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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
August 18, 2014
(Campaign for America's Future) If nothing else, William D. Cohan’s recent Nation article about JPMorgan Chase’s $13 billion settlement should confirm the public’s darkest suspicions about that institution and its CEO.
It was only logical to assume that the bank wouldn’t have agreed to what was then the largest bank settlement in history unless it believed the alternative was much worse. In that sense there are no new revelations in Cohan’s reporting. But it’s extremely satisfying to see the events leading up to the settlement laid out in such a clear, logical, and sequential fashion.
Cohan guides readers to the conclusions that many of us reached some time ago: that JPMorgan Chase was as corrupt in its business practices as any other major bank (which is to say, quite corrupt); and that CEO Jamie Dimon convinced a lot of people otherwise, using only the power of his personality.
Although Dimon was among those who refused to speak with Cohan, Cohan was able to obtain some excellent quotes from some of the other major players in the negotiation process. Most telling was this one from Associate Attorney General Tony West, discussing the “statement of facts” which was released in lieu of concrete evidence as part of the settlement:
That’s a bittersweet paragraph. On the one hand, it’s satisfying to finally hear a senior Justice Department official acknowledge that the mega-bank run by the man once described as “the President’s favorite banker” committed fraud. But, contra West, it’s by no means clear that “the public knows” about the criminally fraudulent behavior which was rampant under Jamie Dimon’s leadership. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://ourfuture.org/20140814/jpmorgan-chases-13-billion-shadow
JPMorgan Chase’s $13 Billion Shadow
(Campaign for America's Future) If nothing else, William D. Cohan’s recent Nation article about JPMorgan Chase’s $13 billion settlement should confirm the public’s darkest suspicions about that institution and its CEO.
It was only logical to assume that the bank wouldn’t have agreed to what was then the largest bank settlement in history unless it believed the alternative was much worse. In that sense there are no new revelations in Cohan’s reporting. But it’s extremely satisfying to see the events leading up to the settlement laid out in such a clear, logical, and sequential fashion.
Cohan guides readers to the conclusions that many of us reached some time ago: that JPMorgan Chase was as corrupt in its business practices as any other major bank (which is to say, quite corrupt); and that CEO Jamie Dimon convinced a lot of people otherwise, using only the power of his personality.
Although Dimon was among those who refused to speak with Cohan, Cohan was able to obtain some excellent quotes from some of the other major players in the negotiation process. Most telling was this one from Associate Attorney General Tony West, discussing the “statement of facts” which was released in lieu of concrete evidence as part of the settlement:
“I feel confident that we were able to craft a statement of facts which lays out the concept that this thing was illegal and created liability. So from that standpoint, I think the public knows that JPMorgan engaged in activity that we considered to be fraud.”
That’s a bittersweet paragraph. On the one hand, it’s satisfying to finally hear a senior Justice Department official acknowledge that the mega-bank run by the man once described as “the President’s favorite banker” committed fraud. But, contra West, it’s by no means clear that “the public knows” about the criminally fraudulent behavior which was rampant under Jamie Dimon’s leadership. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://ourfuture.org/20140814/jpmorgan-chases-13-billion-shadow
August 18, 2014
Pre-US Open gratuitous tennis thread ..........
I really became a tennis fan as a pre-teen, in the mid-1980s, and I have favorite players from each era since then:
Mid- to late-80s:
1990s
2000s
Yours?
August 18, 2014
(Campaign for America's Future) If nothing else, William D. Cohan’s recent Nation article about JPMorgan Chase’s $13 billion settlement should confirm the public’s darkest suspicions about that institution and its CEO.
It was only logical to assume that the bank wouldn’t have agreed to what was then the largest bank settlement in history unless it believed the alternative was much worse. In that sense there are no new revelations in Cohan’s reporting. But it’s extremely satisfying to see the events leading up to the settlement laid out in such a clear, logical, and sequential fashion.
Cohan guides readers to the conclusions that many of us reached some time ago: that JPMorgan Chase was as corrupt in its business practices as any other major bank (which is to say, quite corrupt); and that CEO Jamie Dimon convinced a lot of people otherwise, using only the power of his personality.
Although Dimon was among those who refused to speak with Cohan, Cohan was able to obtain some excellent quotes from some of the other major players in the negotiation process. Most telling was this one from Associate Attorney General Tony West, discussing the “statement of facts” which was released in lieu of concrete evidence as part of the settlement:
That’s a bittersweet paragraph. On the one hand, it’s satisfying to finally hear a senior Justice Department official acknowledge that the mega-bank run by the man once described as “the President’s favorite banker” committed fraud. But, contra West, it’s by no means clear that “the public knows” about the criminally fraudulent behavior which was rampant under Jamie Dimon’s leadership. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://ourfuture.org/20140814/jpmorgan-chases-13-billion-shadow
JPMorgan Chase’s $13 Billion Shadow
(Campaign for America's Future) If nothing else, William D. Cohan’s recent Nation article about JPMorgan Chase’s $13 billion settlement should confirm the public’s darkest suspicions about that institution and its CEO.
It was only logical to assume that the bank wouldn’t have agreed to what was then the largest bank settlement in history unless it believed the alternative was much worse. In that sense there are no new revelations in Cohan’s reporting. But it’s extremely satisfying to see the events leading up to the settlement laid out in such a clear, logical, and sequential fashion.
Cohan guides readers to the conclusions that many of us reached some time ago: that JPMorgan Chase was as corrupt in its business practices as any other major bank (which is to say, quite corrupt); and that CEO Jamie Dimon convinced a lot of people otherwise, using only the power of his personality.
Although Dimon was among those who refused to speak with Cohan, Cohan was able to obtain some excellent quotes from some of the other major players in the negotiation process. Most telling was this one from Associate Attorney General Tony West, discussing the “statement of facts” which was released in lieu of concrete evidence as part of the settlement:
“I feel confident that we were able to craft a statement of facts which lays out the concept that this thing was illegal and created liability. So from that standpoint, I think the public knows that JPMorgan engaged in activity that we considered to be fraud.”
That’s a bittersweet paragraph. On the one hand, it’s satisfying to finally hear a senior Justice Department official acknowledge that the mega-bank run by the man once described as “the President’s favorite banker” committed fraud. But, contra West, it’s by no means clear that “the public knows” about the criminally fraudulent behavior which was rampant under Jamie Dimon’s leadership. ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://ourfuture.org/20140814/jpmorgan-chases-13-billion-shadow
August 18, 2014
A bar in South Korea has been going viral for all the wrong reasons: being racist and bigoted.
The sign, displayed at JR’s Pub in Itaewon, a famous pub for foreigners and Koreans alike, caused outrage online in the foreigner community. The bar is owned by an American and Korean, and has not had a history of problems in the past.
When asked about the signs, the owner of the restaurant immediately apologized and replaced the signs with another notice. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://blog.koreaboo.com/post/95025453128/south-korean-bar-sign-due-to-ebola-virus-we-are-not
“DUE TO EBOLA VIRUS, WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING AFRICANS AT THE MOMENT”
A bar in South Korea has been going viral for all the wrong reasons: being racist and bigoted.
The sign, displayed at JR’s Pub in Itaewon, a famous pub for foreigners and Koreans alike, caused outrage online in the foreigner community. The bar is owned by an American and Korean, and has not had a history of problems in the past.
When asked about the signs, the owner of the restaurant immediately apologized and replaced the signs with another notice. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://blog.koreaboo.com/post/95025453128/south-korean-bar-sign-due-to-ebola-virus-we-are-not
August 18, 2014
from truthdig:
Rebellion in Ferguson: A Rising Heat in the Suburbs
Posted on Aug 17, 2014
By Chris Hedges
NEWARK, N.J.—The public reaction to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., exposes the shifting dynamic of rebellion and repression in the United States. Spontaneous uprisings against the lethal force routinely employed by militarized police units will probably not erupt at first out of the old epicenters of unrest—Watts, Detroit, Harlem, Newark and others—but suburban black communities such as Ferguson, near St. Louis. In most of these communities, the power structures remain in the hands of white minorities although the populations have shifted from white to black. Only three of the 53 commissioned officers in Ferguson’s police department are black. These conditions, which approximate the racial divides that set off urban riots in the 1960s, have the potential to trigger a new wave of racial unrest in economically depressed black suburbs, and perhaps later in impoverished inner cities, especially amid a stagnant economy, high incarceration and unemployment rates for blacks and the rewriting of laws to make police forces omnipotent.
“We are headed into a period of increased social protest,” said Lawrence Hamm, one of the nation’s most important community organizers and the longtime chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress. POP, which has roughly 10,000 members, is based in Newark and has 13 chapters, most of them in New Jersey. I met with Hamm in a downtown coffee shop in Newark.
“The pendulum swung far to the right after 9/11. Now it is swinging back,” Hamm said. “Fear and paralysis gripped the country after 9/11 and the creation of our authoritarian police state. We are overcoming this fear. The rebellion in Ferguson was not planned. It was spontaneous. People said, ‘Enough.’ They struck out in the only way they knew how. All the other ways—and I have no doubt that the people in Ferguson and St. Louis, as we have, marched peacefully, sent letters and went to city council meetings to protest police violence—have proved ineffective. We will see other incidents like this one, but because of demographic changes these rebellions will occur in places that did not rebel previously.”
Hamm said that the declining populations of primarily black cities—Newark, where he has spent most of his life as an organizer, has seen its population drop from 400,000 to about 250,000 in the last few decades—coupled with the election of black officials and the integration of blacks into police forces mean that the old centers of rebellion are less polarized. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/rebellion_in_ferguson_a_rising_heat_in_the_suburbs_20140817
Chris Hedges: Rebellion in Ferguson: A Rising Heat in the Suburbs
from truthdig:
Rebellion in Ferguson: A Rising Heat in the Suburbs
Posted on Aug 17, 2014
By Chris Hedges
NEWARK, N.J.—The public reaction to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., exposes the shifting dynamic of rebellion and repression in the United States. Spontaneous uprisings against the lethal force routinely employed by militarized police units will probably not erupt at first out of the old epicenters of unrest—Watts, Detroit, Harlem, Newark and others—but suburban black communities such as Ferguson, near St. Louis. In most of these communities, the power structures remain in the hands of white minorities although the populations have shifted from white to black. Only three of the 53 commissioned officers in Ferguson’s police department are black. These conditions, which approximate the racial divides that set off urban riots in the 1960s, have the potential to trigger a new wave of racial unrest in economically depressed black suburbs, and perhaps later in impoverished inner cities, especially amid a stagnant economy, high incarceration and unemployment rates for blacks and the rewriting of laws to make police forces omnipotent.
“We are headed into a period of increased social protest,” said Lawrence Hamm, one of the nation’s most important community organizers and the longtime chairman of the People’s Organization for Progress. POP, which has roughly 10,000 members, is based in Newark and has 13 chapters, most of them in New Jersey. I met with Hamm in a downtown coffee shop in Newark.
“The pendulum swung far to the right after 9/11. Now it is swinging back,” Hamm said. “Fear and paralysis gripped the country after 9/11 and the creation of our authoritarian police state. We are overcoming this fear. The rebellion in Ferguson was not planned. It was spontaneous. People said, ‘Enough.’ They struck out in the only way they knew how. All the other ways—and I have no doubt that the people in Ferguson and St. Louis, as we have, marched peacefully, sent letters and went to city council meetings to protest police violence—have proved ineffective. We will see other incidents like this one, but because of demographic changes these rebellions will occur in places that did not rebel previously.”
Hamm said that the declining populations of primarily black cities—Newark, where he has spent most of his life as an organizer, has seen its population drop from 400,000 to about 250,000 in the last few decades—coupled with the election of black officials and the integration of blacks into police forces mean that the old centers of rebellion are less polarized. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/rebellion_in_ferguson_a_rising_heat_in_the_suburbs_20140817
August 18, 2014
from TomDispatch:
To Terrify and Occupy
How the Excessive Militarization of the Police is Turning Cops Into Counterinsurgents
By Matthew Harwood
Jason Westcott was afraid.
One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend was planning with some co-conspirators to break in to his home. They were intent on stealing Wescott's handgun and a couple of TV sets. According to the Facebook message, the suspect was planning on “burning” Westcott, who promptly called the Tampa Bay police and reported the plot.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the investigating officers responding to Westcott’s call had a simple message for him: “If anyone breaks into this house, grab your gun and shoot to kill.”
Around 7:30 pm on May 27th, the intruders arrived. Westcott followed the officers’ advice, grabbed his gun to defend his home, and died pointing it at the intruders. They used a semiautomatic shotgun and handgun to shoot down the 29-year-old motorcycle mechanic. He was hit three times, once in the arm and twice in his side, and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The intruders, however, weren’t small-time crooks looking to make a small score. Rather they were members of the Tampa Police Department’s SWAT team, which was executing a search warrant on suspicion that Westcott and his partner were marijuana dealers. They had been tipped off by a confidential informant, whom they drove to Westcott’s home four times between February and May to purchase small amounts of marijuana, at $20-$60 a pop. The informer notified police that he saw two handguns in the home, which was why the Tampa police deployed a SWAT team to execute the search warrant. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175881/tomgram%3A_matthew_harwood%2C_one_nation_under_swat/#more
To Terrify and Occupy: How the Excessive Militarization of the Police is Turning Cops Into .........
from TomDispatch:
To Terrify and Occupy
How the Excessive Militarization of the Police is Turning Cops Into Counterinsurgents
By Matthew Harwood
Jason Westcott was afraid.
One night last fall, he discovered via Facebook that a friend of a friend was planning with some co-conspirators to break in to his home. They were intent on stealing Wescott's handgun and a couple of TV sets. According to the Facebook message, the suspect was planning on “burning” Westcott, who promptly called the Tampa Bay police and reported the plot.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, the investigating officers responding to Westcott’s call had a simple message for him: “If anyone breaks into this house, grab your gun and shoot to kill.”
Around 7:30 pm on May 27th, the intruders arrived. Westcott followed the officers’ advice, grabbed his gun to defend his home, and died pointing it at the intruders. They used a semiautomatic shotgun and handgun to shoot down the 29-year-old motorcycle mechanic. He was hit three times, once in the arm and twice in his side, and pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital.
The intruders, however, weren’t small-time crooks looking to make a small score. Rather they were members of the Tampa Police Department’s SWAT team, which was executing a search warrant on suspicion that Westcott and his partner were marijuana dealers. They had been tipped off by a confidential informant, whom they drove to Westcott’s home four times between February and May to purchase small amounts of marijuana, at $20-$60 a pop. The informer notified police that he saw two handguns in the home, which was why the Tampa police deployed a SWAT team to execute the search warrant. .................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175881/tomgram%3A_matthew_harwood%2C_one_nation_under_swat/#more
August 18, 2014
from Consortium News:
Back into Iraq, Again
August 15, 2014
By Danny Schechter
Welcome back to Iraq – complete with our ever-present WMD’s – Weapons of Mass deception. Suddenly, the country we never wanted to have to think about again is back in the news and on our military agenda. So, after a few denials that troops would not, never, and no way be sent, sure’nuff, U.S, boots are back on the ground, but to play a very different “mission.”
Of course, it’s not combat, assures Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel who was wearing his tennis clothes when he met with GIs. That is, no doubt, why we are pounding that country with bombs again.
To signal that we are not back in the days of the war for Iraqi Freedom, the Pentagon announced its latest humanitarian effort with a tweet, that, in the media world we are now part of, maybe the equivalent of a whimper not a neocon bark. Once again, we are the good guys charging in to protect and defend, save and rescue. You saw the alarmist stories.
This report was on RTE in Ireland: “Islamic State militants have killed hundreds of Iraq’s minority Yazidis. They buried some alive and took women as slaves, as US warplanes again bombed the insurgents.” Human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani accused the Sunni Muslim insurgents of celebrating what he called a “a vicious atrocity.” ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/08/15/back-into-iraq-again/
Back into Iraq, Again
from Consortium News:
Back into Iraq, Again
August 15, 2014
As the U.S. military returns to Iraq, Official Washington won’t tolerate a serious examination of the back story of the crisis, which began with the U.S. invasion of Iraq and continued with covert support of Sunni rebels seeking to overthrow Syria’s government, now returning to Iraq. Instead, its more hype and deception, says Danny Schechter.
By Danny Schechter
Welcome back to Iraq – complete with our ever-present WMD’s – Weapons of Mass deception. Suddenly, the country we never wanted to have to think about again is back in the news and on our military agenda. So, after a few denials that troops would not, never, and no way be sent, sure’nuff, U.S, boots are back on the ground, but to play a very different “mission.”
Of course, it’s not combat, assures Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel who was wearing his tennis clothes when he met with GIs. That is, no doubt, why we are pounding that country with bombs again.
To signal that we are not back in the days of the war for Iraqi Freedom, the Pentagon announced its latest humanitarian effort with a tweet, that, in the media world we are now part of, maybe the equivalent of a whimper not a neocon bark. Once again, we are the good guys charging in to protect and defend, save and rescue. You saw the alarmist stories.
This report was on RTE in Ireland: “Islamic State militants have killed hundreds of Iraq’s minority Yazidis. They buried some alive and took women as slaves, as US warplanes again bombed the insurgents.” Human rights minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani accused the Sunni Muslim insurgents of celebrating what he called a “a vicious atrocity.” ....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://consortiumnews.com/2014/08/15/back-into-iraq-again/
August 17, 2014
California Supreme Court Nixes Corporate Personhood "Advisory Measure" From November Ballot
Saturday, 16 August 2014 12:34
By Brad Friedman, The Brad Blog | News Analysis
The "Overturn Citizens United Act", or Prop 49, will not appear on California's ballot this November after all.
As we reported in some detail last month, the unusual "advisory measure" was placed on the ballot very recently by the California state legislature. It called for Congress to "propose an amendment...to the United States Constitution" to overturn the infamous Citizens United decision and its progeny, and "to make clear that the rights protected by the United States Constitution are the rights of natural persons only."
But now, the state Supreme Court in California, dominated by 5 Republican appointees and 1 Democratic appointee, has intervened to remove the measure from this year's general election ballot, as the Sacramento Bee reports tonight...
The argument made by the rightwing Howard Jarvis group, and accepted by the state Supremes for now, is that the state Constitution does not allow for non-binding advisory questions on the ballot, but rather, only initiatives that will have the force of law if adopted by the electorate. .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25624-california-supreme-court-nixes-corporate-personhood-advisory-measure-from-november-ballot
California Supreme Court Nixes Corporate Personhood "Advisory Measure" From November Ballot
California Supreme Court Nixes Corporate Personhood "Advisory Measure" From November Ballot
Saturday, 16 August 2014 12:34
By Brad Friedman, The Brad Blog | News Analysis
The "Overturn Citizens United Act", or Prop 49, will not appear on California's ballot this November after all.
As we reported in some detail last month, the unusual "advisory measure" was placed on the ballot very recently by the California state legislature. It called for Congress to "propose an amendment...to the United States Constitution" to overturn the infamous Citizens United decision and its progeny, and "to make clear that the rights protected by the United States Constitution are the rights of natural persons only."
But now, the state Supreme Court in California, dominated by 5 Republican appointees and 1 Democratic appointee, has intervened to remove the measure from this year's general election ballot, as the Sacramento Bee reports tonight...
The California Supreme Court on Monday effectively blocked a November advisory ballot measure on the merits of unlimited independent campaign spending, dashing some Democrats' hopes that the measure would boost voter turnout in what could be an otherwise staid election.
Approved by the Legislature early last month and grudgingly allowed to go on the ballot by Gov. Jerry Brown, Proposition 49 would have asked California voters if Congress should overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial Citizens United ruling in 2010. The legislation's passage followed Capitol protests that triggered dozens of arrests.
But in siding with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a 5-1 high court majority said it needs more time to consider whether the advisory measure can be placed on a California ballot.
The argument made by the rightwing Howard Jarvis group, and accepted by the state Supremes for now, is that the state Constitution does not allow for non-binding advisory questions on the ballot, but rather, only initiatives that will have the force of law if adopted by the electorate. .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/25624-california-supreme-court-nixes-corporate-personhood-advisory-measure-from-november-ballot
August 17, 2014
(Chicago Tribune) The bus-on-shoulders commuting option that began as an experiment three years ago on the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) has proven so successful service will be enhanced and possibly replicated on the Edens Expressway (I-94)
The bus-on-shoulders commuting option that began as an experiment three years ago on the Stevenson Expressway has proven so successful that service will be increased on that roadway and may be added to the Edens Expressway, officials said Monday.
Average daily ridership on the two bus routes that operate between the Southwest Suburbs and Chicago has grown to just under 1,000, an increase of about 226 percent since the pilot program began in 2011, officials said.
In addition to higher ridership, on-time performance is consistently over 90 percent compared with 68 percent prior to the start of the project, officials said. ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-busonshoulder-service-to-be-expanded-20140811-story.html
Chicago: Additional bus-on-shoulder service coming to Stevenson; possible some day on Edens
(Chicago Tribune) The bus-on-shoulders commuting option that began as an experiment three years ago on the Stevenson Expressway (Interstate 55) has proven so successful service will be enhanced and possibly replicated on the Edens Expressway (I-94)
The bus-on-shoulders commuting option that began as an experiment three years ago on the Stevenson Expressway has proven so successful that service will be increased on that roadway and may be added to the Edens Expressway, officials said Monday.
Average daily ridership on the two bus routes that operate between the Southwest Suburbs and Chicago has grown to just under 1,000, an increase of about 226 percent since the pilot program began in 2011, officials said.
In addition to higher ridership, on-time performance is consistently over 90 percent compared with 68 percent prior to the start of the project, officials said. ........................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-busonshoulder-service-to-be-expanded-20140811-story.html
August 17, 2014
Buskers who perform on subway platforms and trains gathered on the steps of City Hall Tuesday to protest what they say is harassment from the NYPD. The protesters said that the crackdown by police — with tickets and the occasional arrest — is unwarranted.
"People want to come and see us, not just me as a dancer, but also the musicians," said Bronx resident Andrew Saunders, 20, who was arrested last year for dancing on the train. "This is New York City culture, it shouldn't be pushed away, it should be embraced."
The MTA permits people to perform and solicit donations as long as they stay on subway platforms or mezzanines and off actual train cars.
But Besn Kheru was arrested while singing on a subway platform, in addition to two arrests for singing on the train. He said in many cases, artists are just trying to make an honest living and support their families. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/buskers-say-nypd-cracking-down-them/
Buskers Say NYPD Is Harassing Subway Performers
Buskers who perform on subway platforms and trains gathered on the steps of City Hall Tuesday to protest what they say is harassment from the NYPD. The protesters said that the crackdown by police — with tickets and the occasional arrest — is unwarranted.
"People want to come and see us, not just me as a dancer, but also the musicians," said Bronx resident Andrew Saunders, 20, who was arrested last year for dancing on the train. "This is New York City culture, it shouldn't be pushed away, it should be embraced."
The MTA permits people to perform and solicit donations as long as they stay on subway platforms or mezzanines and off actual train cars.
But Besn Kheru was arrested while singing on a subway platform, in addition to two arrests for singing on the train. He said in many cases, artists are just trying to make an honest living and support their families. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.wnyc.org/story/buskers-say-nypd-cracking-down-them/
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Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
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Number of posts: 77,066
