Tuesday, December 30, 2008
HOW MANY CALLS DID RAHM MAKE?
Some World Views
Obama Report Raises Questions: How Many Calls Did Emanuel Make to Blagojevich?(CNSNews.com) - The report, issued by Obama attorney Greg Craig, cleared all Obama personnel, including Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), Obama's soon-to-be chief of staff, of any wrongdoing. But Craig failed to ascertain how many phone calls Emanuel actually made to the embattled governor.Liberals Continue to Attack Rev. Rick Warren over Inauguration Invitation(CNSNews.com) - Liberal commentators and activists are keeping up a drumbeat of opposition against the Rev. Rick Warren, the California mega-church pastor and best-selling author selected to give the invocation at the inauguration of President-elect Barack Obama.
CD of Satirical Songs Becomes Issue in Republican Party Chairmanship Race(CNSNews.com) - John "Chip" Saltsman, former chairman of the Tennessee GOP and candidate for the RNC chairmanship, has sparked a controversy by sending as a gift to members of the Republican National Committee a CD of satirical songs by Paul Shanklin--whose work is regularly featured on Rush Limbaugh's radio show--that includes the parody tune "Barack the Magic Negro.
"Israel Braces for Hezbollah Threat(CNSNews.com) - Israel is concerned about the likelihood of an attack by Hezbollah - the Shiite terrorist organization based in southern Lebanon - and it has "no doubt" that the long-range rockets used by Hamas terrorists are coming from Iran.
North Korea Steps Up Reports of Alleged Kim Jong-il Outings(CNSNews.com) - Amid continuing speculation that Kim Jong-il is gravely ill - or even dead - North Korean state media have stepped up reports about purported appearances by the dictator, most recently a reported public classic music event.
Gays Unable to Accept Pope's Defense of Environment and Nature's 'Law,' Says Top Theologian(CNSNews.com) - While the pope never mentioned "homosexuality," it was his explanation of the nature of man and the order of the natural world that caused gays to react so harshly, Fr. George William Rutler, a leading Catholic theologian, told CNSNews.com.
Robert Redford: Bush Administration 'Morally Criminal' (CNSNews.com) - Speaking on behalf of the National Trust for Historic Preservation at the National Press Club Wednesday, Hollywood actor and environmental activist Robert Redford said it's "morally criminal" for the Bush administration to auction leases to oil and gas companies for exploration on 132 parcels of land in Utah.
OTHER CNSNEWS.COM HEADLINES:
'I Love Lucy' Chocolate Factory Scene Makes U.S. Postage Stamp
Mexico Sentences Man Who Smuggled Hezbollah Sympathizers into U.S.
Taliban Are Beheading Their Way through Former Pakistan Tourist Haven
Mass. Pot Law May Decriminalize Other Drugs
Monday, December 29, 2008
10 REASONS WHY THE WEST WILL LOSE TO ISLAM
by David Selbourne
Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that the war declared by al-Qaeda and other Islamists is under way. Let us further suppose that thousands of 'terrorist' attacks carried out in Islam's name during the past decades form part of this war; and that conflicts that have spread to 50 countries and more, taking the lives of millions -- including in inter-Muslim blood-shedding -- are the outcome of what Osama bin Laden has called 'conducting jihad for the sake of Allah'.
If such war is under way, there are ten good reasons why, as things stand, Islam will not be defeated in it.
1) The first is the extent of political division in the non-Muslim world about what is afoot. Some reject outright that there is a war at all; others agree with the assertion by the US President that 'the war we fight is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century'.
Divided counsels have also dictated everything from 'dialogue' to the use of nuclear weapons, and from reliance on 'public diplomacy' to 'taking out Islamic sites', Mecca included. Adding to this incoherence has been the gulf between those bristling to take the fight to the 'terrorist' and those who would impede such a fight, whether from domestic civil libertarian concerns or from rivalrous geopolitical calculation.
2) The second reason why, as things stand, Islam will not be defeated is that the strengths of the world community of Muslims are being underestimated, and the nature of Islam misunderstood. It is neither a 'religion of peace' nor a 'religion hijacked' or 'perverted' by 'the few'. Instead, its moral intransigence and revived ardours, its jihadist ethic and the refusal of most diaspora Muslims to 'share a common set of values' with non-Muslims are all one, and justified by the Koran itself.
Islam is not even a religion in the conventional sense of the term. It is a transnational political and ethical movement that believes that it holds the solution to mankind's problems. It therefore holds that it is in mankind's own interests to be subdued under Islam's rule. Such belief therefore makes an absurdity of the project to 'democratise' Muslim nations in the West's interests, an inversion that Islam cannot accept and, in its own terms, rightly so.
It renders naive, too, the distinction between the military and political wings of Islamic movements; and makes Donald Rumsfeld's assertion in June 2005 that the insurgents in Iraq 'don't have vision, they're losers' merely foolish. In this war, if there is a war, the boot is on the other foot.
3) Indeed, the third reason why Islam will not be defeated, as things stand, is the low level of Western leadership, in particular in the United States. During the half-century of the Islamic revival, it has shown itself at sixes and sevens both diplomatically and militarily.
It has been without a sense of strategic direction, and been unable to settle upon coherent war plans. It has even lacked the gifts of language to make its purposes plain. Or, as Burke put it in March, 1775, 'a great empire and little minds go ill together'. In this war with Islam, if it is a war, the combination bodes defeat.
4) Next is the contribution to the disarray of Western policy-making being made by the egotistical competitiveness, and in some cases hysterics, of 'experts' and commentators on Islam. They include hyperventilating Islamophobes as well as academic apologists for the worst that is being done in Islam's name.
On this battleground, with its personalised blogsites to assist self-promotion, many seem to think that their opinions are more important than the issues upon which they are passing judgment; and amid the babel of advisory voices, policy has become increasingly inconsistent.
5) The fifth disablement is to be found in the confusion of 'progressives' about the Islamic advance. With their political and moral bearings lost since the defeat of the 'socialist project', many on the Left have only the fag-end of anti-colonial positions on which to take their stand.
To attribute the West's problems to our colonial past contains some truth. But it is again to misunderstand the inner strength of Islam's revival, which is owed not to victimhood but to advancing confidence in its own belief system.
Moreover, to Islam's further advantage, it has led most of today's 'progressives' to say little, or even to keep silent, about what would once have been regarded as the reactionary aspects of Islam: its oppressive hostility to dissent, its maltreatment of women, its supremacist hatred of selected out-groups such as Jews and gays, and its readiness to incite and to use extremes of violence against them. Mein Kampf circulates in Arab countries under the title Jihadi.
6) The sixth reason for Islam's growing strength is the vicarious satisfaction felt by many non-Muslims at America's reverses. Those who feel such satisfaction could be regarded as Trojan horses, a cavalry whose number is legion and which is growing.
For some, their principle -- or anti-principle -- is that 'my enemy's enemy is my friend'. Others believe their refusal of support for the war with Islam, if there is such a war, is a righteous one. But the consequences are the same: Islam's advance is being borne along by Muslims and non-Muslims together.
7) The seventh reason lies in the moral poverty of the West's, and especially America's, own value system. Doctrines of market freedom, free choice and competition -- or 'freedom 'n' liberty' -- are no match for the ethics of Islam and Sharia, like them or not. Yet in the 'battle for hearts and minds' the US First Cavalry Division saw fit to set up 'Operation Adam Smith' in Iraq to teach marketing skills, among other things, to local entrepreneurs.
There can be no victory here. Or, as Sheikh Mohammed al-Tabatabi told thousands of worshippers in Baghdad in May 2003: 'The West calls for freedom and liberty. Islam rejects such liberty. True liberty is obedience to Allah.'
8) The next indication that Islam's advance will continue lies in the skilful use being made of the media and of the world wide web in the service both of the 'electronic jihad' and the bamboozling of Western opinion by Muslim spokesmen.
It is also a political enterprise in which Muslims and non-Muslims can now be found acting together in furthering the reach of Islam's world view; the help being given by Western producers and broadcasters to al-Jazeera is the most notable instance of it.
9) The ninth factor guaranteeing Islam's onward march is the West's dependency on the material resources of Arab and Muslim countries. In April 1917, Woodrow Wilson, recommending to the US Congress an American declaration of war against Germany, could say that 'we have no selfish ends to serve'. American levels of consumption make no such statement possible now. The US is, so to speak, over a barrel. It will remain so.
10) Finally, the West is convinced that its notions of technology-driven modernity and market-driven progress are innately superior to the ideals of 'backward' Islam. This is an old delusion.
In 1899, Winston Churchill asserted that there was 'no stronger retrograde force in the world' than Islam.
More than a century later, it is fondly believed that sophisticated hardware and Star Wars defences will ensure Western mastery in this war, if it is a war.
But as the Saudi 'scholar' Suleiman al-Omar declared in June 2004: 'Islam is advancing according to a steady plan. America will be destroyed.' As things stand, given the ten factors set out here, he is more likely to be proved right than wrong.
David Selbourne is author of The Losing Battle with Islam, which was published in the United States in November last year.
Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that the war declared by al-Qaeda and other Islamists is under way. Let us further suppose that thousands of 'terrorist' attacks carried out in Islam's name during the past decades form part of this war; and that conflicts that have spread to 50 countries and more, taking the lives of millions -- including in inter-Muslim blood-shedding -- are the outcome of what Osama bin Laden has called 'conducting jihad for the sake of Allah'.
If such war is under way, there are ten good reasons why, as things stand, Islam will not be defeated in it.
1) The first is the extent of political division in the non-Muslim world about what is afoot. Some reject outright that there is a war at all; others agree with the assertion by the US President that 'the war we fight is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century'.
Divided counsels have also dictated everything from 'dialogue' to the use of nuclear weapons, and from reliance on 'public diplomacy' to 'taking out Islamic sites', Mecca included. Adding to this incoherence has been the gulf between those bristling to take the fight to the 'terrorist' and those who would impede such a fight, whether from domestic civil libertarian concerns or from rivalrous geopolitical calculation.
2) The second reason why, as things stand, Islam will not be defeated is that the strengths of the world community of Muslims are being underestimated, and the nature of Islam misunderstood. It is neither a 'religion of peace' nor a 'religion hijacked' or 'perverted' by 'the few'. Instead, its moral intransigence and revived ardours, its jihadist ethic and the refusal of most diaspora Muslims to 'share a common set of values' with non-Muslims are all one, and justified by the Koran itself.
Islam is not even a religion in the conventional sense of the term. It is a transnational political and ethical movement that believes that it holds the solution to mankind's problems. It therefore holds that it is in mankind's own interests to be subdued under Islam's rule. Such belief therefore makes an absurdity of the project to 'democratise' Muslim nations in the West's interests, an inversion that Islam cannot accept and, in its own terms, rightly so.
It renders naive, too, the distinction between the military and political wings of Islamic movements; and makes Donald Rumsfeld's assertion in June 2005 that the insurgents in Iraq 'don't have vision, they're losers' merely foolish. In this war, if there is a war, the boot is on the other foot.
3) Indeed, the third reason why Islam will not be defeated, as things stand, is the low level of Western leadership, in particular in the United States. During the half-century of the Islamic revival, it has shown itself at sixes and sevens both diplomatically and militarily.
It has been without a sense of strategic direction, and been unable to settle upon coherent war plans. It has even lacked the gifts of language to make its purposes plain. Or, as Burke put it in March, 1775, 'a great empire and little minds go ill together'. In this war with Islam, if it is a war, the combination bodes defeat.
4) Next is the contribution to the disarray of Western policy-making being made by the egotistical competitiveness, and in some cases hysterics, of 'experts' and commentators on Islam. They include hyperventilating Islamophobes as well as academic apologists for the worst that is being done in Islam's name.
On this battleground, with its personalised blogsites to assist self-promotion, many seem to think that their opinions are more important than the issues upon which they are passing judgment; and amid the babel of advisory voices, policy has become increasingly inconsistent.
5) The fifth disablement is to be found in the confusion of 'progressives' about the Islamic advance. With their political and moral bearings lost since the defeat of the 'socialist project', many on the Left have only the fag-end of anti-colonial positions on which to take their stand.
To attribute the West's problems to our colonial past contains some truth. But it is again to misunderstand the inner strength of Islam's revival, which is owed not to victimhood but to advancing confidence in its own belief system.
Moreover, to Islam's further advantage, it has led most of today's 'progressives' to say little, or even to keep silent, about what would once have been regarded as the reactionary aspects of Islam: its oppressive hostility to dissent, its maltreatment of women, its supremacist hatred of selected out-groups such as Jews and gays, and its readiness to incite and to use extremes of violence against them. Mein Kampf circulates in Arab countries under the title Jihadi.
6) The sixth reason for Islam's growing strength is the vicarious satisfaction felt by many non-Muslims at America's reverses. Those who feel such satisfaction could be regarded as Trojan horses, a cavalry whose number is legion and which is growing.
For some, their principle -- or anti-principle -- is that 'my enemy's enemy is my friend'. Others believe their refusal of support for the war with Islam, if there is such a war, is a righteous one. But the consequences are the same: Islam's advance is being borne along by Muslims and non-Muslims together.
7) The seventh reason lies in the moral poverty of the West's, and especially America's, own value system. Doctrines of market freedom, free choice and competition -- or 'freedom 'n' liberty' -- are no match for the ethics of Islam and Sharia, like them or not. Yet in the 'battle for hearts and minds' the US First Cavalry Division saw fit to set up 'Operation Adam Smith' in Iraq to teach marketing skills, among other things, to local entrepreneurs.
There can be no victory here. Or, as Sheikh Mohammed al-Tabatabi told thousands of worshippers in Baghdad in May 2003: 'The West calls for freedom and liberty. Islam rejects such liberty. True liberty is obedience to Allah.'
8) The next indication that Islam's advance will continue lies in the skilful use being made of the media and of the world wide web in the service both of the 'electronic jihad' and the bamboozling of Western opinion by Muslim spokesmen.
It is also a political enterprise in which Muslims and non-Muslims can now be found acting together in furthering the reach of Islam's world view; the help being given by Western producers and broadcasters to al-Jazeera is the most notable instance of it.
9) The ninth factor guaranteeing Islam's onward march is the West's dependency on the material resources of Arab and Muslim countries. In April 1917, Woodrow Wilson, recommending to the US Congress an American declaration of war against Germany, could say that 'we have no selfish ends to serve'. American levels of consumption make no such statement possible now. The US is, so to speak, over a barrel. It will remain so.
10) Finally, the West is convinced that its notions of technology-driven modernity and market-driven progress are innately superior to the ideals of 'backward' Islam. This is an old delusion.
In 1899, Winston Churchill asserted that there was 'no stronger retrograde force in the world' than Islam.
More than a century later, it is fondly believed that sophisticated hardware and Star Wars defences will ensure Western mastery in this war, if it is a war.
But as the Saudi 'scholar' Suleiman al-Omar declared in June 2004: 'Islam is advancing according to a steady plan. America will be destroyed.' As things stand, given the ten factors set out here, he is more likely to be proved right than wrong.
David Selbourne is author of The Losing Battle with Islam, which was published in the United States in November last year.
Monday, December 22, 2008
MERRY CHRISTMAS
New Christmas Poem
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'
This poem was written by a Marine.
TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS,
HE LIVED ALL ALONE,
IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF
PLASTER AND STONE.
I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY
WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE,
AND TO SEE JUST WHO
IN THIS HOME DID LIVE.
I LOOKED ALL ABOUT,
A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE,
NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS,
NOT EVEN A TREE.
NO STOCKING BY MANTLE,
JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND,
ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES
OF FAR DISTANT LANDS.
WITH MEDALS AND BADGES,
AWARDS OF ALL KINDS,
A SOBER THOUGHT
CAME THROUGH MY MIND.
FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT,
IT WAS DARK AND DREARY,
I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER,
ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY.
THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING,
SILENT, ALONE,
CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR
IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME.
THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE,
THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER,
NOT HOW I PICTURED
A UNITED STATES SOLDIER.
WAS THIS THE HERO
OF WHOM I'D JUST READ?
CURLED UP ON A PONCHO,
THE FLOOR FOR A BED?
I REALIZED THE FAMILIES
THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT,
OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS
WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT.
SOON ROUND THE WORLD,
THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY,
AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE
A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY.
THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM
EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR,
BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS,
LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE.
I COULDN'T HELP WONDER
HOW MANY LAY ALONE,
ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE
IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME.
THE VERY THOUGHT
BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE,
I DROPPED TO MY KNEES
AND STARTED TO CRY.
THE SOLDIER AWAKENED
AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE,
'SANTA DON'T CRY,
THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE;
I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM,
I DON'T ASK FOR MORE,
MY LIFE IS MY GOD,
MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.'
THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER
AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP,
I COULDN'T CONTROL IT,
I CONTINUED TO WEEP.
I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS,
SO SILENT AND STILL
AND WE BOTH SHIVERED
FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL.
I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE
ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT,
THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR
SO WILLING TO FIGHT.
THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER,
WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE,
WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA,
IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.'
ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH,
AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT.
'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,!
AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.'
This poem was written by a Marine.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
RUNNING A COUNTRY LIKE IRAN
Though written several years ago this analysis holds true today and reveals what went wrong.
RUNNING IRAN click here
RUNNING IRAN click here
Monday, December 15, 2008
KEN TIMMERMAN - HONOR KILLING
Want to know how Barack Obama will be “tested in the first six months of his presidency,” as Joe Biden suggested during the campaign?
Try reading my political thriller, Honor Killing, which describes an incompetent administration and broken intelligence establishment as they do battle with determined Islamic terrorists who are bringing a nuclear weapon into the United States.
To learn more about the book, including a just-released excerpt, go here:http://kentimmerman.com/honor-killing.htmlI think you’ll also enjoy the extensive web resources and inter-active Reader’s guide I have developed, full of photographs, maps, documents and background information.
http://kentimmerman.com/hk-web.html
If you order this sizzling thriller in the next few days, Amazon.com will ship it to you in time for Christmas. (Honor Killing is available in paperback for just $16.00)
Also, my latest non-fiction book, Shadow Warriors: the Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender, has just been released in paperback.
This is the book that exposed the treachery of rogue weasels at the CIA and the State Department who falsified intelligence, including WMD intelligence on Iraq and Iran, in order to weaken, embarrass, and ultimately defeat George W. Bush.Learn more about it here:
http://kentimmerman.com/shadow-warriors.htm
Whether you buy my books or not, please support my investigations by following one of the links from my website to Amazon.com.
Anything you purchase from Amazon.com within the first thirty minutes will be treated as a link through from my site, so if you have unrelated purchases, please stop by www.kentimmerman.com first.
Thanks for all your support.And blessings upon you, your family, and our country in this Holy (and holiday) season.
KenKenneth R. Timmerman
Contributing editor: Newsmax.com
Reply to: timmerman.road@verizon.net
Archive: www.newsmax.com/timmerman/
Try reading my political thriller, Honor Killing, which describes an incompetent administration and broken intelligence establishment as they do battle with determined Islamic terrorists who are bringing a nuclear weapon into the United States.
To learn more about the book, including a just-released excerpt, go here:http://kentimmerman.com/honor-killing.htmlI think you’ll also enjoy the extensive web resources and inter-active Reader’s guide I have developed, full of photographs, maps, documents and background information.
http://kentimmerman.com/hk-web.html
If you order this sizzling thriller in the next few days, Amazon.com will ship it to you in time for Christmas. (Honor Killing is available in paperback for just $16.00)
Also, my latest non-fiction book, Shadow Warriors: the Untold Story of Traitors, Saboteurs, and the Party of Surrender, has just been released in paperback.
This is the book that exposed the treachery of rogue weasels at the CIA and the State Department who falsified intelligence, including WMD intelligence on Iraq and Iran, in order to weaken, embarrass, and ultimately defeat George W. Bush.Learn more about it here:
http://kentimmerman.com/shadow-warriors.htm
Whether you buy my books or not, please support my investigations by following one of the links from my website to Amazon.com.
Anything you purchase from Amazon.com within the first thirty minutes will be treated as a link through from my site, so if you have unrelated purchases, please stop by www.kentimmerman.com first.
Thanks for all your support.And blessings upon you, your family, and our country in this Holy (and holiday) season.
KenKenneth R. Timmerman
Contributing editor: Newsmax.com
Reply to: timmerman.road@verizon.net
Archive: www.newsmax.com/timmerman/
Sunday, December 14, 2008
OBAMA HOME $900,000 OVER MORTGAGE LIMIT
Obama Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Chicago Home Mortgage $903,000 over Legal Limit
While researching an article about Obama’s Chicago home about the circumstances surrounding who is the “owner”, I happened across a bit of information: Obama’s home has a Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac mortgage to the tune of $1,320,000. (Page 5 of Cook County Property Assessment Record)
The information comes from the Cook County Clerk’s office where the “owner” of the Obama home is listed as William Miceli, a former supervisor of Obama’s when he worked at the David Law Firm.
What’s unusual about the Obama mortgage is that the upper limits of a Fannie Mae loan on a single family dwelling as of January, 2008, is $417,000 while mortgages in “high cost” areas cannot exceed $729,750.
The Obama’s mortage, through Northern Trust Company, is in the amount of $1,320,000.
The limits for a Freddie Mac single family dwelling is $417,000, with an upper tier of $625,500 for homes located in Alaska, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.
I looked into whether Cook County, Illinois, where the Obama home is located, and whether it is considered by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as a “high cost area”.
I found this little snippet written by Lew Sichelman, of the Reality Times in 2004, a few months prior to the Obama’s purchasing their home:
Effective Jan. 1, the new FHA “ceiling” in high cost areas is 87 percent of the limit on loans which can be purchased by Freddie Mac.
The Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae conventional loan limit rose to $359,650, also on Jan. 1. In most of the nation’s 3,300 other jurisdictions, the FHA “floor” is $172,632. But in about 530 places, the FHA maximum is somewhere in between $172,632 and $359,650.
The new limits already are the subject of controversy.
For example, some Chicago area lenders already are grumbling that Jefferson County, a distant Washington area jurisdiction at best, is considered a high-cost area but Cook County, Ill., is not.
I took it one step further and entered the Obama’s South Greenwood address at Fannie Mae’s Loan Limit Geocoder. The results: Obama’s South Greenwood home was eligible for a maximum Fannie Mae loan of $417,000.
READ MORE:
READ MUCH, MORE click here
I’m not sure how, but the Obama’s managed to procure a Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac mortage $903,000 over the legal limit.
While researching an article about Obama’s Chicago home about the circumstances surrounding who is the “owner”, I happened across a bit of information: Obama’s home has a Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac mortgage to the tune of $1,320,000. (Page 5 of Cook County Property Assessment Record)
The information comes from the Cook County Clerk’s office where the “owner” of the Obama home is listed as William Miceli, a former supervisor of Obama’s when he worked at the David Law Firm.
What’s unusual about the Obama mortgage is that the upper limits of a Fannie Mae loan on a single family dwelling as of January, 2008, is $417,000 while mortgages in “high cost” areas cannot exceed $729,750.
The Obama’s mortage, through Northern Trust Company, is in the amount of $1,320,000.
The limits for a Freddie Mac single family dwelling is $417,000, with an upper tier of $625,500 for homes located in Alaska, Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, and Guam.
I looked into whether Cook County, Illinois, where the Obama home is located, and whether it is considered by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac as a “high cost area”.
I found this little snippet written by Lew Sichelman, of the Reality Times in 2004, a few months prior to the Obama’s purchasing their home:
Effective Jan. 1, the new FHA “ceiling” in high cost areas is 87 percent of the limit on loans which can be purchased by Freddie Mac.
The Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae conventional loan limit rose to $359,650, also on Jan. 1. In most of the nation’s 3,300 other jurisdictions, the FHA “floor” is $172,632. But in about 530 places, the FHA maximum is somewhere in between $172,632 and $359,650.
The new limits already are the subject of controversy.
For example, some Chicago area lenders already are grumbling that Jefferson County, a distant Washington area jurisdiction at best, is considered a high-cost area but Cook County, Ill., is not.
I took it one step further and entered the Obama’s South Greenwood address at Fannie Mae’s Loan Limit Geocoder. The results: Obama’s South Greenwood home was eligible for a maximum Fannie Mae loan of $417,000.
READ MORE:
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Friday, December 12, 2008
BRIEF ISLAM-SPEAK GLOSSARY
Here then, is a short guide to real meaning of certain key words, when used by a Muslim.
An Islam-speak glossary:
Peace - The state of cessation of all resistance to Islam. Peace only exists when Islam rules politically and religiously, and all Islamic principles are established as the law of the land.
Freedom – Freedom exists when Islam and its principles attain complete dominance and constitute the entirety of religious belief and political rule.
Justice – The state when Sharia law is the law of the land, and all judicial decisions are based on it and it alone. Justice exists when non-Muslims have no standing before a court, and when the testimony of two Muslim women is equal to that of one Muslim man.
Equality – Equality is achieved when Muslims are the only leaders of society, and are given their rightful place as the best of men, leading all institutions, political and religious. This does not extend to non-Muslims or apostates.
Tolerance – The state when non-Muslims are properly subdued and subservient to Muslim rule, agree to their second-class Dhimmi status, and duly pay the Jizya to their Muslim overlords.
Truth – Truth is the accepted Islamic version of events, as laid out in the Koran and the Sunna. Anything beyond that is merely hearsay, and in many cases blasphemy. (see Lies).
Democracy – The state when Islam is the absolute law and religion, and all peoples conform to Islamic law and customs. (see Freedom).
Freedom of Speech – Freedom of speech is achieved when Muslims, and only Muslims, are free to espouse their beliefs, and non-Muslims are prohibited from commenting on or criticizing anything Islamic.
Just Society - A society ruled by Muslims under Islamic law.
Koran - Allah’s final word, perfect and un-altered, superseding all others and the true and only guide for mankind in religion, law and politics.
Oppression - The rule of a state by non-Islamic law; actions of resistance to implementation of Islamic law and Muslim rule.
Racism - The state where anything Islamic or any Muslim is criticized or rejected.
Infidel – Any and all non-Muslims. Subject only to conversion, subjugation, or death under Islamic law.
Slavery – The rightful and lawful status of any infidel captured in battle against Islam.
Treaty – A non-binding and temporary agreement between Muslims and non-Muslims, valid only until such time as the Muslims have the power to achieve by force or other means what they have momentarily failed to achieve.
Lies – The act of hiding the truth, permissible by Islamic law for a Muslim when in fear for his safety or when it advances the cause of Islam.
With these definitions in mind, we will be better prepared to answer or debate a Muslim statement.
OR..... Iran
In addition to communicating with the local air traffic control facility, aircraft are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) a ten minute ‘heads up’ that they will be transiting Iranian airspace.
This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your call sign, transponder code, type aircraft, and points of origin and destination.
Overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai . It’s too good not to pass along. The conversation went something like this…
Air Defense Radar: ‘Unknown aircraft at (location unknown), you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.’
Aircraft: ‘This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.’
Air Defense Radar: ‘You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!’
Aircraft: ‘This is a United States FA-18 fighter. Send ‘em up!’
Air Defense Radar: (no response … total silence)”
Gotta love the Marines!
An Islam-speak glossary:
Peace - The state of cessation of all resistance to Islam. Peace only exists when Islam rules politically and religiously, and all Islamic principles are established as the law of the land.
Freedom – Freedom exists when Islam and its principles attain complete dominance and constitute the entirety of religious belief and political rule.
Justice – The state when Sharia law is the law of the land, and all judicial decisions are based on it and it alone. Justice exists when non-Muslims have no standing before a court, and when the testimony of two Muslim women is equal to that of one Muslim man.
Equality – Equality is achieved when Muslims are the only leaders of society, and are given their rightful place as the best of men, leading all institutions, political and religious. This does not extend to non-Muslims or apostates.
Tolerance – The state when non-Muslims are properly subdued and subservient to Muslim rule, agree to their second-class Dhimmi status, and duly pay the Jizya to their Muslim overlords.
Truth – Truth is the accepted Islamic version of events, as laid out in the Koran and the Sunna. Anything beyond that is merely hearsay, and in many cases blasphemy. (see Lies).
Democracy – The state when Islam is the absolute law and religion, and all peoples conform to Islamic law and customs. (see Freedom).
Freedom of Speech – Freedom of speech is achieved when Muslims, and only Muslims, are free to espouse their beliefs, and non-Muslims are prohibited from commenting on or criticizing anything Islamic.
Just Society - A society ruled by Muslims under Islamic law.
Koran - Allah’s final word, perfect and un-altered, superseding all others and the true and only guide for mankind in religion, law and politics.
Oppression - The rule of a state by non-Islamic law; actions of resistance to implementation of Islamic law and Muslim rule.
Racism - The state where anything Islamic or any Muslim is criticized or rejected.
Infidel – Any and all non-Muslims. Subject only to conversion, subjugation, or death under Islamic law.
Slavery – The rightful and lawful status of any infidel captured in battle against Islam.
Treaty – A non-binding and temporary agreement between Muslims and non-Muslims, valid only until such time as the Muslims have the power to achieve by force or other means what they have momentarily failed to achieve.
Lies – The act of hiding the truth, permissible by Islamic law for a Muslim when in fear for his safety or when it advances the cause of Islam.
With these definitions in mind, we will be better prepared to answer or debate a Muslim statement.
OR..... Iran
In addition to communicating with the local air traffic control facility, aircraft are required to give the Iranian Air Defense Radar (military) a ten minute ‘heads up’ that they will be transiting Iranian airspace.
This is a common procedure for commercial aircraft and involves giving them your call sign, transponder code, type aircraft, and points of origin and destination.
Overheard this conversation on the VHF Guard (emergency) frequency 121.5 MHz while flying from Europe to Dubai . It’s too good not to pass along. The conversation went something like this…
Air Defense Radar: ‘Unknown aircraft at (location unknown), you are in Iranian airspace. Identify yourself.’
Aircraft: ‘This is a United States aircraft. I am in Iraqi airspace.’
Air Defense Radar: ‘You are in Iranian airspace. If you do not depart our airspace we will launch interceptor aircraft!’
Aircraft: ‘This is a United States FA-18 fighter. Send ‘em up!’
Air Defense Radar: (no response … total silence)”
Gotta love the Marines!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
IRAN PINCER TO BLOCK OIL MOVEMENT
IN ADDITION TO THE PERSIAN GULF, FROM ERITREA IRAN CAN CONTROL THE SUEZ CANAL AND ATTACK ISRAEL AND SAUDI OIL FIELDS FROM A DIFFERENT DIRECTION
Eritrean President Isayas Afwerki and Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
The Eritrean port town of Assab, according to opposition groups, foreign diplomats, and NGOs in the area.
The city of Assab sits at the Horn of Africa in the Arabian Sea. As such, Assab offers a strategic position as the world nervously eyes the precarious routes through which a seaborne oil traverses daily.
Local sources have reported that Iran recently sent soldiers and a large number of long-range and ballistic missiles. The military basing came after Iran signed an accord with Eritrea to revamp the Russian-built refinery used by the Eritrean Oil Company, also known as Assab Oil Company.
As the world’s second largest import of gasoline, Iran is sensitive to a Western plan to obstruct its access to refined product as a part of broad sanctions provoked by Teheran’s nuclear activities.
Iran needs nearby oil refining ability. Using protection of the Eritrean refinery as a pretext, Iran has set up its military operation there, and has been patrolling with unmanned surveillance drones.
In the meantime, the Iranian navy has test-fired a sea-to-sea missile during a six-day naval maneuver in the Sea of Oman. Teheran radio announced, "The surface-to-surface Nasr-2 missile was tested in the (Sea of) Oman operational region,” adding that its new, medium-range missile “was fired from a warship and hit its target at a distance of 30 km (19 miles) and destroyed it."
The latest large-scale naval maneuver covered 50,000 square miles (129,500 sq. kilometers) of Iranian territorial waters and involved about 60 warships. Iran regularly holds war games in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
With the addition of a new naval base at Jask at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, and new basing at Assab in Eritrea, Iran can exercise a decisive military presence on multiple shores astride the pivotal oil sea lanes.
Iran’s new basing rights trace to last May when Eritrean President Isayas Afwerki visited Iran for a meeting with President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. At a press conference after the meeting, Ahmadinejad declared that the two countries share common views on regional issues and on ways to resist hegemony.
"We've held fruitful talks on different subjects relevant to bilateral ties, mutual investment in the agriculture, industry and energy sectors, and regional and international cooperation," he said.
Ahmadinejad stated that Iran saw “no limits to the expansion of cooperation and relations with Eritrea,” while Isayas hailed Iranian support for Eritrean people. Isayas also commented that both countries will defend rights of each other and of other independent nations.
“I believe regional and international cooperation would guarantee regional peace and stability.”
President Isayas has granted Iran complete and exclusive control over the Eritrean Oil Refinary with the mandate to revamp, manage, and exercise complete authority over production and maintenance of the facility.
Iran will refine its crude oil in Assab to cover shortages it faces at home, which will benefit Eritrea by not having to import expensive refined products.
The Eritrean Democratic Party, an opposition party, pointed to trepidation within the Eritrean regime, indicating that some high-ranking members are saying that the president is playing with fire with Iran and that the consequences for Eritrea could be grave.
In September, Iran and Eritrea signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) supporting and encouraging foreign investment. The agreement was inked by Iranian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Shamseddin Hosseini and his Eritrean counterpart Berhane Abrehe.
Opposition groups in Eritrea are reporting that President Isayas, with the cooperation of some Somali Islamist groups, is going beyond mere bilateral oil supplies, and colluding to control the Bab El Mandeb Straights in case of escalation of conflict with the United States and Israel. Eritrea and the United States backed opposite sides in the war in Somalia, which erupted at the end of 2006.
The ominous expansion of the Iranian military comes at a time when the United States has moved additional naval forces off the coast of Somalia in response to piracy and what appears to be the looming defeat of its U.S.-backed Transitional Federal Government.
Cutting Edge Foreign Editor Joseph Grieboski is President of the Institute on Religion and Public Policy and Secretary General, Interparliamentary Conference on Human Rights and Religious Freedom.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
USA - RIOTS AND REBELLION BY 2012
Food Riots, Tax Rebellions By 2012...
Trend forecaster, renowned for being accurate in the past, says....
November 14, 2008 Live Leak
The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.
Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the Great Depression".
"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others.
He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.
The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest."
And that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.
"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it:
the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."
"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax.
You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.""It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before.
Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.""We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well.
It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime.
And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be.
So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension."
"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."— CNN Headline News"
A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."— The Economist"
Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right."— USA Today"
There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about."- CNBC"
Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute."— The Wall Street Journal"
Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around."— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."— The New York Times"
Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."— 48 Hours, CBS News"
Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."— The Detroit News"
Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees."— Chicago Tribune"
The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture."— The Los Angeles Times"
If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."— New York Post
So there you have it - hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.
Trend forecaster, renowned for being accurate in the past, says....
November 14, 2008 Live Leak
The man who predicted the 1987 stock market crash and the fall of the Soviet Union is now forecasting revolution in America, food riots and tax rebellions - all within four years, while cautioning that putting food on the table will be a more pressing concern than buying Christmas gifts by 2012.
Gerald Celente, the CEO of Trends Research Institute, is renowned for his accuracy in predicting future world and economic events, which will send a chill down your spine considering what he told Fox News this week.
Celente says that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts.
"We're going to see the end of the retail Christmas....we're going to see a fundamental shift take place....putting food on the table is going to be more important that putting gifts under the Christmas tree," said Celente, adding that the situation would be "worse than the Great Depression".
"America's going to go through a transition the likes of which no one is prepared for," said Celente, noting that people's refusal to acknowledge that America was even in a recession highlights how big a problem denial is in being ready for the true scale of the crisis.
Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November last year that the following year would be known as "The Panic of 2008," adding that "giants (would) tumble to their deaths," which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others.
He also said that the dollar would eventually be devalued by as much as 90 per cent.
The consequence of what we have seen unfold this year would lead to a lowering in living standards, Celente predicted a year ago, which is also being borne out by plummeting retail sales figures.
The prospect of revolution was a concept echoed by a British Ministry of Defence report last year, which predicted that within 30 years, the growing gap between the super rich and the middle class, along with an urban underclass threatening social order would mean, "The world's middle classes might unite, using access to knowledge, resources and skills to shape transnational processes in their own class interest."
And that, "The middle classes could become a revolutionary class."
In a separate recent interview, Celente went further on the subject of revolution in America.
"There will be a revolution in this country," he said. "It’s not going to come yet, but it’s going to come down the line and we’re going to see a third party and this was the catalyst for it:
the takeover of Washington, D. C., in broad daylight by Wall Street in this bloodless coup. And it will happen as conditions continue to worsen."
"The first thing to do is organize with tax revolts. That’s going to be the big one because people can’t afford to pay more school tax, property tax, any kind of tax.
You’re going to start seeing those kinds of protests start to develop.""It’s going to be very bleak. Very sad. And there is going to be a lot of homeless, the likes of which we have never seen before.
Tent cities are already sprouting up around the country and we’re going to see many more.""We’re going to start seeing huge areas of vacant real estate and squatters living in them as well.
It’s going to be a picture the likes of which Americans are not going to be used to. It’s going to come as a shock and with it, there’s going to be a lot of crime.
And the crime is going to be a lot worse than it was before because in the last 1929 Depression, people’s minds weren’t wrecked on all these modern drugs – over-the-counter drugs, or crystal meth or whatever it might be.
So, you have a huge underclass of very desperate people with their minds chemically blown beyond anybody’s comprehension."
===================
"When CNN wants to know about the Top Trends, we ask Gerald Celente."— CNN Headline News"
A network of 25 experts whose range of specialties would rival many university faculties."— The Economist"
Gerald Celente has a knack for getting the zeitgeist right."— USA Today"
There’s not a better trend forecaster than Gerald Celente. The man knows what he’s talking about."- CNBC"
Those who take their predictions seriously ... consider the Trends Research Institute."— The Wall Street Journal"
Gerald Celente is always ahead of the curve on trends and uncannily on the mark ... he's one of the most accurate forecasters around."— The Atlanta Journal-Constitution"
Mr. Celente tracks the world’s social, economic and business trends for corporate clients."— The New York Times"
Mr. Celente is a very intelligent guy. We are able to learn about trends from an authority."— 48 Hours, CBS News"
Gerald Celente has a solid track record. He has predicted everything from the 1987 stock market crash and the demise of the Soviet Union to green marketing and corporate downsizing."— The Detroit News"
Gerald Celente forecast the 1987 stock market crash, ‘green marketing,’ and the boom in gourmet coffees."— Chicago Tribune"
The Trends Research Institute is the Standard and Poors of Popular Culture."— The Los Angeles Times"
If Nostradamus were alive today, he'd have a hard time keeping up with Gerald Celente."— New York Post
So there you have it - hardly a nutjob conspiracy theorist blowhard now is he? The price of not heeding his warnings will be far greater than the cost of preparing for the future now. Storable food and gold are two good places to make a start.
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