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An auditing board sponsored by the United Nations recommended Friday that the United States repay as much as $208 million to the Iraqi government for contracting work in 2003 and 2004 assigned to Kellogg, Brown & Root, the Halliburton Co. subsidiary. The work was paid for with Iraqi oil proceeds, but the board says it was either carried out at inflated prices or done poorly. The board did not give examples of poor work. Some of the work involved postwar fuel imports carried out by KBR that previous audits have criticized as grossly overpriced. But this is the first time that an international auditing group has suggested that the United States repay some of that money to Iraq. The U.N. group, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board of the Development Fund for Iraq, compiled reports from an array of Pentagon, U.S. government and private auditors to carry out its analysis. A spokeswoman for Halliburton, Cathy Mann, said the questions raised in the military audits, carried out in the Pentagon's Defense Contract Auditing Agency, had largely focused on issues of paperwork and documentation and alleged nothing about the quality of the work done by KBR. The monitoring board relied heavily on the Pentagon audits in drawing its conclusions. Mann said, in an e-mail response to questions, that it would be completely wrong to say or imply that any of these costs that were incurred at the client's direction for its benefit are 'overcharges.' The monitoring board, created by the United Nations specifically to oversee the Development Fund -- which includes Iraqi oil revenues and some money seized from Saddam Hussein's government -- said that because the audits were continuing, it was too early to say how much of the $208 million should ultimately be paid back. The KBR contracts that have drawn fresh scrutiny also cover services other than fuel deliveries, like building and repairing oil pipelines and installing emergency power generators in Iraq. The documents released Friday by the monitoring board do not detail problems with specific tasks in those broad categories but instead summarize a series of newly disclosed audits that call into question $208,491,382 of the company's work in Iraq. The monitoring board's authority extends only to making recommendations on any reimbursement. It would be up to the U.S. government to decide whether to make the payments, and who should make them. Vice President Dick Cheney's former role as chief executive of Halliburton has led to repeated charges, uniformly dismissed by Cheney and the company, that it received preferential treatment in receiving Iraq-related contracts. The Bush administration repeatedly gave Halliburton special treatment and allowed the company to gouge both U.S. taxpayers and the Iraqi people, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, the senior Democrat on the House Government Reform Committee, said in a statement on the new audits. In Iraq on Friday, insurgent attacks -- including one in which the attackers disguised themselves as women -- left at least 16 Iraqis dead. Al Qaeda in Iraq, the leading insurgency group, said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site that two Moroccan Embassy employees had been condemned to death, the Associated Press reported. There was no indication Friday that they had been killed. The U.S. military said Friday that two more soldiers had died the previous day, one in a noncombat incident and one when his convoy struck an explosive. In the day's deadliest assault, insurgents dressed in women's clothing attacked a police checkpoint in Buhruz, 35 miles north of Baghdad, killing at least six Iraqi police and injuring at least 10 others, U.S. and Iraqi officials said. The gunmen were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars, and pulled up in five cars, an Interior Ministry official said. The policemen managed to kill at least two of the gunmen, he added I'll give him my respect for serving but not my vote...no one owes him that. nm 4 She did loan her campaign 10 million dollars - she owes over 20 million - but... Hillary says she is not worried about paying herself off, just the other people she owes money to (but I bet she will get her money back somehow). I just read where Barack personally wrote her a check himself for $2300 (the most by law any individual can contribute to a campaign). The problem is her donors expect him to help her pay this money off if he wants them to continue to support his campaign financially, and he needs their money to finance the general election campaign. Also, they say Hillary can devote more time campaigning and helping his financial situation if she is not having to try to raise money still for her debts. So anyway, there it is in a nutshell... get on back, neocon, get on back Tell ya what, sweetheart, last I checked this is the LIBERAL BOARD and I havent been banned, as I dont break the rules, so I can stay as long as I want..Seems to me, conservative, you are the one who should mosey on by and get back to drink more Kook-Aid. You won't pay more taxes The fact of the matter is McCain's tax proposals are the same as Bushes - he wants to make the tax cuts for the rich PERMANENT. Therefore, the burden of taxes falls on the backs of the middle class. Yes, I worked for Children Services - by taking in foster children and adopting hard to place children the parents receive quite a few entitlements - that is true. (I'd rather work - I saw how hard it was to raise "damaged" children). I had a weekend foster child, as a single mother, with my own 2 children and custody of my neice and never applied for food stamps, medical care, etc. My husband took off and dodged state-to-state to avoid paying childsupport. How we managed, I guess it was just easier then. Obama's tax plan does not include YOU at your tax bracket - you will benefit from his plan - are you benefitting from Bush's? I know we aren't. I'm not asking for pity. 1 out of 3 people will get cancer. I paid for my disabiity insurance and I am still fighting for my benefits (they play games and lie to delay payments), so I will scrap aluminum and do whatever I have to in order to keep food on the table. I'm not lazy. I worked hard raising my children by myself, bought my own home and did not remarry until my kids were adults. I had to write to state representatives in order to get my insurance disability to MOVE. I have written my state representatives before when my ex-husband was dodging child support. I learned to lean Democrat while working at Children Services and also by all the things I learned in college. Those dem state reps helped me and even called me at work to ensure the Bureau of Support was doing their jobs. How can I argue with that? Please read the issues on both candidates and don't believe everything you hear on the news and read on this board. McCain's attack ads are lies and that's sad as we considered him when he ran against Bush. Now he is just another Bushie. Taxes mCcain gives back rich. Obama to give back to middle class. Simple as that. I have never attended any institute of higher lurnin so that makes me sure I am right. Too much knowledge a dangeris thingie.
More about taxes... My personal taxes (single renter w/no dependents) WERE higher under Clinton, but there was only ONE reason for that: I was making a LOT MORE MONEY BACK THEN. That's when my MT paycheck was at it's highest ever, about$40K per year. Since then, my income has gone down (thanks in large part to nobody in Bush's term in office doing diddly to stop the hemorrhage of our jobs out of the US & off to India, Pakistan, Philippines, etc. And to make things worse, these same companies selling our livelihood down the river were getting REWARDED monetarily for doing so. So now, I make half of what I made during the Clinton years. (About $20K/year, for doing about twice the work.) Retirement is now almost a virtual impossibility, thanks to the tanking of our stock-market-driven 401K not only after 9/11, but today as well. I just hope, if we end up with 4-8 more years of this greed on Capital Hill, and throughout our nation's corporate world, that everyone gets used to paying for those who will have nothing. If I lose my job and/or health insurance, then I, too, will be contributing to the money-pit that hospital emergency rooms have become (and which is why they're closing one by one), because that's where I, too, will have to go for my medical care. Taxes McCain will raise taxes too. How else is he going to fund his wars? Not to mention Bushes bail out of his cronie Wall Streeters, never mind that those execs collected millions in bonuses before they ran the companies into the ground. We taxpayers are left to pick up the tab. If Obama sticks to his guns he won't raise taxes on MOST of us, certainly not me, as I don't come close to an income over $250,000 per year...wish I did, I'd be happy to fork over a few extra tax dollars. taxes are taxes you don;t get to chose where your money goes. Only United Way does that.
that would still be taxes... nm x Even more taxes for us So Obama plans to let the Bush tax cuts expire. That equates to more $ from our pockets, just in a different form. If that's not bad enough, see below--and Snopes is leftist, so they wouldn't publish this unless it were true. They probably cringed as they posted it. Y'all must be making some huge bucks at MQ to want even more $ taken out of your checks. If so, then why all the griping about lost wages? Can't have it both ways! Date: Monday, October 6, 2008, 12:00 PM We could resolve this financial crisis by CLOSING the books on the fourteen listed programs..............WHERE IS THE CONGRESS??? Read this! It will open your eyes for sure! Don't miss the Total at the bottom. WONDER WHY YOU DON'T HEAR MUCH ABOUT THIS IN THE DEBATES. NONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT RUN THE DEBATES (TV NEWORKS), WHO ASK THE QUESTIONS WILL ALLOW THIS TYPE INFORMATION TO GET OUT TO THE PUBLIC. THE DEMOCRATS AND THE REPUBLICANS GO HIDE WHEN THESE QUESTIONS ARE ASKED, WHY? WHAT COSTS MORE PER YEAR THAN THE IRAQ WAR? Answer: Illegal Aliens Cause Massive Cuts For US Seniors. I hope the fo llowing 14 reasons are forwarded over and over again until they are read so many times that the reader gets sick of reading them. I have included the URL's for verification of the following facts: 1. $11 Billion to $22 billion is spent on welfare to illegal aliens each year. http://tinyurl.com/zob77 2. $2.2 Billion dollars a year is spent on food assistance programs such as food stamps, WIC, and free school lunches for illegal aliens. http://www.cisorg/articles/ tp://www.cis.org/art icles/2004/f/iscal.html 3. $2.5 Billion dollars a year is spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. http://www.cis.org/articles/ 4. $12 Billion dollars a year is spent on primary and secondary school education for children here illegally and they cannot speak a word of English! http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRA 5. $17 Billion dollars a year is spent for education for the American-born children of illegal aliens, known as anchor babies. http://transcripts.cnn.com/ 6. $3 Million Dollars a DAY is spent to incarcerate illegal aliens. http://transcripts.cnn.com/ 7. 30% percent of all Federal Prison inmates are illegal aliens. http://transcripts.cnn.com/ 8. $90 Billion Dollars a year is spent on illegal aliens for Welfare and Social Services by the American taxpayers. http://premium.cnn.com/ 9. $200 Billion Dollars a year in suppressed American wages are caused by the illegal aliens. http://transcripts.cnn.com/ 10. The illegal aliens in the United States have a crime rate that's two-and-a-half times that of white non-illegal aliens. In particular, their children, are going to make a huge additional crime problem in the US. http://transcripts.cnn.com/ 11. During the year of 2005 there were 4 to 10 MILLION illegal aliens that crossed our Southern Border also, as many as 19,500 illegal aliens from Terrorist Countries. Millions of pounds of drugs, cocaine, meth, heroin and marijuana, crossed into the U. S from the Southern border. Homeland Security Report. http://tinyurl.com/t9sht 12. The National Policy Institute, 'estimated that the total cost of mass deportation would be between $206 and $230 billion or an average cost of between $41 and $46 billion annually! over a five year period.' http://www. 13. In 2006 illegal aliens sent home $45 BILLION in remittances back to their countries of origin. http:/ /www.rense.com/general75/niht. 14. 'The Dark Side of Illegal Immigration: Nearly One Million Sex Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants In The United States'. http://www.drdsk.com/ Total cost is a whooping... $338.3 BILLION A YEAR!!! If this doesn't bother you then just delete the message, but on the other hand, if it does raise the hair on the back of your neck, then forward it. Snopes is provided for doubters: http://www.snopes.com/ SEND THIS TO ALL YOU KNOW. THE ENTIRE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES NEEDS TO KNOW THIS INFORMATION, UNLESS THEY DON'T MIND SHARING THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY WITH ILLEGAL ALIENS WHO DIDN'T PAY A DIME. LET US SHOW OUR LEADERS IN WASHINGTON 'PEOPLE POWER' AND THE POWER OF THE INTERNET. IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU ARE REPUBLICAN, DEMOCRAT OR INDEPENDENT! KEEP IT GOING. Taxes Would I have a yearly capital gain of $250.000.--, I would GLADLY pay more taxes, actually only 3 percent more. 40% of that 95% DON'T pay taxes... where is all the money coming from to pay for all of his programs? Everyone has to pay taxes, sorry That's the way it works in our society. It's been backwards for years with the rich getting all the breaks. If you make a lot, you pay more. What is wrong with that? I doubt that YOU have to worry about it mtstar. No, we don't need more taxes but we're gonna get 'em anyway regardless of which one is elected. How else is that 700 bil bail-out gonna get paid back? I pay taxes and I need a break. I know plenty of others are in the same boat also. It's not like only rich people pay taxes. Come on now. Many of those wealthy people have gotten there by taking advantage of lowly workers who can barely pay fundamental bills. How many times are people on this board bi+c#ing about working harder for less and our jobs going to other countries! Have you tried to get a new job lately? Multiple rounds of testing and endless interviews to the point where you'd think you were trying to get a CEO position ... when in reality it pays barely over minium wage. pRIcEleSs! Not all of us poor people aren't working hard or are blowing money on extravagance! Taxes Well, then, maybe you'll appreciate the tax break you will see under his administration. Sin taxes.........sm I understand the brewers' outrage, but "fair is fair." Smokers have been taxed out the wazoo on cigarettes and they are about to go up another $0.61 per pack as a means of paying for Medicaid. Personally, I don't think it is fair to tax any particular class of person based on their habits to fund government spending. What's next? A tax increase on knitting needles or perhaps scrapbook materials? Regardless of where the taxes come from (state or federal) they will still rise because of the cap and trade Obama wants to institute. IMO, still his fault because he said himself during his campaign that this would make energy costs skyrocket. He knows instituting cap and trade will raise costs for all consumers. Why do some people continually give Obama an excuse for everything. Nothing will ever be his fault. He is so perfect and wonderful and who cares if he does something that will end up raising prices on utilities, gas, groceries, etc. Not like are economy is suffering or anything or that people are barely getting by. But hey.....Obama is such a great guy...gosh darn it. So maybe if we don't pay our taxes, the gov't. in If so, count me in! This year the gov't. is probably only going to get a note from me saying to bill it to AIG. They can afford to pay my share. Taxes...... Obama’s plan would raise fuel prices by 6% and power prices by 7% on average in 2012... you think that ain't a tax? This is on the average U.S. citizen of which I assume you are one of? You don't mind paying more for your power so you can continue to work making less and less? And that is just the beginning.... Taxes, foreclosures, the Dow...sm Home sales and foreclosures are up! I hope dems do raise taxes on the rich, the million dollar and up club. I am a supporter of the flat tax. 10% (or whatever number that makes sense) across the board. Even Bill Gates other mega millionares have said themselves that the tax breaks they have received of late are unneeded. The Dow Industrial. Now, this to me is a joke! When you have a sister and friends lose their job due to factory downsizing. Two more factories completely move overseas for lower overhead costs leaving 500+ people with no jobs. Of course the companies' stock is doing good, but now I'll ask you what does that mean to regular Joes? Unemployment. We are doing good on that. Most everyone who wants a job is able to find work in my city. May not pay much of anything, but there is work nonetheless. taxes, foreclosures, the Dow... The Dems will not raise taxes on the rich. In case you had not noticed, most of the Dems in Congress ARE the rich. I am also a proponet of the flat tax; however, the Dems will never pass that either because the very low income folks will squeal (stating 10% of 10,000 hits them much harder than 10% of several million for millionaires) and it is the very low income folks who keep voting the Dems in. although those same who will complain about 10% of $10,000 also get so muuch in aid they end up better off than most hard working middle class families because of entitlements, also a Dem product, that the Dems tax the rest of us (you included) to provide for these folks so they will continue to vote for the Dems. Pretty good for Dems when it works. Trouble is, it benefits the rich club Dems and pretty much shafts the rest of the Dems, and why they can't see that is a source of wonder for me. The Dems act like rich people are the only people that got tax cuts. I don't know about you, but I brought home more on my paycheck after the Bush tax cuts. I know that the marriage penalty removal helped a LOT of people. But the Dems want to roll that back, because that was a moneymaker for them to put out in more entitlements. You should really look into what is going on before deciding that more taxes are a good thing, because trust me, it will NOT be just on the millionaire club. As to the Dow, you better hope it stays up. Because the Dow are all the companies all over this great nation who employ many of us. Factory downsizing was slowed way down by those horrid Bush tax cuts. Factory downsizing has happened since the beginning of time and will always happen. If the Dems roll back the Bush tax cuts, stand back. You can look forward to a lot more. Yes, unemployment is at record lows. If Dems roll back the Bush tax cuts, look out. Because medium business, mom and pop businesses, small folks who employ a LOT of people in this country will have to cut back again. Look for it to rise if tax cuts rolled back. Stealing taxes Actually, I had the same thing happen. I know you're mad. So am I. But you absolutely must remember the core truth -- the reason you had a tax bill that was more than your fair share and more than you could come up with by April 15th in the FIRST place was because democrats are leaning on you to fund the vote-buying giveaways with YOUR labor, YOUR income which they believe to be theirs. You are supposed to thank democrats for what they LEAVE you with, not grumble that they enforce their sick idea of social justice and obligation on people who actually get up in the morning and go work. I did the math. I had some of their constituency who are sucking on the government teat live with me for a homeless few months. I will never do that again. We are rapidly approaching a point in this country where half the country is living free off the other half. This economy will collapse when more than half live off less than half. Meaning me. And you. Remember, that you will never qualify for any government benefits under democrats because you work. You will however, qualify for their giveaway program, just not as a givee. At least the Republican plan is to share the burden of common needs (roads, defense) and let people who work hard keep as much as possible. Don't get me wrong. I am no lover of that RINO capitulator our party is running. He's made good press and put forth his false front of courage and honor, but every time he has had a chance to take a stand since he got into politics, he has compromised with the socialists. Please don't forget -- Socialism has failed everywhere it's been tried and it always will. Nonconfiscatory capitalism works. Unfortunately, we don't have that in America anymore. But we do have socialism. All socialist economies eventually collapse to third world status unless they are coupled with a political system of tyrrany and fascism. Please don't vote for the communists. PP comes out of our taxes. NOT a private org. Why do you think so many taxpayers are sick of it? When does the "tax us til it bleeds stop?" Go to www.barackobama.com/taxes/ A lot more information on his website....just look. Go to www.barackobama.com/taxes/ This will answer your questions. Actually small-business owners will be given a tax credit. It's all on the website. I TRIED ignoring them, but my taxes won't go away! He will raise taxes for us all. No way to set up these government programs of his without taking money from all of us. So you're saying more dem taxes will help xx He HAS to raise taxes, no way around it All those programs will not appear out of thin air. He will grow government bigger than ever...new departments, more employees for those departments, more of my tax money blown to heck and back. People actually believe ALL this can be done with TAX CUTS!! They are in total denial. This man have voted REPEATEDLY to NOT NOT NOT cut taxes every darn time it has come up and has pushed for tax INCREASES. For those nonbelievers, all they gotta do is go look at his voting record. It's there for the scrutinizing. Read his lips..... He knows people are running scared and he can zoom in and steal their good sense with telling them he will cut taxes. BUT, as soon as he is in office, it won't happen and who will he blame then? Everybody but himself!!! He will not take any responsiblity for that either. You need to get some education in taxes Get off that poor people pity pot. I'm so sick of it. We know poor people when we see them and that AIN'T what Obama is talking about. He wants to give to anyone and everything that sits on their butts and takes from me already. And for those half of all Americans who pay NO taxes, he wants to give them free money, even though they pay nothing into the system. Yea, right! Boy is that fair! We all know where this money is going and I couldn't care less if you want to harp on things that do not represent him. He is not looking out for anyone but the ones he considers "oppressed". if there is any oppression going on in this country, it is coming directly from Obama, but those he stirs the pot trying to brew up all the racial undertones he continuously spews, he knows exactly what he's doing. I pay out my butt for those so-called poor and believe me, after all the freebies they have more than my family has. They don't worry about healthcare, food, clothes, shelter....but we do. The "poor" as you put it sit on their butts with their 10 children all week and then drag their feet down to the ER on Friday and Saturday nights to sit and get their free medical care for their chidren, because all of them now have a sniffle. Medicaid will pay for anything, including laziness. THere is no hatred in her heart, just fed up. We have poor people in my family and we look out for each other; they have never taken a handout. We know the truly poor when we see them and the ones getting ALL THE WINDFALL money from ME....well, honey, they ain't poor. Leaches maybe and "illegals" maybe, but the ones in my community ain't poor. They have NEW free homes and they are a h@ll of a lot better off than the really poor. And lets not fool ourselves as to what ACORN is really all about. They have bought black votes with alcohol, tobacco, and God only knows what else. The people they drag up by the busloads to participate in absentee ballots, well, we all know those folks don't have a clue what is going on in this world and to be honest, they don't care. Now, if ACORN tells them hey, look, you can get a black man in the Presidency, boy oh boy, and we'll give you stuff for that vote, well, what do you think those "poor" folks you are so concerned about are going to do. ACORN is all about the "black" vote and lets not pretend otherwise. Please give some people credit for having a real brain with real common sense. Yes, everyone will pay more taxes under Obama...
Three more tax Lies at the link: http://www.americanthinker.com.....ncrea.html That is exactly what he said. He wants to raise taxes... on those making $250,000 or more so he can give a check to lower income folks...and a modest tax cut (while letting the Bush tax cuts expire) to the middle class. Have you looked at what we are going to lose if he lets those tax cuts expire? A whole lot more than his little tax cut will make up. He also needs the added taxation to try to help pay for all he wants to do... The checks he is going to dole out are NOT for everyone. And they will even go to people who pay NO taxes. THAT is rewarding laziness. That is NOT trying to help people better themselves. Would it not be better to get them a JOB than a one-time gimme check?? Ken dra, your taxes went up in just 1 week?? Honest to goodness, in a democratic controlled state. When did the democrats come back in. You make absolutely no sense with the reasoning. Your dear repubs just sent you and your home down the drain, if anything. Why, why do you continue to bash the democrats when they have been out of office for 8 YEARS!!! It seems to me like you really just bit off more than you can chew and now you are having to pay for it. I had 3 homes, 2 rentals and my own personal, paid taxes on all 3 and honey, I had no money problems with them. Next time do your math and maybe you wont get caught in a situation you have made for yourself to start with. With all the not paying of taxes going on... I think maybe an audit of all politicians should be undertaken? LOL! Sheesh....then again....I'd hate to see actually how many of them are screwing us even more by not paying taxes. Yeeks!!! BECAUSE THEY DON'T PAY TAXES for starters... You don't want govt sticking it's nose in your churches' business but you'd stick your hand out for funding? Oh, so he's raising taxes? it won't be Obama, it will be your state and local govt with extra fees on your cell phones, internet, cable, gas, etc.........get it? State and local - not federal Maybe if they ALL paid their taxes.... instead of hiding money in their freezers, offshore accounts and various tax shelters.......THEY ARE ALL GUILTY IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. So you think protesting AGAINST more taxes xx You don't think those people know what MORE taxes xx $14 billion in taxes isn't even a Certainly, no reason to legalize a dangerous substance, which is what pot is. Let's reverse all the smoking restrictions and get all our kids hooked on cigarettes instead, if that's our logic. We'll make a lot more than $14 billion! Stamp out tobacco and legalize pot. We're doing some real good thinking here. And hey! You! Drop that Twinkie and put your hands in the air! Wipe those crumbs off your lips! This is the Fat Police you're dealing with, buster, and you're goin' downtown. Lookout boys! He's got a can of whipped cream under his shirt! (Later, at home): Son, I'm so disappointed in you. Why can't you smoke pot like all the other kids? Right! O says he will lower taxes, which is really nm So much for no higher taxes of any kind for 95% of the American people. This is just going to kill the people who are already struggling to make ends meet. Not to mention the high prices that will come if they get cap and trade passed. Why don't people in Washington get this? All they talk about are the sacrifices that we are all going to have to make and they do nothing but keep spending. Where is the sacrifice on their end, huh? We need to fix this economy and stop the constant spending by our government. I'm so sick and tired of this. I work to make money and they are just going to take more and more of what I earn. I've always been responsible with my money and have excellent credit but how I am going to continue to make ends meet if this keeps up? It is pretty sad when responsible people are scared this will bring them down as well. I guess the rich will just have to pay for everything because there won't be a middle class left the rate things are going. If all these taxes keep building up only the rich are going to be able to pay them. The regular Joe won't be able to keep up. This is what p!sses me off and yet Obama said he was all about the middle class. He wasn't going to make the rich richer. He was going to help the middle class. Yeah yeah......liar liar pants on fire. What is going to change is more taxes. Mayor Coleman is saying all of this because he needs to raise taxes and the only way he knows it will pass is if he uses scare tactics. Not exactly anything new - all politicians do it, but it's not the change we were all suposed to be seeing. And if you think it will stop at the local or state level, all I can do is remind you that the money has to come from somewhere and even the rich don't have that much money. Who's left? I would much rather we be left to fend for ourselves - that's what we're supposed to be doing. I don't have a problem helping people out when they're down, but I do have a problem with my government forcing me to do it with my tax dollars. Especially when they don't even know where the money is going. 
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