The BigJournalism.com editorial panel is attending this weekend’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C., and it didn’t take long for a media-induced controversy to break out. We expected the mainstream media couldn’t cover a gathering of 10,000 conservatives for an entire weekend without playing the race card at least once, but The New York Times‘ Kate Zernike charged Young America’s Foundation Spokesman and CPAC panelist Jason Mattera with “using racial stereotypes” by lunchtime of Day 1.
We’ve included the video of his speech below, as well as relevant excerpts from Zernike’s New York Times piece. Let us know if you think it was appropriate for her to describe Mr. Mattera using some of the most caustic vocabulary in American life.
We’ll be offering our commentary in the days to come.
Bonus question: Identify with time stamps where Mattera uses the “Chris Rock voice.”
February 18, 2010, 12:45 pm
CPAC Speaker Bashes Obama, in Racial Tones
By KATE ZERNIKE
How can conservatives win the youth vote that overwhelmingly went for Barack Obama in 2008? At the Conservative Political Action Conference, apparently, some are betting on using racial stereotypes.
…
He then mocked what he described, with a Chris Rock voice, as “diversity,” including, he said, college classes on “cyber feminism” and “what it means to be a feminist new black man.”
Describing the latter, he said: “Think of a crossover between RuPaul and Barney Frank.”
He described his book, to be published by Simon & Schuster, as an effort to create “a movement designed to capture and educate freedom-loving young people everywhere.” Offering up a slogan, he adopted the Chris Rock voice again: “Get your government off my freedom!”
Can we save our generation from Obama zombies, he asked. He answered himself by borrowing the president’s campaign slogan: “Yes, my brothahs and sistahs. Yes we can!”
Read the full article here.
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225 Comments
He must have been visiting http://www.ZombiesForObama.com!
I watched his speech and honestly have to tell you I think the author of the column "dissing" him" is NUTS! But given the anger on the other side, I guess this is just how they see it…poor thangs!
NYT is racist, currupt organization, and can't wait to see them implode with the cult of Obama, climate-gate, and socialism-gate.
Witness the death throes of "mainstream journalism." It's ugly, isn't it?
What a great line from Mattera's (great) speech: "…the Left's lobotomy of a generation." And, what a stretch, that the columnist could pretend to find a "racial stereotypes" angle to hang her delusional content on.
I read your article, then read the author's column, then watched the entire video, and the author totally played the race card and put nothing in context. I personally liked his Brooklyn accent.
"I think he's clean and sophisticated and speaks without a black accent"…."Plugs" Biden referring to Obama in early '08
Thanks for posting the speech. Very good. Axelrod says that young voters are going to come back in mid-terms and save the Dems. I so hope he's wrong and that young people see the Left for who they are.
If you think the New York Times prints the truth, you are a fool.
Yeah, lets just keep playing that race card. Let's call the 50% plus of Americans racists because they wont roll over for Obama. I am sick of being called a racist. If wanting Obama's big spending agenda to fail is racist, then sign me up to the new definition of the word. It is his policies I dont like, that does not make me racist in the way I define the word. Reverse Racism is alive and well in America.
The author of this article is just overly sensitive.
Just keep on dreaming, David Axelrod.
Progressive* Democrats voted in a self-important, colossal idiot who has never done anything in his entire worthless life (other than voting present). Now, when he looks down his snoot and lectures us, insults our country, insults our religion, insults my friends and insults me, I take offense!
How to create jobs…
…From a man who has never held a real job.
How to run our businesses…
…From a man who has never run a business..
How to run our education system…
…From a man who hides his college records.
How to manage our finances…
…From a man who spends money we don't have.
How we should respect his faith…
…From a man who mocks Christian faith.
How to run our military…
…From a man who embraces those who attacked America.
How he respects our American Heritage…
…From a man who is dedicated to Socialism.
*progressive: I am elite and smart, you are stupid, therefore I will be your master
Obama Mocks Christian Faith
http://usataxpayer.org/?0033881580
Obama's Own Words
http://usataxpayer.org/?0097519370
Wasn't that Harry "Plantation" Reid?
To repeat an older post:
Dear Liberals,
Please be advised that your Race Card account has been closed. This decision was based on your account history of excessive over-limit spending. Please destroy your card immediately as it will no longer be honored.
Sincerely,
The American People
That's "no negro dialect".
Unless he he is talking to an audience of black people in the south and wants to connect.
Lets not forget how sharp and crisp those seams on his trousers are. It made a thrill run up Chris Mathews leg.
However, it did not do a thing for me.
The liberal newspapers and their writers are sooooooooo thin skinned they might as well use desolving rice paper to publish their crap on because it’s only a matter of time for all of them desolve anyway, and the sooner the better. MM calls the NY Times “Fish Wrap”. That’s an insult to every fresh water and sea living creature. It should be recycled in every dog pond in the Country starting at MSNBCrochRot where the NO Hitters and FLEAS just keep on comming.
What can you expect from a lobotomy recipient
Bernie Goldberg was right to call it the Lame Stream Media, to make the speech of Jason Matter into a racist diatribe is ridiculous.
Bonus question: Identify with time stamps where Mattera uses the “Chris Rock voice.”
7:30 / 8:24 – when he said "jackass"
The left just can't lose the "race" thing. It's their security blanket. The thing is, just like so much else, we are tired of it. We really do want "can't we all just get along?" to be a reality. It's the last thing they want. It's been their edge. That edge is getting mighty dull. The edge they better concern themselves with is the cliff's.
You really think he's overly sensitive? I think it's desperate nitpicking, myself. I refuse to believe that this guy is even offended, just trying to rile up people who are suggestible enough. Cause, you know there are fools out there like that.
Link does not work. Drop the exclaimation point .
No, it's beautiful. I love to see these smug elitist pigs of the MSM, desperately trying to answer for the consequences of the gobblety gook they have been spraying at the American for the last decade.
The youth BETTER realize what's happening to the country they were born into!! It is rapidly changing into something they are not going to like!~ If they don't like being controlled by the overbearing rules on Campus, then they are sure to dislike the rules of adulthood, where the governments tentacles are attached to every aspect of life!!! Everyone will be imprisoned, once you are, you'll then realize incarceration isn't always being behind bars, totalitarian laws are sufficient for the "Moral" masses, who's belief in God, forces them to obey "Man's" law even if it means their freedoms are imprisoned by it!!!
AWWW…Lawdy Lawdy! Do what he say…do what he say!!!!!
"Isn't someone gonna help that poor man?"
-Blazing Saddles…co-screenwritten by none other than Richard Pryor.
The Left is dead – and their dying word was " Racist ".
It will be on their tombstone.
They know that the children born tomorrow, will have no memory of how things are today!! Freedom will soon be just a relic in the annals of history!! As the elderly ride the conveyor belt of life and fall off at the end, their voices of memories and warnings silenced, so are the young climbing on that same belt of life, where they too are the elderly falling off while the young are climbing on, as time moves on, no one will remember how America once was, what Freedom felt like, an ancient myth about a period in time, when your body was YOUR property and you could move about as you desired!!! GOVERNMENT CAN EASILY BECOME YOUR FALSE GOD IF YOU ALLOW IT TOO MUCH POWER, allow it to "Take care of your every need" and it will demand your every God given right of individuality to be handed over to it, it will become your guardian angel!!
My letter to Kate "RaceBaiter" Zernike via the NYT e-mail a comment form..
Your recent article accusing Jason Mattera of using racial stereotypes is a joke. I have a degree in journalism from San Diego State University, and it's the writing and opinions of people like your baiting that are the reason I chose not to enter the field.
I listened to the entire presentation of Mr. Mattera, and though off color, it was not racial. If you resemble any of his characterizations and feel your blood boiling, mention that. But hold the race card to yourself.
The fact that anyone that says anything remotely bad about Obama and gets tagged with the race card is poor form, and you should retract your statement and apologize to Mr. Mattera.
This is not a Democrat/Republican thing, this is a Socialism versus Conservatism thing…. Wake up to it….
All the best
Scott Van Epps
Racial stereotypes? Please. In fact, I don't even think he was TRYING to use a Negro dialect.
The NY Slimes is a corrupt rag, little more than the propaganda wing of the Democrat party.
Jason is from Brooklyn NY. His accent is not a Chris Rock impersonation. Besides I didn't hear one profanity and you know thats not the way Chris Rock rolls. I don't think many of the college demographic reads the New York Slime anyway. If they did then they would want to check out Jason because they pay big bucks to see Chris Rock anyway.
Yo, I am from New York. He was not putting on no "Chris Rock" impersonation, in fact he sounds more like my Uncle Vito. And hell ya, a conservative with a sense of humor, and is funny, no wonder the Socialist/Progressives hate him. Keep it up dude!!!!! Sometimes, humor can prove to be insightful.
How was this RACIST, you ask? He was talking about Barack Hussein Obama and it sounded like he does not like his policies. Everyone should KNOW by now that if you oppose Obama's policies you ARE A RACIST. You'd have to ask Harry Reid if he was using a Negro dialect though.
Just another brick in the wall! Teachers, leave our kids alone!
The left will continue on the path, the only path they know. In some ways it is absolutely amazing to see how a seemingly well educated people can be so tragically cast like moths to the flame. Such is the lot of today's progressive movement. Like the crumbling of the AGW scheme the veil of their self-righteous causes has dropped and exposed them to be the narrow minded hypocrites they are. They have become the 'man' they so fervently protested. Zombie is perhaps the most apt description, little else can explain it.
Let common sense and liberty prevail!
The coordinators of CPAC screwed up again. They should have offered attendees a $100 per square fund-raising raffle based on the number of minutes (or seconds) it would take the Progressive media to publish the first racist claim.
Can't wait for to see what prewritten evil-conservative hate monger expose' they will publish tomorrow. The only thing missing from the NYT's CPAC stories is Rod Serling.
I think Frank is being humble in not including Andrew's dressing down of Kate, as given in an interview w/ Politico.
http://tinyurl.com/yhppy2e
I think Chris Rock might be insulted to be compared to Mattera. Ms. Zernicke certainly doesn't know comedy as well as analysis. Hey Z, I have a hard science Ph.D. and I am smarter than you. You are so far down on the intellectual scale of achievement……..wait, searching for the proper placement………sorry the bottom dropped out. Pissant
"He was talking about Barack Hussein Obama" and Professors!!! Gasp!
Kate Zernike must someday tell us if she observes Hillary and The Messiah affecting voices based on their audience.
Actual racism is pretty much over.
What’s got the moribund media’s undies in a bunch is more like Ray-Sizzum.
So it goes.
The only racist speech here is from the whispering voices in Kate Zernike's head. It is not just a journalistic error but a libel: the false charge of racism, causing immediate and irreparable damage to Jason's reputation among the vast majority of New York Times readers who will never access the video. In a non-bizarro world this would be a firing offense, and Zernike would be shunned in polite society.
Gotta say I am kinda diggin it myself….
James…
Here's exaxtly what Plugs said
Speaking to the New York Observer: Biden was equally skeptical — albeit in a slightly more backhanded way — about Mr. Obama. “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy,” he said. “I mean, that’s a storybook, man
Eyes….
The Negro dialect was Harry Ried….I got my dim racist confused..
Oh, THANK YOU! That goes right into the rhetorical holster. Biden is such a douche.
That makes THREE high level Dems "spreading the love" on Obama, in a 19th or early 20th century, ham handed way.
These old men of the left really are "Plantation Mindset" and it's the GOPers that painted with the "racism" brush all the damn time. Thanks for the info HPD.
James
Like Rush sez "We're racist, sexist, homophobic, Nazis"…None of which even remotly true as a general rule… The Nazi label is most gauling to me…
“I’m no ways tired… I come too faarrrrr”
Now that was racist!!
Well, I listened to Mr. Mattera's speech and all I heard was an Italian guy from Brooklyn. I didn't hear any "Chris Rock" voice, unless of course we are to point out the fact that Chris Rock is from Bedford-Stuy. Anyone who is from NYC knows that Bedford-Stuy is in Brooklyn, which begs the question, " Could it be that two guys from Brooklyn might sound alike, and perhaps have similar speech patterns?" I mean, I don't hear the "Chris Rock" voice, but then again, there are people out there that can't tell the difference between someone from Scotland and someone from London, or an Aussie and a Brit. Far be it for me to point out to a writer for the NYT, which happens to be in NYC, that she needs to get out more. I mean that literally, as in step outside of her apartment once in a while. If a woman living in NYC, and I think it is at least safe to assume that she lives somewhere in the vicinity, doesn't recognize a Brooklyn accent then she is either deaf, or as ignorant as a 8th grade drop out. Just saying.
Short, simple and oh so true.
Abso-freakin'-lutely. In person that Nazi crap gets me fighting mad!
The reading I've done convinces me even more those Nazi pigs operated like some people in the modern day Democrat party,
The Democrats have even taken a turn to the anti-Semetic. It's cool to be anti-Sematic for liberal kids. I challenged a kid about that the other day. Same Dem "talking points" – white phosphorus, poor Palestinians, , no mention of terrorist missles and hiding behind women and children, Jews invaded, (nevermind that it's the ancient home of the Jews) etc., etc.
[...] See full video of the speech and read relevant quotes from the New York Times article here. [...]
PEOPLE, PEOPLE!
You should read the comments over at the NYTimes! They are going apoplectic over this speech! Jesse Helms’ name is being invoked, as well as the usual terms “racist, xenophobic and homophobe”!
It’s hilarious!
What’s more interesting is that my very innocuous comment was NOT yet approved by the moderator, but tons and tons of new comments have appeared since I left mine! It is off the frickin’ map, people! The Times’ readers think this is the biggest thing in the world! LOL!
[...] [...]
[...] [...]
Why waste ink (or is it e-ink) on a nonentity, lamestream paper going down the toilet.
The left doesn't like the right being all edgy and stuff. The days of the (fill in the blank) conservative stereotype are over. The left is just going to have to deal with it.
If you honestly believe that speech was racist, then I have some swampland…you know the rest.
[...] [...]
Why does anyone take the NY Times seriously?
In my experience, New York Times correspondents are badly informed. For starters, they read their own newspaper. But they depend on the fact that their readers are even more ignorant.
Zernicke may not know about this newfangled thing called YouTube, where we can check her work. Is it adolescent fantasy or merely the kind of casual, everyday libel that makes the New York Times what it is?
As with Maureen Dowd's imaginary 'You lie, BOY!' voice, Zernicke heard Chris Rock only in her head. But when you're dying to push the official narrative and there aren't any facts to support it, the New York Times protocol is clear: Screw the Truth, Just Make Stuff Up.
Nobody complains when Obama, brought up in Hawaii and Indonesia, then spending years and years in the Ivy League, uses a "Chris Rock voice." If Mattera speaks Brooklynese, he's keeping it a lot more real than Barack.
[...] February 18, 2010, at 12:45 PM, Kate Zernike’s piece “CPAC Speaker Bashes Obama, in Racial Tones” went live on the New York Times’ Website. Just after 4:00pm that afternoon, Andrew [...]
The New York Times?????? What a joke! I can get better printed content from the "National Enquirer". Whats truly sad here, is I used to look to the "Times" For an educated opinion. I can still get an opinion from the "Times? but it resembles nothing more than misanthropic diatribe easily obtained in any ghetto!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVsr-_-v2sI
The media has become as corrupt as the politicians. People are smart and onto their agenda, the will seal their own fate and cont to be a marginal influence.
Funny how the moonbats work, isn't it?
Here's a link to a Washington Post column where, in the comments section the liberal turds are repeatedly referring to Marco Rubio as "Ricky". (In reference to Ricky Ricardo on "I Love Lucy.")
So again, the loony left proves they are the true party of racist/xenophobes. They still believe that their smug, elitist attitudes will convince us to adopt that drooling, empty glazed-eyed look of the true Maobamist.
Here's the link!
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/201...
I CAN NOT WAIT for November!!!!
CPAC was to appease the stupid people with 'hope and change', from a republican perspective. Nothing has nor will change. It'll be the same circus, different tent.
The Left in general has always been anti semetic esp in Europe. Whenever I hear someone, defending the "Philistinians" (arafat speak), I know they are so warped, trying to talk logical sense is a waste of breath. The brainwashing begins in the publik schools…__
No, CPAC was to re-establish the true conservative perspective – which was lost when RINOs attempted to slap their progressive agenda on us.
Just keep calling us "stupid," Kevin – it only fires us up even more and makes us even more aggressive in recruiting new conservatives to the Tea Party groups.
We LOVE the way you elitists continue to call us "racists" "homophobes," and "stupid" because your arrogance charges us to the core. Thank you very much for being a smug, glazed-eyed, zombie Obamabot!
Me too, its funny how the MSM seems to be traped in a sinking ship, fighting off any atempt at rescue.
nice post. good luck with the blog and keep up the good work.
Okay, I watched the entire thing, which was entertaining and inspiring. Man, I wish I had been there for it live. But, I kept waiting for him to "slip" into a "Chris Rock" voice. Got all the way to the end, still didn't hear it. Since I love Chris Rock's stand up routines and his movies, I think I can spot a "Chris Rock voice." In fact, in repeating his jokes, I've mimicked his voice myself — I'm sorry, was that racist of me?
BTW, favorite Chris Rock joke:
Who's judging American Idol? Paula Abdul? Paula Abdul judging a singing contest is like Christopher Reeve judging a dance contest!
Oh, I'm sorry, was that "offensive" to people in wheelchairs? I'm sorry, really, please don't report me.
If this woman (the NYT reporter) is keying in on any parts it'd be his voice inflections at 2:36 and 2:47… but even then that's silly and grasping at straws. Even if he was channeling some affectations subconsciously its a reach… at around 5:48 and 6:06 he channels some voice affectation… but you know, when I'm trying to be funny, expressive, and showing how dumb things are in a rant I'd do the same thing. Mockery has always been a quiver in the arsenal of speech and its also a page in the Rules For Radicals campfire and sing-a-long book.
Is he using some inflections… sure… is it channeling "chris rock"… probably not… is it racist… probably not. Is any mockery of a figure too grand to be mocked a problem in our society… it hasn't been yet, why start now.
What the hell are racial tones?…….another spin on thought crimes ala hate crimes…..
I guess racial tones are those criticisms leveled at anyone who HAPPENS to be a minority or some other "protected" group…we can only level criticsm at those groups that are not so-called minorities..that is white folks. Every other blessed group is assumed therefore by default to be above reproach.
I think the most hated "minority" someday, by all groups,will be those white or minority folks that lie and distort and play the race card under the assumption that they will appear to be the friends of all minority causes; when in fact they are repressed racists and the biggest haters of anyone that is different racially or ethically.
The Internet knows all and never forgets. Alinsky tactics are as obsolete as the cavalry charge … and just as suicidal.
Anything and everything is racist. I remember a movie reviewer that said the movie Shriek was racist because Eddie Murphy did the voice of a donkey which is a racist symbol. I still haven't figured that one out.
Watched the video. He was great. I have no idea what the NYT "reporter" is talking about. None.
After watching the clip, I have to conclude that Ms. Zenika went into this venue determined to find racism; and when she couldn't find any, to manufacture some with confidence that those who rely on the MSM would never actually fact-check her assertions.
Thanks for providing yet more evidence that the MSM makes up their narrative as they bumble along.
[...] [...]
It is so funny when the pot calls the kettle, "black".
hee hee hee
Perhaps there should be a blog on Big Hollywood about how accents (except for negro dialect) have been all but erased from movies and television in the past 20 years. A glaring example is the Law and Order Franchise, where no one speaks with a New York accent.
Bigger question is, when they show the crowd, why aren't there any black people, or any minorities at all? I wonder why only white people go to CPAC?
How dare us Proles question our betters when it comes to all things racial? The smartest people ever to populate this planet are all experts at picking up on that "Negro Dialect". After all, they hear it all day from their servants.
"Yassuh! Massuh' n Missy sho' 'nuff no's dey di-leks!"
"I denies da' allegation, and I'd also likes to state for da' record, dat I dislikes the alligator."
Must not have seen much of Chris Rock if the NY Times if they are comparing Jason Mattera to him.
For example, go to youtube and check out some of Chris Rock's videos where he has harsh words for some members of the black community.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui6-Wc0PDc4&fe...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gCCjFbFXn8
I have never seen that one, but I love it!
The purpose of Big J is to show you the event and expose there spin.
right on. Ms. Zenike does not serve the truth.
Quit faking sympathy and pass the damn popcorn.
No, I don't want to just get along. I want to stand in their faces and call them out on every single lie. "Just Getting Along" is how we got here, and the best way to stay here. Personaly I don't like it here.
The NY Times and Plagiarism seem to be synonymous. The latest of the NY Bathhouse gang is Zachery Kouwe who quit under fire when it was discovered (oh! gosh, not again) that he was a plagiarist.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2010/0...
Naturally the Mud Stream Medea (not a typo) ignores this. After all, without plagiarism, what would they do for copy ( note the clever pun there)?
The progressives are dying and we are seeing them in their death throes. When an animal dies, it does numbers 1 and 2 and 3 and stinks on dry ice, in addition to messing up everything around them.
Progressives suffer from the Abortion Guilt Syndrome. They are all angry that they were not aborted as babies by their pro-live mommies and feel guilty that they are alive and in this evil world under false pretenses.
We should enact a law that allows post partum abortions for progressives who missed the boat the first time.
The "Chris Rock voice" is in her imagination. It's not on the clip.
Consider that one stolen!
I watched the video twice, and I'm still trying to find the part with the Chris Rock imitation. Kate, I need your help! Tell me exactly where he does this! All I can hear is Jason speaking in his own voice. Did you not really sit through his speech? Did you get a written copy beforehand and just write your review from that, inserting your own ideas of how things would be said? Frankly, I find that when liberals start throwing out the race card, they reveal far more about their own bigotry than about anyone else's.
Funny how the Times think they matter!!!!!!!!!
OBAMA IS AT A CROSSROADS AGAIN. HE TALKS ABOUT BIPARTISAN HEALTH CARE REFORM AND THEN OVER THE WEEKEND, BEHIND CLOSE DOORS HE CRAFTS ANOTHER BILL AND WILL PRESENT IT TO REPUBLICANS.
WITHOUT ANY INPUT FROM REPUBLICANS. HIS DEFINITION OF BIPARTISAN IS HERE IS MY BILL IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH IT YOU ARE PARTISAN AND ANTI GOVERNMENT. DON'T GIVE ME ANY PROPOSALS, IT IS ALL OR NONE. THIS IS TYPICAL UNION NEGOTIATIONS. HE LEARNED HIS LESSONS WELL IN CHICAGO.
Jason looks like a young Sal Mineo (see movie Rebel Without A Cause with James Dean) Jason hits it out of the park!
This cheap race-baiting is got to be put to rest. Andrew was right to call out the NY Times.
It sounds like Kate Zernike is the bigot with a race problem.
She obviously hates Italian kids from Brooklyn and the way they talk. Hey, that would be less of a stretch than this gutter-slime's attempt to label this kid a raaaaacist.
Take it from an audiophile: this kid sounded NOTHING like Chris Rock!
You know, Kate, there is life outside Manhattan – and some of it is in Brooklyn. Hard to believe that people actually live there, I know, but I'm told the trains do run to the other boroughs…
James, I think you missed my point, or perhaps I wasn't very good at making it. I was referring to the leftists pulling the race card out to play anytime their position is weak. My opinion: there would be a lot less racial tensions and a lot more progress if these "racebaggers" didn't use and even promote racial tensions for selfserving purposes.
Look at my comment in that light and you will see that – I was standing there and and calling them out for their lies.
I failed the bonus question! Could not find the racism or the Chris Rock part. Nice job Jason – thank you for energizing the youth.
All a pickpocket sees is pockets.
The only real racists are the Christophobic, heterosexual bathhousers. The progressive cockroaches who, according to their leader, Margaret Sanger, hate blacks and want them all aborted. This is the little secret that the progressives don't want to be known. But the true racists are these progressives. All they see is race.
[...] The New York Times vs. The Truth According to NYT columnist Kate Zernike, Jason Mattera was racist in his speech at CPAC. Among other things she claimed he used a “Chris Rock voice” when making comments on “diversity” and other things. Katie maybe you need to actually watch something with Chris Rock in it without muting the sound. [...]
Who reads this rag anymore anyway? Biased, anti-American, especially if a conservative is President, and just a waste of time and ink.
[...] Big Journalism readers know, a New York Times reporter accused a speaker at CPAC of using “racial tones” and “racial [...]
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