Posted on 01/26/2008 11:32:48 PM PST by raccoonradio
Another week of the Howie live thread, starting off with Howie's Sunday Herald column ("Mass. voters to thrill Hill on Moonbat Tues.")
Howie column ping
Mass. voters to thrill Hill on Moonbat Tues.
By Howie Carr | Sunday, January 27, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com
Hillary Clinton is no Tom Reilly. Can we all agree on that?
Which means the Democratic primary here on Super Tuesday (Feb. 5) is not going to be a replay of the states 2006 gubernatorial primary.
Deval Patrick came out of nowhere - well, actually, out of Texaco and Coke and assorted other corporate outposts where he stopped just long enough to pick up a hefty chunk of severance or whatever you want to call it.
Deval, a blank slate, crushed a tired, hapless white hack named Tom Reilly.
Some obvious similarities exist between Deval and Barack Obama. Theyre both black, from Chicago, have very little experience, went to Harvard Law School and attract devoted followings of rich, middle-aged, guilt-ridden Baby Boomers.
Of course, in 2006 Reilly was such a complete bust as a candidate (not to mention prosecutor) that a third person jumped into the fight. Can we also stipulate that John Edwards is no Chris Gabrieli? Edwards doesnt have nearly as much money.
One-on-one, Hillary should win Massachusetts going away. Hillary owns the hacks, after all, plus she has her own smaller cadre of moonbats. All Obama has is what you might call the full-moonbats, the shock troops of Political Correctness.
Generally speaking, the Hillary voter is older, wealthier and more female. Obamas core is younger, more transient. And as House Speaker Sal DiMasi might say, they dont learn from their mistakes.
Where will Obama do well? Moving east, hell take Berkshire County and Happy Valley naturally. He sweeps Amherst, Northampton and the other college towns, although the wild card there is whether those wacky kids will still be too hung over after the Super Bowl victory parties to get out of bed (or jail) on Super Tuesday.
Obama figures to carry all the suburban towns that tend to vote Republican in the general elections but go very liberal in the Democrat primaries. Bolton comes to mind. And all the lily-white burgs where Niki Tsongas and Jim Marzilli did well in their recent underwhelming special election victories. Obama will also do well in towns where Salvation Army bell-ringers get hassled at Christmas. Think Andover. Obama takes the ACLU vote by almost as large a margin as he carries the trust-fund crowd.
On the other hand, Hillary should sweep the areas where people actually work for a living. Theyll be weighing her votes on the South Shore (except for Deluxebury). The Cape should be a battleground. Its conservative in November, but the Cape Democrat party is PC to the max, right down to their Priuses.
Hillarys numbers here could also depend somewhat on the state of the GOP campaign after Florida. Mitt Romney is the favorite son, sort of, but he also left behind a lot of enemies in the wake of his one lackluster term as governor. If Mitt appears to be on the ropes post-Florida, a chance to deliver the coup de grace might draw out the independent remnants of, say, the old Bulger machine in South Boston and the Fat Matt Amorello crowd in Worcester.
Were talking small numbers here, but they are 100 percent hacks, which means that otherwise they would probably break heavily for Hillary.
And then theres Mumbles Menino. He, of course, is with Hillary. Shes the institutional choice, like Reilly was in 2006. Shes waited her turn, again like Reilly, and Mumbles, for that matter. Unfortunately for Mumbles, Hillary will probably lose the city, just as Reilly did. Sure, shell have her pockets - think Southie, Savin Hill, West Roxbury, Brighton. Ward 11 should be instructive - the lesbians presumably break for Obama, while Hillary takes the Hispanic vote.
My prediction: Hillary wins Massachusetts, 52-40.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1069235
After all these years of Kennedy and Kerry, you'd think I'd be inured to embarrassment about living in Massachusetts . . . alas, you'd be wrong! :(
show ping
Boston’s Conservative talk am 1150 changes to Spanish
language religion
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1960851/posts
http://imgsrv.wrko.com/image/wrko/UserFiles/Image/springtraining2008.gif
It looks like Howie won’t be pre-empted by spring training of the Sox—any weekday games are on WEEI.
Note the start time of 2 games: March 25 and 26 vs. the A’s on WEEI: 5:25 am! That’s because
they’re in Japan. These are actually regular season games; the Sox then fly to L.A. to play 3 more
exhibition games vs. Dodgers (at LA Coliseum)
Again:
Howie won’t be affected—weekday games are on WEEI (though
I think one Fri night game is on WRKO, but it’s not till
10:40 pm)
Ted Kennedy has endorsed Obama as the democratic presidential candidate. Will this hurt or help Barack?
Help
53%
Hurt
47%
Max on in 5 pm hr
Any idea what thread has an image of HRC in a Rosemobile Delmont?
I did not know that she was the mother of M[ar]ia Farrow. That would explain a role in a Woody Allen flick.
IMDB says she didn't like working with Cheetah, the chimp.
There were several threads about the Kennedy endorsement;
not sure which one.
Yes I remember reading she’d died and I did know she
was Mia’s mama.
Tue ping
Finneran the Felon is now a lobbyist, too. Media critic
Dan Kennedy doesn’t like it.
http://medianation.blogspot.com/2008/01/finneran-jumps-shark.html
Brian Maloney, http://www.savewrko.com:
“As for Finneran’s career, I don’t believe he’s doing this to create a gigantic conflict of interest. Instead, it’s an escape route, created to make up for the disbarment. With the radio show clearly not working out, he’s been in desperate need of an out.
“Note how WRKO management wasn’t available to comment: instead of defending him, they are now silent. And as corporate owners always include loopholes, radio contracts are rarely worth the paper on which they’re printed. With his legal background, Finneran must realize that. It’s virtually impossible to to host both a four-hour morning drive radio program and work as a lobbyist, unless The Felon plans on merely showing up each day without doing the slightest bit of prep work.”
an interesting post on radio-info.com, by Dr77radio. Not sure how good his info is, but dare we hope? (Silence
so far from Entercom.)
“-—TOMMY IS IN VIOLATION OF HIS CONTRACT WITH WRKO. THERE IS A MORAL TURPITUDE CLAUSE WHICH PROVIDES THAT HE CANNOT ENGAGE IN ANY CONDUCT THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL, UNETHICAL OR VIOLATE THE CONFLICT OF INTEREST LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF ANY LOCAL, STATE OR FEDERAL JURISDICTION.
“GIVEN THE FACT THAT TOM IS ABOUT TO BE RELEASED FROM HIS CONTRACT IN A FEW WEEKS...IT APPEARS THAT ENTERCOM WILL BE ABLE TO AVOID THE BUYOUT THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PLANNED.
STAY-TUNED.......”
IF and I stress the word IF this is true, I'm chillin' the champagne and getting ready to dance in the streets! LOL!
Howie column from the NY Post
http://www.nypost.com/seven/01292008/postopinion/opedcolumnists/teddys_last_call_955655.htm
TEDDY’S LAST CALL
By HOWIE CARR
January 29, 2008 — BOSTON
TED Kennedy couldn’t help himself. He decided to throw his own last hurrah.
“This is the first good thing that’s happened to the Republicans all year,” said one Bay State Democratic politician yesterday, watching Kennedy’s endorsement of Barack Obama on TV. “He’s reminding everyone why sometimes they can’t vote Democratic.”
Teddy turns 76 in three weeks. He’ll be 80 when, or if, he next faces the voters. Where his nephews used to run his Senate campaigns, now it’s his grand-nephews. He is, as they say at the St. Patrick’s Day breakfast in South Boston, rounding third. Kennedy is nearing the checkout counter.
As late as Sunday afternoon, Clinton coatholders were blaming Ted’s wife, Vicki, for the unexpected nod to Obama. More likely, it was Ted’s call alone.
Go left, young man: That’s been the Kennedy mantra since Bobby’s murder 40 years ago. They’re not just for abortion; they’re for partial-birth abortion. They’re not just against the surge; they’re against the war.
JFK talked about the rising tide; the Kennedys have been swimming against it. Look at the last generation - Kathleen Townsend Kennedy, defeated for governor of Maryland; Joe Kennedy, reduced to membership in Hugo Chavez’s amen chorus in return for cheap Venezuelan oil. Their brother Max was even forced to drop out of a 2001 House race in Boston on the grounds of complete political ineptitude.
The only Kennedy relative who’s really succeeded lately in politics is Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican. But the Kennedys stubbornly refuse to change course. Like the royalty they think they are, they never learn, and they never forget.
Now Bill Clinton feels betrayed. After all he did for them - the Cabinet job for then-in-law Andrew Cuo- mo, the ambassadorship to Ireland for Willie Smith’s mother, Jean . . . Have they no gratitude?
To which the answer would be: No, they don’t - as any number of Massachusetts politicians, dating back to James Michael Curley, could attest. It’s all about them. It’s their movie, and everyone else is an extra.
A political endorsement is almost always more about the endorser than the endorsee. In this case, Kennedy reinvents as his brother a freshman senator whom he was confusing with Osama bin Laden three years ago.
At the start of this presidential cycle, Teddy was backing his Senate colleague, John F. Kerry. Then he privately let the word go out to a new generation that he was with Sen. Chris Dodd, his old drinking buddy from the 1980s. Some of the lesser royals publicly endorsed Dodd, while others (like Townsend) have stuck with the Clintons.
But they don’t matter. Those Kennedys in the direct line of succession - Ted and Caroline - have thrown in with the insurgents. So has Ted’s son, Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
Adding insult to injury for the Clintons, Teddy delivered his stemwinder yesterday as Hillary campaigned here in Massachusetts. In fact, the Kennedys stole the spotlight not only from Hillary but also from the State of the Union Address.
Both cited JFK - with Caroline mentioning an earlier American University speech in which her father vowed, as she put it, “to make the world safe for diversity.”
Teddy, the old war horse for racial quotas, denounced politics that “parse us into separate groups.” He trotted out all his customary bromides - on universal health care, global warming, illegal immigration. In the media, the usual suspects swooned in the usual ways.
But (perhaps ominously for the fall campaign) the right-wing Web sites were also aflame. The customary Photoshopped pictures of Mary Jo Kopechne in a sinking 1967 Oldsmobile were replaced by photos of Hillary, her hands raised, her mouth open, panic stricken in the Olds’ backseat.
As one poster summed up the red-state reaction on a California thread: “Can’t drive, can’t fly, can’t ski, can’t skipper a boat - but they know what’s best for us.”
Ted Kennedy’s back in the spotlight. It was fun yesterday. He’ll soon know how long that sensation lasts.
Howie Carr is a columnist for The Boston Herald.

PRICELESS!
Funding For Froggies...
A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.
“Miss Whack, I’d like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday.”
Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it’s okay, he knows the bank manager.
Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.
The frog says, “Sure. I have this,” and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.
Very confused, Patty explains that she’ll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.
She finds the manager and says, “There’s a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral.”
She holds up the tiny pink elephant. “I mean, what in the world is this?”
(You’re gonna love this)
(A masterpiece)
(Here it comes)
The bank manager looks back at her and says ..
“It’s a knickknack, Patty Whack.
Give the frog a loan. His old man’s a Rolling Stone.”
Say, is Giles Threadgold still alive and mentally competent?
I'd like to hear him defend this move. One segment only, please, then one segment of him going up against callers.
And can someone explain why Dan Kennedy, and others, say Finneran's conviction was a "travesty"?
Dan Kennedy et al are mentally ill, afterall, liberalism is a mental disorder. Poor poor tommy, got rooked and convicted, he did NOTHIING to deserve this "travesty". I think we all know better.
I'd add corrupt, cantankerous, abusive, counterproductive, power hungry, and given his conduct towards Romney, over the verge of senility.
(Romney was originally #4 on my list of preferred candidates, and McCain was at the bottom)
Giles should still be alive; indeed, when I visited my Dad on Cape Cod, I noticed a “Giles E. Threadgold” listed in Falmouth. I think his wife convinced him not to be on the show anymore, from what I heard.
Briefly he had been heard on Howie’s Cape affiliate,
WXTK. If Giles had passed on Howie would have mentioned it.
Dan Kennedy from last August; note his description of
WXTK—this was about Howie’s agent, during his
contract dispute:
“One of Saga’s Maine stations, WGAN (AM 560), carries Carr’s show from 3 to 5 p.m. every weekday. And in the late 1990s, when Pahigian was running a hate radio station on Cape Cod owned by the late auto magnate Ernie Boch, he carried Carr’s show and provided airtime to Carr’s then-sidekick Giles Threadgold.”
My response to the former Phoenix columnist:
“A hate radio station? I didn’t know he worked for Air America :) I looked
at WXTK’s lineup and couldn’t find
Mike Malloy, Ward Churchill, or
Rosie O’Donnell anywhere :) All a
matter of one’s opinion, I guess.”
http://medianation.blogspot.com/2007/08/howies-agent-from-management.html
(listed in the phone book, I mean)
Wed show ping
Both the Herald and Globe have articles about how WRKO was “surprised” to find out (Globe article yesterday)
that Tom Finneran is starting a lobbying firm (first
customer: State Pol. Assoc. of Mass.) Will it compromise
his integrity on the air? Ethical conflict of interest?
Some say that WRKO could use this as an excuse to get rid
of him (lousy ratings), though the Felon claims radio
is now his main occupation and he has a longterm contract.
Then again, he may have violated the contract with this
latest move.
Herald:
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1069941
Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/30/finneran_lobbying_is_surprise_to_wrko/
ha!
What integrity?
Hmmm i might just have to get up at the crack of dawn to catch this turd before he get’s canned.
Forbes list is suspect, since they factor in "superfund" sites.
"Superfund" is code for "Don't Kill the Job", so few, if any, of these sites will ever be "clean".
Howie’s Wed. column (it wasn’t on the website before)
Another silver tarnishes Mitts campaign
By Howie Carr | Wednesday, January 30, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com
Another week, another $10 million.
Thats the way it goes for Mitt Romney these days. Every week or 10 days, hes in front of the best supporters money can buy, trying to put a shine on another very expensive sneaker. Last nights wake was in St. Petersburg, Fla., which used to be known as Gods waiting room.
The economy, he said, is in my DNA.
So, apparently, is finishing second.
All these weeks, all these silvers, Mitt has been trying to get it down to a one-on-one, with John McCain. Hes almost there. The only problem is, as the other candidates go by the wayside, theyre ganging up on him. Now Rudy Giuliani withdraws and gets ready to endorse John McCain today.
Four-on-one is Republican fun, unless youre Mitt.
The Romney people were trying to spin it last night that coming out of Florida the two candidates were numbers 1 and 1-A.
Number 1 got 57 delegates last night.
Number 1-A got zero.
Now its the end of January. Mitt has to file his fourth-quarter FEC report, revealing how much of his personal fortune he spent in the last three months of 2007. He was up to $17 million on Sept. 30. The over-under on Mitts personal expenditure in the fourth quarter: $18 million.
And Mike Huckabee, the Christian leader who never turns the other cheek to Romney, says in Missouri that hell continue to campaign in the snake-handling belt.
Were playing all nine innings of this ballgame, Huckabee said last night in St. Louis.
Hell drain just enough votes among the Hell-No-We-Aint-Fergettin crowd to keep the Straight Jacket Express rolling along. His job is to do to Mitt Romney in the Southern states what Fred Thompson did to him in South Carolina.
No wonder McCain blew Huckabee another wet kiss last night. Its like the Super Bowl quarterback buying rings for his offensive linemen.
Mitt just cant quite put it together. This was his big shot. He fumbled it away in Iowa and New Hampshire, but Michigan gave him another shot. If Mitt wins last night, McCains money dries up. Now every fat-cat in the GOP holds his nose and writes McCain a check. Mitt has to write another personal check for $10 million or $15 million.
But for what? Hes ahead here in Massachusetts, and in Colorado, and . . . that leaves 20 other states.
How many does he have a shot in? With no Giuliani, McCain becomes the prohibitive favorite in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut. He was already ahead in California and Arizona.
Mitt looked down last night. His lucky lumberjack shirt was gone, replaced by the traditional business suit. Not a hair of his full Reagan comb-back was out of place. Its gotta be driving him crazy, the way old man McCain keeps rope-a-doping him, getting outspent by Mitt 3- or 4- or 10-to-1, but still edging him even as the field of candidates contracts. John McCain, who was left for dead all those months ago, as the cliche goes.
You knew Mitt was having a bad night when he got a chant going with his crowd and the refrain was, They havent!
They havent, all right. Gotten their moneys worth, that is. The other candidates supporters chant Yes we can! and Mac is back! Mitts coatholders yell, They havent!
The worst thing is, John McCain is the Bob Dole of 2008, and everyone knows it. How come yesterday morning it was Gov. Crist of Florida doing the network liveshots, not Gramps McCain?
Poor Mitt. Hed better win the debate tonight in Simi Valley. Just wing it, forget the consultants. When it comes to delivering, they havent.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1069845
show ping
Cruel column . . . but, sadly, true! Can’t we just call this election off for lack of interest and try again in 4 years? (DU’s apparently no happier with the dems running than I am with the pubbies!)
Yes, do we vote for the Democrat liberal or the Republican
liberal?
Howie’s Friday column. Column ping.
Finneran joins ex-pol pals aboard lobbying gravy train
By Howie Carr | Friday, February 1, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com
Convicted felon Tom Finneran wants to be a lobbyist for the same reason Willie Sutton wanted to rob banks.
Because thats where the money is.
How can anyone be surprised that the Advil-addled, ethically challenged former House speaker would decide to take a shot at influence-peddling?
Hes lost his law license, hes lost his state pension, he should be doing a five-year bit at Club Fed, and on the radio hes not exactly the second coming of Howard Stern, or even Peter Meade.
Hey, Tommy Taxes: dont do the crime if you cant do the time.
The fact that this criminal hack would be hired by the state police union makes the story more amusing, but hardly unexpected. Which is why when he got the radio gig last year and came on my show just after copping a plea, I put him on the spot.
I asked him if he would vow not to do any lobbying as long as he was on the radio. He brushed away the Bible that I had brought into the studio for the occasion and refused to take the no-influence-peddling pledge.
Give The Felon credit. For once in his squalid life, he didnt lie.
One poster on a radio message board now imagines the Felons next monologue on his new clients, the Mass. State Police:
They are vastly underpaid and grossly overworked. Those paid details are what make Massachusetts great! Our troopers deserve your love, admiration and doughnuts.
But you ask, how can a convicted felon like Finneran be a lobbyist?
Four words: Good Time Charlie Flaherty. He was the House Speaker before the Felon, and he too was convicted of a federal crime: felony tax fraud. According to statements on file with the Secretary of State, in 2007 this prior speaker/convicted felon made $420,500 as a lobbyist.
The bad news for the Felon is, hell have to have his mugshot taken when he registers with the Secretary of State. The good news is, it wont be the first time.
The Felon made his bones during the old political street wars in Boston in the 1970s between Kevin White and Joe Timilty. Some of the survivors of those City Hall shootouts are now grabbing close to a million a year lobbying.
Consider Bobby White, an old Dorchester coatholder, a good pal of Tommy Taxes. (I saw him at the Felons sentencing.) Robert White Associates last year reported taking in $811,000. Not bad for a guy who was below even Mumbles Menino on Joe Timiltys political depth chart.
Then theres Brian Hickey. Kevin White ran him for the City Council out of Charlestown in 1981. Last year Hickeys company took in $953,940, paying out salaries of $589,500, including Hickeys $200,000.
Thats a lot of accounts, as the lobybists call their marks.
Finneran sees all this cash flowing to political ham-and-eggers, and it makes him crazy. So he sets up shop with his old law partner, Jimmy Bunzo Byrne, the former city councilor from Dorchester.
Look at lobbyist Steve Karol - he used to be a state rep back in the Jurassic era. Now hes partners with former Sen. Paul White (yet another Dorchester hack). The Karol Group last year took in $1,034,416. Whites salary: $180,000, Karols $174,000.
Then theres ex-Sen. Henri Rauschenbach, aka Kickenbach, a Republican who used to complain (under oath) about how he only made 30 beans a year in the Legislature. Now I see that his company took in $324,330 last year, of which he paid himself $130,000. And given Kickenbachs closeness to Senate President Terry Murray, hell be rollin in beans again this year.
They all have expenses of course. Rauschenbach, for instance, lists donations to 27 state reps, 19 state senators, a sheriff and a clerk of courts who used to be state senators, and one governor. Of course, the lobbyists have figured out a way to minimize their, uh, exposure. They can only give $200 per hack per year, the rest of us can pony up $500.
Imagine if youre Tommy Taxes. Kickenbach too was indicted - when it comes to lobbying, if youre indicted, youre invited. But Kichenbach beat the rap, and it was just a state rap! Why, Kickenbach isnt even a convicted felon.
So now the Felon becomes a lobbyist . . . for cops. I guess well have a lot more doughnuts around the studio.
Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1070466
From the Messenger blog in today’s Herald (site); by
Jessica Heslam:
—
As you know, WRKO-AM (680) honchos are looking into whether Tom Finnerans new lobbying gig will negatively impact his role as the news talk stations morning-drive host.
Julie Kahn, vice president of WRKO owner Entercom, told me today that she and Finneran are having productive conversations and she should have a resolution and anouncement next week.
Heres a lively exchange between Finneran and weekly contributor Wendy Murphy on the former House Speakers show earlier today (Thursday).
Murphy: By the way, I was surprised to see you here, I thought, oh I dont know, you might be gone.
Finneran: Please. Dont even joke around. Youve got to be kidding me.
Murphy: The word is out. Youre trying to make a fortune elsewhere.
Finneran: Heres the word to pay attention to. Multi-year contract. Ok, pal? Pay attention to that.
Murphy: The word is out. Youre trying to make a fortune elsewhere. Finneran: Heres the word to pay attention to. Multi-year contract. Ok, pal? Pay attention to that.
Gee, there’s certainly a lot of “good jobs at good wages” around! How come I can’t get one???? :(
Gee, theres certainly a lot of good jobs at good wages around! How come I cant get one???? :(
Because you have morals, and they do not!
According to a promo now running on ‘RKO, guess who called in to the Felon’s show recently? The corrupt midget! Kerry
and Kennedy, of course, have also called in to the show
(judging from promos I’ve heard). It’s safe territory.
Safe until the Felon gets the boot
Oh, Kerry’s always calling in — one reason I stopped listening! The felon treats him like he’s an actual respectable person or someone actually worth listening to! And it makes me nuts! ;-)
Someone on the Save Progressive Radio Boston yahoo group
(a group which has so far been unsuccessful in bringing
back Air America since 12/06) posted an anti-religious
bit when they revealed WTTT’s format change. At least
the reply showed some sense and civility. The original
poster designed by >:
> Starting today (01/28) WTTT-AM 1150 switched from non-stop right-wing
> talk shows to Spanish-language ignorance and superstition, sometimes
> called “religion”.
Is there any doubt as to why progressives are not received well?
>>People who
>>believe that 2,000 years ago some guy pranced out of a tomb, flew into
>> the sky and will be back any minute now can be led to believe anything.
Do you have to be this disrespectful to your fellow man to be a Progressive?
No, but it helps!
Michelle Malkin has a word for it (and I have the
book): Unhinged! :)
show ping
Wow... cartoon of the week! (#17)
LOL, yep you gotta love that cartoon, never thought I’d laugh at fat teddy’s delmont 88 sinking underwater, but this, oh this is just priceless.....I HATE SHRILLery,,,,,
Audio for it should be that sound clip of Hillary at a rally
(Howie has played it) screeching, “Will...You...Help...Me!”
over and over.
Sorry, Hillary, Ted won’t throw you a life preserver...
LOL, I’ve heard that clip,,,,,,,HOWIE’s the MAN!
Any way, the last news break had a Specter sound bite.
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