Sunday, February 21, 2021

Sun 21st February 2021 Current Affairs

Editorial Mon 15th Feb

Former Senator Natasha Stott-Despoja had understood Machiavelli and knew a concept encapsulated by the Prince which many were getting wrong in the late 1990’s. So applying all her mental powers, she went on radio and told people how to get it right. Machiavelli, she declared, was pronounced ‘Match-i-ah-velli.’ The senator despaired at people misrepresenting the Prince. After all, Hitler had had the book on his bed side table for inspiration and late-night reading. He had needed to improve his mind. There are many examples, provided by Charles and Andrew to name two, of Princes who fail the bedside table test. 


It was with delight I happened on Delderfield’s story of a horseman, Paul Craddock, who purchased a farm. 


Dr Maureen O’Keefe talking to 14 yo Ikey (Delderfield’s Horseman riding by)

“Ikey,” she said, “There’s a word you wouldn’t have heard yet that just about describes you so remember it and you can recognise yourself later on! You’re Machiavellian! Remember that – Mack-i-ah-vellian”

“What does it mean?” he asked, and she said, gesticulating, “It’s having an instinctive understanding of people and how their minds work and it’s a priceless quality to possess, particularly if you are ever thinking of going into business.”

“I’ll not do that,” he said, scornfully, “I’m going to join the cavalry!”

“Ah,” she said, “Then I’m afraid it won’t be of much use to you. Still, it’s nice to have and I daresay it’ll help you get along with the ladies!”


The former senator never really explained her clarification. She is a left wing loony and the press would never have dared ask it. But, what was it her clarification addressed? Was the senator addressing a mid 90’s man drought after too many eligible bachelors had bought into a hipster form of feminism? Had she approved of Hitler’s late night reading? We could ask her, but we may never know. 


Editorial Sun 21st February Current Affairs

Sixteen days without internet access. Lockdown meant my zoom meetings were conducted, over 8 hours, using phone data which emptied my bandwidth for the month. What had happened was a storm on the 5th of February took out cable access but left the wifi running without carrying a connection We could see the router was active, but there was no internet access. We contacted the estate agent who said they had contacted the landlord after coming over to turn the router on and off to no affect. Not knowing which ISP held the actual account, I searched online (using phone data) and found that NBN was down and slated to be fixed after the weekend. 


During the weekend, I noticed the NBN fault had been fixed, but we still did not have internet, so I pointed out to the estate agent that no fault was reported for this address. They yelled at me, saying it was not their job to stay on the phone of an ISP and wait hours, but they had told the landlord who had promised to fix it. I pointed out the landlord might need to be told to report the issue to the ISP to fix it. They said they got my point, but had already told the landlord. “Have a good day sir!” they yelled before hanging up. 


I contacted radio 3AW to report the issue. Neil Mitchell had me waiting forty minutes before not listening to me, or following up. 


One other member of the household noticed our landlord had not collected their mail from Optus, an ISP, and opened it, discovering that our share house was due to have internet cancelled because NBN did not want to compete with Optus Cable. But the cancellation was for the 15th of February or later, and should not have happened yet. The information was relayed to the estate agent who passed it on to the landlord. I contacted 3AW to provide an update by email. Still no reply from 3AW. 


The estate agent tasked an employee to wait on premises until Optus sent a technician. But, Optus claimed they had sent a technician a day before and they had not got on premises when everyone in the household was here during lockdown. They claimed to have rung the bell and made commotion, but they had not noticed the Menulog and DoorDasher employees delivering food without issue. The estate agent spent all day on the premises and Optus did not show up. Finally, on 19th of February, two weeks after the internet had gone down, Optus showed, and an estate agent was on hand. The fault was fixed, it having been established that Cable provision would be ongoing until a planned changeover to NBN. 


My software upgraded and at 1am on 20th February while Melbourne had had an overnight 26 degree centigrade evening, the wifi router stopped working. I contacted the agent about 7:30 am and sent a picture of my WiFi reception showing our address router was not functioning. They did not even bother sending someone to turn it on and off. Maybe Monday? 


In Defence of Conservative Values via It’s a Wonderful Life (1946 Capra)

The scene has three conservatives talking over dinner. One conservative is the father who wants his son to follow him in business. Another conservative is the son who wants to make a name for himself in the world. Another conservative is the servant whose relationship to those she serves is positive for all of them. 


The three are not agreeing with each other, but there is none of the shaming, blaming and rancour one finds when arguing with a left winger. The father listens to his son, and argues on point, convincingly. The son hears his father’s arguments and lets him know he still loves him. The servant reinforces core conservative values. Note, these are not social conservative values, which judges and shames. These are values embraced by modern economic conservatives.


The conservatism is not from a lost time in America. President Donald Trump is not a conservative, neither is he known for conservatism, but his Vice President, Mike Pence is. The greatness of Trump’s Presidency was enhanced by the demeanour and prosecution of Pence as Vice President. One hopes Trump runs and wins again in 2024. Not only will Trump be the first President acquitted of an impeachment twice, he could be the first President elected three times without resorting to corruption. 


===
Here is a video I made One Step Forward 

Music by Patrick Poulou Lyrics and vocals by David Daniel Ball
Images include Video Blocks sourced images
http://conservativeweasel.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/one-step-forward-and-another-one-back.html
Oh father, do you love me?

Father, do you need me?

Father, can you hear me?

I'll walk to you

One step forward and another one back

Oh lord how many steps will I take this way?

How many steps will I have to stay?

Walking here and walking there

Praying this and wanting that

Give me hope, a straight path and your favor

You give grace and in the eyes of your people I see love

Don't close your eyes good people

Give me a straight path and your favor

Praying this and wanting that

Walking here and walking there

How many steps will I have to stay?

Oh Lord, how many steps will I take this way?

One step forward and another one back

I was raised as an Atheist. I learned, after reading the Bible, that God loves me, and you. This is his song for you too. He loves you, and wants to be with you.
All the elements are me and mine. ARIA ISRC number AUAWN0818112
https://rumble.com/vb4l3v-one-step-forward.html
===
=== From 2018 ===
Don't give up on hope. Skyrail has not been operating for long in Melbourne, but already it has failed. A freight train was stuck at Springvale and buses were used to get commuters to Dandenong. Only nobody told the electric noticeboards or the stationmaster. Over thirty waited on the platform for a train that the electric noticeboard said was coming on time, but never arrived. Loudspeaker announcements made no reference to the issue. VicRail phone service claimed it was a planned outage. The truth is the pylons cannot hold freight traffic. 

Barnaby Joyce is being savaged by people who hate him and hate the Nationals. The hatred is widely disseminated by the press and school children have strong opinions. Some school children are saying Barnaby is amoral and an awful minister. They say he has conducted an affair and behaved badly. That may be true, but only his wife knows for sure about his domestic behaviour. And it depends what you say to kids that gets the strong reaction. What would a child say about a party leader that allegedly raped a girl and used public office to avoid questions for decades, but when finally confronted with the issue claims they forgot? And in the meantime finds a rich married woman, divorces his own wife and marries the rich woman after she divorces, having carried on an affair with her while married? And what if this party leader used corruption to rip off workers and stand over business? 

Alternatively, what would a student say about a minister who worked tirelessly to secure rights for his constituents? So that his industry is as profitable as at any time in history. What if that minister, through championing a hundred dams has a plan that will cool the world and secure fresh water in the future for 300 million Australians (the water happens soon, the population is the distant future)? Alternatively what would a school child say about a minister who leaked so as to weaken his own party? What would they say about a minister who weakened Australian infrastructure and aligned with international players who opposed his party's politics? I wrote about Malcolm Turnbull in July 2017. Everything I wrote then is still true. 
=== from 2017 ===
Today in Melbourne, a chartered aircraft with four passengers crashed into DFO, a shopping complex near the airport. Allegedly there was criticism of DFO being built close to the airport. All five on board died. There are not thought to be other casualties, and that is because of the good fortune that the accident happened earlier in the day before shoppers arrived. It is not yet known why the plane crashed, but the experienced pilot had put out a mayday of catastrophic engine failure. 

I am reading a research article by Matthew C. MacWilliams , University of Massachusetts Amherst, a PhD student. The article was popular among #FakeNewsMedia. Matthew writes 
"Second, the linkage between threat and authoritarianism has remained a central tenet of authoritarian studies for more than seven decades (Fromm 1941), as threat and fear have been theorized to play an important role in the activation of authoritarian behavior and the expression of authoritarian attitudes (Adorno et al. 1950; Altemeyer 1981b; Hetherington and Suhay 2011). Today, some scholars argue that authoritarianism is activated by normative threat (Feldman 2003; Stenner 2005). Hetherington et al. (2011; 2009) assert, as did Lipset (1959) and countless other students of authoritarianism, that physical threats are also drivers of authoritarian attitudes and behavior.

Authoritarian activation is, however, a contested question. To Stenner, authoritarianism is not always on. Authoritarian behavior is activated “when needed” in reaction to a particular threat (2005, 14). But Hetherington et al. contend that authoritarians are in a state of constant hypervigilance and hold authoritarian attitudes even when physical or normative threats are not extant. Thus, it is nonauthoritarians who become more authoritarian when a physical threat appears, since authoritarians are always activated and “have little place to travel in terms of their opinions” (Hetherington and Suhay 2011, 547).

With the terrorist incidents in Paris and San Bernardino driving media coverage of the threat posed by terrorism and, in early December 2015, the fear of terrorism rising to its highest point in the United States since 9/11, threat was posed to play an important role in shaping the Republican nominating process. And Donald Trump was positioned to be its main beneficiary."
Trump was not responsible for San Bernardino or Paris. But Hillary was quick to exploit each. But, as messages go, addressing Islamic extremism is more appealing to potential victims than describing the threat as inconsequential. It is apparent that Trump's extreme vetting of seven nations is a measured approach. Meanwhile many are calling for a total ban. 
=== from 2016 ===
Not written as I was working to secure accommodation. 
=== from 2015 ===
Queensland is resilient. A panicked ALP Premier was not able to suck the joy out of a sign worker Mark Cave. If Obama is ever wanting to wring his hands in Brisbane, this hand waver will make him understood. Or his telecaster. Meanwhile, press are keen to lie about Mr Abbott ordering troops into ISIL. And they lie about Mr Abbott and the two Bali prisoners facing execution. Don't journalists ever check their facts? 

Australian jihadists are also welfare bludgers. Some 96% of jihadists leaving Australis for ISIL death cult are on the disability pension. Few things are more attractive to young Islamic women than a disabled jihadist. Meanwhile impotent Islamic leaders are struggling to say that jihadism, which brings Islam into disrepute, is wrong. 

Sitcom writer dies of overdose. Parks and Recreation star, Harry Wittels, died at age 30 of a suspected drug overdose. Drugs may be legalised in some places, but they are never safe. 

Athanasius was an important early Christian theologian based in Alexandria, preceding Hypatia and Cyril. He was exiled and returned on five occasions. On this day, in 362, he returned from the third exile which had been ordered by Emperor Constantius. Constantius favoured Arianism while Athanasius favoured Trinitarianism. So Constantius exiling Athanasius to the desert for the third exile, was deeply symbolic. It lasted six years. Later in the year, Emperor Julian would exile him again. In 1245, the first known Bishop of Finland, Thomas, was allowed to resign following a confession he had tortured a man to death and forged a Papal letter. In 1437, Scottish King James I was assassinated by a former follower. His wife survived and their son, James II was crowned king. In 1613, Mikhail I of Russia began the Romanov dynasty, having been unanimously elected by national assembly. In 1804, the first steam locomotive left its' iron works. In 1808, Russian troops took Finland from Sweden. Sweden had held Finland since shortly after Thomas had resigned. In 1828, the Cherokee Pheonix was first published using the syllabary of the great Sequoyah. Sequoyah had created his syllabary for Cherokee, the only time in recorded history a pre literate people created their own, resulting in his people becoming literate better and sooner than surrounding tribes. In 1842, the sewing machine was patented by John Greenough. In 1848, Marx and Engels published the Communist Manifesto which today provides for ALP policy. In 1878, New Haven Connecticut produced the first telephone directory. In 1937 the League of Nations moved to stop the ridiculous practice of international left wingers going to Spain to fight and die. In 1952, Winston Churchill abolished ID cards despite the adoring left liking them. In 1965 jihadists murdered Malcolm X for becoming Sunni. In 1972, Nixon visited China.
From 2014
 One does not need religion to be graceful. Nor to be thankful. It isn't the religion that makes the heart. It takes tremendous grace, effort even, to be thankful when things go wrong. I think of this on the birthday of Douglas Bader (1910). 'Reach for the sky' is not some gangster call to those they point guns at. It was Douglas' title for his autobiography. He was a happy go lucky soul, and a touch irresponsible in his youth. He was born in the early days of powered flight. He wanted to reach for the sky, and he became an accomplished pilot who could do impressive tricks. His life changed in his early twenties (December, 1931) when he did one of those tricks. On take off, he attempted a difficult manoeuvre, but was too close to the ground, and crashed. In those days, the emergency response people took out a cup of strong spirits for survivors so they would not go into shock. The emergency response guy who found Douglas in the broken cockpit, with legs skew in a way that unbroken ones don't go, gulped down the spirits, thinking Douglas had not survived, and wanting to erase the memory of what he saw. 

Douglas survived, but the university cricketer lost both his legs, and fell into a depression in recovery. A good woman who was a nurse chatted with him, and tried to lift his spirits, but Douglas only remembered what he had been, and never would be again. He joked about dating her when he would take her to dances. But without legs, he wouldn't dance. But Douglas' heart was not that of a quitter. Many had lost limbs in WW1, and prosthetics were common. He got some tin prosthetic legs, and learned how to walk. And dance. He married that young woman nurse. He learned to walk so well, he didn't need a cane. 

WW2 began, and the Battle of Britain. Douglas wanted to fly. But the war ministry would not let him because he didn't have legs which were needed to pilot the craft. Douglas modified a spitfire and the casualty rate was so high, the need so great, he got licensed. And he was good. He became an ace. He became recognised as possibly Britain's best pilot, and it was said it was because he had no legs, because in tight rolls, blood goes to the legs from the brain, and because that couldn't happen for Douglas, he could do tight rolls. In a mission over France in '41, and captured by the Nazis. His prosthetics were damaged, and British high command flew out a good pair for him. In custody, Douglas would not give up. He escaped, a number of times. So the Nazis placed him in Colditz. He escaped again, and they confiscated his legs. 

At war's end, Douglas missed the adventure. He took up mountain climbing. And then became a member of parliament. In his heart was an indomitable spirit. The kind of spirit Australia will need to climb out of the debt hole the ALP have dug.
Historical perspective on this day
In 362, Athanasius returned to Alexandria. 1245, Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, was granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery. 1437, James I of Scotland was assassinated. 1440, the Prussian Confederation is formed. 1543, Battle of Wayna Daga – A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeated a Muslim army led by Ahmed Gragn. 1613, Mikhail I was unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.

In 1804, the first self-propelling steam locomotive made its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales. 1808, without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops crossed the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish war, in which Sweden would lose the eastern half of the country (i.e. Finland) to Russia. 1828, initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. 1842, John Greenough was granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine. 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto. 1862, American Civil WarBattle of Valverde was fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory. 1874, the Oakland Daily Tribune published its first edition. 1878, the first telephone book was issued in New Haven, Connecticut. 1885, the newly completed Washington Monument was dedicated.

In 1913, Ioannina was incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars. 1916, World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun began. 1918, the last Carolina Parakeet died in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo. 1919, German socialist Kurt Eisner was assassinated. His death resulted in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing MunichGermany. 1921, Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgiaadopted the country's first constitution. Also 1921, Rezā Shāh took control of Tehran during a successful coup 1925, the New Yorker published its first issue.

In 1937, the League of Nations banned foreign national "volunteers" in the Spanish Civil War. 1945, World War IIJapanese Kamikaze planes sank the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damaged the USS Saratoga. 1947, in New York CityEdwin Land demonstrated the first "instant camera", the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America. 1948, NASCAR was incorporated. 1952, the British government, under Winston Churchill, abolished identity cards in the UK to "set the people free". Also 1952, the Bengali Language Movement protests occurred at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). 1958, the peace symbol, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.

In 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City by members of the Nation of Islam. 1971, the Convention on Psychotropic Substances was signed at Vienna. 1972, President Richard Nixon visited the People's Republic of China to normalise Sino-American relations. Also 1972, the Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 landed on the Moon. 1973, over the Sinai DesertIsraeli fighter aircraft shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108. 1974, the last Israeli soldiers left the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt. 1975, Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman were sentenced to prison. 1986, The Legend of Zelda, the first game of The Legend of Zelda series, was released in Japan on the Famicom Disk System. 1995, Steve Fossett landed in Leader, SaskatchewanCanada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

=== Bible Reading ===

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Today's reading: Leviticus 26-27, Mark 2 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Leviticus 26-27

Reward for Obedience
1 "'Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the LORD your God.
2 "'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD....

Today's New Testament reading: Mark 2

Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
1 A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven...."

=== Morning and Evening ===


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February 20: Morning
"God, that comforteth those that are cast down." - 2 Corinthians 7:6
And who comforteth like him? Go to some poor, melancholy, distressed child of God; tell him sweet promises, and whisper in his ear choice words of comfort; he is like the deaf adder, he listens not to the voice of the charmer, charm he never so wisely. He is drinking gall and wormwood, and comfort him as you may, it will be only a note or two of mournful resignation that you will get from him; you will bring forth no psalms of praise, no hallelujahs, no joyful sonnets. But let God come to his child, let him lift up his countenance, and the mourner's eyes glisten with hope. Do you not hear him sing--

"'Tis paradise, if thou art here;
If thou depart, 'tis hell?"

You could not have cheered him: but the Lord has done it; "He is the God of all comfort." There is no balm in Gilead, but there is balm in God. There is no physician among the creatures, but the Creator is Jehovah-rophi. It is marvellous how one sweet word of God will make whole songs for Christians. One word of God is like a piece of gold, and the Christian is the gold beater, and can hammer that promise out for whole weeks. So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not sit down in despair. Go to the Comforter, and ask him to give thee consolation. Thou art a poor dry well. You have heard it said, that when a pump is dry, you must pour water down it first of all, and then you will get water, and so, Christian, when thou art dry, go to God, ask him to shed abroad his joy in thy heart, and then thy joy shall be full. Do not go to earthly acquaintances, for you will find them Job's comforters after all; but go first and foremost to thy "God, that comforteth those that are cast down," and you will soon say, "In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul."
Evening
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." - Matthew 4:1

A holy character does not avert temptation--Jesus was tempted. When Satan tempts us, his sparks fall upon tinder; but in Christ's case, it was like striking sparks on water; yet the enemy continued his evil work. Now, if the devil goes on striking when there is no result, how much more will he do it when he knows what inflammable stuff our hearts are made of. Though you become greatly sanctified by the Holy Ghost, expect that the great dog of hell will bark at you still. In the haunts of men we expect to be tempted, but even seclusion will not guard us from the same trial. Jesus Christ was led away from human society into the wilderness, and was tempted of the devil. Solitude has its charms and its benefits, and may be useful in checking the lust of the eye and the pride of life; but the devil will follow us into the most lovely retreats. Do not suppose that it is only the worldly-minded who have dreadful thoughts and blasphemous temptations, for even spiritual-minded persons endure the same; and in the holiest position we may suffer the darkest temptation. The utmost consecration of spirit will not insure you against Satanic temptation. Christ was consecrated through and through. It was his meat and drink to do the will of him that sent him: and yet he was tempted! Your hearts may glow with a seraphic flame of love to Jesus, and yet the devil will try to bring you down to Laodicean lukewarmness. If you will tell me when God permits a Christian to lay aside his armour, I will tell you when Satan has left off temptation. Like the old knights in war time, we must sleep with helmet and breastplate buckled on, for the arch-deceiver will seize our first unguarded hour to make us his prey. The Lord keep us watchful in all seasons, and give us a final escape from the jaw of the lion and the paw of the bear.

=== Bible Quote ===

=== Message ===

===

I am a decent man and don't care for the abuse given me. I created a video raising awareness of anti police feeling among western communities. I chose the senseless killing of Nicola Cotton, a Louisiana policewoman who joined post Katrina, to highlight the issue. I did this in order to get an income after having been illegally blacklisted from work in NSW for being a whistleblower. I have not done anything wrong. Local council appointees refused to endorse my work, so I did it for free. Youtube's Adsence refused to allow me to profit from their marketing it. Meanwhile, I am hostage to abysmal political leadership and hopeless journalists. My shopfront has opened on Facebook.

===

I am publishing a book called Bread of Life: January.

Bread of Life is a daily bible quote with a layman's understanding of the meaning. I give one quote for each day, and also a series of personal stories illustrating key concepts eg Who is God? What is a miracle? Why is there tragedy?


January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc (Gofundme finished the fund raiser, 2017)

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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August, September, October, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4 The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows a free kindle version.


The Amazon Author Page for David Ball

UK .. http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01683ZOWG

French .. http://www.amazon.fr/-/e/B01683ZOWG

Japan .. http://www.amazon.co.jp/-/e/B01683ZOWG

German .. http://www.amazon.de/-/e/B01683ZOWG

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Other Stuff

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I'm now on MAGAbook to sidestep FB censorship

https://www.magabook.com/register?invite=11673951025fadd3f055eca4.00045664

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I'm looking for former students to endorse me

https://www.superprof.com.au/write-recommendation-13371374-1cc2cf0f56166c9b04ad4097fc7d0b67.html

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