Astrology of Today’s News

  The US Democratic Party is floundering faced with a single-minded and enmeshed Republican Party, with no obvious front runners who will appeal to the electorate.

‘The party is split between a radicalised younger vote, which is increasingly Maga-like in tactics and tone, and an ageing establishment that is short of ideas.’

  The Graham Platner debacle was one indication. A candidate for the Maine Senate he had not been properly vetted, was not a blue-collar candidate of his advertisements but from a wealthy background and in addition to a questionable record with women, he had an SS-associated tattoo on his chest. His two chief campaign consultants both come from generational wealth and are closely associated with the Democratic Socialists of America – officials include Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and NY mayor Zohran Mamdani. All of which allows Trump to rant on about the communist threat.

 In reality their economic policies advocate public healthcare and fair taxation of the AI oligarchs, but seemingly they also come across as anti-American which is never a winning platform. “They channel the Berkeley campus, not America’s suburbs.”

 At present the Democratic Party has an approval rating much the same as the Republicans.

  What follows below are random thoughts and I would -respectfully – be grateful not to be deluged for astro-info on  other Democratic possibles.

 The US Democratic Socialists was founded 20 March 1982 in New York – a late Sun Pisces square an idealistic though not always realistic Neptune, it has a tougher streak from a dogged Saturn conjunct Pluto on one side and a sometimes-unlucky Saturn conjunct Mars on the other side.

  Tr Saturn is opposing the Mars this year for setbacks and continuing on to oppose Saturn Pluto in 2027 which looks a challenging, discouraging year with, additionally, a high-tension Solar Arc Saturn conjunct Uranus, curbing their progressive instincts; plus SA Uranus conjunct their South Node hinting at maybe pride getting in the way of compassion plus money troubles.

  By the 2028 election tr Jupiter will be just over their Mars for an upbeat moment and heading to conjunct their Saturn – and tr Jupiter will then conjunct their and Pluto exactly at the Inauguration in 2029 so there will be an uplifting spot of cheer.  

 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 13 October 1988 11.50am New York, has tr Jupiter moving across her career 10^th running into and after the 2028 election, conjunct her Mars a few days before and conjunct her Sun in the interim, boosting her Pluto/MC midpoint (birth time being accurate) at the Inauguration. Though the run up to the election will also be uncertain with tr Neptune square her Saturn until mid September 2028 and returning in 2029.

  What caught my eye was that Rahm Emmanuel, Obama’s chief of staff and then Mayor of Chicago, might be considering a run. Born 29 November 1959 2am Chicago, he is an enthusiastic Sun Jupiter in Sagittarius in a pushily-confident square to Pluto; with a super-determined and outspoken Mars, Mercury, Moon conjunct in Scorpio in a high-octane square to Uranus.  His Neptune in Scorpio will be rattled over the 2028 election and just after with the tr Saturn in Taurus square tr Pluto in hard aspect causing confusion and uncertainty.

  But what intrigued me is his Solar Arc Jupiter is opposition his Uranus and square his Moon through 2028 for a lucky break; with his tr Jupiter moving across into his 1^st house  also through 2028 giving him a confidence lift; and tr Uranus opposing his Jupiter in June, December 2028 and March 2029. Equal quantities of sudden luck and meltdown anxiety.

 Barack Obama, 4 August 1961 7.24pm Hawaii, has the same mix of Jupiterian bounty and major setbacks. On the upside he has a confident tr Pluto square his Sun/Jupiter midpoint over the 2028 election and tr Jupiter conjunct his Pluto/MC as well in mid November 2029. With tr Jupiter conjunct his Mars/North Node midpoint over the Inauguration which hints at success. But but but – the run up to the election looks horrific with tr Uranus square his Mars/Pluto midpoint from mid August to mid October, which will be high risk as well as upsetting, repeating in June 2029. And like Emmanuel, his Neptune is catching the tr Saturn opposition in late October  and again in March 2029 for great uncertainty; with the disorienting and massively confusing tr Pluto square his Neptune throughout the middle months of 2028 and exactly over the Inauguration.

 The usual muddle and guddle of election prediction especially in a peculiarly high-stakes one with a rancid Republican Party no doubt up to dirty tricks never mind the global scene causing havoc.

  The Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie blended family split into warring factions since the rancorous (and not yet settled) divorce a decade ago has widened with two more children dropping the surname Pitt from their legal identity.

To clarify:

Maddox, adopted Cambodia, 5 August 2001

Zahara, adopted Ethiopia. 8 January 2005

Shiloh – biological, 28 May 2006 1.40am Namibia

Pax, adopted Vietnam, 29 November 2003

Twins – biological, 12 July 2008, 8pm Nice, France

Brad: 18 December 1963 6.31 am Shawnee, OK

Angelina Jolie, 4 June 1975 9am Los Angeles

  There are intense, potentially bitter and angry influences in several of the charts but not all aimed at father.

 Angelina herself, a Sun Gemini opposition Neptune, has a staggeringly difficult chart with a Moon Mars opposition Pluto, with Moon Mars trine Saturn, a legacy of her dysfunctional upbringing so she will have trigger responses and a tendency to feel victimized and carry grudges. With Uranus in her 4^th she would always have an unsettled adult domestic life.

  Her Neptune in her 5^th house can suggest sensitive, creative or psychologically challenged children – and sometimes adopted children. Sakoian & Acker perceptively comment: “Sometimes the position indicates broken families, creating for the children a situation similar to one in which the parents had never been married.” Antares is conjunct her Neptune which can be shrewd, cunning, unbalanced, secretive but apparently candid. She also has her North Node in Sagittarius in her 5^th house which point to children being a way to boost her sense of self-worth.

 Brad Pitt, a Sagittarius with a Capricorn Moon and Venus, is money-oriented with a determined and rebellious streak from Mars trine Pluto Uranus. But he has Jupiter in his 4^th suggesting a comfortable childhood home though it is conjunct Eris which can amplify feelings of being marginalized, ignored, or treated as the outcast in the family. Sedna (betrayal) is in his 5^th house of children. His Neptune on the cusp of his 12^th hints at his alcohol/drug problem. His Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct his Mars does suggest stormy relationships in marriage which would be likely to trigger his anger.

 Of the pair, Angelina looks most troubled, with major issues around children and anger/power in relationships.

 The two adopted boys both have prominent Mars Pluto hard aspects, especially Maddox (Mars Pluto opposition Saturn) which may relate to their pre-adoption predicament but giving rise to lifelong problems with anger especially against male or controlling figures.

 Shiloh (biological) has Pluto inconjunct a 4^th house Mars so she would experience an angry father and arguments in her childhood home. Her Gemini Sun and Moon square a 12^th house Uranus hint at a need to separate from both parents.

 The twins (biological), with a deeply buried 8^th house Mars Saturn conjunction trine Pluto Ascendant have inherited issues from grandparents in terms of anger and abuse; though will cover it over with a creative Water Grand Trine of a Cancer Sun trine a Scorpio Moon trine Uranus, formed into a Kite with Sun opposition an upbeat 1^st house Jupiter. Plus a yod with apex Sun, so will be keen to make a name for themselves.

   In varying degrees the children have challenging issues with both parents. With a fair number of the child-parent relationship charts with repeating Saturn Pluto hard aspects to both – stuck together and resenting it. The twins and Maddox appear to be the ones with the greatest problems with Brad.

 The relationship chart between Brad and Angelina has a can’t-let-go composite Sun opposition Pluto; with Sedna (betrayal) and Algol (destructive) in their 8^th house of joint finances and an angry Mars plus Moon in the 5^th house of children.  

 In one way the children are acting out their parents’ problems. And as is usually the way children, even in adulthood, they tend to split into all-good parent and all-bad parent camps since it is easier than accepting both are flawed.

   I am not excusing him but Angelina is by far the most damaged, and the children may be protective of her vulnerabilities especially since she was the one who was around.

Jannik Sinner, the Italian tennis player, won Wimbledon for the second year running earned praise for the technical quality of his game from Boris Becker who compared him to Novak Djokovic. Though there was a feeling that the tournament lacked the spark and exuberance that injury-sidelined Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish player, would have brought.

Jannik Sinner, 16 August 2001 12.52am Sexten, Italy, currently ranked world No.1, started skiing at three and competing in  ski races at eight. He began playing tennis at age seven though it was only his third priority after skiing and football. He moved into professional tennis at 16 and started to win immediately.

 He has a 4^th house Leo Sun opposition Uranus on his midheaven so could have turned out erratic and wayward. But what anchors him is a formidably determined Pluto Mars conjunction opposition Saturn. That is an awesome combination hinting at iron control. His Sun is also trine his resolute and tenacious Pluto Mars.

  He also has a yod of Jupiter and North Node in Cancer sextile Mercury inconjunct Neptune – which seems incongruous having a dreamy quality beside the rest of his chart, but a prominent Neptune is surprisingly common amongst top notch athletes.

 Novak Djokovic 22 May 1987 11.25 pm Belgrade, Serbia,  has a Gemini Sun on the cusp of his sporting 5^th house, tied into a yod sextile an Aries Moon inconjunct Pluto with his Pluto trine Mars. So he also packs quite a punch in terms of temperament with such a focused Pluto. Plus his Mars opposes Neptune squaring his Aries Moon – for publicity and engaging with the public. Another yod of Pluto sextile Neptune is inconjunct his Sun for a strong-minded temperament.

 Carlos Alcaraz, 5 May 2003 3am Murcia, Spain, has a Taurus Sun in his restless, communicative 3^rd house on the focal point of a Fixed T square to a lucky, flamboyant Jupiter in Leo in an enthusiastic, risk-taking opposition to Mars and a publicity attracting Neptune. His Pluto opposes Saturn Moon in Gemini in his sporting 5^th house for spine-straitening toughness and determination to counter-balance his lively Mars Jupiter.

  All three have this mix of hard and soft – single-minded Pluto Mars and/or Saturn with a Neptunian streak.

Sam Neill regarded as one of the most versatile actors of his generation has died aged 78. His five decade career spanned independent films and blockbusters, including the Jurassic Park film series and television drama.

He was born on 14 September 1947 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, no birth time, with an English mother and a New Zealand father and the family relocated to NZ when he was seven.

 He had several relationships, three children one of whom was adopted early on and reunited 25 years later.

  He had a New Moon in Virgo conjunct Venus on the midpoint of a mini-Grand Trine of Mars in Cancer trine Jupiter in Scorpio – hard working, high-vitality, enthusiastic and lucky.

 His Sun was also in an independent-minded square to Uranus so a constantly-changing career of movies and dramas would suit him. He had the tough generational Saturn Pluto in Leo; and a creative though vague Mercury Neptune conjunction in Libra.

  He latterly owned vineyards in New Zealand and shared his farm exploits on social media, naming his farm animals after film industry colleagues. Which suits his North Node in Taurus to perfection. It can be one of the more troublesome Nodes but when handled well and the tumultuous Scorpio South Node issues left behind, it brings peace and contentment through nature.

 His creative, building-a-life 5^th harmonic is exceptionally strong with an innovative and determined Grand Trine of Uranus Pluto Mars formed into a Kite with Pluto opposition the 5H Sun – making his personality the driving factor.

Lindsey Graham who died suddenly after a trip to Ukraine where he was hopeful that pressure on Russia would end the war was a latter day supporter of Trump as Republican senator for South Carolina. In 2015 mounting his own campaign for the US presidency, he denounced Trump as a “race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot”; and criticised his role in the January 6 Capitol Hill attack. But he nonetheless became a firm ally and  helped persuade the White House to launch a full-scale war with Iran. His ultra-hawkish, interventionist stance on US foreign policy also led him previously to be a firm advocate for G.W.Bush’s Iraq invasion.

     He was born on July 9 1955, no birth time, in South Carolina to a blue-collar family. When his parents died in his twenties he raised his much younger sister, while attending university and training for the US military.

  He had a stellium in Cancer ranging from Venus to his Sun and a late degree Uranus Mars conjunction; with a Pisces Moon. His Sun was trine a conscientious Saturn in Scorpio. His volatile, excitable Mars Uranus was in a highly-strung, dogmatic square to Neptune. And his Mercury in Gemini trine Neptune was sextile Pluto making him a forceful communicator.

Puzzling over his flip flop approach to Trump – odd thoughts. One is that Cancer is tuned into the public pulse of the moment so although he wasn’t very Mutable he might well have opted to go the way the political wind was blowing. Mercury trine Neptune can be evasive if not downright duplicitous.

 His Sagittarius North Node would also make him chameleon-like – his Gemini South Node giving him problems with loyalty and a tendency to be used by others if it suited his purpose.

 His Mars Uranus would incline him towards dramatic even violent interventions.

 Three of his Saturn midpoints have been triggered or are about to be this year which might suggest that karma was at work. He strayed too far from his Sagittarius North Node which needs to seek higher knowledge.

 Houses will make a considerable difference.

 His relationship chart with Trump was extremely odd for a pair who appeared to be allies. There was a differing-agendas composite Sun, Uranus, Mercury conjunction; a power-struggling composite Mars Pluto conjunction; and a Jupiter Saturn conjunction.   The Uranus hinted at incompatibility but the toxic Mars Pluto pointed to total submission being the only remedy. Jupiter Saturn? – luck first followed by a price to pay for bad choices. That is not so much an anti-Trump thought, more that he went against his own inclinations and sold his soul for ambition.

 Graham’s Pluto was conjunct DT’s Mars and his Mars Uranus was conjunct DT’s Saturn Venus.

 It was a mess of a relationship.

Amnesty International set up to promote and defend human rights has designated Beira’s Place, an Edinburgh women’s support centre for sexual assault victims founded by JK Rowling as  “anti-rights”. Amnesty UK’s latest report, A Growing Threat – the Anti-Rights Movement in the UK, identifies organisations it categorises as part of the UK’s “gender critical” movement.

  The report states: “Human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing. When the rights of one group are restricted, protections for others can also be weakened, even where the effects are not immediately visible.”

  The opposing view from FWS (For Women Scotland) comments it “is only ‘anti-rights’ if you don’t consider women to be entitled to any rights in law or public life. It’s a sad state of affairs that Amnesty has sunk so low as to defame prominent women’s organisations, including a rape crisis centre and support networks for abused wives and children.”

  The UK Supreme Court 16 April 2025 ruling was supposed to put an end to the argument when it stated that sex is rooted in a person’s biology at birth and there is no retrospective classification for sex, though there may be for gender for certain purposes. The biological definition allows for single-sex services and facilities (such as changing rooms, domestic abuse shelters, and hospital wards) to restrict access strictly to biological women.

  And so it goes on. 

  I have given up on trying to pin an astrological timeline on the furore. Recently since 2012 Neptune in Pisces = delusional. Uranus in Taurus = anti-the-biology, rebelling against nature since 2019. The UK trans children’s centre set up as Uranus moved into Aquarius in the late 1990s, having been conjunct Neptune. Historically Neptune Uranus appears to have some connection.

See previous posts: Gender – deny the past, self-create the future, 1st March 2024.

Transactivism stalls – Pluto in Air sign? 10th March 2024.

The Supreme Court ruling, 16 April 2025 came as Neptune put a toe into Aries sextile Pluto in Aquarius; with Uranus in last decan Taurus; and Saturn, North Node conjunct Scheat in late Pisces – so not quite into the new era.

 Amnesty, 28 May 1961 London, has a Gemini Sun in a controlling square to Pluto; with Mars in high-vitality Leo in an enthusiastic, opinionated, zealous opposition to Jupiter square an idealistic Neptune (Moon). The Sun is sextile Jupiter and inconjunct Neptune and Scorpio Moon – upbeat but not always realistic.

 Not a good fit with J.K.Rowling, 31 July 1965, though you would imagine they would in general be on the same side. But JKR’s Leo Sun clashes with Amnesty’s Mars for an argumentative chemistry and her JKR’s Uranus Pluto squares the Amnesty Sun for differing agendas.

 The relationship chart has a toxic composite Mars Pluto conjunction hinting at a bitter, unyielding fight. Though it is in a composite yod sextile Neptune inconjunct Jupiter in Aries. Which might suggest a fated coming together which could have a beneficial effect for society.

 Amnesty is set for an upheaval this August from tr Uranus square their Pluto; and ongoing pressure thereafter as tr Pluto is conjunct their Jupiter for over confidence in 2027/28 and a rapid fizzle out as tr Pluto moves to square Neptune and oppose the Mars into the end of the decade.

 Stonewall, 24 March 1989, London, which hitched its wagon to the trans-cause after the LGB argument was largely won, is another Gemini organisation facing major changes with tr Uranus conjunct the Sun this year and tr Neptune as well starting the long haul in square to its triple conjunction Capricorn planets – square Uranus this year and moving onto Neptune Saturn towards the turn of the decade.    

 There is also a militant transgender group on the go, urging urging supporters to identify “transphobic” targets and then “hit them repeatedly until they desist from their activities”. 

  Calling themselves “Bash Back”, they have their origins in  a historical radical LGBTQ+ anarchist network active in the US from 2007 to 2011 who embraced militant, confrontational tactics. More recently Bash Back (Modern UK Direct Action Group) surfaced in the UK in 2025, to oppose anti-trans legislation and the restriction of puberty blockers with  illegal direct actions, including property damage and hacking.  They vandalised the constituency office of Secretary of State for Health Wes Streeting, during the night of 31 July 2025 after he was responsible for an indefinite ban on provision of puberty blockers. The group declared the beginning of a ‘new era of trans rage’ against events they perceived as hostile to trans safety.

 That incident occurred when Saturn Neptune were conjunct in Aries sextile Uranus in Gemini and Pluto in Aquarius.

“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs or impede their efforts to obtain it.” John Stuart Mill, On Liberty

Add On: Amnesty International has apologised for blacklisting JK Rowling’s charity for women.

Amnesty’s 22-page briefing has since been withdrawn and an internal review launched. The charity has said it was published without the usual checks.

Thomas Tuchel, the England manager is living up to his abrasive reputation ticking off players after their win against Norway which took them into the semi-final with Argentina. Yet Tuchel was far from impressed. He said “We got lucky. We made life difficult for us in the way we played and how we played – sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough.”

Tuchel born 29 August 1973 Krumbach, Germany, does have the most extraordinarily complex chart. A nit-picking, critical Virgo Sun and Mercury are in a trine to heavyweight Mars in Taurus and sextile a not-always-sympathetic Saturn in Cancer.  His Pluto is in a confident trine to Jupiter and a tough-minded square to Saturn. His Mars is in a risk-taking square to Jupiter.

 In addition he has four yods:

Jupiter sextile Neptune inconjunct Saturn. Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars. Sun sextile Saturn inconjunct Jupiter. Saturn sextile Mars inconjunct Neptune. Four apex planets – Saturn for discipline. Mars for assertion. Jupiter for confidence and luck. Neptune for dreams (surprisingly common in sport).

 He does have tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter this year, exact again from early August till after mid December so he should finish the year on good form.

The North Node retrogrades into Aquarius on July 27 to stay until March 2028, having been in Pisces since January 2025.

  Having to let go the past and be less rigid has been the message of North Node in Pisces, with the necessity of finding faith in what is to come when plans do not work out. Replaying scenarios on the old rules will no longer work as well.

 North Node in Aquarius for the next 20 months favours activism – finding a cause to promote rather than seeking personal glory (Leo South Node). Pride and vanity will not be favoured though may well be in evidence.

 Previous North Node in Aquarius:

June 1989 to November 1990

November 1970 to May 1972

April 1952 to October 1953

June 1933 to March 1935

December 1914 to May 1916.

 One point of note is the Saros Series 11 North Solar Eclipse in February 2027 (at 18 degrees Aquarius) has, in the past, been notable for the UK.

11 North

Queen Victoria, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died in 1901 under the same 11 North eclipse cycle as occurred over the period of the abdication in 1937 of Edward VIII, her great-grandson, who gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Eighteen years later in 1955 the great British statesman and prime minister Winston Churchill finally resigned because of ill health in the months following the same eclipse. There were hugely significant events over the next two occurrences as well. In 1973 Britain joined the European Community three days before the solar eclipse. On the next cycle Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister and the century’s longest-serving, resigned seven weeks before the next 11 North solar eclipse, which occurred in January 1991, 12 days before the Allies launched Operation Desert Storm to recapture Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces. One month later an IRA bomb exploded outside No. 10 Downing Street while a Cabinet meeting was in progress.

Ruth Ellis, a Welsh-born nightclub hostess who became the last woman to be executed in the UK following the fatal shooting of her abusive lover, David Blakely has been posthumously granted a conditional pardon, commuting her sentence from execution to life imprisonment, on the grounds of the violence she had suffered at his hands.

 Born 9 October 1926 6.41pm Rhyl, Wales, she was abused by her father from the age of 11, her older sister having been made pregnant by him aged 14.  Ruth Ellis became a nightclub hostess as a teenager and had a series of chaotic, unstable relationships with men. She became pregnant at 17 and gave birth to a son whom she supported through nude-modelling work and prostitution, becoming pregnant again. She married a violent and possessive alcoholic dentist and had a daughter.

  In 1953, she met David Moffett Drummond Blakely, a hard-drinking racing driver, who moved in with her despite being engaged to another woman. Ruth had her second abortion since he would not commit; and suffered a subsequent miscarriage when he punched her in the stomach. The relationship became increasingly violent as both continued to see other partners.

 On Easter Sunday, 10 April 1955 at 9.30pm, Ellis shot Blakely dead outside The Magdala public house in Hampstead, London. She was found guilty of premeditated murder, sentenced to death and hanged on 13 July at 9.01 am at Holloway Prison, still protesting she loved Blakely and always would.

 A car-crash of a life.

  The birth time is unverified but if sound, she had a hard-working 6^th house Sun Libra in a controlling square to Pluto, a legacy of a dominating father. Her emotionally intense Scorpio Moon was opposition Mars in Taurus and conjunct Saturn square Jupiter in Aquarius and square Neptune in Leo – a Fixed Grand Cross of emotional dysfunction. Her mother did not defend her children since she was scared of her husband so setting a pattern of embedded masochistic/sadistic involvements for Ruth extending into her adult life.  Mars Saturn is an abuse signature in one of its manifestations. The Moon Mars hints at a mother who suppressed her anger/assertion. Saturn is depressive and in square to Neptune has potential for paranoia. Her 5^th house Neptune was also on the apex of a yod inconjunct Uranus sextile Midheaven, which would make her a dreamer and to a degree delusional.

  Her Venus in early Libra is not well integrated into her chart – or life.

 Blakeley 17 June 1929, was a Sun Gemini (square her Uranus) with his Mars in Leo square her Mars and Saturn; and his Taurus North Node sitting on her Ascendant conjunct her Mars. So he would trigger all of her early trauma which she could not leave behind, having become addicted to the sexual violence she grew up with.

 The relationship chart with Blakeley does have a passionate/obsessional composite Venus Pluto conjunction; and an adventurous Jupiter Uranus conjunction which was in an explosive square to Mars.

 When she shot him tr Saturn was back in Scorpio for her Saturn Return which at that point was in a bleak square to Pluto with Mars in final degree Taurus. All of which would trigger her natal Mars Saturn opposition.

 She was hanged when Algol was in the 10^th close to the Midheaven square Pluto. Tr Saturn was exactly conjunct her Solar Arc Sun.

 It is difficult to get a clear moral view of a wrecked life. Bad things happening early on tend not to produce good people. Part of me wants to say she had choices but I am not sure she had. The murder was premeditated though the reason for it was not clear since she was still obsessed by him.

ADD ON: Another miscarriage of justice which ended in a hanging was Edith Thompson, 25 December 1893 12.20am (unverified) London who was convicted of assisting her lover in murdering her husband. She had written love letters to her paramour describing her ill intent towards her husband but appeared to have nothing to do with his death.

 She was a Sun Capricorn with a (maybe) final degree Cancer Moon. And a Fixed T square of Jupiter in Taurus conjunct Algol opposition Mars Uranus square Venus in Aquarius; with Mercury opposition Pluto Neptune in Gemini. Her key Fixed planets were similar to Ellis though she had a less traumatised chart.

 Oddly she was also hanged on the year of her Saturn Return as well on 9 January 1923 at 9am in London. Her execution was a grim affair since she was hysterical and had to be heavily sedated.  

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