Rants. raves and ramblings from celestial circles . . .

Posts tagged ‘writers’

THE MERCIFUL AND THE MERCILESS – The Dogs of Hell

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The Khawaarij (Kharijites) are one of the deviant sects, as is proven by the texts and by scholarly consensus. Al-Bukhaari and Muslim narrated that Yusayr ibn ‘Amr said: I said to Sahl ibn Hunayf: Did you hear the Prophet say anything about the Khawaarij? He said: I heard him say – and he gestured with his hand towards Iraq –: “From there will emerge people who recite the Qur’an, but it will not go past their collarbones. They will pass out of Islam as an arrow passes out of the prey.”

Ibn Maajah narrated that Ibn Abi Awfa said: The Messenger of Allah said: “The Khawaarij are the dogs of Hell.”

-from http://islamqa.info/en/182237

Where did such a violent ideology presumably based on a religion spring from?

Who Were The Kharijites?

Who exactly were the Kharijites? They were an early offshoot of Islam that developed during the civil war between the Prophet Muhammad’s cousin Ali and the governor of Damascus Mu’awiyah.

The Muslim state enjoyed relative stability under the caliphates of Abu Bakr and Umar ibn Al Khattab. During the caliphate of Uthman ibn Affan, the third Caliph, discord began to seep into the state. This discord ultimately resulted in the assassination of Uthman by renegades. A dispute, then, arose over the succession of Uthman: some supported Ali, the Prophet’s cousin, and others supported Mu’awiyah, the governor of Damascus and Uthman’s relative.

This dispute culminated in the Battle of Siffin in 657. The initial battle went against Mu’awiayh. When he directed his forces to place copies of the Qur’an on their lances, indicating their desire to submit to binding arbitration “based on the Qur’an,” the forces of Ali refused to fight. Once the terms of the arbitration were set, a group of Muslims objected to the whole principle of arbitration and rebelled against both Ali and Mu’awiyah. These were the Kharijites. They declared them infidels worthy of murder. Even though Ali defeated most of them at the Battle of Nahrawan in 658, a group survived and ultimately assassinated Ali in 661.

Kharijite belief is a form of radical fundamentalism. As noted in the Wikipedia entry, “They preached uncompromising adherence to the teachings of the Qur’an in defiance of corrupt authorities.” They also preached “absolute equality of the faithful” and maintained that “only the most pious should be caliph…even if he were an Abyssinian slave (the lowest social class of the era).” They spread their ideology violently, declaring anyone who does not believe as they do – even those who committed any major sins – as “infidels,” whose blood is allowed to be shed. They committed many atrocities against fellow Muslims, including the hacking to death of one of the governor’s of Ali and his pregnant wife.

The radical and violent extremists of today act very much like the Kharijites of old. They claim to commit their evil in the name of God and doing righteousness, just like the Kharijites of old. They believe that those who do not espouse their radical views as “infidels” worthy of death, just like the Kharijites of old. They have committed – and continue to commit – horrific acts of violence against fellow Muslims, just like the Kharijites of old.

Who were the Kharjites?

More on the History and Ideology of the Kawaareej: The Kawaareej and Their Renewed Ideology

The Deceptions of the Kawarij have been acknowledged by Muslim Scholars: 

On The Khawaarij and the Renewed Ideology

The Horn Of Satan

So how are the Khawarij connected to modern day terrorists? It is because their brutal and violent sect continues to this very day. They have evolved into a very powerful modern faction that also claims Islam as their religious base. This group is very powerful in Saudi Arabia and has been the driving force behind extremist terrorist activities in the Middle East, the United States and many other nations throughout the world for at least the past fifty years. They also have very wealthy financiers connected with oil profits in the Middle East and now also in other parts of the world. Who are these dogs of war?

They refer to themselves as the Wahhabi sect of Islam. Although in reality, many of their ideals and practices are far from traditional Islam. Like the Khawarij, they renounce Idolatry. So they have destroyed significant archaeological and Muslim historical sites on the Saudi peninsula over the years. Let me be clear. The entire Saudi government and people are not Wahabi. But the Wahabi sect has had siginificant influence on both the government and the people throughout their history. It is one of the reasons the country is so extreme in the control of peoples lives.

There are many examples of Wahabis extending their tentacles into sensitive areas of the world to increase their attempts at world domination. I don’t use that term lightly. I know it sounds like a script from the The Man From U.N.C.L.E or a James Bond chapter, but there is a significant truth to it. It has even been written that the Wahabi sect was originally created by the British to reinforce their power in the world.

One other fact is certain. And it answers the question of why radical sects claiming to be Muslim have taken such a strong foothold in the USA and especially strong in areas like Michigan. In the late 60’s and early 70’s, the wealthy oil-rich Saudi Wahabis strategically provided funding to establish Mosques to preach their radical form of religion throughout the USA starting in Chicago. Chicago at the time was the home of The Nation of Islam. And although The Nation of Islam had little to do with real Islam, a young prodigy named Malcom X was increasing their following by the thousands. This seemed a perfect seeding ground for the Wahabis.

And it was. They continued to seed Mosques throughout the USA and provided educational funding to young black ‘prospects’. I won’t make any connection to any current government leader in the USA, but the connections do exist, concealed away as they might be. Eventually Malcolm X made a trip to Mecca and realized some Muslims actually had blonde hair and blue eyes, and everybody got along just fine without the divisive practices so prevalent and endorsed in the USA. Malcolm decided to break with The Nation of Islam and their heretic leader, Louis Farrakhan. A few weeks later he was assassinated. I won’t make the connection, but others have done so quite convincingly.

But the Wahhabis continued to seed and preach their radical hate in Mosques they funded and built throughout the USA and later in England, France and other European nations. Eventually they spread the hate to other countries in Africa, Asia, and throughout the Middle East. But don’t take my word for it. Do the research yourself. Please keep in mind, not all Saudis are Wahabis and not all Wahabis are terrorists. But the ideology and it’s spread throughout the world has created an environment of hate and violence. This is not the peace and love of any religion we know of.

Here are a few links for further reading and research. I did some of the filtering for you as there is an abundance of some information and a scarcity of others.

The Wahabi and the Khawarij

Saudi Prince About Kingdom’s Muslim Brotherhood Movement: They Are The Khawarij Of This Age

U.S.-Saudi Oil Imports Fund American Mosques

Wahhabism and the First Amendment

A Good Article Explaining The Nation of Islam and Why It Is Not Islam

2005 Pamphlet on Saudi Hate Publications in US Mosques and Saudi Schools

The Struggle for Saudis to Erase Saudi Extremism –  The New York Times, November 2014

Terrorism: Growing Wahabi Influence In The United States – Senate Judiciary Committee – June 26, 2003

Letter to all Christians from Prophet Muhammad

New Link from Nov 19, 2015 Islamicity Magazine

A few definitions to understand from Wiki:

Takfir

Shirk

Ibadi

Murjites

Finally, I conclude with an article on the importance and adherence to Wahabi philosophy within Daesh and an article on the Genghis Kahn tactics of Daesh. And a recent sobering article on why Daesh has initiated their own self-destruction.

Wahhabism to ISIS: how Saudi Arabia exported the main source of global terrorism

Article: What Do ISIS and Genghis Khan have in Common

Opinion: ISIS’s strategy remains seriously flawed – February 13, 2015

This last video, like some of the articles, has to be filtered. But the video does provide some very important insights on the inner workings of the intelligence community and the Jihad movement.

A Former Jihadist Exposes ISIS

I hope this essay has been productive for anyone seeking the answers. The better we understand the ideology we are fighting, the better we are prepared to educate on an ideology that not only conquers the evil, but also fortifies a much better worldview for everyone exploring or undecided. The only way to win the war is to win through ideology. Violence, hatred and the torture and killing of innocent people is wrong. This is an ideologic value that is thousands of years old. Much older than any distorted pseudo-religious and warped, man construed doctrine of ignorance. Those that survive the battlefield will be held accountable for their cruelty and callous disregard for human life. All of these are actions contrary to the teachings of Mohamed, Christ, Buddha, God and Allah.

(Revised link check February 2019)


			

THE MERCIFUL AND THE MERCILESS – An Essay On Islamic Heretics

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POLITICS AND RELIGION:
The History of Man – Part One

God has no preference between a man and a woman. They are both equal in the eyes of God. God has no preference between a Christian, a Jew, a Muslim and a Buddhist. They are all equal in the eyes of God as long as they respect the creation of God’s Nature. The laws of God are universal and timeless. The interpretations of God’s laws by men are often flawed and selfish. Prophets are good people because they interpret the laws of God to men in a fair and just way. And they are at times, both exalted and persecuted, because they dole out fairness and justice to all men equally. But not all men consider themselves equal to other men in their own eyes.

Religions have killed in the name of God for thousands of years. Even Atheism has killed millions. Religious conversion has often been forced at the end of the sword or the gun. The concept itself is contrary to religious dogma. To believe and have faith in God is a personal and voluntary decision. If religion has to be forced upon someone, it is no longer religion. It becomes politics. Politics is a dogmatic belief created by men to impose their own idealistic idiosyncrasies upon others.

Recently, we have been daunted by ‘terrorism’. Men have terrorized each other, also for thousands of years.  ‘Evolution’ is a gradual change over time. ‘Revolution’ is an abrupt social change forced by human political activity. It is important to differentiate between violent revolution and peaceful revolution. Peaceful revolution uses peaceful means to inspire dynamic change in a society. Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King were peaceful revolutionaries. They distinctly instructed their followers not to incite violence. Peaceful revolutions create long term change that develops firm roots within a social structure. They do so, because the social structure is mostly in agreement with the implemented changes.

Violent revolutions are short lived. Because similar to forcing religion upon someone, the ‘idealism’ will not be personal, nor will it be voluntary. So the political or religious facade will be discarded at the earliest opportune time. We have many examples of this in recent history. Two of the more significant instances is the failure of the Bolshevik Revolution with the fall of the USSR, and the failure of Mao’s Great Plan with the introduction of Capitalism in China.

A more recent example of a violent revolutionary that has killed millions is Castro’s crony Argentinian friend, Ernesto Guevara. His violent ideology and homicidal tactics continue to be idolized throughout the third world and in countries where some groups gravitate toward him as a ‘heroic’ figure. Heroic he is not. His actual claim to fame is as a mass murderer. His philosophy and early tactics soon inspired and activated other terrorist organizations to mimic and augment his callous violence toward humanity.

Targets were no longer strictly soldiers and warriors on the honorable battlefield. The days of respect among generals and for each others fallen soldiers ended with the bearded devil. And continues with other modern bearded demons. In many Muslim areas throughout the world, groups of fanatical and often violent individuals have incited the same senseless violence against innocent people. Without honor, without compassion and without tolerance, which are three of the most important foundations of all religions.

All of these groups have at least one thing in common. They all consider themselves devout followers of Islam. The truth is, they are all Islamic heretics, prostituting the cleanliness of Islam into a Satanic abomination of evil. They are the merciless. And they continue to taunt and kill the merciful.

Arrows Missing The Target – Part Two

Living in the Middle East I have met hundreds of Muslims from all over the world. Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Somalia, Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Turkey, Armenia, Uzbekistan, and others. All of the people I have met are good people. They just want to work an honest job to feed their families. And be able to go to sleep safely to get up the next day and do it again.

Everyone I’ve spoken to wants the same exact thing. But there are those out there, as small a minority as they might be, that would prefer to force their ideals and their values on others through force. This is the evil in the world. And it is easy to recognize. Unless sometimes when the evil comes from the lips of a Rabbi or a Priest or an Imam. Their position as an intermediary to God, gives them undisputed credibility in the eyes of many people that are less than grounded in a solid foundation of belief.

So I had to understand WHY this happened. And that is when I started to research. Eventually I found three connections that completely explained the answers I was seeking. But they were not evident. They were not widely discussed or covered by the media. In fact, the opposite was true. The information was meticulously kept concealed. Finding the answers required sifting through volumes of misinformation and discovering carefully hidden historical facts.

    to be continued

:OBSERVATIONS ON A NOVEMBER DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN

It’s almost time for me to head back home
but today I feel a darkness creeping
across the globe dark forces seeping
they find the holes when I am sleeping
or when I am not fighting them and keeping
them on the defensive.
They are greedy green mean machines.
Real powers and real forces. There are those that
don’t believe me. They don’t see them every day.
So they give them holidays, so they can do what they may, and take away, more of what you pay and pay. They do not understand that only they can stop them. But they must fight them every day. Without a holiday. Believe what I say.
Drugs you don’t need.
Healing plants you can’t have.
Poisons in your food to make you pay.
Wars and weapons to pay and pay in lives.
Watching and listening, taking away your dignity,
your humanity, your joy.
Tricks to fool you, pay you to work,
then take your money away.
You never own anything. They own you.
You can stop them.
You must stop them.
Stop the banks from stealing.
Stop the companies from cheating.
Stop the people from lying.
Stop the government from killing.
Love.
Love is not religion.
Love is not a competition.
Love is not waiting for the reward.
Love is Nature.

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11/13/13 – fjl

CHILL

i opened my refrigerator today

cool sensations of life inspired me to dig deeper

the light of the universe filled a dark room

and the cabbage made me think

juice of a thousand wars pure and unsweetened

tomatoes hit every bad act ever performed

by any slice of meat

egg head lined eyes on the embryonic world

from every chicken never born

lest the rotting stench of life decay

tickle a nose with the sulfur mine of love

shake your mustard

or else

not even your best squeeze

will stop dripping wet first fallen

from lonesome cucumber

where is your cavity

lemon sour yellow dreams

no limes, no clouds, no perfect life

where are you hiding sweets

why is your sweet hiding

is your middle shelf always full

or does unspoiled milk still feed

your baby right times

waters of a thousand lies

keep yogurt smiles healthy

hold your mayonnaise tight

and don’t let your ketchup slip

or you will never catch up

you will never slip tight

sleepless nights might

frighten you to close the door

and never again open

and never open it again

never knowing if the light turns off

alone.

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August 2013

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THE TOWERS OF MEN IN THE SHADOWS OF THE PALMS

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER COMMUNION

They run like colts
in river beds of solid wines
flicking whatever berries

at each other
or something.

They both understand the language
wondering with each other.
Laughing
and knowing

when they hurt each other.
Suffering for each others pain
and crying
because they dance

within each others rain.

 

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MOVING PICTURES

You have always been a movie to me
knowing I could never touch you.
Now you sit and stare at me
through the other side of this bottle
setting on the table here between us.

I feel as if a magic is missing
you are not the star I dreamed of.
Once you were the shining light
of my heavens dreaming
in a momentary wish.

Now I can see what I am left with
is not what I had hoped for.
I see what I am watching
is not what I had once enjoyed.

You have always been a movie to me
now my life plays in reverse.
I never could quite touch you
now I know
I’ve touched too much.

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12/21/12

 

A thick blanket of fog covers the Earth

I look out to see the new day

a bright ray of sun breaks through the darkness

and only those who see the light

will dream.

WHEN NOTHING IS EVERYTHING

‘There is Nothing in the Desert, And Every Man Needs Nothing’

 

The actual quote is from ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and it reads, ‘There is nothing in the desert, and no man needs nothing’. It was recently used in the film ‘Prometheus’, from Ridley Scott. It’s a great line and very significant in the film. Where once again we witness the dangers of technology and the humans that create it. Mary Shelley warned of us how our passion for striving to be as powerful over others as God, could lead to our own self-destruction. But we don’t have to read ‘Frankenstein’. All we have to do is look around us every day. Man’s attempt to reach that divine plateau of knowledge, mimicking our own concept of ultimate power we have perceived as God, can be both a blessing and a curse. It is only by our own cautious manipulation of those great powers we have achieved, that we will control our own fate toward advancement or destruction.

Need I remind you of this as you stare at your computer screen? Or dabble with your phone? Or sit complacent for hours in front of your television? What I can remind you of . . . is how every technology is simply a tool. And like any tool, it can be used for good or for evil. A hammer or a wrench can build or fix the greatest of challenges, but they can also be used to strike the life of another living being.  And a tool is not a human being. We can use tools to improve the lives of other beings. But tools do not have a heart. They do not feel and they do not love. We often use tools to win the love of others; a new car, a new phone, a new toy. But are we giving with the assumption that the work involved to acquire and gift that tool to win someone else’s love, is equivalent to the love we gift as fellow humans? Is the material gift we give, equivalent to the love of our smile, our compassion, or most important, of our time?

Most of us do not live in a desert. We live in a world where the illusion of abundance surrounds us. An abundant illusion so perfectly manipulated, that we feel no remorse when discarding those things we no longer deem valuable. Our abundant world immediately offers a replacement. We can always buy a newer car, a smarter phone, or another plastic container of water; all of them disposable and replaceable. Of course, only if we happen to be lucky enough or wealthy enough to afford them. But where has our disposable existence of material objects led us? It has led us to another illusion. An illusion where we do not have to face what becomes of our disposable resource once we discard them. We are allowed to wear our blinders and walk away from the refuse of our own existence. There was a time when man’s only disposable waste was his own excrements, or the bones left behind after a meal. We were equivalent with all of life around us, because we shared the same requirements, and we left behind the same by-products. We weren’t leaving our discarded by-products strategically buried for future generations. We were simply returning them to the Earth, where they would recycle into the basic elements of the Earth.

We have learned to accept the illusion of abundance, surrounded by all those material possessions that provide us with the comforts we require. And so I journeyed to the desert. And it is here I realized . . . every man needs nothing. Without a relative perspective in our existence, we have no bearing. And without bearing, we have no existence. All of the material possessions in the world cannot provide the necessary direction for existence. This is the lesson Buddha learned from self-depravation. This is how he achieved enlightenment. There are two examples I will provide (although many others exist). The first example is the child born to wealth. Unlike his parent, who may have started with nothing and achieved great wealth, the child has only known wealth. An entire life will be wasted in a pursuit of happiness through material possessions. And although this person may achieve limitless joys in hedonistic exultation, there will always be an inescapable empty hollow within their lives. Without ‘nothing’, ‘something’ is worthless.

The second example is the starving artist. A master of their Art, but impoverished. In their barren material world, they can create masterpieces of painting, music, and literature. They have the perspective of ‘nothingness’. So to them, every meager possession is a possession of wealth. Here again, their life’s fate can move in either of three different directions. They might continue broke and desolate, creating magnificent works of art. And likely die broke and desolate, but a great artist. Or they can achieve wealth, and their lives will take one of two paths. Either they will lose their creative spirits and immerse themselves in their newly found material wealth. Or, if they are wise, they will continue to create art, but maybe not as passionate or inspired as before.

There are countless examples, every day, all around us, of both the wealth born child and the starving artist. And then there are the rest of us, somewhere in-between. Without knowing ‘nothing’, we will find nothing. And without finding nothing and knowing what we have found, we will not ever find anything else. I have found nothing in the desert. And in the desert I have found everything. I can now see that although I have had everything in my life, without finding ‘nothing’ in the desert, I would not know what it was that I had. I would not know what others do not see. And I would not be able to give you ‘nothing’. Knowing that it is the only ‘something’ I could ever give you, that will keep you nurtured and without thirst, in any desert.

 

“I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs, and gleams…”
― Antoine de Saint-ExupéryThe Little Prince

 

THE MACHINE KILLED CREATIVITY

The machine killed creativity

I saw it for myself.

It bludgeoned all artistic strides

and massacred the rest.

 

Musicians were first bound to atoms

and then cast down to synthesize.

Pouncing notes on keyboards

for light waves to analyze.

 

Painters great were also slaughtered

by brushes of true bits.

Destined for the graphic tabs

and bland electric tits.

 

Sculptors once again were chained

by circuit boards and digits

building funky little trites

of solder, wire and widgets.

 

Writers were then gathered up

and tortured by their software

making  acronym of literature

and cleansing hard drives bare.

 

Movie folks were also brandished

and scattered without vision

destined for the rerun click

on the mouse of indecision.

 

Poets, whom of course were last

bore out the worst derision

for they were left with just a hint

of electric mysticism.

 

The machine killed creativity

I’ll show no remorse

I’ll keep my wafers powered up

for the next new resurgent force.

 

WOODS END

I followed her nightly into the forest

her pain was azure blue

stems of her legs

thin saplings

trunks of stone

between the leaves

and the autumn moon

she would whisper her secrets

unfolding in the darkest brush.

 

One night of the new spring

our eyes met

we had no one road to travel

only empty pastures

of drunken light.

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Write, write, write…

If you become obsessed with being published, you will become just another frustrated writer like so many others in the world. Write every chance you get, no matter how ludicrous or nonsensical what you write might seem. Write for yourself not for others. Most writers who write to make others happy lose their soul. Don’t ever let any critic frustrate you into not writing, this happens very often to too many writers. All you are doing is giving in to someone who probably doesn’t even know what good writing is, and you only hurt yourself.

Don’t be frustrated by vultures, such as may often be experienced on the web. Experience life! Good writing material comes from true life experience and your unique interpretation. Desktop writers are usually stale or journalists, and we all know most journalists are rarely real writers, they are just paid record keepers. Those that never go beyond their own four walls can not possibly know what the rest of the world feels. Keep pads of paper and a pen wherever you hang out, by your bedside, in the kitchen, at your desk, in the bathroom, in your car…and don’t be afraid to pick them up and use them whenever you can.

Keep your writing organized. If you write a lot of crap and just keep throwing it in drawers, that is where they will die. Type your stuff into a computer. Bind it in an organized fashion. Catalog it. This way you will always know where it is. You will also be able to come back and read it, figure out if it sucks or if it has potential, then polish it till it makes you cream. But don’t over polish. Anything too slick is worthless. It has no heart. Read as much as you can…from other writers, about writing. Read and study all the grammatical rules, then make your own.

Courses and seminars are just fine, I guess…but usually you learn what works for others and not what works best for you. Often they will fill your brain with rules that cramp creativity. Take anything any academic tells you with a grain of salt. Academic writers usually think they know it all and are great writers. Usually they are creatively isolated and lame, and they only write for other academics, who are usually the only ones that understand their misaligned gibberish complete with obscure and insignificant references. Write so that anyone can understand what you read. The more sensibly and sincere you write, the more it has universal appeal and significance. Never, ever take the publishing world seriously. It is a marketplace and like any other marketplace it is full of prostitution and idiots. Treat them as such and you are sure to succeed. Remember… published writers have very often sacrificed their own personal creativity for some sleazy magazine or some high brow snot nosed esoteric rag which hardly anyone reads.

If you do decide to waste your time trying to get published instead of writing…this requires lots of letters, postage and time. Eventually someone will publish you. Never be discouraged by rude editors who never acknowledge or reply…this is a majority in the publishing world. Play the contest game if you like, but if you do, go for the big ones, with big rewards. Don’t waste your time on the little guys, they do little to advance your career. Before you submit anything, polish it. Ask someone with half a brain to read it, and listen to their idiocy, somehow you might manage to extrude a grain of truth. Visit as many little artsy fartsy writer get togethers as you can. Here you will find other hopeless circus clowns, but every now and then you might just meet someone who can actually advance your writing ambitions.

Write, write, write then write some more. Then edit, edit, edit and then edit some more. This is the true secret. And as previously and wisely mentioned…have fun! If you are not having fun when you write, it becomes a job. And in this case you might as well become a journalist, or write for magazines or journals or Hallmark cards. Invest in a current copy of the Writers Handbook. Visit the Poets & Writers web site…these can be good resources if you know how to use them. And finally, never ever put up with anybodies crap or sell your soul. Editors, agents and their kind can be vicious, self-serving and butchers…tell them to kiss your arse. And write what you feel…this way you will always be happy and you will not feel like you are a writing prostitute, like so many other best seller list sluts.

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