News/Politics 8-20-14

What’s interesting in the news today?

1. A Grotesque Pantomime of Repression and Redemption

From CityJournal  “The American understanding of riots and racial violence was shaped a half-century ago, during the insurrections of the 1960s. To judge by the responses to the current rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, little has changed since then. After riots have wrought their physical and psychic damage, some invariably declare that the unrest was constructive. Patricia Bynes, a Democratic committeewoman for Ferguson, rationalized that the events in Ferguson would benefit the entire metropolitan area because, she said, “St. Louis never has had its true race moment, where they had to confront this.” She was topped by Missouri Highway Patrol captain Ron Johnson, who has been leading the police response in Ferguson. Speaking to a unity rally at a local church, Johnson suggested that, somehow, Brown’s death was “going to make it better for our sons to be better black men.” One rioter, who wouldn’t give his name, admitted that “If it wasn’t for the looting, we wouldn’t get the attention.” The virtue of disruption, academics and observers argue, is that it gives African-Americans a crisis with which to bargain. But after 50 years, what has this bargain achieved, except to cultivate a community that excels in resentment?

It’s not just African-Americans who are stuck in the sixties. Reporters are still seeking out the Kerner Commission’s white racists, who are ultimately to blame for all racial problems. Historians and sociologists are offering structural explanations for the violence; whites in general, and small businesses in particular, have little to say but simply flee to safer climes. In Ferguson, after a week of unrest that included looting and rioting, we know very little about the incident that resulted in Michael Brown’s death, despite the release of the first pathology report. The officer involved is in seclusion and has given no public statements. The Grand Jury, should one be convened, will likely have only a vague picture of what happened.”

“In Ferguson, the media’s preferred narrative—a “gentle giant” of a young black man gunned down for no reason by a racist cop—was short-circuited by a videotape, taken minutes before his death, depicting Michael Brown strong-arming a diminutive store clerk who’d caught him stealing a box of cigarillos. Deflated, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer described the video as a “smear.” Does he think the tape should have been suppressed? His CNN colleague Jake Tapper, just back from apologizing for Hamas in Gaza and justifiably angered by the misuse of military equipment to intimidate suburban civilians, subjected the state’s Democratic governor, Jay Nixon, to a vigorous grilling. Tapper suggested that Nixon had some atoning to do for his supposedly racist past before he could be relied on to take action in Ferguson. If only Tapper had been so hard-edged with Hamas.”

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2. Who are the agitators? And why isn’t this guy under arrest?

From WeaselZippers  “We’ve seen all manner of outside agitators at work seeking to use Ferguson for their own ends. Perhaps the worst of the lot are the Revolutionary Communist Party, who are actively ginning up the violence.

The white man in the middle inciting the crowd with the bull horn is Gregory Lee Johnson, a long term member of the Revolutionary Communist Party. The RCP has “Clubs” in various cities.”

“Antonio French, who tweeted the picture, is an alderman who has been tweeting coverage of the events in Ferguson. French claims Johnson was the instigator of the action. Other tweets id him as encouraging molotov cocktails, one even says Johnson had a grenade. Notice in the first video how he was within a few steps of police, including Captain Ron Johnson.

Gregory Johnson was infamously involved in the flag desecration case that ruled burning the American flag was protected speech. He was described by another activist as an “obnoxious young transplanted New Yorker” who would show up at “every local demonstration with a bloody, severed pig’s head (tendrils still trailing along) that he’d drag along on a leash and collar while shouting anti-imperialist slogans; the pig, of course, was the United States.” Truly a lovely human being.”

CONTEN WARNING!! for language in the video.

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3. Well, you know what they say about payback….

From HotAir  “Well, who could blame them? After Harry Reid used the Senate floor for weeks to demagogue the owners of Koch Industries for their legal and instructive engagement in the political process, he had to be expecting a little pushback. The Kochs don’t do anything small, however, and Politico’s Ken Vogel and Burgess Everett report that they are laying the foundation for a two-year effort to send the Senate Majority Leader into a much-deserved political oblivion:

Harry Reid’s reelection is more than two years off, but the Koch brothers’ political machine is already methodically laying the groundwork that will be used to try to take him out.

The efforts in recent months have been largely subterranean, but they are unmistakable. A handful of nonprofit groups in the vast political network helmed by allies of the conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch have established or expanded permanent ground operations in Reid’s backyard. Focused on wooing key demographics like Latinos and veterans, they’ve also paid for ads assailing the Senate Democratic leader. …

As Reid last week ambled from an SUV to a side entrance of an MGM Grand here for a speech to the supportive United Steelworkers International Convention, he told POLITICO he wasn’t worried about the Koch forces’ buildup in his backyard. “I’ve always been targeted. … That’s not news,” he said, playfully dismissing a question about whether there was a personal element to the Koch effort. “I don’t see that they have any reason to come after me. Why would they?”

Ummmmm….. maybe because you abused your position of authority to bash them on the floor of the Senate on a daily basis. Ring a bell Harry?

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4. Making the best of it.

From MSNNews  “Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry is pressing forward after a criminal indictment with a smiling mug shot and an ice cream run.

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5. Oh boy…. They must be scraping the bottom of the new exhibit idea barrel. 🙄

From CNSNews   “Hundreds of photographs, papers and historical objects documenting the history of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are being added to the Smithsonian Institution’s collection Tuesday, including items from the popular TV show “Will and Grace.”

Show creators David Kohan and Max Mutchnick along with NBC are donating objects to the National Museum of American History. The collection includes original scripts, casting ideas, political memorabilia surrounding the show and the series finale. The network agreed to donate props, including a pill bottle and flask, a sign from “Grace Adler Interior Design” and Will Truman’s framed college diploma.

Kohan told The Associated Press that the Smithsonian’s interest in the show featuring gay principal characters was a validation they never dreamed about when the sitcom began airing in 1998. “Will and Grace” ran through May 2006 depicting four friends both gay and straight, eventually ending with the main characters coupled off with children.”

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39 thoughts on “News/Politics 8-20-14

  1. 1. the “virtue of destruction” … now there’s a crock. Interestingly I have friends who cite capitalism’s “creative destructive” as a good thing. Maybe the social left and the economic right are reading the same textbooks. But the young man is right — if there was no looting nobody would pay attention.

    Apparently, a grand jury is ready to convene today and I think the story is getting clearer. I’m still not sure about what prompted the initial interaction at the police car but the rest of the story seems to be taking shape. As for what happened at the shooting, my guess is the boy was walking back to the police officer who panicked and shot him.

    2. Always easy to find the freak in the crowd. He’s not helping but I’m sure there would still be protests and problems without it.

    3. So the Kochs are proving Reid is correct.

    4. Oh the fundraising this man can with his mugshot — the possibilities are endless. With the right PR team he will find himself as a top candidate in the presidential primary.

    5. At a certain point when you become everything to everybody you become nothing to nobody — the same works for museum.

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  2. A local radio station is saying they have it from a source the officer will be cleared. Looks like his friend/accomplice has changed his story, and admitted he attacked the cop, and tried to take his gun. He changed his story because he didn’t want to be hit with perjury charges.

    It’s not much, but the same station and it’s sources were right on the autopsy results, so we’ll see. The rioters will riot for sure if it’s true.

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  3. He came back earlier to meet with business leaders over amnesty. He’s taking another break, from yet another break/vacation, to speak about Foley in a little while.

    http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-statement-on-james-foley-death-isis-2014-8

    “President Barack Obama will make a statement at 12:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, the White House said, in the aftermath of the beheading of an American journalist by the extremist group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL).

    The White House’s National Security Council said Wednesday that the video released by the group, which has since been removed from YouTube, is authentic. The video showed a member of the group executing American journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped in Syria in 2012.

    “We have reached the judgment that this video is authentic. We will continue to provide updates as they are available,” NSC spokesperson Caitlin Hayden said in a statement.”

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  4. HRW,

    As I said yesterday, there was in fact a robbery, charges or not. Your link clearly shows that his accomplice has admitted it.

    “As a county grand jury prepared to hear evidence on Wednesday in the shooting death of a black teenager by a white police officer that touched off 10 days of unrest here, witnesses have given investigators sharply conflicting accounts of the killing.

    [A] lawyer for Mr. Johnson said that his client was interviewed by the F.B.I. and the St. Louis County police last week for nearly four hours. In that interview, Mr. Johnson admitted that he and Mr. Brown had stolen cigarillos from the store, said the lawyer, Freeman R. Bosley Jr. […]

    Asked if Mr. Brown had punched the officer, Mr. Bosley said that Mr. Johnson “did not observe that.”

    However, law enforcement officials say witnesses and forensic analysis have shown that Officer Wilson did sustain an injury during the struggle in the car.”

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  5. AJ — yeah I read that. From the video I didn’t think there was a robbery (in the stick up sense of the word) but then again maybe it was shoplifting (still robbing but then I would be looking for something different on the video). Shoplifting would explain the altercation at the door (from the pictures in one of your links). The owner didn’t think it was worth the trouble whereas a customer reported it. Johnson admits to it (after four hours of questioning). Now this only goes to character as there’s nothing to say Wilson questioned the boys about the robbery.

    If we continue to follow Johnson’s story, it appears Wilson told them to get off the road and a verbal dispute followed. He also claims Wilson sitting in his car grabbed Brown and choked him pulling Brown towards the car door. There wasn’t a scuffle rather Brown was attempting to push away from the car, Wilson pulled his gun, a shot went off, and both boys ran away. Wilson gets out of his car and starts shooting. Brown stops, turns around, puts his hands up and begins walking towards Wilson. Wilson then shot him six times. That’s Johnson’s story.

    Now you/we/people can dispute some of it but other witnesses seem to agree with a large portion of it. Whether a punch was thrown will probably never be established, although at close quarters I doubt a punch could be thrown or that it had sufficient force. Could be in the pushing and pulling through the window his head hit the top of the car door. However that like the robbery is probably not important since the boys then ran away. Its what happened after Brown stopped and raised his hands thats important. Even if Brown is walking towards Wilson, it could and should be construed as an act of surrender. Now with his adrenaline pumping, Wilson could’ve panicked and shot him in fear. If it was panic, then he should be fired or maybe find a job in a nice rural area where he’d have no reason to panic and just hand out speeding tickets. As for a manslaughter charge, I know in Ontario the events described above may be enough to charge him — I don’t know how manslaughter is interpreted in Missouri.

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  6. Looking at the larger picture.
    Many people have focused on the robbery as an issue of character. Perhaps we should look at the past behaviour of the Fergusson police as an issue of character and reliability.
    From the same article;

    “Mr. Holder and top Justice Department officials were weighing whether to open a broader civil rights investigation to look at Ferguson’s police practices at large, according to law enforcement officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal talks. The issue came up after news reports revealed a 2009 case in which a man said that four police officers beat him, then charged him with damaging government property — by getting blood on their uniforms.”

    Now I’ve asserted that past events shouldn’t have a bearing on the facts that occurred but some others have asserted it goes to character and reliability. Those who do think the latter, may want to consider if there is a dysfunctional culture in the Ferguson police dept.

    Since the shooting, several journalists have been arrested, harassed and have had their equipment mishandled. Apparently, the Ferguson police is quite fond of yelling, “get the f…. out or you will be arrested”. Now that speaks to the culture and professionalism of this dept. Teachers cant’ tell students, parents or any persons on school property “to get the f….. out” rather we need to express it in a professional manner no matter how much we rather be explicit. I would expect the same with the police. And if you are incapable of acting as a professional you shouldn’t have that profession. Again this has no bearing on whether Wilson is right or wrong but rather speaks to the character of the department in the same manner the robbery and altercation speak to Brown’s character.

    Finally, the images on national and international television of a military occupation of an American suburb will hopefully spark a conversation about militarization of police and civil liberties. When the Egyptian gov’t states its monitor the situation for human right abuses (a bit cynical I’m sure) and Gaza residents are tweeting advice on how to take care of tear gas, credibility for US foreign policy suffers more.

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  7. HRW,

    Sorry. But after you admit a lie and change your story, why would I believe anything you say? And I might cut him some slack, if he hadn’t lawyered up with an Al/Jesse wannabe for an attorney.

    And if he didn’t observe a punch, and if it’s shown one happened, how do you trust anything he says? He told the story they wanted to hear. But under oath, made key changes.

    And I don’t buy that someone can put a chokehold on a man that big and tall while sitting in a car. Or that the much smaller officer could pull him into the car with one arm. That defies the laws of physics.

    And no LGF went moderate RINO long ago on just about every issue. They started out “right wing” but haven’t been for awhile now. They chose hit numbers over conservative principles. It’s why I stopped reading them.

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  8. HRW,

    And we agree on the over-militarization of police forces. It needs to be looked at and dealt with. Hopefully with agreement on both sides, some common sense can prevail. But again, I don’t think this case is a good case study.

    I think sending in the Guard was the right thing to do. They’re trained for it, and aren’t the police, who for obvious reasons are looked at suspiciously by protesters.

    But the left and the UN idiots need to stop being drama queens. Getting teargased while rioting is not a violation of anyone’s civil or human rights. It’s a consequence of breaking the law. You may have the right to PEACEFULLY assemble and protest, but you start looting and torching and your not exercising a right, you’re committing a crime. The tear gas wasn’t fired at a bunch of people holding signs and singing. It was fired at people who were throwing fire bombs. If some innocents got teary-eyed in the dust up, well, pay closer attention to who you’re associating with….

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  9. hwessli, it’s amazing to watch you only make near-certain conclusions that involve the cop being in the wrong, all based on the same information that has shifted from day to day. It doesn’t matter which “side” of the argument new or modified information may take, you insist on shaping it into support for the “killed in cold blood” theory. Just hold off for a bit and let some dust settle.

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  10. Just imagine if Bush had done that after Pearl’s murder…..

    The press would go ballistic.

    But Barry will get a pass. Again. He’s tone deaf and he wouldn’t care either way. Same goes for the 11 million in taxpayer bucks he’s wasted flying back and forth twice this week.

    He. Just. Doesn’t. Care.

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  11. You’re right, AJ, Obama doesn’t care. What kind of “audacity” does it take to smear “the rich,” but continue to run this lifestyle he and his family enjoy? What a shameless hypocrite.

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  12. Solar,

    The NYTimes story HRW posted confirms the story of the changing of the story from law enforcement, but it looks like off the record, anonymously. Other outlets are reporting similar stories from their sources, including the radio station link above.

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  13. Okay solarpancake — I’ll modify my speculation to say I’m quite certain the unprofessional behaviour occurred that night with deadly consequences. I will also merely speculate based on Ferguson police behavior since then that a culture of unprofessional behavior has been allowed to fester at the Ferguson police dept. If I or any other professional would act in such an unprofessional manner we would be fired. Simple. And I expect police to be held to the same professional standard.

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  14. And another. This makes sense. Like I said, no way the cop pulled him into the car one-handed.

    http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/08/20/missouri-cop-was-badly-beaten-before-shooting-michael-brown-says-source/

    “Darren Wilson, the Ferguson, Mo., police officer whose fatal shooting of Michael Brown touched off more than a week of demonstrations, suffered severe facial injuries, including an orbital (eye socket) fracture, and was nearly beaten unconscious by Brown moments before firing his gun, a source close to the department’s top brass told FoxNews.com.

    “The Assistant (Police) Chief took him to the hospital, his face all swollen on one side,” said the insider. “He was beaten very severely.”

    According to the well-placed source, Wilson was coming off another case in the neighborhood on Aug. 9 when he ordered Michael Brown and his friend Dorain Johnson to stop walking in the middle of the road because they were obstructing traffic. However, the confrontation quickly escalated into physical violence, the source said..

    “They ignored him and the officer started to get out of the car to tell them to move,” the source said. “They shoved him right back in, that’s when Michael Brown leans in and starts beating Officer Wilson in the head and the face.”

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  15. I wonder if this is the same “inside” source LGF discussed earlier.

    Interestingly slip by the source in that he admits the youths were reprimanded for jaywalking. Thus this had nothing to do with the robbery/shoplifting. Thus we can file the shoplifting under character but nothing more.

    I have to ask when has anyone ever been reprimanded for jaywalking, I’ve never been and I’ve walked down the middle of streets before. And how can a police officer, a professional, allow a jaywalking reprimand escalate to a physical confrontation then to a fatal shooting? The trick to managing behaviors is to not let them escalate.

    But some might say given Brown’s previous behavior that night, no matter how professional Wilson was, he couldn’t prevent an escalation. True enough, it happens to the best of us. So he gets out of the car to confront the two boys (why? its only jaywalking) and they shove him back in and a fracas ensues and somehow his gun goes off……

    Now if Brown has pushed him in and is reaching in the car beating him and then gun goes off wouldn’t Brown have powder burns — but the autopsy shows no powder burns. I’m not a gun expert but wouldn’t Brown get powder burns if his hands were in the car while the shot went off?

    Now according to the “inside” source, Wilson suffered a fractured eye socket, facial injuries and was dazed/almost unconscious (depending on what part of the article you read) by the encounter yet he was able to get out of the car and fire his weapon clearly enough so it killed a man. So how injured was he?? And in his dazed condition was he able to exercise proper judgment about imminent harm?Would he not have radiod this assault in asking for back up (he is after all perceiving imminent harm) and then get out of the car to chase his assailants? Is there no record of his radio conversations?? Is this the solid proof the “inside” source speaks of? If so, why not release it?/

    As for the final act — when Brown turns around we are still left with conflicting eyewitness testimonies plus this “inside” source.

    Now Brown is dead. And Wilson is seen at the scene until more police arrive. Apparently he then goes to the hospital for his injuries in another cruiser with assistant chief. No ambulance was called. And until a week later no mention is made of his injuries. I would think the very first press release mentioning the shooting and the fact the police officer went to the hospital. I imagine pictures were taken yet none have been shown.

    This police dept appears more mickey mouse (with apologies to Disney) every day. When there is a shooting there should be a protocol to follow. for example; secure the scene, wait for the special unit which handles police shootings (called SIU here, maybe IA elsewhere) , document all injuries using a third party ie ambulance or medical personnel, issue press statements as soon as possible and be transparent, etc.

    Yes, I’m being critical after the fact but the police response and actions have been incompetent to say the least. And this “inside” source nonsense is just poisoning the well.

    Okay I’ve speculated enough here.

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  16. Donna — admittedly Obama is just offering platitudes some may say this is part of the job. I think most blogs should have the sense to see this as standard boilerplate political drivel but not criticize it at this time as inappropriate. I have leftist friends quoting Obama approvingly on facebook — I think its meaningless platitudes but I also realize Obama is supposed to say something so I leave it alone and if some are impressed by it oh well. Powerline may find Obamas words appalling etc but lets leave it alone let the Foley family not have their son’s death being a political football and lets concentrate on containing, managing and maybe even eliminating the ISIS threat.

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  17. hwesseli, you continue to pick info to fit a conclusion you insist upon. You accept (or make) conjecture only if it fits your bias. It’s terribly unhelpful. I wish this kind of thing was limited only to comments only on little websites, but it’s all over the place. I hate to sound condescending, but even with my biases (which I’ve displayed in these threads are often ANTI-cop and even PRO-criminal to a degree), I don’t just abandon myself to them.

    There are all kinds of possible reasons walking in the middle of the street could be a problem warranting confrontation by a cop. Like, all KINDS. What info do you have and are certain about so that you know this was just a matter of a couple guys just trying to get across the street at an unauthorized point, as if it’s no different that whenever hwesseli has done such a thing? It’s just ridiculous that you assume it’s all the same, then deduce stuff from that. I don’t have time for more right now, but suffice to say you (and many others) do this same thing at numerous points along your conjectured conclusions.

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  18. HRW, If a 290 lb man who had just broken your eye socket charged you, what would you do if you were carrying a gun (which could be used by you or against you)?

    Mr. Macy said, “The customer is always right.” Liberals and Anarcho-Socialists say, “The black is always right and the policeman is always wrong.”

    Tawana Brawley, Mchael Brown, the list goes on. When Sharpton and his buddies cry “Police Brutality”, you can count on their account being a complete lie or a distortion.

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  19. If these accounts are accurate, it does change the picture. But I’m wondering why the police department wasn’t more forthright about explaining the circumstances after this first happened.

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  20. Donna,

    Initially the police were releasing info. Like the strong arm video, but were reprimanded for it by the DoJ and Dem gov. Since the feds took it all over, they refuse to, I’m thinkin’ because it doesn’t fit their narrative. The police are sick of being bashed so they get info out the only way they can, as an anonymous source.

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  21. Donna, In the hours and days immediately after the shooting, I think it would be fair to say that the 53-man police force was otherwise occupied. Riot control was probably given priority over media relations.

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  22. AJ — as solarpancake would state, thats conjecture that fits your bias. The police released the store video a few days after the incident — they had plenty of time to release the information the “inside” source had. At minimal this is incompetence. this drip drip of information makes it suspect and convenient. Why the store video and not a picture of his injuries?

    It takes less than a minute to take a picture of Wilson’s injuries and send it to the appropriate media sources. And the person who would take care of this, would not be the person you have working riot/crowd control.

    ricky — if a 290lb man just broke my eye socket, I would probably stay in the car. And you really don’t want me reaching for a gun especially with a broken eye socket and slightly dazed.

    solarpancake — confirmation bias is always a problem. However, my criticism of the lack of professionalism of Wilson and other officers is valid. At minimal, Wilson acted ina a fit of panic and the department exhibit a lack of professionalism and transparency.

    As for placing my own experience in this situation — its because both teachers and police need to act as professionalism even when faced with disrespect, flippant young adults and threatening persons. When a student threatens me or is disrespectful, I don’t’ escalate the situation instead I try to deescalate. When I see video of the Ferguson police yelling, “get the f…. out” I sense a culture of panic rather than professionalism; of escalation rather deescalation.

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  23. HRW, I like your answer. I probably would have done the same thing. However, police officers are charged with getting violent criminals off the street. I think he did a pretty good job under the circumstances. It took a large amount of lying by Brown’s buddy to turn this into a controversial incident.

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