tagged w/ Texas
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Posted on 09.17.11
By Andrew Jones
Categories: Featured, Nation
Rick Perry is not upset over the Supreme Court stepping in to delay his state’s latest execution.
Speaking at a Coca-Cola bottling plant in Iowa Friday evening, the Texas governor felt the Supreme Court was taking “the appropriate path” in issuing an emergency stay on the execution of Duane Buck.
“They are taking the appropriate path in my opinion and justice will be served at some point in the future,” Perry said. “We have a clear appeals process that is followed in every case. Whether or not you agree with the appeal or not is your call.”
Perry allowed the decision to execute Buck proceed despite a controversial testimony from
a psychologist. That person stated that Buck would be more likely to commit future violence if allowed to live because of his skin color.
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/perry-im-okay-with-the-supreme-court-staying-bucks-execution/
"Justice will be served!!!"Posted on 09.17.11
By Andrew Jones
Categories: Featured, Nation
Rick Perry is not... more
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From the left and from the right the ads will come until one day, not so far off, we'll all reach saturation and walk off a cliff. Welcome to the United Lemmings of America!From the left and from the right the ads will come until one day, not so far off,... more
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Posted on 09.16.11
By Stephen C. Webster
Categories: Featured, Nation
On his radio show yesterday, progressive radio host Thom Hartmann spoke with populist Texas writer Jim Hightower about Gov. Rick Perry and the troubling tale of Cameron Willingham, a man who was “almost certainly” innocent, yet still was put to death.
“This guy really puts the goober in gubernatorial,” Hightower quipped.
Perry has presided over 234 executions, more than any other governor of any state in modern times — a fact that Republicans cheered at a recent debate.
The most recent Perry-approved execution, which was supposed to be carried out last night, was put on hold by the Supreme Court. Evidence presented against the man, whose guilt was not actually in question, was tainted by racially-motivated insinuations and could not be legally carried out.
“This man, who claims to be a man of religion and morality, seems to have no conscience at all about doing some rather ugly things,” Hightower said.
This video is from The Thom Hartmann Show, broadcast Sept. 15, 2011.
http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/hightower-perry-executed-a-man-who-was-almost-certainly-innocent/
"I must say I am not at all surprised... How many did Shrub execute???"Posted on 09.16.11
By Stephen C. Webster
Categories: Featured, Nation
On his... more
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Before this trip, I don’t believe I had ever heard a radio advertisement for anything testosterone related. Ever. But by golly, yesterday I heard dozens. Literally, dozens. I found a sports talk station as I was rolling out of the Hertz lot and I just left it on (because I like sports and also, it’s far less brain-damaging than music radio is these days) and honest to sweet baby Jesus, there were at least two testosterone spots in every commercial break. I am not exaggerating, not even for effect. Testosterone treatments, testosterone centers, testosterone supplements – I kept expecting an ad for a testosterone-themed water park to surge from the speakers at any second. Never happened, but I was out of the car conducting client interviews for two or three hours so it’s possible that I missed it.Before this trip, I don’t believe I had ever heard a radio advertisement for... more
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No wonder they call him “Bush without the brains.” Here are Rick Perry’s original college grades.
http://j.mp/oGVJe8No wonder they call him “Bush without the brains.” Here are Rick... more
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Thank you for showing your support during my recording preparation. Your support meant a lot to me and so I want to include you in the making of my first music video.
My debut album, “My Beta Music,” is finished and released and we’re now looking forward to making the music video. I’m really excited about the direction it’s heading in and I feel the new music video for “What You Need To Know” will add a whole new dimension to the song. We have some great visuals planned for it, can’t wait for you to check them out!
Here at PledgeMusic, you’ll be able to join me on the music video production journey. You’ll have access to exclusive behind-the-scenes videos and be the first to see footage of how the video is being made — this footage won’t be available to anybody else except pledgers! During the entire process I will post updates, video clips and pictures.
You also have the opportunity to pledge for exclusive items and experiences. You can introduce me on stage before a show, drink my rider at a show (if you’re old enough :), have me come play a concert in your home town, get handwritten lyrics, or have me record a song just for you…
Click on the link... http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/jelixapopartist , and pick out what you like—————→
Everybody who makes a pledge gets a DOWNLOAD of the album and will also receive a personal thank you POSTCARD.
While we’re on this amazing voyage together, we’ll also be raising funds for American Cancer Society, the largest no-governmental funder of cancer research in the United States, spending approximately $130 million each year to work to find cures.
Thank you for your support,
Jelixa RodriguezThank you for showing your support during my recording preparation. Your support meant... more
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Interview with Jason Schauer, bassit of Adakain. Talks focus on Adakain's latest disk entitled "Silhouette Of Lies", the writing and recording, tour dates, a new video to be released shortly and much more!
Includes 2 tracks off Silhouette of Lies ~ "Good Time Girl" and "In The Shadows".
AIR TIME: 28 Minutes.
CLICK LINK TO TUNE IN: http://the-big-rock-show.podomatic.com/entry/2011-09-09T04_54_57-07_00Interview with Jason Schauer, bassit of Adakain. Talks focus on Adakain's latest... more
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BY GLENN GREENWALD
At last night's GOP debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was asked by Brian Williams about the 234 executions of death row inmates over which Perry has presided -- "more than any Governor in modern times"-- and the mere mention by Williams of this morose record triggered an outburst of cheering and applause from the audience.
This episode is creepy and disgusting, though as both Ta-Nehisi Coates and Dahlia Lithwick point out, it's hardly surprising for a country which long considered public hangings a form of entertainment and in which support for the death penalty is mandated orthodoxy for national politicians in both parties. Still, even for those who believe in the death penalty, it should be a very somber and sober affair for the state, with regimented premeditation, to end the life of a human being no matter the crimes committed. Wildly cheering the execution of human beings as though one's favorite football team just scored a touchdown is primitive, twisted and base.
All of that would be true even if the death penalty were perfectly applied and only clearly guilty people were killed. But in the U.S., the exact opposite is true; see here to read about (and act to stop) a horrific though typical example of a very likely innocent person about to be executed by the State of Georgia. That Perry in particular likely enabled the execution of an innocent man -- as well as numerous other highly disturbing killings, of the young and mentally infirm -- makes the cheering all the more repellent. That the death penalty in America has long been plagued by a serious racial bias makes it worse still. That this death-cheering comes from a party that relentlessly touts itself as "pro-life" and derides the other as The Party of Death -- and loves to condemn Islam (in contrast to its war-loving self) as a death-glorifying cult -- only adds a layer of dark irony.
Story continues here:
http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/09/08/death/index.htmlBY GLENN GREENWALD
At last night's GOP debate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry was... more
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No wonder Rick Perry prays for Texas during these wildfires! 2nd largest state in union has 114 paid fire departments, 187 combination paid/volunteer depts and 879 volunteer fire dept. The state cut funding for those volunteer departments from $30M to $7M.
Members of some volunteer departments have spent money out of pocket for equipment, but hey, that state budget sure makes Perry look like a big time budget genius, huh? I figured the 'Texas Miracle' was probably just smoke and mirrors. Turns out it is just smoke. If the GOP there had any mirrors they might be scared of what they see in them.
How many homes gone already? Gee, does cutting funding to essential services really save money?
Of course, Perry is counting on FEMA at this point. FEMA, FEMA? That seems to ring a bell... oh yeah, Perry is critical of the agency, but "he told CBS’ Erica Hill Tuesday that now was not the time to worry about reforming the agency." http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/09/texas-cut-fire-department-funding-by-75-percent-this-year/ Right, RIck, just send the teams in, crank up the federal money machine and haul your ass out of the wildfire.
Will Eric Cantor insist on cuts to other essential services to make up for what will be sent to Texas to put out wildfires and maintain the myth of the much touted (by Perry) 'Texas Miracle?'
My ol granny used to say "You pay for what you need, whether you buy it or not". Might be we need some grannies running things. She was, by the way, a Republican. Of course, back when she registered to vote, just after women were finally granted that precious right, the GOP was a different animal than it is today.No wonder Rick Perry prays for Texas during these wildfires! 2nd largest state in... more
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Hotze's dominion over politics in Houston, Texas (the third largest city in the U.S.) began that year - just in time to prepare for service as host of the 1992 GOP National Convention. His reign lasted for around a decade -- until he was arrested for D.W.I. and fell from the good graces of his Fundamentalist followers. The machine he created, however, still rules over the Harris County Republican party and his success inspired and emboldened theocrats to takeover GOP precincts all over the state of Texas.
Along with his video tape, Hotze sent a written agenda and instructions for how to conduct a precinct meeting. He also suggested resolutions for the party's platform. Today, nearly all the planks that Hotze suggested can be found in the current platform of the Texas Republican Party.Meanwhile, most of the country club Republicans who provide the funds for this theocratic juggernaut still seem to be sipping their cocktails in ignorant bliss.
Dominionists are patient revolutionaries. They work through the system to gain control. Then they work from within the system to change the system. The changes they are making are incremental. They have little respect for democracy and none for pluralism. They mean business and they already hold many of the mechanisms of power around the country.
It is long past time for Americans who love democracy to acknowledge what is at stake and start facing the challenge that these patient theocratic revolutionaries represent."
http://tinyurl.com/3uff9lmHotze's dominion over politics in Houston, Texas (the third largest city in the... more
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LOrion
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Hell on Earth, I guess when I say Global Warming deniers won't wake up till the water is up to their necks I should have also mentioned or when their houses burn to the ground!
Bastrop, Texas (CNN) -- An unchecked wildfire southeast of Austin, Texas, destroyed 300 homes, scorched thousands of acres and stretched across a 16-mile area Monday, authorities said.
Another blaze in eastern Texas killed a mother and her 18-month-old child when flames engulfed their mobile home Sunday near Gladewater, the Gregg County Sheriff's Department said.
"The wildfire situation in Texas is severe and all necessary state resources are being made available to protect lives and property," Gov. Rick Perry said in a statement. "I urge Texans to take extreme caution as we continue to see the devastating effects of sweeping wildfires impacting both rural and urban areas of the state."
There are more than 35 fires burning across the state, the Texas Forest Service said Monday. Officials said low relative humidity and strong winds from Lee, which made landfall as a tropical storm but has weakened to a tropical depression, fanned the flames.
'There's nothing left of these houses' Winds whip up Texas wildfires
RELATED TOPICS
Wildfires
Texas
The outbreak of wildfires prompted Perry to head back to Texas from South Carolina, where he was scheduled to participate in a forum for Republican presidential candidates.
Meanwhile, the massive, uncontained fire in Bastrop County, near Austin, was the state's largest on Monday. In less than a day, it had destroyed 300 homes and threatened about 1,000 others, officials with the forest service's incident management team reported. About 5,000 residents evacuated as flames approached, officials said.
Dark clouds of smoke billowing across the sky could be seen miles away from the fire Monday.
"Today is expected to be as bad, if not worse, than yesterday," Bastrop City Manager Mike Talbot told reporters.
Satellite images Monday showed the fire stretching over about 25,000 acres, jumping the Colorado River and a highway, the Forest Service said.
More evacuations are likely as the fire spreads, officials said. Already, hundreds of people are in shelters as dangerous flames keep them from finding out whether their homes survived.
"It was like a storm coming through. You could smell the earth burning," said Julian Ochoa, who was evacuated from a Bastrop subdivision Sunday afternoon.
The 23-year-old grabbed his dog, a toothbrush, his birth certificate and a few pictures as he left. He didn't know Sunday what happened to his home.
"All of Bastrop is a giant smoke cloud," he said.
Firefighters planned to use Black Hawk helicopters to douse flames with a mixture of water and fire retardant Monday morning, the incident management team said. Tanker trucks will also be used to battle the blaze.
The fire forced parts of state highways 71 and 21 to shut and additional road closures were expected, fire officials said Sunday.
At least 56 new fires across Texas on Sunday burned about 30,000 acres, the state's fire service said. Fires were reported in at least 17 counties.
For the rest of the story go to the link:Hell on Earth, I guess when I say Global Warming deniers won't wake up till the... more
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Writing for the Huffington Post, reporters Jason Cherkis and Zach Carter published a jaw-dropping story yesterday about a scheme by Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) to “set up a business of teacher death speculation.” Perry and his officials entered negotiations in 2003 with the Switzerland-based multinational bank UBS to allow the firm to buy life insurance policies on public teachers, then package the policies into securities that could be sold to speculators across the world. As teachers died, the securities would become profitable, and the money from the plans would be split between UBS and the Texas government.
An intriguing twist to the story is former Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX), who joined UBS as a top executive after he left the Senate and has served as a political mentor to Perry since the late ’80s. Gramm, an architect of Wall Street deregulation while in Congress, aggressively lobbied the “gruesome” deal:
Gramm and UBS had concocted a gruesome combination of what are now regarded as two of the most infamous Wall Street scams on record. The resulting package closely resembled the growing market for mortgage-backed securities, but instead of allowing Wall Street to bet on peoples’ homes, it would enable bets on peoples’ lives. [...]
http://tinyurl.com/3d6e6beWriting for the Huffington Post, reporters Jason Cherkis and Zach Carter published a... more
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LOrion
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New York -- President Barack Obama met with top television executives today to present a concept for a weekly reality show that would feature the entire Obama family.
Called "One Big Happy Family," the show would focus on the Obama's' problem-solving capabilities. Each week, they would invite the dysfunctional American family to stay at the White House for five days of conversation, analysis and cure.
The president called for the creation of the show after he had trouble getting a prime time slot for an upcoming speech. He wound up scheduled against an NFL football game, virtually ensuring a diminished audience for his talk.
"If I have to invite Snooki and her family into the White House to get my face on TV, so be it," the president said. "America needs to see that its president has every situation under control."
Mark Burnett of "Survivor" fame is producing the series' pilot, and reportedly has worked closely with Pres. Obama in creating the program's format.
"'One Big Happy Family' is going to show the world that America is still the leader when it comes to family values," Burnett said.
"Each week, we are going to bring in a collection of characters who happen to have the same last name. They will share meals with the Obamas, talk with them, compete with them in special games. And by the end of the week, they will walk out as one big happy family."
Although no contestants have been contacted as of yet, Burnett did release the names of several families he would like to sign for the show.
"I'd imagine the Clinton's would be up for spending some more time in the White House," he said. "Perhaps we can have an intern reunion one day and maybe bring Monica back. I think that might be very cathartic for the whole family."
Burnett also mentioned the Osborne's. "They seem to be as obnoxious as ever, but I think the Obama's are up to the challenge. I would hope Ozzie is still up to doing his chicken trick."
Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, are said to be developing a reality series of their own. They are still deciding whether to call it "Don't Mess with Texas" or "Don't Mess with Taxes."New York -- President Barack Obama met with top television executives today to present... more
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I have a feeling God doesn't want to talk to you Rick Perry, or answer your prayer. Could that be because you are an ignorant closeminded anti-science fool? Or at least, playing one for the cameras for your oily benefactors? Yes, a phony now using all of these conservative talking points to feed your own personal ambitions while your state burns. Nero would be proud of you. I wonder, do you even know how to read a map?
You must know what 'global warming' is. Afterall, you did work as the Texas chairperson for Al Gore's campaign in 1988 when you were playing a Democrat. But even regarding that, you lied and stated he never spoke about global warming then when it was one of the main issues of his platform. I even have a video of him speaking about it on NOVA in 1983... just for the record, that's before 1988. Al Gore has been out here for over thirty years reporting on what REAL scientists are saying Mr. Perry. Not out here spouting fairy tales. And it's those fairy tales you spout that have now led to your state by the looks of it going over a tipping point.
Your economy has lost billions, your agriculture is decimated, your people's livelihoods are being ruined with their futures unknown and biodiversity will suffer for decades. But let's just go out on the campaign trail and tell those same people who are losing it all that even their social security is unconstitutional and you will take that away from them too. Face it Mr. Perry, you are a failure of a leader and pointing the finger and blaming climate scientists for your ignorance isn't going to change that reality one iota. Take a look at the map Mr. Perry and don't wonder why God has your call on hold. Even (he) respects science.I have a feeling God doesn't want to talk to you Rick Perry, or answer your... more
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There is an overabundance of gloomy news in the world these days and because of this, we have all gotten a bit desensitized. You open news links and you get lingering deadly effects of two US wars that go on and on with no end in sight or even WTF the true objective of these wars were to begin with. Then another headline will read “Drought and Famine in Somalia Have Killed More Than 29000 Children Under the Age of 5” with pictures of emaciated little bodies that hardly resemble human forms. Another click advances you to captions like: “The World Is Watching the Carnage In Syria… Click for video” and back home we get: “Wall Street Banks Still Gouging U.S. Citizens After Bailouts", with no mention on how they can be stopped or if they will ever receive punishment for their crimes of greed.
National Dept, Debt Ceilings and Fed Budgets, OH MY… were the Blue Plate Specials of the Day, media kept shoveling down our throats. (I almost heard a collective ho-hum; what else is new?) But with all the ongoing bleak headlines of disparity, depredation and blatant nasty behavior perpetrated by human beings upon humanity and life itself. There once in awhile will come a headline that fast bounces you back to sensibility and with it an enormous feeling of shame that you happen to belong to the human race. (A startling bounce back to a reality that some of us are capable of ignorance beyond comprehension). Today one such headline jumped out at me: 10-Year-Old Dies Of Dehydration After His Parents Deny Him 5-Days Of Water.
Just one little boy but his death raises a question that we all should ask. WHY DID IT HAPPEN? What is the reason for such ignorance from a Mom and Dad and such apathy from those who had contact with this tortured child (FOR FIVE UNBEARABLE DAYS)?
Healthy normal parents try to protect their young not deliberately perpetrate torture upon them. It’s indescribably sad that this child had no one looking out for his welfare. It took 5 days and in all that time no one noticed his suffering. It seems that we homo sapiens still have a long, long evolutionary path yet to travel for when a species stops nurturing and protecting its young it is most likely doomed to extinction. It’s as simple as that! thinkingblue
http://www.etidbits.com/10-year-old-dies-of-dehydration-after-his-parents-deny-him-5-days-of-water=7948
10-Year-Old Dies Of Dehydration After His Parents Deny Him 5-Days Of Water
Written by Michael Lambarde on Aug 28, 2011 // Category: National
Police say that a Texas boy died of dehydration after his parents denied him of drinking water as punishment after he had accidentally wet the bed. The 10-year-old Dallas boy, Jonathan James, died on July 25, according to police, after his parents prohibited him from drinking water in the five days leading up to his death. Temperatures in Dallas soared to 100 degrees or more on each of those days, police say.
Michael Ray James, his father, and Tina Alberson, his stepmother, were both charged on Thursday, August 25th and were jailed for injury to a child due to serious bodily injury. His twin brother, Joseph James, and his 12-year-old stepbrother were not injured; the two are currently staying with other family members.
According to Jonathan’s grandmother Sue Shotwell, her grandson had contacted her in June and told her that he was afraid of living with his parents during the month-long, court-ordered custody visit.
“[Jonathan] called me and said, ‘Can I come to your house instead? I know I’m going to be in trouble while I’m there because I always am,’” Shotwell said in an interview with the Dallas News on Friday. “That’s the first time we ever heard that from him. The boy, because of a court ordered custody arrangement, were spending the summer with their biological father, but they were not willing to stay with their father,” Shotwell said.
Shotwell also revealed to FOX News that Jonathan’s twin brother knew about the punishment, and she had told him that he didn’t need to feel guilty because there was nothing that he could have done. She notes that Joseph later confessed to his grandmother that he had wished that he had “snuck him some water.”
Police documents show that the 10-year-old collapsed and hit his head on the floor after 5-days of going without water. Joseph later told police that his brother was put in a room without air conditioning and was told to stand near the window with the scorching sun beating down on him. He also notes that his brother had peanut butter stuck in his throat on the day he died, but his parents still didn’t allow him to drink any water.
After his parents had realized that the boy’s body was shutting down, they put him in a cold bathtub before they called paramedics, police said. He shortly died after he was rushed to the hospital. MORE HERE
Last post: Doctors' Favorite Phrase: You're Gonna Die! http://www.thethinkingblue.com/doctorsno.htmlThere is an overabundance of gloomy news in the world these days and because of this,... more
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Millions of Texas students head back to school this week confronted by a dramatically altered, state-mandated social studies curriculum.
The contentious hearings of the Texas State Board of Education received considerable attention in the spring of 2010, but seem to have fallen out of the public consciousness as the new school year begins. The new curriculum, officially called the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, deserves renewed attention, as it will undoubtedly surprise most Texans.
The fiercest battle during the board's hearings was fought over the 11th-grade history curriculum, which in Texas is "United States History since 1877." The exception to that timeline is the new state-mandated "Celebrate Freedom Week," during which students will learn about our founding fathers. That sounds simple enough, except that the only founding fathers included in the curriculum are Benjamin Rush, John Hancock, John Jay, John Witherspoon, John Peter Muhlenberg, Charles Carroll and Jonathan Trumbull Sr. What about George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or John Adams? They are nowhere to be found in the new high school TEKS. Students apparently learned everything they need to know about them in eighth grade.
As part of the board's effort to emphasize the positives in American history, students will no longer learn about "American imperialism." Instead students will discuss "American expansionism" and come to understand how "missionaries moved the United States into the position of a world power." The board eliminated mention of our government's use of propaganda during World War I, and instead of analyzing Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb at the end of World War II, students will now analyze the development of the bomb. Additionally, students will now "evaluate efforts by international organizations to undermine U.S. sovereignty."
Perhaps you have heard something about a labor movement in the 20th century? No longer will your children.......
Continue at:
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/08/25-5Millions of Texas students head back to school this week confronted by a dramatically... more
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I’ve received a few reports from local trans folk who state that during their morning show, 94.5 engaged in anti-trans rants. During these rants, station staff members purposefully used incorrect pronouns and repeatedly referred to trans people using the term, “it”.I’ve received a few reports from local trans folk who state that during their... more
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Here's a mini-preview of the second story in the video series. The entire video series will be published at the end of September.Here's a mini-preview of the second story in the video series. The entire video... more
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"Rachel Maddow Monday night eviscerated Rick Perry’s disavowal of the beliefs he wrote about in his nine-month old book, Fed Up! Perry now claims he never suggested social security is unconstitutional, blah, blah, blah… It’s in the book!" http://tinyurl.com/4xo8hc2"Rachel Maddow Monday night eviscerated Rick Perry’s disavowal of the... more
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