Posted on 07/14/2006 9:00:33 PM PDT by Spiff
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6501 Greenway Parkway Suite 103-640 Scottsdale, AZ 85254 :: Phone (520) 829-3112 |
"True courage is not the brutal force of vulgar heroes, but the firm resolve of virtue and reason." Alfred North Whitehead First, I want to say thank you to all the supporters and believers in this great grassroots movement known as the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps; your dedication has paid off in the momentum we now see across the nation as citizens have reached the level of awareness and frustration we have shared for years. They are now following your leadership, taking action, and are demanding that our borders be secured. Our public servants are listening, the politicians are scramblingpositive change is in the air. The Minuteman Border Fence The first phase of our fence building project began during Memorial Day, and I emphasize the first phase. Given the political duplicity of the U.S. Senates vote this week NOT to fund the federal border fence they approved just two months ago, we were right in our judgment to proceed. We gave President Bush an ultimatum, which he only partially and weakly answered with a directive that 6,000 National Guardmostly unarmed personnelbe deployed to the border to support the outgunned and outmanned Border Patrol. While we know that the move will help somewhatANY official presence helpsthis is woefully inadequate to effectively secure the border. So, we decided to go ahead with our fence building as a message back to Bush and CongressSecure the BorderNow! We decided first to quickly come to the aid of a supportive local rancher in Cochise County, Arizona by helping him protect his cattle. The plans for the fence to meet the ranchers requirements were explicitly outlined during numerous interviews with the media. Of course, we all know the problems in getting the media to print accurate facts or statements in their entirety. The explicit plans of the design of the fence on the Ladd ranch were clearly outlined in detail during dozens of radio interviews, and that's where you can find the truth. However, inaccurate statements, taken out of context, by one small town newspaper reporter have fed some circulation of false and malicious claims of a scam because the first fence section omitted trenching that would have proved dangerous to the ranchers cattle. There was immediately some vandalism to the fence, which has been repaired, and better secured against further attack. If one reads our description of the fence building effort instead of just focusing on our generic graphic model, we have clearly stated there will have to be a variety of fence design adaptations, including the full blown double layered Gaza Strip-styled security fence. Coincidently, that precise fence design has been recently adopted by the U.S. federal government in their planning, as well. Obviously, this is the most effective design to prevent incursions across our sovereign border. However, our mission includes coming to the aid of landowners and in two cases we are adjusting our fence construction to design specifications that meet the particular needs of the host landowners. In the case of the Ladd ranch, we wanted to help protect the rancher's cattle. The first step was to erect a five-strand barbed-wire fence to protect the cattle from the concertina wire, and the vehicle barriers, both of which will be added later with further accommodations. So, specifically, there will be a layer of barbed-wire fencing to protect the cattle, concertina wire to prevent human beings from climbing the fence, and steel vehicle barriers to prevent automobiles from driving through the fence. It seems some folks have a tough time with reading comprehension or visualization of the projected fence designs. Regarding the funds collected as contributions to the fence project: All donations which have been received have been recorded, processed, and banked by a highly reputable and responsible caging company which specializes in non-profit accountability. Funds are safely and appropriately held in a secured bank account, overseen by a certified public accountant and a lawyer, disbursed by an authorized escrow agent only against approved, invoiced expenses. Some folks want to make it seem as if I personally have collected donor funds, turned them into cash, and have the money hidden under my mattress at home. For the record, I do not touch contributions at any stage, and I do not personally control MCDC bank accountsagain, objective professional fiduciary officers are accountable for all money in and money out. All donations are secured in a federal financial institutiona bank, and may be applied only towards the fence building enterprise. The funds cannot be used in any other way. We estimate the original 2.2 miles of completed fencing (including concertina wire and vehicle barriers) on the Ladd ranch will run approximately $17,000could be slightly more could be slightly less. To ensure quality control and limit liability issues going forward, we have hired a local contractor to oversee the whole Minuteman Fence projectthe contractor charges a minimal reduced fee as their civic contribution to the effort. We have completed our research on procurement of the materials necessary to construct the Gaza-style double layered security fence. In fact, the 4 x 4 heavy gauge steel fence post has been purchased; the heavy gauge steel wire mesh and a concertina wire mesh material for the top of the fence have all been located and will be purchased soon. All of the materials will be moved over the next few weeks, along with heavy equipment, to the ranch area slated for construction phase two. We are also planning on creating metal plaques with the names of those who wish acknowledgement, who have donated to the Minuteman Border Fence project. These will be attached to the interior layer of fencing once the construction has been completed. Everything we promise will be fulfilled. Volunteers Timeline In the meantime, we have completed our actual fence blueprints, which are now in the hands of an accredited architect, and engineers, who are ensuring that the fence design meets all regulatory requirements in its construction. There are of course tremendous liability implications in this project that we are continuously addressing. We have two landowners in Arizona who have committed to the construction of 1.5 miles of the double layered Gaza-style security fence. (You can read an op-ed written by one of those landowners at the end of this document.) We are now in negotiations with a landowner in California, who would like to see the double layered Gaza-style security fence built along his property, to protect his constitutionally-guaranteed pursuit of happiness on sovereign U.S. soil. Building fences, such as the double layered Gaza-style security fence, is an enormous engineering and construction feat. The federal government still flatly refuses to take this on, despite the double-talk. It must be planned carefully with the safety of the volunteers being considered first and foremost in importance. Plans needed to be drawn, materials needed to be acquired. Some good news is that, contrary to false information disseminated by Internet web sites, a close review of the respective county planning and zoning ordinances show no laws or regulations which would prevent a landowner from erecting this type of fence in a non-residential zoned area on private property. The fence is being erected on the edge of the front tier along the borderif the government can build such a fence, then our best legal advice says that a private property owner can also erect the same style of fence. We will this summer and fall complete the first 2.2 mile section of fence, meeting the requirements of the Ladd family. As contributions will allow, we will complete just over 1.5 mile of the double layered Gaza-style fence as illustrated on our web site. I guess some people feel that it should be built based on their time schedule; however, we will build it as we see fit and by a timeline that works best for our volunteers and the courageous landowners who are stepping forward. MCDC Finances On a related topic, I guess it's time to counter another attack piece attempting to cast doubt upon the appropriations of donations to MCDC. Not only are we constantly embattled by the open borders and anti-rule of law lobbyists, but now we seem to be constantly attacked by people who claim to be part of the secure borders movement, but are actually working under a thinly veiled, racist agenda. Then we have those who disagreed with our approach to the border security problem and quit the organization only to continue to call themselves Minutemen, while assailing us with wild and vindictive allegations of improprieties. We also have those who were terminated from MCDC for violating our code of conduct that is explicitly outlined in our standard operating procedures. Some such people contacted a local Phoenix ABC television affiliate. This hit piece, done by a local Phoenix ABC affiliate was prompted by disclosures offered ABC by two anti-Semites, who last April demanded that we allow them to manage Minuteman operations, including all of its funding, donations and crafting of our media message. I rejected their offer, and my decision has proved to be a wise one. ABC even made it seem as if our volunteers had no porta-potties at the location of our border watch operations. In one part of the report, a trusted and dedicated line leader was asked if porta-potties were available to volunteers. What you did not see was that the volunteer was asked the question while on a scouting mission along one of our observation lines located far away from the base camp. Of course, we don't provide porta-potties in the middle of nowhere, and the ABC reporter made it seem as though we were not providing volunteers with even bathroom facilities. The same camera crew had full access to our base camp, our comms center, and the equipment centerand even used the porta-potties that we have always made available to our volunteers. I've included a couple of photos, which clearly show the capital equipment that donations have been used to purchase. Each and every border watch stateTexas, New Mexico, California, Arizona, Washington State, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire receives funding for equipment, operations and recruitment meetings. Again I must emphasize the reporter's piece was full of lies, innuendo and crass conspiracy theories prompted and promoted by people who either quit the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps or were terminated due to a lack of integrity or a violation of our standard operating procedures. By the way, no accredited professional financial institution or company would dare risk their livelihoods or their reputation by working for the MCDC if they did not believe in our cause and our integritynor would they risk the chance of violating the IRS regulations by playing monkey business with funds that come into this organization. Not only would these professionals risk ruining their careers and their reputations, they risk violating federal laws and going to jail. So even though we've met every obligation and hired professional management there are still those from outside who seek to destroy our American citizens movement. For those who just ask the question where does the money golet me take you on just a short journey through a rapidly growing national movement. The following is a list of just a few of the areas where the money goes to good use: Web site development, updates to the web site, blast email communications, our database, updates to the database, computer equipment, which MCDC owns; servers, bandwidth for a web site that receives upwards of several hundred thousand hits or more each week. Let's talk about the phone systems and communicationsmost of our national leadership team or state directors have been provided Internet phones in their home offices at no personal charge, paid for by donations. We have purchased and pay charges for cell phones provided for our field operations and our national directors. For the field, we have satellite phones, radio equipment, repeaters, antennae, extra radio batteries, battery chargers, flashlights, maps, dry erase boards, porta-potties. How about background checks, ID cards, email blasts like this oneall our operations cost money. We are constantly reaching out to find and educate more of our fellow Americans, which requires funds be expended for postage and fees for direct mailing, press releases that are professionally written, proofed, and distributed to the mainstream and alternative media (domestic and worldwide), etc. The scheduling of hundreds of television and radio interviews is handled by a professional media firm, as is the placement of our national newspaper, email, and web advertisements. We do cover some travel and fuel expenses for line leaders and the leadership team, who all work well beyond the average call of duty. We have used donations to purchase thermal imaging cameras, video cameras, third-generation night vision cameras, computer systems at each border watch headquarters operation, even Internet service at each border watch operation, where it is available. We help provide water, Gatorade, snacks, large tents and pop-up canopies for outdoor meetings; trailers to haul equipment, office supplies, a national headquarters building, the rent, the utilities, high-speed Internet connectivity at the national headquarters, computer systems at the national headquarters, phone systems at the national headquarters, the cost of printing letters, thousands of dollars in postage for membership mailings, the printing of brochures, the printing of banners used at gun shows, parades and recruiting events. The rental of tables for gun shows, the rental of venues for meetings around the countryall are covered with the funds we receive from generous donors from around the country. Our national leadership team does have their travel expenses covered when engaged in official Minuteman Civil Defense Corps business. My travel expenses are covered by donations, but only when I am traveling for official Minuteman Civil Defense Corps business. Most of my travel expenses are covered by organizations that request my presence at meetings, conferences and other speaking engagements. When I am compensated to speak by a hosting organization, not only do I have the opportunity to travel around the country to educate people about the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps mission and the crisis at the border, but I also have the opportunity to recruit volunteers and solicit for donations to MCDC. Only four of the dozens of trips that I have made in the last year have been paid for out of Minuteman Civil Defense Corps funds. Those trips were to Washington D.C. to work with cooperative organizations and to talk to Congressthe total cost of those four trips comes to less than $3,000. Our last two, month long border-watch operations cost around $80,000 each, and each 3-day monthly muster costs us at least $1,000 per state, not including travel expenses. Each of our satellite chapters around the country has received start up funding and continues to be supported by the national organization. Each new chapter receives approximately $1,000 in start up capital to cover expenses. We have a rapidly expanding national organization that needs the support of aggressive national fundraising effortsit costs money to raise money, but I assure you every penny is accounted for as federal law requires, and is utilized appropriately. At this time we have a fully accredited, independent auditor undertaking a full accounting of the past years income and expenses. We are completing federally mandated accounting and filing of our financial activity for the past year. (Those conspiracy theorists out there forget that the #1 oversight committee on groups like ours is the IRS, aka the federal government, who would be the first to shut us down if there were any improprieties involved with our finances.) We are required to submit our Form 990 filing to the IRS on November 15, 2006. Once completed, our financial reports will be made available to the public, as required by law, and on the same timetable as all other non-profit organizations. Those who wish to harm us want MCDC held to some other standard and to have us distracted and discredited in order to break our momentum. We are staying on task, and they can take their intentions of destroying the greatest citizen movement to save the Republic this country has seen in recent history, and hike it. I believe we have exposed their lack of credibility, we will continue to build, and I invite those whose falsehoods will be refuted by our results for the common good of America to forever be silenced. There have also been many questions asked as to how I make a living. I am not salaried by MCDCotherwise, it is no ones business. I have never felt the need to publicly defend my integrityabove all else: to thine own self be true. However, in light of the circumstances of malicious attacks, I will, this one last time, reveal personal information to answer the critics. The hours of toil and sacrifice necessary to run this national organization has taken a toll on my personal life and has led to my shutting down my newspaperThe Tombstone Tumbleweed. My present source of income has been the honorariums and fees received from organizations who request me for speaking engagements. I have also received money from selling my life story for a movie that will soon go into production. Even with those combined sources of income, I have made just enough to keep my head above water. The remainder of my living expenses is covered by my devoted and dedicated wife, who shares my passion for the MCDC mission. I do foresee a need come the new year for me to request a modest salary to maintain my role as president of MCDC. If the board and national directors do not agree then it will be necessary for me to leave the organization and return to teachingor I may need to go get a job at Wal-Mart or Home Depot! With regular communication to you the volunteers and supporters of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, I hope to provide information that informs and assures you of the integrity of this healthy and expanding national grassroots organization. I want to thank you personally for the privilege of working with you in this great and good cause. With sincere gratitude for your courage and support of this great Republic,
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Simcox should have gone through every small town Arkansas newspaper for past 2 years and checked out all of the letters to the editor from any and all of his volunteers who showed up on 1 April 2005 and registered? When, exactly, and with how much staff, would Chris Simcox and the Minuteman Project been able to do this?
County to rule on border fenceThe Planning and Zoning Commission is hostile to the Minuteman Project. They were all over their operation in April of last year and, in fact, fined the heck out of the Pastor of the church who rented empty dorms at the Bible College to the MMP for their HQ and housing some of their volunteers.By Jonathan Clark
Herald/Review
BISBEE The county planning department is expected to rule this week on the border fence that the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps hopes to build on private land east of Naco. However, District 2 Supervisor Paul Newman has asked the department to first present its findings to the county board of supervisors during its public and executive sessions on Tuesday.
Over the past several weeks, county Planning Director Judy Anderson and Deputy County Administrator Jim Vlahovich have been in contact with Mesquite Ridge rancher Richard Hodges to gather information on the Israeli-style security barrier he has asked the Minutemen to build on his property later this month. At the same time, the County Attorneys Office has been preparing a legal opinion on whether the barrier two parallel 12-to-15-foot fences flanked by anti-vehicle ditches and eight feet of concertina wire could be considered as having an agricultural use, therefore making it exempt from county regulations.
Using the legal information gathered from Hodges and the County Attorney, Anderson, who has the responsibility of ruling on the fence, said she hopes to make her decision by the end of the week.
In the meantime, Newman asked that she discuss her findings with the Board of Supervisors.
This should not be kept within the confines of legal discussions with the County Attorney, Newman said. Whatever the County Attorneys opinion, I think that this should go to the Board and the public can have a right to comment on it.
It is uncertain whether the public will be allowed to hear the opinion, however. Thus far, County Attorney Ed Rheinheimer has evoked attorney-client privilege when asked to speak on the matter, and the legal conversation Tuesday may be kept within the confines of the executive session.
But Newman, who represents the Bisbee-Naco-Douglas border area, said his constituents should still be allowed to participate in a general discussion of the barrier.
One of the things that concerns me is that theres a possibility that there may be three or four of these fences built, he said. If these fences are connected, that is an issue of public importance and I think people have the right to discuss whether they want that kind of community.
In an op-ed article published in last Fridays Herald/Review, Hodges spoke of heavily-armed drug traffickers running rampant over his property and of gun battles between cartel members and law enforcement agents. He said that he had turned to the Minutemen to build a security barrier after elected officials seemed disinterested in confronting the problem.
He did not mention an agricultural use for the fence.
Contacted on Monday, however, Hodges said he expected the barrier to have significant benefit for the 18 cows and 18 calves at his 372-acre ranch.
Everything has to do with agriculture, he said. If we can keep the drug dealers away from the cows, the cows are better off. If we can keep the UDAs (undocumented aliens) from dropping all the plastic that they do, the cows are better off. And if we can keep the cows out of the road that the Border Patrol uses, the cows are better off.
And while Hodges said he would accommodate a ruling by the county, he also expressed frustration that local officials had only shown interest in his property in response to the Minuteman fence.
When we ask for help from the county to deal with any of these (border-related) problems, they dont even know who we are, he said. But something like this comes up and, oh man.
Though Anderson said Monday that a ruling was likely though not guaranteed by the end of this week, it was still not clear what the exact nature of her decision will be.
One possibility is that Anderson will simply rule whether or not the fence qualifies as an agricultural structure. If that is the case, any aggrieved party would then have 30 days to file an appeal with the county Board of Adjustments.
But it is also possible that a ruling would decide whether or not the Israeli fence could be built at all in the county, or that any such proposal should be put through a special-use permit process with the county Planning and Zoning Commission.
County Supervisor Newman is a liberal Democrat who is always attacking the MMP. He was also busted smoking dope in a county vehicle he was driving but was never prosecuted.
The other two County Supervisors (Call and Searle) are liberal Republicans who aren't really thrilled with the Minuteman Project at all and would rather everyone just shut up about the border problem.
County Attorney Ed Reinheimer is a conservative Republican and has been fair in his dealings with the MMP.
I know this because I live in Cochise County and I know these people.
This article details some of the reasons that the fence project has been delayed and the final fence configuration may have to be further altered to comply with a hostile county bureaucracy.
First off, if you are really concerned about the minutemen , I suggest you quit your knee jerk defending and distance your self as well as others from the Simcox operation and anything dealing with the groups mentioned. This is starting to build up and it will be like the wrath of God descending on anyone that is within distance of these charlatans.I am no big fan of the minutemen and that is well known. But I don't want to see good conservative and well meaning people get in trouble because they associated with this group as well as other through their ignorance.
Second as to Joe McCutchen. Mr McCutchen is just not some yahoo from Arkansas. He was one of the early guys in the trenches in this debate since the late 1960's. He headed up the major anti immigration group of Arkansas. He knows all the players inlluding the Tantons. In fact Joe was a pretty big fource on the ground in 1999 and 2000 in the the defeat in Michigan of Republican Senator Spencer Abrahms. Which by the way we have a Dem that replaced him Great going.
Anyway, he is know by all in this fight. His views were well known. His ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens were known. So lets all quit pretending that Joe is some unknown hillbilly from the Ozarks shall we.
Hmmm...
Once again, you slaughtered them with facts.
Sweet!
The only knee jerk I'm seeing is the typical FROBLs attacking another pro-border security organization and leader. You all see a post with a heavily edited, terribly biased hit piece run by a local ABC affiliate one night last April but posted again in July and since you've been on the bandwagon to trump up a bunch of baseless charges against Chris Simcox and the MCDC. This is the same exact crap that you use against Tom Tancredo. Same crap, same agenda, different day.
This is starting to build up and it will be like the wrath of God descending on anyone that is within distance of these charlatans.I am no big fan of the minutemen and that is well known. But I don't want to see good conservative and well meaning people get in trouble because they associated with this group as well as other through their ignorance.
It's building up in your own mind. The ABC news piece got posted on FR, a few blog articles have been posted here after, then a bunch of stuff from disgruntled people who were ejected from the Minuteman combined with stuff with dubious leftist sources like the SPLC, IndyMedia, etc. If anyone is building anything up it is the regular set of FROBLs attacking and trying to defeat another border security advocate.
Second as to Joe McCutchen. Mr McCutchen is just not some yahoo from Arkansas. He was one of the early guys in the trenches in this debate since the late 1960's. He headed up the major anti immigration group of Arkansas. He knows all the players inlluding the Tantons. In fact Joe was a pretty big fource on the ground in 1999 and 2000 in the the defeat in Michigan of Republican Senator Spencer Abrahms. Which by the way we have a Dem that replaced him Great going.
And none of that would come up in a criminal background check. And when it was made known to the Minuteman Project who they were dealing with, he was removed as a volunteer. I don't know what more you could want or what unreasonable standards you expect organizations to meet.
Anyway, he is know by all in this fight. His views were well known. His ties to the Council of Conservative Citizens were known. So lets all quit pretending that Joe is some unknown hillbilly from the Ozarks shall we.
So, is this the new La Raza talking point today? The Minuteman Project is now racist? Give me a break. What if an ABC affiliate revealed that a poster on Free Republic was actually Joe McCutchen himself and that, while he had never said a racist thing on Free Republic, he had revealed his identity somewhere on his profile page. Would you be making the very same accusation against Free Republic that you're making against Simcox and the MCDC right now? I don't think so. You set a ridiculous standard for the MCDC that you would apply to no one else. It is all part of your ongoing effort to smear border security advocates.
Dude, you people were using statements by McCutchon earlier in this very thread trying to smear Simcox.
I can't let this one get away.
So, if I distanced myself from the groups mentioned, namely Response Unlimited and Response Enterprises, then I would have to obviously distance myself from the groups that are their clients. Right?
Here's a more complete list of their clients that you say I need to distance myself from. I think you'll recognize a few names on this list:
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Perhaps then Simcox and others should not have hung around him or used his connections for their gain. You can't lay down with dogs and not get fleas. And the feals and all the other vermin is coming back to roost.
The irony of seeing you post this makes me laugh. You would make an Amway distributor jealous.
As I pointed out once before, because the McCutchens were ever allowed in the MMP, a Phoenix news station used that to smear the Minutemen all the while trashing the McCutchens for being racist. Then, a year later, suddenly the McCutchens are a reliable source for the ABC 15 news broadcast from April that was reposted a week or so ago that started this whole shark frenzy on Free Republic. So, first the McCutchen's bad and therefore the MMP is bad for letting them in for a week or two before kicking them out. Then, suddenly, the McCutchens are a reliable source with which to attack the Minutemen and Chris Simcox. And now, today, they're back to being bad and a reason that the MMP and Simcox are bad.
For an organization that withstood constant - and I mean CONSTANT - scrutiny from the legal pitbulls at the ACLU who had their people standing on the line next to the Minuteman Project volunteers watching their every move, the MMP and Simcox pulled off a miracle in their last two operations. I defy any group to a.)keep out every single racist and b.)withstand that level of hostile ACLU scrutiny. Add to that the hostile media that was all over the place looking for anything to cover. Heck, there was one news crew that sent in hidden cameras to find racist talk, couldn't find any, so they had to make it up or start talking racist themselves to get anyone to respond and then edit out their own racist stuff.
Were there a few bad apples in the Minutemen? Sure. Are there a few bad apples on Free Republic? Plenty. Are the FROBLs applying a double standard. Undoubtedly.
Dude, you people were using statements by McCutchon earlier in this very thread trying to smear Simcox.
Ain't that "funny"?
If I remember right, when it suited their purpose, they were associating themselves with him pretty closely last week, too, when the guy in question was quoted by ABC on their earlier "slander Simcox" thread.
They're hypocrites. 'Course, everyone already knew that...
Well, no doubt you're feeling mighty scratchy, then.
I stopped reading your fallacious rant right there. You're a colossal liar. I am wholly against open borders as ALL of my posts prove.
You specified no particular individual. This thread's topic is a statement by Chris Simcox and you and your quisling buddies have spent all your time here piling on with the rest of his leftist critics (La Raza, MEChA, SPLC, Navarro, etc.) If you were referring to someone else it would take psychic abilities for anyone who read your post and the posts preceding it to determine that.
Right. And that's why you spend so much time on Free Republic trashing, smearing, lying about, and attacking conservatives who want to secure the border.
This is a perfect example of the cognitive dissonance which is so prevalant amongst the 15 or so anti-Minutemen freepers. It's kind of sad.
Who were you referring to?
I'm sure that if I go back to some Scooter Libby threads, I'll find you saying the same thing about the President and Vice President, right?
Listen, this is not going away by throwing out the names of La Raza and other associations. It is also not going to go away by declaring us all leftist, communist, secret agents of Morris Dees or what ever. So please tell who ever the Minister of Propaganda is down there in Arizona to give you better talking points. Or better yet tell him to stop this whole thing before more people get scammed out of money they can't afford to give. A judge when sentencing
a individual will often consider if a person tried to mitigate the damage when deciding the appropriate Sentence. So might you pass that along to.
This is a scam. Worse it is putting money into organizations that spend their time attacking other conservatives. La Raza?, Heck I never get the the bile and attacks from them that I do from so called "conservatives".
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