Secret Wiretapping Scandal - Democratic Underground

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Wed Dec-21-05 06:50 PM
Original message

Secret Wiretapping Scandal

Edited on Fri Jul-04-08 08:03 AM by eridani

Warrantless wiretapping in place before 9/11. (Oct 13, 2007)

Qwest Communications, the only Telco that rejected the Bush Administration's demand to comply with their warrantless FISA-circumventing wiretapping program, confirmed today that Bush Administration officials contacted them SIX MONTHS BEFORE 9/11, not only destroying the Bush Administration's argument that their program was "in response" to 9/11, but also points out the fact that, despite the other telcos participating, the program DID NOT prevent 9/11 from occurring.

NSA Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11

Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say
June 30 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. National Security Agency asked AT&T Inc. to help it set up a domestic call monitoring site seven months before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, lawyers claimed June 23 in court papers filed in New York federal court.
The allegation is part of a court filing adding AT&T, the nation's largest telephone company, as a defendant in a breach of privacy case filed earlier this month on behalf of Verizon Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. customers. The suit alleges that the three carriers, the NSA and President George W. Bush violated the Telecommunications Act of 1934 and the U.S. Constitution, and seeks money damages.
``The Bush Administration asserted this became necessary after 9/11,'' plaintiff's lawyer Carl Mayer said in a telephone interview. ``This undermines that assertion.''
The lawsuit is related to an alleged NSA program to record and store data on calls placed by subscribers. More than 30 suits have been filed over claims that the carriers, the three biggest U.S. telephone companies, violated the privacy rights of their customers by cooperating with the NSA in an effort to track alleged terrorists. –

Bloomberg, June 30, 2006
Screencap:

?click

Bush reportedly decided to spy on your phone records BEFORE September 11

Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say – GD thread (LBN)

Spy Agency Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11, Lawyers Say – DU thread (GD)

Wow. This is big. Has anyone been discussing this? – DU thread (GD)

Senate Hearings

Washington Post: Transcript of February 6, 2006 U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

News Stories

Newsweek (February 6, 2006): Palace Revolt
CNN's Arena failed to question Gonzales on accusation that he "misled" Congress
Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
Untested Aide Laid Legal Basis For White House Terror Policies
FISA Judges Want Answers On Bush's Surveillance Program

DU Commentary

Domestic Taps Smoking Gun? WorldCom Routed US-to-US Calls Through Canada
The DOJ argument is BULLSHIT, here's why
Republicans are Reliving the Glory Days of Watergate
Daschle's revelation is huge
Aha ! ----- Found this......No wonder Specter is so pissed.

Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs

In defense of secret wiretapping, Lowry falsely claimed that Gorelick testimony proved Clinton asserted "the same authority" as Bush
Drudge's Slime and Weave
Here is all the SMACKDOWN you need for RW'ers on the Bush spygate thing...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/21/8157/6595">Debunking the Carter/Clinton Myth

For Comparison: House Republican statements on Clinton's impeachment

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5646069&mesg_id=5646069

FISA Memorandum Opinion May 17, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/transcripts/fisa_opinion.pdf
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Yy-bCsm4rScJ:slate.msn.com/id/2070287/+John+Ashcroft++FISA&hl=en

2004 report to Donald Rumsfeld by Defense Dept. Technology and Privacy Advisory Committee

Washington Post article July 29, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050800433_4.html

Article is about how Hayden got to head up NSA and who put him there.

Videos

Deconstructing George Bush

Bush response to "UnChecked Power" allegations

General Hayden hasn’t a clue about the Fourth Amendment

Countdown: Uncle Sam is Watching You

Jon Stewart:: Fox News cheerleads for Bush

The NSA and Me

Jon Stewart on the NSA scandal

NSA is Watching the Watchers

Jack Cafferty on NSA & Privacy

Countdown - Bush/NSA spying on US Citizens: Illegal

Jon Stewart - I did not have sex with that NSA woman Monica

Cafferty: Specter's Blanket Amnesty on the NSA scandal

Arlene Specter denies giving Amnesty over NSA wiretapping

Specter Wants Cheney to Answer for Wiretaps

Electronic Frontier Foundation Press Conference After NSA Wiretapping Court Hearing

Gingrich on NSA wiretaps – Hannity and Colmes

The NSA's Dirty Little Secret

Scarborough – You should be afraid

Cashing In on the NSA Database Debacle

The New NSAT&TBC Commercial

Alberto Gonzales Needs Leeway to Lie

Countdown with Keith Olbermann and Jonathan Turley

Daily Show - The Log of War…Jon Stewart looks at the Bush Administration's illegal use of electronic surveillance, and the cable and phone companies complicity in handing over US citizen's phone records to the NSA without telling them about it

Late Edition: Stephen Hadley…cannot confirm or deny

The Attorney General contests that President George Washington used electronic surveillance.

Israel's U.S. phone database (part 1 of 3)

Israel's U.S. phone database (part 2 of 3)

Israel's U.S. phone database (part 3 of 3)

Specter Wants Cheney to Answer for Wiretaps

Lazy Sunday (aka Chronic Lies and the NSA)

eridani

I was told years ago that ALL fiber optic communication traffic was routed overseas so that "everything" was moved outside the protections of the law and Constitution and ANYTHING could be monitored. I thought the idea quite fantastic even though it came from a very reliable source that would know exactly such things. Then, the story of the fiber optic splitters hit my radar. I now see now how easily exactly that, routing ALL COMMUNICATIONS overseas, was accomplished.

Is that Bush's and the Telecom's HUGE crime hidden and covered-up behind this story?

If the telecoms get immunity, will it aid in covering up Bush's crime.
ABSOLUTELY! That is why it is so important to the Rs! Support = obstruction of justice.

Have we arrived at the point in the history of the Bushco junta where
laws passed and people nominated are part of crimes of obstructing justice?

===================
AT&T Whistleblower: Telecom Immunity Is A Cover-Up
By Spencer Ackerman - Nov 7, 2007
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004662.php

Earlier today we flagged that Mark Klein, who uncovered a secret surveillance room run by the NSA while employed as a San Francisco-based technician for AT&T, is in Washington to lobby against granting retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies. In an interview this afternoon, Klein explained why he traveled all the way from San Francisco to lobby Senators about the issue: if the immunity provision passes, Americans may never know how extensive the surveillance program was -- or how deeply their privacy may have been invaded.

"The president has not presented this truthfully," said Klein, a 62-year old retiree. "He said it was about a few people making calls to the Mideast. But I know this physical equipment. It copies everything. There's no selection of anything, at all -- the splitter copies entire data streams from the internet, phone conversations, e-mail, web-browsing. Everything."

What Klein unearthed -- you can read it here -- points to a nearly unbounded surveillance program. Its very location in San Francisco suggests that the program was "massively domestic" in its focus, he said. "If they really meant what they say about only wanting international stuff, you wouldn't want it in San Francisco or Atlanta. You'd want to be closer to the border where the lines come in from the ocean so you pick up international calls. You only do it in San Francisco if you want domestic stuff. The location of this stuff contradicts their story .....

=======================
NSA Monitors All Web Traffic, Says Ex-AT&T Employee

NSA Monitors All Web Traffic, Says Ex-AT&T Employee
Tom Corelis (Blog) - Nov 10, 2007
http://www.dailytech.com/NSA+Monitors+All+Web+Traffic+S...

Felt "forced to the connect the Big Brother Machine" if he wanted to keep his job

Mark Klein, the former AT&T technician and whistleblower who helped kick off the AT&T/NSA eavesdropping scandal, clarified further details regarding what he witnessed while connecting a secret NSA eavesdropping facility: secure room 641A in AT&T’s San Francisco switching center, presumably commissioned by the NSA, received copies of all the traffic its splitters were connected to, including both international and domestic e-mails, web traffic, and phone calls, both from AT&T’s customers as well as other providers.

Previous statements by the government, AT&T and President Bush indicated that the only affected communications are communications relevant to national security, like those of suspected terrorists and suspicious foreign nationals. According to Klein, however, the technology used to connect the secure room was far more democratic, consisting of simple, dumb splitters incapable of any kind of contextual filtering: essentially, room 641A received “a duplicate of every fiber-optic signal routed through facilities.”

Klein, appearing on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olbermann show, told viewers about his personal association with secure room 641A. “When I was a technician, I had the engineering/wiring documents, which told me how the splitter was wired to the secret room … I had to know in order to do my job,” he said, “so I know that whatever went across those cables was copied; the entire datastream was copied into the secret room.”

Referring to the equipment itself, Klein states, “the splitter device has no selective capability, it just copies everything. .............

=======================
Interview: AT&T Whistleblower Mark Klein on Bush's Illegal Surveillance and Retroactive Immunity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dJJhLueEg

=======================
NSA Pressured LA Times To Kill Domestic Spying Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOI1VGKcgGY

=======================
November 5th, 2007
AT&T Whistleblower to Urge Senate to Reject Blanket Immunity for Telecoms
Press Conference on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, November 7
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2007/11/05

Washington, D.C. - On Wednesday, November 7, at 10:30am, telecommunications technician and AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein will speak out at a press conference on Capitol Hill, explaining why he is asking lawmakers to reject immunity for telecoms who assisted the Bush administration's spying on millions of Americans.

Klein witnessed first-hand the technology AT&T built to assist the government's domestic warrantless wiretapping program at AT&T's main switching facility in San Francisco. As part of his job at AT&T, Klein connected high-speed fiber optic cables to sophisticated equipment that intercepted communications from AT&T customers and then copied and routed every single one to a room controlled by the National Security Agency (NSA). Klein has provided evidence for the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF's) class-action lawsuit against AT&T for its role in the illegal spying.

"My job required me to enable the physical connections between AT&T customers' Internet communications and the NSA's illegal, wholesale copying machine for domestic emails, Internet phone conversations, web surfing and all other Internet traffic. I have first-hand knowledge of the clandestine collaboration between one giant telecommunications company, AT&T, and the National Security Agency to facilitate the most comprehensive illegal domestic spying program in history," said Klein.

Also speaking at the event Wednesday ...........

=======================
Judge Orders Telecommunications Companies to Preserve Evidence in Government Surveillance Cases
Ruling Advances EFF's Class-action Lawsuit Against AT&T
http://www.eff.org/press/archives/2007/11/06

San Francisco - A federal judge today ruled on a preservation motion filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), ordering that telecommunications companies must preserve any evidence of collaborating with the government in illegal spying on ordinary Americans.

In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ordered the telecommunications companies to halt any routine destruction of documents or to arrange for the preservation of accurate copies. On December 14, each party must provide the court with confirmation that the court's order has been carried out. The court order did not require the government or the carriers to reveal whether or not they had any relevant evidence.

The government and the carriers had opposed the preservation motion, claiming that the government's invocation of the state secrets privilege made it impossible to proceed with a preservation order. In litigation, parties are typically required to preserve all relevant evidence.

For the judge's order:
http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/att/393%20order.pdf

For more on the class-action lawsuit against AT&T:
http://www.eff.org/cases/att

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jefferson_dem

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Wed Dec-21-05 07:01 PM
Response to Original message

1. Added links

This new topic is awaiting edits. It was started by jefferson_dem.

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Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs

http://mediamatters.org/items/200512210012

http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/21/drudges-slime-and-weave/

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jefferson_dem

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Wed Dec-21-05 07:01 PM
Response to Original message

2. Unexplained edit

This new topic is awaiting edits. It was started by jefferson_dem.

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Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs

http://mediamatters.org/items/200512210012
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/21/drudges-slime-and-weave/

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Skinner ADMIN

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Wed Dec-21-05 07:29 PM
Response to Original message

3. Formatting.

Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512210012
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/21/drudges-slime-and-weave/

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Skinner ADMIN

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Thu Dec-22-05 07:50 AM
Response to Original message

4. Added link to House Republican statements on Clinton's impeachment

Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs
http://mediamatters.org/items/200512210012
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/12/21/drudges-slime-and-weave

For Comparison: House Republican statements on Clinton's impeachment
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5646069&mesg_id=5646069

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EarlG ADMIN

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Fri Dec-23-05 12:50 PM
Response to Original message

5. Added news stories and commentary

News Stories

Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
Untested Aide Laid Legal Basis For White House Terror Policies
FISA Judges Want Answers On Bush's Surveillance Program

DU Commentary

The DOJ argument is BULLSHIT, here's why
Republicans are Reliving the Glory Days of Watergate
Daschle's revelation is huge
Aha ! ----- Found this......No wonder Specter is so pissed.

Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs

In defense of secret wiretapping, Lowry falsely claimed that Gorelick testimony proved Clinton asserted "the same authority" as Bush
Drudge's Slime and Weave
Here is all the SMACKDOWN you need for RW'ers on the Bush spygate thing...

For Comparison: House Republican statements on Clinton's impeachment

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5646069&mesg_id=5646069

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chat_noir

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Wed Dec-28-05 08:19 AM
Response to Original message

6. Unexplained edit

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chat_noir

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Wed Dec-28-05 08:50 AM
Response to Original message

7. Unexplained edit

News Stories

Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
Untested Aide Laid Legal Basis For White House Terror Policies
FISA Judges Want Answers On Bush's Surveillance Program

DU Commentary

The DOJ argument is BULLSHIT, here's why
Republicans are Reliving the Glory Days of Watergate
Daschle's revelation is huge
Aha ! ----- Found this......No wonder Specter is so pissed.

Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs

In defense of secret wiretapping, Lowry falsely claimed that Gorelick testimony proved Clinton asserted "the same authority" as Bush
Drudge's Slime and Weave
Here is all the SMACKDOWN you need for RW'ers on the Bush spygate thing...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/21/8157/6595">Debunking the Carter/Clinton Myth

For Comparison: House Republican statements on Clinton's impeachment

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5646069&mesg_id=5646069

FISA Memorandum Opinion May 17, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/transcripts/fisa_opinion.pdf
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Yy-bCsm4rScJ:slate.msn.com/id/2070287/+John+Ashcroft++FISA&hl=en

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chat_noir

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Mon Feb-06-06 12:01 PM
Response to Original message

8. WorldCom Routed US-to-US Calls Through Canada

News Stories

Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
Untested Aide Laid Legal Basis For White House Terror Policies
FISA Judges Want Answers On Bush's Surveillance Program

DU Commentary

Domestic Taps Smoking Gun? WorldCom Routed US-to-US Calls Through Canada
The DOJ argument is BULLSHIT, here's why
Republicans are Reliving the Glory Days of Watergate
Daschle's revelation is huge
Aha ! ----- Found this......No wonder Specter is so pissed.

Debunking Lies About Clinton and Carter's Programs

In defense of secret wiretapping, Lowry falsely claimed that Gorelick testimony proved Clinton asserted "the same authority" as Bush
Drudge's Slime and Weave
Here is all the SMACKDOWN you need for RW'ers on the Bush spygate thing...
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2005/12/21/8157/6595">Debunking the Carter/Clinton Myth

For Comparison: House Republican statements on Clinton's impeachment

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=5646069&mesg_id=5646069

FISA Memorandum Opinion May 17, 2002

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/onpolitics/transcripts/fisa_opinion.pdf
http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Yy-bCsm4rScJ:slate.msn.com/id/2070287/+John+Ashcroft++FISA&hl=en

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chat_noir

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Tue Feb-07-06 09:52 AM
Response to Original message

9. Senate Committee Hearing - Electronic Surveillance threads

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chat_noir

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Wed Feb-08-06 09:34 AM
Response to Original message

10. Transcript of February 6, 2005 U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

Senate Hearings

Washington Post: Transcript of February 6, 2006 U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

News Stories

Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
Untested Aide Laid Legal Basis For White House Terror Policies
FISA Judges Want Answers On Bush's Surveillance Program

DU Commentary

Domestic Taps Smoking Gun? WorldCom Routed US-to-US Calls Through Canada
The DOJ argument is BULLSHIT, here's why
Republicans are Reliving the Glory Days of Watergate
Daschle's revelation is huge
Aha ! ----- Found this......No wonder Specter is so pissed.

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chat_noir

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Wed Feb-08-06 09:37 AM
Response to Original message

11. correction

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chat_noir

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Wed Feb-08-06 11:18 AM
Response to Original message

12. Newsweek: Palace Revolt

Senate Hearings

Washington Post: Transcript of February 6, 2006 U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing

News Stories

Newsweek (February 6, 2006): Palace Revolt
Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
Untested Aide Laid Legal Basis For White House Terror Policies
FISA Judges Want Answers On Bush's Surveillance Program

DU Commentary

Domestic Taps Smoking Gun? WorldCom Routed US-to-US Calls Through Canada
The DOJ argument is BULLSHIT, here's why
Republicans are Reliving the Glory Days of Watergate
Daschle's revelation is huge
Aha ! ----- Found this......No wonder Specter is so pissed.

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Capn Sunshine

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Thu Feb-09-06 01:19 AM
Response to Original message

13. report was asked for Sec Def Rumfeld regarding privacy concerns

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chat_noir

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Thu Feb-09-06 10:29 AM
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14. CNN's Arena failed to question Gonzales on accusation that he "misled" Con

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phoebe

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Mon May-22-06 07:13 PM
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15. Unexplained edit

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chat_noir

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Sun Jul-02-06 03:30 PM
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16. Deconstructing George Bush

Videos

Deconstructing George Bush

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chat_noir

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Sun Jul-02-06 04:40 PM
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17. video links added

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chat_noir

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Sun Jul-02-06 05:02 PM
Response to Original message

18. NSA Sought U.S. Call Records Before 9/11

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chat_noir

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Tue Jul-11-06 08:57 AM
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19. ATT image

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Mugsy

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Sun Oct-14-07 11:57 AM
Response to Original message

20. Qwest Communications confirms.

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eridani

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Fri Jul-04-08 08:01 AM
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21. Unexplained edit

eridani

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eridani

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Fri Jul-04-08 08:03 AM
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22. Unexplained edit

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