Jason Charter, 22, and Ryan Clayton, 36, passed out roughly 1,000 red, white, and blue flags, each bearing a gold-emblazoned “TRUMP” in the center, to an auditorium full of attendees waiting for President Trump to address the conference. Audience members waved the pennants—and took pictures with them—until CPAC staffers realized the trick: They were Russian flags.What are the lessons?
1. There are lots of people out there who are not on your side. Withhold your trust until you know who you're dealing with. There are endless scams. Don't be a soft touch.
2. Young guys and their pranks lighten the grind of politics. It was fun back in the 60s when Yippies found cool ways to put across what were weighty political opinions, and it's fun now. We need our clowns, including the pranksters who figure out ways to offload the clownery onto others.
3. Don't pass on messages that others have handed you. Think of your own ideas. Let the words of your mouth and the gestures of your body come in a form shaped by your mind. Be original. Be yourself. Have a self that's worth being.
Posts
95 comments:
One of the lessons is that not all of us are as visually inclined as everyone else.
The French and British flags are also red, white, and blue. It's not patented by the USA.
"One of the lessons is that not all of us are as visually inclined as everyone else."
That's not a lesson. That's an observation. What lessons can people learn from this? What should YOU do differently going forward?
Do you want to say: Don't laugh at others who take flags handed to them and wave them because maybe they are bad at understanding the meaning of flags?
I disagree. We should laugh at those people. And people need to wise up, not expect to be sympathized with when they do stupid things like that.
Did Chuck let them in?
Sheldon would never had made that mistake. "Fun With Flags" should be added to the list of events at this year's conference.
Did Chuck let them in?
LOL
What is the lesson for those who duped others?
I think the lesson is: you should laugh and give credit where credit is due when someone pranks you and you fall for it.
I thought it was funny.
(As was Darrell's "Did Chuck let them in?")
1. There are lots of people out there who are not on your side. Withhold your trust until you know who you're dealing with. There are endless scams. Don't be a soft touch.
This is a very useful lesson. I have been thinking for a few days that I would like this blog even more if the commenters were not anonymous. Anonymity encourages a lack of civility and greatly facilitates propaganda operations by various political entities. Here we have a fair amount of incivility, and occasionally I think we are seeing purposeful propaganda posts. I think that decent people posting with good intent should not be afraid to be known.
At least it was a clever trick. Somewhere Dick Tuck is smiling.
Actually, he seems to be still alive and living in Tucson !
I think it is fun. Lightening the atmosphere is a good thing and probably another time folks won't be so gullible :-)
The lesson is that CPAC attendees are fairly ignorant about the world.
Have they never studied geography or watched the Olympic games?
Woefully ignorant.
I suspect the flag wavers didn't care. If Trump supporters had the luxury of being as literal as lefties they could point out it isn't a Russian flag since it had the word 'TRUMP' on it.
As a prank it was subversive and clever but they wrecked it by talking: We will continue doing these actions until Trump is impeached. That's not how the impeachment process works. That's how you get more Trump.
@oso - I agree with you on the commenting. I would *much* prefer a system like Disqus. If for no other reason than it provides threads and "ignore" buttons.
-XC
PS - The downside is that there are some things I will not comment on because of it. I've never wanted, for example, to comment over at Inside Higher Education for obvious reasons.
"Don't pass on messages that others have handed you. Think of your own ideas."
There goes Facebook, Twitter and most blog and newspaper comments.
One of the things which I find generally (not universally) differentiates conservatives from liberals is the ability to laugh at one's self.
OK, they got you. You chuckle, maybe tip your hat and move on. It's not a big deal.
It was a clever trick. But shame on the media outlets that ran the story. They knew better but they want to further the Trump-Russia story.
And this Russia story will never stop.
What in the world could Trump get from Russia during the campaign? Money? No. The only thing I can think that had any value was the deleted Hillary emails. The whole thing is ridiculous.
The best way for Dem operatives to demonstrate how real and how serious this issue is to our republic is by pranking the CPAC convention. Fraud is always the best way to convince the undecided of the rectitude of your cause. This will help convince everyone that those shouters at town halls are outraged citizens and not Dem activists.
Don't pass on messages that others have handed you. Think of your own ideas.
So destroy the entirety of the liberal experience?
@Mark - the Russian flag is frankly unmemorable configuration of three stripes of red, white, and blue. I am sure that most people were looking at the big, gold "TRUMP" name. But if it pleases you to think that CPAC attendees are more ignorant than others, go right ahead.
As false flag operations go, this one was both amusing and harmless.
The guy who handed out the flags is with a group called "Americans Take Action". I wonder if it is another Soros funded group.
Piss on Charter and Clayton.
Maybe there is something about red, white and blue in combination that makes humans feel patriotic.
Pull my finger... queef
David Begley--"And this Russia story will never stop."
As Instapundit and Walter Russell Mead note this morning, it will stop as soon as the press realizes that Trump is engaged in a fairly aggressive, multi-faceted program to cut Russia down to size on the international stage, and then the press will flip to Trump is a dangerous, heedless war-monger dragging us towards WWIII with Russia. The flip will be accomplished without a warning or any acknowledgement that the narrative was ever different.
It's a good thing all these Lefties are reading "1984". Maybe they'll learn something for a change.
overall this reflects badly on CPAC that they would let anyone pass out stuff without knowing who/what they are. Also, the folks attending have some expectation that they are in a safe place with regards to this kind of activity and the mere act of someone passing out the flags in the auditorium implies they have authority and it is ok.
"overall this reflects badly on CPAC that they would let anyone pass out stuff without knowing who/what they are."
I agree but these sorts of pranks have a long history in politics. You might read the Wiki article on Dick Tuck.
In Trump's America, flag waves you.
Tricking CPAC Trumpers to wave the Russian flag
I'm surprised that the Russian flag has the name "TRUMP" right in the middle of it. Are the flags made in China?
Oso Negro: I think that decent people posting with good intent should not be afraid to be known.
?
You really can't think of any reason a decent person of good intent would be "afraid to be known"?
(That said, one would be a fool to think that posting anonymously or pseudonymously on Blogger, or any other commenting software, provides much privacy protection.)
it will stop as soon as the press realizes that Trump is engaged in a fairly aggressive, multi-faceted program to cut Russia down to size on the international stage,
I think a lot will stop if the Democrats lose big in the 2018 election. They seem to need the 2x4 to the head like a mule to get smarter.
A 60 seat GOP Senate might do it.
When I went to POW school, the Russian guards made us hold up a heavy piece of plywood. You thought it was supposed to be some kind of arm torture, then a flash went off, and you realized the other side has writing on it.
"I am a war criminal. I regret bombing innocent women and children."
It's sad, but Americans are heavily indoctrinated. The first thing foreigners see, is that Americans like to walk on the right. It's because from K to 12 we are indoctrinated to walk the halls on the right.
The Brits think we are all retarded.
Here is a clip from Mead's post:
"If Trump were the Manchurian candidate that people keep wanting to believe that he is, here are some of the things he’d be doing:
"Limiting fracking as much as he possibly could
Blocking oil and gas pipelines
Opening negotiations for major nuclear arms reductions
Cutting U.S. military spending
Trying to tamp down tensions with Russia’s ally Iran
"That Trump is planning to do precisely the opposite of these things may or may not be good policy for the United States, but anybody who thinks this is a Russia appeasement policy has been drinking way too much joy juice."
4. Make fewer trips to the cocktail lounge.
"The Brits think we are retarded."
I love 'em, but they are not the measure of mankind on this topic. They don't know where to go on the sidewalk--total chaos in London, where the natives drive on the left and more than half the visitors drive on the right, so no one knows where to walk in a crowded street.
The most commonly used phrase in Britain is, "Sorry."
It was a clever trick and is worth a chuckle. No lessons to be learned though.
Things you'll never see in CNN captions:
BREAKING NEWS: Leftie news falsely claims Trump supporters waving Russian Flag
FACT CHECK: Russian flag does not contain the word 'TRUMP'
What lessons can people learn from this?
What should YOU do differently going forward?
If you're addressing Trumpies then the answer to both is to carry on. It is proven you're easily conned (by Trump) and waving the Russian flag is just more evidence.
The lesson is: If you can get Americans to buy a pet rock, you can get them to do anything.
The real prankster would have asked for a dollar donation.
Americans being separated from their money is the other popular sport.
Amadeus
1. You are correct in noting that the MSM is in full opposition to Trump. The MSM is simply an organ of the Dem party.
2. I think it was John McCain who described Russia as a gas station with a country attached to it. Oil and gas is a huge percentage of Russia's GDP.
And we know from hacked emails that Russia funded anti-fracking groups here.
Blogger Angel-Dyne said...
Oso Negro: I think that decent people posting with good intent should not be afraid to be known.
?
You really can't think of any reason a decent person of good intent would be "afraid to be known"?
Angel, no, not really. But admittedly I live in Texas, have a pugnacious attitude, and am heavily armed.
The flags weren't red, white, and blue, they were white, blue, and red. Or red, blue, and white depending on your angle. That may seem like a small thing, but it's not. They look off, they look wrong.
The American flag is a remarkably iconic symbol. There are many ways to represent it, there are even examples of flags that have no stars, no stripes, no red, no white, no blue, and yet they are still easily recognizable as Old Glory. But red and blue never appear together. White always comes between them.
I may not have recognized those flags as Russian flags, but I would have immediately spotted the problem and I'm disappointed in the CPAC crowd that they didn't.
One of the hazing rituals in high school, was that the new lettermen had to walk between classes on the left side.
Our Dean of Boys was an old retired Football coach, and he saw me walking on the left and everyone punching me. He said "You're a Moron, you don't have to walk on the left if the other Lettermen don't see you!"
"Ah," I said, "...but you don't know where they are, and you don't want to have to do it over."
Mr. Monnes then went back into his office and returned to his Archie comic books, having been rudely interrupted by the bell...
John McCain who described Russia as a gas station with a country attached to it.
He described it as "a gas station with a foreign policy" and that was back when I supported him.
The trick was clever but it may be the only clever thing Democrats have done since last summer.
Both the Russians and the Saudis were funding the pipeline protests.
Speaking of likelihood of confusion, I wonder how many people with sleep apnea show up at the CPAC convention?
I agree with harry, the merry prankster should have asked for a suggested donation of $1. And given change in Roubles.
The DNC speakers are seriously trying to restart the old Dem Coalition that Trump swiped from them.
It seems that the Republicans are all out of touch Billionaires that favor each other and have no concern for hard working people. But Dems are for the working man, and they favor more jobs. If they could only run FDR or Truman again all would be well again.
Talk about closing the barn door after the horse is long gone.
" As of 2012 the oil-and-gas sector accounted for 16% of the GDP, 52% of federal budget revenues and over 70% of total exports."
Yeah, Russia is interested in the price of oil. With the OPEC cuts, we are the swing producer. Our production sets the price.
The Alt Right actor was there to promote Orange Supremacy. He promised that the cute little Cross with hooked arms is the insider Trump Family ID.
Ann Althouse said (about my comment)"One of the lessons is that not all of us are as visually inclined as everyone else."
That's not a lesson. That's an observation
No, it's a lesson to those who tend to think we all see, hear, or smell the same things we all sense. We must learn that not everything we individuals sense are apparent to everyone else.
I'm in Zen mode.
*is apparent
What are the lessons?
That the bit about "peaceful transition of power" is now officially BS. That the former regime is bent on subterfuge, sabotage, infiltration, anarchy, and more for the aim of seizing power again.
Lesson 2. Humor is always the best solution. Showing that you take their pranks seriously plays into their narrative. Trump should have acknowledged his many Russian supporters and then bid them dasvidanya.
What are the lessons?"
OMG, Inga is right!
Green sits the frog. Stinky, the dead carp. Wobble, do my ears! But I do like stinky carp. Eat it, I might.
--Zen Yoda
Michael K: "I think a lot will stop if the Democrats lose big in the 2018 election. They seem to need the 2x4 to the head like a mule to get smarter."
Are you kidding?
The left is currently engaged in the wholesale economic destruction of a nation state in Venezuela including having an entire population starve in what should be an economic paradise and every single lefty is still fully aligned with each and every one of those policies.
The more the left loses elections the more violent they become since it becomes clear to the lefties that the populace simply requires more "persuasion" that leftist policies are the pathway to utopia.
Remember, there are no violence issues with muslims in Sweden and the Swedish government has already dropped its number for refugees to be admitted this year by a couple hundred thousand and government personnel are currently engaged in discussions about how to deal with all the issues....but remember, there are no issues! There are no issues! Trump is wrong!!
The left.
But hey, some convention goers waved flags with Trump's name on it so its all good.
The Russian flag says "TRUMP" on it? This is worse than I thought.
"The Russian flag says "TRUMP" on it? This is worse than I thought."
This is only the beginning. By the time Trump leaves office, all flags will say Trump on them.
McCain failed in everything he did.
He did remarkably well in undermining, obstructing and sabotaging the George W. Bush presidency, and he seems bent on doing the same with Trump. He has done quite well too in hijacking and extorting the political process to promote his own ego and to stop conservative policies from being enacted or implemented.
The Russian as the Official Language Act was not passed by Order. It was in the fine print of the New Arms Control Treaty signed by Trump and Putin. That Cyrillic script gets so confusing.
Treat it as a prank, and do the same thing back to them.
Expat(ish),
I could not disagree more. Nested comments (which is what I assume you mean by threads) are evil; fewer things more destructive to a good blog comment section than the flow-obscuring and side-conversation-encouraging nature of nested comments.
Althouse has one of the few comment sections worth reading, and while nested comments wouldn't destroy this all by themselves, they would be a step in a very bad direction. Anyone who is familiar with the rise and fall of comments at Belmont Club or the Volokh Conspiracy will know what I am talking about.
And Oso, there's nothing that prevents a person from using their real name as their blogger ID (ask me how I know.)
Mark said...
The lesson is that CPAC attendees are fairly ignorant about the world.
Have they never studied geography or watched the Olympic games?
Woefully ignorant.
2/25/17, 7:41 AM
Some leftists watching the WS got wee-weed up because they saw people waving "K" signs in the stands and thought they were white supremacists rather than people celebrating strikeouts.
And Sarah Silverman was fretting about seeing swastikas drawn on the sidewalk - OMG, Nazis walk among us!
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2017/02/13/sarah-silverman-thinks-utility-marks-swastikas-gets-super-mad-expert-level-mockery-heaped-447859
Poor leftists - surrounded by Nazis and Klansmen!
There sure are some gullible people out there. Tell me, who's in control of public school education in this country?
What does it say about Russia that no one knows what their flag looks like?
Everybody knows what the American flag looks like. People know the Canadian Flag and the British Flag. After that, I bet flag recognition numbers start to drop off pretty quickly.
Everyone used to know the Hammer and Sickle.
Oso Negor: Angel, no, not really. But admittedly I live in Texas, have a pugnacious attitude, and am heavily armed.
So if an SJW mob came after you and demanded that your employer sack you for having "offensive" opinions, expressed on the internet, you'd just shoot them?
Bob Boyd: What does it say about Russia that no one knows what their flag looks like?
It means that their flag design isn't distinctive and memorable.
Amadeus 48 gets the hat trick at 8:00, 8:09 and 8:15. Well scored, Amadeus.
exiledonmainstreet : "Some leftists watching the WS got wee-weed up because they saw people waving "K" signs in the stands and thought they were white supremacists rather than people celebrating strikeouts.
And Sarah Silverman was fretting about seeing swastikas drawn on the sidewalk - OMG, Nazis walk among us!
Poor leftists - surrounded by Nazis and Klansmen!"
Even worse, these Nazis and Klansmen clearly spend inordinate amounts of time in NYC and Chicago Cubs games.
Go figure.
Darrell said...
Did Chuck let them in?
Hey, I can actually turn this into an interesting story for all of us, my enemies and admirers alike, and indeed nothing I have seen thus far in this thread more beautifully illustrates Ann Althouse's excellent blog post. Because she asked the exact, right question.
So yesterday, I heard this story in real time at the moment when no one had yet caught on to the fact that it was a brilliant troll-job. The way I heard it, the conference-goers were simply waving Russian flags. I had not heard that the name "Trump" had appeared on the flags. And so I heard someone -- I wish I could remember who -- exclaiming how bad things had gotten in the Trump era such that Russian flags would be waved at a convention of the American Conservative Union.
That news -- delivered orally and with no pictures and no follow-up -- very nearly caused me to 1) write an email to Ann Althouse suggesting that she follow up on that story and blog it; 2) put up my own comment in one of the "Café" posts, or; 3) both.
Had I taken the bait, I might have drawn Althouse into "dupe" phase of the story. I think I heard about the Russian flag-waving at lunchtime yesterday, and I did not hear about the "Trump" name on the custom flags, or the fact that everyone had been tricked into a pro-Russian demonstration until after dinnertime.
There was just something about the story that caused me to hold off at that vulnerable phase. I used my head; I didn't let that news direct my own thinking; I stuck to my own message(s).
All of the lessons that Althouse suggested be drawn from this incident.
Then there's the snowflakes who panicked when they mistook a priest for a Klansman:
http://insider.foxnews.com/2016/04/06/reports-college-students-thought-priest-was-kkk-member
The leftists at CPAC were deliberately trying to prank the attendees. There appears to be no need for conservatives to return the favor as leftists are so good at fooling and scaring the bejesus out of themselves without any outside help whatsoever.
Is a NAZI flag with a Democratic Ass or PP emblazoned on it still a NAZI flag?
I wonder how Russians will feel about their flag defiled. This could become a national incident.
The left is currently engaged in the wholesale economic destruction of a nation state in Venezuela including having an entire population starve in what should be an economic paradise and every single lefty is still fully aligned with each and every one of those policies.
You make a good point but the left does not do well with understanding stuff going on in other countries, like Muslims and Venezuela.
What Trump is doing to their jobs is closer to home. Walker won his recall election and the GOP held the Legislature and the lefties settled down in Wisconsin.
Maybe that will work nationally. If not, buy ammunition.
The lesson, I think, is to welcome our new Russian overlords.
"lifelong republican" Chuck: "So yesterday, I heard this story in real time at the moment when no one had yet caught on to the fact that it was a brilliant troll-job."
LOL
Wow.
4. Know what the Russian flag looks like.
Most of the people responding about how "stupid" the CPAC attendees were for not noticing the Russian flag would probably fall for the same trick. I suspect very few would already know and remember what the Russian flag looks like.
Just to review: flags with three horizontal stripes of red, white, and blue include the following (colors listed top to bottom): Netherlands - RWB, Luxembourg - RWB, Russia - WBR, Slovakia - WBR, Croatia - RWB, Serbia - RWB, Slovenia - WBR (the last 4 listed also have a crest or symbol). The old USSR flag would be easy to identify, the new Russian one - not so much.
the left does not do well with understanding stuff going on in other countries
They understand waging social justice (e.g. elective regimes changes, extrajudicial trials, forced refugee crises) is a first-order cause of Catastrophic Anthropogenic Immigration Reform (CAIR). It's not that they don't care. It's that the trail of tears, resurrecting dead Soviets (a la dead voters), and CAIR (e.g. demographic redistricting) are perceived as desirable outcomes by anti-native factions.
Must be a really slow Saturday.
Who says they were waving a Russian flag with "Trump" on it? There are actually dozens of flags with variations of red, white and blue horizontal tribands. In fact, the addition of "Trump" in the middle makes it more like the current flags of Bydgoszcz, Slovakia, and Slovenia than Russia because those flags have other symbols superimposed on the basic white/red/blue triband, unlike Russia. BTW, the Russian flag is identical to that of the first Slovak Republic. Change the order of the tribands, and it's identical to Sorbs, Chile, the former Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the former Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Valledupar Columbia, the Republic of Srpska in Bosnia-Herzaegovina, the Netherlands, half the other slavic states and kingdoms that have ever existed.
It takes an incredible amount of smugness for anyone commenting on this stunt to claim he would have or should have thought the flags waived at CPAC were "Russian" flags because they are distinctly not Russian. It's more likely the CPAC flag wavers just thought they were honoring Melania by waving a modified Slovenian flag?
"the left does not do well with understanding stuff going on in other countries"
They are not real up on historical timelines either. The Occupy Democrats sent out a tweet:
"Hitler had his Berlin Wall. Trump wants to build a wall. Is this really who we want to be president?"
Thus, they conveniently forget that it was the Communists who built the Berlin Wall, 16 years after old Adolf stuck a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
And that the obvious difference between the two walls is that the Communists were trying to keep people in, not out. (I've seen Dems using the stupid Berlin Wall analogy a dozen times on talk shows, and it's driving me crazy that no talking head, not even Tucker Carlson, has pointed out that basic fact.)
It's a message to MRGA with the help of Trump!🇷🇺
Blogger Angel-Dyne said...
Oso Negor: Angel, no, not really. But admittedly I live in Texas, have a pugnacious attitude, and am heavily armed.
So if an SJW mob came after you and demanded that your employer sack you for having "offensive" opinions, expressed on the internet, you'd just shoot them?
2/25/17, 10:06 AM
Well, as owner of my own firm, I haven't had an employer in quite a long time. My customers are spread all over the globe, and on the balance, detest SJWs, so they wouldn't have a lot of leverage there. All that said, this IS Texas, and the moment some bastard makes a menacing move toward you, it is considered good manners to respond appropriately. Our grand juries never indict what we view as justified shootings.
So if an SJW mob came after you and demanded that your employer sack you for having "offensive" opinions, expressed on the internet, you'd just shoot them?
Hell, I wouldn't work for a pussy outfit that would cave to a bunch of whining SJWs.
Oso Negro: Well, as owner of my own firm...
That was a hypothetical, Oso. I know you're self-employed. What about people who aren't? What about people who are in a situation where they can't afford to lose their jobs, or their careers? What if, say, they're a 50+ year-old worker bee of middling skills and intelligence who doesn't have much prospect of re-employment if he falls afoul of MegaCorp's "commitment to diversity and equality blah blah blah"? It happens.
And yeah, that sort of thing can happen to that kind of "loser" in Texas, too.
Are you saying people who find themselves in a situation like that are all a bunch of pussies who couldn't possibly be "decent and well-intended"?
What a shitty attitude. I'm used to lefties and cuckservatives taunting righties about being "cowards" for posting under pseudonyms ('cause, ya know, lefties and cuckservatives are just so fucking brave for posting conventional wisdom goodthink under their own names). Surprised to find that attitude here.
"I'm used to lefties and cuckservatives taunting righties about being "cowards" for posting under pseudonyms ('cause, ya know, lefties and cuckservatives are just so fucking brave for posting conventional wisdom goodthink under their own names). Surprised to find that attitude here."
Jesus, some people have absolutely no self awareness, lol.
Blogger Angel-Dyne said...
Oso Negro: Well, as owner of my own firm...
That was a hypothetical, Oso. I know you're self-employed. What about people who aren't? What about people who are in a situation where they can't afford to lose their jobs, or their careers? What if, say, they're a 50+ year-old worker bee of middling skills and intelligence who doesn't have much prospect of re-employment if he falls afoul of MegaCorp's "commitment to diversity and equality blah blah blah"? It happens.
And yeah, that sort of thing can happen to that kind of "loser" in Texas, too.
Are you saying people who find themselves in a situation like that are all a bunch of pussies who couldn't possibly be "decent and well-intended"?
What a shitty attitude. I'm used to lefties and cuckservatives taunting righties about being "cowards" for posting under pseudonyms ('cause, ya know, lefties and cuckservatives are just so fucking brave for posting conventional wisdom goodthink under their own names). Surprised to find that attitude here.
Angel, I didn't call anyone a "pussy" or a "loser". I generally try to avoid name-calling. And I don't think my attitude is "shitty". I feel sorry for anyone stuck in a "MegaCorp" who feels they have to hide their thoughts to maintain their job. Perhaps things have gotten worse in the general corporate work environment than I think.
Trumpster just tweeted... 'that was not a russian flag' fake news...
Watch your wallets the wolves are circling...
Fortune favors the bold.
(Or is it Fortune has a preference for the bold?)
Do most Americans know what the Russian flag looks like? I suspect there are both democrats and republicans who have no idea. A lot of the people laughing at it, I suspect, only know what the Russian flag looks like after seeing this stunt.
What about a Mexican flag? What about an Italian flag? How about an upside down British flag? What about an English flag? A Somali flag?
Would you carry someone else's bag through airport security, knowing there are people of evil intent?
So why would you wave a flag someone you don't know gave you at a political event?
"someone you don't know"
is the point. CPAC should have had some control or knowledge of the false-flag gambit. Obviously the flags could have just as well been loaded with bioweapons as with propaganda for all the conservatives knew or could do about it. Hello, security? I bet that never happens at Dem events.
Or, they liked it and abetted it, whichever.
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