Tech & national security. @AEI Senior Fellow.
Washington, DC
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"Because we may not be able to deny adversaries a capable offensive AI tool, we must make them afraid to use it." My latest @TheDispatch:
thedispatch.com/article/arti…
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From a Church leader in Kabul: “The Taliban is sending letters to churches saying, ‘We know who you are and we’re coming for you.’”
Lord, have mercy.
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What if I told you China has deployed 120 million sensors around the US that can track your travel, your friendships, your habits, where you live, where you work, and 1,000 other details?
Would that scare you?
Well, @tiktok_us has more than 120 million US users.
Same thing.
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Well, since @Twitter & @jack aren’t going to label this tweet, I will:
“This tweet is a lie. First, China is holding 1M Uighurs in re-education camps for worshiping something other than the CCP. Second, ‘freedom to believe’ ≠ ‘freedom to practice.’”
In Xinjiang, all citizens enjoy the same rights. It is a completely independent choice of each citizen to believe in, or not believe in, any religion. bit.ly/342QJix
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2 weeks ago, professional tennis player #PengShuai accused a Chinese gov official of sexual misconduct. Now she cannot be found & the CCP has issued a suspect email in her name.
The regime in Beijing is evil. Not "disappointing." Not "undemocratic." Not "inadequate."
Evil.
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Honor. Lots of people talk about it. Few have it. @Liz_Cheney is one of those few.
thedispatch.com/p/liz-cheney…
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Majorities support U.S. economic and diplomatic sanctions against Russia (80%), accepting Ukrainian refugees into the United States (76%), providing additional arms and military supplies to the Ukrainian government (72%), and giving economic assistance to Ukraine (71%).
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The Chicago Council on Global Affairs completed a poll showing, “Few Signs of ‘Ukraine Fatigue’ Among American Public.” It included more than 3,000 U.S. adults across all 50 states and has a margin of sampling error of just +/- 1.8 percentage points.
thechicagocouncil.org/sites/…
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By a six-to-four ratio, Americans say the United States should support Ukraine for as long as it takes, even if American households will have to pay higher gas and food prices in consequence.
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These men knew they were likely going to die when they volunteered; but, they volunteered anyway.
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15.13)
The Battle of Mogadishu ended 27 years ago this morning. These two men, Randy Shughart & Gary Gordon, became legends. When they learned ground forces weren't going to make it to the crash site, they volunteered to insert to try to save the pilot. Let's think of them today.
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This is an important story.
“They’re making money by providing really deep insights into their user base,” says Klon Kitchen of the conservative Heritage Foundation about TikTok, the mobile app known for home-made videos. cbsn.ws/3nuCVou
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An even larger majority believes the Russian invasion will encourage China to invade Taiwan (76%).
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Nearly two-thirds think the invasion sets a precedent that other countries can launch wars for territorial gain (64%).
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1. You spy for the Chinese Government.
2. Twitter cannot do business in China, so maybe don't go there.
3. You spy for the Chinese government.
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And this support is bipartisan. For example, 78 percent of Republicans and 85 percent of Democrats said they supported “increasing economic and diplomatic sanctions on Russia.”
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Do. Not. Use. TikTok.
"@tiktok_us can circumvent security protections on @Apple and @Google app stores and uses device tracking that gives TikTok’s Beijing-based parent company ByteDance full access to user data."
news.yahoo.com/tiktok-circum…
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They also don't "own" their data, their IP, their trade secrets, or their internal communications (accord to Chinese cybersecurity/national security law).
COVID-19 is obliterating a lot of willful-ignorance and wishful thinking IRT China and that is a good thing.
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The key takeaway here is that the American people support broad assistance to Ukraine, want this help to be decisive, and understand our strategic interests in punishing Putin’s aggression.
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Step one: Set up predatory loans with corrupt officials.
Step two: Collect.
Step three: Establish strategic, duel-use facilities w/out laying a single brick.
China to take over Uganda’s Entebbe International Airport for default on debt repayment.
China has rejected Uganda's request to re-negotiate toxic clauses in the $200m loan picked six years ago for the Airport expansion.
The Airport is the only Intl Airport in the country.
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When asked about sending “additional arms and military supplies to the Ukrainian government,” 66 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of Democrats thought it was a good idea.
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A few thoughts on this video from @jaketapper with Michael Beckerman from @tiktok_us.
First, well done to Jake for asking the question and pressing. We need more of this.
Michael Sobolik
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These are the facts, and press releases knocking down “blank check” straw men don’t change them.
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Even when asked about accepting Ukrainian refugees and providing non-military economic assistance to Kyiv, most Republicans said they would support such policies (66 percent and 64 percent, respectively).
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1. Why did Trump take the CLASS docs?
2. Why did he refuse to return them?
3. Who had access to these docs while in his possession?
Talking points about "the FBI could have done this another way," ignore the fact that the need for the search was completely of Trump's own making.
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You’re catching on. We should “circle-back” to discuss this further.
Translation: I’ll never mention this to you again
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Helpful analysis from @cepa on the ROI of supporting Ukraine:
“The Ukrainian armed forces have already killed or wounded upwards of 100,000 Russian troops, half its original fighting force…”
cepa.org/article/its-costing…
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Some have commented already, but I want to officially announce that I'll be publishing a weekly newsletter with @thedispatch starting next week.
Thanks to @stephenfhayes, @JonahDispatch & everyone on their team for allowing me to join.
Here's a quick thread why I'm doing this.
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Since 2015: @UN Human Rights Commission has condemned …
Russia 12x
N. Korea 6x
US 7x
Syria 8x
China 0x
Pakistan 0x
Libya 0x
Turkey 0x
Zimbabwe 0x
*Israel 112x*
THAT is antisemitism.
HT: @JonahDispatch
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Looking forward to all of the “free speech” denunciations. Any minute now…
Trump's TRUTH Social is Shadow Banning Users Who Post About Capitol Attack, Abortion Fight: Study mediaite.com/a/upavt
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Hey @NBCNews, Manning isn't a "whistleblower." Manning is a convicted felon for leaking classified information who's sentence was commuted.
BIG difference.
NEW: Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning jailed after refusing to answer questions from a federal grand jury in Virginia. nbcnews.to/2EIZn8A
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If Christ was raised from the dead (and he was), this is the most important fact in all of human history.
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Regular Americans from across the country want to help Ukraine. It’s a small, online “elite” who are disconnected from this reality.
Great 🧵
A broad majority of Americans--left, right, and center--support continued aid to help #Ukraine️ defend itself from Russia's brutal invasion
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My wife turned around and said, “That was actually a pretty good line.”
“Actually” lol.
“They want to make a dance video with their friend. I don’t begrudge them that. But… their ignorance of the threat does nothing to diminish it,” says former intelligence officer Klon Kitchen about TikTok’s young user base. cbsn.ws/3nkfRbQ
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In this war information is a critical front. Truth and lies are equally powerful weapons (sadly).
Institutions like @nytimes need to tighten up their operations because their reckless mistakes have just scuttled critical diplomatic efforts and will cost lives.
This is shaping up to be an unmitigated debacle for the news outlets whose instinct was to run with Hamas’s version of events.
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Now that the Senate will be taking up the issue of a divestment of @tiktok_us, I'd like to help lawmakers by laying out the concerns (and correcting the record). 🧵
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And there you have it, an explicit acknowledgment that @Heritage no longer leads the conservative movement, but is following its fringes.
Heritage President @KevinRobertsTX
To #NatCon3:
I come not to invite National Conservatives to join our conservative movement, but to acknowledge the plain truth that Heritage is already part of yours.
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I ride with @GenMhayden on this one.
(You’ll note that NATSEC pros tend this way while LE folks tend to favor exceptional access. Where you sit is where you stand)
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There’s a lot foolishness being thrown around right now about aid to Ukraine. Recommend you start with this thread from @LukeDCoffey.
Unlike some, it deals in facts rather than partisan half-truths, logical fallacies and bold face lies.
Myth 1: We’re writing “blank checks” to Ukraine. No oversight.
Reality: There has never been more accountability & transparency measures in place for US foreign assistance than what was found in the Ukraine Supplemental last May. ~10% of the bill was on oversight. Just read it.
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Tomorrow is an important day.
When I operated overseas, it was a huge thing to say, "No matter our divisions, we transfer power peacefully." It shutdown false moral equivalencies and silly accusations.
That's been lost and that matters.
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Seeing whole columns of Russian armor out of gas and sitting on the side of the road makes me really wish we had the targeting and fires support lined up to take them off of the field.
Would be a huge help to Ukraine 🇺🇦
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So, NATO enlargement is provocative, but not because of encirclement. But, because Putin doesn't accept the sovereignty of other nations (clear to all at this point).
Ironically, the "nationalist" crowd is defending someone who rejects all national sovereignty but his own.
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When Ukraine kicked off, I had questions about "NATO expansion" & how it fit into this. Russia, & some of its US apologists, say Moscow's invasion was provoked. Here's what I've learned.
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So @tiktok_us is shopping its mitigation strategy around DC. I've got some thoughts. (a long thread)
cyberscoop.com/tiktok-nation…
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A hymn for the remnant, from @JonahDispatch:
“If your commitment to your principles stands only when they stymie your enemies, they aren’t principles—they’re weapons and nothing more.” gfile.thedispatch.com/p/hypo…
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What, exactly, was the strategy when you and your boss crafted a deal that gave this butcher freedom of movement & filled his operational coffers?
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@Tiktok is the most effective foreign psyop/espionage platform ever built and we’re swallowing it whole because it entertains us before it kills us? That’s like dancing up to the gallows because they’re playing your favorite song.
Ban TikTok now.
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Turkey: "Hello, this is Turkey."
Ukraine: "Hi. We'd like all of your TB2 drones, please."
Turkey: "Ok, sure. How many would you like?"
Ukraine: "𝑨𝑳𝑳 of them. And do you guys do rush orders?"
militarytimes.com/flashpoint…
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Just re-read the Ukraine supplemental funding bill. A few thoughts:
1. Anyone who wants to read it can do so in 20 minutes (or less).
2. Has multiple safeguards to monitor how money is spent—including separate, monitored accounts, reports to Congress from SECDEF & DoD IG, etc
🧵
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Good Context.
Supporting the Soleimani hit does not mean I want war or that I’m denying the risks that follow.
They’re real & serious.
But, there are clear fact patterns leading up to this moment & our confrontation with Iran didn’t start last week. nationalreview.com/corner/un…
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I understand the sentiment and appreciate the urgency, but this is a bad idea. Especially right now.
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If your organization is beating the drum of “election integrity” but you’re unwilling to debunk this effort to undermine voter confidence—you’re not principled, your cynically using disinformation for political advantage.
factcheck.thedispatch.com/p/…
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Note this is being posted by DoD itself. This isn’t a one-off opinion:
"As I assess our level of deterrence against China, the ship is slowly sinking … we're not going to have enough [capabilities]. And that is a very near-term problem." defense.gov/News/News-Storie…
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It’s very important that we remember that “tech” is about more than tweets, “likes”, and phones.
This video demonstrates tech’s ability to further human thriving.
One of the reasons I love this policy area.
Watch the moment a British retired Royal Marine suffering from degenerative Parkinson’s Disease had his world changed forever
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“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
—Alexis Tocqueville
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One argument against helping Ukraine is that most military aid isn’t getting to soldiers. The success of the Ukrainian military (along with other facts), however, demonstrates these concerns are not justified.
The US is enabling the Ukrainian miracle & they deserve more.
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Well ... yeah. nationalreview.com/news/ex-g…
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ALL of Europe’s tech companies combined are worth ~30% of just ONE of the US’s largest four tech companies. The EU’s largest company, SAP, is less than 15% of Amazon.
The EU is like that couple with no kids, constantly telling everyone else how to be good parents.
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China has challenges but is still the most pressing long-term threat.
Russia is not bulletproof but clearly has aims beyond Ukraine.
Neither Xi or Putin are going anywhere soon.
We need a national security doctrine and a military capability oriented around these realities.
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Our SOF personnel aren’t superhuman. Trust me, there’s plenty of fear in the helicopter on the way to a target. But, they are uncommonly brave & committed.
The only proper response to such bravery and commitment is a quiet thankfulness & a promise to see this through.
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Some dismiss intellectual humility & interpersonal kindness as weakness.
No.
These extended from a true understanding of reality and are the only way for the American experiment to thrive going forward.
Well done, @DavidAFrench
My first piece at @TheAtlantic, about what I learned from my mistakes and how it changed the way I view the world. The goal of my writing is to have the hard, necessary conversations, but not from a posture of combat, but with open minds and open hearts. newsletters.theatlantic.com/…
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Makes the point of why @Huawei has to go in the first place.
The UK should work hard to end its dependency and never allow it to happen again.
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Yeah, it’s like when you say, “using chemical weapons is a red line,” no one actually thinks you mean it. Right?
Not how foreign policy works and why your time in the dock went so poorly.
That speech was not about regime change in Russia it was about the long term stakes in the fight between democracy and autocracy. Unless the Biden team formally says it has a regime change policy, I wouldn’t take one line as such a consequential shift.
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And here it is!
HT: @thedispatch
current.thedispatch.com/p/we…
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Ask yourself: What would the government HAVE to do to enforce even a temporary “pause” in AI development?
That scares me every bit as much as any realistic concerns about near-term AI advancements.
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Lord, have mercy.
"The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good governance." Thomas Jefferson
The Maryland House of Delegates approves an #assistedsuicide bill on a 74-66 vote.
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A brutal, but critical, report from @jimgeraghty on the realities of Russia’s crimes in Ukraine.
It makes @Heritage’s willful mischaracterization & minimization of the conflict more obvious & offensive.
nationalreview.com/the-morni…
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It ain’t just drugs:
“Industry data reveal that Chinese companies formed a cartel, colluded to sell product on the global market at below market price, and drove all U.S., European and Indian producers out of business.” nationalreview.com/2020/04/c…
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Here it is:
Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Michael Ramirez's Washington Post drawing of a Hamas spokesman using children as human shields was pulled after staff and readers complained. | @zach_kessel
trib.al/WClPiAN
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“…Nor can we allow our movement to be led astray by the siren song of unprincipled populism that’s unmoored from our oldest traditions and most cherished values.”
(Location really is everything)
apnews.com/article/russia-uk…
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In my view, no 3rd party should have a veto over the decision of the sovereign member of NATO. Rather, it is for the democratic countries that make up the Alliance to decide on whether to admit new members.
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Tom is a man of honor, integrity and expertise. The kind of man you move heaven and earth to keep, and the kind of judgement you neglect to your own peril. nationalreview.com/2023/08/h…
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Here’s the bottom line: The IC & DOD know how to share real-time targeting information. They’re masters at this & have been doing it for decades.
If there’s sand in the gears, it’s not coming from them.
Help Ukraine find, fix & finish Russian targets now.
HT: @BenSasse
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They regularly assert that they're being censored by a YouTube, where their videos have been viewed more than 1 BILLION times.
I wish I was being censored like that.
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Go ahead, defend this. Tell me how much you care about “regular Americans” & law enforcement. Tell me about how you stand against “elites”—you know, like the billionaire who is putting a target on the backs of agents in an effort to distract from his actions.
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Being told I was featured in some of the media at the My Pillow cyber symposium.
Just to be clear: The election was not stolen & I am not pushing The Big Lie.
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He’s a lunatic: “…Why can’t you be like the German generals?”
“Which generals?” Kelly asked.
“The German generals in World War II,” Trump responded.
“You do know that they tried to kill Hitler three times and almost pulled it off?” Kelly said.” newyorker.com/magazine/2022/…
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I've literally been saying this for years. On 60 Minutes. In Congressional testimony. And everywhere in between. It's good to see us waking up. Now let's actually do something about it.
NEW: FBI Director Chris Wray announces that the FBI has serious national security concerns with #TikTok in congressional testimony today:
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My latest @thedispatch: "These new actions show the United States is not simply trying to slow China’s technological advancement, but to arrest and to contain it."
thedispatch.com/newsletter/c…
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Pay attention: this is real. @dotMudge is highly-credible and @Twitter has a very BIG problem. cnn.com/2022/08/23/tech/twit…
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Completely compromised by his operations/dependencies in China. Smart enough to know better.
What happens when Russia’s “partner” pressures him to end Starlink support in Ukraine?
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Amusing ourselves to death.
One of Europe’s largest ammo makers can’t expand to meet rise in demand due to Russia’s war in Ukraine because a TikTok data center’s using all spare power in the area, @rmilneNordic writes. “[O]ur future growth is challenged by the storage of cat videos.”
on.ft.com/3GgIP8z
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It’s not paranoia when they’re really out to get you. cnn.com/2022/07/23/politics/…
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To my friends in the UK:
What, exactly, do you not understand about this situation?
cnbc.com/2021/07/02/uks-larg…
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