ZOMG, Congressional Republicans Look To Reign In Trump On Tariffs

By William Teach April 4, 2025 – 6:45 am

Orange Man Bad!

Republicans weigh using the power of Congress to rein in Trump on tariffs

The fallout from President Donald Trump’s aggressive new tariffs has spurred Congress into action, with a growing number of Republicans joining Democrats to express interest in using their power to restrain him.

After the GOP-led Senate delivered a rare rebuke to Trump on Wednesday by voting to undo his tariffs on Canada, lawmakers in both chambers are weighing additional steps to rein him in. Senators are eyeing other mechanisms to rescind Trump’s existing tariffs while limiting his ability to impose new ones. And Democrats in the House are exploring ways to force a vote to revoke Canadian tariffs, putting out feelers to attract support from Republicans.

It was literally “Four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine; Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky; and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — joined all 47 Democrats in supporting it.” Paul was the surprise, the other three were not. Not a really a rebuke.

The resolution, authored by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is not expected to go anywhere in the House. Still, it represented a significant break in the party from Trump the day he announced a new set of sweeping tariffs, which the White House billed as “Liberation Day,” and after the president publicly pressured the four GOP senators on the issue.

“If these tariffs go into effect, it will be so harmful,” Collins said in a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote. “And as price hikes always do, they will hurt those the most who can afford them the least.”

Collins ticked through industry workers in Maine who would be particularly affected by a trade war, such as lobstermen, blueberry growers and potato farmers.

Should they not be supporting American workers first, and telling countries like Canada to remove their tariffs on imported American goods? Who are Democrats rooting for? Americans or foreigners? America or other nations?

I still maintain most of the tariffs could have waited while they negotiated with some countries, like Canada, Mexico, European, and some others. And it is an interesting notion to consider whether the president should have the authority to impose tariffs or this should be in the hands of Congress.

(NBC News) Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a Trump ally who is third in line to the presidency, introduced a bill with Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., on Thursday that would reassert Congress’ authority and slap restrictions on the president’s power to levy tariffs.

The legislation, called the Trade Review Act of 2025, would require the president to notify Congress of new tariffs within 48 hours of imposition, while providing his reasons and an analysis of the impacts on American consumers and businesses. Then Congress would have 60 days to approve it. If it does not, the tariffs would expire after that period.

“For too long, Congress has delegated its clear authority to regulate interstate and foreign commerce to the executive branch,” Grassley said in a statement. “Building on my previous efforts as Finance Committee Chairman, I’m joining Senator Cantwell to introduce the bipartisan Trade Review Act of 2025 to reassert Congress’ constitutional role and ensure Congress has a voice in trade policy.”

But, unless Congress removes all tariff power from the Executive Branch they’ve still delegated authority.

And the question here is, if it passes, will Congress allow tariffs? You know most, if not all, of the Democrats will vote against trying to help American workers and businesses in favor of foreigners.

Read: ZOMG, Congressional Republicans Look To Reign In Trump On Tariffs »

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UK Guardian Super Worried That Climate Crisis Will Destroy Capitalism

By William Teach April 3, 2025 – 3:07 pm

Which is hilarious, since the UK Guardian has been pretty much Modern Socialist and against capitalism (except where it makes the UK Guardian money) for at least 40 years, but, at least they’re honest in their leftist leanings. Anyhow, yeah, the climate crisis is trying to destroy capitalism, since most the climate cultists are socialists who want to destroy it

Climate crisis on track to destroy capitalism, warns top insurer

The climate crisis is on track to destroy capitalism, a top insurer has warned, with the vast cost of extreme weather impacts leaving the financial sector unable to operate.

The world is fast approaching temperature levels where insurers will no longer be able to offer cover for many climate risks, said Günther Thallinger, on the board of Allianz SE, one of the world’s biggest insurance companies. He said that without insurance, which is already being pulled in some places, many other financial services become unviable, from mortgages to investments.

Horse hockey

Global carbon emissions are still rising and current policies will result in a rise in global temperature between 2.2C and 3.4C above pre-industrial levels. The damage at 3C will be so great that governments will be unable to provide financial bailouts and it will be impossible to adapt to many climate impacts, said Thallinger, who is also the chair of the German company’s investment board and was previously CEO of Allianz Investment Management.

Yeah, well, we’re nowhere near that, and won’t be anywhere near that anytime soon. If at all

The core business of the insurance industry is risk management and it has long taken the dangers of global heating very seriously. In recent reports, Aviva said extreme weather damages for the decade to 2023 hit $2tn, while GallagherRE said the figure was $400bn in 2024. Zurich said it was “essential” to hit net zero by 2050.

There are more expensive things in the way of storms, which always happen. No one really worried about hurricanes in Florida until the mid-1900’s. While you had people living there, the boom didn’t start till the 1920’s, but, it took awhile before people were truly creating massive cities and suburban areas. There are more and more dwellings and business buildings in Tornado Alley. Go figure. More and more on the coasts, and they are more and more expensive. If you’re putting more in what has always been a risk area and making it all more expensive then it’s going to cause insurers a headache. It won’t kill capitalism. Of course, that’s what the cult wants to happen. They want the government in charge of everything.

Construction has messed with how the water flows, for instance. Roads, buildings, this and that. Trying to control where streams and rivers flow. All those levees and such that were implemented to control Mississippi River flooding actually made flooding worse elsewhere on the river. Of course you get flooding in New Orleans, since so much is at or below sea level. But, they keep building. All these buildings and roads in fire prone areas that the government refuses to help mitigate the fire risks. Anyhow, the cult would love to see the government in charge of the economy.

Read: UK Guardian Super Worried That Climate Crisis Will Destroy Capitalism »

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If All You See…

By William Teach April 3, 2025 – 1:00 pm

…is a field perfect for a lot of wind turbines, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is 357 Magnum, with a post victim selection failure.

Read: If All You See… »

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Bummer: NC State Students Have Visas Cancelled, Head Home

By William Teach April 3, 2025 – 10:30 am

WRAL (and a few other Raleigh area news outlets) is pretty mad about this, but, does absolutely no investigation to see if this was warrented

Two NC State students have student visas terminated, head back to Saudi Arabia

There are more than 6,000 international students at NC State from 120 different countries, many of them on visas, however two students had their lives turned upside down last week, and were forced to rush to get a flight back home, thousands of miles away.

6k out of a total of 38K students? Why couldn’t most of those spots go to North Carolinians? Oh, right, money. Out of state tuition.

“My roommate came out of his room with a shocked distraught look on his face,” said NC State Senior Philip Vasto.

Then Vasto said his roommate started to panic.

“He just got of the phone with the school and the school told him the state department revoked his visa but didn’t provide a reason whatsoever,” Vasto said.

Saleh Al Gurad packed up in a day, and flew back to Saudi Arabia at the advice of his family, and attorneys. He just got to the U.S. and started studying at NC state 5 months ago.

“If he remained here he could be subject to detainment by ICE,” Vasto said.

I’m not finding any social media for him, but, I suspect he was involved in one of the pro-Hamas protests that occurred in Raleigh where they were, at a minimum, yapping about “from the river to the sea”, a call to destroy Israel and kill Jews. Or broke laws

Several statements have been made following the announcement of the two students having their student visa revoked including NC State’s Muslim Students Association.

In the statement posted on Instagram, the organization pointed out the two students were both studying international engineering.

“We are deeply saddened and outraged by the recent forced departure of two NC State students whose student visas were unjustly terminated,” the statement read in part.

Yes, this is the same MSA which is essentially a Muslim Brotherhood front group, designed to push the hardcore Islamist view without the violence, getting people to comply.

Congresswoman Deborah Ross also released a statement following the two students having their visas revoked in a post on X.

“With no explanation, the Trump admin revoked the visas of 2 NC State students & hundreds of other students around the country. Immigration enforcement actions should be focused on criminals – not young people with visas who are trying to get an education.”

Of course she did. Still no comment on several instances of her supporters vandalizing Teslas in the Triangle.

The State Dept gave this statement

Due to privacy considerations, and visa confidentiality, we generally will not comment on Department actions with respect to specific cases. The United States has zero tolerance for non-citizens who violate U.S. laws. Those who break the law, including students, may face visa refusal, visa revocation, and/or deportation. The Department of State will continue to work closely with the Department of Homeland Security to administer and enforce U.S. visas and immigration laws. Every prospective traveler to the United States undergoes extensive interagency security vetting. All visa applicants, no matter the visa type and where they are located, are continuously vetted. Security vetting runs from the time of each application, through adjudication of the visa, and afterwards during the validity period of every issued visa, to ensure the individual remains eligible to travel to the United States.

So, they either were involved with the protests or they broke laws. And breaking laws ends with a revoked visa.

(Raleigh N&O) Juliette Majid, a doctoral student in chemistry and a member of the NC State chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, told The News & Observer she was not aware of either student being involved with the organization, which has been active in organizing pro-Palestinian protests. Still, the group is concerned about two fellow university students having their visas revoked.

Just because they weren’t directly involved didn’t mean they didn’t participate in calling for death protests. Or, breaking laws. But, hey, perhaps the State Dept should look at Majid and the other members.

Read: Bummer: NC State Students Have Visas Cancelled, Head Home »

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People’s Republik Of Colorado Looks To Require Climate (scam) Labels At Gas Stations

By William Teach April 3, 2025 – 7:00 am

Have the labels required elsewhere made any difference? They sure haven’t stopped the lawmakers from driving fossil fueled vehicles

Colorado gas stations would have to post climate change warnings under bill passed by House

climate doom yearly

Wait, I don’t have global heating on here?

Gas stations across Colorado would have to post a sticker warning drivers that their fuel use contributes to climate change under legislation that narrowly passed the state House on Wednesday.

House Bill 1277 squeaked out of the chamber with 33 votes, the minimum needed to clear the chamber; 30 representatives voted no, with some Democrats joining Republicans. The measure will now advance to the state Senate.

If passed, it would essentially establish a prominent warning requirement similar to the labels affixed to cigarette packages for decades. By July 1, 2026, gas stations and other fuel retailers would have to display a sticker that states: “Warning: Use of this product releases air pollutants and greenhouse gases, known by the state of Colorado to be linked to significant health impacts and global heating.”

Global heating!!!!1!! Um, have the warnings on cigarettes made a difference?

At gas stations, the sticker would be placed on the pump. The warning must also be displayed conspicuously in black letters on a white background.

The bill’s sponsors said the labels were intended to inform Coloradans about the sources of climate change, and they wrote in the bill that the warnings “may encourage consumers to reduce their consumption” of fossil fuels and “to use alternative produces when appropriate.”

“The purpose of this bill is to equip our neighbors with knowledge so they make decisions accordingly,” said Denver Democratic Rep. Jennifer Bacon, the House’s assistant majority leader and the bill’s sponsor. Rep. Junie Joseph, a Boulder Democrat, is also sponsoring it.

The Denver Post has reached out to the bill’s sponsors, especially Bacon and Joseph, to see if they have given up their own use of fossil fueled vehicles and purchased electric vehicles. We did not receive a response.

Um, yeah, I made up that last paragraph. Because the DP is a Reliable Democratic Party Ally, and would never ask.

Read: People’s Republik Of Colorado Looks To Require Climate (scam) Labels At Gas Stations »

Posted in AGW Socialism, Global Warming | 19 Comments | Trackback URL

Trump Implements Mostly 10% Tariffss

By William Teach April 3, 2025 – 6:45 am

Though, some nations get higher ones

Trump imposes 10 percent universal tariff, higher for top trade partners

President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he will impose a baseline 10 percent tariff on imports from all countries in the coming days, with a higher tariff on dozens of other countries the United States believes have the most unfair trade relationships with the U.S.

“For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike,” Trump said at White House Rose Garden event with most of his Cabinet in attendance. “But it’s not going to happen anymore.”

The new duties include a 34 percent tariff on China, 26 percent on India, 25 percent on South Korea, 24 percent on Japan and 20 percent on the 27-nation European Union, whose largest members are Germany and France.

The administration also slapped a 46 percent tariff on Vietnam and a 49 percent tariff on Cambodia — a blow to China, which has shipped goods through those and other countries to effectively skirt previous rounds of U.S. tariffs imposed over the past seven years.

The Trump administration said the rate set for each country reflects a combination of the tariff and “non-tariff” or regulatory barriers that U.S. exporters face in those markets, which they then cut in half to arrive at the final figure. Around 85 countries received a duty rate of more than 10 percent, but that figure includes the 27 nations in the EU.

It’s easy to end the tariffs: those countries need to remove theirs and make trade equitable.

Canada’s PM Carney vows to ‘fight’ Trump’s tariffs, other world leaders weigh impact

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Wednesday evening vowed to “fight” the new round of tariffs announced by President Donald Trump, and said he would turn to other international partners to get through the rocky times ahead.

“President Trump has just announced a series of measures that are going to fundamentally change the international trading system,” Carney told reporters following Trump’s Rose Garden announcement. “We’re in a situation where there’s going to be an impact on the U.S. economy, which will build with time.

“In our judgment, it will be negative on the U.S. economy that will have an impact on us,” he added, noting millions of Canadians will be impacted.

Remove your tariffs, which are typically way, way higher than what Trump has imposed on Canada.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, generally seen as a Trump ally, said Trump’s tariffs were “wrong” and warned they would not only harm American and European pocketbooks, but aid Western adversaries.

Remove your tariffs on imported American goods.

Similarly, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said that while Trump’s decision was “not the act of a friend,” his country would not impose reciprocal tariffs, reported Reuters.

Nations do not have friends, they have interests. It’s in the interest of the United States to have equitable trade rates. However, let’s be honest, the vast majority of goods that are imported to Australia from the U.S. have no tariffs, taxes, or fees, going back to the 2005 free trade agreement. Trump might want to reconsider implementing a tariff on Australia.

I still maintain that he still should have worked to get some agreements done with a lot of nations first.

Read: Trump Implements Mostly 10% Tariffss »

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Trump’s Workforce Cuts Could Maybe Threaten Climate (scam) Protection In National Parks

By William Teach April 2, 2025 – 3:00 pm

This is your fault, you know

Trump’s workforce cuts threaten climate protection in national parks

That’s the headline for the Environmental (weenie) Health News article, but, let’s go to the source article

Trump takes aim at the people who protect national parks from climate change

The last few months have been a tumultuous time for National Park Service employees. After President Donald Trump took office, the federal agency laid off roughly 1,000 employees in a purge dubbed the Valentine’s Day massacre. Then, after two judges ruled that the layoffs were unlawful, they were rehired. Now, as the Department of Government Efficiency begins executing an official and much larger plan to slash the federal workforce, many employees are anxiously awaiting the next round of cuts. The White House has reportedly directed the agency to reduce its workforce by as much as 30 percent in the coming months.

Despite the agency’s murky future, some changes are clear: As the days get warmer, the numbers of visitors to the parks will begin to tick up. As spring gives way to summer, the Western landscape will begin to dry out, and the risk of drought and wildfires will also increase. The stakes for the climate — and for the parks in the face of climate-fueled disasters — couldn’t be higher.

“Cities and places that are more developed are more resistant to changes in climate, but in these wild areas, we can see more warning signs, more indicators if the patterns start changing dramatically,” said one National Park Service employee. “With all of these positions lost, there will be no one on watch anymore.”

You know, I’m all for having more than enough people working for the NPS. One of my favorite agencies (though, really, the majority of parks should be state, not national). But, there are a lot whose jobs are not really helping visitors or maintaining the parks, they are Very Silly and unnecessary

The National Park Service has been working to prepare for a warming world. It has had an ecosystem inventory and monitoring program in place since 1998 and a climate change response program since 2010. In recent years, it invested in building out both programs to detect and respond to the rapid changes in ecosystems and the growing number of disasters taking place in the parks. It also trained thousands of rangers, educated the public about the impacts of climate change on the parks, and adopted a national framework to help park staff decide which ecosystems to prioritize saving. In 2023, the agency developed a plan to electrify park vehicle fleets and buildings to reduce the parks’ overall greenhouse gas emissions.

These are just all scam jobs, and probably get overpaid by a lot. They are unnecessary. The EHN article puts it in short form

After laying off about 1,000 park employees in February, the Trump administration plans to cut up to 30% of the National Park Service’s workforce, impacting both public-facing staff and scientists tracking climate impacts.

None of those “tracking climate (scam) impacts” employees are necessary. I’d love to see an audit on how much work they actually do.

Terri Thomas, a retired natural resources manager who worked in Crater Lake, Yosemite, and Everglades National Parks, said she is particularly concerned about the potential impact of weakening the inventory and monitoring program, which collects scientific information about how a park’s native plants, animals, and birds are evolving.

You know, monitoring the waters and land are worthy goals, but, they tend to ignore the actual environmental impacts for the climate cult stuff. I’ve said numerous times on this blog and in person that it bothers me a lot that the cult has taken over true environmentalism, which means it’s hard to do real environmental work.

Read: Trump’s Workforce Cuts Could Maybe Threaten Climate (scam) Protection In National Parks »

Posted in AGW Scaremongering, Global Warming, Government | 2 Comments | Trackback URL

If All You See…

By William Teach April 2, 2025 – 1:59 pm

…are horrible Bad Weather clouds, you might just be a Warmist

The blog of the day is eugyppius, with a post on the delusional media asking about people fleeing Trump’s pending “fascist dictatorship”.

Read: If All You See… »

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NY Times Giddy To Find A Smattering Of Republicans “Raising Alarm” Over Trump’s Deportation Tactics

By William Teach April 2, 2025 – 10:30 am

Funny thing, they never cheer when Trump deports actual gang members, rapists, and murderers

Some Conservative Voices Raise Alarm Over Trump’s Immigration Tactics

Influential figures on the right have largely cheered on the opening months of the Trump presidency. But as the administration has rushed to carry out deportations as quickly as possible, making mistakes and raising concerns about due process along the way, the unified front in favor of President Trump’s immigration purge is beginning to crack.

When the administration deported a professional makeup artist and accused him of being part of a criminal gang, the enormously popular podcaster Joe Rogan balked.

“You’ve got to get scared that people who are not criminals are getting lassoed up and deported and sent to El Salvador prisons,” Mr. Rogan, who endorsed Mr. Trump, said on his show “The Joe Rogan Experience.” He added that the case was “horrific.”

Yeah, it was bad, and the Trump admin has admitted fault. Perhaps there wouldn’t be a problem if Biden-Harris and the Democrats hadn’t supported supported bringing in so many illegals. Also, Rogan is not a Republican. He also says he’s not a Democrat. Heck, he supported Bernie Sanders in 2020. But, he felt Trump was a better choice.

When the administration arrested a former Columbia University graduate student who had been involved in campus protests, the far-right commentator Ann Coulter questioned the move.

“There’s almost no one I don’t want to deport, but unless they’ve committed a crime, isn’t this a violation of the First Amendment?” Ms. Coulter wrote on social media.

Coulter has been agnostic on Trump since 2016, when she came out for Chris Christie, and has criticized Trump many times. But, she’s also not much of an influencer in the GOP anymore, ever since that Chris Christie support. You do not see her in articles and on TV much anymore. How often is she on conservative radio? And, she forgot the whole part about Mahmoud Kahlil espousing killing Jews and Americans, and taking over campus buildings violently. And coming on a student visa and immediately being a pro-Hamas protester.

The dissenting voices, which have been limited mostly to commentators rather than elected Republicans, are remarkable because conservatives don’t often openly break with the president. And while the objections have largely been contained to tactics — not the overarching goal of ramping up deportations — the cracks show how seriously some conservatives are taking the administration’s aggressive and at times slapdash methods.

Are we not allowed to have concerns? I’m against doing the tariffs, except perhaps on China, so fast. I think DOGE could slow down on terminations. Do a deep dive on who the people are, are they doing the job, and, is the position necessary. Focus more on uncovering the graft, waste, and abuse. In Democrat World, though, no one is allowed to dissent, at least not out loud. Unless they are pushing to go even more hard left.

“The overarching reality of this administration is that they’re trying to maximize removals — remove as many people as possible,” said David J. Bier, the director of immigration studies at the libertarian-leaning Cato Institute and a former G.O.P. aide on Capitol Hill. “That operating mode will lead to more mistakes, especially when you’re trying to evade judicial review of your decisions.”

Bier has long been anti-Trump on, at least, immigration. He’s a big supporter of unfettered (fake) asylum. And the Cato Institute isn’t exactly a crack down on illegal immigration/fake asylum seekers organization. They’d almost prefer to ignore the issue, because it requires more law enforcement, which goes against their extreme Libertarian leanings. With CATO, and Bier, I find lots and lots of articles of them being against Trump, and the majority of Americans, such as

David J. Bier, Director of Immigration Studies at the Cato Institute, said: “Another term for a nativist president would obliterate America’s legal immigration system, undermine the rule of law, and sow chaos at the border and in the interior. A nativist agenda for the country would harm the U.S. economy, damage its security, and threaten Americans’ civil liberties. America needs real immigration reform, not mass deportation fantasies.”

Does that sound like someone who supports Trump on immigration?

Andrew C. McCarthy, the conservative former prosecutor, made the case in National Review that it was time for the president to “abandon the ill-conceived attempt to deport alleged Venezuelan gangbangers under the Alien Enemy Act,” arguing the administration should shift to more solid legal ground and use traditional federal immigration laws to carry out deportations.

“The Trump administration has done a commendable job reversing the incentives for ‘migrants’ to try to come to America,” Mr. McCarthy wrote. “That is a boon for our security and domestic tranquillity. It also has a variety of humanitarian benefits for the migrants themselves. The president, however, may not just kick out of the country people whose presence here displeases him. We are a nation of laws, not men.”

Well, gee wiz, someone at National Review complaining about Trump? Who woulda thunk it? McCarthy hasn’t exactly been a big Trump supporter over the years. And, yeah, Trump and his people can cancel the visas of people calling for the death of Jews and Americans, who want to destroy Israel and America, who want to turn America Islamist, and support a US State Department designated terrorist group. Who wear Intifada Keffiyes, a symbol of killing Jews and replacing Israel with an Islamic caliphate. With taking over buildings and harassing Jewish students instead of going to class, the whole reason they received a visa.

So, yeah, it’s the NY Times supporting the “Deep State”, failing to do their job as reporters, instead being advocates. And that the Times supports unfettered illegal immigration, even the gang members, rapists, and murderers.

Read: NY Times Giddy To Find A Smattering Of Republicans “Raising Alarm” Over Trump’s Deportation Tactics »

Posted in Illegal Immigration, Journalistic Malpractice | 10 Comments | Trackback URL

Wacko Priest Picks Jail Over Fine To Draw Attention To Climate Scam

By William Teach April 2, 2025 – 7:15 am

I’m guessing he forgot about the first two Commandments

A Jesuit priest prefers prison over a fine to draw attention to climate change

A Jesuit priest says he prefers going to prison than paying a 500-euro ($541) fine for participating in a climate activists’ street blockade in the southern German city of Nuremberg.

The Rev. Jörg Alt started serving his nearly monthlong prison sentence on Tuesday in Nuremberg.

“Today, I am starting my 25-day alternative custodial sentence in Nuremberg prison,” he said before entering the prison. “I don’t like doing this, especially as my health is no longer the best at the age of 63. But I see no alternative, because it’s the last form of protest I have left in this specific case to draw attention to important issues” such as climate change.

After the court’s decision, authorities repeatedly asked Alt to pay the 500 euros, before the fine was eventually commuted to the 25-day prison sentence.

Well, he says he has no money.

The court ruling in November was in connection with a street blockade in August 2022, when the Jesuit priest and about 40 other activists blocked traffic in Nuremberg by gluing their hands to a street in front of the city’s train station to draw attention to climate change.

Just another example of the climate cult co-opting those who took a vow to serve God.

Read: Wacko Priest Picks Jail Over Fine To Draw Attention To Climate Scam »

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