Soulplanet Blog

POETS 4 POLITICAL PRISONERS: FREE TROY DAVIS!!!





On Friday November 21, 2008, in honor of falsely accused death row inmate Troy Anthony Davis, we will be hosting Poets 4 Political Prisoners-“Free Troy Davis”. This historic event will serve as an educational piece and a benefit, which will launch the creation of The Troy Anthony Davis Scholarship Fund. On hand will be Troy Davis’ family, community activists and a number of artists. We are asking for your participation as well.

Poets 4 Political Prisoners is a tool used to educate through the use of poetry and hip-hop, highlighting freedom fighters and activists. Poets 4 Political Prisoners serves as a benefit to support the creation of materials such as, CD's and newsletters used for the legal expenses and commissary of many victims of injustice. Past participants include: Dusk Daughters, Amir Sulaiman, Liza Garza, Chairman Fred Hampton Jr., Mukasa Dada, Bilal Sunni-Ali, Queen Sheba, Kazi Ture, Askia Toure, Black Out Arts Collective and a number of Def Poets.


Also Check Out Exclusive Podcast Interview “The War Report” with Martina Correira, Sister of Troy Davis and Kalonji Changa (FTP Movement) @ www.Originalthoughtmag.com

The Origins of Black August


CODE RED: EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND



Peace Family,


We received a phone call from an associate informing us of a situation with the family of a long time Friend and Comrade. About a year ago, a Sistah we came up with was arrested on charges of attempted manslaughter. She received these charges as a result of defending herself and her two young children. A long time victim of Domestic Abuse, her estranged husband (whom she was separated from), came in thru the kitchen window and began beating her. Out of fear, she reached for a knife and stabbed him a few times...Since she was taken into custody, her mother who suffers from several ailments, has taken custody of her two children ages 6 and 3. The problem is the mother has fallen into financial hardship and is in danger of being evicted if she doesn't come up with back rent in 7 days. If evicted she will lose custody of her grandchildren. In response to this, we are making an effort to raise $3,000 to support with housing and to provide food and school clothes for the babies. We are asking for your aid. You can donate right now, online! Your support is needed every dollar counts.


Cynthia Mckinney/ Rosa Clemente Green Party Candidates


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 9th, 2008

Today Rosa A. Clemente released the following statement:

"I am honored and excited to accept this invitation to run with Cynthia McKinney. Cynthia McKinney is a hero to me and many others across this country and around the world for her courage in standing up to George Bush while the Democratic Party establishment caved.

"This campaign is the opportunity the Hip-Hop generation has been working for. This is our time to address the issues affecting our communities – rising unemployment, the high cost of food and housing, a lack of quality public education and access to higher education, the prison-industrial complex, and unaccountable corporate media. These issues are not being addressed by either the Republican or Democratic nominee.

"I choose to do this, not for me, but for my generation, my community and my daughter. I don't see the Green Party as an alternative; I see it as an imperative. I trust that my Vice Presidential run will inspire all people, but especially young people of color, to recognize that we have more then two choices. Together, we can build the future we've been wanting."

Hip-hop artist M1 says, "I've never voted in the Presidential election; I've never felt strongly enough about a candidate to. Knowing that Rosa Clemente is down with Cynthia McKinney's run, I feel that now is the greatest opportunity for the Hip-Hop community to put our collective strength and power to the test and vote for someone who represents who we are and what we stand for."


For more info visit:

www.rosaclemente.com

www.runcynthiarun.org


To schedule an interview, call 202-584-1021 or email press-secretary@runcynthiarun.org
To book Rosa A. Clemente for an event, call 347-534-2994.

Happily Natural Day 2008: Read, Reply & Forward





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BLOG : HAPPILYNATURALDAY : PRINT & WEB MEDIA DESIGN : MYSPACE : GET INVOLVED

It's Bigger than Your Afro!

Happily Natural Day specifically focuses on natural hair because women of afrikan descent throughout the globe have been taught to straighten their hair in order to conform to a european standard of beauty. To this phenomenon, HND responds "Black is Beautiful" and encourages all afrikans to "Love Thyself" with the overstanding that a nation can only rise as high as its women primarily and that aesthetic plays a major part in the development of a people's positive self perception.

Happily Natural Day is a powerful summer festival dedicated to holistic health, cultural awareness and social change. Accept no substitutes, Happily Natural Day is about substance over image, loving ourselves as African people, and changing our community as a result of that love. Happily Natural Day is a african centered business expo, a cultural arts and craft trade show, an all day lecture & workshop seminar, a conscious hip hop, soul and spoken word showcase, a fashion and natural hair exhibition and holistic health fair all rolled in one.

Happily Natural initially focused on natural hair, which resulted in being called a natural hair "show". However; it has a deeper significance and does not simply show patrons the latest in natural hair styles. Happily Natural tackles the tough discussion of "nappy" hair in the African community. Issues of self-esteem, identity, inferiority complexes, socio-psychological wellness are dealt with through informative sessions and presentations.

You Should Be There!!

Host Hotel

Comfort Inn Conference Center Midtown

3200 West Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia

(804) 359-4061

Price: 82.00 tax Included
Special ID: Happily Natural Day

Book Your Room Online

HND 2008 FEATURES

Ashra Kwesi

Mike Flo

Amaris

Mello D & Da Rados

Kalonji Changa

taj anwar of MOBBB

Tislam the Great

MORE SPEAKERS AND ARTISTS AT THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE HAPPILYNATURALDAY.COM

HND 08: Hip Hop For Social Change

Happily Natural focuses on social change, cultural awareness and holistic health & wellness. Since inception it has placed a specific focus on natural haircare, cultural heritage, social change and naturopathic medicine. Workshops are held annually on modalities for holistic healing, natural haircare & naturopathic medicine. Lectures on history, culture and heritage as it relates to Africans in America & throughout the Diapora are presented by scholars and community advocates of wide & diverse backgrounds.
 

What is Happily Natural Day?

Hosted annually through the collective efforts of a wide array of institutions, businesses and dedicated individuals; Happily Natural is a vehicle through which grassroots organizations, cultural activists and community advocates can network and interact in a festive atmosphere while promoting upliftment of the African community. During the festival, patrons are given the opportunity to interact with scholars, vendors & musicians. Community oriented poets & musicians, visual artists, and socially responsible business owners work together to inspire, illustrate and network to create cooperative socio-economic realities throughout the Diaspora.

2008 Happily Natural Highlights:

Special Guest Lecturer: Ashra Kwesi

Ashra Kwesi is a lecturer on ancient African history and religion. He reveals firsthand information from the temples, tombs and papyrus papers recorded when African people were teachers of the world. His compelling lectures are based on 27 years of historical expeditions in Africa, covering Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya and Ghana. 14 of those were spent as an apprentice to the renowned scholar, Dr. Yosef ben Jochannan. Brother Kwesi presents spirited, visually documented Power Point presentations designed to inspire and educate people of African descent.

    Socially Conscious Music

  • Mike Flo of RBG Family/People's Army: Chi-town born; ATL resident - dead prez affiliate, tag line: Consciousness Requires Action.
  • Mello-D & Da Rados: Live Hip Hop Band with raw energy and relevant lyrics
  • Tislam the Great: Baltimore Hip Hop from the Nation of Gods & Earths
  • And More to Come

    Informative Workshops

  • Ayo Handy Kendi: The Power of Breath
  • Kalonji Changa: Now-Intelpro: the continuation of Cointelpro
  • Iyapiphany : Building the Black Family
  • Myra Ceasar of Tea-Co: The Healing Properties of Tea
  • And More to Come

The Happily Natural Hip Hop Summit

The Happily Natural Hip-Hop Summit is a dynamic educational opportunity for youth, community leaders, government officials and industry professionals. The summit will include a film screening, a panel discussion and entertainment aimed at engaging youth in issues of community improvement.
Looking for Visionaries: Happily Natural Street Team
 
Happily Natural Day is coming and we're looking for a few energetic people to join our street team!
 
We need street team members to help us spread the word by passing out fliers and reposting this message all over the Internet! If you'd like to pass out fliers and generally spread the word, we'd like to thank you with a spot on the guest list for the festival after - party and some Happily Natural Day merchandise!
 
It's soooo easy to spread the word:
- @ concerts, @ parties , @ other festivals

Some of the benefits are:
-meet new people, little commitment, get into events free, it's lots of fun!
 
I mean who wouldn't want to:
-build your resume; support the movement; GET ON THE GUEST LIST!
 
Just email me with your first and last name, mailing address and phone number. We would really love your help!
 
I'll look forward to hearing from you,
 
Brother Manifest
Street Team Manager
Support Our Sponsors
 CONTACT US TO SEE YOUR LOGO HERE!!
 

CREW LOVE HOSTED BY TAJ ANWAR @ HAPPILY NATURAL

Crew Love @ Happily Natural Day: stay tuned for updates regarding the CREW LOVE invasion. email us to sponsor the event visit the website: www.crewlove.org

VENDORS & SPONSORS WANTED

Happily Natural Day is Pro-Black without Apology. For that reason we will not allow ourselves to be pimped by corporations. We get no money from alcohol, cigarettes, THAT WOULD BE OXYMORONIC. Due to living in a white supremacist system, sponsorships for programming that will sincerly and overtly seek to improve the Black Community, we look for support from black people first to keep the energy of black power fueling this effort. We refuse to dilute the message so we can get crumbs from masters table.

If you believe in what we are doing, sponsor us. Be a vendor. It is the only way we can continue to bring you the programming that we need.

Vendor Fees (per day): Pay Online http://happilynaturalday.com

$100.00: Merchandise - 10 x 8 space

$150.00: Food - 10 x 10

black power | no apology

The 6th Annual Happily Natural Day

Satuday, August 30th 2008
Theme: "Hip Hop for Social Change"
Ginter Park Elementary School
3817 Chamberlayne Avenue, Richmond Virginia

FMI: http://happilynaturalday.com
email: happilynaturalday@gmail.com

Happily Natural Day: We Do it for the Cause Not Just Because
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Rebel Diaz Apt Invaded by Police


LATEST RELEASE June 25 1pm*:

REBEL DIAZ MEMBER G1's APARTMENT STORMED BY NYPD EARLY THIS MORNING,
DAYS AFTER BRUTALITY INCIDENT;

ARMED, WARRANTLESS INVASION WITH NO PROBABLE CAUSE HAS COMMUNITY
FEARING NYPD SCARE TACTICS.


PERSONAL STATEMENT FROM G1 OF REBEL DIAZ:

Early this morning, at around 2am, I, Gonzalo Venegas aka G1 of Rebel
Diaz, was in my home in Harlem, working on my computer in the living
room, when several police officers burst into my unlocked apartment,
with guns drawn, ordering us to get down and put our hands up.

I was in the apartment with my roommate DW who was in the adjacent bedroom, and my friend MM, who slept on the couch nearby.

Both were awakened by the home invasion and were witnesses to the events occurred.

The uniformed police officers did not knock, nor announce themselves, nor
verbally identify themselves before or during their entry into my
apartment.

They pointed their guns at us the whole time as they verbally barraged MM and I with questions as to who we were and what we were doing there.

As I lay on the ground with my hands up, I replied loudly and clearly that I lived there, and that everyone in the house was supposed to be there.

They replied incredulously, repeatedly yelling their questions as to who we were, with threats as to what would happen to us if I was found to be lying.

After various other taunts and threats, including accusing us of harboring a fugitive criminal suspect, they departed just as quickly as they had arrived, down a side stairway adjacent to my apartment.

They did not stay to search me or my roommates, or the apartment for any signs of the supposed fugitive they were looking for.

After a few seconds of disbelief and shock, I decided to follow the officers outside in order to fully understand what had just happened, and to document their identity.

One police van sped off as I came out of the side door of my building.

The remaining police squad car was pealing off when I ran into the middle of the street to flag it down.

They stopped the car, as I respectfully asked for their name and badge numbers.

Both police officers allowed me to walk closer to them, as I verbally noted their name and badge numbers.

The officers quickly got back into their squad car, provided no explanation for the home invasion, and sped off.

I was left in a state of shock and terror, as I frantically asked some of my neighbors outside if they knew of why the police had entered my building- and specifically my apartment--without justification.

I received no conclusive answers from the residents outside.

As of 10:30pm EST on Tuesday June 24, 2008,I have not received any official explanation for the events occurred, neither from the police precinct nor my building manager or owner, despite numerous calls and
requests for an explanation.

Both the 25th and 23rd NYPD precinct, which patrol my block, have denied that the officers involved are from their command.

The questions as to why several armed police officers mysteriously and violently invaded my home without any clear legal justification remain unanswered.

One is left only to think that the occurrences of this morning are not a coincidence of mistaken identity, but a direct response by the NYPD to an incident of police brutality I was involved in last week in the South Bronx.

Until we have a clear understanding of the causes and the people behind this morning's home invasion, Rebel Diaz will engage in limited communication outside of our legal representation.

We are not looking for the next NYPD scare tactic to turn into a tragedy.


For more information regarding the incidents of police brutality
against G1 and Rodstarz of Rebel Diaz last week, and the pending case
them, please visit www.rebeldiaz.com

Obama Supports Illegal Wiretaps?


(Salon) In the past 24 hours, specifically beginning with the moment Barack Obama announced that he now supports the Cheney/Rockefeller/Hoyer House bill, there have magically arisen -- in places where one would never have expected to find them -- all sorts of claims about why this FISA "compromise" isn't really so bad after all. People who spent the week railing against Steny Hoyer as an evil, craven enabler of the Bush administration -- or who spent the last several months identically railing against Jay Rockefeller -- suddenly changed their minds completely when Barack Obama announced that he would do the same thing as they did. What had been a vicious assault on our Constitution, and corrupt complicity to conceal Bush lawbreaking, magically and instantaneously transformed into a perfectly understandable position, even a shrewd and commendable decision, that we should not only accept, but be grateful for as undertaken by Obama for our Own Good.

Accompanying those claims are a whole array of factually false statements about the bill, deployed in service of defending Obama's indefensible -- and deeply unprincipled -- support for this "compromise." Numerous individuals stepped forward to assure us that there was only one small bad part of this bill -- the part which immunizes lawbreaking telecoms -- and since Obama says that he opposes that part, there is no basis for criticizing him for what he did. Besides, even if Obama decided to support an imperfect bill, it's our duty to refrain from voicing any criticism of him, because the Only Thing That Matters is that Barack Obama be put in the Oval Office, and we must do anything and everything -- including remain silent when he embraces a full-scale assault on the Fourth Amendment and the rule of law -- because every goal is now subordinate to electing Barack Obama our new Leader.

It is absolutely false that the only unconstitutional and destructive provision of this "compromise" bill is the telecom amnesty part. It's true that most people working to defeat the Cheney/Rockefeller bill viewed opposition to telecom amnesty as the most politically potent way to defeat the bill, but the bill's expansion of warrantless eavesdropping powers vested in the President, and its evisceration of safeguards against abuses of those powers, is at least as long-lasting and destructive as the telecom amnesty provisions. The bill legalizes many of the warrantless eavesdropping activities George Bush secretly and illegally ordered in 2001. Those warrantless eavesdropping powers violate core Fourth Amendment protections. And Barack Obama now supports all of it, and will vote it into law. Those are just facts.

The ACLU specifically identifies the ways in which this bill destroys meaningful limits on the President's power to spy on our international calls and emails. Sen. Russ Feingold condemned the bill on the ground that it "fails to protect the privacy of law-abiding Americans at home" because "the government can still sweep up and keep the international communications of innocent Americans in the U.S. with no connection to suspected terrorists, with very few safeguards to protect against abuse of this power." Rep. Rush Holt -- who was actually denied time to speak by bill-supporter Silvestre Reyes only to be given time by bill-opponent John Conyers -- condemned the bill because it vests the power to decide who are the "bad guys" in the very people who do the spying.

This bill doesn't legalize every part of Bush's illegal warrantless eavesdropping program but it takes a large step beyond FISA towards what Bush did. There was absolutely no reason to destroy the FISA framework, which is already an extraordinarily pro-Executive instrument that vests vast eavesdropping powers in the President, in order to empower the President to spy on large parts of our international communications with no warrants at all. This was all done by invoking the scary spectre of Terrorism -- "you must give up your privacy and constitutional rights to us if you want us to keep you safe" -- and it is Obama's willingness to embrace that rancid framework, the defining mindset of the Bush years, that is most deserving of intense criticism here.

Last night, Greg Sargent wrote that the most infuriating aspect of what Obama did here "is that since the outset of the campaign he's seemed absolutely dead serious about changing the way foreign policy is discussed and argued about in this country"; that Obama's "candidacy has long seemed to embody a conviction that Democrats can win arguments with Republicans about national security -- that if Dems stick to a set of core principles, and forcefully argue for them without blinking, they can and will persuade people that, simply put, they are right and Republicans are wrong"; and that "this time, he abandoned that premise," even though:



if there were ever anything that would have tested his operating premise throughout this campaign -- that you can win arguments with Republicans about national security -- it was this legislation. If ever there were anything that deserved to test this premise, it was this legislation.


This superb piece from The Technology Liberation Front makes the same argument:


We are, in other words, right back to the narrative where being "strong" on national security means trashing the constitution. . . . . This is doubly disappointing because until now Obama has been a master at re-framing national security debates to get out of this box. Unlike John Kerry, he has refused to shy away from a confrontational posture on foreign policy issues. He's shown a willingness to say he has a better foreign policy vision, rather than simply insisting he can be just as tough on the terrorists as the Republicans are. He could and should have done the same with FISA, taking the opportunity to explain why warrantless surveillance isn't necessary to protect us from the terrorists. But it seems he, along with Steny Hoyer and Harry Reid, chickened out. So it's back to Republicans being tough on national security and Democrats defensively insisting that they, too, hate terrorists more than they love the constitution.


It's either that he "chickened out" or -- as Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin asserts and Digby wonders -- Obama believes he will be President and wants these extreme powers for himself, no doubt, he believes, because he'll exercise them magnanimously, for our Own Good. Whatever the motives -- and I don't know (or much care) what they are -- Obama has embraced a bill that is not only redolent of many of the excesses of Bush's executive power theories and surveillance state expansions, but worse, has done so by embracing the underlying rationale of "Be-scared-and-give-up-your-rights." Note that the very first line of Obama's statement warns us that we face what he calls "grave threats," and that therefore, we must accept that our Leader needs more unlimited power, and the best we can do is trust that he will use it for our Good.

Making matters worse still, what Obama did yesterday is in clear tension with an emphatic promise that he made just months ago. As the extremely pro-Obama MoveOn.org notes today, Obama's spokesman, Bill Burton, back in in September, vowed that Obama would "support a filibuster of any bill that includes retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies." MoveOn believes Obama should be held to his word and is thus conducting a campaign urging Obama to do what he promised -- support a filibuster to stop the enactment of telecom amnesty. You can email Burton here to demand that Obama comply with his commitment not just to vote against, but to filibuster, telecom amnesty:

bburton@barackobama.com

Incidentally, Chris Dodd made an identical promise when he was running for President, prompting the support of hundreds of thousands of new contributors, and he ought to be held to his promise as well.

The excuse that Obama's support for this bill is politically shrewd is -- even if accurate -- neither a defense of what he did nor a reason to refrain from loudly criticizing him for it. Actually, it's the opposite. It's precisely because Obama is calculating that he can -- without real consequence -- trample upon the political values of those who believe in the Constitution and the rule of law that it's necessary to do what one can to change that calculus. Telling Obama that you'll cheer for him no matter what he does, that you'll vest in him Blind Faith that anything he does is done with the purest of motives, ensures that he will continue to ignore you and your political interests.

Beyond that, this attitude that we should uncritically support Obama in everything he does and refrain from criticizing him is unhealthy in the extreme. No political leader merits uncritical devotion -- neither when they are running for office nor when they occupy it -- and there are few things more dangerous than announcing that you so deeply believe in the Core Goodness of a political leader, or that we face such extreme political crises that you trust and support whatever your Leader does, even when you don't understand it or think that it's wrong. That's precisely the warped authoritarian mindset that defined the Bush Movement and led to the insanity of the post-9/11 Era, and that uncritical reverence is no more attractive or healthy when it's shifted to a new Leader.

What Barack Obama did here was wrong and destructive. He's supporting a bill that is a full-scale assault on our Constitution and an endorsement of the premise that our laws can be broken by the political and corporate elite whenever the scary specter of The Terrorists can be invoked to justify it. What's more, as a Constitutional Law Professor, he knows full well what a radical perversion of our Constitution this bill is, and yet he's supporting it anyway. Anyone who sugarcoats or justifies that is doing a real disservice to their claimed political values and to the truth.

The excuse that we must sit by quietly and allow him to do these things with no opposition so that he can win is itself a corrupted and self-destructive mentality. That mindset has no end. Once he's elected, it will transform into: "It's vital that Obama keeps his majority in Congress so you have to keep quiet until after the 2010 midterms," after which it will be: "It's vital that Obama is re-elected so you have to keep quiet until after 2012," at which point the process will repeat itself from the first step. Quite plainly, those are excuses to justify mindless devotion, not genuine political strategies.

Having said all of that, the other extreme -- declaring that Obama is now Evil Incarnate, no better than John McCain, etc. etc. -- is no better. Obama is a politician running for political office, driven by all the standard, pedestrian impulses of most other people who seek and crave political power. It's nothing more or less than that, and it is just as imperative today as it was yesterday that the sickly right-wing faction be permanently removed from power and that there is never any such thing as the John McCain Administration (as one commenter ironically noted yesterday, at the very least, Obama is far more likely to appoint Supreme Court Justices who will rule that the bill Obama supports is patently unconstitutional). The commenter sysprog described perfectly the irrational excesses of both extremes the other day:


Argh

Why are so many four-year-olds and fourteen-year-olds making comments on blogs?

Four-year-olds see their preferred politicians as god-like fathers (or mothers) whose virtuous character will guarantee good judgment. If a judgment looks questionable to you, then it's because you don't know all the facts that mommy and daddy know, or it's because you aren't as wise as them.

Fourteen-year-olds have had their illusions shattered about those devilish politicians so now they perceive the TRUTH - - that mommy and daddy make bad judgments because mommy and daddy are utterly corrupt.


Personally, I can empathize with the impulses behind the latter far more than the former, even while recognizing that they both must be diligently avoided. It's understandable that there is a substantial sense of anger and betrayal towards Obama as a result of what he did yesterday, particularly among those who previously viewed him as something transcendent and "different." Quoting Shakespeare is always slightly pompous (at least) but -- with apologies in advance -- his observation in Sonnet 94 is too apropos here to refrain:


For sweetest things turn sourest by their deeds;

Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds.


If there is one good thing that can come from this week's horrific embrace by Obama and our bipartisan political establishment of warrantless eavesdropping and telecom amnesty, perhaps it will be that the illusions of "lily-ness" about Barack Obama can finally fade away and be replaced by a more realistic perception of what he is, what his limits are, and the reasons why he merits real scrutiny, criticism and checks -- like everyone else pursuing political power does. Recall that the very first thing that he did upon securing the nomination was run to AIPAC to prostrate himself before them and swear undying fealty to their militant pieties. There will be plenty more of these sorts of ugly rituals to come. Whether you think he is engaging in them out of justifiable political calculation or some barren quest for power doesn't much matter.

Either way, no good comes from lending uncritical support to a political leader, or cheering them on when they do bad and destructive things, or using twisted rationalizations to justify their full-scale assault on your core political values. The overriding lesson of the last seven years is that political figures, more than they need anything else, need checks and limits. That is just as important to keep in mind -- probably more so -- when you love or revere a political leader as it is when you detest one.

The campaign against politicians who are enabling this assault on our Constitutional framework, core civil liberties and the rule of law has now raised close to $300,000. My explanation about the current plans for these funds, in response to a commenter's inquiries, can be read here. Contributions to that campaign can be made here.

In comments, Hume's Ghost wrote:


What really rubbed me the wrong way was how Obama in his statement says essentially trust me with these powers, I'll use them responsibly.

Nope.

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty." - John Adams [1772].


In 1799, Thomas Jefferson echoed that: "Free government is founded in jealousy, not confidence . . . . Let no more be heard of confidence in men, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitutions." Between (a) relying on the limitations imposed by the Constitution or (b) placing faith in the promises of a political leader not to abuse his unchecked power, it isn't really a difficult choice -- at least it ought not to be, no matter who the political leader in question happens to be. (source)