In a world filled with discord,
violence, and hate we remember the words of an American hero, Supreme
Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis, who--in trying to reconcile the powers of
modern government and society with opportunities of personal
development and the maintenance of individual liberties--said bluntly,
"Light is the best disinfectant."
In this country we pride ourselves on having
democratic roots extending all the way to ancient Athens. Yet in Greece
the “scapegoating" that was practiced was the casting of wrongdoers out of
the community, just as the Bible tells us a goat was chosen and sent to die in
the desert as part of the Day of Atonement.
The tragedy in the United States is that in
government too often it is not criminals who are those cast aside, but rather
those who speak truth to power; the wrongdoers hiding behind the cloaks of
representatives of modern-day Caesars seemingly willing to wash their hands
like bureaucratic Pontius Pilates.
Most Holy Father, when Jesus cleared the Temple
of money changers, it is written that He did so by overturning their tables
and even using a whip. In reverence of His example we, the
whistleblowers, although becoming battered sheep in the process, also seek
to fight against fraud, corruption, lies, and other kinds of wrongdoing.
In following Caesar's law today, whistleblowers
submit to earthly authority but render unto it the things that are the
government's, while still holding fast to God's things.
To do so, a good friend and fellow national
security whistleblower, air marshal Robert MacLean, recently had to fight
all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, risking all before finally finding
justice and vindication (135 U.S. 913 [2015]).
At the same time those who fight in uniform for
this country were left without proper critical medical care supposedly
guaranteed by our government in veterans' hospitals, until whistleblowers
stepped forward to speak truth to power, despite reprisals against them.
Meanwhile, except for a few low-ranking soldiers
brought to account for atrocious misconduct at places like the infamous Abu
Graib facility, almost no one--and virtually none of the bureaucratic little
Caesars--has been held accountable for the widespread use of tactics President
Obama quickly outlawed as "torture" after campaigning against them
while running the first time for president.
Although necessarily still shrouded in
anonymity, women and men of our intelligence community (who serve—by obeying
orders—their country, often at great personal risk) stepped up to tell
Truth to power--setting the stage to rollback brutal rendition, detention and
interrogation programs. They, too, risked paying, and probably paid, a price.
In particular those in the CIA's clandestine
service (where celebrated light cannot always be used to disinfect) who risked
their careers by lawfully opposing torture policies totally out of step with
American values, are our sisters and brothers. Please let President Obama
know that, although he needs to keep their identities secure, he should also
publicly underline how these secret whistleblowers protect the United States in
the best way possible.
Too often moral illiteracy in Washington, His
Holiness, does a lot of heavy lifting for fanatical groups at home and around
the world, even as human rights and anti-corruption are two of the boldest
banners held high by whistleblowers. If we know anything, as they found in
Sparta and in ancient Rome, it is that bad government policies help create evil
men.
Most Holy Father, although we are a small and
still largely unprotected ecumenical group, we try to make a better world where
we can. Please give us your blessing and bless those who are our champions in
the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, whose colleagues most need to
hear your clear and commanding voice when you speak before them.
In closing, a decorated member of the
whistleblower community but speaking personally for a moment, let me just add
that I have the honor to profess myself with the most profound respect.
As a reporter in Buenos Aires in 1987, I was
thrilled to hear our Patriarch, Saint John Paul the Great, instruct
the faithful, on the eve of another military rebellion by dirty warriors,
"Never again!"
Following the wisdom of my friend Penny Lernoux's Cry of the People, earlier I had suggested to
Senator Edward M. Kennedy to honor Argentina's desaparecidos by offering homage to
martyred Bishop Enrique Angelelli, a Servant of God, in La Rioja.
I was also one of those who rushed to
your public defense against the garrulous lap dogs who
fraudulently refused to remember what you and the Society of Jesus did during
that most difficult time.
Please remember in your prayers we
whistleblowers, our families, and those who have
sought valiantly to protect and nourish us.
Your most humble servant.
Martin Edwin Andersen
**Andersen, a decorated national security
whistleblower, is the author of three books on Latin America.
fecha |
Título |
28/02/2023| |
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01/12/2022| |
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11/11/2022| |
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19/03/2022| |
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23/09/2020| |
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05/03/2020| |
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17/01/2020| |
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05/06/2018| |
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27/03/2018| |
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21/02/2018| |
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22/04/2017| |
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17/02/2017| |
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17/12/2016| |
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14/09/2016| |
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07/08/2016| |
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27/03/2016| |
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22/03/2016| |
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22/03/2016| |
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11/03/2016| |
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15/02/2016| |
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20/09/2015| |
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07/09/2015| |
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03/09/2015| |
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18/02/2015| |
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20/01/2015| |
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18/12/2014| |
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09/12/2014| |
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18/11/2014| |
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06/11/2014| |
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01/10/2014| |
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17/09/2014| |
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06/09/2014| |
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14/05/2014| |
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12/03/2014| |
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04/02/2014| |
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19/12/2013| |
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03/11/2013| |
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25/10/2013| |
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10/10/2013| |
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29/08/2013| |
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27/06/2013| |
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19/05/2013| |
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08/05/2013| |
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08/05/2013| |
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02/05/2013| |
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20/03/2013| |
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23/02/2013| |
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23/02/2013| |
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25/01/2013| |
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15/06/2012| |
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26/05/2012| |
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04/05/2012| |
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28/04/2012| |
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17/04/2012| |
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01/11/2011| |
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04/07/2011| |
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04/07/2011| |
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11/04/2011| |
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07/02/2011| |
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24/01/2011| |
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14/12/2010| |
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21/11/2010| |
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15/09/2010| |
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09/08/2010| |
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18/07/2010| |
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01/07/2010| |
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11/06/2010| |
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06/06/2010| |
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13/01/2010| |
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29/10/2009| |
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24/09/2009| |
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03/09/2009| |
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02/09/2009| |
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29/08/2009| |
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25/07/2009| |
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25/07/2009| |
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25/07/2009| |
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25/07/2009| |
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01/04/2009| |
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12/03/2009| |
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12/03/2009| |
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16/11/2008| |
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16/11/2008| |
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14/11/2008| |
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14/11/2008| |
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18/09/2008| |
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18/09/2008| |
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13/08/2008| |
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13/08/2008| |
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28/01/2008| |
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17/01/2008| |
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30/12/2007| |
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16/12/2007| |
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02/12/2007| |
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01/12/2007| |
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06/10/2007| |
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12/09/2007| |
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17/06/2007| |
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17/06/2007| |
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17/06/2007| |
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17/06/2007| |
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17/06/2007| |
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17/06/2007| |
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21/05/2007| |
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21/05/2007| |
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06/04/2007| |
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28/03/2007| |
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12/01/2007| |
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12/01/2007| |
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18/12/2006| |
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18/12/2006| |
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22/09/2006| |
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22/09/2006| |
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03/08/2006| |
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01/08/2006| |
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23/02/2006| |
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08/10/2005| |
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18/08/2005| |
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22/07/2005| |
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15/07/2005| |
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12/07/2005| |
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23/06/2005| |
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14/06/2005| |
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25/05/2005| |
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26/04/2005| |
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26/04/2005| |
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29/03/2005| |
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29/03/2005| |
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19/02/2005| |
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19/02/2005| |
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16/02/2005| |
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16/02/2005| |
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15/02/2005| |
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15/02/2005| |
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11/02/2005| |
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11/02/2005| |
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09/02/2005| |
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09/02/2005| |
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09/02/2005| |
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09/02/2005| |
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06/02/2005| |
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06/02/2005| |
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04/02/2005| |
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04/02/2005| |
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04/02/2005| |
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02/02/2005| |
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02/02/2005| |
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02/02/2005| |
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31/01/2005| |
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31/01/2005| |
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28/01/2005| |
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28/01/2005| |
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25/01/2005| |
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25/01/2005| |
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25/01/2005| |
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25/01/2005| |
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24/01/2005| |
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24/01/2005| |
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18/01/2005| |
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18/01/2005| |
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14/01/2005| |
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14/01/2005| |
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13/01/2005| |
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13/01/2005| |
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11/01/2005| |
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11/01/2005| |
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11/01/2005| |
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11/01/2005| |
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11/01/2005| |
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11/01/2005| |
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06/01/2005| |
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06/01/2005| |
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04/01/2005| |
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04/01/2005| |
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24/12/2004| |
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24/12/2004| |
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22/12/2004| |
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22/12/2004| |
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22/12/2004| |
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22/12/2004| |
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14/12/2004| |
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14/12/2004| |
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06/12/2004| |
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06/12/2004| |
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02/12/2004| |
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02/12/2004| |
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30/11/2004| |
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30/11/2004| |
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23/11/2004| |
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23/11/2004| |
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20/11/2004| |
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20/11/2004| |
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12/10/2004| |
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12/10/2004| |
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24/09/2004| |
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24/09/2004| |
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27/06/2003| |
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27/06/2003| |
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20/06/2003| |
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20/06/2003| |
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03/06/2003| |
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03/06/2003| |
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07/05/2003| |
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07/05/2003| |
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06/05/2003| |
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06/05/2003| |
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24/04/2003| |
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24/04/2003| |
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16/04/2003| |
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16/04/2003| |
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16/04/2003| |
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16/04/2003| |
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10/04/2003| |
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10/04/2003| |
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09/04/2003| |
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09/04/2003| |
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02/04/2003| |
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02/04/2003| |
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27/03/2003| |
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27/03/2003| |
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21/03/2003| |
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21/03/2003| |
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20/03/2003| |
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20/03/2003| |
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17/03/2003| |
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17/03/2003| |
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15/03/2003| |
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15/03/2003| |
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03/03/2003| |
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03/03/2003| |
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22/02/2003| |
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22/02/2003| |
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17/02/2003| |
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17/02/2003| |
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07/02/2003| |
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07/02/2003| |
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04/02/2003| |
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04/02/2003| |
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01/02/2003| |
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01/02/2003| |
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30/01/2003| |
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30/01/2003| |
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28/01/2003| |
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28/01/2003| |
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22/01/2003| |
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22/01/2003| |
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15/01/2003| |
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15/01/2003| |
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26/12/2002| |
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26/12/2002| |
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24/12/2002| |
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24/12/2002| |
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22/12/2002| |
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22/12/2002| |
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13/12/2002| |
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13/12/2002| |
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13/12/2002| |
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13/12/2002| |
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01/12/2002| |
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01/12/2002| |
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06/10/2002| |
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06/10/2002| |
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04/10/2002| |
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04/10/2002| |
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28/09/2002| |
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28/09/2002| |
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