Race to the White House: Should Colin Powell Endorse Obama?
By Nicole Belle Thursday Apr 10, 2008 8:38am
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On Race to the White House with David Gregory, the punditocracy was all aflutter at Colin Powell's interview with ABC's Good Morning America in which he refrained from endorsing any candidate but made some positive statements about Barack Obama. So naturally, the media decides that the topic should be whether Powell will endorse Obama. Even though he's said he hasn't decided on any one candidate. The Weekly Standard's Matthew Continetti opines:
Continetti: It’s possible that Powell will endorse Obama, although I think it’s more likely that he’ll refuse to endorse any candidate. And one reason is that he obviously knows John McCain well and they’ve come together on the torture issue, if you recall. They’re both opponents of aggressive interrogation techniques. So I think it’s more likely that Powell just sits this one out and perhaps awaits for maybe a position in the next Democratic administration.
Gregory: Do you think he’d be willing to serve?
Continetti: I think so. I think if called under the right circumstances…certainly, from someone like Obama who of course represents a huge milestone historically, but also wants to show he can reach out to Republicans in some fashion, even if they’re disgruntled Republicans, like Gen. Powell.
So Powell and McCain have bonded over their mutual stance against torture? Funny, that. None of the talking heads seem particularly concerned that neither Powell nor McCain actually did anything to stop torture when they had the opportunity.
And while this notion that Powell is a "disgruntled" Republican may well be true (I know a lot of Republicans that are disgusted by what the neo-cons have done to their party), where does Continetti get this whole 'waiting for the next Democratic administration' trial balloon? Why should any man who held up cartoon pictures of mobile WMD labs in front of the UN ever have credibility in any administration?
Will Bunch thinks that Obama should reject and denounce Powell's endorsement, should it be offered.
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Primero?
Who cares?
Why should I care about who Mr. International Arms Dealer endorses?
That's their "mutual stance" .. get it?
Yeah , McStupid is so against torture , he voted against the bill (the Feinstein Amendment) , which would have outlawed it..........Which makes perfect sense from a GOP perspective and especially Matthew Continetti .
Asking someone from The Weakly SubStandard to write something of value and worth is akin to asking Chimpy to speak proper English.........
Who cares? Isn't Powell a war criminal?
Sure Colin. Maybe you can illustrate why Obama would want your worthless endorsement with a crayola colored drawing. Fuck you, war criminal.
"I am against everything I stand for!" - Future Quote From McCain and Powell.
Are there still dummkopfs who really care what this liar has to say?
How about a legal opinion from Sandra Day O'Conjob?
you mean colin powell the war criminal? no.
Personally, I think it would be wise for Obama to reject Powell's endorsement if he should offer it. Powell's presentation at the UN to persuade them to support Bush's war in Iraq is what people remember. An endorsement by Powell could cut both ways but I think its more than likely that Obama's core supporters will not like it one bit.
Colin Powell endorsed the invasion of Iraq. His credibility is pretty well shot.
Colin Powell should be interviewing personal attorneys to begin preparations to defend himself against charges of Crimes Against Humanity for his complicity in bearing false witness to the United Nations with the intent to commit war and for his direct role in authorizing and stipulating precisely which methods of torture ought to be employed by uniformed military personnel against non-uniformed (alleged) enemies in an undeclared war.
The Colin-oscopy that really stuck it up our rear!
Colin Powell’s Role in the PRETEXT:
The "Ambassadors" who worked for Colin Powell at “State” were all in the service of the Intelligence Community. Powell knew PRECISELY what the deal was. He was NEVER in the dark. He was PART of the Intelligence Community.
He did what "Good Soldiers" do. He performed honorably (by their standards) to serve the goals of the Intelligence Community - the center of ALL power in the Government.
All of them knew what the deal was, as they are all privy to the REAL game plan, not the one you read about or see on TV.
They know in advance the strategy of the Federal Reserve, any major market-moving announcements, the CIA's REAL agenda in every country, Carlyle's role in world affairs, Defense Department PsyOps, BlackOps, all of it.
An attitude of superiority and arrogance pervades the halls of power, and the prevailing attitude is this (as related to me by one of THEM directly):
"Nothing is as it appears, literally nothing. There is no Osama Bin Laden. The war in Iraq is going according to plan. The plan called for a quagmire and a protracted occupation.
We just want you to go on about your lives, doing your jobs, raising your children, sending them off to college...just living your lives day to day, and we'll take care of the nasty stuff."
This is the prevailing attitude at the highest levels in Washington. Literally nothing that you see in the news can be relied upon as factual. The news for the most part is scripted and manufactured by the government to coincide with a script that serves the strategic goals of those claiming to represent you. They are so arrogant, many actually believe their activities are in your best interest.
When you see the following:
"Former Rand Analyst"
used to describe someone, think "arrogant spook with a heart of stone."
When you see the name:
"Bin Laden" think CIA Invention.
These "Analysts" are everywhere within corporate America, working for companies, and for the government too. You see them on TV news nearly every day, as half of the talking heads interviewed on world affairs and terrorism are all on the same team, singing from the same script...the Government Script.
Nothing is as it appears...Nothing.
The following is from an article by Ron Suskind:
The aide said that guys like me were ''in what we call the reality-based community,'' which he defined as people who ''believe that solutions emerge from your judicious study of discernible reality.'' I nodded and murmured something about enlightenment principles and empiricism. He cut me off. ''That's not the way the world really works anymore,'' he continued.
''We're an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you're studying that reality -- judiciously, as you will -- we'll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that's how things will sort out. We're history's actors . . . and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.''
Sound like Karl Rove to you? THE ARROGANCE IS OVERWHELMING
Who would want Powell's endorsement? This man left his manhood and honor on the carpet at Bush's feet like a skid mark left by a dog pulling itself across the floor to wipe its ass.
nony @ 15:
It takes more than arrogance to change reality, thankfully. It sure can fuck things up though.
You know the term "talking heads" becomes more and more apt...notice it's NOT "talking brains"...I'm retired, have opinions, read al ot, think occasionally and have a BIG MOUTH...sign me up for those BIG BUCKS that the fools who appear readily on MSM are getting...I need to beef up my portfolio for the kids/grandkids so they aren't in soup lines when I'm gone!!!
Powell discraced himself when he knowingly lied this country into a ruinous war for Bush Co.
Why does the media or the American public have to listen to anything this corrupt man has to say?
He has zero chance, make that less than zero chance of being Obama's Veep choice.
Now what would make more sense is if the McCain could get him for Veep. It would be a big counter to Obama's "blackness factor" (cons could feel all warm and fuzzy about having a nigra on the ticket). I would like to believe however that Powell would never make that jump since he's been effed over by BushCo at least twice - once when he was asked to join the Chimp administration thereby neutering any presidential possibilities for 8 years (and remembery, he was a *real* spoiler in the Rep party for a while, threatening to eliminate Duhbya) and second, when he accepted the snowjob at the UN assignment. Prolly many other times we *don't* know about as well.
Is he that "good" of a soldier? Again, I'd like to believe not.
"Race to the White House: Should Colin Powell Endorse Obama?
By: Nicole Belle @ 6:38 AM - PDT"
Should SOMEBODY - ANYBODY ask Colin Powell what he said in those White House torture method approval meetings?
Powell has to be the worst of the bunch in my opinion. He chose "loyalty" and "being a good soldier" over his official responsibilities and oath to the Constitution and the American people when he got on board with the Iraq invasion and went to the U.N.
Fuck him and his worthless lying endorsement.
no. colin powell should be arrested, tried and hung for his complicity in crimes against humanity.
Powell has no cred.
McLame has no cred.
They're both sellouts.
Obama should keep his distance from Colinoscopy.
SO HOW DID DICK CHENEY’S HALLIBURTON COME TO BARE THE LIABILITY FOR ASBESTOS RELATED CLAIMS IN THE UNITED STATES? CHENEY, HALLIBURTON, THE BUSH FAMILY, AND ASBESTOS:
Dick Cheney, Halliburton, Inc., and, reportedly, the Bush family are surprisingly well acquainted with asbestos-related concerns.
On December 18, 2002, CBS News reported that Halliburton "has agreed to pay about $4 billion in cash and stock to settle hundreds of thousands of asbestos claims against it." Reportedly, Halliburton inherited its asbestos liability from Harbison-Walker, a unit of Halliburton's subsidiary Dresser Industries, and from Halliburton's Kellog Brown & Root subsidiary.
On December 13, 2001, the World Socialist Web Site reported that "During the 2000 election campaign critics noted that in the last several years Cheney and Halliburton had contributed $157,500 to congressional candidates who had co-sponsored legislation to cut off victims' rights to a fair recovery when injured or killed as a result of asbestos exposure."
And on August 11, 2002, The Olympian (from Olympia, WA), carried a Washington Post article noting that:
"Dresser had close ties to a family Cheney knew well: the Bushes. Cheney's boss while he served as Secretary of Defense, President George H.W. Bush, was once being groomed to run Dresser, a company that Bush's father and grandfather had reshaped decades earlier.
When Dresser went public in the 1920s, it turned to W.A. Harriman & Co., whose president was George Herbert Walker, grandfather and namesake to former president Bush. Prescott Bush, the former president's father, helped organize Dresser and select its new president, H. Neil Mallon. Prescott Bush eventually sat on the board and by 1941, still held 1,900 shares of Dresser stock. Mallon was so close to former president Bush that he described him in his autobiography as "surrogate uncle and father-confessor." One of his sons, Neil Mallon Bush, is named after him. After World War II, Mallon employed George H.W. Bush and Dresser executives expected him to take over the company, according to journalist Darwin Payne, who wrote a history of Dresser. Instead, the former president left to prospect for oil.
While Cheney saw sound business reasons for acquiring Dresser, there was a problem in its past -- the use of asbestos in Harbison-Walker division products."
That story about Halliburton acquiring the asbestos liabilities of Dresser Industries raises an interesting point...Cheney KNEW that Dresser had the most massive liability issue on planet earth (he had to have known) yet decided to pay good money to bring Dresser's problems under Halliburton's tent.
This raises the question...who were the largest shareholders of Dresser - in need of a lifeboat to save their own personal bacon? Anyone named Bush? Anyone named Carlyle?
The deal went like this: Cheney agrees for Halliburton to take on the Dresser asbestos liability. It is determined that Bush and Cheney will be (s)elected, and that the PNAC plan will be implemented - using 9/11 as the essential pretext. Ken Lay plays his role using his Enron smoke and mirrors tactics to create a faux energy crisis in California, causing the public to demand an energy-savvy administration be elected. With the asbestos liability and other matters hanging in the balance, the election of 2000 simply had to be rigged in order for the plan to go in to effect.
Following the appointment of Bush and Cheney, the secret energy planning meeting established which oil companies would reap the rewards of the pending invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran.
The timing and the pretext were predetermined, and 9/11 was greenlighted for 9/11/2001. Cheney outsourced the implementation to Mossad, and ran the show from his bunker on D Day under the cover of preplanned drills simulating the exact attack that was proscribed, with NORAD as coconspirator. At least 50 administration officials and countless foreign agents were in on it.
Once the entire charade was concluded, the Administration generally, and Cheney specifically, had every reason in the world to blame Iraq.
The Afghanistan mission could not provide Halliburton with enough revenue to offset the massive asbestos liability claim. Iraq and Iran are essential wars in order to provide cover for the infusion of the billion of TAX DOLLARS necessary to both profit Halliburton for its actual work AND cover the massive asbestos liability claims.
Now you know why Halliburton was awarded the contracts without the need to bid for them. This was all prearranged.
NOTE: Private enterprise pushed its legal/financial obligations onto tax payers using war as the excuse.
The asbestos liability claims of Dresser Industries were ultimately paid by you and me, and our troops in the field, all to ensure that the investors in Dresser didn't take the multibillion dollar loss.
State of the Union speech in 2005:
"To make our economy stronger and more competitive, America must reward, not punish, the efforts and dreams of entrepreneurs. Small business is the path of advancement, especially for women and minorities, so we must free small businesses from needless regulation and protect honest job-creators from junk lawsuits. (Applause.) Justice is distorted, and our economy is held back by irresponsible class-actions and frivolous asbestos claims -- and I urge Congress to pass legal reforms this year."
GEORGE W. BUSH
Joe O. @ 11:
I gotta agree with you on this. As much respect and stature that was once Powell's, it has disappeared over the years of his not speaking out against the Bush administration and expressing his remorse for allowing himself to be corrupted. He could have done that with impugnity once he was out of the administration -- he had nothing more to lose from them. They stripped him of all that was admirable and honorable, and while I pity him, there's no need to forgive him unless he openly expresses remorse and condemns his corrupters.
Anyone who has ever attached their caboose to George Bush's train has seen their credibility shot. Powell is no exception. An endorsement from Powell could be more like a kiss of death.
Who cares? But look at it this way, the GOP will never forgive him, in their eyes he will be a traitor to their cause. You know, destroy the middle class and try to dominate the world. They will tar and feather him, Hmm. ., maybe not a bad idea.
Way back when, when I heard that Powell was going to the UN to convince them of Saddam's WMD, that was the one time I allowed myself to doubt my own feelings. My feelings at the time were that the whole WMD thing was bullshit. But I thought if someone like Colin Powell is convinced, I want to see and hear what he has to say. I saw his primitive drawings, heard the garbled phone recording and saw his dramatic presentation with the vial of scary stuff. I just shook my head because I had such admiration for the man but at that presentation he looked pathetic. He was playing a part in order to start a war. My admiration for him and my respect for him went away that day.
If he's smart, he won't endorse anyone. Good soldier or not, who can ever trust him again?
If he endorses Obama I don't think it would make any difference one way or the other.
Maybe these are sort of "gotcha" endorsements: endorsements you'd be too polite to say no to, but would not want to wish on your worst enemy.
Wait 'til Bush and Cheney endorse Obama and/or Clinton.
Unlike you Patricia, I never had a doubt WMD's. I, like millions of other Americans, were duped. That is why I feel so damn guilty. I usually pride myself on being smart, but I was truly stupid. That is why I am so pissed off.
pissed off patricia @ 28:
His credibility was shot for me when the Republican party convinced him not to run for President in exchange for a cabinet post. It was only later i heard he got to be a General for helping to cover up the Mi Lai Massacre.
I'm sorry but I should give a rat's ass who Powell endorses why? Like PoP, I allowed myself to think "If Powell says it, then it must be true"..sadly he was just another one of the fuckwits in the federal govt.
P.D. @ 30:
You shouldn't ; it isn't as if everyone knows the finite life-span of a WMD.
How many people even heard of the term "WMD" until Chimpy and Co constantly stressed it ?
Mr. Powell:
The Iraq war is a quagmire by design - and you know it for a fact.
They did all the planning to identify what would be required for "success," and then they did JUST THE OPPOSITE as soon as Baghdad had been captured.
The looting was the starting point - and Bremmer was sent in to ensure that mayhem and disfunctionality were the outcome.
YOU KNOW THE ENTIRE TRUTH.
If you don't want a seat in the dock at the Hague, it's time to become a Whistleblower and stop these Zionists from launching their armageddon strategy against Iran and Syria.
You are directly responsible if you do nothing. This half-truth shit has got to stop. It's too late to save your soul, as it was your testimony before the United Nations that convinced the American People to stand behind the effort to invade (not me - but most).
Without your testimony, this war never would have happened.
You have a chance to save the world from certain nuclear war, the end result of which is known to you in vivid detail.
We know Israel is blackmailing you and all of your co-conspirators, but what do you have to lose at this point? Save the world. Tell the truth. Reveal Israel's role and STOP THIS MADNESS.
WTF?
nony @ 13:
Going by what was written about the moronic AbuG torturers who put their 'fun' pictures up on websites and passed them around on CDRs,
they had no officers around when the nasty stuff was going on, only NCOs and other who were civilian TLA types doing the bossing.
The army officers knew outright what was going down was illegal so made themselves absent to avoid prosecution and future court martial.
Mr. Powell has disgraced himself a long time ago with his failure to resign at the time the Bush administration was trotting out their lies about WMD, etc. I can't believe he has any prestige or clout worth speaking of, anymore. He has emerged as a weak and cowardly person.
http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id803/pg1/
Well, that's a similar position, right? Neither is willing to actually stand up to Bushco.
Also, don't forget that Powell was in charge of the internal investigation of My Lai and tried to whitewash it. Here's a quote from his report: "In direct refutation of this portrayal is the fact that relations between Americal soldiers and the Vietnamese people are excellent."
Then later, while serving as secretary of State, Powell said on CNN, "I mean, I was in a unit that was responsible for My Lai. I got there after My Lai happened. So, in war, these sorts of horrible things happen every now and again, but they are still to be deplored."
You know, Powell has always been a little squishy in the area of morality.
Powell is a disgrace to the uniform he wore, and the country he served. Obama needs him like a hole in the head.
nony @ 34:
WTF indeed. Here we have yet another "It's all Israel's fault we're in Iraq". F-that argument. We're there for the oil and for Busholini's need for revenge.
Tell me, how is Israel "blackmailing" this country????????
pissed off patricia @ 28:
I wish that I could say the same, but I fell for it. I didn't know about his history. I didn't know that he authored the cover-up of My Lai. I didn't know that when push came to shove, he would back his superiors instead of doing the right thing. So I bought the UN presentation and didn't lose respect until much later.
My bad.
Who cares? Powell is a Republican and he sat in with "The Principals" in their discussions of torturing detainees. If I were Obama, I wouldn't want his endorsement.
Dr. Acula @ 40:
I have to agree with you, Dr. Acula.
The notion that this country ever does anything that is not in its self interest is laughable. We prop up Israel to keep a foothold in the Middle East. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are merely an expansion on that theme.
Why would anyone want Powell's endorsement?
The guy failed to protect the troops with whom he once served by letting the Bush administration run all over him. And till this day he hasn't come out as a whistleblower.
Screw Powell.....
P.D. @ 30:
You can be proud of your sentiment. That is a good first step.
I believe that when it comes to the question of war, we should all practice due diligence. that means looking for independent confirmation of "Facts" as reported by the media.
On the WMD count, the UN had all of the pertinent documents on their web site, indexed and easy to find. So when I first started hearing the claims, I went to the source and read the reports.
As the war rhetoric was heating up, it turned into a mob frenzy. At times I felt pulled to join the mob, and feel the heat of fervor in the march to war. But i couldn't, do that, when I knew that the emotion was based on false information. I tried to get everyone I knew to read the UN documents, but no one would.
And even when they seemed to believe me that the rationale for war was fabricated, they pointed out that Saddam was a brutal dictator and talked about his rape and torture rooms. Remember the human meat grinder that turned out to be a fiction?
So know Saddam is gone and Bush is the brutal dictator that runs rape and torture rooms. Yeah we really made Jesus proud with that one.
Question everything! And after you question it, verify! Almost everyone either believes or questions data that disagrees with their emotions. We need as a nation to start researching on our own, rather than rely on 'Bubble-Headed Beach Blondes that can talk about a car crash, with a tear in their eye.', to educate us.
And that is a problem. Our adult continuing education is provided by bimbos and empty suits.
We can't rely on anyone to educate us. We must educate ourselves.
Xoites @ 43 -- thanks. And a belated congrats on your upcoming nuptials!
When Powell was testifying, they showed satellite Photos of some facilities but no photos, just drawings of the mobile labs. I knew then, there is something wrong here.
I don't get it? Your statement about Powell and McPain being together and against torture? That is completely false. They are both pro torture, both have agreed it is just fine, and both are war criminals.
Please clarify why you would print something as misleading as this?
Thanks Doc! :)
Powell=war criminal
xoites defends Constitution @ 43:
Nations do things against their own self interest all of the time.
To go with a strong example, did the Philippines always act in their own self interest when Ferdinand Marcos was ruling the country?
Sometimes, nations sacrifice their well being, in order to enrich it's wealthy owners. Like the US is doing now.
nony @ 34:
What a bunch of utter bullshit. This is nobodys fault but bush & company. This was all about the chimp one upping his dad and oil. When it comes down to it bush could give a shit about Israel.
Any discussion that would reveal the entire truth would not be allowed here. I think you know that to be true.
Have you seen the Fox expose about Comverse and their ability to tap literally ever phone in the US even when Clinton was in the White House? Have you noticed high level officials caught in love trysts? The stories of Israeli software and systems and tactics are massively documented throughout the media.
You've never even heard of Ariel Joseph Weinmann, have you? Last year he was arrested for passing US nuclear submarine missile targeting data to Israel, but you know nothing about it, do you?
What could a country to if it controlled America's launch codes and targeting?
If you actually wanted to know the truth, it's all over the web for your consumption.
Ask David Rockefeller, he knows.
c. atrox @ 50:
If he was a corporation his motto could be:
Powell: Committing war crimes since 1968.
(See 37 above)
If the Obama campaign determines that accepting Powell's endorsement will get them a slice of some kind of Powell-backing group, they'll accept his endorsement, Powell's past sins notwithstanding.
Dr. Acula Says:
Busholini? So, it's not the Israelis? It's the Italians?
xoites defends Constitution @ 43:
One thing that puzzles me is how a tiny unstable country like Israel (pop 20 mil) manages to develop and build up on its own, 200 to 400 nuclear weapons.
That is something out of a bad comic book and defies logic, and non proliferation efforts by superpowers, UN security council and NATO et al.
Joe O. @ 11:
So very, very true. When Powell presented the false report before the UN, using
an "artist rendition of mobile trucks carrying aluminum tubing", he lost ALL creditbility
with most of us. He made his bed and can sleep in it alone. Kind of reminds me of the
disrespect and angry I still have to this day concerning Alan Specter and Orin Hatch
when they supported Clarence Thomas for S/C appointment and made inaccurate and
dishonest and disparging remarks w/respect to Anita Hill. Some things we never forget,
and Powell's lies, which ultimately led many of us to believe that Saddam had WMD, is
one of those instances. Shame on Powell.
Isn't Powell a Dem disguised in Rep? And he won't take sides or endorse anyone because he wants to run for President in the future?
Weaseldog, I began to see the light shortly after we invaded Iraq. Our local news was reporting that people were buying plasic to put on their windows to prevent themselves from being gassed, and I thoght WTF. The administation was doing what leaders since the dawn or man were doing. Using fear to control the populace. This country was in panic mode since 911, and Bush and his minions used it brillantly.
nony @ 53:
You really are a bigot and a racist. You would have made a good SS guard at one of Hitlers gas chambers.
ferrofluid @ 57:
Google "dov zakheim" and start reading. Trillions went missing when he was the US Defense Department's comptroller under Rumsfeld just prior to 9/11. Also look into his relationship to Sysplan.
It's the ultimate "fuck you" to bushco for sending him on a hike on the artillery range. I see an endorsement and either a prominent role on the transition team or a seat on the NSC.
If this is not a war crime i don't know what is.
[deleted--knock it off. Don't attack other posters and don't hijack this thread. Keep your posts on topic.]
ferrofluid @ 57:
That's easy. They get 50% of all of America's foriegn aid and they have to spend 100% of it on American weapons. They also spy on America more efficiently than any other nation on the planet.
Albatross @ 55:
You can't be serious. Most "Powell backers" are probably backers of McSurge is working.
ferrofluid @ 57:
Israel gets plenty of economic aid from the US. They're also a very high tech country of some 8 million or so (not even close to 20MM). They're also highly educated. I'm not surprised they've got nukes. What surprises me is that other countries still don't have the technology or capability more than 60 years after we developed nukes.
nony @ 53:
Consider the source nitwit. ANY "expose" from fox is bullshit. If there is any validity to anything coming from the GOP channel, it will eventually make its way to the real world. But I won't hold my breath.
ferrofluid @ 57:
When the most powerful and wealthiest nation on the planet sends you 60% of all their foreign aid annually , it isn't that difficult to figure out...............
Powell, it has been reported, was in the National Security Principals Committee meetings, which reviewed and authorized an active program of torture.
Obama should stay as far away from that as possible.
ferrofluid @ 57:
Why would that puzzle you? We sell weapons to anyone and everyone, all you need is money, and we sell. Where do you think Irag got all their weapons? Us and Russia will sell death to the highest bidder.
Would the endorsement of a war criminal help?
If O'Bama allows this war criminal to use him to save himself by association, he is a worse man than even I think he is.
Powell needs to quietly live out his days until he dies of natural causes and goes straight to hell.
http://abcnews.go.com/print?id=4583256
That's PROOF he's a war criminal of the worst kind, masquerading as the voice of reason.
If he endorses Obama, I will have to suck it up and not hold that AGAINST Obama.
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