In order For America to Thrive, It Must Invest In Its Future, Not Kill It

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree

In order For America to Thrive, It Must Invest In Its Future, Not Kill It
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We’ve got to wage a fierce battle against the ugliness in this world, but we must resist the urge to profile and become ugly ourselves. This battle is not about Black people against White people, or civilians against police; it’s about good people against bad people.
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In an incident in Portland, Oregon, "a  Portland police officer noticed a 12-year-old boy holding a sign that read 'Free Hugs' during a Ferguson demonstration. The officer started talking to the boy about the demonstration, school, and life. When they were done talking, the officer asked if he was going to get a hug.
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"The boy teared up — and obliged."
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Chances are, that one encounter will color that young boy's attitude toward the police for the rest of his life.  And I'm sure that if that officer is ever in an encounter with a young Black man, he'll think about that young kid before he pulls the trigger. So what we're talking about here is not one side against the other, but EVERYBODY dealing with our fellow human beings with a sense of humanity.
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But currently, the domestic enemy of the United States is appealing to America's emotions in order to circumvent our common sense. They're purposely instigating hatred, frustration, and division in order to promote their own single-minded agenda of power and greed. That agenda is destroying America, so if we intend to maintain the kind of life we've become accustomed to, we've got to appeal to America's emotions as well, but with knowledge, wisdom, and a sense of humanity. We can never out-scream fanatics, so we've got to out-think them, by reminding Americans of what we profess to believe in.
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One of my first memories in life was of the police coming to my house in the middle of the night, shooting my dog. and dragging my father off to the pen. When I was 19 years old I was busted at 3 a.m. in the morning with a briefcase full of drugs (and I mean HARD drugs) - and that was after a prolific juvenile career of going in and out of institutions from the time I was 12 years old (I was a precocious child). Now they finally had me as an adult, so there was absolutely no doubt in my mine that nothing was gonna beat me to the joint but the headlights on the bus.
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Then at my sentencing hearing, up pops this cop, Sgt. Foster, who wasn't even involved in the case - it wasn't even in his jurisdiction - but he was the first cop who arrested me when I was 12, and he harassed me throughout my juvenile career. Me and Foster had some kind of relationship. I saw him as the quintessential racist. He looked like he stepped right off a movie lot - a big, cigar chompin’ brute who used to always try to embarrass in front of the fellas. If I was suspected of something, he wouldn’t even bother to come looking for me. He’d just go up on the block and tell the fellas, "You tell Eric I want him in my office at 8 o’clock sharp tomorrow morning - and tell ‘em if I have to burn up one drop of gas looking for him, I gonna stick my foot in his ass."
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The fellas just loved that. "Man, Foster just came by here lookin’ for you, and he said you better arrest yourself and report to jail by 8 o’clock in the morning or he’s gonna kick your natural ass." Then everybody would fall out laughing and making jokes at my expense. When I was 16 he caught me high on drugs and embarrassed and manhandled me so bad that I got in a tussle with and reached for his gun - I would have been dead if that would have happened today. But he just busted me in the head with his club and subdued me. But instead of taking me to jail, he took me home and told my mother and stepfather what took place - "You better take him and have that head looked after" (I had to get several stitches in my head; I still feel the wound every time I comb my hair). But he was right back on my ass the next day: "Hey, E. You better get outta here. Here comes Foster to get him some mo ass. Ha, ha, ha!"
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So when I saw Foster in court, I assumed that he came to gloat, because he had warned me at 16 that if I didn't change my ways that I was gonna end up in San Quentin, or dead. So again, I assumed he'd made that special trip across town to wave bye bye.
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But when they called my case up, and I stood up to see how many years I was gonna get, the judge put the court in recess and they took me back to his chambers, and in walks Foster. He told the judge that I wasn't really a criminal, I was just stupid. I didn't like the idea of being called stupid, and protested, but Foster told me to shut up.
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He then went on to convince the judge to give me an option f going into the military, and if I came out with an honorable discharge, the adult charges would be dropped against me and my juvenile record would be expunged, which the judge did.
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But they changed my life. If it hadn't been for that one act, I wouldn't be capable of writing this, and neither my daughter nor son - or any of my grandchildren would be here - because I would have been in prison during the time they conceived. I often wonder what my life would have been like then. I shudder to even think about it.
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But Foster did twist the knife a little bit. I thought they were talking about the Army, but they made SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTS with the Marine Corps to accept me - in spite of the fact that I was a high school dropout with an extensive juvenile record - to this day I don't know how they did that. But before the bus stopped rolling at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, the biggest, ugliest DI they had was jumped on the bus screaming my name, and within two days, I was fantasizing about how nice it would have been to be quietly relaxing in prison.
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One Generation Later, Here’s What the United States Air Force Had To Say About My Son

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MEMORANDUM FOR OFFICER TRAINING SCHOOL SELECTION COMMITTEE

FROM: 92 SFS/SFO
2 E. ARNOLD STREET
FAIRCHILD AFB, WA 99011

SUBJECT: Recommendation for Staff Sergeant Eric L. Wattree

1. I wholeheartedly concur with Staff Sergeant Wattree’s request to attend Officer Training School. He represents the enlisted ranks with the highest standard and will bring that dedication and professionalism to the officer corps.

2. Eric continues to lead a stellar military career; his enlisted performance reports speak for themselves. His leadership and experience, especially in contingency environments, remains a vital asset to our unit and wing. As one of my primary Phoenix Raven team leaders, he’s propelled to the forefront of all major deployments throughout the world. He’s repeatedly secured aircraft and crews, supporting a wide variety of missions, in the most austere and terrorist-ridden environments where security is severely inadequate. The diversity of these missions never limited SSgt Wattree’s capacity to adapt to each situation. For this reason, Eric was selected as our 2000 Outstanding Phoenix Raven Member of the Year and the 2001 Air Force Reserve Component Airman of the Year for the 92d Security Forces Squadron.

3. Whether operating under peacetime or contingency operations, Eric easily assumes control and tackles every situation with meticulous tenacity, a quality highly desired in our Air Force officers. Requested BY NAME, Sergeant Wattree, provided security for presidential Banner missions throughout Greece, Peru and Viet Nam. While deployed to Afghanistan, he flew numerous combat missions in our nation’s pursuit to eradicate terrorism through Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. Additionally, he provided round-the-clock force protection for aircraft in other high-threat environments including Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Oman.

4. Sergeant Wattree motivated his personnel during the worst conditions and raised the level of esprit de corps to integrate personnel from other Air Force specialties into a cohesive team. His leadership, integrity and devotion to our Air Force play an integral part in our future leadership. Eric has what it takes to become a commissioned officer and earns my full support to attend Officer Training School.

FRANK HELLSTERN, JR., Captain, USAF
Operations Officer
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Today Eric is a Special Agent for the U.S. Department of Justice. I only wish Sgt. Foster (later, Capt. Foster) was still around to see it, because when I finished college he tried to recruit me into the LAPD - "You’re just the kind of person we need." I was seriously considering it, but my wife wasn’t having it at the time, but look what she ended up with for a son - Buck Rogers. There’s much irony in life.

Eric L. Wattree, Jr.

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HOWLING WINDS
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As I watched my son, dapper as they come, walk down our walkway and into manhood,

what I remember most was the howling winds.
I'd seen such winds before, but never like this - my old foe was pulling up trees by the roots,

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So I watched,
but I watched alone.

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As the winds raged on and the mighty palms bowed, a single leaf from our Winter-bare ficus tree

held tough against the ferocious storm.
It fought valiantly against the angry gale, as though hanging tough Just to witness the changing of the guard,

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So I stood,
but I stood alone.

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Like that solitary leaf, all my life I've fought the ferocious winds,
and now they’ve returned, this mighty foe,
poised to seize the hopes and dreams of my only son,

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So I cringed,
but I cringed alone.

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Then, posterity glanced back, squared its shoulders, and beat back hopelessness as it

trudged through fields of ivy.

Then it spread its wings and rode those howling winds

over yonder mountaintop,

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So I wept,

but I wept with a crowd . . .
*

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Eric L. Wattree

Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)

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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.  

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Ode to An African American Patriot - And His White Brothers In Arms

Beneath the Spin * Eric L. Wattree
 

Ode to An African American Patriot - And His White Brothers In Arms

A retired Black disabled vet said,
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"...to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and sing the National Anthem causes conflict within me. I grew up watching Cowboys vs. Indians every Saturday morning, John Wayne war movies, and the Combat TV program. In a nutshell, I knew early on it was my destiny to become a 'fighting man' who would proudly wear the uniform of MY country because I would make my fellow countrymen proud. I would die, with honor. Taps played at my funeral, followed by a rifle volley...
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"Then I learned all my countrymen didn't have my back, in fact, many could really give less than a damn about me, simply because I am Black. Well, being the proud Black man I am - I love to stand tall in times of adversity, I ain't backing down. My favorite line is, "nobody can ride your back, IF you stand up straight," and that's all I do.
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"I am a retired Navy disabled combat veteran. I was selected to join 32 other Americans, out of thousands of other military members, to seek, discover, and return the remains of our fallen to their families. I witnessed the full circle of war, from enlistment, to serving, to combat, to returning the fallen to the longing, loving arms of their family, and I came to the conclusion war really is folly. I believed I was helping provide for the common defense of my people, some who would rather see me dead, than happy. I like to believe I have been blessed with a modicum of intelligence, so I am conflicted when time comes to say the pledge or sing the anthem.
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"Did either the Allegiance or Pledge provide cover for my son, Michael? No he's not my birth child, but had we selected the first name of Michael for one of our sons - he would have been. Millions of people rejoice in his demise. Until this country does right by her Black citizens I will refuse to sing the allegiance or pledge my loyalty and fealty to a land and certain residents who countenance a difference in how people are treated simply by skin color. Well, I ain't playing this game no more. I'm taking my ball and going home. Call me when things change, but know I won't be holding my breath waiting."
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My good brother,
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Don't even think about giving up on this country. That's exactly what the domestic enemy of the United States wants you to do. We need people like you more than ever. As a "former" Marine (if there is such a thing - the Marine Corps insists there’s not) I often felt the very same kind of frustration that you are. But then it occurred to me that what we're actually watching is Jim Crow's dying gasp.
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It may seem like this country is going to Hell, but we've got to remember that the people who are raising all the hell are a small, desperate minority who's going crazy because they see the writing on the wall - their heyday is rapidly coming to an end. 
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The vast majority of Americans truly believe in this country's values. If that weren’t the case Barack Obama could never have been elected President - twice. Black people only make up 13.2% of the population in the United States, and Barack Obama needed over 50% of the vote to win the presidency. Where did the other 36.9% come from? A lot of White folks had to vote for him - the majority of them, and that speaks volumes. And even if we go back as far as the 19^th century, SOMEBODY had to have Frederick Douglass’ back for him to have the courage to tell the American people that he considered their Fourth of July celebration a "mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy - a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages!" - and that was in 1852!, nine years BEFORE the Civil War.
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So while there's undoubtedly a lot of bigots in this country, they are far from the majority; they're just so loud and obnoxious they sound like the majority.  But even though they are in the minority, they're a dangerous minority, with a vested interest in keeping the rest of us divided, and keeping you feeling just like you are.
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That's why it's so important for us to know our enemy - and even more important, to know who's not. Because this battle is no longer simply about race.  We are currently knee-deep in a CLASS war, and race is now only being used as a TOOL of that war. The enemy that we're facing, the global corporatists, don't care any more about poor and middle class White people than they do Blacks. They're only using race as a device to keep the poor and middle class divided. That makes it next to impossible for us to mount an effective defense. They keep us so busy fighting one another that it gives them a freehand.
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The corporatists' ultimate agenda is to lower the American middle class standard of living to conform to the global economy, where in many countries workers are virtually slaves. But in order to do that they have to fundamentally change our democracy, and the "Citizens United" ruling is a perfect example of how they're going about doing that.
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This isn't speculation on my part. A Princeton study declares that America is no longer a democracy; we are now an oligarchy, controlled by the rich (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/21/americas-oligarchy-not-democracy-or-republic-unive/), and there's clear empirical evidence of the direction we've been heading since the Reagan administration duped us into accepting the scam of "Trickle Down" Economics.
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Currently the top 5% of the population controls 72% of the nation's wealth, and the bottom 80% of the population only control 7% . What happens when that 7% becomes 5%, and then 2%?  I'll tell you.  Essentially, we'll be slaves - both Black people, and White people. The corporatists will be able to leverage their wealth, and our poverty, against us, and force us to do anything they want us to do, because if we don't comply with their wishes, they'll simply starve us to death, like they've already started doing. So the only difference between the situation that we're rapidly approaching and actual slavery is, we'll have to provide for our own housing. Thus, the American people are currently engaged in the most desperate struggle in this nation's history, and many of us don't even realize it.
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But many forward-thinking Black, and White people, do recognize this fact. They understand that if Americans want to maintain the kind of life that we've come to know, and if we don't want to be subjected to a corporate feudalist state, it is essential that we put aside our racial animosities and come together as allies to face America's most insidious foe - that's why President Obama insists on being President of ALL of the United States, and refuse to allow idiots to divide us into segments. He understands that terrorists

 A MESSAGE TO AMERICA'S BIGOTS

can only destroy buildings, but the Corporate/GOP Alliance is out to destroy the very foundation that this nation was built upon.
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So as Black people, we need to CLEARLY define our enemy instead of simply broad-brushing ALL White people as our foe, because in our current situation, it is essential that the ENTIRE poor and middle class population of this country come together to fight the most desperate battle of our lives. 
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Many Americans are making the mistake of blaming President Obama for this situation, but he's only President Obama, not King Obama, so there's nothing he can do in a free society to FORCE corporations to hire Americans instead of sending our jobs overseas. All he can do is create a business environment that is conducive to a thriving economy, and he's done that. Corporations are making more money than they've ever made in their history, so jobs should be plentiful, and the American people should be doing better than they've ever done before, but the Corporate/ GOP Alliance has decided that it's in their business and political interest to continue to keep America, hungry, angry, and divided.
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FORMER OBAMA CRITIC AND
NOBEL PRIZE WINNING ECONOMIST

And in response, the American people acted just as the corporatists planned. In spite of the fact that Barack Obama saved the nation from descending into a second Great Depression, rescued the American auto industry, brought Osama Bin Laden to justice, provided affordable health care to millions of Americans, and declared by many to be one of America's greatest Presidents, in the 2014 midterm election the American people slapped him in the face and left him to continue to try to protect their interest, single-handedly, against the most insidiously dangerous foe that America has ever faced.
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Thus, we cannot afford to allow fuzzy-headed people to continue to distract us, regardless to whether the fuzz is on their head, or in it. We've got to COME TOGETHER and fight back - not as Blacks, or Whites - but as Americans. Because the enemy that we're confronting are no longer Black, or White, or Americans - they're globalists, whose only loyalty is to the dollar.
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So we must educate ourselves and LITERALLY begin to recognize that everything is not as simple as Black and White. We must begin to de-escalating our racial animosities by recognizing that even during slavery, as brutal and immoral as some White folks were back then, there were many White people around who believed so passionately in the concept of "justice for all" that they gave their lives in the most brutal war that this nation has ever been involved in. Consider that. Who were these people who were so dedicated to truth and justice that many of them voluntarily left the love and comfort of their families to die horrible deaths on blood-soaked battlefields? Yes, there were other issues involved, but it was the issue of slavery that ignited so much passion that it caused fathers to go to war against sons, and tore entire families apart.

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THE LUCKY ONES
 

Yet, we rarely even mention these people today, because it’s not fashionable among many Blacks to give White people credit for decency - and with good reason - because we’re afraid that we may be mistaken for one of the handful of Black conservative lunatics that infest our community. But efficient thought requires that we follow truth wherever it leads, and regardless to whose ox it gores - and the truth is, as Black people, we not only owe ourselves, but we also owe those heroic White American idealists a tremendous debt that we can never even begin to repay. So the very least we can do is to continue to carry on the struggle for universal justice for which they gave their lives, in a clear-minded, unbigoted, and effective way.

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So again, brother, never even THINK about walking away from this battle, because it is the ULTIMATE struggle of good over evil. Far too many - Black, and White people - have sacrificed far too much to win this battle. And we've got to always remember that it's not about Black people against White people; it’s about good people against bad people, and the bad people are using our division against us. It's their most effective weapon.

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So continue to sing the Anthem with all of the passion you can muster, good brother, because you’re not just singing about a country, you’re serenading a CAUSE for which many great, and often, nameless people have died. Those were your true brothers, and THEY, are the ones that you're singing to, and you're singing for. So it is not America that's causing you pain, it's the enemies of America, and they must be defeated.

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So as you celebrate this Thanksgiving, forget about the American myth, and celebrate the true patriots who died to make that myth a reality . . . and "loved mercy more than life."

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FELLOW AMERICANS, DON’T LET OUR IGNORANCE DESTROY US

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HOPE

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=806423432739003&set=a.136305753084111.28278.100001140610873&type=1&theater

 

 

Eric L. Wattree
Http://wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com
Citizens Against Reckless Middle-Class Abuse (CARMA)
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Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.  

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HOMEWARD BOUND

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

HOMEWARD BOUND

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Open your arms, Dear Lord!

On this sacred day,

For a proud Marine

is well on his way.

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It was like nothing we’d ever

seen before,

when he reported for duty

at Heaven’s door.

Deep in the night,

as the world slept sound,

his chariot arrived,

for a Marine homeward bound.

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The ultimate grunt,

Dress Blues, now all white;

a Marine standing tall

on this most sacred night.

Young and vibrant,

wounds of battle now gone.

No more suffering or pain,

As he rose to move on.

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With one final glance

at the ones that he love,

he was whisked through the clouds

to his deployment above.

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His chariot was swift,

with six Restless white horses;

Then the thunder roared,

and his chariot departed.

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We’ll miss his warm smile,

In our own selfish way,

But the pride of the Corps

will be back home today.

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Semper Fi.

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Eric L. Wattree

In memory of Lt. Col. Mario Carazo

 

Eric L. Wattree
wattree.blogspot.com
Ewattree@Gmail.com

Religious bigotry: It's not that I hate everyone who doesn't look, think, and act like me - it's just that God does.

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