Business News

20080630
John McCain - Bud Day - Politics - 2004 Election - Ads -Military - History - Vietnam - Belgium - US - Massachusetts - Texas - Missouri - 2008 Election
"Price of Power: McCain accepts ex-Swift Boaters' donations." ... "Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain, who four years ago condemned independent ads challenging Democrat[ic Senator from Massachusetts and 2004 Election Presidential Candidate] John Kerry's military record, has accepted nearly $70,000 for his presidential campaign from the top donors of the group behind the attack ads and their relatives, a USA TODAY analysis shows." ... "In 2004, the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later called SwiftVets and POWS for Truth) bankrolled ads charging that Kerry had lied about the incidents in Vietnam that led to his military decorations. The group included former members of the Navy who served in the same kind of river patrol boats as Kerry. McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, called the group's advertising "dishonest and dishonorable."" ... "Bob Perry, a Texas builder who gave nearly $4.5 million to Swift Boat Vets, and his wife, Doylene, each have given $4,400 to McCain's presidential campaign, some of which went to an account for legal and accounting expenses, records show." ... "Other donors include Sam Fox, a St. Louis [Missouri] businessman who was named [United States] U.S. ambassador to Belgium last year by President Bush." ... "On Monday, Kerry and national Democratic Party officials sharply criticized McCain for including retired Air Force colonel Bud Day in a conference call with reporters to defend McCain's military service. Day had appeared in Swift Boat ads." -By Fredreka Schouten -USATODAY

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John McCain - Tom Loeffler - Susan E Nelson - Gordon England - EADS - European - Military - Aircraft - Manufacturing - Politics - Government - Auditors - US - 2008 Election
"McCain’s Boeing Battle Boomerangs." ... "Government auditors ruled that the Air Force made "significant errors" when it rebid the [aerial refueling tanker] contract and awarded the $35 billion project to Boeing's chief rival, partners European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. [Company] (or EADS) and Northrop Grumman. It's likely the Air Force will have to redo the bid yet again, which analysts say will delay the replacement of the fleet's 1950s-era refueling tankers. The auditors' ruling has also cast light on an overlooked aspect of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's crusade: five of his campaign's top advisers and fund-raisers—including Tom Loeffler, who resigned last month as his finance co-chairman, and Susan Nelson, his finance director—were registered lobbyists for EADS." ... "Critics, including some at the Pentagon, cite in particular two tough letters McCain wrote to Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England in 2006 and another to Robert Gates, just prior to his confirmation as Defense secretary. In the first letter, dated [September] Sept. 8, 2006, McCain wrote of hearing from "third parties" that the Air Force was about to redo the tanker competition by factoring in European government subsidies to EADS—a condition that could have seriously hurt the EADS bid. McCain urged that the Pentagon drop the subsidy factor and posed a series of technical questions about the Air Force's process. "He was trying to jam us and bully us to make sure there was competition by giving EADS an advantage," said one senior Pentagon official, who asked for anonymity when discussing a politically sensitive matter. The assumption within the Pentagon, the official added, was that McCain's letters were drafted by EADS lobbyists. "There was no one else that would have had that level of detail," the official said." -By Michael Isikoff -Newsweek

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20080627
Grover Norquist - Jack Abramoff - John McCain - Racial - Politics - History - Military - People - Economic - Illinois - 2008 Election - Obama
"Norquist describes Obama as ‘John Kerry with a tan’." ... "Grover Norquist has quite a history of being unhinged. He’s said the Estate Tax is morally equivalent to the Nazi Holocaust; he’s called WWII veterans “anti-American,” and he’s called bipartisanship “another name for date rape.”" ... "But this clown isn’t done pushing the envelope."

"Norquist dropped by The [Los Angeles] Times’ Washington bureau today and, as part of his negative critique of Obama’s liberal stances on economic issues and other matters, he termed the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee “John Kerry with a tan.”" ... "Since Norquist isn’t running for anything, he can get away with such remarks; we doubt McCain will be incorporating the line into his speeches anytime soon."

"Greg Sargent responded, “Guess it could have been worse. He could have termed the Illinois Senator ‘John Kerry in blackface.’ Such admirable restraint on Norquist’s part!" ... "Now, the LAT’s Don Frederick noted that Norquist can “get away with such remarks,” presumably because he’s not a candidate and everyone expects lunacy from him anyway. He’ll “get away with” this, just as Norquist got away with the other instances of insane rhetoric, not to mention his role in the Abramoff scandal, which somehow seems to have been largely forgotten." ... "But I’m going to go ahead and argue that this probably should matter in the context of the presidential campaign, not just because Norquist is using offensive racial language, but also because he’s suddenly best buddies with [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain." -Steve Benen -TheCarpetbaggerReport.com

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20080624
McCain - Charles R Black Jr - Foreign - Money - Politics - Human Rights - 2008 Election - Arizona - US - Pakistan - Angola - Philippines - Zaire now: Democratic Republic of the Congo - Nigeria - Somalia - Kenya
"Terror Strike Would Help McCain, Top Adviser Says." ... "A top adviser to [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain said that a terrorist attack in the United States would be a political benefit to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, a comment that was immediately disputed by the candidate and denounced by his Democratic rival." ... "Charles R. Black Jr., one of McCain's most senior political advisers, said in an interview with Fortune magazine that a fresh terrorist attack "certainly would be a big advantage to him." He also said that the December assassination of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto, while "unfortunate," helped McCain win the Republican primary by focusing attention on national security." ... "The comment reinjected the fear of terrorism into the campaign as both candidates had been shifting their conversation to the economy and $4-per-gallon gasoline." ... "The comments also returned the political spotlight to McCain's advisers and, in particular, to Black, who has drawn criticism for his long lobbying career and his representation of controversial foreign governments. McCain has been criticized for surrounding himself with top advisers who were lobbyists." ... "Black and his lobbying partners were at times registered foreign agents for a collection of U.S.-backed foreign leaders whose human rights records were sometimes harshly criticized, even as American conservatives embraced their opposition to communism. They included Angolan guerrilla leader Jonas Savimbi, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire, Nigerian [General] Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre, and the countries of Kenya and Equatorial Guinea, among others." (1, 2) -By Michael D. Shear with contributions by Karl Vick and Alice Crites -WashingtonPost

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Tom Ridge - John McCain - Money - Politics - Albania - US - Pennsylvania - 2008 Election
"Ridge lobbies for Albania, but doesn't report it." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge registered with the Department of Justice as a lobbyist for the government of Albania nearly two years after winning an almost half-million dollar lobbying contract, Roll Call reports this morning." ... ""I didn't think it was [necessary] to register," the Capitol Hill newspaper quotes the former [Republican] Pennsylvania governor and national co-chair of [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential campaign as saying." -By Brett Lieberman -PennLive.com

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20080620
John McCain - Criminal - Financing - Lawyering - Politics - Federal - 2008 Election
"McCain Breaking the Law in Plain Sight." ... "I mentioned earlier today that it was quite a thing to see John McCain denouncing Barack Obama for breaking his word on public financing when McCain himself is at this moment breaking the law in continuing to spend over the spending limits he promised to abide by through the primary season in exchange for public financing. (By the FEC's [Federal Election Commission's] rules, we're still in the primary phase of the election and will be until the conventions.)" ... "I want to return to this subject though because this is not hyperbole or some throw away line. He's really doing it. McCain opting into public financing, accepted the spending limits and then profited from that opt-in by securing a campaign saving loan. And then he used some clever, but not clever enough lawyering, to opt back out. And the person charged with saying what flies and what doesn't -- the Republican head of the FEC -- said he's not allowed to do that. He can't opt out unilaterally unless the FEC says he can." ... "The most generous interpretation of what happened is that McCain's lawyer came up with an ingenious legal two step that allowed him to double dip in the campaign finance system, eat his cake and spend it too. But even if you buy that line, successful gaming of the system doesn't really count as strict adherence. And the point is irrelevant since the head of the FEC -- a Republican -- says McCain cannot do this on his own. " -By Josh Marshall -TalkingPointsMemo.com

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WATCH: "TPMtv: [McCain] Campaign Finance Deformed" -By Josh Marshall -Veracifier

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20080616
Kevin Jeffrey Martin - Corporate - Government - Politics - Satellite - Spectrum - History - Communications - Media - Minorities - Women - Lawmakers - Md
"Radio Merger Under Fire From Black Lawmakers: Caucus, FCC [Federal Communications Commission] Chair Differ On Setting Aside XM, Sirius Channels for Minorities." ... "Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus yesterday criticized a compromise plan for the proposed merger of the XM and Sirius satellite radio companies, saying the deal does not provide enough opportunities for minority-owned programming." ... "[Republican President Bush's] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin J. Martin said over the weekend that he would support the merger after XM Satellite Radio Holdings and Sirius Satellite Radio voluntarily agreed, among a series of other concessions, to lease 4 percent of their radio spectrums, or 12 channels, for programming run by minorities and women." ... "Members of the black caucus on Capitol Hill have been arguing for the merged company to lease five times that amount of spectrum to companies owned by racial minorities." ... "[Maryland Democratic Representative Elijah E. Cummings:] "It's shocking to the conscience in this day and age, where the minority populations comprise a significant part of the satellite radio audience, that Mr. Martin would settle for what I deem to be crumbs that have fallen off the table," Cummings said." ... "If the merger is approved, it would be a major reversal of FCC rules. The agency distributed licenses to XM and Sirius in 1997 on the condition the two companies never combine." -By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum -WashingtonPost

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Electricity - Market - Law - Enforcement - Texas
"Power firms’ treatment angers Texans." ... "Prices aren’t the only thing skyrocketing in the state’s deregulated electricity market." ... "Amid continuing company failures — and the resulting forced transfer of tens of thousands of ratepayers to default electric companies — Texans in growing numbers are griping about their ill treatment by power companies." ... "According to the Texas Public Utility Commission, complaints related to the electric market jumped from 704 in January to 1,123 in May. Complaints against three of the four recently failed electric companies jumped about 2,400 percent, from about 20 at the beginning of the year to 508 in May." ... "E-mails and phone calls also continue streaming into the Star-Telegram. Frustrated consumers tell stories of poor treatment by their regular electric competitors, confusing PUC rules, uninformed marketers and the near impossibility of obtaining reliable information about the financial status of companies seeking their business." ... "One company has collected payments from customers but not delivered any electricity, according to some complaints." -By R.A. Dyer -Star-Telegram.com

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20080615
John McCain - Clayton Williams - Women - Politics - Texas - Ariz - 2008 Election
"McCain Texas Fundraiser Back On, Sans Oilman." ... "[2008 Elecition Republican Presidential Candidate and Arizona Senator] Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz [Republican-Arizona]) has decided to hold a fundraiser initially sponsored by a controversial Texas oilman later in the summer at a different venue, according to an aide who asked not to be identified." ... "McCain had planned to hold a joint fundraiser with the Republican National Committee on Monday at the Midland, Tex., home of Clayton Williams, who ran for governor of his state in 1990. But after reporters from The Washington Post and ABC inquired Friday about a remark Williams made comparing rape to bad weather -- "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it" -- the campaign cancelled the fundraiser. Williams has apologized for the remarks" -By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

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John McCain - Clayton Williams - Money - Politics - Texas - 2008 Election
"McCain Cancels Event Over Texan's 1990 Rape Joke: Clayton Williams Made Comments While Running Against [then Texas Democratic Candidate for Governor] Ann Richards." ... "Questions from the media prompted Republican [2008 Election Presidential Candidate] John McCain to cancel a fundraiser at the home of a Texas oilman who once joked that women should give in while being raped." ... "The Texan, Republican Clayton "Claytie" Williams, made the joke during his failed 1990 campaign for governor against Democrat Ann Richards. Williams compared rape to the weather, saying, "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it." He also compared Richards to the cattle on his ranch, saying he would "head her and hoof her and drag her through the dirt."" ... "Williams told his hometown newspaper, the Midland Reporter-Telegram, that he had raised more than $300,000 for McCain." -AP via -cbs2chicago.com

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John McCain - Hillary Clinton - Women - Health - Abortion - Money - Law
"Angry Clinton Women [HEART] McCain?" ... "Ten years ago [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain had to apologize for regaling a Republican audience with a crude sexual joke about Hillary and Chelsea Clinton and Janet Reno. Last year he had to explain why he didn’t so much as flinch when a supporter asked him on camera, “How do we beat the bitch?” But these days Mr. McCain just loves the women." ... "You’d never guess that Mr. McCain is a fierce foe of abortion rights or that he voted to terminate the federal family-planning program that provides breast-cancer screenings. You’d never know that his [McCain's] new campaign blogger, recruited from The Weekly Standard, had shown his genuine affection for Mrs. Clinton earlier this year by portraying her as a liar and whiner and by piling on with a locker-room jeer after she’d been called a monster. “Tell us something we don’t know,” he wrote." ... "But while the McCain campaign apparently believes that women are easy marks for its latent feminist cross-dressing, a reality check suggests that most women can instantly identify any man who’s hitting on them for selfish ends. New polls show Mr. Obama opening up a huge lead among female voters — beating Mr. McCain by 13 percentage points in the Gallup and Rasmussen polls and by 19 points in the latest Wall Street Journal-NBC News survey." ... "... the notion that all female Clinton supporters became “angry white women” once their candidate lost — to the hysterical extreme where even lifelong Democrats would desert their own party en masse — is itself a sexist stereotype. That’s why some of the same talking heads and Republican operatives who gleefully insulted Mrs. Clinton are now peddling this fable on such flimsy anecdotal evidence." -By Frank Rich -NYTimes

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20080614
John McCain - Clayton Williams - Money - Politics - Texas - History - 2008 Election
"McCain fundraiser's joke about rape resurfaces: GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] candidate postpones event in Midland [Texas] after questions emerge." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's campaign late Friday said it had pulled the plug on a fundraising event scheduled for Monday at Williams' Midland home after reporters contacted the campaign asking about remarks made by the Texas Republican during his 1990 race against Democrat Ann Richards." ... "But Saturday afternoon, the McCain campaign told the Houston Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed until this summer and would be held in a public venue." ... "Late Saturday afternoon, a McCain aide confirmed to the Chronicle that the Midland event had been postponed but had not been taken off the calendar. The compromise allowed McCain to say he had not held a fundraiser at Williams' house; it gave Williams an opportunity to say that the event he organized had not been canceled." ... ""Clayton Williams' totally inappropriate remarks about women are well-known," [daughter of Ann Richards, Cecile] Richards told the Chronicle. "Planning to host a fundraiser at his house is just another example of how out of touch John McCain is when it comes to women's issues. This is a major misstep for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By Richard S. Dunham with contributions by Alan Bernstein and Bennett Roth -Chron

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20080613
John McCain - Clayton Williams - Money - Politics - Family - Abortion - Law - Texas - 2008 Election
"McCain Cancels Fundraiser with Oilman Who Joked About Rape." ... "Clayton Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against the late Texas [Governor] Gov. Ann Richards (D [Democratic]), sparked controversy nearly two decades ago when he joked women should give in while being raped. "As long as it's inevitable, you might as well lie back and enjoy it," the oilman remarked at the time." ... "The Planned Parenthood Action Fund, which has sharply criticized [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain for his opposition to abortion rights and other family planning programs, first contacted the Post about Williams' remarks. The group's president, Cecile Richards, is the daughter of the late Texas governor." ... ""It's shocking that John McCain would choose to fundraise with Clayton Williams, who made his political career saying completely inappropriate and disrespectful remarks about women," Richards wrote in an e-mail. "This is a real misstep for the McCain campaign, who is having a hard time getting support from women."" -By Juliet Eilperin -WashingtonPost

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John McCain's contributor Clayton Williams "in His Own Words".

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John McCain - Barack Obama - Economists - Accounting - 2008 Election
"Will the real tax-and-spender please 'fess up? Economists across political spectrum question [2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate John] McCain's portrayal of [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack] Obama." ... "In a study of the candidates’ plans made public Wednesday, the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center concluded that in contrast to Mr. McCain, “Senator Obama offers much larger tax breaks to low- and middle-income taxpayers and would increase taxes on high-income taxpayers.”" ... "The study said, “The largest tax cuts, as a share of income, would go to those at the bottom of the income distribution,” whereas “Senator McCain’s tax cuts would primarily benefit those with very high incomes.”" ... "Other groups that focus on tax and economic policy are preparing similar analyses, but say they regard the Tax Policy Center’s assessment as highly reliable, based on its work in the past." ... "According to the group’s computations, under Mr. Obama’s plan, the middle of the middle class, or those earning $37,595 to $66,354, would see taxes cut by $1,042 a year. Under Mr. McCain’s plan, taxes for people in that category would also fall, but by $319; the largest chunk of the benefits would go to those making $2.8 million a year or more." -By Larry Rohter -NYTimes via -MSNBC

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Tim Russert - Barack Obama - John McCain - Internet - EMail - Media -  - Politics - Religion -Indiana - Illinois - US - Iraq - Iran - Military - Money - Social Security - 2008 Election
[NOTE: On the day MSNBC's Meet the Press television political journalist Tim Russert died, MSNBC published this interview with Tim Russert:]
"Vigilance needed on campaign claims: Big issues, not smears, need to be the focus." ... "Msnbc: Tim, www.fightthesmears.com is a web site launched by the [2008 Election Democratic Presidential Candidate] Barack Obama campaign to combat potentially damaging rumor about the candidate and his wife, Michelle. Is this necessary?  How big of a problem is this really?" ... "Tim Russert: It’s amazing how much the Internet has changed our lives.  People get emails that make accusations without foundation and they are circulated around the country within seconds and suddenly become topics of conversations around water coolers or in lunchrooms." ... "I remember being in Indianapolis [Indiana's capital] covering the Indiana primary and a man came up to me and said he wasn’t going to vote for [Illinois] Senator Obama because he was very concerned about the comments made by Jeremiah Wright, Obama’s pastor.  I said, “That’s interesting.  As a reporter, I’m curious what comments particularly bothered you?”  He said, “Well, I can’t think of any that come to mind, but I also read on the Internet that he’s a Muslim.”  And I said, “Now wait a minute.  You can’t have both.  You can’t be offended by his Christian minister and then say he’s a Muslim.  You’ve got to pick one.”" ... "But that just underscores what we’re dealing with in this modern era." ... "Now I’m told there’s a counter organization with a very similar name that is going to be positioned and posted to spread the rumors, so that people that go to the Internet to get clarification will go to the wrong web site and get confused." ... "It’s a virus.  You have bloggers on both sides, liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats all trying to utilize this vehicle without any kind of fact checking and without any kind of editorial control." ... "Msnbc:  Given the way people use the Internet, do you wonder if there are going to be some things said or done during the course of this campaign that will be very unsettling?" ... "Russert:  That’s what we have to be conscious of and vigilant against, particularly at the end of the campaign as things are put out there.  We’ve already had a few fake videos with different words dubbed in and people say, “This must be true because I saw it on the Internet.”" ... "What we hope to do in this campaign is recognize there are big differences on big issues between John McCain and Barack Obama – the war in Iraq, Iran, Social Security, taxes.  You don’t need to get into this other stuff.  If it does surface, then I think the mainstream media has an obligation not to just instinctively put it out there without vetting it.  Or, if it is something that is manufactured as a virus, report on that – who did it and why.  But sometimes it’s very hard to trace it back to its original source." -MSNBC

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John McCain - Rick Davis - Foreign - Money - Politician - Law - Ukraine - Russia - US - 2008 Election
"Alleged Russia Ties Entangle McCain Campaign Manager." ... "[2008 Election Republican Presidential Candidate] John McCain's presidential campaign is blasting a New York Times report suggesting that the candidate may have known since 2005 that his campaign manager's [lobbying] firm worked for a Kremlin[citadel in Moscow, Russia's capital]-backed politician." ... "The McCain campaign is strongly denying the paper's reporting that in 2005, a White House National Security Council staffer called John McCain's Senate office to complain that Rick Davis' lobbying firm was "undercutting American policy on Ukraine" by representing a Kremlin-backed politician [Ukrainian politician Viktor Yanukovich]." ... "If the account of the NSC [National Security Council] staffer's call is true, it suggests McCain should have known about the work by Davis' business -- but installed him as campaign manager anyway." ... "The story also raises the possibility that Davis' firm may have violated the anti-espionage Foreign Agents Registration Act, by failing to register work for Yanukovich with the [United States] U.S. government." -By Justin Rood -ABCNEWS.com

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J Robert Flores -Crime - Political - Juvenile - Justice - Science - Sports - New Jersey - Texas - "Football Charity Says It Deserved a $500,000 Govt Grant: Despite Not Even Applying, the Charity Was Awarded a Grant; Some [Department Of Justice] DOJ Staffers Objected." ... "A group that promotes leadership through football says it doesn't know how it was awarded a $500,000 federal grant to help stop juvenile crime, but that it "wasn't political."" ... "The grant is one of a number for the Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) that has come under scrutiny after current and former employees said the official who awarded the money ignored professional staff recommendations and played favorites with groups connected to the [Republican] Bush White House. ABC News conducted an investigation into the OJJDP, which aired earlier this week on "Nightline"." ... "The National Football Foundation (NFF), formerly based in New Jersey and now in Texas, says they did not apply for the grant and have had no contact with J. Robert Flores, the official who awarded the money." ... "Some OJJDP staffers said this program did not deserve the funding." ... ""The football program, like the World Golf Foundation, has lots of private resources and outside funding. They have wealthy powerful people on the board," one staffer said." ... "The staffer added that by law the OJJDP's primary focus is to fund programs that intervene and protect kids who are on the cusp of entering into the juvenile justice system or who are already in the system, and there is no research that shows this program targets the most at-risk kids." (1, 2) -By Anna Schecter -ABCNEWS.com

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