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Two ‘intrepid’ hunters stood up before the world’s press last week to declare they have found Bigfoot. In fact they had bagged and tagged one of our long lost hairy friends, and it wasnt even that one who used to be in a sitcom…
They had this particular specimen housed in a chest freezer - which seems a bit odd right off, but there you go, bigfoot hunters are bound to be a bit odd.
But guess, what - it was a hoax! No - I know you’ll be amazed, but the Georgia (USA, not the troubled caucasus nation) Bigfoot turned out to be made of rubber. Boo hiss!
What is strange about this is not that the bigfoot was a fake, but that it was so obvious! Why would two apparently sane men stick their necks out and claim to have found Bigfoot, only to later admit they had stuck a dummy in the freezer? That’s plane bonkers! So… is it all a conspiracy? Did the black helicopters come and take away the real bigfoot and replace him with a rubber model?
Keep watching the skies…
From sojourners:
“We can’t let little countries screw around with big companies
like this - companies that have made big investments around the
world.”
- a Chevron lobbyist, who asked not to be identified, speaking
about a lawsuit brought on behalf of thousands of indigenous
Ecuadorian peasants over the dumping of billions of gallons of
toxic oil wastes into their region’s rivers and streams. Chevron
is pressuring the Bush administration to eliminate special trade
preferences for Ecuador if its government doesn’t quash the
case.
(Source: Newsweek)
Those kind people at Zondervan sent me a copy of Jesus for President to review, so here goes…
I regard this as one of the best, most challenging and thought provoking books around at the moment. Despite it’s American target audience (we don’t have a president here – yet) this makes great reading for any reader, as its themes are universal.
This is unlikely to look like any book you have ever read before, it’s got nearly as much in common with a graphic novel as it has with a standard text book. The best comparison I can give, and it is quite inappropriate really given the anti consumerist approach of the authors, is with a Howies clothing catalogue. It has that same earthy, lived in, thoughtful, artistic and engaging feel, but thankfully without the pictures of models wearing expensive clothes.
Put simply, this has got to be one of the most beautifully designed books on the market – working with the writing, the design emphasises the creative, radical spirit of the text, and the provocative joy of the authors. Quite rightly the designers, Holly and Ryan Sharp, are credited at the end of the book along with the writers. The colour is full throughout the book, with design elements interacting with the text throughout, which adds immensely to the value of the content. If you liked the look of ‘Irresistible Revolution’ then this is a quantum leap forward, like as if the publishers suddenly realised what this thing was all about…
In some ways it reminds me of an illuminated manuscript, from back in the day of monkishness, when religious texts were coloured and illustrated by devoted scholars. This fits with the fact that the authors are part of the new monastic movement – and perhaps this could be seen as the contemporary equivalent.
But aside from a fantastic design job – what does the latest offering from our dreadlocked brother actually contain? Well first point to make, there are very clearly two voices audible in this book. Claiborne and Haw have coinciding views, but different emphases, or perhaps just different experiences, which while bringing occasional difficulties to the academic niceties of the text, actually helps lend weight to this book. Actually – if you count the design, then add in one or two more voices as well.
Written throughout in easily digestible chunks, the book begins as a dissection of a theme of radical God politics which the authors show running through the bible. It sidetracks through stories of friends, writings of early Christians and reflections on current affairs.
It’s a book of stories, parables, and prophecy, it is not supposed to be a tome, or a text book, or a prize winning essay – this is a work of love, an object of discussion, a catalyst (for want of a less clichéd term) for renewed engagement with the themes, and an encouragement to live a different way.
Rather than taking an easy option, such as a single standpoint, of a Christian anarchy for example, or an anti war vote, Claiborne and Haw manage to turn the whole idea around, arguing for a radical Christian engagement with politics and society in a way that is at once submissive and subversive. American voters wanting to know who the writers say they should vote for, will find themselves left with the same choices, but hopefully looking at them through new, or perhaps ancient lenses. I suspect also that this will help many bring a new creativity to their decision making.
Pacifism and anti (or non) consumerism are key themes, but they each form only part of the overall principal argument, which is to see God’s people as a people set apart by God, called to live another way, and to follow only one leader. It critiques the philosophy that one can serve God, and walk in the way of the world.
This clarion call to a subversive and renewed people of God is a creative and stimulating read – it’s not without its problems, one cant help thinking that if Claiborne authors another book, he will have come close to being part of the system which he so clearly wants to work against, but at the same time, I like many others would be happy to read anything he writes. One might also question how the authors can happily work with others such as Jim Wallis who argue for a more conventional approach to politics… clearly McLaren is not the only one with a generous orthodoxy these days.
Some readers may find biblical references to apocryphal books troubling or confusing, I don’t, in fact I like it. Some factual discrepancies may exist within the text, (numbers of dead in Iraq, or etc) but these are minor when looked at in context, and can be put down to the issue of dual authorship.
It’s a beautiful, peaceful, challenging, affirming, prophetic, subversive and creative book, well worth reading, sharing, mulling over… likely to become a classic.
Links:
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the happenings in Florida, Dudley, and closer to home for me, the meetings that have been held in Llanelli recently.
I’ve been around charismatic church for a fairly long time now, I’ve seen a few different waves come and go, all of which doesnt make me any better at discerning between the good stuff and the dross, in fact it may have made me worse, as I am definitely more cynical now than I was, but all in all I hope it has leant me some perspective which is useful.
So my natural reaction when I hear about new revivals or miraculous ministries, is to be catious. The first time I saw Todd Bentley in action was in a video projected in a church meeting. I had never heard of him, and was not particularly taken with his style, or what he had to say. I was most disturbed though when the encouragement was given to: “look at this with the eyes of a child, dont let your brain get in the way” - I paraphrase, I wasnt carrying my notepad.
I think that all of these waves of spiritual renewal/revival etc need to be looked at from two perspectives simultaneously: 1) God can do anything, and frequently works in strange ways through strange people. 2) The bible warns, and experience shows that false prophets are all around, against whom we need to be on our guard.
Assuredly most of those false prophets are those who have so effectively encouraged and enabled us to syncretise Jesus teachings with secular materialism, or empire worship. But some of them are knocking around in the crazy charismatic scene too.
Get where I’m coming from on this, I am part of two different self styled charismatic churches. I’m not anti Charismaticism, I dont think we should all just chant and meditate all the time, I beleive that there is a healthy mix, which involves corporate expression, holy spirit stuff, silence, lots of other stuff too.
I find the ‘post charismatic‘ approach rather sniffy, somewhat too close to looking down the nose at those in a more primitive state. This is just as wrong as the approach that says ‘unless you’re getting slain in the spirit all the time, you arent in the right place’.
So back to Bentley, I have a few points that I dont like about this Florida stuff.
1) I feel like its too close to being a personality cult. There’s a lot of talk about Todd Bentley, I would prefer if there were lots of talk about Jesus, and everyone else involved was of little importance. I know that this is the way it goes of course, Evan Roberts was the big name in the Welsh Revival, but I dont get the impression he was the same kind of character as mr Bentley. From the stuff I’ve heard and read about Todd, he seems an anointed individual, and a damaged individual. Some of the things he writes and says, such as the well referenced trip to heaven where Paul tells him how Abraham gave him the material for the book of Galatians seems out and out nonsense. However, people are getting healed, and apparently even raised from the dead… (If I was wikipedia, I’d say citation needed). (On one video a guy ministering with Todd declares: ‘The moslems have a spirit of infirmity because of inbreeding…’ huh?
2) There is an unhealthy approach to money. This seems to be a major problem in America, and I cant quite get to grips with it. You’ve got people like Joyce Meyer living in vast mansions, complaining about taxes etc, while all over the world people dwell and die in abject poverty… that’s just weird and wrong. On Todd’s website I read that there are three ways of giving to the ministry, if you go for the top level ($500 per month, or a one off payment of $5000) you get special access to Todd, including special ministry sessions and stuff. Euurgh. That is just disgusting. Not what I see as fruit of a truly Jesus devoted life.
3) I have a problem with this kind of phenomena which is that it proves exciting for a while, but then people get disillusioned, and when they find the only place they’re getting the experience is in Todd’s meetings… and perhaps even that’s not what it was… guess what? They pack it in, Christianity is another thing to write off. Hmmm. This is a big problem.
4) It has sparked another gold rush of Christians jumping in planes to get over to Florida in order to be able to catch the spirit and bring it back home. This just makes me uncomfortable… maybe I’m wrong, but I just dont see God working like this. If anything, then what happened at Pentecost, and the 1904 revival, was that people went out from the outpouring to pour out their lives into other places, and that is how the thing travelled. But instead, people who are in the midst, seem just to stay there, desperate for another hit… its a kind of consumerist holy ghost experience, get as much as you can while stocks last.
5) And lastly I’m yet to see any fruit from all of this - and that is surely the biggest proof of what value something has. If we see radical shifts in church, people selling their goods and giving the money to the poor (or Todd B???) then that will be a good sign. That’s the kind of thing we see afterwards, so a bit of hindsight will be helpful on this one.
Here in Llanelli, Antioch Church has recently hosted an event called ’slosh fest’ - subtitle ‘head in the barrel’.
With the help of Emerge Wales, and assorted bods from the charismatic world, they held a few days of meetings where the holy spirit stuff was really emphasised. I have to admit, I didnt go, although I often go to Antioch’s sunday services. I dont like the idea of a ’slosh fest’ - but I’ve been interested to look at the aftermath.
Without a doubt (in my mind) there was some bonkers stuff going on. I’m not convinced that the prophecy of streets full of people in spiritual trances is right (I heard that one from the train station platform!) And I am sorry, but I’m pretty sure some people were just there for an experiential spiritual hit - which I think is a crap reason to go to a meeting.
But here’s the reason I respect Antioch - they are fully and holisitically engaged in their community, which is a rough one. And the outworking of the slosh fest thing is that this engagement has increased. They’re doing more work out on the street, they are not just sloshing up all the time. This is a clear example of fruit - and it suggests to me that there is something genuinely happening here.
I may not like the type of meeting, I dont fall down or twitch, or make funny noises like a lot of the Antioch folk do, but if God is doing something in them with the twitching and what not, which means they will have a greater impact on the poor and downtrodden around them, I’m happy about that.
A few of the Antioch leaders went to Florida, they seem to have been impacted by it - I cant say that it seems to have particularly impacted the rest of the folk there. (On a side note, one lady (not an Antioch regular) came up to me and said she had been to Florida, she told me when she was there, God told her to put her hands on people and make a ‘wooshing’ noise. She wanted to know if I minded… I said ‘no, please go ahead’. Guess what, nothing happened, but at least she didnt try to push me over 
)
So here’s my opinion in a nutshell (after 1300 odd words) Todd Bentley: anointed but flawed, handle with care. Florida revival: probably not a revival, let’s wait and see. New Charismatics: don’t give them a hard time, they might be nutty, but the ones I know have hearts devoted to Jesus, and are living out their faith in a very real way. They are mental though ;) Post charismatics: smacks a little of spiritual snobbery, lets accept our differences and all get along.
There’s been a lot of coverage of Obama’s Philadelphia speech recently, (see also here and read a transcript here) where he finally dealt head on with the poisonous snipes that have been aimed his way, over (of all things) his skin colour. Of course the strong words of his church minister havent helped him all that much, but lets be honest, Christian ministers have a good record of criticising America for its sinfulness… And it goes down well, so long as its from the establishment direction of course. Right wing preachers are welcome to declare that America is going to hell in a hand cart, but not firebrand Black men.
I’ll be honest, if I was American, and I voted, I’d vote for Obama, but I’m not, so I wont. And I ‘m not alone, I suspect lots of people wont vote for Obama. But many of them will be Americans.
Hillary Clinton has been doing her best to spoil his chances, my favourite Hillary comment was the one where she said there was no reason to suspect him of being a Muslim ‘As far as I know ‘. Damned with faint praise then.
Matthew Norman writing in the Independent says Obama treated Americans like gorwn ups: “Barack Obama talked to Americans on Tuesday, as I said, as if they were adults. He did unto them, to adapt a closing line from a speech the commentator Andrew Sullivan called deeply Christian, as he would have them do unto him. Whether Americans have the capacity to respond as adults, or whether they cling to the comforting blanket of sideshows like the ranting Rev Wright, will go as far as anything towards deciding the Presidency.”
But is this infantile nation, which has a record of ridiculous presidents and loony politics, waves guns around and considers itself the ‘liberator of Iraq’ ready to be treated in this way? Sorry to my American friends, I know there are many many of you who are intelligent sophisticated people who no more support ignorant politics than anyone else, but unfortunately I dont think you are in the majority.
Will America rise to the challenge of being treated this way? Or will it, as I predict, plump for Senator oven chip? I sadly suggest that the Democrats may well get beaten when it comes to election time, because President Palmer aside, I dont think the US is yet ready for a black president.
Oh and by the way, Hillary is arguably only still in the race because of her willingness to play fast and loose with the truth, as this article on the Common Dreams site explains…
Or of course, we could simply follow the suggestions of Shane Claiborne and friends who are suggesting we elect Jesus for president, and put the Amish in for homeland security!
There’s been a lot of talk about Fidel Castro over the last few days, after he announced he would no longer be continuing as president of Cuba. Most of what I have heard, has been in general negative towards Cuba, Castro, and Communism.
An american friend told me today that he thought the US should lift the embargo on Cuba (so do I actually, I think its an act of war) - his reason was that it was the best way to defeat communism, by allowing Cubans to catch the capitalist bug.
This in part sums up my reason for respecting Castro. He’s anathema to today’s capitalist world. Cuba stands alone as a place where a form of socialism is actually working (not without problems - some of them big ones). I would suggest that all of our capitalist societies are just as flawed though as the socialist Cuban society.
Fidel with his fatigues, his work ethic, his unflinching attitude of revolutionary defiance, his eschewing of personal glory through conventional means, his resistance to the temptations of personal wealth (ignore what Forbes say about him - its propaganda) and his general ballsiness in taking on the world’s biggest superpower (and greatest oppressor) and surviving, is admirable.
Not so admirable are the human rights violations, the murders, internments, vilification and imprisonment of gays and jehovah’s witnesses amongst others, all of which have occurred since the revolution - over the last nearly 50 years.
But it must be said in his defence that the majority of these crimes were carried out long ago. Castro is not the same man he was back then. The days of Fidel, Raul and Che overthrowing the Batista dictatorship are long gone. Now Castro is better understood as the man who led Cuba to become a country of extraordinary achievement.
A literacy rate of 98%, a very low infant mortality rate, a strong emphasis on environmentaly friendly technology, an organic farming revolution, he even reintroduced Christmas…
And on that note I would say that the idea of banning Christmas as a national holiday is one that I actually rather like, its a lot better than the commercialised hell that we suffer each year in the name of the homeless rabbi who died a squalid death after being abandoned by his followers… anyway… it got reinstated in the end, rather like Jesus.
I know that my perspective is vastly different from that of the many cuban emigres who fled the country in boats, to get to America where they could be happy capitalists, its certainly different to those who were imprisoned for ‘counter revolutionary thoughts’. Again, I dont claim Castro, Cuba, or communism are perfect.
But I do respect Castro, I respect the way he has kept going, I resepct the fact that in those early days he and the others lived the lives they told others to live, they spent their time off doing manual labour with the ordinary people, and Fidel’s children today work in factories, where they arent afforded the luxury and privelige that the presidential children of any other nation would be.
I truly deplore killing, I am a pacifist and a believer in freedom. But the freedoms we have in the democratic countries are often much less real than we like to think. There are plenty of ways this country will punish those who step out of line, albeit somewhat more subtle! I dont agree with the human rights abuses that have taken place in Cuba, nor do I support, excuse or condone the killings or imprisonment of many innocent souls.
So there it is, despite his and his regimes manifold failings, I still say that I respect Fidel, and all that he has acheived. And if any other leaders are as ready to put their life on the line, and walk the talk like Fidel has over the last fifty odd years, then I would probably offer them respect too. Trouble is, very few have.
on the today program the other day - last week actually - said: “societies have to make choices, as to whether they want more material well being, or more tranquility. They cannot have both.”
I think it came the same day as George Dubya made his ‘historic’ announcement that America was going to lead the ‘war on climate change’ or whatever he calls it, just so long as, that war on climate change doesnt impact on America’s material well being of course…
Good gracious, there was me thinking they were busy hiding in caves and plotting Jihad, but in fact they are reading Brian McLaren and posting comments on tallskinnykiwi, in a desperate attempt to muddle us so much, we are incapable of resisting their tyranny!
And here’s me just wanting to talk about carbon footprints…
Yes, if you didnt know this, read all about it here, thanks to mr skinny kiwi for the tip off!
Now if you dont mind some muslims are keen to establish a Kaliphate in my backyard, and I want to check they are paying the workers a fair price for weaving those headscarves and veils….
In case you cant be bothered to read the article (who can blame you) here’s a highlight: “If the world is to be saved from Muslim conquest, it will be America who does it. And if America is to be saved, only conservatism can do it. And if conservatism is to be saved, it will be those Bible-believing patriots who do it–those conservative, evangelical Christians who are the bedrock of the American way of life.”
Cool huh!
I see Scooter Libby has had his sentence commuted, well aint that just great - nice one George dubya!
Unbelievable.
(post number 3 in the ‘War on slugs series’)
In a series of daring raids, our troops have taken the battle back to the slugs - capturing them in their hideouts, and showing them who is boss!
Our brave boys… and girls… take the fight to the slugs.
“Now the war has really stepped up a gear” commented one official, who explained he doesnt like “the way slugs are all slimy and stuff.”
With precise timing, a series of attacks were launched on known slug hide outs, which included paving slabs, and an area of rockery. During the rockery raid, one slug was discovered hiding only feet away from the runner bean plant which suffered a devastating attack only days ago.
“To find the slug hiding in the very area in which we lost so many young leaves…” said one onlooker, “is chilling. I can only thank heaven that we got to him, before he got to the pumpkin plant.”
Hiding in the rockery… the slugs are everywhere.
A full scale seek and destroy mission is still underway for the slugs spiritual leader, Oslima Bin Sluggin, who is believed to be in hiding in the wall between the garden, and Harold-next-door’s garden.
“The problem is that there are so many caves, a real network of hideouts” admitted a spokesman. “But we are in this for the long haul, he wont beat us.”
A cave system in the wall adjoining Harold-next-door’s garden.
In addition to the attack missions, a renewed defence system has hurriedly been put into place, three new beer traps have been put into effect, and it is hoped that these will help cut down the number of slugs who can roam freely in the garden.
Commisioned: three new beer traps.
One thing is for certain, the longer this goes on, the more difficult the diplomatic situationwith Harold-next-door, who now claims that extremist slugs are holding training camps in the compost bin.
Now Harold-next-door claims the slugs are in the compost bin!
More to follow.
“We are aware of at least twelve cells of fanatical slugs who have been planning raids on targets in the garden.
“The problem we have encountered is that our agents, have traditionally been trained to infiltrate gangs of earwigs and woodlice.
“As a result of this, our ability to speak the language of slug is hampered.
“Fortunately we have a snail in the fish tank who speaks a form of snail - which is a bit like slug, but agents who are fluent in slug are hard to come by. This is an issue we are currently redressing, but not quickly enough to make an impact to this situation.” Press release issued by the office of the supreme gardener.
This was the grim news which greeted us as we rose this morning, the world is different now… there is a tangible sense of fear in the air, and extra blackbirds and thrushes are constantly patrolling the skies above the garden.
Without a doubt, the spirit of the blitz is alive and well here. We’ve all been making the best of it, digging for Britain, that kind of thing. Last night we hunkered down as best we could, hardly sleeping, knowing that any moment the slugs could strike again.
But there is also a constant air of suspicion in the air, and it has been directed not just at the overgrown weed patch in Harold-next-door’s garden, but also at a more distant, and older enemy… the French!
Conspiracy theorists weren’t slow to point out that in fact the French beans had not been touched by the invaders, and some witnesses claimed to have seen snails in the area. These two factors taken separately may have meant nothing, but we all know snails are french, and so are french beans. Curioser and curioser.
Suspicious - the French beans werent touched.
At first light this morning the garage was raided, two slugs were discovered hiding out there, but a spokesman said that they were believed to be loners, not part of the terror network.
The whereabouts of these captives is unknown, but using the emergency powers granted by the crisis cabinet, a salt encrusted prison camp has been set up on the old-green-table-in-front-of-the-kitchen, this facility has become known as Bantam Guano Ay, or sometimes Pa Cry Max.
Meanwhile moves are underway to engage in dialogue with Harold-next-door, in a dramatic last ditch effort to prevent hostilities breaking out.
“I remember when a ball went in his garden, he didnt throw it back for weeks” said one little girl tearfully. “He’s a vile dictator!” She added.
It is certainly clear that Harold-next-door has been known to dig ‘tators, but whether he does this in a vile way, is unclear. Also unclear is the whereabouts of the slug spiritual leader, Oslima Bin Sluggin, he is thought by some to be hiding out in a small cave in the old wall which borders the side of the garden, and has so far been thought to protect us from the ravages of Harold-next-door, and his chemically powered gardening practises.
“A man who uses chemicals on his plants cannot be trusted” reminded a ministry spokesman. “This kind of indiscriminate use of chemical and biological weaponry to cleanse his gardens of plants he doesnt like, which he describes as weeds, is evidence of his callousness.”
Some dissident voices have claimed however that in fact the slugs were initially trained by our own government, during a campaign against the-bloke-who-lived-next-door-on-the-other-side-but-who-moved, which began after he kept blocking up the lane behind the houses, with his van, at inconvenient times.
“Our own government financed and trained the slugs, in an effort to destroy his plants during the spring of 2005.
“At that time the slugs, in particular the Mujasluggin were seen as useful to us… the enemy of our enemy is our friend and all that.” Said film maker and outspoken chubby guy Michael Moremoremore.
“It just goes to show!” He added knowingly.
More to follow.
This morning the world awoke to a terrible sight. Extremist slugs had wreaked untold devastation on an innocent, and unsuspecting runner bean plant.
Apparently the slugs had been secretly training for many days before carrying out the outrage, led by senior slugs who had attended secret training camps for Mujasluggin.
“This was a dramatic failure of intelligence on our part” admitted one official. “These slugs have taken us entirely by surprise, our defences have been breached, and a terrible cost has been extracted.”
The scene of devastation.
A crisis cabinet was convened, and a ministry spokesman briefed a hushed press conference early this morning:
“We will not let this go unpunished. These slugs cannot strike at the very heart of our garden and be allowed to slither away totally free.
“As far as we know, they have returned to their hiding places, under logs, in between stones in the wall, and in other dark and damp areas.
“But believe this, we will find them, and they will answer for what happened here today.”
This statement was later followed by a message of support from the primeminister of the garden over the road, who pledged his full support, and made clear his personal commitment to be “tough on slugs, tough on the causes of slugs.”
As yet though the causes of slugs are unclear. The primeminister also said that he had been made aware of intelligence which showed that slugs in Harold-next-door’s garden were able to strike at the runner beans at just 45 minutes notice.
One problem that has been highlighted in the aftermath of the attack, are that our garden’s deterrants are outdated.
“It’s clear that our systems need to be overhauled” a spokesman said, “these slugs should never have slipped through so easily.
“It may even be that they disguised themselves as snail, or even worms, to affect this infiltration, and we therefore advise that all citizens be aware of any, and I mean any slimy creature, as they may pose a real and present threat to the security of our garden.”
Some campaigners have pointed out that under the terms of the Innes no3 treaty, all gardens have pledged not to renew or update their deterrant systems. But a government spokesman pointed out that these rules are for ‘other’ gardens, where the administrations cannot be trusted to garden efficiently.
“Some of these gardens are allowed to run wild, with little or no investment made in terms of cultivation. In such places, which are best described as ‘the axis of evil’, we as responsible gardeners need to be firm in our resolve over allowing them to develop new weapons, which they could in future use against us, or worse, could fall into the wrong hands.”
“Imagine what a slug could do with that technology!” He added.
Innocent and vulnerable - the French beans could be next!
Concern is now growing for the vulnerability of some young french bean plants, which have so far remained unscathed.
“We dont know when, but we do know that at some point an attempt will be made on these french beans, and in order to prevent that we must take decisive action.” The spokesman explained.
“A garden shed cabinet has been convened, and we are considering the next step in this campaign . An invasion of Harold-next-door’s garden has not been ruled out, it is clear that he is harbouring slugs, and our intel supports the theory that the slugs spiritual leader, Oslima Bin Sluggin may be based there.”
Opposition voices have been raised, as fears grow that a full on invasion may happen, which would pose terrible problems with the police, what with it being someone elses garden and everything… Critics have also claimed that the real reason for the invasion is not slugs at all, but is motivated by the fact that Harold-next-door is brewing his own bio diesel in his garage.
More to follow.
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