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The Critical Role of Water Mapping in Achieving Water Security
By Anisha Hassan
China is one of the largest countries in the world —a land full of wonders and advancements. The country hosts almost a fifth of the entire world population but when it comes to fresh water, it only holds 7% of it. Things are bad in Northern China where the population is high but water resources are low. While southern China has adequate lakes and ponds, they are not properly sanitized to be used as drinking water. All of these add up to China's current situation where fresh sanitized drinking water is a luxury and a privilege.
While there are numerous organizations willing to lend a helping hand, the lack of data and perception has been a big barrier to supplying clean water in all parts of the country. This is when MyH2O's journey begin.
Photo from MyH2O
The Story of My H2O
Founder and director Xiaoyuan "Charlene" Ren got the idea of MyH2O from a class on Innovation in Water and Sanitation while she was a first year Tata Fellow during her graduate studies at MIT. While delving into water projects and eventually focusing on her roots in China, she saw the lack of a proper system. A lot of decisions there are unguided because of shortage of data, and there is a lack of necessary information to make a collaborative database which could support the community. These shortcomings raised questions, which eventually developed into one of the most professional online crowdsourcing networks in China, MyH2O.
MyH2O (myH2O.org) started its journey in 2014 to raise awareness of the importance of sanitized water and the diseases and risks it can prevent. This non-profit organization fights the problem of data shortages and mapping. The growing network is full of professionals who have a vision to collect water quality information and surveys and eventually aid in providing the right resources to those in need.
MyH2O has received support from National Geographic Air and Water Conservation Fund and Alibaba Foundation, and has also received the 2016 Echoing Green Fellowship.
Mapping Waters
MyH2O aims to successfully collect data points across semi-rural and rural China to be able to provide water solutions. It creates a nationwide water testing network and showcases the information and data on a platform that is easily accessible to the general public. With the data in hand, it becomes easier to connect those with solutions to the ones in need of them. While they sometimes reach out to other organizations to disseminate their data, they also showcase information from other organizations. The more data is made available, the faster impacts are created.
A Long Line of Challenges
Their first challenge was acceptance. The whole idea of MyH2O was not fully accepted by rural China. While it is very crucial understanding the risks related with contaminated water, it is also very sensitive. It was also very easy to misunderstand and misinterpret information by those who do not have the proper knowledge.
Another challenge was creating impact. MyH2O's vision is to help link solutions and organizations to the core of the problem and make the chain come together.
People not responding to or accepting help was also a challenge. There have been cases of people knowingly consuming impure water, but not accepting it for they will be looked down upon if people ever found out. Insufficient help has also been a cause, where farmers have accepted clean water for their animals first, and not their own families, given that the animals bear income.
According to Ren, it is true that simply the data itself is not enough to create an impact, but it is so critical to the appropriate solutions. Without the data, no organization can work either. So it has to be the perfect balance of expertise and data in order to lead to solutions.
Linking the Solutions to the Issues
MyH2O sees itself not only as data providers, but as solution connectors. There are plenty organizations. There are those dealing with water arsenic levels and there are those working for sanitation and other issues. The problem is that these organizations do not always reach the places where the issues lie.
MyH2O's goal is to connect organizations that have the proper resources and understanding of water, to these data and information. Once areas are located and marked, it is only a matter of time before help arrives. So MyH2O does not only provide information, but also helps to use the data and implement solutions.
Reaching out to the Locals
MyH2O trains the locals and school children every season so they can perform water testing themselves. They are taught to use professional tools used for water mapping. This also helps the locals see for themselves the impurity of water which they could not see with the naked eye.
Impacts Created
The MyH2O network consists of over 30 teams, who have covered around 2000 water sources in 300-400 villages in China. The students trained through this program are also considered a major impact, for they can take these knowledge and techniques and further improve the country's future water scenario.
Businesses treating water qualities or providing water purification products are also benefited since they can know where exactly to aim their products and where to put their efforts and funds.
Future Endeavours
"We want to do this. We want to hold together all the people and put their visions on water sanitation out there. They can be an artist or a doctor or a social scientist. We want this correlation, to make these stories and data available. To make a collaboration platform to talk about the rural environment. It can be water, soil, air, and so much more. We want to make a hub for these information and become a nodal organization," Ren shared.
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Clifford guilty of indecent assaults
PR guru Max Clifford was yesterday found guilty of a string of indecent assaults on teenage girls in the first conviction under sex crime inquiry Operation Yewtree.
Tue, 29 Apr, 2014 - 01:00
Margaret Davis and David Wilcock
The 71-year-old celebrity publicist was convicted of eight indecent assaults and cleared of two at Southwark Crown Court, with the jury unable to reach a verdict on one other count.
Clifford had repeatedly denied the claims branding his accusers "fantasists".
The verdicts were given by the forewoman of the jury on its eighth day of deliberations.
Clifford sat still in the dock as his fate was revealed, breathing deeply as he listened through a hearing loop. The media expert then walked out of the courtroom with friends and supporters in silence, one of them patting him on the shoulder.
He was released on bail until his sentencing on Friday, but Judge Anthony Leonard warned him that he may face jail. "You must realise that the fact I have given you bail is no indication of what the final sentence will be," he said.
The court heard from a string of women who testified about Clifford's behaviour, romping naked in his New Bond St office.
Prosecutors had portrayed him as a well-practiced manipulator, who promised to boost his victims' careers and get them to meet celebrities in exchange for sexual favours.
He offered to get them casting appointments, pretending to be Hollywood bigwigs including Steven Spielberg, Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, and Michael Winner on the phone, and bizarrely bragged about having a tiny penis.
Victims included one girl who said Clifford abused her on a number of occasions after he met her family on holiday in Spain in 1977 when she was 15.
She claimed he would come round to her house, impressing her parents and speaking about how he could make her a star, before molesting her in his car.
Another alleged victim, who was an extra in the film Octopussy, claimed she was targeted at Clifford's office in 1981 or 1982, aged 19.
The jury could not reach a verdict on a count involving a woman who claimed Clifford groped her in his car in 1966.
He was cleared of another two allegations, one woman who said she was pushed up against a wall in his offices when he groped her and kissed her in 1975, and another who claimed she was groped in a taxi in 1978.
Clifford spoke only briefly to journalists as he left court. "I have been told by my lawyers not to say anything at all," he said.
Spotlight on size of publicist's manhood
By Ellen Branagh and Margaret Davis
For someone who has spent years exposing some of the most intimate parts of people's lives, little did Max Clifford know one of his own most personal details — the size of his manhood — would become a focal point of his trial.
The publicist's court case became dominated by a subject likely to make any man feel uncomfortable as the exact size of his penis was given to the court in an attempt to dismiss evidence from women who claimed he bragged that it was "tiny" as he indecently assaulted them.
Some claims described Clifford, 71, who denied all the charges, as having a "micro-penis" measuring two-and-a-half inches, while one woman said that the PR guru was "enormous".
The issue was eventually resolved after a doctor confirmed the exact length of the media magnate's manhood as an "average" five-and-a-quarter inches "when flaccid", but not without discussions about the subject becoming a key part of proceedings.
One woman called as a witness at Southwark Crown Court claimed she went to a film audition at Clifford's office when she was 19, where he exposed himself and told her: "Look at my penis. Isn't it tiny? What can I do with this?"
Giving evidence, the woman said he exposed himself and held his penis in his hand before criticising its size, asking "How can I satisfy a woman with this?", while other evidence alleged the PR consultant took his trousers down, saying "Is this the smallest one you've ever seen?" during an indecent assault.
The measurement by a doctor came as part of Clifford's lawyers' battle to dismiss the women's claims, proving his penis was neither tiny nor enormous, just "average".
The expert's results proved, claimed Clifford's barrister, Richard Horwell QC, that he was "certainly not freakishly small and certainly not enormous". Clifford himself said he had always judged himself to be "average", saying:
"I haven't really compared it, but average I would think... No one ever said to me that I've got a small penis or a large penis. "Based on everything I've seen in changing rooms, you're with men, I would have thought the same, average."
The subject sparked several moments of levity amid a raft of serious allegations against Clifford. As one woman who claimed Clifford was well- endowed admitted
"I have a small mouth. I do, my dentist has always said...", judge Anthony Leonard QC was forced to send the giggling jury out of the courtroom to calm down. He told them: "It is inevitable in a case dealing with this sort of graphic detail that members of the jury want to burst out laughing. "I can remember a very boring court case and we — I wasn't a judge then — became helpless with laughter and the judge had tears in his eyes and it took over 25 minutes to recover.
"But we have got to remember that this is a court of law and we are dealing with serious allegations, and, in fairness to the witness and the rest of the court, you have got to learn not to react to what's happening. Can I ask you to settle down and remember where you are?"
As the king of scandal, Clifford was not immune to the irony of his own intimate details being revealed to the world. At one point, he sparked a laugh himself, declaring: "I have heard more conversations about my penis in the last three weeks than in the last 70 years."
And as they summed up their cases, the topic remained a focus for both the prosecution and defence barristers. Clifford's lawyer Mr Horwell pointed out that the measurements of the pensioner's penis showed it was "within average range for a Caucasian male of Mr Clifford's age", adding:
"In all probability it could have reduced a little in size over the last 30 years."
But prosecutor Rosina Cottage said "inconsistencies" about its size had been used by the defence to "deflect" from important evidence, telling jurors: "What was said about his penis and what he did with it is what's important, not the size." Whatever the outcome of the trial, Clifford can be sure that all those involved — and most of the British public — will have an enduring memory of one particular aspect of the case, and not one it is likely he could have predicted.
Life lived in the glare of publicity for poacher turned gamekeeper
By Margaret Davis
Veteran celebrity agent Max Clifford has enjoyed a career behind the headlines for decades, bringing much desired and less welcome publicity into the lives of household names.
As a PR expert he represented celebrities including pop mogul Simon Cowell, reality TV star Jade Goody and boxer Muhammad Ali.
He also brokered deals with the tabloids for kiss-and-tell stories such as Antonia de Sancha's affair with David Mellor, Tracy Temple's fling with John Prescott and actor Jude Law's tryst with nanny Daisy Wright.
The youngest of four children, Clifford, who left school at 15 with no qualifications, trained as a journalist after he was sacked from his first job as a shop assistant in a department store.
He went on to work for EMI in 1962, where he was tasked with promoting acts including the Beatles, before branching out on his own and setting up Max Clifford Associates in 1970. Clifford's extensive contacts in Fleet Street — he described himself as "often poacher and gamekeeper at the same time" — meant he was increasingly turned to as a commentator on matters involving the media.
When aged celebrities began being arrested on suspicion of sex crimes 18 months ago, Clifford took to the radio claiming that former household names were "frightened to death" of falling under suspicion.
Operation Yewtree was launched in October 2012 by Scotland Yard after Jimmy Savile was finally exposed as a prolific paedophile in an ITV documentary. Days after the inquiry started, Clifford appeared on LBC and said in the 1960s and 1970s some stars "never asked for anybody's birth certificate".
He said: "All kinds of things went on and I do mean young girls throwing themselves at them in their dressing rooms at concert halls, at gigs, whatever. They never asked for anybody's birth certificate and they were young lads ... suddenly everyone's dream was a reality."
He added: "We are talking about a lot of people that were huge names in the 60s and 70s and a lot of them barely remember what they did last week, genuinely. For them to try and recount what happened in a dressing room in 1965 or 1968 or 1972, genuinely they are frightened to death," he said.
The father of one, now 71, has also shown his softer side, helping to raise millions of euro for charities and helping care for his daughter Louise, who was diagnosed with arthritis aged six.
Her mother Liz died from cancer in 2003, and Clifford himself has suffered from the disease, but he only revealed he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer after his treatment had finished. He remarried in 2010, tying the knot with his former PA Jo Westwood.
more courts articles
Hammer-wielding man threatens 'to get' ex partner and her family
Munster abuse trial: Parents jailed for 'appalling' sexual abuse of their children
Waterford man who killed his father in 'after-hours row' jailed for four years
CourtsPlace: New Bond StPlace: SpainPerson: CliffordPerson: Max CliffordPerson: JudgePerson: Anthony LeonardPerson: Steven SpielbergPerson: Albert "Cubby" BroccoliPerson: Michael WinnerPerson: Ellen BranaghPerson: Margaret DavisPerson: Richard HorwellPerson: QCOrganisation: Southwark Crown CourtOrganisation: Hollywood
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Parts of Ramses II statue found in southern Egypt
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt says archaeologists have discovered parts of a statue of one of its most famous pharaohs in the southern city of Aswan.
The Antiquities Ministry said Tuesday the head and chest of the statue of Ramses II were found in the Temple of Kom Ombo during a project to protect the site from groundwater.
Egypt hopes the find, along with other recent discoveries, will help revive its tourism sector, which has been battered by years of unrest since the 2011 uprising.
Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, ruled Egypt from 1279 B.C. to 1213 B.C. He is credited with expanding Egypt's reach as far as modern Syria to the east and Sudan to the south.
Heritage items discovered in site for mosque
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World News Middle East Art & Culture Egypt History Middle East Culture Archaeology


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Report says government 'shortsightedness' over Brexit could lead to long-term export slump for UK business
A report has suggested UK businesses could be hit with a long-term export slump after Brexit; Aaron Chown/PA Wire - Credit: PA
A report has found that government 'shortsightedness' over Brexit could lead to a long-term export slump for UK businesses.
The findings, made by the National Audit Office - which audits parliament spending, shows government departments lack a long-term plan for Britain's export market after Brexit.
MPs who have read the study said the Department for International Trade (DIT) was more concerned about securing 'short-term gains' and needed to make sure it supported small firms as well as big ones.
Head of the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Meg Hillier, a Labour MP, described the DIT as being 'too geared towards banking 'quick wins' at the expense of demonstrating steady progress towards the government's long-term goals.'
She added: '[The] DIT wants to focus even more of its resources on supporting larger companies - it must make sure it doesn't leave smaller, innovative businesses behind.
'Now, more than ever, these small businesses need support to help get the economy going again.'
The NAO study also questioned the value of the government's 2018 stated aim to increase exports from 30% to 35% of GDP.
The organisation stated: 'The lack of a timeframe for the ambition and the existence of other factors that can affect export growth, some of which are outside of government's control, make it difficult to hold DIT accountable for its progress.'
It praised the department's attempts to improve data quality on British exports but said more could be done.
'[The NAO} needs good data to identify which of the 5.9 million UK businesses already export or have the potential to do so.
'To make the best use of its resources, DIT plans to target its bespoke support at larger businesses and to direct smaller businesses to its digital services. However, a recent DIT survey of its clients suggests that some services on its website are not meeting the needs of some UK businesses.'
The report then urges the DIT to work more closely with the credit agency, UK Export Finance (UKEF), to keep up momentum.
Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: 'DIT has made a good start in developing a strategy and the arrangements it needs to support export growth, and UKEF has expanded its offer of export finance to support UK businesses.
'To increase exports and boost UK productivity and growth, DIT and UKEF must work closely together and across government to ensure efforts and resources are focused in the regions and sectors where there are the greatest opportunities to support UK businesses.'
UKEF supported exports to 72 countries in 2018-19 with 80% of the value of these exports concentrated in five countries.
The report mentioned that UKEF 'relies on DIT staff' to help identify potential customers and suggests increasing UKEF overseas staff while training DIT staff on financial matters to avoid a shortfall in expert knowledge of financial markets.
A DIT spokesman said: 'We will continue to support UK businesses across a range of sectors to export to all parts of the world, by focusing on securing longer-term opportunities as well as working hard to boost trade and investment in the short-term.
'We will do whatever it takes to ensure businesses can access the right tools, finance and in-market expertise to succeed on the global stage.'
In 2019, the UK exported £701 billion of goods and services abroad.


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Base raises $6.8m from Index and others for cross-platform CRM, sales tracking tool
by Robin Wauters — in Insider
Business contact management and sales tracking software maker Base (operated by US-based Future Simple) has raised $6.8 million in Series B funding in a round led by Index Ventures. The financing round was joined by Social+Capital, a fund established by former Facebook VP Chamath Palihapitiya, as well as previous investors OCA Ventures and the I2A fund.
Base secured the capital after growing the user base for its cross-platform CRM software by more than 500 percent since the beginning of this year.
Early birds get all the good stuff
Like a great price on TNW2020 tickets
Future Simple / Base CEO Uzi Shmilovici says enterprise contact management and sales monitoring software is evolving fast, and that the end game is to have vital business data available to users on any device, at any time, anywhere they are.
Base is shooting for that kind of ubiquity by building mobile, tablet and desktop applications (for Android, iOS, Mac, Windows and soon, Windows Phone).
By focusing on the mobility of its users, as well as trying hard to provide a seamless user experience across devices, Shmilovici argues that Base solves pain points for hosts of business users worldwide.
Future Simple was founded in 2009 and is based in Chicago. The company has raised roughly $8 million to date.
Read next: US wary of security threats as China Mobile waits on operator licensing decision


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Home » Siam and Patani in the Post-World War II Period: Nation-building and Malay Identity
Siam and Patani in the Post-World War II Period: Nation-building and Malay Identity
Aphornsuvan, Thanet
Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories;2007, p33
A chapter from the book "Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories" is presented. It discusses nation-building and Malay identity after World War II. Refering to the 1932 constitutional monarchy, it notes the events leading to the formation of the People's Party which included four Muslims from Bangkok. Also discussed are the Thai nationalism campaign of Field Marshal Phibun in 1938, the policy of forced integration and militarism, and the rise of Malay Muslim struggle for rights and justice under the Patani Malay Movement.
Siam and Patani in the Post-World War II Period: The "Haji Sulong Rebellion.". Aphornsuvan, Thanet // Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories;2007, p46
A chapter from the book "Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories" is presented. Before emerging as the leading political figure for Malay Muslims in the time of independence, Haji Sulong spent 20 years as a student in the Middle East where his first nationalistic ideology was...
Siam and Patani in the Old World: Contending Histories. Aphornsuvan, Thanet // Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories;2007, p11
A chapter from the book "Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories" is presented. It presents the contending histories of Siam and Patani in the Old World. Despite general Thai knowledge that Malay Muslims occupy the southernmost provinces of Patani, Yala, Narathiwat, and Satun, it...
Phibunsongkhram, Luang 1897-1964. Coppa, Frank J. // Encyclopedia of Modern Dictators;2006, p238
An encyclopedia entry for "Luang Phibunsongkhram" is presented. This man who was born Plaek Khittasangkha in a small village in Siam attended Siam's Royal Military Academy in Bangkok, Thailand. He was dispatched to France for further military training in 1924 and returning home in 1927....
Conclusion. Aphornsuvan, Thanet // Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories;2007, p58
A chapter from the book "Rebellion in Southern Thailand: Contending Histories" is presented. It contends that reconciling Siam-Patani histories is difficult. It suggests that it can be achieved by understanding the origins of rivalries and conflicts between the two states and interpreting it in...
Flight of the Thunderbird. // Time;9/30/1957, Vol. 70 Issue 14, p31
The article focuses on the exile of Dictator Plaek Pibulsonggram from Thailand to Cambodia, led by Army Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat, who was then settled as the new leader of Thailand. It states that the Thai infantrymen of Sarit had taken position and cracked the First Division and ordered...
New Directions. // Time;8/26/1957, Vol. 70 Issue 9, p27
The article focuses on the state visit South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem to Thailand. It states that though Diem still take U.S. money by the millions, he take less U.S. advices such as not using the phrase anticommunism in any of his speeches in Thailand. According to Diem reappraisal of...
The Inside Man. // Time;9/23/1957, Vol. 70 Issue 13, p26
The article features Army Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat and Police Chief Phao Sriyanond who are cronies of Thai Premier Plaek Pibulsonggram. It mentions that Sarit is satisfied on leading the army and seeing that their supplies and equipment are met by his commercial firms. Meanwhile, it states...
ROLE OF AL-IMAM IN MALAY TRANSFORMATION UNTIL 1941. Fiah, Ahmad Faisal Mohd // International Proceedings of Economics Development & Research;2011, Vol. 5 Issue 1, p408
In Malaysia (known as Malaya or Federation of Malay States before 1963), Malay people can be considered as indigenous. Malaya had been colonized for more than 400 years since the colonization of Portuguese in 1511. At one time, some of the scholars especially the colonials described Malay as...
AN INTERVIEW WITH DR. HJ. ZAINI AHMAD, KUALA LUMPUR, 1985. Reece, Bob // Borneo Research Bulletin;2008, Vol. 39, p91
An interview with Dr. HJ. Zaini Ahmad, executive secretary of Partai Pa' ayat Brunei (PRB), is presented. When asked about any early memories of being a Brunei Malay or any special sense of Brunei identity, he explains that he always thought of himself as a Malay nationalist, but never...


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Is Scott Pruitt the most homophobic member of Trump's cabinet full of deplorables?
There's a long list of homophobes to choose from in the Trump administration, but EPA chief Scott Pruitt may be at the top.
By John Gallagher Monday, March 5, 2018
Scott PruittPhoto: AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
There's a long list of homophobes to choose from in the Trump administration. There's Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who never met a gay person he didn't want to punish. There's Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, who thinks gay people have a lot in common with pedophiles. Add in Betsy DeVos, Ryan Zinke and Rick Perry, and you have an embarrassment of anti-LGBT riches. Or at least an embarrassment.
Not to be left out is Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt. As the former Attorney General of Oklahoma, Pruitt worked hard to burnish his anti-gay creds, opposing marriage equality and the rights of transgender students. At the EPA, Pruitt, who gives every appearance of being in the pocket of industry, has spent his time denying the existence of climate change.
But a newly revealed radio interview that Pruitt gave back in 2005 shows that homophobia has never been far from his sights. Moreover, the tape shows that climate denial and anti-LGBT sentiment are part of the same far-right Christian philosophy.
In the interview surfaced by Politico, Pruitt complained that "minority religions" were elbowing Christianity out of "the public square" and that evolution was a theory "more from a philosophical standpoint than a scientific standpoint." He also says he believes that his "inalienable" right to own a gun comes directly from God.
But in the interview, Pruitt also endorses the idea of a Constitutional convention, which would allow states to put forth their own amendments. Under this idea, much loved by conservatives, if two-thirds of state legislatures approve of an amendment, it becomes part of the Constitution.
The conventions are necessary, in their view, because of court rulings like those allowing marriage equality.
"I think the most grievous threat that we have today is this imperialistic judiciary, this judicial monarchy that has it wrong on what the First Amendment's about and has an objective to create religious sterility in the public square, which is wholly inconsistent with the Founding Fathers' view," Pruitt warned.
If the rights of religious conservatives like him aren't protected, Pruitt said darkly, "it leads to anarchy, it leads to rebellion," something he said would happen in the coming decades.
None of Pruitt's comments are surprising, since he used to be a Baptist deacon and a trustee of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. And Pruitt has never exactly hidden his views. He posted links to the interviews on his campaign website when he ran for Attorney General. The EPA didn't respond to Politico's request to find if Pruitt has changed his beliefs. Which is pretty much proof he hasn't.
But the tapes are another indication that Trump, despite his professed love for the LGBT community, has outsourced the work of governing to a band of homophobes. The only question is which one is the worst. Pruitt is certainly working hard to win that title.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Ben Carson, Betsy DeVos, Marriage Equality, Rick Perry, Ryan Zinke, Scott Pruitt, Trump administration, Trump cabinet
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