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Hubbert posted:Admittedly, Combat Archeologist is the peak male fantasy. For further evidence, see Daniel Jackson from SG-1. Go on some adventures, do a little research, fire some guns but technically not in the military, and at the end of the day you get to come home to your own bed. What's not to love, especially if you are on the SG-7 team or something with no-name characters and really aren't in any actual danger.
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 20:55 |
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# ? May 26, 2024 02:54 |
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jesus this is bitchmadequote:The US said it would consider revoking its recent designation of Yemen’s Houthis as terrorists if the Iran-backed militants cease their shipping attacks in and around the Red Sea.
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 21:04 |
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It's basically Lara Croft but for guys.
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 21:06 |
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stephenthinkpad posted:It's basically Lara Croft but for guys. Hes called Indiana Jones
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 21:17 |
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So indiana jones but british AND he had a huge cannon instead of a revolver?
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 21:38 |
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Tankbuster posted:So indiana jones but british AND he had a huge cannon instead of a revolver? Yes, but unfortunately, "...he learned that the India Office had requested that the army relieve him of his duties to permit him to be appointed Director General of Archaeology in India. Although he had never been to the country, he agreed that he would take the job."
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 22:14 |
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The Oldest Man posted:jesus this is bitchmade we don't have healthcare because we're incompetent
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# ? Apr 5, 2024 23:10 |
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apparently they are going to find out why the US doesn't have universal healthcare and they are going to laugh
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 00:14 |
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The Oldest Man posted:jesus this is bitchmade lmao they went and tried doing this right before it took effect. Crying then and now they sound even more pathetic
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 00:20 |
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turns out pumping out 50 trillion fart apps doesn't count as actual production
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 00:22 |
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pwease no shooty shippy
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 00:23 |
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ansar allah ftw
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 00:23 |
HallelujahLee posted:ansar allah ftw
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 10:39 |
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Another day another interview with admiral Rob Bauer, head of the NATO Military Committee. Machine translated from Dutch, with some of my highlighting and notes added in. Interview Admiral Rob Bauer “The Russians have not yet achieved any strategic objectives, that is why they continue” Admiral Rob Bauer is chairman of the NATO Military Committee. Image Jiri Büller / de Volkskrant Safety cannot be taken for granted, says chairman of the NATO Military Committee Rob Bauer. He advocates more personal responsibility on the part of citizens and a broad, long-term strategy: 'An attack does not have to be solely military.' Arnout Brouwers April 4, 2024, 5:00 am It will be a sober meeting in Brussels today, during which the alliance will reflect on its 75th anniversary. But, says Admiral Rob Bauer, who in these turbulent times is chairman of the NATO Military Committee, which brings together all allied commanders of the armed forces: 'I think we can rightly be proud. We started with 12 and now have 32 members, which says something about the relevance of that organization.' What makes the alliance so special, Bauer believes, is its 'political-military character'. “That we talk to each other every day at NATO headquarters and between the capitals, at political and military levels, and that we decide by consensus. Everyone has to agree before we do anything together. The fact that this works every time is incredible, so we can be proud of that.' About the author Arnout Brouwers writes for de Volkskrant about security, diplomacy and foreign policy. Last week you were prevented from speaking at the UvA by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. At the beginning of the war, Prof. Jolle Demmers of Utrecht University spoke about the 'masculine ambition' of the West. Are Dutch universities still safe territory for NATO soldiers? 'The demonstrators did not adopt a threatening attitude, but made a lot of noise. When it became clear that they were not going to stop, there was no point in staying put. Later we threw out a social media message that was read 285,000 times and that said: 'This is what we defend as NATO, that people are allowed to demonstrate.' 'Masculine ambition, I can't do much with that. These kinds of empty statements take away from the discussion about the content. NATO stands for keeping the member states and the billion citizens who live there safe. We are a defensive alliance. If the people of Ukraine had done nothing two years ago, it would now be part of Russia. When people say that war is bad, that the military is bad, do they understand that Putin wants Ukraine to cease to exist? [OD Note: oh no not the state of Ukraine ceasing to exist, as opposed to the hundreds of thousands of people that ceased to exist because of the war] The American think tank ISW sees signs that Russia is preparing for a larger conflict with NATO. You hear the same thing at NATO. What is that based on? “We know because they sent it to us. In December 2021, Russia sent a draft treaty text stating that they wanted to return to the 1997 borders. [OD Note: the gently caress is he even talking about here? Like what was in Russia's 1997 borders that it lacks now?] The fact that its ambitions are greater than Ukraine is also evident from Putin's speeches. He wants to restore the great Russian Empire. But I don't think we have to fear an attack on a NATO member state tomorrow. “After the annexation of Crimea in 2014, we realized that we had to return to collective defense. We have now adjusted our military plans accordingly. This way we now know exactly what we need in terms of items and units. We are working hard to make those plans a reality: more soldiers with higher readiness; buy the things we don't have yet; build up larger stocks of ammunition and of rockets and artillery ammunition. “Our plans were made based on the military threat before the major invasion of February 2022. At the moment, in reality, the Russians are weaker than then, especially in the land domain. So at this point we don't have to adjust our plans yet. But we must ensure that there is a credible deterrent to the Russian threat, so that the Russians will think four, five, six times in the future before striking.' NATO appears to be irritated by the idea that resilience is a purely military matter. 'For thirty years we have thought that everything can be planned, everything can be controlled. It was all about efficiency, as cheaply as possible. Businesses work as efficiently as possible to earn as much money as possible. The government works as efficiently as possible to spend as little money as possible. No one thinks strategically. Stocks are stupid: dead money. As we learn in the pandemic and war that supplies save lives. [OD note: he's not completely stupid at least] 'The 'I' has become a kind of holy grail. It is far too little about society. Collective defense is about all of us. We have created a society with rubber floors on all playgrounds so that children will never get hurt again. [OD note: but he does sound like such a loving curmudgeon, especially with this dumb bullshit right after dismissing the masculine criticism] In case of poor school results, parents contact a lawyer. I argue for more personal responsibility. 'If too few people voluntarily want to serve in the armed forces, while society wants more security, that is not the commander's problem. No, it's our problem. We must all contribute to the solution – by thinking about conscription, or reservists, or mobilization. But that is also about energy security and food safety. Both have been used as weapons. Migration too. And that won't stop when the war in Ukraine is over.' There have been major scandals about Russian influence in all major Western countries. Have we connected the dots sufficiently? What is this hybrid battle aimed at? “The attack I'm talking about doesn't have to be just military. Mr. Putin and, in China, Mr. Xi, are out to change the international order based on the rules of the game. That is allowed, but not with brute force, as is happening now in Ukraine and the South China Sea, and what could happen in Taiwan. [OD note: this is so goddamn incoherent, also suddenly China catching strays, as always] 'The Russians know that they are not going to win a military conflict with NATO. But you can also disrupt a society in another way, especially an open society like ours. Our openness and our strong focus on individual rights is also our vulnerability. Our opponents know that. We all give away everything on our phones to the big tech companies, but if the government says: can I look at your phone for three minutes, World War III will break out, because that is an invasion of our privacy. We have gone too far in this. Our protection of individual rights makes it effectively impossible to protect the collective from outside attacks. [OD note: ...] 'Putin has been controlling the information domain in his country for ten years, the same is happening in China. And they are also out to analyze and influence our information domain. When I was still the highest commander in the Netherlands, a riot broke out because an army unit was collecting and analyzing public information. Hell broke loose. But assume that the Chinese and the Russians collect everything we share here. The whole day long. And all that data is used against us.” Two years ago you were one of the first to speak about the need for a war economy. What about that? 'We as NATO should be able to produce sufficient ammunition, missiles and tanks within our treaty area in those two years, but that has not yet been possible. We had a discussion in Europe about one million grenades for Ukraine. But a Swedish company was excluded from that contract because it has an American parent company. Then the lights go out for me. What problem are we actually solving? If we really want to help Ukraine, we will buy every grenade available. Ukraine must now be helped with ammunition. Now. Today. Not in a week, but today. 'The foundation stone for an artillery shell factory and also the foundation stone for a patriot missile factory were recently laid in Germany. Very good, unfortunately two years too late. Otherwise the first grenades would have rolled off the production line by now. It took us a very long time. Secretary General Stoltenberg has already said: if in ten years' time a munitions factory has declining orders, you must still keep that factory afloat. That requires strategic thinking, and yes, it costs extra money. That doesn't matter at all for toilet paper or coffee cups, but for strategic goods, make sure that not everything is made in China.' [OD note: again not completely stupid, but lol at thinking 2 years to set up a single factory is a reasonable timeframe and lmao at argueing for strategic independence but thinking that all your ammo factories being owned by America is no big deal] What are your expectations for the battlefield in the coming months? “The Russians now have more grenades and rockets, and the Ukrainians feel that. You now see the connection between the number of available grenades and the number of Ukrainian victims. It's about human lives. 'But the Russians also have huge problems. They lost 350 thousand people. The Ukrainians have recaptured half of what the Russians initially captured. The Russian Navy has been driven out of Sevastopol, the Ukrainian grain corridor has been restored. 1.3 million young, smart Russians have left the country, as have thousands of foreign companies. 'In Russia they no longer talk about a 'special military operation', but about war. The population is being prepared for a continuation of this conflict. The Russians have not achieved any strategic objectives yet, so they continue. And because they continue, the Ukrainians must continue. Both sides need to do more to replenish supplies, both sides struggle with mobilization or conscription. There are 475 thousand Russians in the occupied part of Ukraine. Getting them out is of course very complicated.' And if Donald Trump wins the US elections? 'The question remains whether the plug will be pulled. There will undoubtedly be another discussion, as there should be in a democracy. Is it worth it to us? Support for Ukraine is broad in Congress, but it is being held up over another political issue. Even if Trump is elected, I do not see this immediately changing, because it is directly in the interest of the United States to support Ukraine. We'll see, just like with the discussion about the future of NATO. Trump mainly criticized countries that do not invest enough in their defense, not NATO as an organization.' President Macron does not want to rule out that French soldiers could operate in Ukraine. “There are now no Western troops under NATO command in Ukraine and there are no plans for that. [OD note: hmmmmm, such oddly specific phrasing] Stoltenberg rightly said that if an individual NATO member state takes such a decision, you also have to think about what that means for the collective. A NATO decision to this effect, with 32 countries? There will still be some water flowing through the Rhine before we get there.” Kyiv is unlikely to take any major new steps towards membership during the upcoming summit in Washington. The plan is circulating that NATO will take over the coordination of military support to Ukraine, the Ramstein consultations, from the US, is that realistic? 'The most important question is: how can you ensure that Ukraine can survive as a state. And then: how do you ensure that Ukraine can be better prepared for membership? A number of things that happen in a Ramstein context are military: how do you get the supplies, how do you ensure that they get there, the coordination of training. Could NATO play a role in the coordination of fifty bilateral relations with Ukraine that the US is now doing? Militarily it is doable, but it is a political decision.' The war lasts a long time. What happens on the battlefield seems to be very decisive for political decisions in capitals. [OD note: this is the big brain journalism I pay money for] 'What countries give away has always been the subject of discussion. Tanks are a red line, the Russians said. That turned out not to be the case, but it did give them time savings and stronger defense lines. So decision-making, or the lack of decision-making, has consequences for the battlefield. It is clear that Ukraine is asking for it. It is fair to say that they need it. 'We thought for a long time that everything was plannable and controllable. The next conflict would be fought with cyber alone. And if weapons were involved, we could fight the enemy from a great distance with F-35s. A kind of clean war for us, we thought. So we are not going to invest in tanks and infantry anymore, because that is nonsense. “But if the enemy has tanks, it is also useful to have tanks. If cyber is not really decisive, then you still end up with mud-and-blood battles involving infantrymen in trenches. But also AI drones, it's all happening at the same time. That makes it so important that everyone contributes to collective defense, including the Netherlands. The fact that there will be a new government is completely irrelevant. [OD note: uhmmm...] As long as the enemy does not change, the threat is there. We will have sharper discussions with Member States in the future about fulfilling specific commitments to NATO on developing and strengthening national capabilities. So that tank battalion will happen? “I don't know!” (With a smile:) “But NATO needs more!” Orange Devil has issued a correction as of 12:16 on Apr 6, 2024 |
# ? Apr 6, 2024 12:12 |
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Poor NATO, they don’t make them like they used to
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 17:01 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:Poor NATO, they don’t make them like they used to you wish you were him....
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 17:14 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:Poor NATO, they don’t make them like they used to dudes rock
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 17:25 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:Poor NATO, they don’t make them like they used to Drake no: CATO wife Drake yes: Alfonso the Battler
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 17:26 |
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I bet Alfonso the Battler has good looking squires follow him around.
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 17:45 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:Poor NATO, they don’t make them like they used to They call this guy "Battler" huh, wonder what this guy's primary character trait in life is
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 17:52 |
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HallelujahLee posted:ansar allah ftw
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 18:07 |
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Cerebral Bore posted:dudes rock
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 18:18 |
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Cerebral Bore posted:dudes rock Lmao, wiki says he put his wife's city under siege. Dudes rock.
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 18:40 |
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ughhhh posted:Lmao, wiki says he put his wife's city under siege. Dudes rock. Battering down her gates.
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 19:26 |
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Justin Tyme posted:They call this guy "Battler" huh, wonder what this guy's primary character trait in life is He apparently laid siege to his own wife after she pissed him off too much. As in, a literal siege around a castle.
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 21:43 |
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Z the IVth posted:He apparently laid siege to his own wife after she pissed him off too much. Dude likes to battle
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 22:38 |
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Z the IVth posted:He apparently laid siege to his own wife after she pissed him off too much. What part of "dudes rock" was unclear?
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 23:05 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:What part of "dudes rock" was unclear?
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# ? Apr 6, 2024 23:16 |
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Orange Devil posted:What happens on the battlefield seems to be very decisive for political decisions in capitals. [OD note: this is the big brain journalism I pay money for] One of the dumbest tautologies I've read in a while
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 00:39 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:What part of "dudes rock" was unclear? Hurling literal dudes' rocks at my wife house
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 00:40 |
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BULBASAUR posted:One of the dumbest tautologies I've read in a while Problem is that it isn't, though, right? Russia's battlefield performance in no way translates to recognition of it in politics, where everyone still insists Russia is a paper tiger and Ukraine is beating them with a triumph of their will
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 01:29 |
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The original question has a lot of Lost Causers coping for Lee as usual but this one really takes the cake https://twitter.com/anon_DAOT/status/1776611221774520645?t=s2BlbXVGJz6aJ0SPGJVMWQ&s=19
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 01:39 |
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Grant outmanoeuvred a fortress, Vicksburg, which iirc, is a unique feat in military history.
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 02:48 |
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Cerebral Bore posted:dudes rock
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 02:57 |
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DJJIB-DJDCT posted:Grant outmanoeuvred a fortress, Vicksburg, which iirc, is a unique feat in military history. i mean fortresses can't move so out moving them seems p easy ngl
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 03:04 |
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Zeppelin Insanity posted:Problem is that it isn't, though, right? Russia's battlefield performance in no way translates to recognition of it in politics, where everyone still insists Russia is a paper tiger and Ukraine is beating them with a triumph of their will Because they are still being lead on the "primrose path" as John Mearsheimer would put it. Western aid, sanctions, Russian exhaustion, NATO involvement is going to turn this conflict into a Ukrainian triumph. Any moment now for the last two years.
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 03:18 |
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quote:The town of Vicksburg—which had suffered miserably during the siege, with disease, starvation and death stalking soldier and civilian alike—would not celebrate the Fourth of July for 81 years. look at these socialists kneeling for the national anthem
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 03:28 |
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gradenko_2000 posted:The original question has a lot of Lost Causers coping for Lee as usual but this one really takes the cake I mean General Lee wasn't even the best General with a surname of Lee in the 1860s...
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 04:08 |
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The Voice of Labor posted:look at these socialists kneeling for the national anthem lol so they started again in 1942 after Pearl Harbour?
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 05:02 |
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# ? May 26, 2024 02:54 |
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Talk about misunderstanding cause and effect Ah yes, it's welfare that's to blame. Which is why the military strength of these countries has surely grown as they cut the welfare states since 1991?
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# ? Apr 7, 2024 05:11 |