Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Md Troopers Assoc #20 & Westminster Md Fire Dept Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist

Friday, June 19, 2015

LODD Police Officer Sonny Kim Cincinnati Police Department, Ohio End of Watch: Friday, June 19, 2015

#LODD Police Officer Sonny Kim Cincinnati Police Department, Ohio End of Watch: Friday, June 19, 2015

Police Officer Sonny Kim was shot and killed after responding to a 911 call reporting that a man was behaving erratically at the intersection of Roe Street and Whetsel Avenue at approximately 9:30 am.

Shots were exchanged upon Officer Kim's arrival at the scene and both he and the subject were shot multiple times. Officer Kim was transported to a local hospital where he succumbed to his wounds.

Officer Kim had served with the Cincinnati Police Department for 27 years.


Bio & Incident Details



Age: 48


Tour: 27 years


Badge # Not available


Cause: Gunfire


Weapon: Gun; Unknown type



Offender: Shot and wounded

https://www.odmp.org/officer/22514-police-officer-sonny-kim  


Police Officer Sonny Kim Cincinnati Police Department, Ohio End of Watch: Friday, June 19, 2015  http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/06/police-officer-sonny-kim-cincinnati.html

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Thursday, June 18, 2015

Debate rages over the need for a better Marine sniper rifle By James K. Sanborn, June 17, 2015


Debate rages over the need for a better Marine sniper rifle By James K. Sanborn, Staff writer June 17, 2015 http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/06/debate-rages-over-need-for-better.html

A smoldering debate over the need for a more powerful sniper rifle for Marines is once again ablaze. http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/tech/2015/06/17/debate-rages-over-marine-corps-sniper-rifles/28811495/


The Army’s M2010 Enhanced Sniper Rifle has a range of about 1,300 yards. A new story by the Washington Post has reignited the debate over the Corps’ needs for new sniper rifles. - Ms. Andricka Thomas/ATEC

++++++++++++++++++++++

A recent story by the Washington Post has generated renewed controversy among Marines who say that some snipers have been outgunned on deployments, taking fire from targets they can see, but not shoot. While the Marine Corps' M40 is undeniably rugged and accurate, its .308 cartridge is unreliable beyond half a mile.

The story compares the Corps' rifle to the Chinese M99, which can reach targets twice as far away. The British and U.S. Special Operations Command also have sniper rifles with better firepower that can reach nearly a mile. And the Army's M2010 can reach targets about 1,300 yards away.

Marines told the Post that having the best training doesn't matter if their rifles and cartridges are subpar. Some said they fear better weapons can reach the hands of their enemies, including Islamic State militants.

Marine snipers have long been frustrated with the Corps' Vietnam-era M40s and .308 Winchester cartridge. In 2005, Marines operating in Iraq were calling on the Corps to develop a sniper rifle that had a range of more than 1,600 yards, nearly twice that of the M40.

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This picture shows the pain of Greece falling apart By Matt O'Brien June 17, 2015



This picture is worth approximately 317 billion words in Greek. That's how many euros its government owes, and how many euros it's going to start defaulting on if it doesn't agree on a new bailout in the next few days.

After all, you don't have to be an expert in game theory, like Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis is, to know it's not good if he's crouching with his head in his hands right before midnight strikes on his country's solvency. But I think we can sympathize with how he feels. We do too. The years change, but the Greek crisis doesn't. It owes more than it can pay, so it needs Europe to give it the money to pay, well, Europe back. The problem, though, is Europe doesn't want to just hand over the money in such circular fashion without getting something else—pension and spending cuts—in return, and Greece doesn't want so many painful strings attached after it's already cut a lot and only seen its economy shrink by 25 percent.


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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN: Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.

From an e-mail.... Nevertheless, it tells a compelling story:

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN

Once upon a time the government had a vast scrap yard in the middle of a desert.

Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night." So they created a night watchman position and hired a person for the job.

Then Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job without instruction?"

So they created a planning department and hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one person to do time studies.

Then Congress said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks correctly?"

So they created a Quality Control department and hired two people. One was to do the studies and one was to write the reports.

Then Congress said, "How are these people going to get paid?"

So they created two positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer then hired two people.

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?"

So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a Legal Secretary.

Then Congress said, "We have had this command in operation for one year and we are $918,000 over budget, we must cut back."
So they laid-off the night watchman.

NOW slowly, let it sink in.

Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter. Does anybody remember the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY during the Carter administration?

Anybody?

Anything?

No?

Didn't think so!

Bottom line is, we've spent several hundred billion (BILLION with a B) dollars in support of an agency, the reason for which very few people who read this can remember!

Ready??

It was very simple... and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate.

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977, TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.

Hey, pretty efficient, huh?

AND NOW IT'S 2015 -- 38 YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE!

(THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?")
38 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports. Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports.

Ah, yes -- good old Federal bureaucracy.

NOW, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BANKING SYSTEM, HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY TO THE SAME GOVERNMENT?

Hello!! Anybody Home?

Signed....The Night Watchman
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Monday, June 15, 2015

Web site to aid victims of federal cyberattack crashes due to high volume - The Washington Post

How a devastating loss in Florida taught Jeb Bush what it takes to win - The Washington Post

How a devastating loss in Florida taught Jeb Bush what it takes to win - The Washington Post: "By Karen Tumulty June 14, 2015

[...]

That was late spring of 1997, a time in his life that Bush now refers to as “wandering around.”
But he was far from aimless.
In that period, Bush retooled himself and his image from that of a sometimes cartoonish ideologue into what he is today. Indeed, as he prepares to formally announce his bid for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, the question being asked is whether he is strident enough.
Humbled by defeat the first time he ran for office, Bush spent the mid-1990s broadening and deepening his knowledge of how his state worked, forging relationships that softened his profile and striving to talk about what he believed in a way that would bring people together.
I learned tone,” Bush said in an interview. “You can say the same thing that represents your core beliefs in a way that draws people toward your message, rather than pushes people away.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/jeb-bush-opens-up-about-his-wandering-years/2015/06/14/8477c8ac-1196-11e5-adec-e82f8395c032_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1

'via Blog this'
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Baltimore Sun Carroll Eagle: 
Tumblr: Kevin Dayhoff Banana Stems www.kevindayhoff.tumblr.com/
Kevin Dayhoff is an artist - and a columnist for:
Smurfs: http://babylonfluckjudd.blogspot.com/
Google profile: https://profiles.google.com/kevindayhoff/

E-mail: kevindayhoff(at)gmail.com

My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

See also - Kevin Earl Dayhoff Art www.kevindayhoff.com: Travel, art,artists, authors, books, newspapers, media, writers and writing, journalistsand journalism, reporters and reporting, music, culture, opera... Ad maioremDei gloriam inque hominum salutem. “Deadline U.S.A.” 1952. Ed Hutcheson:“That's the press, baby. The press! And there's nothing you can do about it. Nothing!”- See more at: http://kevindayhoffart.blogspot.com/#sthash.4HNLwtfd.dpuf
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Friday, June 12, 2015

Maj. Gen. Linda Singh gives keynote speech to Baltimore City police officers


Maj. Gen. Linda Singh gives keynote speech to Baltimore City police officers

Maj. Gen. Linda L. Singh, the Adjutant General of Maryland, spoke words of encouragement to officers of the Baltimore City Police Department’s Western District at the Hyatt Hotel in Baltimore, Md., June 11, 2015. 

News from The Hill: Obama pleads with House Dems to save trade package

News from The Hill

Obama pleads with House Dems to save trade package

By Peter Schroeder and Cristina Marcos

President Obama made an impassioned plea to House Democrats on Friday to not kill his trade agenda.

In a last-minute, closed-door meeting held hours before scheduled votes on the fast-track package, the president huddled with House Democrats for about a half hour.


http://thehill.com/policy/finance/244813-obama-pleads-with-dems-to-save-trade-package

Update: 

News from The Hill

Pelosi to oppose Obama on trade

By Ian Swanson

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a meandering but dramatic floor speech on Friday said she will vote "no" on a measure providing assistance to workers displaced by trade.

Pelosi's opposition to the Trade Adjustment Assistance program casts doubt on whether the measure will pass.



http://media.thehill.com/services/player/bcpid2764968420001?bctid=4293126544001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAAEA-5AE~,7pYsU79IKz2CXW_BSQItHbG6JoyZCfQ5

And yet another update... What a sop opera... In the end, it does not matter. If the legislation fails - the Republicans will be blamed. If the legislation passes, the Republicans will be vilified ... Whatever...

News from The Hill

House deals humiliating blow to Obama in trade fight

By Cristina Marcos

Defying President Obama, House Democrats on Friday rallied to vote down legislation granting aid to workers displaced by trade, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the fast-track legislation that had been scheduled to hit the floor.

An overwhelming majority of Democrats voted to sink the package in the 126-302 vote despite an impassioned plea from the president, which he delivered in person during a rare morning visit to Capitol Hill. A majority of Republicans also opposed the bill.




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Carroll County State's Attorney Brian DeLeonardo spoke to our Practical Chaplaincy training class


Carroll County State's Attorney Brian DeLeonardo spoke to our Practical Chaplaincy training class at the Carroll County Non-profit Center.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Westminster Councilmember Chiavacci spoke to our Practical Chaplaincy training class


We were honored to have Westminster Common Councilmember Tony Chiavacci, chair of the Council Public Safety Committee, spoke to our Practical Chaplaincy training class at the Carroll County Non-profit Center.

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

We are honored to have Westminster Police Chief Jeff Spaulding give a welcome on behalf of the city to the class on Practical Chaplaincy at the Carroll County Non-profit Center.


We are honored to have Westminster Police Chief Jeff Spaulding 
give a welcome on behalf of the city to the class on Practical Chaplaincy 
at the Carroll County Non-profit Center. June 9, 2015

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/06/we-are-honored-to-have-westminster.html

Chaplaincy, Fire CC Depts 03 Westminster Chaplain, MD State Troopers Assoc Lodge # 20 Chaplain

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone


Westminster Police Chief Jeff Spaulding speaks to class on Practical Chaplaincy at the Carroll County Non-profit Center http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2015/06/we-are-honored-to-have-westminster.html

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Kevin Rector - The Baltimore Sun: Baltimore prosecutor asked police to target area where Freddie Gray was arrested

Baltimore prosecutor asked police to target area where Freddie Gray was arrested

Defense lawyers for police officers charged in the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody have called for Marilyn Mosby to step down as prosecutor, citing an email calling for increased police activity.

By Kevin Rector The Baltimore Sun

Marilyn Mosby asked police to target corner where Freddie Gray ran.



About three weeks before Freddie Gray was chased from a West Baltimore corner by three Baltimore police officers — the start of a fatal encounter — the office of prosecutor Marilyn Mosby asked police to target the intersection with "enhanced" drug enforcement efforts, court documents show.

"State's Attorney Mosby asked me to look into community concerns regarding drug dealing in the area of North Ave and Mount St," Joshua Rosenblatt, division chief of Mosby's Crime Strategies Unit, wrote in a March 17 email to a Western District police commander.

The email was disclosed for the first time Tuesday in a motion filed in Baltimore Circuit Court by defense attorneys for the six officers being prosecuted in Gray's arrest and death. The attorneys said Mosby's involvement in the police initiative means that she should be removed from the case.

"Mrs. Mosby herself is now an integral part of the story and as such is a central witness," the defense attorneys argued. "This is a case where the witness and the prosecutor are one and the same."

Mosby, through spokeswoman Rochelle Ritchie, said, "Consistent with our prosecutorial obligations, we will litigate this case in the courtroom and not in the media." Mosby's office received the motion Tuesday afternoon, Ritchie said… Read more: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/blog/bs-md-ci-mosby-email-20150609-story.html?track=rss#page=1
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Saturday, June 06, 2015

The Carroll County recycling shredding event this morning was a big success

Apparently as many as 500 people came to have personal documents shred. It amounted to about 10 tons of shredded material. Hats off to recycling manager Maria Myers and the Carroll County bureau of solid waste in the public works department. 



Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Saturday evening services at Grace Lutheran Church in Westminster Md. www.gracelc.org





Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

7 key facts about ship sinking in Yangtze

7 key facts about ship sinking in Yangtze

(Xinhua) 07:33, June 03, 2015


BEIJING, June 2 -- A passenger ship carrying 456 people sank in the Yangtze River overnight, in what could be China's worst sinking disaster in decades.

The following are some key facts about the accident.

1. CASUALTIES SO FAR

As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, 14 people have been rescued and seven were confirmed dead, according to the latest counting by the Ministry of Transport.

About 430 others remain unaccounted for.

Rescuers said there could be more survivors in the upturned wreckage.


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An Insurer Wants to Raise Its Obamacare Premiums by 85 Percent. Don't Sweat It. by Jordan Weissmann


Under Obamacare, health insurance companies that want to jack up their premiums by more than 10 percent in a year are required to submit their requests to state and federal regulators for review. 

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted all of those petitions online in an easily searchable database, which revealed that a number of insurers are, in fact, asking for double-digit rate hikes. 

As Politico notes, some large plans could theoretically get 20 or even 30 percent more expensive. 

The New York Times found one insurer in Georgia looking to up its premiums by as much as 85 percent. The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the news earlier after states began making the filings public, thinks it is "setting the stage for an intense debate this summer over the law’s impact."

[…]



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Tuesday, June 02, 2015

Caroline and I were recently on the Yangtze River in China where the cruise ship sank #Yangtzeshipsinks


I was recently on the Yangtze where the cruise ship sank last Mon eve June 1, 2015. http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/06/caroline-and-i-were-on-yangtze-river-in.html Prayers for #Yangtzeshipsinks


Recently, Caroline and I were on Damazhou waterway section of the Yangtze River in China on Sunday evening, April 26, 2015; where the ferry boat sank last Monday evening, June 1, 2015.

It is widely reported that the ferry went down in a storm just after 9 p.m. about three-quarters of the way between the Three Gorges Dam, just west of Yichang, and Wuhan – at a spot in the river very near Jianli, in Jianli County in Hubei Province.
 
Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this disaster; their families and to the Chinese authorities, military and emergency responders. Hopefully many more passengers will be saved and the loss of life be kept to a minimum.

Hopefully, no-one gets hurt responding to the disaster. We pray for the safety of the emergency responders.

Caroline and I were sailing on the Yangtze River at that very spot at that very time of the evening, on Sunday evening, April 26, 2015. According to multiple accounts, “The Yangtze is the third-longest river in the world, stretching 3,915 miles from Tibet all the way to the East China Sea…”

I am looking forward to going through our pictures to see if we have a few photos of the Damazhou waterway section of the Yangtze River just east of Jianli.

On Wednesday, April 22, 2015, we flew from Xi’an to Chongqing. We had landed in Chongqing, China late that mourning to board a Viking river ship, “Emerald.” From Chongqing, we traveled on the Yangtze River for the next five days – through Sunday, April 26, 2015.

Our trip had begun in Beijing on Thursday, April 16, 2015, after about a day of travel. After a few days in Beijing, we flew to Xi’an on Monday, April 20, 2015.

We then flew to Chongqing and get on the Viking cruise ship, “Emerald.” We spent five days on the Yangtze. We arrived in Wuhan on Monday, April 26, 2015. From Wuhan we flew to Shanghai.

As an aside, for a story for another day, we flew in China three times. Flying in China is an adventure. We flew from Beijing to Xi’an; Xi’an to Chongqing; and from Wuhan to Shanghai.

The three flights inside of China are also in addition to the two flights it took to get to China and the two flights home from Shanghai, where we spent two-and-a-half hours on the tarmac before the 14 hour flight even began. That said, I was good-to-go – I watched Bollywood for most of the trip.

On Saturday, April 25, 2015, we visited the Three Gorges Dam to the west of Yichang on the Yangtse River. From the Three Georges Dam, we sailed east to Jingzhou, where we visited an elementary school on Sunday, April 26, 2015.

The balance of Sunday we continued to travel east on the Yangtze, by Jianli, towards our destination in Wuhan. Jianli is about three-quarters of the way from Jingzhou to Yueyang. Yueyang is halfway between Yichang and Wuhan.

At Jianli, the river does a wide but relatively tight turn. The river is very deep – around 50-feet deep, a little over three-quarters of a mile wide and the current is very strong. Just south and east of Jianli, where the ferry sank, the Yangtze River crosses wide expanses of rural and agricultural land.

Go here for coverage by The Guardian: “Cyclone hits Chinese cruise on Yangtze River: 400 missing – live updates” - - http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jun/02/chinese-ferry-sinks-yangtze-river-458-people-aboard-latest-updates

Washington Post: “Chinese ship carrying more than 400 tourists sinks on Yangtze River” - - http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/02/chinese-ship-carrying-more-than-400-tourists-sinks-on-yangtze-river/ According to Sarah Kaplan, writing for the Washington Post, in an article published at 4:40 a.m. – which would be 4:40 p.m. in China; “Hundred[s] of passengers remain unaccounted for more than 12 hours after a ship carrying 458 people sank in China’s Yangtze River, according to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency.

“The captain and chief engineer, who were reportedly among at least a dozen passengers rescued, told Xinhua that the ship sank within one or two minutes after being caught in a cyclone around 9:30 p.m. Monday. Another five people are confirmed dead.

“The four-tier Dongfangzhixing or “Eastern Star,” was carrying five travel agency workers, 47 crew members and 406 Chinese passengers. Most of the passengers were between 50 and 80 years old and were traveling as part of a tour arranged by the state-owned Shanghai Xiehe Travel Agency. The youngest was only three, according to Xinhua…” http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/02/chinese-ship-carrying-more-than-400-tourists-sinks-on-yangtze-river/

According to the Washington Post, “The boat was [in-route] from the eastern city of Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing, more than 850 miles away. It capsized in Jianli County in Hubei Province, about 600 miles west of Shanghai…”

[…]

“The Eastern Star is considered one of the best passenger ships in China, according to CCTV. It’s owned by the Chongqing Eastern Shipping Corporation (also translated as Chongqing Oriental Ferry Company), which runs ships along tourist routes in the popular Three Gorges area, a scenic river region framed by mountains and lush landscapes. About 250 feet long and four stories high, the Eastern Star can hold up to 540 passengers — nearly 100 more than were on board Monday. And initial investigations found that the ship was equipped with enough life vests for everyone on board, Reuters reported.

The Yangtze, China’s longest river and the world’s third longest, is a popular waterway for shipping and travel. It’s also the site of the Three Gorges Dam, a massive hydroelectric project about 200 miles upriver from Jianli…”

The BBC has more information here: “Chinese ship capsizes on Yangtze with hundreds missing,” - - http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-32969861

CNN’s coverage may be found here: “Cruise ship sinks in China's Yangtze River with 458 aboard,” By Jethro Mullen and Steven Jiang, CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2015/06/01/asia/china-yangtze-river-ship-sinks/



The New York Times has extensive coverage here: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/world/asia/ship-reported-sunk-in-chinas-yangtze.html?_r=0 “Hundreds Missing After Chinese Cruise Ship Sinks on Yangtze By EDWARD WONGJUNE 1, 2015”
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Charles Kennedy, former UK Liberal Democrat leader dead at 55

Charles Kennedy, former UK Liberal Democrat leader dead at 55

June 2, 2015 Tuesday morning.

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Likeable and talented, former Liberal Democrat Party leader Charles Kennedy dead far too young at 55. Sad and great loss for UK.  http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2015/06/charles-kennedy-former-uk-liberal.html

He died suddenly and unexpectedly at his home in Fort William. He was the leader of the Liberal Democrat Party from 1999 to 2006

“Chat Show Charlie,” as he was known for his frequent popular appearances on talk shows; was an affable and friendly Member of Parliament for about 31 years. He was first elected at age 23 in 1983 as a member of what was known then as the Social Democrats. He lost his seat last month in the SNP landslide in the general elections.

Leaders from throughout the political spectrum in the UK have heaped praise and honors on the life an accomplishments of Mr. Kennedy.

The popular elected leader was well-known for his spirited and principled opposition to the war in Iraq in 2003.

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BBC: Former Liberal Democrat Party leader Charles Kennedy has died at his home in Fort William aged 55. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-32970337

His family said they were devastated to lose a "fine man and loving father".

David Cameron said politics had lost a man of "immense ability", while Nick Clegg said his opposition to the Iraq war had been "enormously courageous".

Mr. Kennedy, who led his party from 1999 to 2006, lost his seat last month. No cause of death has been given but police said it was not suspicious. Read more from the BBC:

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