.

During the visit they spoke with High Commissioner Derek Leask and his deputies, and signed the book of condolences.

Catherine signed the book of condolences with her maiden name on the same page as William.

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girlactionfigure · 3 months ago

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THURSDAY HERO: Victor Bodson

Victor Bodson was a Luxembourger politician who created an escape route for German Jews fleeing Hitler and saved over 100 lives, at great risk to his own.

Born in 1902 in one of the smallest countries in Europe, Victor was equally comfortable on the athletic field and in the halls of power. An avid swimmer, boxer and motorcycle racer in his youth, Victor became a successful lawyer and political activist. He became a member of his small country’s Board of Deputies in 1934, and the next year was elected to a council seat in Luxembourg City.

Victor lived on the Sauer River, which forms the border between Luxembourg and Germany. As Hitler and the Nazis rose to power in the 1930’s, it became increasingly difficult for Jews to leave Germany. Desperate Jews began crossing the treacherous Sauer River, hoping to find safety in the small kingdom. Fortunately for them, Victor Bodson was waiting on the other side to ferry them to safety. An expert driver and mechanic, Victor equipped his vehicle with a specially-designed apparatus to completely hide the passengers. When the Jewish refugees exited the river, they followed secret directions to Victor’s house, where he provided them with dry clothing and other basic needs. Then he ferried them to safe houses that he’d arranged and prepared beforehand.

Victor continued his heroic lifesaving efforts for seven years, from 1933 to 1940. He did this despite knowing that if the Nazis found out, he could be executed without trial. He took many risks during those seven years, never knowing whom he could trust when looking for people to hide Jews, never knowing if the Nazis were on his trail, and traveling through treacherous forests during bitter winter months. The exact numbers are unknown, and Victor did not talk about his brave actions, but historians estimate that he saved approximately 100 people – not to mention all those peoples’ descendants.

In May 1940, Germany invaded Luxembourg and Victor was unable to continue helping Jewish refugees. Most of the Luxembourg government fled in a motorcade, but Victor stayed behind to provide help amid the chaos. Later, using knowledge of backroads gained during his time as a motorcyclist, he escaped to France, then Portugal, and finally to Montreal, Canada where he became part of the Luxembourg government in exile. For the remainder of the war, Victor continued to help Jews and other refugees by providing them with entry visas to Canada and the United States. In 1942 the Gestapo put him on their most wanted list, but they were unable to do anything to him because he was so far away.

After the war, Victor returned to his homeland and served as a high level government commissioner, first in the justice department and later as the transportation minister. In 1971, Victor was deeply touched to be recognized as Righteous Among the Nations by Israeli Holocaust Memorial Yad Vashem. He wrote a beautiful letter of gratitude for the honor, humbly downplaying his own actions and saying that he was simply fulfilling his human duty to help others.

Victor Bodson died in 1984. He remains a source of pride to his countrymen who named the beautiful Victor Bodson Bridge after him.

For saving one hundred lives over seven years, we honor Victor Bodson as this week’s Thursday Hero.

#Thursday Hero

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rjzimmerman · 22 days ago

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Excerpt from this press release from the Department of the Interior:

The Department of the Interior today announced a nearly $82 million investment from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda to bring clean, safe drinking water to Tribal communities in the West. The investment will fund 23 projects through a new program established through the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest climate investment ever.

Bureau of Reclamation Deputy Commissioner David Palumbo and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Water and Science Gary Gold made the announcement during a visit to San Carlos Apache Tribe in eastern Arizona, which is receiving $7.3 million to plan, design and obtain approvals and permits for a new raw water delivery and domestic drinking water treatment facilities for the San Carolos Regional Water System. The system serves the central portion of the reservation. Much of the population of the tribe resides in this area without access to safe and reliable drinking water. The area is prone to frequent water curtailments or shutdowns due to poor water quality and system mechanical failures, which often occur in the hot summer months.

President Biden's Investing in America agenda is deploying record investments to provide affordable high-speed internet, safer roads and bridges, modern wastewater and sanitations systems, clean drinking water, reliable and affordable electricity, and good paying jobs in every Tribal community.

The Inflation Reduction Act includes $550 million for domestic water supply projects in historically disadvantaged communities. In April, Reclamation made $320 million available through Fiscal Year 2031 to provide up to 100% of the cost for planning, design and construction of domestic water supply projects to support disadvantaged communities or households lacking access to reliable domestic water supplies. Reclamation did significant outreach to Tribes in the 17 western states to engage them throughout this funding opportunity.

Twenty-one projects through today’s announcement were selected to receive funding for planning and design and two were selected to receive funding for construction. View a complete list of projects on Reclamation’s website.

This funding is also advancing President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.

#Native Americans #tribal communities #drinking water #Inflation Reduction Act

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mariacallous · 2 months ago

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NEW YORK — An unindicted co-conspirator, an accused sexual harasser and a high-ranking cop alleged to have beaten a female subordinate were among Mayor Eric Adams’ most questionable appointees, until this week.

The forced resignation of New York City’s police commissioner, following a federal raid of his home, has intensified concerns about the mayor’s staffing decisions.

NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban’s departure — the first high-profile one since the feds seized phones from members of Adams’ inner circle last week — is the latest chapter in a saga that dates back even before January 2022 when Adams, freshly off his election victory, began filling his administration with people whose checkered pasts were almost certain to invite scrutiny.

When assembling his administration, Adams named Phil Banks deputy mayor of public safety, even though the former NYPD chief was caught a decade ago accepting gifts from people ultimately convicted of bribery.

Adams placed his old police boss and personal friend Tim Pearson in a powerful, nebulous adviser role and gave him control over a small new municipal office with unchecked power. Pearson is now facing four sexual harassment lawsuits, and one of his accusers alleged in court papers his behavior had been common knowledge for years.

The city “knew about” Pearson’s “long history of sexual misconduct … but ignored his history and hired him anyway,” one of the complaints reads. Pearson’s lawyer has denied all the allegations.

Now both Banks and Pearson have also had their phones seized by federal agents, alongside Caban.

The probes have raised new questions about the mayor’s judgment, and whether his loyalty to troubled aides has become an insurmountable political liability. Nearly every Democrat challenging him in his reelection primary next year is zeroing in on his perceived ethical lapses.

“Far be it for me to tell Eric Adams who to hire and fire. But it’s clear to me that he didn’t understand the most important part of being mayor,” Scott Stringer, the former city comptroller who is expected to run against Adams next year, said in an interview with POLITICO. “He made poor choices, and it’s come back to hurt him.”

The list goes on.

Jeffrey Maddrey, whom the mayor named chief of the NYPD, was accused of punching a fellow cop he’d coerced into a sexual relationship. A judge threw out the case, but he was docked 45 vacation days in an internal trial.

Adams’ former chief of staff is entangled in litigation over past business interests and his ex-buildings commissioner resigned amid an investigation that led to an indictment on bribery charges. He has pleaded not guilty.

In his personal life, Adams is close friends with twin brothers who pleaded guilty a decade ago to financial crimes. A pastor who has described Adams as a mentor was recently sentenced to nine years in jail for stealing a parishoner’s mother’s retirement savings.

Adams appointed an anti-gay Bronx clergyman as a faith adviser, over protests from LGBTQ+ groups. And one of his community liaisons is under federal investigation involving a visit to China she made with Adams.

Many of Adams’ picks to help lead the city’s sprawling government have been unimpeachable. But the list of Adams associates enmeshed in scandal continues to grow.

“It just raises questions to me as to why our mayor feels so incredibly comfortable surrounding himself with a myriad of unsavory characters,” said Christina Greer, a close watcher of city politics as a Fordham University political science professor and co-host of the FAQ NYC podcast.

“You’ve got people accused of punching people in the face, of sexual inappropriateness,” she added. “The list of grievances is long and getting longer, so why would you invite that into your inner circle?”

Adams prides himself on giving people second chances, and says his door is open to anybody. That comes from his own nontraditional political rise — from a dyslexic Black kid from Queens who got arrested and beaten by cops, to a police officer who courted controversy, to an elected official who would eventually mayor.

“Yes, I’m going to talk with people who have stumbled and fell,” Adams said in 2022. “Because I’m perfectly imperfect, and this is a city made up of perfectly imperfect people.”

The people Adams surrounds himself with — both personally and professionally — have earned him criticism going back three decades, to the dawn of his political career.

Adams’ first run for office, a 1994 challenge to a congressional incumbent, was doomed in part by his alliance with Louis Farrakhan, the antisemitic Nation of Islam leader. Soon after, Adams was investigated as a cop for working security for boxer Mike Tyson, who was fresh out of prison after a rape conviction.

After winning a seat in the state Senate, Adams became a friend and the top defender of the so-called four amigos, Democrats who caused chaos in the chamber by defecting from their party. Three of the amigos have since served prison time, for unrelated crimes. The fourth, Rubén Díaz Sr., has become a fierce ally of former President Donald Trump.

Later, Adams got involved in the bidding process for a slot machine contract with fellow state Sens. John Sampson and Malcolm Smith. The arrangement fell apart, and Adams got dinged for “exceedingly poor judgment” in an ethics report. Sampson and Smith both later went to prison for unrelated crimes.

As mayor, Adams’ plan to appoint his own brother Bernard to a well-paid NYPD gig leading his security team raised eyebrows. Adams only asked for ethics guidance after the fact, an internal watchdog reduced his title, and dropped Bernard’s salary to $1. He left after a year.

Adams also tapped nonprofit executive Sheena Wright to be a deputy mayor, a decade after she’d been arrested twice in a day over a domestic dispute. Her friend David Banks called his brother, NYPD bigwig Phil Banks to intervene, and Wright was let out and the charges were dropped.

Wright and David Banks, Adams’ schools chancellor, now live together. They were both among the top appointees who had their phones seized by federal investigators last week — maybe the latest example of Adams’ appointment decisions coming back to bite him.

Adams’ loyalty does have its limits. He cut ties with the pastor he mentored, kept his distance as one of the four amigo state senators, Hiram Monserrate, has attempted political comebacks, and now, pushed out Caban.

“There comes a time when we have to look and see: Is our loyalty to the detriment of the people of New York? And if that point is reached, then you need to make hard judgment calls,” said state Sen. James Sanders, a southeast Queens Democrat who endorsed Adams for mayor in 2021.

“I think that when the mayor comes out of this situation,” Sanders added on the latest raids, “he will have learned many valuable lessons.”

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aimeedaisies · 1 year ago

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The Princess Royal’s Official Engagements in October 2023

02/10 As President of the Riding for the Disabled Association visited Avon Riding Centre, to mark its 40th Anniversary. 🐴🥳

03/10 Held two Investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

With Sir Tim As Patron of the Minchinhampton Centre for the Elderly, visited Horsfall House, Minchinhampton. 👵🏻👴🏻

04/10 In Cornwall Princess Anne visited;

Origin Coffee in Porthleven. ��️

Camborne School of Mines at the Penryn Campus of University of Exeter, in Penryn. 🔨

St Ewe Free Range Eggs Packing Centre in Truro. 🥚

05/10 As Colonel of The Blues and Royals (Royal Horse Guards and 1st Dragoons), attended a Household Cavalry Medal Parade at Powle Lines, Picton Barracks in Wiltshire. 🫡

07/10 With Sir Tim Attended the Scotland vs Ireland Rugby World Cup match at the Stade de France in Paris. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇮🇪🇫🇷🏉

09/10 As Patron of Livability, visited Livability Millie College in Poole. 🏫

As Patron of UK Youth, visited Avon Tyrrell Outdoor Activity Centre in Bransgore. 🧗‍♀️

10/10 Attended a Future of UK Food Systems Seminar held by Crops for the Future at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany in Cambridge. 🚜

As Commandant-in-Chief (Youth) of St. John Ambulance, opened the new Ambulance Hub in Castle Donington. 🚑

11/10 Held two investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

Unofficial, Sir Tim attended the opening of the New Zealand Liberation Museum, Te Arawhata, in Le Quesnoy, France. 🇫🇷🇳🇿

As Patron of Scots in London Group attended a Reception at St Columba’s Church of Scotland. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Attended a Blue Seal Club Dinner at the Cavalry and Guards Club in Piccadilly, London. 🤵‍♂️

12/10 As Patron of the Campaign for Gordonstoun, chaired a Cabinet Meeting at the Lansdowne Club, London. 🏫

As Patron of English Rural Housing Association, attended a Parish Council Rural Housing Conference at Eversholt Hall, Bedfordshire. 🏡

Visited the Aircraft Research Association in Bedford. ✈️

As Grand Master of the Royal Victorian Order, attended Evensong and a Reception at The King’s Chapel of the Savoy, London. 🎶

14/10 Sir Tim represented Princess Anne, Patron of the Wiltshire Horn Society, at a dinner on the occasion of their centenary. 🐑

15/10 As Member of the International Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission, attended the first day of the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India. 🇮🇳

16/10 As Member of the International Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission, attended the second day of the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India. 🇮🇳

Attended an IOC Reception at Jio World Centre. 🌏

17/10 As Member of the International Olympic Committee, and Chairman of the International Olympic Committee Members Election Commission, attended the third day of the 141st International Olympic Committee Session in Mumbai, India. 🇮🇳

Visited the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Bombay 1914-1918 Memorial at the Indian Sailors’ Home, in Mumbai. 🪖

Attended a reception at the residence of His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia and Deputy High Commissioner for Western India in Mumbai. 🌏

Unofficial Sir Tim attended a memorial service for Lord Lawson (former Chancellor of the Exchequer) at St. Margaret’s church in Westminster ⛪️

19/10 Hosted a Reception with the King, Queen and the Duchess of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace to thank those who contributed to and were involved with the State Funeral of The late Queen Elizabeth II and with the Coronation of Their Majesties. 🥂

With Sir Tim, As Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps attended the launch of the Corps History Book at the National Army Museum in London. 📚

With Sir Tim, As Patron of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity, attended the Trafalgar Night Dinner at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London. 🤵‍♀️🤵‍♂️

20/10 Opened Cutbush and Corrall Charity almshouse accommodation in Maidstone.

Opened the Royal British Legion Industries Centenary Village, Greenwich House, in Aylesford, Kent.

As Patron of the Butler Trust, visited HM Prison Elmley.

24/10 Held an Investiture at Windsor Castle. 🎖️

As President of the English-Speaking Union of the Commonwealth, delivered the Evelyn Wrench Lecture at Dartmouth House in London. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

25/10 In Scotland Princess Anne visited;

The International Society for Optics and Photonics Photonex Exhibition at Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow. 🔍

As President of Victim Support Scotland, visited the National Office-West in Glasgow. 🫂

Peter Equi and Sons Limited Ice Cream Manufacturer. 🍦

26/10 Opened the National Honey Show at Sandown Park Racecourse in Esher, Surrey. 🍯 🐝

As Royal Patron of the Security Institute, this afternoon attended the Annual Conference at the Royal Society of Medicine in London. ⛓️

With Sir Tim As President of the Royal Yachting Association, attended a 50th Anniversary of the Yachtmaster Scheme Dinner at Trinity House, London. 🛥️🍽️

27/10 Held an Investiture at Buckingham Palace. 🎖️

31/10 In Scotland;

As Patron of the Moredun Foundation, attended a Conference at Moredun Research Institute, Pentlands Science Park, in Penicuik. 🧬

As Royal Patron of the Leuchie Forever Fund, attended a Reception to launch Leuchie House’s new strategy in Edinburgh. 🏡

As Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, held a Chancellor’s Dinner at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. 👩‍🎓

Total official engagements for Anne in October: 47

2023 total so far: 400

Total official engagements accompanied by Tim in October: 6

2023 total so far: 81

#a busy bee #princess anne #princess royal #tim laurence #timothy laurence #unofficial engagement count 2023 #october 2023

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eretzyisrael · 4 months ago

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The UNRWA-Hamas Linkage

Since Hamas' savage attack against Israel on October 7th 2023, the IDF has been operating in Gaza to eliminate Hamas' military and governance capabilities and free the Israeli hostages. During this operation, a wealth of new intelligence has been gathered on Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terror organizations. Israeli forces have retrieved millions of documents in captured enemy material. This new intelligence exposed two related issues: first, the involvement of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employees in the October 7th massacre. Second, the deep and systemic infiltration by those terror organizations, particularly Hamas, into the ranks of UNRWA.

What are the new findings on UNRWA in Gaza?

The collection and analysis of the new information is still ongoing, yet it is already clear that a significant share of UNRWA's employees in Gaza serve in the ranks of Hamas and other terror organizations, including in military positions.

Israel has sent UNRWA an official letter with a list of 100 terror operatives employed by the agency with their names, ID and military ID numbers.

Over 10% of senior UNRWA educators in Gaza (school principals or deputy principals, directors or deputy directors of training centers) were found to be members of Hamas or Islamic Jihad (click here for details).

Over thirty UNRWA facilities in Gaza have been found to contain terror infrastructures such as tunnel shafts, reflecting a deeply concerning, and possibly systematic, abuse of the status of these facilities for terrorist purposes. Hamas operated a high-end server farm directly under UNRWA's Gaza headquarters, with communication and electricity cables connecting both compounds.

Intelligence shows that Hamas considers UNRWA an essential asset both for maintaining its rule over Gaza and for exploiting its facilities to build terror infrastructure. It is not a case of "a few rotten apples", as some have tried to portray it.

Multiple times in the past, Israel provided UNRWA with information on members of Hamas that are employed by the agency, yet no action was taken.

What did Israel do with the information?

In January, as the full details were still being gathered, Israel discretely shared the initial details with UNRWA's High Commissioner, Phillipe Lazzarini. This included the names of twelve UNRWA employees, who had been identified at the time as having participated in the October 7th massacre.

Subsequently, the UN Secretary General ordered an investigation by the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) strictly on the involvement of those twelve employees in the October 7th massacre. In addition, the Secretary General appointed an external Review Group to examine UNRWA's neutrality mechanisms, chaired by Former French Foreign Minister, Catherine Colonna. In early March, both bodies visited Israel where they received detailed briefings and information, including raw intelligence, exposing the full depth and breadth of the terror infiltration into UNRWA.

In parallel, the information was shared with Israel's intelligence partners and was presented to the relevant officials in UNRWA's donor countries.

The often-repeated claim that Israel did not share information on the UNRWA-Hamas nexus is entirely false.

UNRWA in Gaza is beyond repair

As the new revelations on UNRWA were being gathered, and following a thorough inter-agency assessment, Israel concluded that the terror infiltration into UNRWA's Gaza operations poses a grave security risk and seriously jeopardizes the humanitarian efforts. Furthermore, it was concluded that the problem cannot be fixed by reforms or the introduction of new "neutrality mechanisms" in UNRWA, for two key reasons:

First, contrary to most of the donor governments, UNRWA – like the UN itself – does not regard Hamas as a terrorist organization. As recently as February 2024, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths publicly stated that “Hamas is not a terrorist group for us, as you know, it is a political movement." Moreover, reforms will not change the basic fact that UNRWA in Gaza is the only UN entity in the world which runs a state-like enterprise employing 13,000 local staff members, managed by a small number of international staff, in an area controlled by a terrorist organization with a genocidal agenda (the Hamas Charter openly states that: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it"). UNRWA has yet to show any inclination to investigate the affiliation of over 2000 of its staff in Hamas and other terrorist organizations, nor to dismiss them. It also has not declared whether it considers employing Hamas militants as a breach of its neutrality.

Secondly, over the past decade UNRWA announced various reforms and new "mechanisms" ostensibly aimed at ensuring its neutrality to address public scandals and concerns by donors. However, an analysis of those measures shows that they were ineffectual and never fully implemented. This reflects either a lack of will or a lack of ability to apply steps which effectively prevent terror infiltration. For example, UNRWA boasts of conducting quarterly "neutrality inspection" of its facilities, yet those checks, conducted by local staff (who may or may not be Hamas members), according to UNRWA's own website, look only for political slogans in posters and graffiti, not for any evidence of abuse by terrorist organizations:

"Installation inspections include checks for: (i) proper use and placement of signage, including: flags, UN sign/logo, no weapons sign; (ii) ensuring that the building is free of political slogans, flags, posters and other markings; (iii) a short questionnaire for the installation manager on any experiences related to incursions, unauthorized activity and harassment of staff..."

A ’neutrality breach’ according to UNRWA’s definition is "taking sides in hostilities or engaging in controversies of a political, racial, religious, or ideological nature." Infiltration by a terror organization that then exploits UNRWA facilities to further their terror organization’s objectives goes far beyond a mere neutrality breach. It undermines all other humanitarian principles, including humanity, impartiality and independence. UNRWA's attempt to frame the issue as merely one concerning neutrality is misleading and points to ineffective solutions. Preventing terror infiltration of such massive enterprises requires tools that UN agencies in the field do not have, starting with the ability to define local terrorist organizations as such.

UNRWA can be replaced in Gaza gradually without hampering the humanitarian effort

After the exposure of the extent of terrorist infiltration of UNRWA, Israel’s humanitarian policy has been to shift focus to working with responsible aid organizations that aren’t compromised by terrorist organizations. The priority has been to do so without hampering the goal of increasing and improving the humanitarian assistance provided to the civilian population in Gaza. This policy was devised and approved after a thorough assessment of UNRWA's role in the humanitarian effort and its functioning since October 7th. The assessment concluded as follows:

UNRWA has underperformed logistically on the ground since October 7th, including inter alia by failing to scale up its operations in a timely fashion while simultaneously trying to take lead in multiple operational areas in which it did not have deep expertise. UNRWA has attempted to create a monopoly on the distribution of aid in Gaza at the expense of other humanitarian agencies, and the cluster system that the UN applies in all other humanitarian missions worldwide. Instead of adopting a professional, solutions-oriented approach, UNRWA's top leadership prioritized their political and media campaign against Israel which included countless baseless accusations and disinformation.

UNRWA's functions in Gaza can be gradually transferred to more professional providers. For example, for a period of six weeks in February and March 2024 UNRWA didn’t make a single request to take aid to the north of Gaza where it was needed most. Instead, the food relief was brought by other actors such as the private sector, other UN agencies and international NGOs. Since the start of the war, UNRWA was responsible for bringing in 15% of the aid, compared to 27% by the Egyptian Red Crescent and 20% by the World Food Program (WFP). There are many other responsible humanitarian actors, including other UN organizations and over 43 NGOs currently operating in Gaza, who can take a larger role in aid distribution.

In the longer run, UNRWA's state-like function as a provider of basic services, such as education, health and garbage collection, could and should be transferred to local civilian authorities in post-Hamas Gaza.

Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, has repeatedly demonstrated that it prioritizes terror over the wellbeing of Gazan civilians. It exploits them as human shields and views a humanitarian crisis as an integral part of their war strategy. The effectiveness of the humanitarian efforts in Gaza, and the safety of the people involved in it, requires their complete delinking from Hamas. Unfortunately, the UN’s and UNRWA’s leadership have chosen to understate the severity of this unprecedented scandal, leading to what might go down as one of the biggest whitewashes in the history of the United Nations.

Pursuant to these assessments, Israel is effecting a graduated replacement of UNRWA in Gaza, without hampering the humanitarian effort.

Both UN review processes cannot offer a path to safely resume funding to UNRWA in Gaza.

The two reviews have very strict and limited terms of reference (TORs). The OIOS has been mandated to investigate only the involvement of the initial twelve UNRWA employees whose names were provided in January. The Review Group chaired by Ms. Colonna has been explicitly instructed by the TOR given to it by the Secretary General not to investigate any allegations of breaches of neutrality by UNRWA "nor make any findings of fact in respect of them." Its mandate is limited to examining UNRWA's internal mechanisms to preserve its neutrality. Furthermore, it does not intend to examine whether UNRWA's reports and public communications abide by the principles of neutrality and impartiality.

To summarize, both review processes lack the mandate and the expertise to provide donors with answers to the following questions:

Has UNRWA been deeply infiltrated by designated terrorist organizations?

Is UNRWA's exposure to terror infiltration in Gaza beyond repair?

Can UNRWA be replaced in Gaza without hampering the humanitarian effort?

Israel's assessment has resulted in affirmative answers to all three questions.

It is therefore up to governments, parliaments and the public in donor countries to make their own assessments and answer those questions before the flow of tax-payers' money to UNRWA, and through it to Hamas, continues.

Israel is willing to engage and provide all the information that can help such a process.

#unrwa #hamas #gaza #unrwa-hamas linkage #israel #terrorists

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townpostin · 4 months ago

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New Sub-Divisional Civil Court Inaugurated in Chakradharpur

Chief Justice Inaugurates Chakradharpur Sub-Divisional Court A new sub-divisional court in Chakradharpur was inaugurated with traditional rituals and mantras. CHAKRADHARPUR – The Chakradharpur Sub-Divisional Court was inaugurated on Sunday amidst traditional rituals and chanting of mantras. Priests Gautam Nanda and Mahadev Nanda conducted the ceremonies. The building was officially opened by…

#राज्य #Chakradharpur court #Chief Justice Vidyut Ranjan Sarangi #Deputy Commissioner #District and Sessions Judge Vishwanath Shukla #Family Court Judge #Jharkhand High Court #judicial infrastructure #new court inauguration #state #Superintendent of Police #West Singhbhum news

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tempting-seduction · 10 months ago

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Born on 30 March 1957 in Milan, Italy, Filippo Grandi is an Italian diplomat and United Nations official, currently serving as United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. He previously served as Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). and United Nations Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan.

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workersolidarity · 1 year ago

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[Israeli War Crimes continued into their 17th day on Tuesday, October 24th, 2023.]

🇮🇷🇵🇸 IRANIAN JUDICIARY SPOKESPERSON CALLS ON UNITED NATION'S HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL TO HOLD EMERGENCY MEETING TO PASS RESOLUTION TO END ISRAELI WAR CRIMES IN PALESTINE

Addressing a news conference on Tuesday, Masoud Setayeshi, Iran's Judiciary spokesperson, called for a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council to address the continued bombardment and siege of the Gaza Strip; an ongoing assault that began on October 7th, after Palestinian Resistance groups launched a major operation against illegal Israeli settlements lining the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.

According to Setayeshi, Israel's continued assault on Gaza constitutes "war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to many international documents, including the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court."

In conjunction with Setayeshi's call, Tehran sent a letter to the UN's President of the Human Rights Council, and the United Nations Commissioner of Human Rights that also calls for a meeting of the Human Rights Council and a resolution against Israel's war crimes in Gaza.

The letter, sent by Kazem Gharibabadi, secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights and the Judiciary chief's deputy for international affairs, urged the United Nations to put a halt to Israel's siege of Gaza and to hold those responsible to account.

"All nations demand a trial for [Israel’s] war criminals,” Gharibabadi's letter reads. Gharibabadi added that Israeli leaders, “must be tried by the independent legal systems of the countries."

Speaking at the news conference, Masoud Setayeshi told reporters, “the Zionist regime has committed ethnic cleansing and killed children in order to survive for a few more days."

Setayeshi added that the Israeli regime would, “eventually sink into this whirlpool."

Setayeshi also tore into Western countries' hypocrisy on Palestinine and said that Western leaders claim to be advocates of Human Rights, even as they do nothing to stop Israel's crimes against the Palestinian population.

Since the fighting began on October 7th, more than 5'000 Palestinians have been killed, more than 2'000 of which were children. Another 15'000+ have been wounded.

#source1

#source2

#source3

@WorkerSolidarityNews

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bamber344 · 3 months ago

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Behind The Curtains (Andreas Intro)

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Hey so, before we begin, I've got to apologise. I completely forgot to mention that there would be explicit NSFW in this story up until now. If that's not your thing, I apologise! You can feel free to skip those scenes, and i can summarize anything important at the end. You don't have to worry just yet, though. No NSFW in this chapter, I just so happened to remember about needing to warn for it here lol.

ANYWAY with that out of the way, i hope you enjoy the chapter!

CWs: non-sexual nudity, lab whump, human experimentation, unethical surveillance. Let me know if i missed anything!

Behind The Curtains

Police Captain Andreas de Vygon fastened and unfastened his cuffs over and over again; a nervous habit he’d never been able to shake. Despite his long and illustrious career, full of accomplishments and accolades, public speaking was still just as daunting as it had been in high school. Today, he was going to reveal the project he’d been working on for the past 12 years to the rest of the Tombguard police. It had been a long, difficult road, full of trials and setbacks, but he had finally made it to the final phase of the plan. The hard part was over; now, he just had to keep his creation on track, and everything would turn out as it should.

7 years spent developing the technology; the likes of which the world had never seen. 4 years of suffering through the trial and error of the process after finding a Source, losing subject after subject to mistake and miscalculation. Finally, one year spent training the successful subject to fighting form. G-7 had passed her final combat exam just a few short hours ago. It was finally time to reveal her to the world.

An assistant walked up to him. “They’re ready for you, sir.”

He nodded. “Thank you.”

Andreas took a deep breath and slicked his hair back, stepping out onto the stage. Before him was an assorted crowd of Tombguard’s higher ranking police from each precinct across the city. Fellow captains, sergeants, lieutenants, and a few detectives chatted among themselves, some looking up at him expectantly. Even the deputy chief and the commissioner were here. He cleared his throat, taking his place at the podium.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for taking the time to be here today. Now, I’m sure you’ve all heard whispers through the grapevine by now; the murmurings of a secret project known only as Project Genesis. Well, today, the veil will be lifted as to what it is that we’ve been working on. As some of you may be aware, over the past few years, the 23rd precinct has been looking into methods to capitalise on the use of powers in police work. Up until recently, this has been difficult thanks to certain legislation, and the presence of the Union drawing away potential candidates from our program. However, thanks to the new revisions in the Powers in Policing Act of 20XX, new breakthroughs have been made in regards to our project.

“Recently, we were approached by a young woman with powers, interested in joining our department not as an officer, but as a superhero who works in tandem with the police, following our commands and regulations, but also able to unleash her powers as an extended arm of the law. For the past year, she’s been training hard in one of our facilities, and today she passed the final exam, and is now eligible for deployment by the standards set in the new Powers in Policing Act. Starting tomorrow she will begin patrolling our streets under my command, joining in on police operations and hopefully improving our rate of success tenfold. That is what Project Genesis is; a revitalisation of the police, quite literally the genesis of a new world of crime-stopping.

“I’m sure you’re all curious as to who this woman is. Unfortunately, for her safety in the face of recent anti-police movements, she is choosing to remain anonymous. Publicly, she will be going by ‘Seven,’ and I can share no more details about her identity other than that. What I can share is a demonstration of her prowess as proof of concept towards the efficacy of her ability. Please, observe.”

The projector at the top of the room came to life and displayed an image on the blank wall behind him. It was a recording of one of G-7’s recent runs at the advanced obstacle course, where she made an absolute joke of her previous personal best. As her handler, Andreas had to admit; he was quite proud of it. Once that was done, the image switched to one of her better performances during combat training. The actual exam was too violent to be shared, and certainly toed the line a bit too hard in regards to the ethical treatment of prisoners for public viewing. That would just have to remain confidential, lest human rights organisations get all up-in-arms over the treatment of their poor serial murderers and rapists.

Andreas watched as the faces of the crowd grew more and more impressed by the second. Satisfaction and pride filled his chest as they ate it all up. His hard work was finally paying off.

He stepped back up to the podium as the video ended. “Now, I want you all to think about how many police lives have been lost to criminal activity in the past few years. With Seven’s assistance, we could reduce that number to almost nothing! After all, why should our noble boys in blue have to put their lives on the line, when we have a literal superhuman to lead our charge? Of course, she is just one woman, but hopefully, in time, her presence in Tombguard will inspire more young, brave, powered people to join our program and bolster our city’s police force! Instead of joining the Union and sitting around all day, soaking up our tax dollars until a monster attacks, they would be out there, fighting for the safety and liberty of our citizens. Think about that!”

He breathed out, letting that statement stew on the audience for a second. “I believe that is everything. Thank you all for coming. If you happen to see a superhero in black armour patrolling our streets in the coming days, please, come say hi. She’s on our side.”

With one last ‘thank you’ to the audience, he stepped down, walking off-stage into the wings as the cameras started flashing and the crowd broke into rapid conversation. A smile reached his face.

Everything was going according to plan.

—

The buzz of pride only grew through the next day as Andreas took G-7 around the city and showed her off to the public for the first time. The presence of the Union heroes was unexpected, but ultimately it didn’t amount to anything, and gave him a good opportunity to warn his weapon to stay away from them. It was clear from the way she obviously stared that something inside of her was drawn to the Widow. Now that he’d planted the order in her head, though, she would be unable to disobey. Madeline Garcia-Holmes’ presence would not be an issue.

They returned to the facility underneath precinct 23 late in the afternoon, and Andreas sent G-7 back to her quarters after letting her stop by the mess hall for food. He had a meeting with the commissioner planned, so he didn’t stick around, heading out after a quick shower and freshening up in his quarters.

They ended up meeting over dinner. It turned out that the commissioner had caught wind of what he was really doing down in the facility, and of G-7’s true nature. That wasn’t very surprising, though. After all, it was his money that was funding a large portion of the project. Their discussion was long and quite fruitful. The commissioner ended up approving of his admittedly underhanded tactics for the furtherance of Project Genesis’ heroes in policing initiative. The use of manufactured human weapons to fill out the police force, while expensive in development, would ultimately save money for them in the long run. You didn’t need to pay wages to your own property, after all. Of course, he didn’t know what Andreas’ actual plan for Project Genesis was, but it was better that he remained ignorant. What he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

And so he returned once again to the facility later that night, bottle of champagne in hand, heading down to R&D to celebrate G-7’s successful deployment. The boys down there hadn’t had much to do lately, on account of G-7’s relative lack of developmental problems, so it felt prudent to give them a pat on the back, and push them in a new direction now that the main work was done.

The initial room was dim when he entered, illuminated mostly by the surveillance screens covering one wall. George Sadler sat at the chair in front of them, looking at his phone and not paying them any mind. Andreas could hardly fault him for his distraction; he could tell with one glance at the bedroom camera that G-7 was asleep, and none of the other cameras were observing anything important right now. Other than him, the room was empty.

Sadler noticed his arrival and shot up to his feet, saluting. “S-sir! Didn’t know you were coming down here!”

“At ease, Sadler,” he said. The man visibly relaxed. “Where is everybody else?”

“They’ve all gone home already, sir. I pulled the short straw and got assigned nightwatch duty.”

Oh. That was a shame. Andreas shrugged, holding up the bottle. “I suppose they won’t get to enjoy this champagne with us, then.”

Sadler’s eyes lit up. He rushed to get some glasses from the adjacent break room. They weren’t proper champagne flutes, but there was no need for extravagance here. It would taste the same regardless. Andreas popped the cork with his multitool as he waited for his employee to return.

“What’s the occasion, sir?” Sadler asked as he set the glasses down.

“Celebrating G-7’s successful deployment, of course. Everything went off without a hitch.” He filled both glasses with a generous helping of champagne before setting the bottle down in a safe spot, taking a seat.

“Yeah? How’d she do?”

“Good. Today was mostly getting her used to the outside world, but she did manage to catch a shoplifter, too.”

Sadler nodded, taking a drink. “That’s good. None of the other subjects have made it outside before - well, aside from Five and Six, but they don’t really count, since we can’t monitor them. Did she take it alright? Not too overwhelmed? Seven’s always been a bit of a soft one, despite her successes. …Y’know, it’s fascinating how differently their personalities have developed, considering their nature. I was expecting them to all be identical. Maybe the formation of their different powers has an effect on their psyche? Something to look into, I suppose.”

Andreas frowned at the reminder of the two subjects who escaped before G-7’s Birth, ignoring the rest of Sadler’s tangent. That had been a particularly dark day for the project. Thankfully, nothing had come of it yet, and he’d already planted an idea in G-7’s mind that should nip it in the bud if it ever became a problem.

“She was certainly fascinated, but overwhelmed? No, not at all.”

Sadler nodded, but his mind still seemed elsewhere. He sighed. “I have to admit, I still feel bad about what happened to Four. What did we name her again? Gwen? She was doing really well, and-”

Andreas cut him off. “It was a training accident, Sadler. No one’s to blame. Besides, don’t waste your breath mourning for a being who had no right to exist in the first place. We’re spitting in the eye of God here; we can’t be surprised when Divine Intervention strikes down one of our subjects. Their very existence is heretical.”

Sadler shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. It was just more disappointing than anything. Her death set the project back over two years. Felt like a waste. She was our first promising subject, then it all went down the drain.”

“She provided valuable data that helped the project along, even if her demise slowed us down. This was never going to be easy; you knew that when you signed on.”

He chuckled, taking another drink. “Yeah, but for that pay and those benefits? How could I say no?”

Andreas had to concede that one. He raised his glass towards the door in the far wall. “What’s the status of the rest of the backup subjects?”

“Oh, come see!”

They left their drinks behind and walked into the next room. A row of metal cylinders lined the walls on either side, each with their own display showcasing the vitals of the subject within. Sadler walked up and pressed a button on three of the displays, lifting the metal curtains and revealing the vats of green liquid underneath. Inside each vat was a woman, floating lifelessly, totally bald and completely nude.

“Subjects G-8 through G-10 are completely matured and ready for Birth,” Sadler explained, moving further along and opening up more vats. The women in these ones grew progressively younger down the line until G-16, who was still just a foetus. “G-11 through G-16 still need some more time in the oven, and formation hasn’t begun yet on G-17 or any past that. G-11 should be ready for Birth within the next month or so, though.”

Andreas observed G-9, who had opened her eyes slightly and was staring through him listlessly. A vestige of consciousness in a world of non-existence. “Begin mental and physical habilitation for the matured subjects. I want them to be ready quickly after Birth if we need them.”

Sadler blinked, surprised. “S-sir? Are you sure? That’s never been done before pre-Birth, I don’t know if it would work.”

“With G-7’s successful deployment, we’ve given ourselves some wiggle room to experiment.” He glanced over to the younger subjects. “Speaking of which, why don’t you get creative with the ones still in development? Start tweaking things here and there, see what happens. I’ve been wanting a subject with titanium bones ever since G-7 broke her shin in the obstacle course, and there’s no reason to stop researching just because we’ve reached a milestone.”

“Sir, with all due respect, tweaking things is what caused Five and Six to come out so wrong. I understand where you’re coming from, but it could be risky if we mess with the wrong thing and the programming doesn’t set in right. While the subjects’ personalities are distinct, the Source’s natural curiosity and self-righteousness has definitely lingered between them. We need the programming to steer it in the right direction, or we’ll just have another repeat of that incident.”

He waved a hand. “If you’re so concerned, just insert them all with kill-switches. If anything goes wrong, you can just pull the plug. Besides, who knows if any of them will actually reach Birth? G-7 is doing well, and we have no reason to think she’ll falter. This is just a precaution.”

Sadler made a sceptical face, but he conceded, closing the vats one by one. “If you say so.”

They returned to the surveillance room. Andreas reached for his glass, but movement from G-7’s bedroom camera caught his eye. “Hm.”

“What is it?” Sadler asked.

“Has she ever done that before?”

He looked at the screen. “Oh! N-no, not that I’m aware of, at least. I… I mean, she was going to figure it out sooner or later, right? She’s an adult. Well, technically, anyway. What’s the problem?”

Andreas frowned. “It could just be a coincidence. It could just be the highs of her first day out, I suppose. But, she did have a brief encounter with the Widow today. I don’t want to rule anything out.”

“Oh… Oh!” Sadler’s eyes brightened, as they always did when he got a new idea about the science of what they were doing. “Do you think meeting her could have triggered some sort of imprinted residual memory from the Source?”

“She did seem quite enamoured with her upon first glance. It’s very possible.”

“How fascinating… Maybe it goes with those imprinted personality traits I mentioned earlier; something so crucial and formative to the core of her being that it transcends between physical bodies.”

“Or…” Andreas said, adopting a deadpan tone. “Jordyn has just inherited the Source’s rampant lesbianism, and was overcome with desire upon seeing the first woman of her life that was within her age range.”

Sadler snorted. “Yeah… So, uh… what should we do about this?”

Andreas thought on it for a moment. He shrugged. “Turn the camera off for thirty minutes. We don’t need to see this, and I can hardly see how this would undermine our plans at all.”

“You got it, boss,” Sadler replied. The screen went black, affording G-7 a rare little slice of privacy.

Andreas sat back down, taking a sip of his champagne. He smiled.

“Now, how about a game of cards?”

Taglist: @steelandblood @sapphicwhump @urnumber1star @alsolucakairomi @idkwhattodowiththisaltiamsorry @iamheretohurt

Poor Jordyn doesn't even know...

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought :)

Next chapter we return to Jordyn's POV, and the NSFW warning will definitely apply there. Stay tuned for that!

lemme know if you wanna be added to the taglist :)

#project genesis whump series #whump series #whump #whumpblr #whump writing #lab whump #living weapon whump #whumper pov

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