Tuesday, December 13, 2016

going bankless


GOING BANKLESS

Currently there is Big To-Do’s in the Blogosphere as India has made trading in large denomination bills mandatory ( along with other things ) and Italy seems to have maybe sorta voted to leave the Euro.  Add to that the Deutche Bank ( I’m sure I keep misspelling that one in this and previous articles but since they will soon join Lehman’s in the big slag heap of failed banks in Hell I can’t get anally retentive enough to fire up the Internet computer and look up the proper spelling ) issues and previous bail-ins in Cyprus and the current Greek problems withdrawing cash, as if Greece hasn’t had near a decade of really piss poor luck just staying afloat as a nation state and needed yet another problem, and you can see where the average survivalist might be scratching his/her head and declaring that they just soiled their whitey-tighties ( but just a little! ) worrying about whether their bank accounts would soon be on the chopping block here in the good ’ol US of friggin A. 

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Well, you are right to be worried.  Anything in the bank will be “disappeared”.  It isn’t a question of if but of when.  And all the “solutions” suck elongated syphilitic monkey dingus.  Gold is a multi-generational savings account and worthless as a savings account to bill paying method.  Silver is fine, but needs to be held as a property tax savings account ( again, and I’m tired of repeating myself although I don’t know why since I always do when selecting another article subject, Peak Silver was some time ago and when mining companies start going tits up most remaining ore will stay in the ground so expect severe silver shortages very soon and stock up what you need NOW ).  Credit Unions are absolutely no safer than regular banks, and I wouldn’t trust the FDIC insurance to pay crap.  They are as underfunded as Deutche Bank.  You can’t trust barter past a certain degree.  Remember, trade needs a monopoly on force to protect and in a economic collapse having surplus barter items just makes you a target.  But more importantly, you can’t barter for daily bills.  The grocery store and utility company don’t want your box of rimfire ammunition, regardless of how valuable you hold it. 

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This article is about still paying your bills as the banks start bailing-in your accounts.  The answer is not to find a substitute for cash, but to keep your cash out of the maw of the bankers.  You still probably need a bank account.  I have one myself.  It is a No Charge checking account because I finally dropped B of A with their insane monthly charges and went with a local bank that doesn’t charge you if you have over $500 a month in direct deposit.  I barely qualify.  Before, when I got paid by Amazon for the ad commissions ( now I just get an Amazon gift card refilled I use to buy reference books ) I needed an account, as I did for the yearly tax return.  But now that is just convenience.  I could file my taxes on paper and get a check sent to me.  But let’s just keep our account open for ease of everyday life.  Just minimize the amount in there.  I leave $500 but I know it is too much ( I used to keep a thousand, sort of an alternate savings ).  I’m thinking a hundred is just fine, as I write no checks except one a month to St. Jude Hospital ( the only donation I feel worthy of ).

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If you don’t have to worry about bounced checks, you don’t need much of a cushion.  When I get paid on a Thursday, on my way biking past my bank ( if you use another banks ATM, you don’t value money much, what with those fees ) on Friday morning I take out most of my check.  Then I have cash which I use rather than my debit card.  I pay rent and utilities in cash to the landlady ( my New Old Lady ) and the remainder is for grocery shopping, cash savings ( I stuff the mattress until I get enough to bury-fire and burglar proof ) and odds and ends.  When I used to have more bills and no bank account ( I closed it prior to Y2K and didn’t open another for five years or so ) I just bought money orders.  Hell, my first lot of land in Elko I bought with a hand full of money orders.  Yes, walking around with four grand might have been a bit scary, but I haven’t lived in a Black Ghetto City for almost fifteen years ( I’m not saying Whites won’t steal from you, just that if the town you live in has a low enough population there are no Black Ghettos ) and don’t feel threatened just breathing the air, let alone if I am carrying cash.

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Making multiple trips from your mattress cash to your neighborhood money order location ( Wal-Mart sells them for goodness sakes, there is no reason to over pay at a check cashing place or wherever ) and for that matter from your ATM to your mattress, and then-horrors!-mailing off your bills using an actual stamp is far from convenient.  Who cares?!  Convenience should be a curse word for you.  Convenience is what sees all your money in the bank disappear.  Yes, most likely ALL of us will lose their bank account.  If I lose a few hundred bucks, oh well.  To lose a few thousand?  A whole other ball game.  Poor people don’t have bank accounts-they have check cashing joints and money orders.  And, perhaps, pre-paid credit cards although I hate those things.  Too pricey.  You want to keep buying from Amazon so I keep getting paid?  Of course you do.  Buy an Amazon gift card at your local retailer for cash.  Sportsman’s Guide still has snail mail ordering.

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If you live in an area that is unsafe to carry cash in, either move or have a concealed 9 next to your wallet ( I hate auto’s and 9mm’s for the apocalypse, but for everyday carry they are hard to beat.  When you carry a 45 they are hard to hide and hard to fire quickly.  Under stress that is bad.  A double action 9 with quality ammo is the way to go ).  In the long run, losing a few 75 cent transaction fees for money orders is preferable to losing your entire bank account.  As an added bonus, you don’t piss away as much money using cash as you do plastic. 

END

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51 comments:

  1. For EDC, I have one of those NAA 22 Magnum mini revolvers.
    It goes everywhere but the shower and bed with me.
    At night a 12 gauge is right beside my head. Plus a .45 Sig in the night stand.
    If I feel insecure where I'm going during the day, I have a Sig Sauer.380 single/double action. Which I can put all eight rounds into a fifty cent piece within five seconds ,at fifteen feet. Loaded with +P hard ball for penetration.
    I too don't care much for 9's...but if you're carrying for conceal, then above all carry quality which shoots well every time you pull the trigger !
    Practice practice practice !!
    It ain't how fast ya mow, it's how well you mow fast.
    And ya don't want a mower which clogs up on the first blade of grass...

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    1. But if your mower is American Made, isn't it worth the inconvenience of clogging up? :) [ making fun of Ford and Chevy buyers, as well as some US arms company products ]

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    2. That's why we drive the Terrorists preferred vehicle too...a Toyota mini truck. Works every time !
      But we do own a Few Ruger revolvers and rifles, for good American steel.
      Plus the NAA mini revolver is made in America.
      What can I say ? I like Sig Sauer for auto pistols, even if they are commie nazi made lol

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    3. I don't think US consumers owe any alliegance to American made products. Big Business has screwed us all, every time, for decades. You want our business? Make a quality item. Can't remember how? Screw you then.

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  2. My wife and I both get paid with direct deposit. In her case there was no other option. In my case it could take an extra 3 or 4 days to get my money. Then I had to drive into town to cash the check.

    Right now when that money it's a scramble to quickly move it around and take out cash. Not ideal, but so it goes. I do expect the banks to lock down eventually.

    Here's something I discovered. If you are out of state and lose the debit and credit cards from your local bank or credit union, they will not ship you a new one. When we lost everything 1800 miles from home, the best I could get them to do is to mail temporary checks. We had a "doomsday" credit card for emergencies from a National bank. They had no problem shipping a replacement to us in 3 days. We got home on that credit card.

    This is not the end of the world banking, but it doesn't take the end of the world to be personally in trouble.

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    1. Traveling is always stressful. Losing money, car breaking down, bugging home. I prefer staying right where I am.

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  3. I fear inflation and the .g0v changing bills as much as bank failure. Do you think they would get to the point of changing the script or outright outlaw cash to keep us in the system?

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    1. I'm doubtful about going cashless, but only because all the Doom Porn says it is imminent ( like the NWO black helicopters ). Most of society is already cashless of course. By choice. So the question becomes, does any of the elites stand to lose profits if we make it mandatory? I'd need to ponder on that.

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    2. They'd have to legalize the drug trade or else lose all those profits...

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    3. Legalize? They'd incarcerate half the population and STILL think criminalizing was a good idea. You know, I do wonder if pot legalization has anything to do with resource depletion? Far fetched, yes, but paper monopoly was why it was criminalized to begin with. Hemp TP? Perhaps all the Canadian Artic trees have been cut down. I think that's going into an article today.

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    4. Look at what India is doing: demonetizing the 500 and 1000 Rupee notes. That's only $7.50 and $15 value each paper, but it's most of their economy. This is a demonstration of power by the global elite, and maybe some gold price suppression (no one luvs gold like a billion+ Indians!).

      pdxr13

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    5. Definitely something going on in India. I wish I had the figures for average wages, that would put the bills in context.

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  4. I have been cash only my whole life. I use a bank for 2 auto drafts and so I can get certified checks free. A bit of advise " if your savings is 100$ bills you need to swap to mainly 20$ bills with a few 50,s" They will remove and devalue 100,s first !!!!!
    Now not to sound like the "nickel guru" All bills are FRN,s coins are still issued and backed by the Treasury of the united states. No country has ever revalued coinage but it has all paper notes and deposits. So your coin jar stands as the best non depreciable currency.

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    1. Since large bills were made a controlled item decades ago, I have my doubts they will pull the $100. I think the bigger concern is that stores won't take it. They might want smaller bills to keep cash on hand minimized. Just a thought. I prefer 20's for both reasons ( just in case ), I'm just not sure how much of a danger this is.

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  5. By letting my monthly expenses go through the bank automatically I have never missed a rent or utility payment, or payment for any of the other things considered a modern 'necessity' that I agreed to have. I do however make certain I only keep one months extra in in the bank, I try (and usually fail) to keep another months in hidden cash for monthly expenses in addition to a separate emergency fund. Since I am building big enough for the Spouse as well as my self, child, and one other relative, the rest of the money is going to those improvements to my land.
    Once we can get on the land the monthly expenses will drop drastically, and it will be easier to save some into all the various funds and pay down the student debt -at least that is the hope...

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    1. Extra cash is difficult. I was only able to save after the minimal BPOD construction.

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  6. Like your idea to use Amazon gift cards. Thanks.
    Nwsenior

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  7. Good advice, i practice it myself UNTIL the ptb make a cashless society.

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    1. Probably worth pondering and an article. Gut reaction is No. But if I think it through I might conclude otherwise.

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  8. Dang James, why did you have to go and further my paranoia by posting this sort of thing! It's a constant concern of mine since selling my other property.

    So here's where I sit as of now. $15k in the bank. Already took out $4500 in cash. What would you suggest? Aside from purchasing my preps, convert the rest to silver or gold, even the cash that I took out?

    Heard a guy on the radio late night about a week or so back, and he said something to the effect that if you purchase the silver eagles, that they can be spent as ordinary coin in an emergency, as opposed to bullion. I can't recall the term that he used, but I believe he said that they were “certified”?

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    1. Last paragraph, no idea. Sorry. Second paragraph, gold is only for passing on to your heirs, silver is great for property tax ( it will hold against inflation-buy your lifetimes worth of property tax, plus 50% for possible increases. Double might be better ). Other than that, I've never had much surplus and the problem of safekeeping wealth has always seemed like a Rich Persons Problem. The only thing I can think of is a small business investment. How "crash-centric" you make it follows your idea of what the future holds.

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    2. Thanks James. The $4500 was actually taken out for my property tax on my junk land, which as of now, is only $24.00 a year. This is how I figured it:

      $24x10 years=$240
      Assuming that it doubles after 10 years, so
      $48x10 years= $480
      Assuming that it doubles again after 10 years, so
      $96x10 years=$960

      $1680.00 total over 30 years (I'm 52, so that's how I factored this). Obviously I have way more than that at $4500, so that extra is just redundancy.

      So should I take that $4500 and covert it to silver? After preps, should I convert the rest to silver? I know that you're not a financial consultant, so no one's holding you to it, just looking to get ideas?

      Oh, and I thought that I might add (And I know that this wasn't what you were trying to imply) that while I might sound semi-rich, I'm the dude that was laid off 1.5 years ago and will probably never find work again at my age and demographic (Evil white dude). I just got really lucky and sold a piece of property (thanks to a bunch of pot farmers buying up land in my area) that I honestly thought that I would never sell. No heirs, so I'll probably just leave what's left of my estate to a no kill cat shelter (What can I say, I have a soft spot for the furry little guys).

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    3. The greatest value of Silver Eagles, is that they are made by the US Mint and recognized legal tender which is not easily counterfeited. Versus silver rounds which are made by various mints privately.
      Tho you will pay a couple dollars more for the Eagles

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    4. 641-If it was me, I'd take the $4k and put it all in silver. Figure $2k, worse case scenario, for taxes, and the other half for emergency purchases like RX, dentist visit, that kind of thing. You want extra in case converting it to cash takes more black market transaction fees. The rest, after preps, I'd look into micro-business investments. I'm talking about something like $200 in leather and tools, or knife making stuff, or getting a bulk rate on printing books, a lawn mower ( yes, I know that wouldn't work for you-just pointing out how cheap it is to start a business with few tools, no debt and few living expenses ). And have a years bare-bones cash ( just food and propane, or car insurance-you know, like $200, $300 a month max ). I think this way you have a diversity. PM's, stashed cash, a income base.

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    5. Spud-most of my silver is in private mint rounds. I thought most of the conterfieting was in bars or in gold. Do you think I need to get one of those tools that detects counterfeit? I think you need to buy one for each type of coin, they cost like $80 each. Can't remember the company that makes it although I think I have it written down somewhere.

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    6. Naw just weigh them and do a volume displacement test in water if you're worried about it. Generally you are good for go if it weighs right.
      Only reason I buy Eagles is the certification factor and easier to off load if need be. Right now it just wouldn't pay to fake silver rounds at the price they are. When it's fifty bucks maybe.
      Did you see the cool Bison ounce and a quarter Canadian coins ?

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    7. Thanks James. Current bills are only $100 a month, since I'm able to park my RV for free, but even if I wasn't, I still have the junk land. Was thinking about getting 30 years of wheat as a base if I can figure out where to store it. I'll probably add in some beans, rice, and top ramen to that as well. For a vehicle, I still want to get a motorcycle, and that drops the cost of fuel, insurance, and maintenance, to probably less than 1/4 the cost of a car.

      Technically, I should be able to live out my days without ever having to work another day, since my land is owned outright, I should have a lifetime of taxes, and probably food as well. But unexpected needs such as tools, off-grid electronics, and books will come up. Also, I didn't really factor in clothing over the course of my life. I want to live as long as possible of course, but everyday lately it seems like you hear about too many being cut down prematurely in what should have been the prime of their life (Thinking about Alan Thicke as I type this).

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    8. Damn, you are optimistic about how long you'll live :)
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      Spud-I bought all my silver at $5-$7 an ounce, so I can't imagine any was counterfeit. Guess I didn't think that one through enough.

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  9. Wow, they require you to keep $500 in the account to have no monthly charge? My local credit union only requires $10 in the savings and $5 in the checking

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    1. No, they just require that much to be deposited each month in "direct deposit". You can withdraw it after deposit.

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  10. I'm going to go Cash for spending & bank digits for paying bills / paying down consumer debt and mortgage.

    I thought going cashless would see me spend less but dagnammit it's not working out that way

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    1. The only thing prying cash out of me is food sales ( just bought 12 pounds of butter at $2 each! ). I'm not tempted by anything else. I don't eat out, make my own coffee, don't drink, etc. The world of retail out there holds no allure.

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    2. LMAO - Damn I'm all talk and little action. I'm still gunna do this.

      I should change my moniker from Dingo to Drongo as it's more apt

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    3. Don't confuse me with a name change. Sad Panda :(

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  11. We do a dual thing with banking. B of A gets the direct deposit social security checks and they go to direct payment of rent , insurance and such. So it pretty much goes out as it comes in. Leaving very little to build up.

    Then we have her work check direct deposit to a local credit union, which we withdraw as cash. It is a free checking account because we maintain a hundred bucks in a savings account with them.

    The BA account costs us $15 a month, but we consider it worthwhile for the convenient bill paying aspect. Never late on any bill !

    We keep our cash in twenties and below as a mix. Not gonna divulge how much either....
    Same with Silver, a mix of Eagles and Junk dimes ,quarters and half dollars. No bullion....

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    1. It isn't that $15 isn't a small price to pay for convenience, what chaps my ass is BofA after twenty years of banking with them ( with the five years off at Y2K ) they are the most expensive ones around. They were ripping me off, after billions in taxpayer bail-outs. Don't you dare cry 'Po with me, you hump-tards! Glad I got that off my chest.

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    2. Yeah we used to keep the thousand balance for free checking with them but not now days.

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    3. Plus they exchange foreign currency for free if ya got a checking account to run it through. Tho here soon , i doubt we'll see the Euro much longer eh ?

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    4. I think they told me $1500 to get the free checking.

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  12. EDC carry - .38 snub nose, a 1st Generation Charter Arms or similar. Far more versatile than a 9mm automatic.

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    1. Again, not a PostApoc auto fan. But now, forced to live cheek to jowl with non-tribe members, I can see the wisdom of extra firepower that a revolver doesn't deliver. Since you can easily replace the ammo expenditure at this time. Of course, the first choice is to live somewhere you don't need EDC.

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    2. Not 4:54 James, but if it's a revolver you would want for this purpose, and you're concerned about firepower, I'd consider one of those .45LC/.410 shotshell deals. I think Taurus and Smith and Wesson both make one. The Smith and Wesson Governor has a little snub nose and looks pretty compact. I think it only fires the 2.5” .410 shells, but no biggie. I'd imagine a 2.5” .410 shell at close ranges would be devastating. There's also the physiological aspect of the sound and ferocious blast, that after firing the first round, would send all but the most insane hood members scurrying.

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    3. Sorry, firepower as in number of rounds.

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    4. "Sorry, firepower as in number of rounds."


      I sort of meant the same thing James, but achieved with a more efficient round. The .410 loaded up with the proper shot will take out more than one gang member at close range. Best to get them bunched up tightly though.

      In other words, I feel that a revolver loaded with 5 or 6 (Depends on the model) .410 shotshells is a whole lot of weapon that I would feel pretty confident to carry around.

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    5. Hammerless revolver like S&W J in .38sp+p fits easy in pocket. More friends are made with a roll of silver dimes, dried figs, or a portable solar charger, but it's good to be prepared with both carrots and fire-stick. Carry left and right with a couple speed loads if'n you think it's so scary. I would avoid those places/times without a mag-fed rifle (and at least 2 rifle-carrying armored tribe brothers fresh back from USMC) instead of carrying extra revolvers.

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    6. 756: not a bad plan, I just think you limit your options this way.
      1149: if you have to carry an extra revolver, yeh, move.

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    7. “756: not a bad plan, I just think you limit your options this way.”


      I see. I posted this as a suggestion because I figured that Semi's were against your religion, but I see that you're not entirely opposed to them under certain circumstances such as concealed carry in high crime areas.

      For myself, I have my Ruger P-95 9mm semi-auto that I would carry if I felt I were in a dangerous situation. But I also wouldn't feel terribly disadvantaged with that .410 shotshell revolver.

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    8. I love semi's. For today's Industrial Age use. I started out with a .45 ( even bought two myself but sold them to move from Florida-as I kept my revolver ). I'd prefer an HK clone to any other rifle. I think the AK is the best of the assault rifle concept and I think the AR is the most accurate semi mid range sniper rifle if used with a heavy barrel ( it is too light of a round, however ). I would have loved to have one of those Russian 762x54r sniper rifles. My whole point on semi's is that however nice they might be, they suck once the ammo runs out. Period.

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    9. I see James, good to hear. I thought that maybe you just had some kind of unwarranted bias towards them for some reason, but I see now that you're being totally objective and using logic, which is what I like in my survivalist men (no homo) :D

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    10. Here is some articles from my book "Apocalypse Gun Porn" relating to this subject:
      http://jamesmdakin.blogspot.com/search?q=apocalypse+gun+porn

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