Links 13/01/2025: Conflicts, Prisoner Exchange, and Homes on Fire
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Leftovers
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New York Times ☛ Writing Fantasy Came Naturally. Reality Was Far More Daunting.
After winning just about every major science fiction and fantasy award, Nnedi Okorafor explores a traumatic event in her own history in her most autobiographical novel yet.
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Ruben Schade ☛ My Wedgewood Egypt mug
We haven’t done a mug post in a while. This is my Wedgewood Stamps from Afar: Egypt mug, made in England no less:
In the words of 10cc, is was a present from my mother. She and I had always intended to do all the tourist stuff around Egypt, alongside going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. We shared in so much of this stuff when I was a kid, and they’re among my most treasured memories.
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Ruben Schade ☛ Où Est Le Soleil?
Today’s Music Monday features one of Paul McCarney’s sillier tunes that’s an absolute early 1990s earworm:
[...]
As quoted in the Paul McCartney Project:
“A very wacky thing where we decided to make something up…Trevor said ‘Have you got anything for one of the verses?’ I said ‘Well I’ve got this really silly idea…’, which is like just some French words that say ‘Ou est le soleil? Dans la tete. Travaillez.’ Those are the complete lyrics…So we’ve got this silly French dance track now, which I love!
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New Yorker ☛ The Liberated Life of Colman Domingo
The actor discusses the West Philly musicians that inspired his style; the rejection that nearly made him quit show business; and the experience of making “Sing Sing” with former members of a prison theatre troupe.
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Science
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Science Alert ☛ Weighted Vests Are Making a Comeback – But Do They Really Work?
An exercise scientist weighs it up.
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Science Alert ☛ Researchers Have Found a Way to Help Erase Bad Memories
The science of forgetting.
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Science Alert ☛ Shockingly Common Injury Linked With Increased Risk of Dementia
An early warning?
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Science Alert ☛ Earliest Evolutionary Arms Race Found in Tiny Humble Shells
Evolve or be eaten.
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Science Alert ☛ Ancient Mummies With Golden Tongues Revealed in Stunning Discovery
How else do you speak to the gods?
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Hardware
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CNX Software ☛ NXP MCX L14x and MCX L25x ultra-low-power Cortex-M33 MCUs target energy harvesting and battery-powered devices
NXP Semiconductors has launched the MCX L series of ultra-low-power Arm Cortex-M33 MCUs with the MCX L14x and MCX L25x SKUs. The new series offers similar peripherals as the rest of the MCX portfolio but uses a new “power management architecture that supports always-on, battery-powered applications” The MCX L series uses a dual domain architecture, with “real-time processing and ultra-low-power sensing functions in a single device.”
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Ruben Schade ☛ Part four: Installing an SSD in our PlayStation 3 Slim
This is the next in my increasingly inaccurate “three part” blog post series on the PlayStation 3, Clara’s and my favourite HD console.
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CNX Software ☛ GuRu’s modular wireless power transfer system can power a drone indefinitely
California-based company GuRu Wireless has recently developed and showcased a scalable and modular wireless power transfer system that is capable of delivering power to a high-power device up to several kilowatts, such as a drone, from up to 30 feet away (a little over 9 meters). They also mention that the system can power low-power devices, like LEDs and consumer electronics, over distances of several kilometers.
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Hackaday ☛ Usagi’s PDP-11 Supercomputer And Appeal For Floating Point Systems Info
With an exciting new year of retrocomputing ahead for [David Lovett] over at the Usagi Electric YouTube channel, recently some new hardware arrived at the farm. Specifically hardware from a company called Floating Point Systems (FPS), whose systems provide computing features to assist e.g. a minicomputer like [David]’s PDP-11/44 system with floating point operations. The goal here is to use a stack of 1980s-era FPS hardware to give the PDP-11/44 MIMD (multiple instructions, multiple data) computing features, which is a characteristic associated with supercomputers.
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Health/Nutrition/Agriculture
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University of Michigan ☛ Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital named top performer in 2025 US News Maternity Care Rankings
University of Michigan Health Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital has been named one of the nation’s top-performing facilities for maternity care in the U.S. News and World Report’s 2025 rankings.
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The Straits Times ☛ Vietnam emerges as global durian powerhouse with export value reaching $4.5b
This success is largely attributed to strong demand from China.
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Entrapment (Microsoft GitHub)
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Kev Quirk ☛ Automatically Pulling Multiple Repos From Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub on Mac [Ed: Proprietary catastrophe, being captive of GAFAM instead of doing actual development]
I have a number of Microsoft's proprietary prison GitHub repositories on my Mac and I wanted a way to auto-pull them on a regular basis.
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Security
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SANS ☛ Wireshark 4.4.3 Released, (Sat, Jan 11th)
Wireshark release 4.4.3 fixes 0 vulnerabilities and 8 bugs.
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SANS ☛ Multi-OLE, (Sun, Jan 12th)
VBA macros and embedded files/objects are stored as OLE files inside OOXML files.
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Silicon Angle ☛ Apple devices at risk after security researcher hacks ACE3 USB-C controller
Apple Inc. users are facing new security risks after a security researcher successfully hacked Apple’s proprietary ACE3 USB-C controller, a critical component responsible for managing charging and data transfer on Apple’s latest devices.
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Defence/Aggression
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The Strategist ☛ Limited quarantine is China’s likely first move in subduing Taiwan
The West had better think carefully about how it would handle China imposing a nominally civil quarantine on Taiwan, because that’s the tactic that increasingly looks like an opening move [...]
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France24 ☛ Sudan: Rapid Support Forces leader confirms 'lost' Wad Madani
Sudanese paramilitary leader Mohamed Hamdan Daglo said Saturday his Rapid Support Forces had 'lost' key Al-Jazira state capital Wad Madani, as the military and allied armed groups entered the city after more than a year of paramilitary control.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ BREAKING: Hong Kong pollster under investigation over allegedly assisting fugitive – reports
Hong Kong pollster Robert Chung has been taken in for questioning on suspicion of assisting a fugitive, according to local media reports. The office of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (HKPORI) was also searched by national security police on Monday morning, according to a HKFP reporter on the scene.
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New York Times ☛ Kristi Noem Sent Troops to Border, but Not to Flood Victims in South Dakota
President-elect Donald J. Trump picked the South Dakota governor to head the Homeland Security Department, which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
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The Straits Times ☛ Japan PM Ishiba tells Biden of ‘strong’ concerns over blocked steel deal
Citing national security concerns, Mr Biden put a stop to the US$14.9 billion (S$20.43 billion) sale.
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New York Times ☛ Israeli Security Chiefs Join Critical Talks for a Cease-Fire in Gaza
Pressure is on to reach a deal that would see Hamas release at least some hostages before President-elect Donald J. Trump takes office.
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France24 ☛ Top Israeli security delegation in Doha for Gaza talks
A top level Israeli security delegation arrived in Qatar on January 12 for talks on a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, a spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in a possible sign of so-far elusive agreements nearing. France 24's Rob Parsons gives us his analysis.
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JURIST ☛ South Korea presidential security service chief resigns
South Korea’s acting president Choi Sang Mok on Friday accepted the resignation of the head of the Presidential Security Service (PSS). The PSS head, Park Jong Joon, submitted his resignation shortly before appearing for questioning in response to a third summons investigation obstruction of official duties.
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The Straits Times ☛ South Korea, Japan foreign ministers to meet amid political turmoil in Seoul
SEOUL - The foreign ministers of South Korea and Japan will hold talks in the South Korean capital on Monday, as the key U.S. allies seek to underscore improved ties and shared security concerns amid the worst political crisis in decades in Seoul.
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France24 ☛ Haiti 15 years after 7.0 quake: 'The whole world suffered with us'
Fifteen years after the devastating earthquake, Haiti continues to grapple with severe instability as gang violence and political paralysis threaten its future. At the time, 'the whole world suffered with us,' recalls Jean-Marie Théodat, Director of the Geography Department at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
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The Straits Times ☛ S. Korea’s Yoon will not attend first impeachment hearing: Lawyer
The suspended President will be absent because of safety concerns, his lawyer said.
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The Straits Times ☛ Suspended S. Korean leader Yoon gets annual salary raise
Despite being suspended from power, he remains eligible for the salary.
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The Straits Times ☛ Malaysian PM Anwar denies hiding document on Najib’s home detention
Anwar says the document was sent to the attorney-general and not to him.
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The Straits Times ☛ China’s ‘monster’ ship back in disputed waters, says Philippines
It is the second time in January that the Philippines has challenged the China Coast Guard vessel.
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The Strategist ☛ India’s defence industry is benefiting from cooperation with France
India’s defence industry is benefiting from the country’s switch away from Russia and towards France for weapons acquisition.
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France24 ☛ Saudi Arabia calls for Syria sanctions relief as Arab, EU diplomats gather in Riyadh
Saudi Arabia said Sunday it was time to lift sanctions on Syria as it hosted talks between key diplomats from the Middle East and Europe focused on reestablishing stability in the war-torn country following the fall of Bashar al-Assad.
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RFERL ☛ Key Trump Adviser Blasts Iran At Paris Opposition Gathering
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's incoming special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, while attending an Iranian opposition event in Paris, called for the return of “maximum pressure” against Tehran to push it to allow more democracy and to cease support for extremist elements in the Middle East.
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JURIST ☛ US President Biden grants nearly 1 million immigrants status extensions ahead of Trump inauguration
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Friday that it has extended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for El Salvador, Ukraine, Sudan, and Venezuela, granting 937,000 nationals from these countries an additional 18 months of immigration protection under the TPS program.
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Meduza ☛ Trump and Putin to hold phone call ‘in coming days and weeks,’ U.S. national security advisor nominee says — Meduza
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NYPost ☛ ‘Make Fentanylware (TikTok) wonderful again’: Kevin O’Leary explains his plan to save the social control media platform
"Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary is partnering up with another investor in a bid to save Fentanylware (TikTok) and hopes China and the Supreme Court will allow them to make it "wonderful again."
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Russia, Belarus, and War in Ukraine
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Ukraine willing to swap North Korean captives: Zelenskyy
The offer comes after Ukraine releases video of two Koreans reportedly captured in Russia.
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France24 ☛ Zelensky offers to return captured North Korean troops in exchange for Ukrainian POWs
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he was willing to hand over two captured soldiers from North Korea back to their home country in exchange for the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russia.
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RFERL ☛ Fresh Protests Erupt In Romania Over Canceled Presidential Election
Thousands of people rallied in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on January 12 to protest the December annulment of the presidential election in which right-wing, pro-Russian candidate Calin Georgescu won the first round.
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France24 ☛ Germany battles to secure stricken 'Russian shadow fleet' oil tanker
Germany was battling on January 11 to secure a heavily loaded tanker stranded off its northern coast, towing the stricken ship that it said was part of Russia's sanctions-busting "shadow fleet" away from shore to avert an oil spill.
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Meduza ☛ Zelensky proposes exchanging North Korean POWs for Ukrainian troops held by Russia — Meduza
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The Strategist ☛ From the bookshelf: ‘War’
Russia’s war on Ukraine, the war in the Middle East and the yawning chasm between liberal Americans and MAGA supporters defined much of the presidency of Joe Biden [...]
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RFERL ☛ Zelenskiy Says Ready To Swap Captured N. Korean Soldiers For Ukrainian Troops
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he is prepared to hand over captured North Korean soldiers to Pyongyang if reclusive leader Kim Jong Un can arrange a prisoner swap for Ukrainians held in Russia.
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Environment
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Science Alert ☛ It's Official: 2024 Declared Hottest Year on Record as World Exceeds 1.5°C
"It comes as wildfires continue to tear through Los Angeles."
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CS Monitor ☛ A woman and her dad help Calif. evacuees learn if their homes survived the fires
Vanessa Prata and her father, Aluizio, posted to an Altadena community group on Facebook (Farcebook) to say they were willing to check on the homes of people who had evacuated their property. They visited more than two dozen homes Friday and Saturday.
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Energy/Transportation/Weather
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The Straits Times ☛ Heavy continuous rain expected from Jan 15 to 18 in multiple Malaysian states
The Johor disaster management committee said the number of flood victims reached 3,449 on Jan 12.
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Hackaday ☛ Carnarvon’s Decommissioned NASA Satellite Dish Back In Service After 40 Years
Recently the 29.8 meter parabolic antenna at the Australian OTC (overseas telecommunications commission) station came back to life again after nearly forty years spent in decommissioning limbo.
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JURIST ☛ Brazil president signs offshore wind development bill into law
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a bill authorizing the development of offshore wind farms into law on Friday. The bill seeks to enhance Brazil’s energy security and stimulate investment.
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Messari Layoffs: New York-Based Crypto Exchange Cuts 15% Workforce as Part of Restructuring, Say Reports
Messari, a New York-based cryptocurrency, has reportedly reduced its workforce as part of restructuring its business. The Messari layoffs have affected full-time employees, as the company reduced 15% of its workforce. The crypto firm cut the jobs and did not renew the contracts with many contractors. With these new layoffs, US crypto companies will change their business.
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Wildlife/Nature
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Hong Kong pink dolphin numbers dwindle to a handful
The animals have been hard hit by the addition of a third runway to the city’s airport.
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New York Times ☛ Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Delays Premiere of DRM spreader Netflix Show Because of Wildfires
She asked the streaming service to push back the release of her new series, “With Love, Meghan,” which pays tribute to the beauty of Southern California.
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AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ A constitutional innovation: Never mind Hong Kong’s Basic Law, consider the context
Well, I don’t suppose that it has anything to do with me, but we now have a response to the idea that planning to veto the government’s budget was not a crime, but a legitimate constitutional recourse outlined in the Basic Law.
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ China’s women e-sports players defy sexism for love of the game
For women e-sports players in China, mastering the game is just the first hurdle to carving out a space for themselves in the male-dominated field. To compete, casually but especially professionally, they must also overcome vicious trolls, gender norms, familial expectations and limited opportunities. China has become one of the world’s largest markets for e-sports.
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Marcy Wheeler ☛ The FISA 702 Canard at the Core of Trump Debates
Surveillance contractor Peter Thiel wants to know how Americans can claim to have privacy so long as the government continues to partner with he and his Tech Bro buddies to surveil on the world.
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JURIST ☛ UN rights chief condemns Meta termination of fact-checking programs
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday criticized social control media company Meta’s decision to end fact-checking programs created to battle the spread of misinformation on social networks, stressing the “real world consequences” of unregulated online spaces. Türk cited the immense power of social control media to “fuel conflict, incite hate and threaten [...]
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Censorship/Free Speech
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NYPost ☛ The incredible, blind arrogance of the ‘fact checking’ censors
Mark Zuckerberg’s decision to end third-party fact-checking on Facebook (Farcebook) and Instagram has a lot of people losing their minds, and not just in the fact-checking industry.
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Civil Rights/Policing
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Hong Kong Free Press ☛ Hong Kong sends task force to Thailand over cases of residents trafficked to SE Asia
A dedicated Security Bureau (SB) task force has been deployed to Thailand to follow up on the dozen Hongkongers trafficked to Southeast Asian countries and forced into labour. The 12 cases were among a total of 28 requests for assistance received by the Hong Kong authorities since mid-2024, according to a government statement on Sunday.
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Internet Policy/Net Neutrality
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APNIC ☛ IP addresses through 2024
What IPv4 and IPv6 addressing in 2024 tells us about the changing nature of the network.
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Silicon Angle ☛ UK court begins hearing $1.83 billion lawsuit against Fashion Company Apple over App Store fees
Lawyers representing Fashion Company Apple Inc. will be in court Monday in the U.K. to face a class action lawsuit that alleges that the iPhone maker runs its App Store as an illegal monopoly. The lawsuit, filed back in 2021, alleges that Apple’s 30% commission on app sales is an abuse of dominance and unlawful.
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Patents
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Dennis Crouch/Patently-O ☛ Supreme Court Asked to Expand Fee Recovery in Patent Cases: Can Courts Make Attorneys Pay and What about IPR Fees??
In a newly filed petition for certiorari, DISH Network has asked the Supreme Court to resolve two important questions about attorney fee awards in patent monopoly cases: whether district courts can (1) make plaintiff's attorneys jointly liable for fee awards in exceptional cases and (2) award fees incurred during parallel Inter Partes Review (IPR) proceedings. DISH Network L.L.C. v. Dragon Intellectual Property, LLC, No. 24-726 (petition filed Jan. 8, 2025).
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Monopolies/Monopsonies
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