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Waltzing Along posted:It's starting to look like Tokyo is going to take a bath when it comes to the olympics. Sucks because of any country they are one of the ones that would have done it best. Other than the crappy weather. budgets just seem to find a way to explode in any country hosting the Olympics in the past 20-30 years, it's such a coincidence how that keeps happening. to me the absolute shock is trying to bring any foreign tourists in for the Olympics as of right now. the J-League and NPB showed they can do outdoors sports without too much of an issue, but even they had problems enforcing the "no loud cheering" and social distance rules at times (hello, Urawa Reds fans). now trying to enforce those rules on foreigners who don't speak Japanese? Probably impossible. the vaccines can't get here quickly enough.
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Dec 26, 2020 12:07
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If the Olympics actually happen, AND there are still restrictions for overseas visitors, maybe I can actually get a ticket to an event, instead of settling for being so close I can hear the cheering from my apartment, but I didn't get the website to load in the 3 seconds tickets were available -- as was the plan for 2020. Wait, what am I saying? There's plenty of time to cock this up in the next 7 months.
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Dec 26, 2020 13:18
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The company doing those Mario Kart rentals in Tokyo got sued by Nintendo a while ago, and NHK is now reporting that Nintendo won the lawsuit yesterday, with damages of 50 million yen (roughly $500,000 USD). https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20201225/k10012784791000.html
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Dec 26, 2020 16:00
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Spoggerific posted:The company doing those Mario Kart rentals in Tokyo got sued by Nintendo a while ago, and NHK is now reporting that Nintendo won the lawsuit yesterday, with damages of 50 million yen (roughly $500,000 USD). Lol ouch those guys are ridiculously hosed. Already shut down as I recall, even trying to make a gofundme or some analog to stay afloat, which failed miserably, and now hit with this. Gotta suspect that they’re ultimately not coming out ahead, though maybe they took in enough while operating that it was worth it.
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Dec 26, 2020 16:15
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i'd be curious to see their books and see how the internet influencer sausage is made e: im making the assumption that their advertising might have included paying instragram people
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Dec 26, 2020 20:05
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LimburgLimbo posted:Lol ouch those guys are ridiculously hosed. Already shut down as I recall, even trying to make a gofundme or some analog to stay afloat, which failed miserably, and now hit with this. Gotta suspect that they’re ultimately not coming out ahead, though maybe they took in enough while operating that it was worth it. I'm guessing they made way, way more than that while they were running. It was around for several years, and they expanded a lot with additional tours and even in Osaka. Costs should be pretty low: some staff, go-kart maintenance/buying new ones every once in a while, a bit of overhead. Crowdfunding is no indication of financial distress: it's easy to exploit, basically free, and you can use it for marketing purposes too. An awful lot of places have just put their hands out with an appeal to pity thanks for corona.
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Dec 26, 2020 23:08
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zmcnulty posted:I'm guessing they made way, way more than that while they were running. It was around for several years, and they expanded a lot with additional tours and even in Osaka. Costs should be pretty low: some staff, go-kart maintenance/buying new ones every once in a while, a bit of overhead. Yeah you’re right; I later started to think about how much they must have taken in, and I didn’t even know they expanded. Moreover I guess they’ll just be right back at it once things open up and only closed temporarily. I do wonder how significant their legal fees were besides the actual settlement, as I thought that case was in the works for a long time. Also when looking at what they actually charged I saw for the first time that apparently they gave 2000 yen discount for a positive review, which is a drat good incentive. Also why they had so many high reviews despite it seeming half the time I saw the groups it was people sitting in traffic looking bored.
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Dec 27, 2020 01:47
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If memory serves they also tried their crowdfunding campaign on a very Japan-specific platform despite being almost 100% foreign tourist-focused which seems like a real own-goal. Meanwhile no non-residents will be allowed in until the end of January thanks to the UK mutation making its way back to Japan. Looks like the two-week quarantine is fully back too.
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Dec 27, 2020 02:27
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Yep, always seemed like just a cash grab, and they got truly pathetic amounts of money. https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/260521 Edit: I think the may not be the first/main one though? There were a few I think and maybe indeed timing wise some got hosed by Corona by getting hit before they could make back their initial investment. LimburgLimbo fucked around with this message at 03:18 on Dec 27, 2020 |
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Dec 27, 2020 02:43
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It was pretty obvious even before this that I wouldn’t make my May trip but I hit the cancel button today. Still hard to do, mentally, given that I will have missed two years in a row but .. I’d rather be alive to go when it does open up again  Really curious to see what they’ll do with the Olympics now. Even with the vaccine, I can’t imagine any way in hell this goes well.
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Dec 27, 2020 03:07
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Martytoof posted:It was pretty obvious even before this that I wouldn’t make my May trip but I hit the cancel button today. Still hard to do, mentally, given that I will have missed two years in a row but .. I’d rather be alive to go when it does open up again Nothing solid has come yet but the news articles I saw suggested February for first vaccinations (medical workers, etc) and March for local governments starting to vaccinate residents. And Japan has already locked in contracts with Pfizer and Moderna, and I doubt they’ll be as dumb or cruel as the Trump administration has proven to be. That said, the publicly stated goal is still foreign tourists for the Olympics...being traced by a smartphone app. If you’ve lived or visited here you know how many questions and issues that will raise.
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Dec 27, 2020 03:14
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It was going to be a clusterfuck without covid, if they do go ahead with it next year it'll be an absolutely incredible gently caress of all the clusters.
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Dec 27, 2020 03:51
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Martytoof posted:It was pretty obvious even before this that I wouldn’t make my May trip but I hit the cancel button today. Still hard to do, mentally, given that I will have missed two years in a row but .. I’d rather be alive to go when it does open up again I'm guessing they are going to allow the athletes and other needed people in. And then require 2 weeks of quarantine. Which means no practice for the athletes. Oh well. I mean, they might not do this but it's the logical way to run things. And it will benefit Japanese athletes which the home country always tries to do in one way or another.
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Dec 27, 2020 07:38
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Walking in front of those people as they sat stopped at a light near Kanda station, dressed like Yoshi, our eyes would meet and they would have a look of “why did I agree to do this” and “holy poo poo this is cold” on their faces usually Kind of surprised that it was ever legal and that no one ever got smushed by a truck running a red light or something in their tiny little gokarts Corny rear end poo poo for tourists but hey whatever makes you happy I guess right Also there’s no loving way in hell they’re cancelling the olympics
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Dec 27, 2020 22:20
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After all the money the government sunk into getting Tokyo ready for the Olympics, I don't them canceling it yeah. It'll probably keep getting kicked to different dates until its safe/they can bullshit their way into pretending its safe.
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Dec 27, 2020 22:54
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I was talked into it before I knew it was universally disliked by the locals. It was an experience for sure, but I spent all my time trying not to get creamed by little vans and buses. I had to run a red light to make sure my group didn’t leave me behind. Even if it survives AND wasn’t disliked by the locals I still wouldn’t recommend it, or go back for a second kick at the can.
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Dec 27, 2020 22:57
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Thanks for reminding me of: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h57UR-oIE_g
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Dec 28, 2020 02:05
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Archer666 posted:After all the money the government sunk into getting Tokyo ready for the Olympics, I don't them canceling it yeah. It'll probably keep getting kicked to different dates until its safe/they can bullshit their way into pretending its safe. I also feel like the Olympics in Japan has a level of cultural cachet that would be unfamiliar to other developed countries. Rightly or wrongly, the 1964 Olympics is seen as emblematic of a real turning point and high-water mark for Japan in the world at large, signifying their re-entry into the global community after WW2 as well as the Japanese 'economic miracle' where it was a bad year when they weren't hitting 10% GDP growth. I don't doubt there were some pretty big pipe dreams that the 2020 Olympics could achieve a similar (if more modest) reinvigoration of the Japanese economy, which has been effectively stagnant for almost 30 straight years.
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Dec 28, 2020 13:28
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Jeza posted:I also feel like the Olympics in Japan has a level of cultural cachet that would be unfamiliar to other developed countries. Rightly or wrongly, the 1964 Olympics is seen as emblematic of a real turning point and high-water mark for Japan in the world at large, signifying their re-entry into the global community after WW2 as well as the Japanese 'economic miracle' where it was a bad year when they weren't hitting 10% GDP growth. Out of profound curiosity, who have you spoken to in Japan that feels this way about the Olympics?
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Dec 28, 2020 13:34
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Stringent posted:Out of profound curiosity, who have you spoken to in Japan that feels this way about the Olympics? Old people, and also that weird contingent of weird Japanese hippies who talk a lot about Japan as the nation of 'peace'. But I can't honestly say I go around talking about ancient Olympic games history often. But you can feel free to find a million thinkpieces written over the decades picking apart the legacy of the games in a way you won't find for any other.
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Dec 28, 2020 13:46
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I'm not going to get into the "Knower of Japanese Popular Opinion" game, but I would be willing to bet that nobody I know is even remotely aware that Japan hosted the Olympics in '64 or would care if informed.
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Dec 28, 2020 13:55
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That reminds me though, I came across a thread a few days ago that brought up some stuff I wasn't familiar with. I'm not sure I buy all of his conclusions, but a lot of his descriptions seem accurate enough: https://twitter.com/ontakahashi/status/1341536183252262913?s=21
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Dec 28, 2020 14:05
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Stringent posted:I'm not going to get into the "Knower of Japanese Popular Opinion" game, but I would be willing to bet that nobody I know is even remotely aware that Japan hosted the Olympics in '64 or would care if informed. I'd be surprised if the majority were wholly unaware, but it's not a big stretch to suggest most people don't give two shits about things that happened decades before they were born. My point isn't that Japan looooves the Olympics, signs point otherwise tbh, but more that the 1964 Olympics are considered a pretty seminal point in Japan's modern history in terms of building soft power/global image and infrastructure. For that reason Japan has gunned pretty hard to host international events since.
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Dec 28, 2020 14:15
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Jeza posted:I'd be surprised if the majority were wholly unaware, but it's not a big stretch to suggest most people don't give two shits about things that happened decades before they were born. My point isn't that Japan looooves the Olympics, signs point otherwise tbh, but more that the 1964 Olympics are considered a pretty seminal point in Japan's modern history in terms of building soft power/global image and infrastructure. For that reason Japan has gunned pretty hard to host international events since. You seem to be confusing some bad blog posts and (maybe) some 80 year old politicians with Japan?
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Dec 28, 2020 14:36
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Stringent posted:You seem to be confusing some bad blog posts and (maybe) some 80 year old politicians with Japan? Don't extrapolate your personal ignorance to an entire country.
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Dec 28, 2020 14:56
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Stringent posted:I'm not going to get into the "Knower of Japanese Popular Opinion" game, but I would be willing to bet that nobody I know is even remotely aware that Japan hosted the Olympics in '64 or would care if informed. every older person (many) i've ever met has brought up anton geesink and the 64 olympics, your personal experiences are as good as anyone's
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Dec 28, 2020 15:05
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Ok, gonna dial this back to the original sin.Jeza posted:I also feel like the Olympics in Japan has a level of cultural cachet that would be unfamiliar to other developed countries. This is weapons grade bullshit, and if I was dumb enough to broach it to the Japanese ppl I interact with regularly they'd be rightfully contemptuous and possibly even offended by it. Whether or not some weird rear end old ppl think pushing the Olympics ahead in the middle of a pandemic is going to do something to Japan's GDP isn't something I feel qualified to speculate on.
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Dec 28, 2020 15:11
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Since I said the thing that caused all the yelling I feel the need to intervene. I heard Tokyo has good ramen, what’s a good ramen place in Tokyo?? Which karaage is better, lawsons or family mart??
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Dec 28, 2020 15:13
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Lol at thinking bringing up food will reduce the Stringent meltdown count instead of increasing it
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Dec 28, 2020 15:40
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Stringent posted:Whether or not some weird rear end old ppl think pushing the Olympics ahead in the middle of a pandemic is going to do something to Japan's GDP isn't something I feel qualified to speculate on. in a way the Olympics here (whether hosting or not) reminds me of the media/mainstream cultural obsession with UNESCO World Heritage recognition in Japan, both coming from a place with a massive chip on the shoulder to try and prove its worth and value on the world stage. whether that's inherently in the fabric of a national culture or just the demands of some 70 and 80-somethings in politics, TV and Dentsu is up to your own decisions. [edit] for the record I'm most worried about allowing tourists in from overseas for the Olympics, because whatever understanding of doing the right thing keeping the COVID floodgates closed here would be absolutely gone if thousands of people came from all around the world during a global pandemic. the J-League and NPB games throughout the summer and fall proved you can get people into stadiums here (I didn't see any clusters due to fans being at games in any reporting), so if that's the worry, the ticket balloting in Japan also proved there's demand to go see Olympic events. NBC needs its summer TV programming so I'm convinced the Olympics will go forward. harperdc fucked around with this message at 15:46 on Dec 28, 2020 |
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Dec 28, 2020 15:43
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harperdc posted:whether that's inherently in the fabric of a national culture or just the demands of some 70 and 80-somethings in politics, TV and Dentsu is up to your own decisions. Is it? I'm not sure what a "fabric of a national culture" is, much less how to assess it, but I don't think anyone I interact with in my neighborhood gives a fraction of a gently caress about how the Olympics are going to affect Japan's international standing.
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Dec 28, 2020 16:02
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Also wasn't there a fear that Japans/Tokyo infrastructure might not be able to handle the giant influx of Olympics tourists? Its speculation on my part, but I can't help but be worried about that mixed in with COVID worries that the tourists may bring making a horrible mess even worse..
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Dec 28, 2020 16:08
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I don't get the Olympics hate. At this point athletes should all be able to get vaccinated before the games. Maybe Japan has to provide vaccines for some countries who.don't have a deal with Pfizer or Moderna. As for tourists well that's another problem but Olympics can go on without them.
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Dec 28, 2020 16:22
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teddust posted:I don't get the Olympics hate. At this point athletes should all be able to get vaccinated before the games. Maybe Japan has to provide vaccines for some countries who.don't have a deal with Pfizer or Moderna. As for tourists well that's another problem but Olympics can go on without them. the olympics are just a source of corruption and grandiosity and waste
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Dec 28, 2020 16:34
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It's not a question of you and your mates down the izakaya setting the world to rights, I was only offering another perspective on why Japan pushed to have the Olympics in the first place, and why they will probably continue pushing to have it regardless despite potential dangers. It's not 'contemptuous' or 'offensive' to suggest that the 1964 Olympics was a bigger deal in Japan than many realise and had a lasting impact that is not apparent in most places the Olympics has been held.
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Dec 28, 2020 16:46
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teddust posted:I don't get the Olympics hate. At this point athletes should all be able to get vaccinated before the games. Maybe Japan has to provide vaccines for some countries who.don't have a deal with Pfizer or Moderna. As for tourists well that's another problem but Olympics can go on without them. They should be able to at least require proof of vaccination for any tourist wanting to come in for the olympics, no?
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Dec 28, 2020 19:07
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Jeza posted:It's not a question of you and your mates down the izakaya setting the world to rights, I was only offering another perspective on why Japan pushed to have the Olympics in the first place, and why they will probably continue pushing to have it regardless despite potential dangers. It's not 'contemptuous' or 'offensive' to suggest that the 1964 Olympics was a bigger deal in Japan than many realise and had a lasting impact that is not apparent in most places the Olympics has been held. As someone who disagrees with stringent about just about everything I’m gonna step in and say that Japanese people don’t give a gently caress about the 2020 Olympics and also the 1964 Olympics. This is based on every Japanese person I talk to every day in my family and at work, and also on the TV news when they talk about how incredibly unpopular the Tokyo Olympics are.
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Dec 28, 2020 19:24
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sale on Banksy art posted:As someone who disagrees with stringent about just about everything I’m gonna step in and say that Japanese people don’t give a gently caress about the 2020 Olympics and also the 1964 Olympics. Slipped in the mess of replies I did mention that the Olympics isn't popular now, but I was never saying that most people are in love with the Olympics or something, just that the '64 Olympics was really influential and is typically acknowledged to be so. For something to cast a long shadow on a country culturally or otherwise, it doesn't need to be popularly recognised or cared about by the general populace 60 years later. For the UK where I'm from, something like the Suez Canal Crisis was a pivotal and influential moment in our modern history and 95% of people have probably never heard of it and less know what it was about.
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Dec 28, 2020 20:03
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They seem to be further restricting entry again, unsurprisingly https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page22e_000921.html quote:On December 26, 2020, the Government of Japan announced the suspension of the Phased Measure for Resuming Cross-Border Travel based on the decision on September 25, 2020, which enabled entry into Japan from all countries and regions from October 1, 2020. This suspension will be implemented from December 28, 2020 till the end of January 2021. However, the entry into Japan of the holders of the visas already issued under this Measure will be basically permitted (except for (1) those who have stayed in the United Kingdom or South Africa within 14 days before arriving in Japan, and (2) those who intend to enter Japan after 0:00 am (Japan Standard Time) on January 4, 2021, having stayed in countries and regions categorized as level 3 (Avoid All Travel) of MOFA’s Travel Advice and Warning on Infectious Diseases within 14 days before arriving in Japan) until the end of January 2021.
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Dec 29, 2020 03:24
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RIP to all the JETs who quit their jobs and paid hundreds of dollars for Covid tests.
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Dec 29, 2020 03:31
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