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EX-STATE DEPT.SECURITY OFFICER SPELLS OUT 9/11 COVER-UP
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Today's Stories March 1, 2006 Tom
Reeves February 28, 2006 Sen.
Russ Feingold Ralph
Nader Joshua
Frank Aziz
Haniffa Benjamin Dangl Norman Solomon Mike
Ferner Sharon
Smith Website
of the Day
February 27, 2006 Buncombe
/ Cockburn Paul
Craig Roberts Ingmar
Lee Ron
Jacobs Dave
Lindorff Pat
Wolff Lila
Rajiva Website
of the Day
February 25 / 26, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Lila
Rajiva Lee
Sustar Jennifer
Van Bergen / Madis Senner Justin
E.H. Smith Paul
Craig Roberts Jason
Leopold Gilad
Atzmon Zahid
Shariff Fred
Gardner Dick
J. Reavis David
Stocker John
Bomar Mike
Marqusee Pratyush
Chandra Ben
Tripp Dr.
Susan Block Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
February 24, 2006 Alan
Maass William
S. Lind Dave
Lindorff Pierre
Tristam Meg
Bannerji Robert
Jensen Mark
Engler Jennifer
Loewenstein Website
of the Day
February 23, 2006 Chet
Richards Jonathan
Feldman Joshua
Frank Ron
Jacobs Amira
Hass Samah
Sabawi Norman
Solomon Christopher
Reed Website
of the Day
February 22, 2006 Robert
Pollin Phil
Doe Pirouz
Azadi Saul
Landau Brian
McKinlay Sam
Smith Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Diane
Farsetta Website
of the Day
February 21, 2006 Paul
Craig Roberts Franklin
Spinney Dave
Lindorff Alevtina
Rea Bruce
K. Gagnon Dave
Zirin Bill
Quigley Website
of the Day
February 20, 2006 Jennifer
Van Bergen Rachard
Itani Gideon
Levy Joshua
Frank Newton
Garver Pratyush
Chandra Seth
Sandronsky Cockburn
/ St. Clair Website
of the Day
February 18 / 19, 2006 Werther Uzma
Aslam Khan Joe
DeRaymond Edward
F. Mooney Paul
Craig Roberts Elaine
Cassel P.
Sainath Thomas
P. Healy Brian
Concannon, Jr. Fred
Gardner Rep.
Cynthia McKinney Brian
Tokar Chan
Chee Khoon Andrew
Freedman St.
Clair / Walker Poets'
Basement Website
of the Weekend
February 17, 2006 Floyd
Rudmin Gervasio
Rodríguez Gary
Leupp Ramzy
Baroud Amira
Hass Matthew
Koehler Niranjan
Ramakrishnan Debbie
Nathan Website
of the Day
Febrauary 16, 2006 Lila
Rajiva Norman
Solomon Ron
Jacobs Paul
Craig Roberts Website
of the Day
February 15, 2006 Brian
Conacnnon, Jr. Dave
Lindorff Saree
Makdisi Joshua
Frank Amira
Hass CounterPunch
Wire Robert
Bryce Website
of the Day February 14, 2006 John
Sugg Don
Santina William
A. Cook Ray
McGovern John
Ross Website
of the Day
Lila
Rajiva Christopher
Brauchli Dave
Lindorff Ron
Jacobs Mike
Whitney Michael
Neumann Website
of the Day
February 11 / 12, 2006 Alexander
Cockburn Ralph
Nader Paul Craig
Roberts Pat Williams Fred Gardner Saul Landau John Chuckman Roger Burbach Seth Sandronsky Website of
the Weekend
February 10, 2006 Carl
G. Estabrook Sen.
Russell Feingold Roxanne
Dunbar----Ortiz Saree Makdisi Website of
the Day
February 9, 2006 Dave Lindorff Mike Marqusee Paul Craig Roberts Peter Phillips William S. Lind Christine Tomlinson Innocent Targets in the "Long War": False Positives and Bush's Eavesdropping Program Will Youmans Robert Robideau Richard Neville Peter Rost Website of the Day
February 8, 2006 Ron Jacobs Stan Cox Sen. Russ Feingold Robert Jensen Rep. Cynthia McKinney Niranjan Ramakrishnan Don Monkerud David Swanson C.L. Cook Christopher
Fons Jeffrey Ballinger Website of
the Day
February 7, 2006 Edward Lucie-Smith Robert Fisk Paul Craig Roberts Neve Gordon Joshua Frank Peter Montague Jackie Corr Jeffrey St.
Clair Website of the Day
February 6, 2006 Christopher
Brauchli Robert Fisk John Chuckman Jenna Orkin Paul Craig
Roberts
February 4 / 5, 2006 Alexander Cockburn Mike Ferner James Petras Alan Maass Fred Gardner Ralph Nader Bill Glahn Saul Landau Laura Carlsen James Brooks Mike Roselle John Holt Sarah Ferguson William S.
Lind Niranjan Ramakrishnan Seth Sandronsky Derrick O'Keefe Michael Donnelly Ron Jacobs Elisa Salasin St. Clair / Vest Stew Albert Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
February 3, 2006 Toufic Haddad Heather Gray Tim Wise Conn Hallinan Eva Golinger Daniel Ellsberg Dave Zirin Robert Bryce Website of
the Day
February 2, 2006 Winslow T.
Wheeler Stan Cox Rachard Itani Mike Whitney Amira Hass Norman Solomon Michael Simmons Christopher
Reed Website of the Day
February 1, 2006 Sharon Smith Jason Leopold Cindy Sheehan Joseph Grosso Earl Ofari Hutchinson Steven Higgs Robert Robideau R. Siddharth Jim Retherford Rep. Cynthia
McKinney Paul Craig
Roberts Website of
the Day
January 31, 2006 Jeffrey St.
Clair Clancy Chassay Dave Lindorff Niranjan Ramakrishnan Oren Ben-Dor Winslow Wheeler John Ryan Mike Marqusee Ron Jacobs Andrew Cockburn Website of
the Day
January 30, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Winslow Wheeler Niranjan Ramakrishnan Marcus Dam John Bomar Ben Beachy Gideon Levy Michael Carmichael Missy Comley
Beattie Norman Solomon Brian Concannon,
Jr. Michael Ratner Website of
the Day
January 28 / 29, 2006 Alexander Cockburn
Ralph Nader Col. Dan Smith Paul Craig Roberts Tammara Rosenleaf Ron Jacobs Harry Browne Fred Gardner Christopher
Reed Bernard Chazelle Daniel Wolff Tom Kerr Asad Abu Khalil Chris Murphy Dr. Susan Block Kathy Deacon St. Clair /
Walker / Palmer / Shields Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
Suren Pillay Lawrence R.
Velvel J.L. Chestnut,
Jr Uri Avnery Gary Leupp Samar Assad Jeffrey St.
Clair Website of the Day
January 26, 2006 Robert Robideau Paul Craig
Roberts Gilad Atzmon Jason Leopold Joshua Frank Dave Lindorff Susan Lee Missy Comley Beattie Michael Carmichael Michael Neumann Website of
the Day
January 25, 2006 Saul Landau James Petras Lawrence R.
Velvel Vijay Prashad Kevin Zeese Alison Weir Bruce K. Gagnon Joan Roelofs Website of
the Day
January 24, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Kathy Kelly Jorge Mariscal Winslow T.
Wheeler John Walsh Youmans / Muaddi Roger Burbach Fr. Gerard
Jean-Juste Noam Chomsky Website of
the Day
Uri Avnery Susan Pynchon William Loren
Katz Christopher Brauchli Chris Floyd Joshua Frank Norman Solomon Jackie Corr Paul Craig
Roberts Website of the Day
January 21/22, 2006 Tim Shorrock Ralph Nader Peter Feng Brian Cloughley Michael Donnelly Tom Kerr Dave Lindorff Daniel Wolff Fred Gardner Jason Leopold Matthew Koehler John Bomar Ron Jacobs Becky Akers Joanne Mariner St. Clair / Walker / Pollack Poets' Basement Website of the Day
Brian J. Foley Richard Gott Joshua Frank Pierre Tristam Bernstein /
Allegretto Elizabeth Schulte Website of
the Day
January 19, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Bill Simpich Kevin Alexander
Gray Sam Husseini Sam Smith Monica Benderman Winslow T.
Wheeler Website of the Day
January 18, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Norman Solomon Jonathan M.
Feldman Michael Carmichael Paul D'Amato Cynthia McKinney Norman Finkelstein Website of the Day
January 17, 2006 M. Shahid Alam John Ross Tariq Ali Michael Donnelly Amira Hass Doug Giebel Bill Quigley Ron Jacobs Mike Stark Werther
John Walsh Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Roger Burbach Norman Solomon Robert Jensen Sam Husseini Paul Craig
Roberts Website of the Day
January 14 / 15, 2006 Alexander Cockburn JoAnn Wypijewski James Petras Ron Jacobs Brian Cloughley Marianne McDonald Bruce Tyler Wick Fred Gardner Flavia Alaya Gary Leupp Dr. Susan Block Nicole Colson Jeffrey Kolakowski Missy Comley
Beattie Charles Thomson St. Clair /
Walker / Vest Poets' Basement Website of
the Weekend
January 13, 2006 Ralph Nader Leonard Weinglass Amira Hass Chris Kutalik
/ Jennifer Biddle Lawrence R. Velvel Dave Lindorff Mike Whitney David Price
January 12, 2006 Jennifer Van
Bergen Jeremy Brecher / Brendan Smith Lawrence R.
Velvel Ralph Nader / Robert Weissman Jackie Corr Jared Bernstein Russell D.
Hoffman Aubrey Streit Clancy Sigal Website of the Day
January 11, 2006 Kevin Zeese Ray McGovern Allan Maass
/ Joe Allen Earl Ofari
Hutchinson Annie Murphy Allan Lichtman Ramzy Baroud Joshua Frank Kathleen and
Bill Christison Website of
the Day
January 10, 2006 Uri Avnery Saul Landau Noam Chomsky Brian J. Foley Lenni Brenner Ronan Sheehan Paul Craig
Roberts
January 9, 2006 Behzad Yaghmaian George Bisharat Dave Lindorff Norman Solomon Christopher Brauchli Aharon Shabtai Andrew Cockburn
January 7 / 8, 2006 Lawrence Velvel James Petras J.L. Chestnut Mike Ely Andrew Wilson Lila Rajiva William Cook Ramor Ryan Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff Peter Montague Ron Jacobs Neve Gordon Fred Gardner Josh Mahon Dr. Susan Block Jeffrey St. Clair Poets' Basement Website of the Weekend
January 6, 2006 José
Pertierra Joe Allen Winslow T. Wheeler John Bomar Jason Leopold Norman Solomon Robert Pollin
January 5, 2006 Scott Boehm Zoltan Grossman Heather Gray Haninah Levine Pierre Tristam Remi Kanazi Gilad Atzmon Kathleen and
Bill Christison
January 4, 2006 Ron Jacobs Lila Rajiva Huibin Amee
Chew Pat Williams Linda Milazzo Nick Dearden James Petras Website of
the Day
January 3, 2006 James Ridgeway Laith al-Saud Dick J. Reavis Joshua Frank Rochelle Gause Missy Comley
Beattie Paul de Rooij
January 2, 2006 Paul Craig
Roberts Clancy Sigal Cindy Sheehan Alexander Cockburn
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March 1, 2006 The Puzzling Alliance of Chavannes Jean-Baptiste and Charles Henri BakerHaitian Election AftermathBy TOM REEVES Imagine in U.S. politics if Cesar Chavez
had suddenly endorsed and collaborated with George Wallace in
his Presidential campaign, and the Perhaps just as bizarre has been the continuing uncritical support (at least until now) by MPP's U.S. funder, Grassroots International. GI consistently takes a strong stand against what it calls the U.S. "death plan," structural adjustment and the whole World Bank neo-liberal program, yet remained silent for years after Chavannes and MPP became closely linked to precisely the U.S. "death plan" agenda, in their growing support for the successful overthrow of the Aristide government, and their close alliance with opposition groups with a neoliberal agenda and worse. Like Chavez, Chavannes was a truly charismatic leader with an indisputably progressive agenda. He helped poor peasants establish a degree of security and autonomy and resist the dominance of the U.S. "free market." Founded in 1973, The MPP developed and united more than 2500 local peasant collaboratives in the isolated and impoverished Haitian central plateau, representing about 35,000 peasants. MPP became by the early 1990s, the strongest and largest such peasant group in the country. During the 1990s, it's national wing, the MPNKP began to construct a truly national federation of such grassroots agricultural efforts, joining together more than 100,000 peasants. MPP has done excellent work in promoting sustainable agriculture in the ecologically devastated plateau, as well as reforestation. They have fostered a range of cooperatives from agricultural products and credit for small farmers to sewing and ceramics. One of their most dramatic projects was the creole pig program - to provide low-cost pigs to peasants, who lost them when the U.S. eradicated almost all the native Haitian pigs during a swine flu epidemic in the Duvalier era. The creole pig became to Haiti what "keep your eye on the grape" was for farm workers and for all unions and poor people struggling for dignity in the U.S. in the 1960s. At the time of the first coup d'etat against Aristide in 1991, Chavannes and others were forced to flee, setting up headquarters in Boston, where their U.S. patron, Grassroots International, was based. I first met him, his brother Bazelais and other family members during that time. With support also from Aristide's consul-general in Boston, Gene Geneus, MPP became an organizer of the Boston Haiti-solidarity movement - supporting the formation of the New England Observer Delegation to Haiti, of which I was co-founder. We took eight delegations to Haiti during and after the coup period, in support of the elected government-in-exile. Chavannes, Bazelais and others from MPP helped us organize and raise funds for the delegations, and provided us with logistical support and contacts in Haiti during a very dangerous period. During the exile, Chavannes was always close to Aristide during his speaking tours in the U.S. When Aristide returned to Haiti in October 1994, under Clinton-U.S. protection, NEOD went to Haiti with Chavannes and others from his family and MPP. At the palace, Chavannes (who was then Aristide's official spokesman) made sure that we sat with Préval and other leaders at a banquet, and that we were on the palace steps when Aristide landed in a military helicopter. A few days later, I accompanied Chavannes, Bazelais and their mother in an SUV on the long drive over virtually non-existent roads to return to Papaye, MPP headquarters, for the first time since the coup. As we climbed to the top of the plateau, we were met at every village by rejoicing throngs who mobbed Chavannes joyously. In Hinche, capital of the region, a crowd of many thousands wildly applauded him. A U.S.AID operative watching the rally - who had funded dummy peasant groups to undermine MPP - confided to some of us (according to my journal notes) , "He has no real following and no future. You'll see." In Papaye we walked with Chavannes and his family as they surveyed the ruined MPP headquarters, burned and vandalized, the walls smeared with feces and vicious anti-Aristide and anti-MPP graffiti. It was clear to us then that Chavannes, was mentored by Aristide since his youth. In many ways, Chavannes imitated "Titid," both in his speaking style and his somewhat mystical pronouncements. Chavannes clearly expected to become Aristide's successor. When that did not happen - and René Préval was nominated by Lavalas instead - Chavanne became bitter. Chavannes was ambiguous enough about the future, and his role in it, that he nevertheless served for a time as the head of Préval's transition team. Even though it was not clear whether Aristide himself had named Préval, or the OPL faction within Lavalas had pushed him forward (Préval later clearly did not support the OPL's switch to neoliberalsim), Chavannes began to direct his anger openly toward Aristide. When an OPL dominated government endorsed a neoliberal program, Aristide denounced it and formed a new party, Family Lavalas, but Chavannes aligned with OPL. In 1997, a confrontation between Family Lavalas and MPP in Mirebalais (a former Plateau stronghold of MPP) led to what Chavannes characterized as his having been held against his will for several hours. Chavannes insisted that former Macoute (Duvalierst henchmen) had infiltrated FL. Aristide refused to order the local FL to release Chavannes, or to apologize, telling an NEOD delegation in Haiti at the time that he could not control his local followers, nor could he guarantee that Macoutes did not sometimes join FL, though he himself did not approve of such tactics. Chavannes was, however, released unharmed along with his MPP followers. During the contentious elections of 2000, Chavannes joined the Democratic Convergence, a hodgepodge of anti-Aristide forces, ranging from former Communists to outright Duvaliersts. The Convergence contested the April elections for parliament, in which FL claimed outright victory, but the OAS insisted the election was marred by dubious election practices in 8 Senatorial districts. Aristide accepted a compromise in which all 8 Senators were to face run-offs, but the Convergence would not accept this. The Convergence also boycotted the November Presidential elections, in which Aristide received 92% of the vote - with more than 60% of those registered voting. In 2001, the Convergence named it's own shadow government, to which Chavannes pledged his allegiance. Throughout 2002 and 2003, the US-AID funded groups like the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) helped organize and train anti-Aristide leaders. One wing of this opposition was a coalition of Haitian elite business leaders, originally called the Civic Initiative, later the Group of 184 civic institutions, created at a conference sponsored by the US-based Haiti Democracy Project (HDP) and funded by them and later by IRI directly, as well as the European Union. Chavannes joined 184 and eventually became one of its spokesmen, along with Charles Henri Baker and Andy Arpad - both notorious sweat-shop owners and union-breakers. MPP delivered many of its constituent organizations which made up a big chunk of the 184, otherwise characterized by chambers of commerce and other pro-business groups, as well as a few tiny unions known as house unions of companies. By so doing, the 184 received credibility in some progressive international solidarity circles which it could not have otherwise had. MPP endorsed the "social contract" of the 184 which assumes a neo-liberal agenda, and of course accepts the "de facto" government installed officially by the United Nations, but actually by the U.S. after it's invasion. (Oddly, Grassroots International with its diametrically opposite position, remained silent.) The other wing of the anti-Aristide campaign consisted of elements of the former Army and FRAPH (a paramilitary outfit that has been linked to massacres during the first coup period). These two were trained by the IRI and other U.S. NGOs, during conferences in the Dominican Republic, also attended by leaders of the 184. When Jodel Chamblain -a former FRAPH member and convicted murderer - brought a band of armed "rebels" into Haiti from the Dominican Republic, in early February, 2004, he chose the Plateau as a staging area for the rebellion which the U.S. later used as justification for forcing President Aristide into exile. According to former MPP members from Mirebalais and Thomond in the Plateau, whom I interviewed in March 2004, Chavannes welcomed Chamblain and even held a dinner for his band at Papaye. Assumedly, this group included some of the very Macoutes who had destroyed the MPP headquarters and terrorized Chavannes' family during the first coup. When evidence of this betrayal was presented to GI in 2004, GI staff insisted that Chavannes had denied the charge, and GI remained uncritically supportive. (Chavannes told people privately, that he met with Chamblain but refused to help him. He has not commented publicly on this. The ex-MPP members commented, "The "rebels" simply could not have passed through the Plateau and received local support without MPP permission.") At least one GI board member withdrew from the board at that time, privately indicating her disgust at GI complicity with the uncritically anti-Aristide and pro-US invasion positions of its Haitian partner, MPP. After the U.S. invasion, the coup-installed government was led by the 'Boca Raton' neoliberals. The de-facto Prime Minister and many of his advisors had lived for years in Florida, many working for the internatonal agencies that imposed structural adjustment. During the march through the Plateau, the 'rebels' had murdered many local people including the Hinche chief of police. These 'rebels' were called 'freedom fighters' by Latortue, the coup prime minister. During the two years after the coup, thousands of Lavalas members and others were imprisoned, forced into exile or killed. Chavannes' former colleagues, with whom he'd long worked, like Father Gerard Jean Juste and Prime Minister Yvon Neptune were held without charges under dreadful conditions - some, like Neptune, remain in prison. Yet Chavannes made no protest. On the contrary, he accepted the position of 'liaison to the peasantry' from the coup government. MPP and Chavannes Jean-Baptiste had long insisted that the peasant movement should not be directly involved in electoral politics. Yet in the recent (2006) Haitian elections, Chavannes founded his own political party, KONBA, allying itself directly with Charles Henri Baker, the 184 founder and sweatshop owner. MPP and MKNP, acting separately, also endorsed Baker. Other peasant organizations in the country registered shock and outrage. In the summer of 2005, the major peasant groupings of Haiti had overcome years of differences to form a united peasant coalition, PLANOPA. Tet Kolé, the second largest peasant group in Haiti, and also a critic of Aristide, announced in January, 2006, its withdrawal from PLANOPA and its denunciation of MPP/MNKP and Chavannes for their support for "the most reactionary bourgeois sector" in Haiti. Yet GI remained silent still. During the election campaigns, armed conflicts between Préval supporters and supporters of the OPL candidate as well as supporters of Baker, including KONBA, broke out in Ounaminthe, Préval's home-base. During the election itself, Baker (who came in third to Préval, with about 7% of the vote) gained his largest pluralities (about 30%) in the Plateau, where polling stations were often controlled by MPP personnel. The largest number of blank ballots was also cast in these polling stations - ballots used temporarily to deprive Préval of the 50% plus one majority needed to avoid a runoff. The CEP (electoral commission) announced what it called "massive fraud" in the elections in its own decision to declare Préval the outright winner. Préval and others are demanding a full investigation of the blanc vote scandal as well as the infamous destruction of ballots in Cité Soleil. They insist this is essential before the parliamentary results can be validated. Unfortunately the CEP is in extreme disarray. It's president has fled to the U.S. and is being hosted by the Haiti Democracy Project - the same Washington-based group that helped form the opposition to Aristide. Throughout all this, Grassroots International's website continued to report only favorable comments about MPP and Chavannes Jean-Baptiste, and made only bland comments about the election. Sources say that GI nominated Chavannes for the prestigious Goldman environmental prize (nominating groups are not publicly identified), which he received in April 2005, landing him $125,000 dollars. Possibly using some of this money, Chavannes launched his new political party in May 2005. Perhaps the stance of GI is about to change. GI's Director of Global Programs, Maria Aguiar, told me (February 2005 - after the election of Préval became clear): "We've been having ongoing conversations with MPP and our other Haitian partners, to gather information about all this, and to determine what our ongoing relationships should be." She said GI had felt it important to respect the autonomy of its Haitian partners, and in any case, "Voicing criticism of the human rights violations, corruption and economic policies of the Haitian government, or any government, is quite legitimate in our view. It has always been clear that, under no circumstances, should GI be supporting U.S. intervention in Haiti. That would be quite a different thing." It is a very difficult thing for those who have known Chavannes Jean-Baptiste and seen his extraordinary work as a peasant leader, to understand his complete shift away from grassroots justice and toward reactionary politics. His personal feeling of betrayal at not being nominated for President in 1995 explains his bitter anti-Aristide actions. But that scarcely explains his endorsement of the worst elements of the Haitian elite. Perhaps it is as simple as a feeling of losing his family's rightful political and social inheritance of power, their place in a new elite. Perhaps it is a very human trait, shared with Aristide, of believing himself so essential to the Haitian struggle that he views any measures justified which could assure his own success. If so, it is a tragedy for him and his family. It is still more tragic for the future of a strong peasant movement in Haiti and the building of a participatory society - hopes that were kindled by the genuine depth and breadth of the movement built by Chavannes and others in MPP. Equally difficult to explain and sad to report is the long silence of Grassroots International, a genuinely progressive and staunchly independent force for sustainable development and economic justice. Perhaps understandable in the beginning, as a way of opposing what it saw as betrayals and corruption of Aristide himself, the GI silence about MPP's stance in the wake of the U.S. invasion, and in light of MPP's complete shift in ideology becomes harder and harder to defend as the time passed after Aristide's removal. What could have happened? Perhaps GI staff was stretched too thin for it to be on top of events in Haiti where it sponsors several programs. Surely, though, with information so available on the internet about the goings-on in Haiti, especially leading up to the election, GI might have simply stepped in and critiqued Chavannes and the MPP sooner rather than later. Were it to do so now, it would be a welcome step, but far too late for those who have had confidence in its long-standing support of programs known for their integrity and consistent opposition to U.S. policies. Tom Reeves was a long-time Caribbean studies
director at Roxbury Community College in Boston, and was a leader
of many delegations to Haiti during and after the first coup
d'etat. He has travelled to Haiti many times between 1987 and
2005. He welcomes feedback at erasumustom99@yahoo.com. |
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