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Argo Iranian hostage crisis
Posted on November 08, 2012 by Akashma Online News
UPDATED, February 24, 2013 10:38 p.m
Argo Wins Best Picture Oscar 2013
Meeting with President Carter. The author, Mark Lijek, stands second from right.
White House photo.
I have seen hundreds of web sites criticizing Ben Affleck’s movie Argo.
Argo is based in a true event, “Iran hostage crisis”.
The story is CIA side of the story. The accounts of Mendez CIA operative. Really? why the movie is being harshly criticized.
I m guilty to of having been swallowed into the drama of the script without taking in consideration the whole historical Iran.
Any way, I was in suspense all the way until the airplane voice said, “we are outside of Iran space, we are free to serve alcoholics beverages”.
It is a kind of freedom of expression you know, after all, we are consenting adults not babies.
Given the pressure producers and directors go through. The process of making a good socially awakening movie, considering the odd, they did good.
They inserted little bit of history into the movie, not a historic class of course, but a decent intro of Iran 1979 Revolution aftermath.
Let’s not forget that ‘Argo’ could had not happened as it did, if it was not for Canadian Ambassador to Iran, The former Canadian ambassador to Iran who protected Americans at great personal risk during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis.
Taylor kept the Americans hidden at his residence and the home of his deputy, John Sheardown, in Tehran and facilitated their escape by arranging plane tickets and persuading the Ottawa government to issue fake passports. He also agreed to go along with the CIA’s film production cover story to get the Americans out of Iran.
Taylor became a hero in Canada and the United States afterward. He felt the role that he and other Canadians played in helping the Americans to freedom was minimized in the film.
“In general it makes it seem like the Canadians were just along for the ride. The Canadians were brave. Period,” Taylor said. USAToday
Most of the real events are not known by an ordinary citizen not just the US but any ordinary citizens does not know history at all, let alone knowing about foreign country history, the much they will know is “Islamic Revolution”” , or the puppet Sha of Iran”, or they remember the yellow ribbons in American cars during those 444 days of “Iran hostage crisis”. To young Americans that 444 days are not even know, well I do remember seeing those yellow ribbons, and knew about the hostage situation, but just barely.
They did explained at least little bit of the situation of dissenters in Iran, the torture, the ransacking of the country during the “Sha of Iran” times.
I think you are not being fair to Ben Affleck that we know it is a open minded actor, that has spoken against Israel crimes in the pass and defended the Palestinians, he is against CEO’s high checks, he is Pro Gay marriage, consummated actor and producer.
The movie Argo it wasn’t done to straightening up the political story of Iran/US relations, but to give a us glimpse of the famous event of Iran hostages. The Argo hostage story is told by one of the hostages and he is praising the movie story.
“Argo, Ben Affleck’s new movie about the rescue of six Americans from Iran, is a terrific thriller, even if you know the ending. I left the theater sweating—just as when I exited the airport bus to board a Swissair flight out of Tehran in January of 1980, one of the six Americans who were rescued by Tony Mendez, the CIA employee Affleck plays. Affleck’s version of events is not only a well-told tale, but a useful story, a necessary and enjoyable mechanism for introducing a younger generation to the origins of our confrontation with Iran. But for me, Argo is also a peek into a nightmarish alternate universe of how things might have been. Could I have survived three months under the stressful conditions depicted in the film? Would I have kept my cool if Iranian paramilitaries questioned my identity?”
Just that most of it happened before Mendez arrived. Affleck tells his version from Tony’s perspective—and wisely, I think: A heroic CIA agent is a more natural Hollywood protagonist than people trapped in a house and their brave hosts. Besides, a traditional thriller can’t be overpopulated with all the people who play sometimes small but essential roles in a situation like ours. Still, it’s worth taking a moment to remember those other heroes, who sheltered the six of us for months at great personal risk—one of whom, essential to our survival, doesn’t appear in the movie at all.” Mark Lisek True Account
I really think that in the little minutes they dedicated to explain the political situation, they did good job. To tell the young Americans and young people people around the world why US hates Iran and not the other way around.
The Islamic Revolution removed a puppet!. Well that is not the whole story, but part of it.
The movie did great and keep people wondering, off course this is from the CIA perspective which it is exactly why the movie is good.
If Ben Affleck was to make a movie from the Iranian perspective I think he would had used another version of the events, ‘The Iranian side of the story’.
It is common sense, there are always two sides of the story, and sometimes there are 3, 4, 5 depend how many are involved in the event. Come on we do not shot the messenger.
I read the accounts of one of the hostages and he said Argo it is right in the mark
This is not about history, but about a single event “Iranian hostage crisis”..
And I lived the story, some how I did. In the paid Mexican news. I never knew why?, never heard the whole story of the Sha of Iran thrown out of Iran..and, if I was new to Iran politics, this movie gives me a glimpse.
Off course, I m not new to Iran politics so I do not expect that Ben Affleck will dedicate 2 hours to give a political class on Iran, and expect to be promoted by Hollywood Elite.
I give many kudos to Ben Affleck.
Now if you ask me, what do I think of the political situation of Iran and US, I said what I always say.
First and all I m against monarchy, which to start discount the return of the Pahlavi family, and I would support (not that it matters at lot, because I m not Iranian) the revolution that Reza Khan started before 1925. With all the restrictions and conditions of the times, I think he did great.
The US is not and should not be the world police, and Iranian government should not criminalize dissent, they just like the US, UK, Israel, France and I can name all the countries, all of them use torture, they all oppressed their citizens in one way or another, they all suppressed the innovator voices that goes against the Status Quo. There is no perfect society. Off course they are worse government than ours.
Now let’s not forget that Iranian society with all their discontent during the Sha era lived the western life style for many decades, and at the verge of the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1979 the majority of the population where in a explosion mode, kind of liberation, not because they dislike the Western style, but because any new revolution brings a sense of liberation. At least from some sectors of their society; like in any other, there are rule class and their benefactors and beneficiaries.
If you like to dig in history and want to know the other side of the history, I found a good article that explaines the other side of the story, not the US story, not the Islamic Revolutionary story, not the Sha story, but the story of the transition of the Old Iran to the Modern Iran. Iranians Politics Club is a web site dedicate to explore other possibilities, just like the critics of Argo Movie you might not like their perspective. I find it fascinating. It is not about The Sha the self made king but about Raze Khan which it is known as Reza Shah The Great of Pahlavi
Dr. Ismail Salami a Iranin writer, makes a harsh, harsh critic of Argo, in his article Argo: From Hollywoodism to Iranophobia
I do not agree with most of his criticism on the movie, I do agree with the current trend to demonize Iran and to demonize Muslims in American Politics and American movies, but from that, to completely dismiss the work of Ben Affleck I do not agree. You be the judge, as always the Truth is the news and the readers are the opinion makers.
Vittorio Arrigoni: Gifts that are Given, and Those Taken From Us
Dec-25, 2011
Tim King -News.com
This Christmas remember our warrior for humanity, Vittorio ‘Vik’ Arrigoni.
 Vittorio ‘Vik’ Arrigoni
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(SALEM) – When we first reported the death of Vittorio Arrigoni last April, we knew we were faced with the passing of a spirit larger than those that can be contained inside of any man, or activist; his death represented something far worse than the loss of any single person.
It left a barren hole that punched through Gaza, reverberated through Italy and all of the world, creating a huge void. The magnitude of Vik’s loss was tantamount to his presence on earth. Few people ever did more and he almost certainly was one of the most inspirational activists to ever live.
As we consider the gifted man whose vitality slipped away in the night, know that Vittorio, known by ‘Vik’ to his friends, wasn’t in it for himself. Every aspect of every story screams this. Vik cared about the people of Gaza, who live in a prison camp setting. He could not stand the way Israel attacks Gaza’s fishermen, or its loan teenage female captain. He accompanied them, he rolled tape, he wrote at length about their lives, their accomplishments, their deaths. Vik was shot and hurt once by the Israeli military while defending Gaza fishermen, and on another day they nearly drowned him.
He helped people in their effort to survive, as they were pummeled under the fascist fist of Israel’s political prejudice. Their apartheid system has different laws for people, one set for Jews and one for everyone else. There are even “Jewish Only” roads throughout Israel. Their political punishment of perceived enemies is unforgivable and Israel’s campaign against Palestine is one against the whole world.
Israel kills more than 1400 people in Gaza at a time, in a single operation, using illegal weapons and tactics; yet claims only their national security is at risk. Israel’s apologists constantly talk about rockets fired from Gaza, which are acts of futile resistance, that have killed a total of 29 Israelis in all time, ever. That is hardly a justified reason for apartheid, murder, genocide, and human abuse.
This, as Israel imprisons an entire population. Zionists and Nazi’s are very similar, very close. Vik’s grandparents, Italian resistance fighters in World War Two, fought the Nazi’s and the Fascists. However all the Israeli Defence Forces ever did was treat Vik with scorn, political abuse and violence.
For the brave and courageous men and women of this world like Vittorio Arrigoni, who oppose those who strike humanity from the conversation, Israel’s Zionists reserve special titles that imply that somehow all the good motives are bad.
The aggressive ones accuse the human activists of not hating the violence. They claim, and their views are repeated by the press and the networks, that opposing Zionism is actually a hatred of their Jewish faith. The first and largest problem with that utterly false accusation, is that Judaism and Zionism (the belief that God authorized Jews to kill Palestinians and steal their land) are like apples and oranges.
Judaism is ancient, Zionism is an idea given birth by a German in the 1890’s, Theodore Herzl.
Hating them over their religion? – these are words from a language most of us don’t even understand. Does a person or group need amazing ego just to make that claim, or what? In the end the term antisemitic technically means a person is against people of the ancient Semitic languages, this means Jews and Arabs, Ethiopians, or Assyrians.
Labeling those who defend Palestinians as ‘antisemitic’ is akin to claiming that those who oppose the woman-abusing Taliban are actually masking a hatred for Muslims, or inferring that abhorring the acts of the murderous Mexican drug cartels are actually bigotry toward Hispanic people. What nonsense, what rubbish.
As both Egidia Beretta Arrigoni, mother of Vittorio Arrigoni, and Ken O’Keefe, our fellow writer and close friend of Vik’s in Gaza, said: he is not dead. No such person ever truly goes away; Vik Arrigoni’s legacy is here to stay.
Watch the VIDEO below:
Story and pre-production by Tim King, Video post-production by Sean King.
__________________________________
End of the Road by Agron Belica
Dedicated to Vittorio Arrigoni
(Featuring Marka)
Produced by Kyle Hall
Co-Produced by Patrick Dreier, Tim King, Sean King and Agron Belica
_________________________________________________
<iframe src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/23932754?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0″ width=”400″ height=”225″ frameborder=”0″ webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href=”http://vimeo.com/23932754″>End of the Road – Tribute to Vik Arrigoni</a> from <a href=”http://vimeo.com/user4825625″>Tim King</a> on <a href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
What I’m doin’ at the end of the road:
Pride in my words, and passion in my heart.
And ain’t a place that I’d rather start.
And if it comes down to what I’m doin’, What I’m doin’,
What I’m doin’, at the end of the road.
This path I chose you don’t see it, but believe it!
Just know that I’mma have a place to go, at the end of the road.
(Hook-Marka)
Life is sacred; it came from heaven up above;
A blessing from the Lord to be shared by everyone!
Freedom is God-given, something that we come to love;
It’s in the blood to defend it, yes! Our strongest passion!
The message goin’ out to those who transgress and violate,
When we’re overwhelmed, the Lord shakes the earth awake.
Everyone suffers; count the losses, check the death rate!
The ignorant surprised, as they watch the newsbreak.
The tears shed, man. for the ones that are sufferin’—
For the ones captive or dyin’ in the millions;
This one goes out to all my people in captivity:
Everyday we pray the Lord gives you all security!
Free you from the devil’s hand, those who oppress thee;
So you can enjoy your sacred life in the world free!
No one has the right to dictate your future, see?
The message goes out: mercy extends universally!
When it comes down to what I’m doin’, What I’m doin’,
What I’m doin’ at the end of the road:
Pride in my words, and passion in my heart.
And ain’t a place that I’d rather start.
And if it comes down to what I’m doin’,
What I’m doin’, What I’m doin’, at the end of the road.
This path I chose you don’t see it, but believe it!
Just know that I’mma have a place to go, at the end of the road.
(Hook-Marka)
____________________________________________
Most of us don’t want to take responsibility
Save a few brave hearts, inspired God-consciously
Not afraid to parade the doorsteps of authority;
Demand justice be served for the sake of humanity!
Going out to all the brave men and woman activists,
Who put their lives on the line to expose injustice;
Who exert their energy to see we live with dignity—
Your mission and your efforts are recorded in our history!
For all those who enjoin the good and forbid the evil:
Men, women, and children—everyone that is able;
Give a lending hand to stop all that are sinful;
Only with unity can we achieve and become forceful!
Those who left us never will be forgotten;
In our hearts you all will remain with lots of lovin’;
A place for you is set at the end of the road!
May the Lord give you peace and a heavenly abode!
When it comes down to what I’m doin’, What I’m doin’,
What I’m doin’ at the end of the road:
Pride in my words, and passion in my heart.
And ain’t a place that I’d rather start.
And if it comes down to what I’m doin’,
What I’m doin’, What I’m doin’, at the end of the road.
This path I chose you don’t see it, but believe it!
Just know that I’mma have a place to go, at the end of the road.
(Hook-Marka)
Articles regarding Vittorio’s loss
Apr-20-2011: Men Die, Lions Rise – Jonathan Azaziah Special to Salem-News.com
Apr-17-2011: Vittorio Never Was as Much Alive as he is Now – By Egidia Beretta Arrigoni, Mother of Vittorio Arrigoni
Apr-17-2011: I Do Not Believe That A Palestinian Killed Vittorio Arrigoni – Gilad Atzmon Salem-News.com
Apr-17-2011: Vittorio and Israel’s Attack on the Intellectual Intifada – Lauren Booth Salem-News.com
Apr-16-2011: Was Israel’s Shin Bet Behind Vittorio Arrigoni’s Brutal Murder? – Tim King Salem-News.com
Apr-15-2011: AMP expresses deep condolences to ISM and family of Vittorio Arrigoni – Salem-News.com
Apr-15-2011: We Mourn Another Friend… Vittorio Arrigoni – Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh Salem-News.com
Apr-14-2011: Hero of Gaza: Vittorio Arrigoni, Kidnapped and Murdered – Tim King and Bonnie King Salem-News.com
Apr-14-2011: Famed Activist Vittorio Arrigoni Kidnapped in Gaza – Feared Dead – Tim King Salem-News.com
Articles regarding the death of Juliano Mer Khamis:
April-05-2011: Losing Juliano – Dr. Mazin Qumsiyeh Salem-News.com
April-04-2011: Filmmaker Juliano Mer-Khamis was Murdered Today in Jenin – Gilad Atzmon Salem-News.com
Articles by Vittorio on Salem-News.com:
Mar-23-2011: Israel’s Attack on Civilians: Two Children Killed – Vittorio Arrigoni Special to Salem-News.com
Mar-18-2011: Gaza’s Youth: Hopes Broken at 15 March End Of Division Demonstration – By Vittorio Arrigoni for Salem-News.com
Mar-04-2011: 15 March Palestine: End of Division – Vittorio Arrigoni for Salem-News.com
Nov-10-2010: The First Targeted US Killing in Gaza – Vittorio Arrigoni for Salem-News.com
Also:
Nov-30-2010: Israeli Soldiers Fire at Road to Hope Convoy Members – Tim King Salem-News.com
Advisory regarding comments: Comments on this story need to be of a respectful nature or they will not be approved.
Salem-News.com Writer/Author/Musician Agron Belica, faced many challenges growing up as a rootless street youth, situations so intense that they threatened to destroy him- that is until he rediscovered his Muslim roots a few years ago and turned his life around. In 2008, Agron Belica published his research article The Revival of the Prophet Yahya, and has caused quite a stir in scholarly circles. In 2009, a new theory was born, The Crucifixion: Mistaken Identity?> John the Baptist and Jesus the Christ. With no formal advanced education, he offers new interpretations of certain key words in the Quran along with his challenging theories about the role of John the Baptist in the Crucifixion and has attracted the attention of well-known scholars in the field of comparative religion, such as Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, the first American woman to translate the Quran into English, the noted university professor, Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub, and the author and translator, Dr. Jay R. Crook.
You can write to Agron at this address: agronbelica@gmail.com
Tim King is a former U.S. Marine with twenty years of experience on the west coast as a television news producer, photojournalist, reporter and assignment editor. In addition to his role as a war correspondent, this Los Angeles native serves as Salem-News.com’s Executive News Editor. Tim spent the winter of 2006/07 covering the war in Afghanistan, and he was in Iraq over the summer of 2008, reporting from the war while embedded with both the U.S. Army and the Marines. Tim holds numerous awards for reporting, photography, writing and editing, including the Oregon AP Award for Spot News Photographer of the Year (2004), first place Electronic Media Award in Spot News, Las Vegas, (1998), Oregon AP Cooperation Award (1991); and several others including the 2005 Red Cross Good Neighborhood Award for reporting. Tim has several years of experience in network affiliate news TV stations, having worked as a reporter and photographer at NBC, ABC and FOX stations in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.
You can send Tim an email at this address: newsroom@salem-news.com
Salem-News.com has some of the oldest and youngest working journalists in the nation. In 2006, at the age of 14, Sean became the youngest broadcast TV News reporter in the NW when he was selected as a Salem Correspondent by ATTN’s NW Teen News, which aired on Salem’s KWVT. He has been contributing to Salem-News.com and assisting with technical needs ever since. A graduate of the Media Arts Academy; a special high school that specializes in art, video and Internet production, Sean also has substantial time under his belt in the cable access world, where he has volunteered for years off and on, with Salem Oregon’s CCTV group. His show ran for several months in 2005 and was a hit with younger and older audiences. Literally raised in a TV news household, Sean is able to understand and report about many things with a fresh, undiluted perspective. Sean has several videos hosted on Youtube. One of which, entitled “Cradle of Filth- My Humps” with nearly a million views, is very popular among the YouTube community.
You can send an email to Sean at this address: dragonreign_75@hotmail.com
International Community of Activists-Heros? No! Just Humans; Huwaida Arraf
Outstanding Human Beings
Huwaida Arraf
Every Person once in his/her life get touched by compassion, this feeling that it’s impossible to describe only can be felt. Love make miraculous manifestations in the life of individuals. Everyone that got involved some how in the peace process of our earth have felt it, the strike of light that it is leading us to a new road of understanding, of unity, where we all are awakening to our humanity.
We do not need to be heroes to act in our own behalf, because every deed we make in the name of Truth, Justice and Peace is for us all humans that share this beautiful blue dot of the Universe.
If you get the urge to help in any way, don’t waste that urge as time is running fast, and more you wait more damage is made against your brothers. We are an army of compassionate being, and we can achieve wonders if we unite for a common goal. There are special souls in this earth that are dedicating their entire existence to peace. Huwaida Arraf is one of those cases, she along with Ken O’keefe, Vittorrio Arrigoni RIP, Adam Shapiro, Rachel Corrie RIP, Patrick Macmanus RIP and thousands of others that crossed the world to go to Palestine to help in their struggles, they are not the only ones, but their deeds, their work make them outstanding individuals. The great nation of Palestine is a great example for us to follow, they all lived inside the storm of the occupation.
Life is short inside the occupied territories, as life is risky but if you follow your heart the risk is worth it. Stay Human is what we need to be an activists for Truth, Justice and Peace and to help Liberate Palestine. Remember the most powerful weapon is our humanity
Huwaida Arraf is a first-generation Palestinian- American. She was born and raised in Detroit, MI. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in 1998 with majors in Political Science, Arabic and Hebrew & Judaic Studies. Huwaida spent her junior year abroad, studying at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. After graduation, she worked for the Arab American Institute to promote the rights of Arab-Americans. In 2000, Huwaida became a Program Coordinator in Jerusalem with Seeds of Peace – an American-based non-profit organization focused on working with youth from regions of conflict, including the Middle East, Cyprus and the Balkans.
Huwaida left Seeds of Peace after becoming involved in active resistance to the Israeli occupation forces and policies. With other Palestinian and international activists, she co-founded the International Solidarity Movement in April, 2001. In April 2002, as Israeli forces continued their siege on the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, Huwaida led a group of international activists to the Church to deliver bread and food to people trapped in the Church. She was arrested by the Israeli Army and forced to leave the country. She returned a month later and resumed her organizational role with the ISM. Huwaida has been arrested over a dozen times over the past four years by the Israeli military for nonviolent protest in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. In addition, Huwaida co-edited Peace under Fire (2004), a collection of personal accounts of ISM volunteers published by Verso Books.
Huwaida recently graduated from American University’s Washington College of Law. She is married to fellow human rights activist, Adam Shapiro.
International Solidarity Movement – The International Solidarity Movement (ISM) is a Palestinian-led movement committed to resisting the Israeli apartheid in Palestine by using nonviolent, direct-action methods and principles. Founded by a small group of primarily Palestinian and Israeli activists in August, 2001, ISM aims to support and strengthen the Palestinian popular resistance by providing the Palestinian people with two resources, international solidarity and an international voice with which to nonviolently resist an overwhelming military occupation force.
Amnesty International -International Body dedicated Humans Rights
Salem News – Independent Outlet that has partnered with Truth Justice and Peace to bring you the real News, as they happened without dressing or sugar coating, they have been working tirelessly to raise awareness, telling you as it is
Free Gaza Movement – Since August 2008, the Free Gaza Movement has sailed from Cyprus to the Gaza Strip on several successful voyages, bringing in international witnesses to see first hand the devastating effects of Israeli violence against the Palestinian people. Ours are the first international boats to journey to Gaza since 1967.
We are Italian, Irish, Canadian, Greek, Tunisian, German, Australian, American, English, Scottish, Danish, Israeli, and Palestinian. We are of all ages and backgrounds. We have years of experience volunteering in Gaza and the West Bank at the invitation of Palestinians. But now, because of the increasing stranglehold of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine, many of us find it almost impossible to enter Gaza, and an increasing number have been refused entry to Israel and the West Bank as well.
We want to break the siege of Gaza. We want to raise international awareness about the prison-like closure of the Gaza Strip and pressure the international community to review its sanctions policy and end its support for continued Israeli occupation. We want to uphold Palestine’s right to welcome internationals as visitors, human rights observers, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, or otherwise.
The Electronic Intifada– The Electronic Intifada is an independent online news publication and educational resource focusing on Palestine, its people, politics, culture and place in the world.
Founded in 2001, The Electronic Intifada has won awards and earned widespread recognition for publishing original, high-quality news and analysis, and first-person accounts and reviews. The Electronic Intifada’s writers and reporters include Palestinians and others living inside Palestine and everywhere else that news about Palestine and Palestinians is made.
Palestinian Center for Human Rights – The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) is a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) based in Gaza City. The Centre is a non-profit company, dedicated to protecting human rights, promoting the rule of law and upholding democratic principles in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). It holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations. It is an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists-Geneva, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) – Paris, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network – Copenhagen, the International Legal Assistance Consortium (ILAC) – Stockholm, the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, and the Arab Organization for Human Rights – Cairo. PCHR is a recipient of the 1996 French Republic Award on Human Rights, the 2002 Bruno Kreisky Award for Outstanding Achievements in the Area of Human Rights, the 2003 International Services Human Rights Award (UNAIS) and the 2009 Human Rights Prize of Andalucia. The Centre was established in 1995 by a group of Palestinian lawyers and human rights activists in order to:
- Protect human rights and promote the rule of law in accordance with international standards.
- Create and develop democratic institutions and an active civil society, while promoting democratic culture within the Palestinian society.
- Support all the efforts aimed at enabling the Palestinian people to exercise its inalienable rights in regard to self-determination and independence in accordance with international Law and UN resolutions.
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