FEBRUARY 2010 - Anne Feeney's Fellow Travelers' Advisory - VOLUME FIVE - #11

IMMEDIATE DESTINATIONS:

THE LEFT COAST - February 4th-27th  ~ Vancouver to Los Angeles! 
WASHINGTON, DC  March 5th ~ LCS-P Conference!
FLORIDA - March 9th-April 1st

29th January

Pittsburgh,  PA

Hi All

I'm packed for the People's Music Network annual Winter Gathering -- this year in New York City. It's a terrific gathering of friends and artists all committed to social change.  I'm just back from a breathtaking two weeks in Ecuador with my son  Dan and his wife Monique.  We had a great visit, and they gave me some great news!  Everyone who has endured my endless cooing over babies in restaurants (or anywhere else) knows how totally overjoyed I am to finally be an expectant grandmother! Dan and Monique are expecting in late August/early September -  Monique may have to hear all the "Labor" Day jokes I heard when I was expecting my lovely Amy, born September 1, 1981.

And I just finished recording and mastering a two CD set of Irish music.  More than two dozen Irish songs appear on this set, which is a compilation, a retrospective AND features a half dozen brand new recordings!
ENCHANTED WAY will be available in early March, and I'm taking pre-orders.  Send $20 to Anne Feeney, 2240 Milligan Ave, Pittsburgh, PA  15218 and the double CD will be on its way to you the moment it's ready!  Recording engineer extraordinaire Doug Wilkin is also lending his considerable musical talent to this production.  It features a lot of fabulous Irish musicians - Bruce Foley, Kip Ruefle, Bob Banerjee, Sheila Liming, Sean McClorey, Bob Pegritz and many many more.My dear friend Randy McSorley is doing the artwork for this recording, as he has for "Dump the Bosses Off Your Back" and "If I Can't Dance."

This month's news will be shorter than usual... I've got to get this CD finished and pack for all my upcoming adventures.  Suffice it to say that I am sickened by the last two SCOTUS (Supreme Court of the United States) decisions expanding "corporate personhood" and unrestricted government surveillance.

If you're on the left coast, I need your help with an upcoming date.

Thanks for your steadfast support of my music and my work...

See you soon!

Anne

IN THIS ISSUE:

CDBABY HAITIAN RELIEF
NEW CD
HELP ON DATES
MIDWEST IN APRIL WITH EVAN GREER
VICTORY AT PAL!
FAMILY NEWS

CDBABY HAITIAN RELIEF

You've heard me talk about what a great company CDBaby is.  They treat their artists, their workers, and their customers really well.  And now, in response to the terrible earthquake in Haiti, CDBaby is donating $1 for every CD sold to Haitian earthquake relief.  This is a great time to stock up on my titles... Visit http://cdbaby.com/all/unionmaid now!  Their generous offer continues through Feb 7th, and could well mean over $1,000,000 in donations to Haiti.

NEW CD - ENCHANTED WAY

Be the first to order my new double cd "Enchanted Way" featuring two dozen Irish tunes... love songs, drinking songs, silly songs, rebel songs... a fine assortment of all of the above and much much more... including 6 new recordings, and ten more never before released on CD.  Send $20 to:

Anne Feeney

2240 Milligan Ave

Pittsburgh,  PA 15218

This CD probably won't ship until the beginning of  March... but your early support for the project is most appreciated!

ANNE FEENEY VALENTINE'S DAY SPECIAL FOR LOVERS (OF JUSTICE)

I'm still looking for somewhere to do a Valentine's Day show... I'm in Vancouver, BC on the 13th and West Seattle on the 15th... sooooooooooooo.... Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Orcas, Sequim, even Tacoma... how about it? Can I be your Valentine?

I'm also fondly hoping for an LA area show on February 28th... and I still have a few holes in my March tour of FL... March 25-28 in South Florida anywhere would be most appreciated!

APRIL IN THE MIDWEST WITH EVAN GREER

I'll be touring the midwest in April with the amazing Evan Greer.  We'll be doing a lot of college work, but we'll have our evenings free.  If you'd be interested in hosting us in April, let me know ... I'll tell you what dates we have available near you.

VICTORY AT PAL!

Thanks to all of you who sent contributions and letters of support to Laborers' Local 231 on strike in Pekin, IL against PAL orthotics.  The members are in the process of voting on a contract that will put everyone back to work, send the scabs packing, offer good raises and improved work rules.  It's so wonderful to hear some good news!  It's proof that if we fight like hell and stick together.... we WIN!




FAMILY NEWS

In my not-so-copious spare time I'm trying to pick through the best of my Ecuador photos.  I've posted the keepers at http://www.flickr.com/photos/annefeeney/sets/72157623257177224/  - check them out!

Many of you Kerrville Folk Festival-goers will recognize Guntram Gudowius.  He bicycled to the 1989 Kerrville Folk Festival from somewhere up in Vermont and was a festival regular for a number of years. Guntram is back in Berlin, but we stay in touch.  He sends his warmest regards to all his US friends and hopes to see us at Kerrville again this year.  I expect to be at the festival for all 18 days (except that I'll fly up to Long Island to perform at a conference at Stonybrook June 3-5 and then come right back to the festival.)

Birthdays...

January 28th - Darryl Cherney, Leila Rovics, January 29th - Ed McCahill, Art Deckard, January 30th - Bob Barnes, January 31st - Maryellen Hayden, February 2nd - Liana Kennedy, February 3rd - Kevin Weldon, February 7th - Ryan Grefenstette, February 15th - Joe McCahill, February 21st - Benjamin McCahill is two years old! February 22nd - Anabel Blanco is one year old! February 24th - Ross Chapman, February 26th - Barney McElhone ........ Happy Birthday one and all!  

THE TOUR...  

Monday, February 1st, 2010 9:00 PM

Anne Feeney on the KBOO Labor Show!
KBOO with Bill Zimmerman
Portland, OR
http://kboo.org
This interview will be streaming... tune in! It airs at 6PM PST, 9PM EST (your mileage may vary...do the math!)

Saturday, February 6th, 2010 7:30 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Whatcom Peace and Justice Center
100 E Maple Street
Bellingham, WA 98227
(360) 734-0217
http://www.whatcompjc.org/calendar.html
Price: $10-20 suggested
betsy pernotto is the contact

Sunday, February 7th, 2010 7:00 PM
House Concert in Queen Anne Hill
Seattle, WA
206-524-7753
Price: $10-20
call the number above or contact rebelvoz@aol.com to reserve a seat and get directions...
Members of the Seattle Labor Chorus are hosting this show, so you can be sure they'll be some great sing-alongs!

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 8:00 PM
Live on Melodies in Mind with Ryan Fletcher
CJSF 90.1FM
Vancouver, BC
Canada
http://www.myspace.com/melodiesinmind

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 7:30 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Ken and Sharon's
Victoria, BC
250-385-1307
Price: $15-20 suggested

Thursday, February 11th, 2010 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Joe's Garage
115 5th St
Courtenay, BC V9N 1J3
1-250-702-MILO(6456)
http://www.myspace.com/joesgarageon5th
Price: $10
Milo Yakibchuk, joeson5th@the-grid.ca, is the contact.

Friday, February 12th, 2010 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Deep Cove Folk Club at St. John's United Church
10990 W. Saanich Rd.
Sydney, BC
Price: $10 suggested
tark hamilton is the contact - tark_hamilton@yahoo.com

Saturday, February 13th, 2010 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney's Five Ring Circus Special
Rhizome Cafe
317 E. Broadway (across from Kingsgate Mall)
Vancouver, BC
http://www.soundsandfuries.com/concerts
Price: $10-20 suggested

Monday, February 15th, 2010 8:00 PM
Highland Park Peace and Justice presents Anne Feeney in Concert
Highland Park Community of Christ
8611 11th Ave SW
West Seattle
Christian Skoorsmith is the contact -
christianneill@hotmail.com


Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert - Tentative
South Puget Sound Community College
Olympia, WA
This show will be presented by BRICK

Thursday, February 18th, 2010 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Floyd's Coffee Shop
118 N.W. Couch St. (Old Town Portland) near the Burnside bridge
Portland, OR
Price: $10
Lewis Childs is the contact lewis(@lewischilds.com)

Friday, February 19th, 2010 8:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert with special guests Janet and Ken Bates!!!
Green Spot
181 Anderson Avenue
Coos Bay, OR 97420
(541) 267-6622
http://www.thegreenspotentertainment.com/
Price: $10

Saturday, February 20th, 2010 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert with special guest Patrick Dodd
Headwaters Environmental Center (across street from Unitarian Church)
84 Fourth Street
Ashland, OR
Price: $5
wes brain is the contact - brain@mind.net
brought to the Rogue Valley by the Southern Oregon Central Labor Council & Jobs with Justice

Sunday, February 21st, 2010 7:00 PM
The IWW presents Anne Feeney in Concert
West Street Market
Reno, NV
Price: donations

This concert is made possible by the Reno General Membership Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World.

Monday, February 22nd, 2010 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
SEIU Local 1000 Field Office
1325 S Street
Sacramento, CA
Price: donation$

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert with Four Shillings Short!
Angelica's Bistro
863 Main St
Redwood City, CA 94063-1901
(650) 365-3226
http://www.angelicasbistro.com/home.htm
Price: $10
oh boy! this will be fun!

Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
The Santa Cruz Quaker Meeting House
225 Rooney St
Santa Cruz, CA 95065
http://santacruzquakers.org/index.php
Price: $10 adv/$15 door
Door open at 6:30
It's right off the freeway (Highway 1) for easy access.
here's a map: http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm

Thursday, February 25th, 2010 7:00 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Redwood Garden
2951 Derby St. (@ Claremont Blvd.)
Berkeley, CA
510-848-6397
eleanor walden is the contact- ewalden3@comcast(.)net

Friday, February 26th, 2010 7:00 PM

Anne Feeney in Concert at Bobbie's House in Walnut Creek...

email bobbie@igc.org or call 925-939-7384 for reservations/directions

Walnut Creek, CA

Saturday, February 27th, 2010 7:30 PM
Anne Feeney in Concert
Steynberg Gallery
1531 Monterey Street
San Luis Obispo, CA
805-703-3867
Chris Bricker - cbricker1(@)mac.com is the contact 805-547-0278 is the number of the gallery

Friday, March 5th, 2010 7:00 PM
Opening Reception of Labor Campaign for Single Payer National Meeting
National Labor College
10000 New Hampshire Ave
Silver Spring , MD 20903
http://www.laborforsinglepayer.org/
For more info: organizers@laborforsinglepayer.org or call 201-314-2653

JANUARY 2010 - Anne Feeney's Fellow Travelers' Advisory - VOLUME FIVE - #10

2 January 2010

Kopparberg, Sweden

The last of our wonderful holiday company arrived safely in the US - after a 3 hour delay in Copenhagen that included a complimentary full body frisking, residue of the crotch bomber's antics.  Julie and I are alone in our winter wonderland now.

When my husband sold his house last year, he took a 5 room apartment here at beautiful Lovnas Herrgord, owned by our friend Per Elis Johnsson.  We have the ground floor of the house on the left. The apartment above us is empty, and so we had lots of space for my daughter Amy, her sweetie Jesse Dalton, my sister Kathleen, her daughter Kimberly, Kimberly's son Casey, our friend Elmar David from the Czech Republic, as well as my husband's daughter Sara and her boyfriend David, and my husband's son Jonas. We were a merry company indeed. I'd say the snow is 3 foot deep and accumulating. It's very beautiful and relaxing (for those of us not hauling the firewood!).  If the landscape appears blue, it's because all the snow reflects the blue sky... It really is blue here.

As the start of a new year, hope always seems to come to me from somewhere. A fresh start. A new chance.  A chance look within for creative new ways to solve personal and global problems.  Another chance to do better. My 2010 resolution is to spend more time with my loved ones.

I hope some of you are planning to come to Ireland with me and that you'll let me know that - seats are filling up fast for the two wonderful tours I have planned.  Read on for descriptions of the August tours of Ireland, my adventures at the Danish Climate Summit (where Julie got arrested!), getting to be in a reindeer race above the arctic circle, and details of the February tour of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California.  Also coming up... Florida in March, and an April midwest tour with Evan Greer!

If you are one of the wonderful folks who is presenting me in BC, WA, OR, CA or FL - PLEASE go to http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html and make certain that I have our date posted correctly.  Send me any corrections or additional details asap!  

Heartfelt thanks to all of you - my family, friends, activist pals, fellow travelers, music lovers and troublemakers.  Thanks for your good work, and for your steadfast support of my work and my music.

Happy New Year!

Anne

Ireland 2010 !!!

It's time to reserve a seat for one of the great trips I have planned for August.  Each trip is better than the last - I've taken over 100 people to Ireland now and I'm really good at it!   Come see one of the world's most beautiful countries and learn how the indomitable spirit and culture of the Irish people enabled them to survive 800+ years of brutal colonialism.  Ireland has a rich history, gorgeous scenery, fabulous music, great activists ... and it would be my joy to introduce you to all of it.  Thanks to my extremely capable Irish partner, Tom Pigott, we get to enjoy the very best of Ireland.  You'll love the charming hotels that Tom finds, and marvel at how we can offer such a wonderful tour at such a reasonable price.  We'll travel even the smallest byways of Ireland in Paddy Downes' luxury coach.  And when Paddy's not driving, you'll find that he's a marvelous Irish step-dancer, a wry storyteller, and a very capable bodhran player.  Tom Pigott is a very fine singer, and an absolute expert on the finest of Irish music - which you can hear every night of our tours.

The best part about the tours though is the pace and the people.  You'll love all our traveling companions - and the days start at a reasonable hour, allow us ample time for our day's excursions, as well as naps, personal time, and time to enjoy each other's company in this extraordinary setting.  You'll also get to meet some of Ireland's most interesting and engaging activists. Even the most independent-minded travellers sing the praises of our tours.

Visit http://annefeeney.com/Pages/enchantedwaytours.html - the first deposit of $750 is due soon.  Don't miss this chance to see Ireland with me.  I hope to be leading these tours in the years to come... but I say, "Seize the moment!"  Come with me this year to either the "best of the west" August 10-19 ... or try our brand new 'urban Ireland' tour with visits to Dublin, Belfast and Derry!  You'll not regret it!

SO MUCH FOR "HOPENHAGEN"

It looked pretty obvious from the time we arrived at the Copenhagen airport (where Julie took the photo above) that the official Climate Summit was going to be a corporate affair. Inside the Bella Center, site of the official Climate Summit, the poorest nations were ostracized as the G20 met with their corporate sponsors.  The G20 leaders seemed determined to gather up corporate goodies and report back that the environment is in the capable hands of Coca-Cola, Siemens, and Monsanto. There were hundreds of thousands of activists in the streets trying to keep the delegates honest.  But Denmark really went berserk in anticipation of the summit ... passing fascist laws prohibiting almost anything that a cop (in his infinite discretion) might find suspicious, and allowing for mass arrests without charge and the right to detain people without charge for up to 40 days!

Many wonderful artists were there with dramatic exhibits about climate change.  Greenpeace arranged for some dazzling and daring acts of banner hanging. Here is a link showing some of the best of the public art arranged during the climate summit, including the terrific tree-hugger project of my friend Wiktor Szostalo

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/starre-vartan/art-in-copenhagen-helping_b_393846.html 

On December 12th Julie and David Rovics and I marched in the 100,000 strong permitted march through downtown Copenhagen.  The police presence was overwhelming. When our battery-operated sound system malfunctioned, David Rovics left our group and went ahead, looking for action.  He should have stayed with us.

About 3/4 of a mile into the march, as we rounded a bend, a couple hundred black-clad youngsters ran through our procession and out the other side.  Within moments, we were surrounded by hundreds of police and dozens of paddy wagons and police dogs.  About 1000 of us were completely isolated from the march by riot police.  The march behind us was diverted around us.  Only a few hundred people stayed on the outer perimeter, occasionally chanting "let them go!"  For a while it appeared that the cops were attempting to cherry-pick our ranks and arrest only those they felt were possibly part of the anarchist black bloc that had, as far as I could tell, completely escaped well before the police stopped us.

As the hours dragged on, the day turned to night, and the temperature plummeted,  it became increasingly clear that the cops were going to arrest us all - Belgians, French, Norwegians, Swedes, Germans and Danes - Hare Krishnas, school kids, elderly trade union activists, some puppetistas with big papier maché cows that occasionally charged the police line chanting "Mooooooooo!"

And that's what they did.  The cops arrested everyone. About 700 people.  As they arrested my husband, one of my Danish hosts from the Tvind progressive education movement engaged the cops in a dialog.  I didn't follow the Danish argument, but apparently she told them I was a famous folksinger from the US and my arrest would cause terrible embarrassment to the Danish police. To my astonishment, the cops escorted us and the wagon on which I was to perform out of the area.  There were only about 60 people left to be arrested at that point.

Those arrested were all handcuffed behind their backs and made to sit on the freezing street, sitting up with their legs apart to accommodate the person arrested after them.  As the hours went by, many of those arrested ended up peeing their pants. My husband was at the back of one of those rows (luckily UPstream), with many people leaning back against him.  He had no back support except for his handcuffed hands.  When the cops finally came to haul him off to the pokey and instructed him to get up, he couldn't get up.  The cop helped him to his feet, sized him up, and took pity on him.  He undid Julie's handcuffs, escorted him to the perimeter, and even loaned Julie his cell phone so that he could let us know he hadn't been taken to the jail.

Throughout all of this I was videotaping the proceedings on my iPhone and posting it to Facebook.  If you use Facebook you can still find those videos in the older posts on my profile.  Technology is pretty remarkable.  Friends from all over were posting advice and encouragement as we awaited arrest.  Here's an indy media film of the jail solidarity march from later that evening. 

Julie was interviewed by Danish mainstream television, and again by some Swedish newspapers to attest to the lawlessness of the Danish police. Denmark's growing right wing is developing their own FOX-like news -  fraudcasting is a great descriptor I heard recently -  What follows are translations of two Danish right wing sites with the links to the original Danish. 

From Uria Posten:

"Ekstra Bladet (the Danish newspaper which reported sympathetically on the unprovoked police roundup of 1000 demonstrators) could, among other things to tell you that a poor 66-year-old painter named Haakon 'Julie 'Leonnartsson' was forced to sit on the ground for hours -- 'It was an overreaction,' he says. June Circle, which has good track of the socialist grasslands, recognizes him as the man of Ann Feeney. Feeney is a member of the relatively unknown Industrial Workers of the World, and a legend in Communist circles."

http://www.uriasposten.net/?p=10361

From June Circle:

"Julie Leonnartsson (sic) Is apparently just a poor '66-year-old painter' from Sweden, who 'sat on the ground for hours.' According to 'Julie,' he borrowed a phone from a Danish cop so he could call his wife, who also acted as a demonstrator. The good-hearted cop may not have done so if he had known who the woman was. Leonardsson is married with a certain Anne Feeney who, inter alia, is a member of one of the oldest terrorist organizations in the world - Industrial Workers of the World.

The marriage to Anne Feeney as such is not surprising. Håkan 'Julie' Leonardsson is even an old acquaintance from the extreme left. He has for many years agitated against society through spiteful drawings,

which [people] he considers allies called satire. In Denmark he is hailed especially by the Stalin-worshippers in Workers' Communist Party (known for its violent convicted member Lars Grenaa)."

http://junikredsen.wordpress.com/2009/12/13/en-by-i-belejring-vi/

The Climate Summit adjourned with no progress - in large part due to the US and Canada's intransigence.

This Greenpeace billboard at the Copenhagen airport says it all.

Holidays at the Top of the World

Since I started coming to Sweden in 1994 I have dreamed of a trip to the Arctic Circle.  Even though we are three hours north of Stockholm here, it's still a three hour drive east and a fourteen hour train ride north to Kiruna from here.  When my sister and my niece decided to come to Sweden for Christmas this year, we decided this was the moment.  Julie and I, my daughter Amy and her boyfriend Jesse, and my sister Kathleen, my niece Kimberly and Kimberly's son Casey boarded the all night train to Kiruna at 8PM on December 20th.  We played Scrabble, sang songs, hung out in the club car and finally slept before arriving in Kiruna at 10AM on the 21st.  We checked into our sweet little hotel and set out to explore Kiruna.

That afternoon we took a cab out to Jukkasjärvi, home of the Ice Hotel.  This place is built from scratch every year in November and melts away in the spring.  Each year different artists design the "art suites" at the hotel.  Here are some photos from the ice hotel...

Certainly the highligh of this adventure for me was the special tour that my niece Kimberly and my sister Kathleen arranged for me the next day.  Julie, Kimberly, Casey and I got a snowmobile tour across a frozen lake and through the woods to a reindeer corral.  There our Saami guide Jonas taught us how to lasso our own reindeer.  Then he hitched the reindeer to a sleigh and we got to have reindeer races around a 500 m course. My sister thinks this is the funniest video she's ever seen. It's not as easy as you might think to film yourself while racing a reindeer... that's all I can say about that.

FEBRUARY ON THE LEFT COAST!

My left coast tour is shaping up well but I could sure use some help on some of these dates.  I fly into Seattle on February 4th.

I'd love to play Tacoma on February 5th... whaddya say, Tacoma?

Saturday, February 6th - Bellingham, WA

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7th - HELP!! Tacoma, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Seattle, Orcas?

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8th - HELP!! Spokane, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Seattle, Orcas?

Tuesday, February 9th - Vancouver, BC
Wednesday, February 10th - Victoria, BC
Thursday, February 11th - Courtenay, BC
Friday, February 12th - Sydney, BC
Saturday, February 13th -Vancouver, BC

SUNDAY, FEB 14th - HELP!! Seattle, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Spokane?

Monday, February 15th - West Seattle
Tuesday, February 16th - Olympia, WA

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17th - HELP!!  Vancouver, WA, Astoria, Goble, Chehalis, Corvallis, Eugene?

Thursday, February 18th - Portland, OR
Friday, February 19th - Coos Bay, OR

Saturday, February 20th - Ashland, OR

Sunday, February 21st - Reno, NV

Monday, February 22nd - Sacramento, CA

Tuesday, February 23rd - Redwood City, CA

Wednesday, February 24th - Santa Cruz, CA

Thursday, February 25th - Berkeley, CA

Friday, February 26th - Walnut Creek, CA

Saturday, February 27th - Atascadero, CA

I fly out of LAX on March 2nd...

HELP with anything in between for FEB 28th and MARCH 1st

And I could use more details from most of my presenters.  Could all you wonderful folks who are hosting/presenting me please visit http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html and make sure I have all the details and that they are correct?  THANKS!!

FLORIDA IN MARCH!!

Oh yeah!  I look forward to this so much every year.  I still have a lot of open dates for March.  Please check the calendar at http://annefeeney.com/calendar.html -- If you'd like to see me perform in your town, we'll figure out a way to make it happen.  Email me at anne@annefeeney.com and I'll get right back to you.

FAMILY NEWS

Birthdays:   
January 8th - Lauren Grefenstette, January 10th - Jesse Dalton, January 16th - Blanka Engstrom, Jim Marks, Chris Chandler and Shannon Metcalfe, January 23rd - Shelley Kessler, January 27th - Tom Weldon, January 29th - Art Deckard and Ed McCahill, January 30th - Bob Barnes, January 31st - Maryellen Hayden

(Watch this space for big family news next month!)

On January 11th I'm going to Ecuador to visit my son Daniel and his wonderful wife, Monique Murad.  You can call me in Ecuador on my son's vonage phone - 626-381-9828 (CST)

I was saddened to hear that Dennis Brutus died in Capetown on December 26th. What an extraordinary person, and what an amazing life he led.  If you're unfamiliar with him, there's a great page about him on Wikipedia.  We in Pittsburgh were lucky to have his company for so long.

Well, that's it!  Here's to lots of hellraising together in 2010! 

Much love 


Anne

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