Back to 430 BC

(Not) John Cleese on Threats to Europe (Updated) | Power Line:

I've been thinking that we have returned to the 1970's with the stagnant economy, complete lack of respect for the US and it's leadership around the world, and sort of a general "malaise". I'm predicting a series of nasty dark cold winters to "ice it". Back in the '70s, folks were CERTAIN that we were sliding into a fresh ice age, and not without the winters to make you think they were right!

Maybe I'm off by a few thousand years though. It is too bad this ISN'T written by John Cleese, because it sounds like him, but it is good anyway. So odd that when nations had cultures, there was diversity of culture and you could actually make fun of them! Life was so fun before we did away with actual learning and culture and gave in to prissy political correctness.

I really liked the 430BC thing, but it is short and WELL worth the read. I pray the Aussies need NEVER cancel the barbie!

And as a final thought – Greece is collapsing, the Iranians are getting aggressive, and Rome is in disarray. Welcome back to 430 BC.

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JD 2320 Tractor, Patio Project

2320 and Patio Project

I was out working with the 2320 today and decided that I ought to shoot a couple of pics of it since it happened to be in a rare "loaded" state with the bucket, belly mower and tiller all attached. The bucket is on for obvious reasons, the evident digging for the extension  / completion of our house back perimeter rocking plus the addition of a small patio and a couple levels of steps to enable people to get to the patio, firepit, deck around the side of the house without stumbling in the dark. There will also be a berm and some rocks to separate it from the lawn and provide some privacy from the street

The other two items are on because I didn't like where I had the tiller at, so I wanted to move it and decided to just leave it on for weight while I dug, and when I was digging today I noticed that the lawn was really long, so I put that on and mowed. 

I've got all of 13 hrs on the unit so far, but WOW, it has done A LOT!! Lots of brush moving both at the edge of the yard and off from our drain-field, plus all the digging and mowing. Mowing is quite a breeze with the 62" deck! 

I'm always amazed at how poorly the measure "horsepower" captures working power. My previous 10 year+ mower was a JD 425 with allegedly 24 gas HP. This is a Yanmar 3cyl diesel, also with 24hp. The 425 had like zero torque ... load it and it died. This plays with the 62" deck, showing no signs of lugging even at 2/3 throttle. When I do lug it pushing brush or digging into a dirt pile with the bucket, it has a good deal of "snort" before it thinks of killing. 

It has been a JOY to use! Doing tasks that I've wanted to do for YEARS in an hour or two of enjoyable time is a superb treat. Somewhat like the opportunity to "be retired" for a couple weeks being of nearly infinite worth, the blessing of being able to complete tasks while using such a nice machine as been a real high point of the summer. 

JD 2320 Tractor, Patio Project

2320 and Patio Project

I was out working with the 2320 today and decided that I ought to shoot a couple of pics of it since it happened to be in a rare "loaded" state with the bucket, belly mower and tiller all attached. The bucket is on for obvious reasons, the evident digging for the extension  / completion of our house back perimeter rocking plus the addition of a small patio and a couple levels of steps to enable people to get to the patio, firepit, deck around the side of the house without stumbling in the dark. There will also be a berm and some rocks to separate it from the lawn and provide some privacy from the street

The other two items are on because I didn't like where I had the tiller at, so I wanted to move it and decided to just leave it on for weight while I dug, and when I was digging today I noticed that the lawn was really long, so I put that on and mowed. 

I've got all of 13 hrs on the unit so far, but WOW, it has done A LOT!! Lots of brush moving both at the edge of the yard and off from our drain-field, plus all the digging and mowing. Mowing is quite a breeze with the 62" deck! 

I'm always amazed at how poorly the measure "horsepower" captures working power. My previous 10 year+ mower was a JD 425 with allegedly 24 gas HP. This is a Yanmar 3cyl diesel, also with 24hp. The 425 had like zero torque ... load it and it died. This plays with the 62" deck, showing no signs of lugging even at 2/3 throttle. When I do lug it pushing brush or digging into a dirt pile with the bucket, it has a good deal of "snort" before it thinks of killing. 

It has been a JOY to use! Doing tasks that I've wanted to do for YEARS in an hour or two of enjoyable time is a superb treat. Somewhat like the opportunity to "be retired" for a couple weeks being of nearly infinite worth, the blessing of being able to complete tasks while using such a nice machine as been a real high point of the summer. 

Does the UK Now Matter?

U.K. Parliament Rejects Syria Action - WSJ.com:

When W went into Iraq with the full backing and participation of the UK, the US media and guys like BO said that he "acted alone". When W in a SOTU speech said that "British Intelligence said that ...", it was declared a "lie", even though Tony Blair and British Intelligence said repeatedly that not only did they say that, they still stood by the analysis. No matter, it remained "a lie" to the US chattering classes.

So now the UK refuses to even give approval to a US attack on Syria. How much did we listen to the press and BO wring their hands about the HORROR of W acting "unilaterally"??

Sometimes the left is feckless enough that I lose track of exactly where their double standards lie. I know they hated W, but given Vietnam and some of their other rhetoric over the years, I thought they actually had an "anti-war wing" that was independent of their hatred of Republicans. Left leaning people with real standards, not simply "hooray for our side and boo on your side" automatons ... but now I'm back to wondering.

Does lefty thinking SIMPLY come down to "we hate Republicans, if they do it, then it is BAD ... WHATEVER our side does is OK!"

Apparently so.

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Assault Weapons and Voting

Bill Clinton: 'A Great Democracy Doesn't Make It Harder To Vote Than To Buy An Assault Weapon':

"A Great Democracy Doesn't Make It Harder To Vote Than To Buy An Assault Weapon". Yea, right ... "I did not have sex with that woman". The wagging index finger that would be fun to snap off was even wagging.

We live in a nation of really stupid one-liners and demagogues dressed up as "statesman", in this case with their pants around their ankles.

1. We are a REPUBLIC, not a "Democracy" ... at least in name. We Pledge Allegiance to a REPUBLIC, not that Slick Willie has ever paid any attention.
   
2. I've both voted and purchased assault weapons, I have no idea what planet President Stain is currently residing on, but here in the old US of A, we don't even require an ID to vote (although we do to mail UPS, check into many hotels, get on a plane, withdraw money from your own bank, etc, etc). We want to make sure that all the "Undocumented Democrats" can get their votes counted just like the Democrats that are felons and or live in cemeteries.
   
   To buy an AR however, you need to submit a form to the local authorities, wait around week or so, be checked out by the Feds, get a "Permit to Purchase", take that to a gun dealer. Show your picture ID (in fact, have it copied) and then fill out a long form swearing to a bunch of stuff under threat of felony, and THEN you get your "Assault Weapon" ... meaning gun just like a whole bunch of others, but usually BLACK, with a FOLDING STOCK, and a LARGE MAGAZINE ... and maybe a HAND GAURD (so you don't burn your tough guy pinkies). 

I ride a Gold Wing, but today I was riding my wife's Harley Street Glide. It is sort of like an "Assault Motorcycle" ... it is BLACK, it RUMBLES, it SHAKES at the stoplights, it has LOTS OF CHROME, it is LOW ... it looks MEAN!! Only in the Assault Motorcycle world, they leave the super hot pipes exposed so they can REALLY burn you!

My Wing is burgundy, it is quiet, it is smooth, it has more HP, more acceleration, more top end, and looks like half of a Honda Accord. My 30-06 742 Remington has nice wood, it is WAY more powerful, accurate, and shoots a longer distance than my Bushmaster AR, but it is NOT an "Assault Weapon" ... just like my Wing is not an Assault Motorcycle.

A once great nation focuses on personal gratification for it's "leaders",  disarming the law abiding citizens, and allowing the country to be run by the illegal, the felons and the corpses?
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Not Fearing The Future Enoiugh

People Don’t Fear Climate Change Enough - Bloomberg:

I wonder how people developed the tendency to focus on today or the immediate future more than 100 years from now? It seems to be a mystery to a brilliant guy like Cass Sunstein.

For some odd reason, Cass doesn't mention debt. I wonder which is a greater threat to the next 50 years in the US? Something like 80T in unfunded FICA, Medicare, BOcare + 17T going rapidly to 20T of US Bond debt.  $100T debt. or the potential of a degree or two of extra temp ... a potential that has currently been on hold for the last 15 years.

Since debt is 100% human created for sure, I'd find it to be MUCH more controllable, predictable, and better understood than global climate. Let's assume that current climate change IS human caused ... I'd assume we can all agree there are many other factors as well? The climate has fluctuated significantly over all of it's 5B year history, and for LOTs of that, we were definitely innocent!

Anyone think we are likely to focus on our debt issue anytime soon? Compared to "Global Warming", it is a .000001 on the degree of difficulty to deal with. Let's just solve our debt problem in the US in the next decade to show how adult we are,  and then in the following decade we can take on the planet's climate.

I'm reminded of the chain smoker worried silly about flying. Or maybe more appropriate, the teen that is going to save the world, but can't quite find the time to clean their room.

Not only do humans think more about today and tomorrow than they do about 100 ... or even ONE year from now, they ALSO tend to make up paper tigers to focus on rather than actual items staring them in the face.

Thus, let's worry about "Global Warming" rather than debt, economic collapse, Syria, Egypt, power grid fragility, black urban violence, cancer, heart attack, car accidents, the collapse of the family, illegal immigration,  cleaning our room. ....




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Chris Lane, Trayvon Martin, Law vs Mob

No, Chris Lane is not Trayvon Martin! - Salon.com:

As this column says, "If you want to actually understand race relations in this country, you need to understand the difference between these cases." For folks like Salon, that isn't going to happen  until something like one of the following happens:

1. All "non-MSM media" are stamped out and people think and believe what they are told or they are nabbed by NSA surveillance and prosecuted under IRS or other "hate crime" laws for not thinking what the State/State Supporting Media has declared to be "truth". 
2. We become re-educated in historical, fundamental legal rights like self-defense and generally VOLUNTARILY agree to live under the rule of law as free men. 

This nation was founded under 2 and continues to slide toward 1. Are there "right wing" folks that will exploit things that happen? Sure, obviously that is the case on the left as well. However, that doesn't change the fact that the Zimmerman / Martin case was and is an open and shut case of self-defense, a human right at the basis of all human interaction. If you can't defend yourself when someone is on top of you pounding your head into the pavement than the right to self defense doesn't exist, as since it is Natural Law, we all really know that it does. In order to accept current "state truth" you have to deny Natural Law.

"Stand Your Ground" was not used in the case and has no bearing on the case. If you are in fear for your life and can't escape, that is self defense, and that was the defense which Zimmerman used and was freed under.

Any remotely dispassionate analysis will see that the Zimmerman/Martin case was latched onto by the left as a "cause" with no regard for George Zimmerman or Trayvon Martin. The new racial class of "White Hispanic" had to be created especially for the case, since the normal "Brown Hispanic" would be the wrong color. The idea was and is to "fire up the base" for political purposes and to keep the focus off a floundering president.

Why Henry Gates is even in the column is a mystery except I guess when one has very weak arguments a bit of screen helps.

**IF** George Zimmerman had actually just stalked and killed Trayvon Martin in cold blood and the police had let him go, then there would be a comparison something like what Salon imagines. But what the police did was see an obvious case of self defense that wasn't possible to prosecute, and  made the right decision, proven by the fact that a court of law reached the same c=-verdict. If we lived in nation 2, this column would never be written without near universal disapproval.

Will the right try to exploit the Lane case? Sure, but only because while we clearly don't live in nation 2 anymore, we have not yet "progressed" all the way to nation 1, so there is a need to try to get people to wake up and return to nation 2 before we damage ourselves farther. If people that care about rule of law and freedom don't stand up and talk, the alternative is going to end up being bloodshed since free men will not go quietly into nation 1.

We ought to take note of that and return to the rule of law!

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Decisions Soon, Grave Concern, Many Responsible

Obama in CNN Interview: Key decisions nearing on Syria, Egypt - CNN.com:

We are a LONG way from "the buck stops here", over even "I'm the decider".

Syria long crossed the "red line" and it is now "a grave concern". Wow.

We were totally in favor of the "Arab Spring" in Egypt, now we can't call a Coup a Coup.

So "key decisions" need to happen "soon".

Oh, and college cost a lot and many are responsible.

Carter's 2nd term is in full swing.

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A Bit of Economic Reality

33 Shocking Facts Which Show How Badly The Economy Has Tanked Under Obama | Zero Hedge News:

Being in the ranks of the unemployed, I'll give you another. When we have a patent issue from IBM they send us a $100 check --- er, well a $61 check. After Federal, State and FICA are removed, that is what is left. In MN, if you wanted to go out and spend it on something that gets sales tax, that would take another 6.875% off locally.

Let's face it, half for the government, half for you. Oh, AND "taxes are STILL too LOW" according to our current regime.

I'm really not in a money making hurry!

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Swedes Outwork US Workers

Sweden Surpasses the U.S. in Hours Worked Per Working Age Adult | National Review Online:

The US continues it's decline as a nation that DOESN'T work -- literally and figuratively.

Among the 21 OECD countries with available data regarding hours worked per working age adult, the top five countries are Switzerland, Iceland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada.

So to add insult to injury, not Sweden doesn't even make the top five!

It appears that taxing what you want less of (work) and subsidizing what you want more of (indolence), is very effective!

This government policy stuff isn't that hard after all. Perhaps we will figure out that spending way more than you earn year after year causes bankruptcy next!


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Do You Favor "Stand Your Ground" Laws??

If Barack Obama Had a Son, Would He Look Like Chris Lane? | Power Line:

Read to the end of this and then honestly say that you believe that somebody ought to be forced to turn their back on these folks and run. Hell, he was running already!

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Jackson and Sharpton Rush to OK

Shooting of Australian Christopher Lane sparks calls for U.S. boycott - CNN.com:

oops, never mind -- perps black, victim white, not their narrative! Expect to see very little of this one in the MSM, except maybe a tiny bit of obligatory hand wringing about "gun control".

What is wrong with our country when a "white Hispanic" being pounded into the sidewalk is allowed to use self defense? It is certainly horrible. How about when a group of black teens pops an Aussie in the back because they are bored? No real reason to think about that very much is there?

Let's be honest. Nobody beyond the family and friends that knew and loved him cared one whit about Trayvon Martin. He furthered their agenda, so they faked some big crocodile tears. NOBODY is actually concerned about the plight of young black men, LEAST of all BO, Jackson or Sharpton. If they were, "stop and frisk" would be mandatory in Chicago, New York, LA, Detroit, DC, etc, because it works, and we have NO PROBLEM targeting other groups (eg IRS conservatives, smokers, obese, gun owners, Christians, etc) ESPECIALLY "for their own good".

We can pull over anyone we want to see if they are wearing a seatbelt for their own protection. I happen to wear one and agree it is a good idea to wear it, but MANDATORY?? Oh, if you don't want to be "targeted", don't drive a car. Sure, great idea.

Other than a few crazies in Free Fire Zones ("Gun Free" zones), our "gun violence problem" is 90% young black men shooting each other with a few innocents caught in the crossfire or "boredom zone". Gee, young black male unemployment is over 50%,  a black family with a father at home is as rare as white folks shooting blacks, and what are we doing to improve things? Maybe legalizing weed ... that ought to encourage our black youth to get out and find a nonexistent  job!

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Let Me Take Umbrage

White Is the New White | The Nation:

Ho hum. Some Woman of Color thinks that some show that I've never heard of "Orange is the New Black" is "racist". What is worse, a lot of her Black Sisters have the gall to LIKE the show. It only goes to show how those racist whites keep the black ladies messed up!

What is a Sister to do? Well, thankfully the "Creepy Crackers" that run "The Nation" thankfully provide such an offended woman a place to have a really good whine. They may be racists, but at least they are accommodating racists!

It is great that Gun Owners, Businessmen, Fat People, Christians, Conservatives, and host of others are ALWAYS portrayed in such a flattering light in mass media!

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Wisconsin 5th in Beer!!! ND First!

Video - Five U.S. States Where People Drink the Most Beer - WSJ.com:

Say it isn't so! Wisconsin FIFTH by a wide margin and North Dakota first????

Color me shocked and dismayed!

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Rodeo Clown?

Michelle Malkin | 10 images mocking George W. Bush that were far worse than a harmless rodeo clown «:

This one almost slipped by me. I've been riding the Wing much I've missed my MPR diet, CNN on the web is only barely readable with near constant headlines of grisly murders / kidnappings / sex crimes and "news" that is basically a random list of "stuff".

My sense of "the reality cover-up" with the long list of economic, foreign policy and just plain pathetic government woes is becoming very hard to ignore.

But making ado about a RODEO CLOWN, demanding apologies, people resigning and "banning for life"?? I always thought it was North Korea that had the "Dear Leader" that could not be spoken ill of, let alone mocked.

The Malkin column has a tiny bit of perspective, but it BARELY scratches the surface. Good grief, when a Republican is in the WH, 24x7 mockery and psuedo death threats is the media and left wing public rule! "Less brains than a chimp", "he ought to be assassinated (or in Reagan's case, I wish the guys aim was better", "I'd like to see him get AIDs, cancer, have his kid killed in military action, etc" ... it's endless and constant when there is an "R" in the office, and while maybe some COUNTRY group might offend their fans if they go too far, the usual is just total MSM and left wing disrespect for an R President

People used "DubYa" and "Ronnie" and "Tricky Dick" all the time, but even though Obama himself has enough sense of humor to name his dog "Bo", and makes a big deal out of not using the "Hussein" middle name, the obvious BO is generally off limits.

How is it that a country goes down the "Dear Leader" path again?

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Moose an Indian?

Took a test drive of the new Indian "Chieftain" bagger up in St Paul today and was very impressed. I ride a Honda GW '06 1800 and my wife has a 2013 Harley Street Glide that I've had out a few times. Here are my thoughts: 

• FANTASTIC TORQUE! Beats the Harley easily, maybe beats the Wing. 3rd gear is like "auto" in town and 5th is the same at hwy speeds. Roll on the throttle when you KNOW you are WAY too slow for that gear and it just responds. Amazing!
• Even compared to the Street Glide it seems like a MUCH smaller bike than it is in low speed handling. Better and LOWER balance. Right off the start complete confidence in slow speed handling!
• SUPERB application of technology,. SUPER to be able to see what gear you are in when you jump on a new bike, and with this much torque it will take some time before you never look down at the indicator -- or maybe makes no difference. Wrong gear? Who the hell cares? It just pulls anyway!! I was on the Chieftain however -- gotta love the electrical adjustable windshield!
• Sound -- the Harley guys were complaining about the"missing long stroke lope". Well, maybe ... as a Winger, it sounded freaking fabulous! Mine had the louder option and it had that " I make THUNDER, so respect me"! sound of POWER. But then, we Wing guys have a bit of an inferiority complex in that department. With the Wing, I know I will be beat up at the next stop ... with the Indian I felt like I could stand tall and sturdy, gazing down on the puny masses, knowing that they would KNOW and keep their place! 

I spent the trip back to Rochester enjoying the Wing and imagining what it would be like to  no longer have a Wing. it is going to be DAMNED tough to ever give up the big SMOOTH bike that just EATS miles like they don't even exist.

BUT ... the Indian puts a SMILE on the face as soon as it fires up! One doesn't even need to eat mile one and it is already very very cool ... ah, the problems of life! 

Election and Halloween

The total cost of our last election was over $6 Billion.

In 2012 we spent $8 Billion on Halloween.

It still remains a Henny Youngman world ( "How is your wife? ... Compared to what???") When one is talking about quantities -- it always depends on the context / comparison, because quantities, especially money, are RELATIVE.

I personally believe that ethics and morals are NOT relative -- but a lot of our current culture has this relationship reversed. ANY amount of money spent by Republicans is HUGE, while one might think that poor Democrats spent no money at all. Those people often wring their hands about the HORRIBLE amount of money spent in politics! ... and I'm quite certain they would be absolutely fine with a single party that could spend no money at all campaigning -- although possibly a few dollars on bullets to silence political criminals like myself.

Savannah on the Gulf?

Did You Catch the President’s U.S. Geography Fail on Leno Tuesday? | Video | TheBlaze.com:

So BO thinks that the eastern seaboard is on the Gulf of Mexico. Ho Hum ... HE IS A DEMOCRAT!!! Little things like this are just "little things" unless one is part of the Stupid Party (Republican) in which they are knee slapping howlers, proof of dangerous levels of stupidity and universal derision.

We know all that. However, why do we need to deepen ports? Aren't the oceans RISING? of is there something special about GW induced ocean level increase that doesn't "lift all boats".

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Amazon Beats MN!

Amazon drops blogger affiliates in Minnesota to avoid sales tax | Star Tribune:

I just did an Amazon order and paid attention to the fact that no sales tax was collected on it. I can remember the big discussion prior to July 2 as to the potential for Amazon to have to collect MN Sales taxes.

Apparently they just "fired" anyone in MN that was directing revenue to their site and were thus able to bypass.

Kudos to Amazon ... they dropped one of the many reasons for residents to move to a another state off the LONG list of reasons to leave MN. MN ought to send them a check!

I'll give you another ... we are in the early (we believe) phases of looking at a potential move to IA.

Our property taxes in Rochester MN, $4,500 (and rising rapidly). Property tax on a similar property in rural IA? < $1K.

$3,500 a year savings there alone!

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Government as God

Keith Ellison Confesses His Kleptomania | Power Line:

If only it were just Keith Ellison. As government abandons it's primary purpose, which is the protection of property, and begins on the project of leveling of results, which corrupts it's primary charter, it is only a tiny step to government replacing God.

To Ellison and most of the left, "all is justly the government property" -- the "problem" is just the mere mechanism of exactly how they manage to collect it all!

God indeed provides all, and demands a 10% "Flat Tax" in return. If only earthly tyrants could learn from the Sovereign of Ages the reasonableness of ALL paying a flat rate. Tall and short, fat and slim, rich and poor, ALL are equal relative to God -- earthly measures being just that, earthly measures, and none of which are of much import relative to eternity and a Sovereign God.

Man creates government to protect property, and government becomes the chief criminal usurper of private property. Ah, humanity!

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"War on Terror" Over -- We Lost

Source: al Qaeda leader urged affiliate to 'do something' – CNN Security Clearance - CNN.com Blogs:

Last summer and fall there was a lot of gloating about "Obama killed Osama". Then there was the firm declaration  by BO that "All wars come to an end, and so it is with the War on Terror". Apparently the other side didn't get the memo.

Back when W was in office, any increased "terror threat level" was an attempt to "make Americans afraid". I can only assume that the assumption relative to the BO administration is that nobody is listening anyway.

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Whatever Rush

Opinion: At 25, Limbaugh show still rules GOP - CNN.com:

Granderson obviously hates Rush Limbaugh -- he includes his "personal" connection with him since Rush apparently dissed him by claiming to have "never heard of him", when he apparently had mentioned him before! Devastating!

He hates the GOP as well, because they are "the opposition" ... they don't support all that King BO decrees ... and neither does Rush. They fit well together.

So I guess if you are the kind of person that reads Granderson articles regularly, that is just fine.

At one time in history, if you were a "News" outlet like CNN, you might not want to have a columnist acting like Rush, Jon Stewart, or Steven Colbert.

That time is past. News? Entertainment? Facts? Opinion? Propaganda?

"Whatever", the all purpose value judgement of the the Whatever Century.

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