Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Fast and Furious: Update, Ken Melson - BATFE Director Loses Job, Or Does He?
"The controversy over the Fast and Furious anti-gun-trafficking operation upended the careers of two Justice Department officials Tuesday as the interim head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was transferred to an obscure, new post and the well-connected chief federal prosecutor in Arizona resigned.
ATF’s current acting director, Ken Melson, will move to Justice’s Office of Legal Policy this week to become a senior adviser on forensic science, the Justice Department said. Dennis Burke, the U.S. Attorney for Arizona who oversaw prosecutions in that state related to the Fast and Furious operation, stepped down and left the federal government." says Politico
So, in typical government fashion, Ken Melson, whose "Fast and Furious"-"Gun Walking" program is not only directly responsible for the death of at least one Border Patrol Agent but is being attributed to attacks on the 2nd Amendment as retribution for American Guns going to Mexico, isn't brought up on any charges of any kind. Instead, he's given a lower profile job in the ATF, with less work and the same pay that he received as Director.
What the Hell is wrong with this picture? If you are an Obama supporter and support all of the illegal, unconstitutional, shadow "Czar" government activity, probably nothing.
Monday, August 22, 2011
H.R.2819: To prohibit the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and any other... OpenCongress
H.R.2819: To prohibit the Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and any other... OpenCongress
Gag order to prevent anyone in the CIA or any other branch of the federal government from saying anything about the mission that supposedly killed Bin Laden
Yet another example of the feds covering their tracks.
Gag order to prevent anyone in the CIA or any other branch of the federal government from saying anything about the mission that supposedly killed Bin Laden
Yet another example of the feds covering their tracks.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Obama's ultimate "Bug Out Bus"! Too bad we had to foot the bill.
Originally published at Politico.com
The Secret Service has revealed to Talking Points Memo that the government has purchased two armored buses for use by President Barack Obama and Republican candidates in the 2012 presidential campaign and beyond.
The agency initially declined to tell TPM whom the buses were bought from, but based on some searches of federal databases it looked to me like the seller was Hemphill Brothers Coach Co. of Whites Creek, Tenn. Last July, the Service signed a contract for nearly $2.2 million with the firm, according to a federal procurement database. (The entry doesn't specify the number of buses.)
"The contract you found is the contract," Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said Thursday morning. "It's two buses for $1.1 million each."
"We've been overdue for having this asset in our protective fleet for some time," Donovan said. "We've been protecting presidential candidates and vice presidential candidates all the way back to the 1980s using buses during bus tours."
In the past, the service leased buses and then tried to fit them with extra security gear. But that can't provide the assurance of starting from scratch.
"They're certainly going to be used for bus tours around the country," as well as other events, Donovan said. "When protectees go to remote areas, go camping or on a motorcyle trip, we''ll bring the asset out as a mobile security facility." (Kind of like a congressman's mobile office, I guess.
The final cost of the two new buses will exceed $2.2 million, because the Service prefers to add its own aftermarket security features to vehicles. Donovan said the service will do so in this instance as well.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
It Is Unravelling
I think it pretty much sums up what is happening everywhere around the world. The Globalist Banking Cartels are beginning to reap what they have sown.
For many years we have been able to live a life of relative luxury on cheap credit and now it's time to pay the piper. Only, there isn't anything left to give, except to give into tyranny and debt slavery. Or, we can stand and fight.
Fight, yes, but not each other. We have to fight our own personal demons of the individual greed that forces each of us to live beyond our means. We must learn to live with what we have and what we can afford.
Fight the system. Refuse to take handouts from the government. Stop using government services, paid for by the sweat of the taxpayer.
Today, nearly 50 million Americans are on some sort of Government assistance. They will never attempt to find their own way as long as the government provides a hand out. And NO, I am not heartless. I prefer private charity and encouragement of people to do for themselves.
Stop contributing too. Do whatever you can to reduce the amount of taxes you pay through witholdings your employer takes from you. Raise your number of dependents on your W-4 form to 20 or 30 if you have no choice to stop witholding. Stop making quarterly contributions. Stop.
Stop taking it. Stop paying into it. Stop.
If we are together, we can overthrow the insanity by starving it out.
United We Stand. Live Free or Die.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Seal Team Six Helicopter Crash
Here's another one for the "Down the Rabbit Hole Files" -
Rueters is reporting the downing of a US Military CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter. Oddly, the story only barely mentions Seal Team Six, the "killers" of Osama Bin Laden "Thirty U.S. soldiers -- some from the Navy's special forces SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- seven Afghans and an interpreter died in Friday night's crash, just two weeks after foreign troops began a security handover to Afghan forces." - and it's halfway through the article.
Maybe the downing of the helo has something to do with tidying up some loose ends in the strange circumstances surrounding the death of Bin laden and the quick disposal of his body.
Coincidence?
You decide.
Rueters is reporting the downing of a US Military CH-47 "Chinook" helicopter. Oddly, the story only barely mentions Seal Team Six, the "killers" of Osama Bin Laden "Thirty U.S. soldiers -- some from the Navy's special forces SEAL Team 6, the unit that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden -- seven Afghans and an interpreter died in Friday night's crash, just two weeks after foreign troops began a security handover to Afghan forces." - and it's halfway through the article.
Maybe the downing of the helo has something to do with tidying up some loose ends in the strange circumstances surrounding the death of Bin laden and the quick disposal of his body.
Coincidence?
You decide.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Banks Do Not Want Your Cash
I would never have thought that Banks would not want to take your cash. It's obviously true. It started right after the TARP bailouts, when it became less expensive for banks to take money from the Federal Reserve Bank in loans that it was to pay interest to depositors. Now, the banks want to charge you money to take in your money. Screwed, no matter how you slice it.
First The ATF Ran Guns To Mexico, Now The Feds Are Smuggling Cocaine INTO The USA
U.S. federal agents allegedly allowed the Sinaloa drug cartel to traffic several tons of cocaine into the United States in exchange for information about rival cartels, according to court documents filed in a U.S. federal court.
The allegations are part of the defense of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago. The court in Chicago held a status hearing today and ordered the U.S. government to respond to Zambada-Niebla's motion containing the allegations by Sept. 11.
The case could prove to be a bombshell on par with the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious," except that instead of U.S. guns being allowed to walk across the border, the Sinaloa cartel was allowed to bring drugs into the United States over a five-year period, the documents allege.
Zambada-Niebla, who worked for Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera, is the son of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, another drug lord associated with the Sinaloa cartel.
The allegations are part of the defense of Vicente Zambada-Niebla, who was extradited to the United States to face drug-trafficking charges in Chicago. The court in Chicago held a status hearing today and ordered the U.S. government to respond to Zambada-Niebla's motion containing the allegations by Sept. 11.
The case could prove to be a bombshell on par with the ATF's "Operation Fast and Furious," except that instead of U.S. guns being allowed to walk across the border, the Sinaloa cartel was allowed to bring drugs into the United States over a five-year period, the documents allege.
Zambada-Niebla, who worked for Joaquin "Chapo" Guzman Loera, is the son of Ismael "Mayo" Zambada-Garcia, another drug lord associated with the Sinaloa cartel.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Ron Paul Sounds The Alarm On Unconstitutional, Power Grabbing "Super Congress"
Ron Paul is on the front line again sounding the alarms of the new unconstitutional "Super Congress". Let's hope the people of this country are awake enough to recognize the danger we are in now. Here's what Paul Joseph Watson at Prison Planet had to say about it:
"Congressman Ron Paul warns that the all-powerful new “Super Congress” created by the vote on the debt ceiling will be used to fast-track tax increases while concentrating more power over the nation’s purse strings in the hands of the Washington elite.
During an appearance on Fox News, Andrew Napolitano warned that the “Super Congress” was an assault on the authority the Constitution gives elected representatives.
As we reported yesterday, the “Super Congress,” which was approved by the House yesterday and is set to be rubber stamped in the Senate today, will establish a new level of unaccountable government, and will strip elected representatives of the right to amend legislation or filibuster on whatever issues it sees fit, not merely limited to the debt situation.
This body will have “extraordinary new powers” to quickly force legislation through both chambers, including gun control, entitlement cuts and tax hikes.
In a statement made yesterday in response to the passage of the Budget Control Act, Congressman Ron Paul expressed his alarm at the establishment of this “disturbing” new committee, and warned that it would be used to ram through tax increases.
“The legislation produced by this commission will be fast-tracked, and Members will not have the opportunity to offer amendments,” said Paul. “Approval of the recommendations of the “Super Congress” is tied to yet another debt ceiling increase. This guarantees that Members will face tremendous pressure to vote for whatever comes out of this commission– even if it includes tax increases. This provision is an excellent way to keep spending decisions out of the reach of members who are not on board with the leadership’s agenda.”
The Congressman added that the committee represents “Nothing more than a way to disenfranchise the majority of Congress by denying them the chance for meaningful participation in the crucial areas of entitlement and tax reform. It cedes power to draft legislation to a special commission, hand-picked by the House and Senate leadership.”
Indeed, the White House has already indicated that it will harness the power of the Super Congress, thereby becoming the de facto deciding 13th member, to terminate the Bush tax cuts from 2012 onwards.
As CBS News reports, Congress will be mandated to carry out an up or down vote, with no amendments allowed, on the recommendations of the super committee on December 23rd, one month after the new body completes its work, which will be focused on cutting Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.
“Congress could not modify the committee’s recommendation,” reports CBS, an admission that powers ascribed to elected lawmakers that are enshrined in the Constitution are being completely gutted.
If Congress rejects the super committee’s proposals, “then automatic across the board spending cuts of at least $1.2 trillion would go into effect.”
Second Amendment organizations like Gun Owners of America fear that this new super committee of lawmakers would not stop at ruling over the debt issue, and that it could move on to target the right to bear arms by pushing legislation on “Gun owner registration, “bans on semi-automatic firearms,” and the “adoption of a UN gun control treaty.”
The fact that the establishment of a body which threatens to completely re-write over 200 years worth of constitutionally-based legislative practice has sailed through with barely a whimper of debate from politicians or the mainstream media is a damning indictment of how the Obama administration’s penchant for executive autonomy has aggressively seized control of the political process.
Once again, it is up to the grass roots to raise the alarm on this shocking development in the hope that it can later be shot down by a federal judge still familiar with the basic tenets of the constitution."
Read More Here
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
"Congressman Ron Paul warns that the all-powerful new “Super Congress” created by the vote on the debt ceiling will be used to fast-track tax increases while concentrating more power over the nation’s purse strings in the hands of the Washington elite.
During an appearance on Fox News, Andrew Napolitano warned that the “Super Congress” was an assault on the authority the Constitution gives elected representatives.
As we reported yesterday, the “Super Congress,” which was approved by the House yesterday and is set to be rubber stamped in the Senate today, will establish a new level of unaccountable government, and will strip elected representatives of the right to amend legislation or filibuster on whatever issues it sees fit, not merely limited to the debt situation.
This body will have “extraordinary new powers” to quickly force legislation through both chambers, including gun control, entitlement cuts and tax hikes.
In a statement made yesterday in response to the passage of the Budget Control Act, Congressman Ron Paul expressed his alarm at the establishment of this “disturbing” new committee, and warned that it would be used to ram through tax increases.
“The legislation produced by this commission will be fast-tracked, and Members will not have the opportunity to offer amendments,” said Paul. “Approval of the recommendations of the “Super Congress” is tied to yet another debt ceiling increase. This guarantees that Members will face tremendous pressure to vote for whatever comes out of this commission– even if it includes tax increases. This provision is an excellent way to keep spending decisions out of the reach of members who are not on board with the leadership’s agenda.”
The Congressman added that the committee represents “Nothing more than a way to disenfranchise the majority of Congress by denying them the chance for meaningful participation in the crucial areas of entitlement and tax reform. It cedes power to draft legislation to a special commission, hand-picked by the House and Senate leadership.”
Indeed, the White House has already indicated that it will harness the power of the Super Congress, thereby becoming the de facto deciding 13th member, to terminate the Bush tax cuts from 2012 onwards.
As CBS News reports, Congress will be mandated to carry out an up or down vote, with no amendments allowed, on the recommendations of the super committee on December 23rd, one month after the new body completes its work, which will be focused on cutting Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.
“Congress could not modify the committee’s recommendation,” reports CBS, an admission that powers ascribed to elected lawmakers that are enshrined in the Constitution are being completely gutted.
If Congress rejects the super committee’s proposals, “then automatic across the board spending cuts of at least $1.2 trillion would go into effect.”
Second Amendment organizations like Gun Owners of America fear that this new super committee of lawmakers would not stop at ruling over the debt issue, and that it could move on to target the right to bear arms by pushing legislation on “Gun owner registration, “bans on semi-automatic firearms,” and the “adoption of a UN gun control treaty.”
The fact that the establishment of a body which threatens to completely re-write over 200 years worth of constitutionally-based legislative practice has sailed through with barely a whimper of debate from politicians or the mainstream media is a damning indictment of how the Obama administration’s penchant for executive autonomy has aggressively seized control of the political process.
Once again, it is up to the grass roots to raise the alarm on this shocking development in the hope that it can later be shot down by a federal judge still familiar with the basic tenets of the constitution."
Read More Here
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
No Fiscal Conservatives to Serve on Super Congress
From the Weekly Standard:
The debt ceiling deal will pass the Senate early this afternoon. No suspense there. But the vote will be worth watching for another reason: Three Republican Senate sources tell TWS that senators who vote against the deal will be ineligible to serve on the so-called “supercommittee” for deficit reduction that the legislation creates.
While there’s certain logic to such a policy, it could be self-defeating. Excluding those who vote against the debt deal will ensure that some of the most fiscally conservative members of the Senate Republican caucus, including most of its freshmen, will be reading about the committee’s activities in the newspaper rather than guiding its decisions. Among those who have already declared their opposition to the deal: libertarian-leaning senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul; Jim DeMint, the aggressive fiscal hawk from South Carolina; conservative reformers Ron Johnson from Wisconsin and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania; the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, Jeff Sessions; and Florida’s Marco Rubio, already one of the highest-profile conservatives in Congress.
More worrisome for conservatives, however, is that private whip counts in the Senate found that some 20 Republicans expressed support for the proposals that came out of the Gang of Six. And while many of the components of that plan have merit as individual policy proposals, the package involves compromises on taxes anathema to most conservatives. Picking a Gang of Six member – or supporter – would further antagonize conservatives skeptical of the debt ceiling deal.
There’s the problem. If, say, a dozen of the strongest fiscal conservatives vote against the deal, the pool of Republicans that can be expected to hold the line on taxes shrinks very quickly. And if a key Republican objective for the committee is to block tax increases, the exclusion of these strong fiscal conservatives makes meeting that goal more difficult.
Mitch McConnell, who will make the selections, isn’t worried. He told Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto yesterday that the likelihood of tax hikes coming out of the committee is “pretty low.”
“What I can pretty certainly say to the American people, the chances of any kind of tax increase passing with this, with the appointees of John Boehner and I, are going to put in there are pretty low,” said McConnell. He added: “I’m comfortable we aren’t going to raise taxes coming out of this joint committee.”
Read More Here
The debt ceiling deal will pass the Senate early this afternoon. No suspense there. But the vote will be worth watching for another reason: Three Republican Senate sources tell TWS that senators who vote against the deal will be ineligible to serve on the so-called “supercommittee” for deficit reduction that the legislation creates.
While there’s certain logic to such a policy, it could be self-defeating. Excluding those who vote against the debt deal will ensure that some of the most fiscally conservative members of the Senate Republican caucus, including most of its freshmen, will be reading about the committee’s activities in the newspaper rather than guiding its decisions. Among those who have already declared their opposition to the deal: libertarian-leaning senators Mike Lee and Rand Paul; Jim DeMint, the aggressive fiscal hawk from South Carolina; conservative reformers Ron Johnson from Wisconsin and Pat Toomey from Pennsylvania; the ranking member on the Senate Budget Committee, Jeff Sessions; and Florida’s Marco Rubio, already one of the highest-profile conservatives in Congress.
More worrisome for conservatives, however, is that private whip counts in the Senate found that some 20 Republicans expressed support for the proposals that came out of the Gang of Six. And while many of the components of that plan have merit as individual policy proposals, the package involves compromises on taxes anathema to most conservatives. Picking a Gang of Six member – or supporter – would further antagonize conservatives skeptical of the debt ceiling deal.
There’s the problem. If, say, a dozen of the strongest fiscal conservatives vote against the deal, the pool of Republicans that can be expected to hold the line on taxes shrinks very quickly. And if a key Republican objective for the committee is to block tax increases, the exclusion of these strong fiscal conservatives makes meeting that goal more difficult.
Mitch McConnell, who will make the selections, isn’t worried. He told Fox News Channel’s Neil Cavuto yesterday that the likelihood of tax hikes coming out of the committee is “pretty low.”
“What I can pretty certainly say to the American people, the chances of any kind of tax increase passing with this, with the appointees of John Boehner and I, are going to put in there are pretty low,” said McConnell. He added: “I’m comfortable we aren’t going to raise taxes coming out of this joint committee.”
Read More Here
Tea Party Branded Terrorists by Leftist Establishment
Harry Reid "Rise of Tea Party Disconcerting"
VP. Joe Biden "They have acted like Terrorists"
New York Times' Thomas L. Friedman compares Tea Party to Al-Queda
It's going to get very ugly folks.
VP. Joe Biden "They have acted like Terrorists"
New York Times' Thomas L. Friedman compares Tea Party to Al-Queda
It's going to get very ugly folks.
The Insanity: Unlicensed Lemonade Stands!
CORALVILLE, Iowa (AP) — Police closed down a lemonade stand in Coralville last week, telling its 4-year-old operator and her dad that she didn't have a permit.
An officer told Abigail Krutsinger's father Friday that she couldn't run the stand as RAGBRAI bicyclers poured into Coralville.
A city ordinance says food vendors must apply for a permit and get a health inspection.
Abigail's dad, Dustin Krutsinger, said the ordinance and its enforcers are going too far if they force a 4-year-old to abandon her lemonade stand. READ MORE HERE
This is at least the third time in recent history that this sort of lawlessness has been addressed by local authorities. The threat of overly sour lemonade has been thwarted by a SWAT team in full combat gear. The little girl in question has been whisked away by black uniformed, heavily armed, Department of Homeland Security forces, under the Rendition program authorized under the Patriot Act, to an undisclosed country for further "enhanced interrogation" to discover the nefarious nature of not adding enough sugar to the sticky concoction....... OK, that's just a bit of satire, but you see where this could be headed.
Under the "Food Safety and Modernization Act", local authorities are tasked by the FDA to enforce regulations concerning unregulated food production and sales.
At what point does the average American wake up and scream, "Enough is Enough!" ?
Our Liberties guaranteed by the Constitution have been eroded to the point that the USA looks nothing like the country I grew up in, just a few decades ago. Here are just a few of the most heinous assaults on our Liberties which are helping to establish a new police state:
The Patriot Act: Which, among other things has completely gutted the 4th Amendment
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 Which has been challenged on Constitutional grounds as to it's legality under the "commerce clause" by forcing people to engage in not necessarily interstate commerce, not to mention all of the tax hikes, kick backs and special favors done for "friends of the administration"
The TSA and what amounts to being technically under arrest and being forced to submit to searches that would land a civilian in jail if conducted outside of an airport.
An officer told Abigail Krutsinger's father Friday that she couldn't run the stand as RAGBRAI bicyclers poured into Coralville.
A city ordinance says food vendors must apply for a permit and get a health inspection.
Abigail's dad, Dustin Krutsinger, said the ordinance and its enforcers are going too far if they force a 4-year-old to abandon her lemonade stand. READ MORE HERE
This is at least the third time in recent history that this sort of lawlessness has been addressed by local authorities. The threat of overly sour lemonade has been thwarted by a SWAT team in full combat gear. The little girl in question has been whisked away by black uniformed, heavily armed, Department of Homeland Security forces, under the Rendition program authorized under the Patriot Act, to an undisclosed country for further "enhanced interrogation" to discover the nefarious nature of not adding enough sugar to the sticky concoction....... OK, that's just a bit of satire, but you see where this could be headed.
Under the "Food Safety and Modernization Act", local authorities are tasked by the FDA to enforce regulations concerning unregulated food production and sales.
At what point does the average American wake up and scream, "Enough is Enough!" ?
Our Liberties guaranteed by the Constitution have been eroded to the point that the USA looks nothing like the country I grew up in, just a few decades ago. Here are just a few of the most heinous assaults on our Liberties which are helping to establish a new police state:
The Patriot Act: Which, among other things has completely gutted the 4th Amendment
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 Which has been challenged on Constitutional grounds as to it's legality under the "commerce clause" by forcing people to engage in not necessarily interstate commerce, not to mention all of the tax hikes, kick backs and special favors done for "friends of the administration"
The TSA and what amounts to being technically under arrest and being forced to submit to searches that would land a civilian in jail if conducted outside of an airport.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Debt Theater Contiues - Deal only raises debt.
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama announced on Sunday that Republican and Democratic leaders had agreed on a last-ditch deal to raise the U.S. borrowing limit and avoid a catastrophic default, and he urged lawmakers to "do the right thing" and approve the agreement.
Here is a summary of the deal, based on documents provided by both parties, as well as interviews with lawmakers and aides:
* The deal would allow President Barack Obama to raise the debt ceiling in three steps. Congress would get a chance to register its disapproval on two of these, but would not be able to block them unless it musters a two-thirds vote in both the House and the Senate -- an unlikely prospect.
* It envisions spending cuts of roughly $2.4 trillion over 10 years, which Congress would approve in two steps -- an initial $917 billion when the deal passes Congress and another $1.5 trillion by the end of the year.
* The first group of spending cuts would apply to the discretionary programs that Congress approves annually, covering everything from the military to food inspection.
* Those programs would be capped each year for 10 years. The caps would be relatively modest at first to avoid stifling the shaky economy -- spending for the fiscal year that begins October 1 would be only $6 billion below the current level of $1.049 trillion. The caps would have a greater impact in later years, when it is hoped that the economy will have recovered.
* Some $350 billion of the $917 billion total would come from defense and other security programs which now account for more than half of all discretionary spending. Republicans are resisting this idea and it is one of the few areas of dispute left.
* Automatic across-the-board spending cuts would kick in if Congress does not observe the caps in coming years.
* A 12-member congressional committee, made up equally of Republicans and Democrats from each chamber, would be tasked with finding a further $1.5 trillion in budget savings.
* That committee could find savings from an overhaul of the tax code and restructuring benefit programs like Medicare -- the politically risky decisions that lawmakers have not been able to agree on so far.
* The committee would have to complete its work by November 23. Congress would have an up-or-down vote, with no modifications, on the committee's recommendations by December 23.
* If the committee cannot agree on at least $1.2 trillion in savings, or Congress rejects its findings, automatic spending cuts totaling that amount would kick in starting in 2013.
* Those cuts would fall equally on domestic and military programs. Medicare would face automatic cuts as well, but Social Security, Medicaid, federal employee pay, and benefits for veterans and the poor would be exempt.
* The plan also calls for both the House and the Senate to vote on a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution by the end of the year. It is not likely to receive the two-thirds vote in each chamber needed for passage, but its inclusion will make it easier for conservatives to back the overall deal.
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