Everyone was up in arms about the Russians conscripting men to fight in Ukraine with soldiers grabbing people off the streets, but when Ukraine does it, that's OK. 🤔
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz994d…
Ukraine war: Conscription squads send Ukrainian men into hiding
Public transport, cafes and supermarkets are now off limits to men trying to avoid being enlisted.Jean Mackenzie (BBC News)
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#fathersday
My butcher agrees with me. As a fellow Tory voter, he agrees that the Conservatives are going to lose—and lose big-time. He also agrees that it looks like Farage wants to make sure the Conservatives are so far down the food chain that they no longer pose a threat.
I put my theory to him regarding 2030 and that Farage's current plan is geared towards that, to which he responded: "I hadn't thought of that, you know, you might be right. Everyone is so focused on this election, and he's already said his party, currently, does not have the experience to run the country."
But they might have by 2030!
#politics #ReformUK #opposition
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As one paper says today: Cameron destroyed us.
You can literally plot the downward spiral from the point at which he foolishly [arrogantly] held the referendum.
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#politics #ReformUK #conservatives
independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli…
General election 2024 live: Sunak responds to Reform poll lead insisting Tories ‘still fighting hard for votes’
Nigel Farage is convinced Reform will win ‘more than four million’ votes at the general electionSalma Ouaguira (The Independent)
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Farage has changed the Tories without actually taking over (yet). He uses racism and nostalgia for what UK may have been and can't be again. I'm suspicious of his motives and those who back him.
This election could break the Tory party, but they brought it on themselves.
Labour are not being as radical as I would like, but they are fishing for votes from all sides.
Interesting times...
We're at a crossroads. Reform UK offers a possibility for change (which in itself is disliked by some who would rather preserve things as they are).
If people don't vote for them, or are dissuaded/pressured not to do so, then it could be an opportunity lost for many more decades to come and we'll be back where we are right now. Except, people will have no cause to complain.
It's a classic situation. People spout off about how they want change, a different kind of politics, and yet never actually tell you what they want. Then, when someone does come along offering a different choice, the very same people who wanted change are all up in arms.
This is the very same mentality as people who say they are dedicated to freedom and then start demanding rules, codes of conduct, and moderators. What they actually want to do is control the narrative, especially people's thoughts. They would be the first to resurrect The Tokubetsu Kōtō Keisatsu (Thought Police.)
The Conservatives seem determined to commit political suicide!
Craig Williams, faces gambling investigation after betting on July election date.
news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunak…
A good strategy might be to lock Rishi in his flat because every time he leaves or opens his mouth, he puts his foot in it! "I didn't have Sky when I was a kid." 🤦♂️
#politics
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bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8009e…
#politics
Emmanuel Macron gambles on snap France election after European defeat
Calling a snap election is a huge surprise for France, and a huge risk for President Macron.Hugh Schofield (BBC News)
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I thought Rhun ap Iorwerth - Plaid Cymru did pretty good tbh. I felt sorry for Carla Denyer - Green Party. Mishal Husain didn't give her as much leash as the rest of them; in fact, she seemed to cut her short A LOT. Farage was Farage. Daisy Cooper - Liberal Democrats was, hmm? Stephen Flynn - Scottish National Party spent most of his time attacking Labour, which was fun.
The main stars were, of course, Angela Rayner - Labour and Penny Mordaunt - Conservatives. All that was missing between those two was a bit of hair-pulling and a lost shoe. I did notice how, at the end, they were very chatty, in fact, rather friendly. #politics, aye?
Who came out on top? I'm not sure, TBH. Strangely, I thought it was a tie between Rayner and Mordaunt, with Farage a close third.
#generalelection2024
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#bbcdebate #politics #generalelection2024
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I haven't enjoyed the last two days. They have been filled with people complaining that they have to pay for repairs to their computers, stunned that quotes for equipment are more than £3.27, and irritated that they've had to wait more than thirty seconds to be shown how to merge two cells in Excel even though we don't even offer that type of support contract.
"Get into IT." they said: "You'll find it interesting and rewarding, " they said.
Reality is always very different. #HoHum
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So this is a good manifesto promise, but let us not forget it was introduced by the Conservatives in 2021, so it's not a Labour idea at all!
#politics #generalelection2024
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crgg2j…
Labour woos first-time buyers with mortgage guarantee pledge
Sir Keir Starmer says he hopes his pledge will "turn the dream of owning a home into a reality".Kevin Peachey (BBC News)
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Will someone 'stand up and fight!'? I hope no swords are involved.
youtube.com/watch?v=uHCh_Xdhg8…
MP Penny Mordaunt Calls on UK Conservatives to 'Stand Up and Fight!'
"Stand up and fight, stand up and fight!" Penny Mordaunt issues a rallying cry at the UK's Conservative Party Conference, where she's met with a standing ova...YouTube
fullfact.org/economy/labour-pa…
Most of the examples included in their calculations either have nothing to do with government, local Councils set Council Tax rates, or don't affect the average person in the street. I doubt many of us are paying Capital Gains tax.
#generalection2024
Have there been 25 tax rises since the last election? - Full Fact
Labour politicians have repeatedly made this claim, but it’s unclear how the party arrived at the figure.Full Fact
I didn't say you were. I asked you to say what you are.
See, it's a clever stance to say what one is not habitually; it's designed so that the individual can't be pinned down a bit like those who sit on the fence so that no shit splatters on them while they pass judgment on others.
I have yet to see you say anything positive or negative about Labour, Lib Dems, Greens, etc. I have seen you state unease about RefomUK, but I get the feeling that it's just Farage-related rather than any ReformUK policy offerings. Then again, I could be wrong about that because of your "I'm not" stance. 🤣
Labour definitely have issues with internal division. They have given up on some of their principles. but so have other parties.
I would probably be most in favour of the Greens on environmental issues, but may differ with them on other matters.
Lib Dems seem like the compromise party, but they lost a lot of trust by going in with the Tories. Maybe they will recover a bit this time.
Very few people are party members these days and most will vote in their own interest. It can be hard to see who will deliver on that. FPTP may mean our votes don't really count, so we have to compromise.
I don't feel I have to swear allegiance to any one party, but we can judge the Tories on their record.
I am in favour of a fairer society where everyone gets a fair chance. Nobody should be struggling to feed their kids when we have lots of billionaires and CEOs paid millions.
See, again. That's not strictly true. Yes, Farage was associated with them, but he wasn't running the party. I know he is now, and he may well have helped write the manifesto, but I will say from people I've spoken to, including business owners, their policies are striking a cord.
Another knight, aye? 🤣
Don't you think Ed Davey is a bit of loser? Did you see his Party political Broadcast? Walking around his (Affluent) former home neighbourhood.
I've not seen any PPBs. There's too much focus on the leaders anyway. I don't care where they came from as it's what they will do that matters.
Farage is a force in his own right with some rich backers who may prefer to stay in the shadows. I don't trust him at all. Do you really believe Brexit was about what you and I would gain?
There's probably policies from every party that I might like, but I could never support anything to do with Farage.
Labour pledge to build cancer centre that already exists!
itv.com/news/border/2024-06-04…
#politics #generalection2024
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bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c877v0…
@PennyMordaunt is going to rip @AngelaRayner a new one! 🤣
#politics #GeneralElection2024
Line-up confirmed for first BBC election debate
Conservative Penny Mordaunt and Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner will appear alongside participants from five other parties.Ruth Comerford (BBC News)
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Oh, it's going to be one of those days, is it?
It is one of those days where you give people clear instructions, and yet they forge ahead with what they think, having clearly disregarded everything you've said to them.
I asked Admin to put some details on SAGE as I have a deal I'm hoping to close this morning for five Laptops: "Do us a favour, put it on the system, but don't send it because I haven't had the go-ahead yet. When I have then, send it, and once they've paid, I'll release the goods."
Just had an email from Admin: "Invoiced."
🤦♂️
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#politics #ElectionDebate #generalection2024 #TVLicense
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c800xw…
General election 2024: Sunak and Starmer clash over tax in first debate
The Conservative and Labour leaders got scrappy at times, forcing the host of the ITV event to intervene and urge the pair to "lower your voices".Jennifer McKiernan (BBC News)
Well, that's made things fun.
telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/…
#politics #generalection2024 #Farage #ReformUK
Nigel Farage announcement latest: Nigel Farage announces he will stand for election in Clacton as Reform UK leader
Nigel Farage has confirmed that he will stand as an MP and take over as leader of Reform UK.The Telegraph
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He wants to destroy the Tory Party, not take it over. His style of politics is too far right for my liking, and as for his Net Zero on immigration, the man's a moron because Social Healthcare would collapse overnight, let alone devastate the NHS.
See, I blame the BBC et al. If they reported properly, the public would know that legal immigrants are being made to perform community care work if they want to extend their visas unless their employer is willing to sponsor them. If the British public knew that, they wouldn't be so anti [legal] immigrants.
I can agree that Farage is wrong, but he's also cunning. He's broken the Tories, but not quite as much as Trump broke the Republicans, yet.
Well that is one thing he and I have in common, I too would like to destroy the conservative party and definitely not have Farage take it over.
He has a very limited understanding of economics and seems to view people as a burden on an economy rather than the source of it's wealth, and so he blames too-many-people for all the problems caused by inequality and lack of government investment or controls on the ultra wealthy.
High house prices? Can't be landlord collusion, currency inflation, and failure to tax the ultra rich so they bid up house prices. Must be too many migrants, it's the poorest people who are somehow bidding up the house prices.
Poor health service? Can't be underinvestment by an austerity-crazed government, must be too many migrants using it even though they are literally half the staff.
Traffic jams? Must be too many migrants on the roads, not poor traffic planning and lack of public transport options. Migrants are the rich ones that can afford cars in his mind.
Poor schools? Oh, it's because they're full of migrants who don't speak english, not because of virtual privatization though accademisation removing all local accountability and then austerity-crazed under-investment while top management bleed them of money.
His hatred knows no bounds and his fears fill in the same answer to every question.
I really hope he loses and also ruins it for the conservative candidate and people end up with a green or something.
The Greens will never have any more power than local government.
Never mind "Taxing the rich"; we need more people to pay taxes! I wonder what socialists will do when there are no longer any rich people in the UK to squeeze? We need to create jobs and get more people back to work. See I don't mind legal immigrants; they'll work hard and pay taxes. It's the illegal and boat people that we need France to stop, but of course, they never will because the French are happy for the problem to leave their shores.
I agree with you regarding underfunding for the NHS, but only in terms of capacity and not wages, etc. We need more beds, and that doesn't necessarily mean more hospitals.
As I said to someone the other day, Farage's statements generally have an underlying truth. The NHS was created to cater for 40 million, and we currently stand at 70 million and rising, so an influx of hundreds of thousands is going to have an effect; there's no getting away from that.
Our education system was not only created for a smaller population but made worse by eradicating as many grammar schools as possible, thus reducing capacity, making ridiculous situations of classes in some areas of fifty pupils to one teacher.
In both education and the NHS, nobody wants to do the job; it's not about money; you could offer £1000 a week, and you'd still struggle to employ people willing to clean up vomit or watch someone die of cancer. There are currently one hundred and forty-four thousand vacancies in the NHS. Most pay decent wages, yet nobody in the UK wants the jobs.
I take it you know I'm a Conservative?
At least I'm willing to plant my flag in the ground, unlike some I know. 😄
When there are no longer any rich people to squeeze will will have completed the project of reclaiming the country's assets for the masses I suppose.
Stopping people risking their lives in dangerous channel crossing, and stopping the people smugglers is easy: Just offer safe passage.
80 of asylum seekers are successful and if processed efficiently could quickly be put to work, the other 20 you'd know where they came from and where they are.
An influx of hundred of thousands of them will indeed have an effect on the NHS, filling many of those vacancies ideally. Refugees are often skilled.
We have made being a doctor or nurse in England twice as badly paid working twice the hours of one in Australia. Fair pay absolutely would help with recruitment.
My flag is indeed in the green party, who would be very lucky indeed to come between those titans to take that constituency. We'll be lucky to get two, because our election system doesn't only rule out Nige, it rules out all small parties. It's a two-party fit-up.
It's dangerous to compare wages to other countries. My parents moved to the Midlands long before I did; I came up on a visit once and, just for giggles, checked out the rental prices: "Wow! Rents are cheap up here, mum." When I got back to Buckinghamshire, where I was living at the time, I made plans to move North. I soon found out why rents were cheap; the wages were diabolical. 🤣
I'll never agree to illegal immigration, no matter what the circumstances.
Oh god, don't tell me to want PR? 🤦
I won't tell you what to want, but Green Party policy is for Proportional Representation.
I'd go further myself. I don't see why I should have to wait until an election to change my democratic representation. I should be able to call up and change my representative as easily as I can change my phone company.
Keep 'em on their toes. Ensure all people actually have a representative rather than two thirds of people being served by people they didn't vote for.
I can beat that. I'd like us to go back to the medieval "Hundreds" system, but also 100 dwellings that elect a representative for said Hundred, who in turn select a representative for the county. That way you'd be truly represented otherwise you'd nip round to number 87 and put your representatives windows through. 🤣
Looks like the GAME shops are on their way out?
GAME REWARD and GAME ELITE shall be closing on 31 JULY 2024
As of 31 July 2024 (“Closure Date”) the GAME ‘Reward’ Programme (“GAME Reward”) and the GAME Elite Membership Scheme shall come to an end, after which GAME Reward and GAME Elite members will no longer be able to earn GAME Reward points on purchases made in GAME stores or online at game.co.uk or redeem any GAME Reward or GAME Elite points
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Well, that's going to ruffle some feathers.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0kkvk…
#politics #generalection2024
Tories pledge to tackle 'confusion' over legal definition of sex
Rishi Sunak says the changes would make the law around single-sex spaces clearer.Josh Parry (BBC News)
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𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗯𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁: ‘𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀’
I'll just decode that for you: "Damn! She's got more support than I realised!"
theguardian.com/politics/artic…
#politics #generalection2024
Starmer on Abbott: ‘I’ve actually got more respect for Diane than she probably realises’
The veteran leftwinger is ‘not like other candidates’, and the row over her did not arise as a result of party purges, Labour’s leader tells his biographer on the campaign trailTom Baldwin (The Guardian)
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For the love of The Pond Gods! Is that the best she can think of saying?
A better comment would be: "Phew! Now the rozzers are leaving me alone I'm allowed back on the bus."
#politics #labour #generalection2024
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Cancel Trident and introduce conscription.
#politics #generalelection2024
youtube.com/watch?v=qVO85anasr…
Every General Election, #Labour trots out the same old crutch, the #nhs
He's clearly forgotten how Labour not only retained privatisation during their last government but is also looking to outsource even more NHS services if his party wins! It's a myth that only Labour can save the NHS.
#Politics #generalelection2024
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gg74…
General election: Starmer promises to cut Welsh NHS waits
Ahead of a campaign visit to Wales, Keir Starmer says he will work with Welsh ministers to ease waits.David Deans (BBC News)
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Making the jobs private won't make them better. Quite the reverse in my experience, but the health-service jobs are indeed not jobs I'd want to do even with ten times the money and half the hours, whether private or public.
Maybe we think the plan is to make the nurses shareholders and give them stock options? 😆
Keir Starmer has fired the starting gun on the next Labour civil war
It would be nice to think this was true. 😁
#politics #generalelection2024
telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/05/2…
Keir Starmer has fired the starting gun on the next Labour civil war
Diane Abbott has been a divisive figure throughout her career, and now is no exceptionTom Harris (The Telegraph)
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telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/…
#politics #generalelection2024
Tories just 12 points behind Labour in new general election poll
Conservatives have shored up vote among over 60s with policies on national service and pensions, latest readings suggestGenevieve Holl-Allen (The Telegraph)
The problem is, there are lots of shit courses that school leavers go on that lead to nothing. Having said that, my experience and a good few other businesses that I deal with is that school leavers don't want to work; they want to be influencers or reality performers.
With regards to the blue rinse brigade, there are far more of them than young folk. That's what happens when the birthrate declines year in year out. Have you seen who the vast majority of Reform UK supporters are? The Blue Rinse Brigade. 🤣
It's a shame #Labour won't let Dianne Abbot stand as a candidate. She's such a brilliant advertisement for the #Conservatives. Who wouldn't want someone in control who doesn't know what shoe goes on what foot?
See, I told you Labour doesn't know what it's doing. 😉
I can't believe I'm about to defend Kier Starmer! 🙈
So what?
Does being part of the Labour movement mean you must dress in clothes purchased from a supermarket?
thesun.co.uk/news/28179280/kei…
#politics
Sir Keir Starmer meets voters while wearing £500 hoodie on same day he said understands ‘struggle with bi...
SIR Keir Starmer hit the campaign trail wearing a £500 French hoodie, The Sun can reveal. The Labour leader – who likes to mock Rishi Sunak for being super wealthy – was sporting the to…Harry Cole (The Sun)
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Is "No further action." being cleared? How many times have the rozzers let people go, only for it to all blow up in their faces?
The Tories are not looking to "Undo" anything; they're looking to secure another five years. Given that the latest poll puts them 12 points behind with another four weeks to go, I think there's every chance of a return to government. Remember, everyone thought staying in the EU was a forgone conclusion, and look at how wrong all those convinced people were. Look at that vote of no confidence; the Tories returned with an even greater majority.
Fortunately, there are a lot of people who are not quite yet in the blue rinse brigade who remember how bad labour was; I'm confident they don't want to see Starmer and his band of incompetents in power.
What started as looking like a slam dunk has now turned into an "It's all to play for." 
Another Hot Air story from the press desperate to promote their left-wing views.
news.sky.com/story/more-than-1…
120 business. Have you seen who these 120 are? A chef, former 'FORMER' banker. Who the hell is ATOM Bank? I doubt anyone marginal seat has heard of ATOM Bank?
I wonder what ASLEF and the TUC think about Labour cosying up to businesses? Dosen't that fly in the face of what Labour stands for?
#politics #generalelection2024
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"There's a sandwich bar come cafe...."
"along with being : in addition to
worked as cook-cum-dishwasher"
merriam-webster.com/dictionary…
so you want to write:
There's a sandwich bar-cum- cafe...
The UK population in mid-year 2022 was estimated to be 67.6 million, with approximately 54.38 million people eligible to vote. As of mid-2022, there are approximately 21 million people aged 50 and over in the UK, which leaves 33.38M.
In the last General Election, held on December 12, 2019, the Labour Party received 10,269,051 votes. Even if we say that figure could be doubled for the coming GE, 20,538,102, that still leaves over 12M votes for the 50+ age group. Of course, not everyone votes, and yes, there are all the other parties plus idiots who'll "Spoil their papers" or just not vote, but 12M is a lot of influence.
This election is going to be interesting. The Tories are predominantly targeting the 50+ age range, while Labour seems to be appealing to the young first-time voters.
Bringing back National Service is going to be very popular with the 50+ voter especially the Community Work element for those who refuse. This is already happening for people looking to stay in the UK, with work visa applicants who are looking to extend their 12-month work visa being made to do X amount of hours 'Carer' work as a pre-requisite to extension or find an employer willing to sponsor them.
Oh, and as a side benefit, it'll slash unemployment. That's nice. 🙂
news.sky.com/story/sunak-says-…
#politics #NationalService #CommunityService
Rishi Sunak says he will bring back National Service if Tories win general election
The prime minister unveils a plan that would see 18-year-olds given the choice of a full-time military placement for 12 months or a scheme to volunteer for one weekend a month for a year.Rob Powell (Sky News)
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Yep, it's pretty clever; it'll appeal to a wide range of people, not just old farts, and if it's presented in the right way, as it appears to be, people will lap it up:
"Don't worry; little Johnny won't have to fight in the front line; he can learn how to kill people with drones from the safety of Mildenhall."
"Knife crime? What knife crime? They're off the streets and in the base learning how to shoot people!"
"We've slashed unemployment! Plus, there are more jobs for middle-aged to more senior people now that all the youth have been removed from the job market. Plus, there's an unforeseen bonus: all these National Service youth will be fully trained and able to read and write when they hit the job market after leaving the forces and not head straight for the dole queue."
Fook me! I should apply to do Tory marketing. 🤣
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I think Sunak has miscalculated here. The grey voters may lap this up (I personally won't) but the young voters will vote Labour because they don't like the idea of this.
Upon hearing of this, my 21 year old son said "Well, he's royally f*cked his chances there!".
And that's the thing. The only ones it will affect are currently 14!!! And that's assuming the Tories can implement it within four years. Current 16-year-olds that Labour is chasing with their "We're going to lower the voting age." won't be affected; hell, they'll probably be 18 or 19 by the time Labour gets their insane idea implemented.
Think about it: Labour is going to give the vote to people who cannot buy alcohol, cigarettes or vapes. They cannot marry without parent's consent. The age for Homosexual consent is 18. The list just goes on and on, and yet Labour wants them to make the important decision as to who should run the country. There is only one reason why this is in the Labour policy, and that is to scrape extra votes from a class that has not even started to gain life experience.
So the two-horse race for the #generalelection2024 has started and already Rishi Sunak has made two mistakes. I have to agree with @peston's first prediction of a November election this would have given more time for interest rates to come down along with fuel and food. There would have been more time for more than just one person to enjoy the scenery of Rwanda. Secondly, why didn't he wait for 8 or 9 am this morning when there was less chance of looking like the gods were pissing all over him. #politics
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bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-6904…
#Palastine #Israel #Gaza
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