Evidence That Assad Was Behind Recent Chemical Attacks?

It was the conclusion reached by the UN and independent journalists on the ground.....notably Hersh....
Lie.

The UN didn't offer conclusive certainty, but indicated with a high degree of confidence that Assad carried out the strike. So did Human Rights Watch, the OPCW, Bellingcat, and all national intelligence agencies apart from Russia/Syria/Iran. As I pointed out earlier in this thread, there was only one independent journalist "on the ground" who determined that the rebels did it, writing for the pro-Palestinian propaganda online tabloid, The Mint Press, and because he had no reputation, he attributed this article to a respected British reporter, Dale Gavlak, who denied any involvement and later issued a cease and desist letter to the Mint Press. The Mint Press asserted they could "prove" Dale wrote it, but then never offered an iota of evidence or neutral testimony to substantiate that.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UN_investigation_of_chemical_weapons_use_in_Ghouta#Report

Why do you shills tell lies that are so easy to verify? Alternatively, how stupid do you have to be to believe what you just wrote?
 
Oh yeah. Great opportunity for Round #12, because when I'm not being bombastic for personal delight, I actually have faith the majority can do simple arithmetic if the equation is earnestly exhibited for them.


Since this thread is about "evidence", I'm going to make sure these don't get buried. Since they (the first in particular) offer the most conclusive analysis so far, it makes sense to spam them every page for fresh eyes:
The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack, The Evidence So Far (5-April)
The Chemical Realities of Russia’s Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Warehouse Attack Claims (5-April)


Bellingcat said:
Even assuming that large quantities of both Sarin precursors were located in the same part of the same warehouse (a practice that seems odd), an air-strike is not going to cause the production of large quantities of Sarin. Dropping a bomb on the binary components does not actually provide the correct mechanism for making the nerve agent. It is an infantile argument. One of the precursors is isopropyl alcohol. It would go up in a ball of flame. A very large one. Which has not been in evidence.
Might as well add @Quipling's concise 5-pt summary as well:
  1. The people attacked were a mix of isil/rebels and civilians
  2. The attack happened coterminously with bombing by government planes
  3. None of the actors involved deny that a chemical attack occurred.
  4. The Assad government has previously used and manufactured chemical weapons
  5. The rebels don't have the tech base to manufacture sophisticated chemical weapons.

***UPDATE from Bellingcat***

The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack — Who Bombed What and When? (10-April)
Bellingcat said:
Eyewitness accounts claim the attack took place around 3:30 am (6:30 am local time), with the first reference to it being a chemical attack at 5:21 am (8:21 am local time). This time period is in line with the data of Syria Sentry and the Pentagon.

However, Syrian Foreign Minister Muallem claims the first airstrike – on an “ammunition depot” – was carried out at 8:30 am (11:30 am local time). This is in line with an earlier Russian Defence Ministry statement claiming the attack occurred “from 11.30 to 12.30, local time”, but neither Syria nor Russia have presented any evidence to support their claims, nor is their any open source evidence to support their claims.


Let's expand this section, shall we?
Human Rights Watch:
Russia’s Claim on Alleged Chemical Attack in Khan Sheikhoun (6-April)

Ministry of Defense Releases Inaccurate Information
Human Rights Watch said:
Did Syrian government forces use chemical weapons, as local residents are telling us?

Or could a bomb have struck chemicals on the ground? Major General Igor Konashenkov, a spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Defense, claimed the latter when he said a Syrian strike hit a warehouse used to store munitions containing toxic gas in a video on the ministry’s Facebook page on Tuesday, but he made some inaccurate claims in doing so.

Expand


Spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, speaks during a news conference in Moscow, Russia, September 26, 2016.
© 2016 Reuters
First, he said that munitions from this warehouse were brought to Iraq and used there. Human Rights Watch has indeed documented the use of chemical weapons in Iraq. But in Iraq, it was the Islamic State (also known as ISIS) that used them. ISIS is not in control of Khan Sheikhoun. Furthermore, the chemical weapons whose use was documented by Human Rights Watch in Iraq caused painful burns that are consistent with a mustard agent, also known as a “vesicant,” or blister agent. Victims in Idlib showed no such symptoms. (ISIS may have also used other chemical weapons in Iraq.)

Second, he said that the same weapons had also been used in Aleppo in late 2016. At the time, Konashenkov said that experts from the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that “the terrorists” had filled munitions with chlorine. But victims’ symptoms from Idlib included pinpoint pupils, a symptom associated with a nerve agent. A chlorine attack would not cause pinpoint pupils.

UN war crimes investigators probe Syria chemical attack
Financial Times said:
But the attack comes after a string of air strikes on rebel areas in which government forces are suspected of using chemical agents. Attacks on Hama province, Syria, last week wounded dozens of people and killed one doctor, according to the Syrian American Medical Society, which operates in rebel areas.

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“We’ve got about three patients in this hospital, all of them are showing signs of pinpoint pupils. These patients have got clear signs of organophosphate chemical attacks,” the doctor said, suggesting that the gas might be sarin.

After a big suspected sarin gas attack on rebel areas outside Damascus, which killed up to 1,400 people in August 2013, Mr Assad’s regime joined the 1997 International Chemical Weapons Convention.

Late last year, Reuters reported that an international inquiry leaked by diplomats suggested that there were several Syrian military units that had been responsible for chlorine gas attacks.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also indicated last year that it had discovered some traces of sarin and VX nerve agents in Syria in some of its visits to monitor the implementation of the deal, which destroyed 1,300 tonnes of declared chemical weapons.

UPDATED Media Brief (7-April):
Reported Use of Chemical Weapons, Southern Idlib, Syria, 4 April 2017

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a treaty-based international organisation that operates according to a strict confidentiality regime, which governs the operations of the Organisation, protects the integrity of its investigations, ensures the security of its technical experts, and determines what information can be made public.

As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – and with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

To date, nearly 95 per cent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said:
Questions have been raised as to whether Syria’s declaration about its chemical weapons programme to the OPCW was complete and correct. In 2014, the OPCW Director-General established a team of experts from the Technical Secretariat to engage the relevant Syrian authorities to resolve the identified gaps and inconsistencies in the Syrian declaration. The team of experts known as the Declaration Assessment Team (DAT) undertook 18 visits to Syria, held several meetings with Syrian authorities, visited former chemical weapons sites, and took samples. The DAT has submitted several reports to States Parties of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In July 2016, the Director-General informed the Executive Council, through his report to the Council’s 82nd session, that the Technical Secretariat was not able to resolve all identified gaps, inconsistencies and discrepancies in Syria’s declaration and therefore could not fully verify that Syria had submitted a declaration that could be considered accurate and complete in accordance with the Chemical Weapons Convention and Executive Council decision ECM-33/DEC.5. The Director-General submitted his report after high-level consultations with the Syrian Arab Republic...

The OPCW Technical Secretariat has initiated contact with the Syrian authorities. It has also requested that all States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, in a position to do so, share any information they may have regarding the allegations of chemical weapons use in the Khan Sheikhun area of Idlib province in the Syrian Arab Republic...

Since its establishment, the FFM has looked into several incidents of allegations of use of chemical weapons in Syria. In this context, the FFM has confirmed with “high degree of confidence” that Chlorine and Mustard were used as weapons in its investigations into past allegations of chemical weapons use. These reports were submitted to States Parties to the CWC and also transmitted to the UN Security Council.
At this point, this is the last meaningful body upon which we are waiting to formally declare a suspected culprit. Hopefully, posters in here understand that absolute certainty is basically never established, and cannot be established, in war crimes such as this one.

Nevertheless, one can suspect with reasonable confidence that only those who aren't already indoctrinated or easily bamboozled by Russian propaganda can accept the overwhelming mountains of evidence against Syria, and the fact that the Russian and Syrian state officials have already been caught in multiple lies about the incident (while the Americans have not said anything untrue concerning the specifics of the Khan Sheikhoun attack).

...

Russia blocks UN investigation into Syria chemical attack
This is the eighth time that Russia has used its UN veto to protect the Syrian government since the civil war began
Russia has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding a swift investigation into a chemical weapons attack in Syria.

Wednesday’s vote saw ten countries in favour of the resolution drafted by Britain, France and the US.

Russia and Bolivia were against - while China, Kazakhstan and Ethiopia abstained.

In addition to an investigation, the resolution would have condemned the use of chemical weapons in the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun on 4th April.
Russian veto

The Syrian regime and its backers, including Russia, have denied President Bashar al Assad was responsible.

They have said the attack in Idlib province, which killed more than 80 people, was either a rebel provocation or the result of Syrian planes hitting a rebel weapons factory.

This is the eighth time that Russia has used its veto power at the UN Security Council to block action directed at Damascus since the bloody civil war began in 2011.
NYT > Russia Vetoes UN Resolution to Condemn Syria Chemical Attack
 
Definitely it's down to someone he could give orders to and expect that they're followed... or someone he could give orders to but won't follow them.
We would have to posit some CT style extras into our analysis to allow further possibilities and that's the way of foolishness.
Rebels either staged or committed(again) an attack to provoke intervention.

Noone aligned with Assad had ANYTHING to gain from this.

Either that or Assad just hates the idea of finishing off the war with a win...

Its like he wanted to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory....
 
Rebels either staged or committed(again) an attack to provoke intervention.

Noone aligned with Assad had ANYTHING to gain from this.

Either that or Assad just hates the idea of finishing off the war with a win...

Its like he wanted to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory....
Too late. You've already been exposed, shill.
 
Oh yeah. Great opportunity for Round #12, because when I'm not being bombastic for personal delight, I actually have faith the majority can do simple arithmetic if the equation is earnestly exhibited for them.


Since this thread is about "evidence", I'm going to make sure these don't get buried. Since they (the first in particular) offer the most conclusive analysis so far, it makes sense to spam them every page for fresh eyes:
The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack, The Evidence So Far (5-April)
The Chemical Realities of Russia’s Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Warehouse Attack Claims (5-April)



Might as well add @Quipling's concise 5-pt summary as well:
  1. The people attacked were a mix of isil/rebels and civilians
  2. The attack happened coterminously with bombing by government planes
  3. None of the actors involved deny that a chemical attack occurred.
  4. The Assad government has previously used and manufactured chemical weapons
  5. The rebels don't have the tech base to manufacture sophisticated chemical weapons.

***UPDATE from Bellingcat***

The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack — Who Bombed What and When? (10-April)



Let's expand this section, shall we?
Human Rights Watch:
Russia’s Claim on Alleged Chemical Attack in Khan Sheikhoun (6-April)

Ministry of Defense Releases Inaccurate Information


UN war crimes investigators probe Syria chemical attack


UPDATED Media Brief (7-April):
Reported Use of Chemical Weapons, Southern Idlib, Syria, 4 April 2017

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a treaty-based international organisation that operates according to a strict confidentiality regime, which governs the operations of the Organisation, protects the integrity of its investigations, ensures the security of its technical experts, and determines what information can be made public.

As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – and with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

To date, nearly 95 per cent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.


At this point, this is the last meaningful body upon which we are waiting to formally declare a suspected culprit. Hopefully, posters in here understand that absolute certainty is basically never established, and cannot be established, in war crimes such as this one.

Nevertheless, one can suspect with reasonable confidence that only those who aren't already indoctrinated or easily bamboozled by Russian propaganda can accept the overwhelming mountains of evidence against Syria, and the fact that the Russian and Syrian state officials have already been caught in multiple lies about the incident (while the Americans have not said anything untrue concerning the specifics of the Khan Sheikhoun attack).

...

Russia blocks UN investigation into Syria chemical attack
This is the eighth time that Russia has used its UN veto to protect the Syrian government since the civil war began

NYT > Russia Vetoes UN Resolution to Condemn Syria Chemical Attack

Are there pictures of chemical weapons canisters that have been crushed, which would be proof that they were not dropped from a plane?

I honestly haven't made up my mind either way, and I don't understand how you have, if it isn't based on blind trust. If you have a smoking gun that isnt based on "trust me", help me identify it.
 
Rebels either staged or committed(again) an attack to provoke intervention.

Noone aligned with Assad had ANYTHING to gain from this.

Either that or Assad just hates the idea of finishing off the war with a win...

Its like he wanted to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory....
Rebels either staged or committed(again) an attack to provoke intervention.

Noone aligned with Assad had ANYTHING to gain from this.

Either that or Assad just hates the idea of finishing off the war with a win...

Its like he wanted to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory....
Assad had plenty of reasons to do this and had just been told he was secure by u.s
 
Are there pictures of chemical weapons canisters that have been crushed, which would be proof that they were not dropped from a plane?

I honestly haven't made up my mind either way, and I don't understand how you have, if it isn't based on blind trust. If you have a smoking gun that isnt based on "trust me", help me identify it.
Viva, stop and think. He says himself that he believes this particular canister was tampered with. Therefore, you can derive ZERO conclusions from it. You cannot substantiate any of these claims.

Now take into consideration the whole of the other evidence provided, Russia's behavior, and this professor's repeated role of questioning an international consensus that back in 2013 was already overwhelmed in time.
 
Again ... repeat a lie 100 times and it will become a truth... Russia didnt block shit, u are talking about vetoing the document at UN that had same old same old shit in it...

Quoting Shulgin, Russian OPCW representative
But if, as the Turkish representative told us today, sarin, a deadly volatile toxic agent, was actually used there, then a gauze bandage would not do the job. It is unfortunate that we didn’t have an opportunity to listen to the full technical briefing by the OPCW Technical Secretariat that we requested. So, we will have to rely on the opinion of a Swedish expert who was perplexed when he saw the same images as the entire world. In them, volunteers remain in direct contact with the victims, they press children who are at the point of death to their chests and run off with them someplace.

Is anyone aware of the volunteers being affected by sarin? Or, are they all perfectly healthy and continue, like good samaritans, to do their charitable work? If not, then could all this have been staged?

ALSO

Taking this into consideration, together with our Iranian colleagues, we believed it was necessary to bring for consideration by the Executive Council a draft decision making the Technical Secretariat focus on building an international mission of experts, which, in addition to the FFM staff chosen in accordance with the UN principle of equitable geographical representation, could include national experts from a number of countries, such as Russia, China, the United States, Britain, France, Iran, Sweden, Spain, and Switzerland, to name a few. Speaking about specific individuals, one could mention figures who are well-known at the OPCW and enjoy well-deserved authority such as Stefan Mogl of Switzerland, Ralf Trapp of Germany, Ake Sellstrom of Sweden, and Chen Tan of China.

We see the goal of such a mission in investigating – I ask the audience to keep this in mind – how the chemical weapons were brought to Khan-Shaykhun and used there, if this indeed took place. At the same time, it must check the allegations of the Americans (which are also being discussed by their colleagues) about the use of the Syrian air base Shayrat to store chemical weapons and organising combat sorties with toxic bombs.

ALSO :

In order to successfully conduct an investigation, the international mission of experts – we would like to emphasise this – must go directly to the sites, work strictly according to the methodology approved by the OPCW with an emphasis on collecting material evidence, rather than relying solely on speculation from the internet and stories told by alleged witnesses interviewed in a country that neighbours on Syria.


So in short, demand for international team that will work on ground! Crazy talk i know...Totally trying to evade.... I know u are strongly anti Russian but those point about white helmets were brought also by Swedish doctors. Imagine, Sweden doctors who have no stake in Syria casting big shadow on White helmets. Did Putin pay them?

So who should i believe for now...
1. Americans with convenient story with quick bravado that looks incredibly fishy and staged. Not only lack of evidence but so many logical holes.

2. Russians with = it looks fishy, lets make international team , yes , ALL sides included and YES working on the ground .

As u know white helmets personally ... Can i ask you question russian guy asked...Are they healty after sarin attack?
Madmick just posted a link next page and neat me too it but yes again russia vetoed a proposed international investigation then said thats what they wanted!!!!!

Literaly 5 secs on interent will tell you that yes some white helmets were treated after ....handling people even after gas had time to dissapate ( the same volatile gas the you believe somehow survived the abomb blast remember) is still dangerous
http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/uk_58e5e0f6e4b06a4cb30f2fe1

So we have 2 versions
The rest of the world common sense version that adds up

By contrast we have the russian version that requires some massive suspension of disbelief
Then they demand international investigation
Then block one
Then complain they again they really do want one.....as they bomb the site with incendaries !
Then they drop their b.s story and now are saying its all a false flag and their original story was wrong...
.apparently now rebels staged an attack that syrian planes just happend to strike at same time!!!
 
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Oh yeah. Great opportunity for Round #12, because when I'm not being bombastic for personal delight, I actually have faith the majority can do simple arithmetic if the equation is earnestly exhibited for them.


Since this thread is about "evidence", I'm going to make sure these don't get buried. Since they (the first in particular) offer the most conclusive analysis so far, it makes sense to spam them every page for fresh eyes:
The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack, The Evidence So Far (5-April)
The Chemical Realities of Russia’s Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Warehouse Attack Claims (5-April)



Might as well add @Quipling's concise 5-pt summary as well:
  1. The people attacked were a mix of isil/rebels and civilians
  2. The attack happened coterminously with bombing by government planes
  3. None of the actors involved deny that a chemical attack occurred.
  4. The Assad government has previously used and manufactured chemical weapons
  5. The rebels don't have the tech base to manufacture sophisticated chemical weapons.

***UPDATE from Bellingcat***

The Khan Sheikhoun Chemical Attack — Who Bombed What and When? (10-April)



Let's expand this section, shall we?
Human Rights Watch:
Russia’s Claim on Alleged Chemical Attack in Khan Sheikhoun (6-April)

Ministry of Defense Releases Inaccurate Information


UN war crimes investigators probe Syria chemical attack


UPDATED Media Brief (7-April):
Reported Use of Chemical Weapons, Southern Idlib, Syria, 4 April 2017

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is a treaty-based international organisation that operates according to a strict confidentiality regime, which governs the operations of the Organisation, protects the integrity of its investigations, ensures the security of its technical experts, and determines what information can be made public.

As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention’s entry into force in 1997 – and with its 192 States Parties – it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.

To date, nearly 95 per cent of all chemical weapon stockpiles declared by possessor States have been destroyed under OPCW verification. For its extensive efforts in eliminating chemical weapons, the OPCW received the 2013 Nobel Prize for Peace.


At this point, this is the last meaningful body upon which we are waiting to formally declare a suspected culprit. Hopefully, posters in here understand that absolute certainty is basically never established, and cannot be established, in war crimes such as this one.

Nevertheless, one can suspect with reasonable confidence that only those who aren't already indoctrinated or easily bamboozled by Russian propaganda can accept the overwhelming mountains of evidence against Syria, and the fact that the Russian and Syrian state officials have already been caught in multiple lies about the incident (while the Americans have not said anything untrue concerning the specifics of the Khan Sheikhoun attack).

...

Russia blocks UN investigation into Syria chemical attack
This is the eighth time that Russia has used its UN veto to protect the Syrian government since the civil war began

NYT > Russia Vetoes UN Resolution to Condemn Syria Chemical Attack
Why would part of an investigation effort include condemnation? Shouldn't they be two separate measures?
 
So no one thinks the Allah Akbar screaming lunatics may have been given the sarin gas?
 
Why would part of an investigation effort include condemnation? Shouldn't they be two separate measures?
Why wouldnt they condemn who ever did it then investigate....whats wrong with saying whoever did this os dogshit?
 
Why would part of an investigation effort include condemnation? Shouldn't they be two separate measures?
Why would Russia care if they truly believed it was the rebels opposing Assad who were going to be condemned?

Nice try, Comrade. We're not that stupid.
 
So no one thinks the Allah Akbar screaming lunatics may have been given the sarin gas?
Why gas not stingers?
Why never use it til now ?
How exactly did a bomb blast not destroy the volatile sarin? I mean thats pretty incredible when u think on it
How did the blast mix the precursors perfectly ? Again a miracle surely
How did the highly volatile precursors survive a friggingin air strike when u cant even smoke next to them without causing a fireball explosion?
Why did regime say nothing occured then russia changed story when us revealed they tracked the plane?
Why say nursra territory when it was al sham controlled area hit?
Why did russia veto investigation when its been asking for one so badly?
Why has the plane attack warehouse story been dropped for 'false flag'?
If it was false flag now is bombing just coincidence?
Why does no one on earth buy regimes story but russia and handful of shills? .....Can so many other weapons experts be wrong ?
 
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Why wouldnt they condemn who ever did it then investigate....whats wrong with saying whoever did this os dogshit?
Condemnation assumes an attack took place.

Doctors who have viewed evidence strongly doubt it.
 
Why gas not stingers?
Why never use it til now ?
How exactly did a bomb blast not destroy the volatile sarin? I mean thats pretty incredible when u think on it
How did the blast mix the precursors perfectly ? Again a miracle surely
How did the highly volatile precursors survive a friggingin air strike when u cant even smoke next to them without causing a fireball explosion?
Why did regime say nothing occured then russia changed story when us revealed they tracked the plane?
Why say nursra territory when it was al sham controlled area hit?
Why did russia veto investigation when its been asking for one so badly?
Why has the plane attack warehouse story been dropped for 'false flag'?
If it was false flag now is bombing just coincidence?
Why does no one on earth buy regimes story but russia and handful of shills? .....Can so many other weapons experts be wrong ?

I believe a few helicopters were shot down with MPADS. Gas is a useful tool to vilify your target.

You use it for an emergency. Have to pick the right time so you don't fuck up and look bad yourself. The point is to make the regime look like something that needs to be replaced with military force. They could have just recently been given the sarin.

The sarin could have easily been released by the rebels.

Stories change all the time. There's a propaganda war going on as well. The US tracked a plane? They know for sure that was the plane because some rebels on the ground said that the sarin was released at the same time the plane was in the air? You do realize how easy it is to lie and make shit up?

They joined with Nusra they're all Allah Akbar screaming scum. There are no good "rebels". I've seen them all fight. I've seen how they act because they arrogantly video tape all their stupid shit. These are not good people.

Perhaps they know there are forces trying to get the Assad regime removed?

Who's saying what exactly and when?

The bombing is still happening. It's been raining martyrdom for a while.

Nice try with the no one on earth bullshit. Unfortunately there are too many people that only get their news from CNN.
 


hi there giusti825,

i watched the first few seconds, where the host bashes the "establishment media"....i'm always wary when someone opens with that, since they're claiming that they, alone, have the truth.

then in the first minute, the host claims that the US must be wrong because the Bush administration got WMD wrong in Iraq. lol. i'm tired of hearing that. that, in and of itself, isn't conclusive proof of anything,

so i stopped watching that video.

- IGIT
 
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