USCE Summer 2022: You can't change the crisis settings.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE Summer 2022: You can't change the crisis settings.

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Randalor: Sep 4, 2011

-Blackadder- posted:

No doubt all those R's that voted "Nay" have a good explanation for their decision. All the luck to them in fitting that explanation into a sound byte while they're getting drilled with "Republicans don't think you should be allowed to buy condoms", over and over in their midterm races.

"States Rights". That's all they need to say for their chud base.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 19:38

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# ? May 25, 2024 17:39

Queering Wheel: Jun 18, 2011

Herstory Begins Now posted:

It's weird seeing dems forcing republicans to actually vote on stuff

That's not really new, though. A lot of good poo poo has passed the House and most of the Rs have always voted no on it.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 19:53

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Hey, friends. Small programming note.

I mostly took the mod position after turning it down several times to try and influence the direction of this thread a little more and not hand out probes. I can't change any of the rules in D&D, but I did get permission from the other mods to try a change in the enforcement policy of some of the D&D rules for this thread.

I plan to have a light touch in modding. My goal is to reduce the number probes and reports from this thread and increase the amount of debate and discussion. I can't control every other mod or report, but most of them have read my suggestions and agreed to them.

To that end, here's some of the changes I got the other mods to agree to and a short explanation of my thoughts behind them:

- I'm going to keep the enforcement of "subjective" rule violations (such as "white noise" or "stale" posting) as low as humanly possible.

I know one of the bigger complaints is that people feel like the "subjective" rules aren't applied evenly and I feel like giving leeway and warning on the subjective ones will help reduce that a little. It's much easier to be consistent when you lean towards promoting a discussion rather than trying for maximum enforcement. If someone just makes one "white noise" post and it isn't disrupting or derailing the thread, then just let them be. Try to hold your reports for people who are doing it frequently and/or making it hard for others to actually read or participate and don't report people for their opinions.

- I'm going to try and just give people a heads up if they are breaking some of the minor rules instead of a probe.

I noticed a few new people who came into the thread wanting to post links and discuss, but they didn't provide any context to the link. I asked them to please provide a short description and they did. But, I know some people get upset because they have been hit with a probe for doing that without a warning. I don't want any new people to feel turned off from posting if their first post gets hit. I also think that giving a public heads up will make expectations clear for everyone and keep the unfair enforcement or unexpected punishment issue down too.

So far, the only person I have ever probed is myself and it would be great to keep it that way. I want to keep a lighter hand because it sucks for people to feel like they need to walk on eggshells or that moderating is capricious. This thread is supposed to be about keeping up with current events, learning about public policy, and comedy.

Just be cool to each other, share some exciting or funny news, be factually accurate, and have fun. If anyone feels unwelcome for any reason, then feel free to PM me. I am a middle-aged person with a full-time job and partner, so I am not going to always respond immediately, but I will respond. And I know that Koos and the other mods are willing and able to respond to PMs.

Leon Trotsky 2012 fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Jul 21, 2022

# ? Jul 21, 2022 20:25

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

Best of luck Leon, those sound like good first principles.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 20:30

-Blackadder-: Jan 2, 2007; Game....Blouses.

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Hey, friends. Small programming note.

I mostly took the mod position after turning it down several times to try and influence the direction of this thread a little more...

Always found your posts informative and compelling, especially liked the recent revelations on crime data and the successful homeless initiative in Texas. Hope to see more!

# ? Jul 21, 2022 20:48

Killer robot: Sep 6, 2010; I was having the most wonderful dream. I think you were in it!; Pillbug

Herstory Begins Now posted:

It's weird seeing dems forcing republicans to actually vote on stuff

They started doing that as soon as they took the house in 2019. By the 2020 election I forget how big the stack was of House bills Mitch wouldn't even put on the Senate calendar, even the ones that had bipartisan support in the House, but it was huge.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 21:04

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

The FCC made the announcement on this last week, but they finally issued the order today.

This will dramatically tamp down the auto warranty spam calls, but they will likely reassemble at some point and have to get squashed again. Requiring carriers to manually block the ports will make it a lot more expensive and annoying for the spam callers, but VOIP is so cheap that it probably won't be a huge burden.

The blessing and curse of VOIP and advancements in telecom technology mean they have eliminated the need for roaming charges and the huge costs of international calls, but it is dirt cheap to buy a block of hundreds of numbers from anywhere in the world and call people.

The FCC says this is a first step and that they are unmasking all the callers and the fake numbers they bought to spoof local calls in order for carriers to block all of them. Carriers are also liable now if they let them slip through. This is a pretty big escalation (which is honestly not that hard, because the FCC has basically done nothing about it since 2018) from the last ~5 years.

No word on when/if they are going after spam SMS or text messages, though.

https://twitter.com/b_fung/status/1550208487065636864

# ? Jul 21, 2022 21:07

Lib and let die: Aug 26, 2004

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

The FCC made the announcement on this last week, but they finally issued the order today.

This will dramatically tamp down the auto warranty spam calls, but they will likely reassemble at some point and have to get squashed again. Requiring carriers to manually block the ports will make it a lot more expensive and annoying for the spam callers, but VOIP is so cheap that it probably won't be a huge burden.

The blessing and curse of VOIP and advancements in telecom technology mean they have eliminated the need for roaming charges and the huge costs of international calls, but it is dirt cheap to buy a block of hundreds of numbers from anywhere in the world and call people.

The FCC says this is a first step and that they are unmasking all the callers and the fake numbers they bought to spoof local calls in order for carriers to block all of them. Carriers are also liable now if they let them slip through. This is a pretty big escalation (which is honestly not that hard, because the FCC has basically done nothing about it since 2018) from the last ~5 years.

No word on when/if they are going after spam SMS or text messages, though.

https://twitter.com/b_fung/status/1550208487065636864

Used to be you had to be knowledgeable enough to commit toll fraud to get away with something like this. Now RingCentral will throw whatever you want at you for a month as a "first hit's free" demo. SBC's in particular have almost single-handedly killed off OG toll fraud though.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 21:19

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

DHS just announced they have opened a criminal investigation into the Secret Service for "accidentally" deleting their text messages and backups from January 6th.

They are also ordering the Secret Service to immediately stop their own internal review because of concerns that the Secret Service could end up getting rid of more evidence while they review.

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1550196850157813761

quote:

DHS inspector general opens criminal probe into deleted Secret Service texts

The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has turned the inquiry into the Secret Service deleted text messages into a criminal investigation, three sources familiar with the situation confirmed to ABC News Thursday.

The inspector general sent a letter to the Secret Service Wednesday night telling the agency to halt any internal investigations until the criminal probe has been wrapped up.

The inspector general's office did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.

News of the probe came hours before the House Jan. 6 committee was set to hold a prime-time hearing at which it was expected the deleted texts would be addressed, amid questions about they could shed light on the actions of then-President Donald Trump.

It is unclear whether this criminal investigation would result in a referral to the Justice department but the inspector general wants the Secret Service to halt its internal review.

"The Secret Service is in receipt of the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General's letter," a Secret Service spokesperson told ABC News in a statement. "We have informed the January 6th Select Committee of the Inspector General's request and will conduct a thorough legal review to ensure we are fully cooperative with all oversight efforts and that they do not conflict with each other."

The Secret Service has said it has been cooperating with a House Jan. 6 committee subpoena and a National Archives and Records Administration inquiry, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The probe was first reported by NBC News.

The agency provided a single text exchange to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general investigating the agency's record-keeping, according to an agency letter to the House Jan. 6 committee obtained by ABC News on Wednesday, and the Jan. 6 committee suggested they broke federal records keeping laws.

"Four House committees had already sought these critical records from the Department of Homeland Security before the records were apparently lost," the committee said in statement. "Additionally, the procedure for preserving content prior to this purge appears to have been contrary to federal records retention requirements and may represent a possible violation of the Federal Records Act."

In December, the agency sent out communications to employees on how to upload digital files on their local devices if they are government records, according to a source familiar with the Secret Service migration process.

If the files were specific to the definition, employees were instructed to upload them prior to the migration, and the source said employees that did not do that, the content was likely lost when the phones were factory reset to implement the new wireless system. Individuals did not manually go on to the devices and delete content. That was done remotely by the agency, the source said.

There was also a second notification in early January advising employees prior to the start of the migration which occurred later in the month, the source said.

# ? Jul 21, 2022 21:19

Herstory Begins Now: Aug 5, 2003; SOME REALLY TEDIOUS DUMB SHIT THAT SUCKS ASS TO READ ->>

For anyone curious, DHS IG is a trump appointee (from 2019) with a phd from a diploma mill but otherwise appears to be generally above board and has previous experience running high profile IG offices. He previously launched investigations into former DHS head Chad Wolf and other trumpists back when DHS was being used as Trump's personal security force. Appears to be relatively on the institutionalist end of the spectrum afaict?

# ? Jul 21, 2022 21:37

Chemtrailologist: Jul 8, 2007

Since been deleted, but were looking at the Freudian Slip of the year.

This was in response to a Jan 6 witness.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 02:05

WAR CRIME GIGOLO: Oct 3, 2012; The Hague
tryna get me
for these glutes

We are 5 minutes from fascism and the Republicans have detonated the GOP. It's going to be a civil war. This is a correction of historical fact by deep state Republicans.

What I really mean is the trump GOP is so leakey of an organization and so desperate to court allies it has literally turned itself into a giant Jenga tower.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 03:36

Silly Burrito: Nov 27, 2007; SET A COURSE FOR
THE FLAVOR QUADRANT

How in the HELL did we allow polio to come back?

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1550213297751920643?s=20&t=U6lIZDR-WMAfcMGlUx-L3g

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1550181572724277251?s=20&t=U6lIZDR-WMAfcMGlUx-L3g

Like the link above says, I thought we eradicated it back in 1979.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 04:31

Heck Yes! Loam!: Nov 15, 2004; a rich, friable soil containing a relatively equal mixture of sand and silt and a somewhat smaller proportion of clay.

Silly Burrito posted:

How in the HELL did we allow polio to come back?

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1550213297751920643?s=20&t=U6lIZDR-WMAfcMGlUx-L3g

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1550181572724277251?s=20&t=U6lIZDR-WMAfcMGlUx-L3g

Like the link above says, I thought we eradicated it back in 1979.

Eradicated locally. We didn't eliminate it globally. People haven't been vaccinating for polio for a while if I recall correctly. Hopefully it doesn't become a thing again, but it seems unlikely.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 04:33

Scuffy_1989: Jul 3, 2022

Silly Burrito posted:

How in the HELL did we allow polio to come back?

https://twitter.com/washingtonpost/status/1550213297751920643?s=20&t=U6lIZDR-WMAfcMGlUx-L3g

https://twitter.com/AP/status/1550181572724277251?s=20&t=U6lIZDR-WMAfcMGlUx-L3g

Like the link above says, I thought we eradicated it back in 1979.

Read the article. Are Polio vaccines not kosher?

WP posted:

Polio is a very contagious, life-threatening viral disease that causes permanent paralysis in people who are not fully vaccinated in about 5 out of every 1,000 cases. Most of the U.S. population has protection against the disease because they were vaccinated during childhood. But in areas with low vaccination coverage, such as the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Rockland County, people who are not vaccinated are at high risk. There is no treatment for polio, but vaccination prevents the disease.

...

The Rockland County man lives in a community that has historically been under-vaccinated and was the epicenter of the measles outbreak in 2019, according to public health officials who spoke on the condition on anonymity.

Basically an unvaccinated Orthodox Jewish man traveled to Hungary and caught the virus from someone there who had taken an oral-Polio Vaccine, a type that is no longer used in the United States.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 04:40

Silly Burrito: Nov 27, 2007; SET A COURSE FOR
THE FLAVOR QUADRANT

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

Eradicated locally. We didn't eliminate it globally. People haven't been vaccinating for polio for a while if I recall correctly. Hopefully it doesn't become a thing again, but it seems unlikely.

I honestly thought it was eradicated globally back then. And after the last two years, anything is possible.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 04:45

Happiness Commando: Feb 1, 2002; $$ joy at gunpoint $$

Scuffy_1989 posted:

Read the article. Are Polio vaccines not kosher?

To paint with a wide brush, ultraorthodox Jews are analagous to fundamentalist Christians

# ? Jul 22, 2022 04:45

Craig K: Nov 10, 2016; puck

yeah it's eradicated in america, but worldwide there's pockets of anti-polio-vaccine people that use the same playbook as anti-covid-vaxx people here leading to small clusters of polio floating around where occasionally once in a while they show up in wastewater

# ? Jul 22, 2022 05:37

Oracle: Oct 9, 2004

Heck Yes! Loam! posted:

Eradicated locally. We didn't eliminate it globally. People haven't been vaccinating for polio for a while if I recall correctly. Hopefully it doesn't become a thing again, but it seems unlikely.

I think you�re confusing smallpox and polio. Kids still get polio vaccinations as a matter of course.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 05:48

VideoGameVet: May 14, 2005; It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion. It is by the juice of Java that pedaling acquires speed, the teeth acquire stains, stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my bike in motion.

Scuffy_1989 posted:

Read the article. Are Polio vaccines not kosher?

Basically an unvaccinated Orthodox Jewish man traveled to Hungary and caught the virus from someone there who had taken an oral-Polio Vaccine, a type that is no longer used in the United States.

That's kinda ironic when you consider who first came up with the Polio Vaccine:

[quote[The first effective polio vaccine was developed in 1952 by Jonas Salk and a team at the University of Pittsburgh that included Julius Youngner, Byron Bennett, L. James Lewis, and Lorraine Friedman, which required years of subsequent testing[/quote]

Trivia, when the University of California, San Diego recruited Salk to join their research institute the president of the University had to deliver a "poo poo or get off the pot" to the leadership of La Jolla, which was restricted at the time (no Jews allowed to buy real estate). They relented.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 06:04

Star Man: Jun 1, 2008; There's a star maaaaaan
Over the rainbow

Silly Burrito posted:

How in the HELL did we allow polio to come back?

Like the link above says, I thought we eradicated it back in 1979.

Anti-Western sentiment is what stopped the UN short of its goal of eradicating polio by 2000. The conspiracy theory is that the polio vaccine is given to Muslims to make them infertile.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 07:04

Twincityhacker: Feb 18, 2011

Also the CIA used Hepitis-B medical teams as cover to find Osama bin Laden. They ran DNA tests on the used needles to make sure that his extended family was in a particular location.

So people in Pakistan from the goverment on down are skeptical of vaccination drives as a cover up for something else the Western powers are plotting.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 07:49

BiggerBoat: Sep 26, 2007; Don't you tell me my business again.

Actual video and audio recordings = heresay

...

I mean heresy.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 13:29

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

I have to respect Fetterman's commitment to the bit on this one.

Bill Pascrell - the Congressman who represents the North Jersey district where Dr. Oz's mansion and legal residence until late 2020 is located - has officially nominated Dr. Oz for a spot in the New Jersey Hall of Fame.

The requirements to be nominated are:

quote:

Nominees must have a contribution in one of five categories: General, Enterprise, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, and Historical. With only rare exceptions, nominees must have resided in New Jersey for a period of at least five years.

The New Jersey Hall of Fame appoints 100 people (20 experts from each category) to nominate inductees. Only those 100 people can nominate new candidates, and Bill Pascrell is one of the 100 experts nominated by the board, so Dr. Oz is actually officially nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame class of 2022.

https://twitter.com/PascrellforNJ/status/1550228745113460738

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:21

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

This is a great bit

I still don�t understand why Oz wants to be a Senator of all things, at his age and after making hundreds of millions shilling for lovely diet pills

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:37

Madkal: Feb 11, 2008; Fallen Rib

FlamingLiberal posted:

This is a great bit

I still don’t understand why Oz wants to be a Senator of all things, at his age and after making hundreds of millions shilling for lovely diet pills

Ego. All for his ego. Same reason a dipshit like Trump would run for president.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:40

projecthalaxy: Dec 27, 2008; Yes hello it is I Kurt's Secret Son

Has anyone ever become a senator for good reasons? It seems unlikely.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:42

Kalli: Jun 2, 2001

I mean the dude's worth ~$100m. Access to the ultimate insider trading network seems like the easiest way to turn that into $300m.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:43

Lib and let die: Aug 26, 2004

projecthalaxy posted:

Has anyone ever become a senator for good reasons? It seems unlikely.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:43

FlamingLiberal: Jan 18, 2009; Would you like to play a game?

Madkal posted:

Ego. All for his ego. Same reason a dipshit like Trump would run for president.

Yeah I�m sure it�s that simple, unfortunately

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:46

Kalit: Nov 6, 2006; The great thing about the thousands of slaughtered Palestinian children is that they can't pull away when you fondle them or sniff their hair.

That's a Biden success story.

projecthalaxy posted:

Has anyone ever become a senator for good reasons? It seems unlikely.

Few and far between. Off the top of my head for current senators, maybe Bernie Sanders?

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:54

Kaal: May 22, 2002; through thousands of posts in D&D over a decade, I now believe I know what I'm talking about. if I post forcefully and confidently, I can convince others that is true. no one sees through my facade.

Oregon's senators are objectively great. Step it up, America.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:58

Oracle: Oct 9, 2004

Kalit posted:

Few and far between. Off the top of my head for current senators, maybe Bernie Sanders?

Harry Reid was good. Paul Simon from IL was good.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 14:59

Leon Trotsky 2012: Aug 27, 2009; YOU CAN TRUST ME!*

_{*Israeli Government-affiliated poster}

Oracle posted:

Harry Reid was good. Paul Simon from IL was good.

Are you talking about "good" Senators or people who became Senators for "good" reasons? You can argue Paul Simon was a good Senator, but the main reason he ended up a Senator is because he lost his campaign for Governor.

Harry Reid ran for Congress (and then Senate) because people kept trying to kill him with car bombs when he was the Nevada Gaming Commissioner. I don't know if that is a "good" reason to become a Senator in a moral/philosophical sense, but it is definitely the best reason to become a Senator that I can think of.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 15:04

Oracle: Oct 9, 2004

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Are you talking about "good" Senators or people who became Senators for "good" reasons? You can argue Paul Simon was a good Senator, but the main reason he ended up a Senator is because he lost his campaign for Governor.

That's rather reductive. He became a senator for the same reason he ran for Governor: he wanted to enact positive change in people's lives. And he pretty unanimously did.

quote:

Harry Reid ran for Congress (and then Senate) because people kept trying to kill him with car bombs when he was the Nevada Gaming Commissioner. I don't know if that is a "good" reason to become a Senator in a moral/philosophical sense, but it is definitely the best reason to become a Senator that I can think of.

I will brook no questioning of Senator Batman.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 15:09

projecthalaxy: Dec 27, 2008; Yes hello it is I Kurt's Secret Son

Leon Trotsky 2012 posted:

Are you talking about "good" Senators or people who became Senators for "good" reasons? You can argue Paul Simon was a good Senator, but the main reason he ended up a Senator is because he lost his campaign for Governor.

Harry Reid ran for Congress (and then Senate) because people kept trying to kill him with car bombs when he was the Nevada Gaming Commissioner. I don't know if that is a "good" reason to become a Senator in a moral/philosophical sense, but it is definitely the best reason to become a Senator that I can think of.

Yeah that's more what I meant. People talk about Dr. Oz becoming a senator for his Ego, or previously like Sinema to collect bribes or whatever, so I was wondering what the Good motive for becoming a senator is and if it's ever worked. Like maybe I'm just too cynical but it seems like someone who's like Mr. Smith Goes to Washington here to Fight for the Little Guy will both 1. be corrupted by the grind and backdoor deals needed to become senator and 2. not be allowed into the smoky rooms needed.

Like I'd love to think like Fetterman is a good guy doing good things but who knows man.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 15:10

Xombie: May 22, 2004; Soul Thrashing
Black Sorcery

Kelly Loeffler pretty nakedly became a senator just so she could get insider trading info, and in fact got caught doing it. She never showed any interest in policy in any way, shape, or form. Never even showed an actual consistent personal or political identity other than "I like money".

This probably describes most senators, but there are people like Fetterman who have an extremely focused interest in government policy. He's gone above and beyond to actually affect how government works in PA, particularly on the issue of prisoners' rights.

The problem is that you get people like Sinema who kind of start out this way but then actually get into the Senate and find out how loving rich you can get off of it, so they shed that and become a ghoul instead.

Xombie fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Jul 22, 2022

# ? Jul 22, 2022 17:17

DeathSandwich: Apr 24, 2008; I fucking hate puzzles.

Star Man posted:

Anti-Western sentiment is what stopped the UN short of its goal of eradicating polio by 2000. The conspiracy theory is that the polio vaccine is given to Muslims to make them infertile.

I mean, wasn't that around the time when that was literally happening?

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2013-01-27/ty-article/.premium/ethiopians-fooled-into-birth-control/0000017f-f512-d044-adff-f7fb92c30000

It's less of a conspiracy theory when that was the lived experiences of a group of people in the region.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 17:19

Star Man: Jun 1, 2008; There's a star maaaaaan
Over the rainbow

DeathSandwich posted:

I mean, wasn't that around the time when that was literally happening?

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2013-01-27/ty-article/.premium/ethiopians-fooled-into-birth-control/0000017f-f512-d044-adff-f7fb92c30000

It's less of a conspiracy theory when that was the lived experiences of a group of people in the region.

It wouldn't surprise me. I only knew about the side of it with polio, but I would not out it past Israel to be sterilizing women at the same time they were getting vaccinated for polio.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 17:26

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# ? May 25, 2024 17:39

Gumball Gumption: Jan 7, 2012

DeathSandwich posted:

I mean, wasn't that around the time when that was literally happening?

https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2013-01-27/ty-article/.premium/ethiopians-fooled-into-birth-control/0000017f-f512-d044-adff-f7fb92c30000

It's less of a conspiracy theory when that was the lived experiences of a group of people in the region.

Yes. Anti-western sentiment is an uncharitable way to describe people who are reasonably worried because Western organizations have used vaccines as a cover multiple times for covert operations.

# ? Jul 22, 2022 18:08

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > USCE Summer 2022: You can't change the crisis settings.

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