Shadowing Practice: Max Blumenthal on the Israeli network in the White House - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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We welcome here in the studio journalist Max Blumenthal.
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We welcome here in the studio journalist Max Blumenthal.
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He is editor-in-chief of The Gray Zone.
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Max, great to have you with us.
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Good to see you.
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I want to get to the attacks on civilian infrastructure in a moment.
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But first, you know, listening or looking at some of these social media posts from President Trump,
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this tirade, this latest tirade against Iran, it's getting increasingly aggressive.
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Now it's profanity-laden tweets or X posts that he's sending out, social media posts.
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What does this tell you about the mood in the White House and this administration's efforts to take control of this conflict?
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Well, they've lost control of this conflict.
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Donald Trump is effectively a hostage of Iran.
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Along with his entire administration, he's surrounded by yes-men.
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The administration has descended into chaos because Donald Trump was sold by Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Remember when he was taking trip after trip to Washington,
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D.C., shutting down entire highways and Lindsey Graham was basically serving as Netanyahu's advisor on how to reach Trump.
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Trump was sold on a very easy war and a quick win after a series of decapitation strikes.
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And Trump was still on this sugar high after Venezuela.
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And meanwhile, he had figures like Laura Loomer,
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who enjoys more private time,
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this far-right influencer with Donald Trump than Trump's own wife Melania
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getting the NSC's top Iran expert Nate Swanson fired who had warned that the Strait of Hormuz would immediately be shut,
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the global economy would be sent spiraling,
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and Iran would retaliate with a regional war if it was attacked and these decapitation strikes were carried out.
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So Trump now has no idea what to do and he's resorted to terrorist threats and terrorist bombings,
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and he's discredited himself not just in the international community,
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but also among the so-called Iranian diaspora,
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which believed that help was on the way.
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CONNOR O' Concerning the Israeli role in this,
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I mean,
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there's quite a debate going on here in the United States
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on how involved Israel was in persuading the president to launch this war against Iran.
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We had the resignation of Joe Kent,
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the anti-terrorism chief, who came out and said,
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look, it was It was Israel that persuaded the president to launch this war.
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Do you think there is enough of a connection being made among American people of the role
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that Israel played and what the president is doing?
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Well, it's the American media that refuses to inform the American public about the extent to
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which this is entirely an Israeli war, with the U.S military essentially functioning as a proxy for Israeli interests.
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This was expressed by the Secretary of State Marco Rubio
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when he told the Gang of Eight after a Senate briefing that Israel was going to attack Iran,
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and the U.S simply had to follow it rather than stop it or restrain it.
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His predecessor, Tony Blinken, said Israel told Obama,
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we are going to attack,
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but Obama actually restrained Israel.
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This follows a long blueprint,
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starting with the inception of Benjamin Netanyahu's career as prime minister,
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found in the Clean Break document,
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which expresses the desire for Israel to get the U.S to attack Iran on its behalf
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because it doesn't have the military capacity to do so.
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When you look at the global economic damage where there are now effectively bread riots in Asia,
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we could see mass exodus of Gulf countries by the end of spring or summer.
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This is because of Israel and the Israeli capture of the Trump administration through top donors like Miriam Adelson.
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Donald Trump's top donor is effectively an Israeli proxy.
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He has funded Marco Rubio's career,
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along with another major Israel donor,
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Paul Singer, who is funding Donald Trump.
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Pretty much everyone surrounding Donald Trump has been supported by Israel,
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and they have been the ones.
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John Ratcliffe, the CIA director who's known as the Mossad stenographer,
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being briefed by his Mossad counterpart,
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David Barnea, on Iran being on the verge of getting nuclear weapons.
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Susie Wiles, a former advisor to Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection campaign in 2020,
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is chief of staff controlling access to Donald Trump.
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Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner,
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the chief negotiators, are hardcore Zionist ideologues.
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Everyone around Trump is representing Israeli interests,
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and everyone and most everyone in this country opposes this war because they don't understand what the American interest is,
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and Donald Trump is struggling to explain it.
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He said, well, I wanted to take their oil,
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but the American public doesn't want me to.
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Right.
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We are told, as the bombing continues,
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that President Trump watches the markets very closely every day to see what they are doing.
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Is there a sort of pain threshold where he will have to call it off because the markets are sinking so badly?
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Well, it hasn't hit home in the U.S because we have such a strong supply of LNG.
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The U.S is energy self-sufficient.
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It's hurting Asia right now.
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It's hurting North Africa.
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It's hurting these regions that Donald Trump doesn't necessarily care about.
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The pain threshold for Donald Trump will be political.
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It's when he starts to read the midterm polling numbers.
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And he himself is underwater.
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For an incumbent president at this stage in his presidency,
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he is at a historical low point.
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All he cares about is his own ambitions
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and his ability to loot the Treasury on behalf of his cronies and his family.
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And so when he sees that that is imperiled,
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then I think you're going to start seeing him pull back.
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And I think one of the biggest indicators for trouble for Donald Trump is that,
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and we all understood this would take place,
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those of us who know how Iran's military functions,
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those of us who know the basics,
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that they've been unable, with their Israeli counterparts,
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to degrade Iran's ballistic missile capacity and its drone production rate,
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which means that Iran can continue this war through the summer when the U.S will host the FIFA World Cup,
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which could be another political disaster for Donald Trump.
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And now the president is asking for a huge increase in military spending.
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For next year, the administration is asking for $1.5 trillion budget for the Pentagon.
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He's cutting other government programs as well while doing this.
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I mean, that raise that he's asking for is 40 percent.
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If approved by Congress, the United States will spend on military 50 percent more than the next 10 countries combined.
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Yeah.
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Actually, Donald Trump announced that in an Easter speech,
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which the White House deleted,
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because he said, we need to cut Medicare and Medicaid.
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We don't need those.
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That's in the way of us spending $1.5 trillion on our military.
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The money's not going to the military.
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25% or 6% of that budget actually goes to pay for soldiers to be overseas,
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to pay for veterans affairs.
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That money is going back to contractors,
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corrupt contractors that actually helped donate to Donald Trump.
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It's going to pay for the administrative affairs of Lockheed Martin and the Big Five.
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We're talking about 70 percent of that budget is just kickbacks to the upper middle class and upper class of this country.
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And so it's kind of a form,
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no offense to John Maynard Keynes,
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of military keynesianism the big problem also for donald trump is
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pete hegseth put forward this 200 billion dollar supplemental to pay for this crazy war
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that has no clear objectives the american public doesn't support that
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and i think a number of republican senators might even be forced to oppose
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that i mean remember the uproar over the 40 billion for
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ukraine this is outrageous talking of pete hexath uh he has forced the resignation
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or is in fact five yeah a number of very senior officials at the Pentagon.
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These include generals.
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The latest one was General Randy George,
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who is the Army Chief of Staff.
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What's behind that purge?
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Well, one of them was Army Chaplain,
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the head of the Army Chaplain Corps.
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And my theory there is that too many conscientious objectors were coming forward and saying,
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this violates my Christian beliefs,
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and he was signing off on their conscientious objector status.
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Then, I mean, they fired almost as many generals as they,
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as aircraft that they lost in those 48 hours.
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So this is a PR disaster.
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I don't think Pete Hegseth saw it coming.
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Pete Hegseth is trying to make the life of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll,
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who is seen as kind of a restrainer,
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hell, because he cannot fire Army Secretary Dan Driscoll.
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And Randy George was an ally of Driscoll and has suggested
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that Pete Hegseth is waging a dishonorable wore in an email to his men,
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I think there may have been some strong objections raised in private about what was to come,
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either a ground incursion or an attempt to steal Iran's uranium in a daring and crazy operation,
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one like the kind we might have just seen take place just south of Isfahan,
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in which the U.S lost,
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I don't know, five or six aircraft, two C-130s.
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Okay, Max, we are going to have to leave it there.
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Thanks so much for being with us.
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Thanks for having me.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice speaking English through the lens of an engaging discussion on geopolitical issues. By shadowing the transcript of journalist Max Blumenthal's insights on the Israeli influence in U.S. foreign policy, you will enhance your listening comprehension and fluency in political discourse. The content focuses on strong arguments, emotional expressions, and complex vocabulary, ideal for learners looking to advance their proficiency. This practice will help you learn how to articulate opinions clearly and confidently in English while improving your overall language skills.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Hostage - A person held captive, often used here metaphorically to describe a lack of control.
- Tirade - A long, angry speech of criticism or accusation.
- Decapitation strikes - Military tactics aimed at eliminating a leadership or command structure swiftly.
- Proxy - A person or group authorized to act on behalf of another, often used in a political context.
- Restrain - To hold back or limit actions.
- Blueprint - A detailed plan or program of action.
- Bread riots - Protests that occur due to food shortages, highlighting economic distress.
- Influencer - A person with the power to affect the purchasing decisions of others because of their authority, knowledge, position, or relationship with their audience.
Practice Tips
When engaging in shadowing practice with this video, pay close attention to the speed and rhythm of Max Blumenthal’s speech. His style is conversational yet authoritative, which can provide a challenge. Here are some shadowspeak tips to maximize your learning:
- Break it down: Start by listening to short segments of the transcript. Repeat them out loud to mimic his intonation and pronunciation.
- Focus on emotion: Notice how feelings are conveyed through tone. Try to replicate this emotional delivery as it enriches your speaking style.
- Record yourself: Use a recording device to capture your attempts at shadow speech. Compare your recordings with the original audio to identify areas for improvement.
- Practice active listening: Before you start shadowing, ensure you understand the context and the key arguments being made. This will enhance your comprehension and retention of the material.
- Engage with the content: After shadowing, discuss the key themes or express your opinions about the political issues raised. This will help you think critically in English.
By integrating these approaches into your study routine on this shadowing site, you'll develop confidence in your ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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