Thursday, January 19, 2012

January 19



“the public must be put in its place… so that each of us may live free of the trampling and the roar of a bewildered herd.”

--Walter Lippmann; Lippmann image from

REPORT

EducationUSA Global Social Media Presence: January 2012

SYMPOSIUM

Feasibility of Metrics in Public Diplomacy: Why and What (January 25, Heritage Foundation)

PUBLIC DIPLOMACY

Locke: China Is A Country Of Great Contrasts - npr.org: "LOCKE [Gary Locke, Washington's ambassador to Beijing]: "The human rights record within China seems to rise and fall over time, but it's very clear that in the run up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics and since then, there's been a greater intolerance of dissent and the human rights record of China has been going in the wrong direction. And we deal with the human rights issue, as an embassy, on a daily basis in terms of diplomacy with the Chinese officials, public diplomacy, public statements, supporting human rights activists and dissenters; as well as meeting with individual groups and churches

and lawyers, and people who in fact have felt the brunt of the crackdown and the intolerance of dissent. We're very concerned about this, because we, as a country, feel very strongly about human rights which are universal human rights. But let me just say that there's a growing ability within the people of China to still talk about these things using social media, the Internet. And while the Chinese may try to censor and limit and block a lot of these activities and discussions, the people themselves are generally one step ahead." Locke image from

In D.C., China builds a news hub to help polish its global image - Paul Farhi, Washington Post: "In a downtown D.C. office building hard by a Starbucks and a busy construction site, China’s most ambitious effort to become a global power in English-language TV news is literally taking shape. For months, Chinese and American workers have been constructing a multi-floor TV studio complex on New York Avenue NW. Within a few weeks, China Central Television


CCTV) — the nation’s state-run international broadcaster — intends to originate news broadcasts produced by a staff of more than 60 journalists hired in recent weeks from NBC, Bloomberg TV, Fox News and other Western news organizations. The new Washington operation, its managers say, will be a hub of CCTV’s global news-gathering operations as the network launches a major expansion outside China to compete with international broadcasters such as CNN, the BBC and al-Jazeera. China watchers see an even larger aim in China’s multimillion-dollar investment in Washington: capturing the attention and perhaps the hearts and minds of viewers throughout the United States and the Western Hemisphere. China’s ambition, they say, is to use news reporting and cultural programming to advance its 'soft power,' or cultural influence, making it commensurate with the nation’s growing economic might. ... CCTV could face some of the same resistance in the United States that has hobbled al-Jazeera English, the English-language offshoot of the Arabic-language network. Since its founding in 2006, AJE has struggled to gain widespread distribution on cable and satellite TV systems throughout the United States." Image from

Why China Is Weak on Soft Power - Joseph Nye, Jr., New York Times: "China has always had an attractive traditional culture, and now it has created several hundred Confucius Institutes around the world to teach its language and culture. The enrollment of foreign students in China has increased from 36,000 a decade ago to at least 240,000 in 2010, and while the Voice of America was cutting its Chinese broadcasts, China Radio International was increasing its broadcasts in English to 24 hours a day. ... But for all its efforts, China has had a limited return on its investment. A recent BBC poll shows that opinions of China’s influence are positive in much of Africa and Latin America, but predominantly negative in the United States and Europe, as well as in India, Japan and South Korea. A poll taken in Asia after the Beijing Olympics found that China’s charm offensive had been ineffective. ... The development of soft power need not be a zero sum game. All countries can gain from finding attraction in one anothers’ cultures. But for China to succeed, it will need to unleash the talents of its civil society. Unfortunately, that does not seem about to happen soon."

China’s diplomacy in 2011 digital micro press releases and public diplomacy - 3abc.net: "Xinhua Beijing January 19 (Reporter Liaolei) 2011, by doing activities related to national leaders of great journalism, press release start a new mechanism to hold special briefing and the

'Blue Room Forum', established 'Foreign PHS' microblogging and 'diplomatic service station' radio program, to enhance communication with the community, organizational gathering activities of foreign correspondents in China, etc., China’s foreign press and public diplomacy has made new progress and breakthroughs." Image from

Decline ‘Friend’ Request: Social Media Meets 21st Century Statecraft in Latin America - Cyril Mychalejko, "While the positive contributions of technology to social movements and uprisings have been been amply noted, if not overstated, more attention needs to be paid to the intrinsic dangers looming in the co-optation of this technology-driven networking, specifically by Washington, but by other repressive governments as well. ... Judith McHale, former under secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs at the State Department, gave ... [an] honest assessment in March 2011 of what’s driving the State Department’s new initiative, stripped of the flowery and misleading language of freedom and democracy. 'New media and connective technologies enhance our ability to listen…Social media provides new ways for us to keep our ear to the ground,' said McHale. 'Of course, we are not interested in developing social media platforms for the sake of having them. We are interested in applying social media to promote our strategic objectives in the Americas.' ... [I]f Washington approaches Latin American governments with aid for internet infrastructure and training, citizens and governments should approach this as a very loaded Trojan Horse."

EducationUSA and the Social Media Wave Roll On - Marty Bennett, marketingeducationusa.blogspot.com: "Back in early 2009, EducationUSA launched four main social media channels focusing on global audiences: our global Facebook page, two Twitter feeds (one for students @EdUSAupdates, one for the U.S. higher education community @EdUSAtips), and our YouTube Channel. We always knew YouTube would be popular, but Facebook really surprised us. ... Recently, a Mashable.com article shared how significantly the U.S. State Department has adopted social media as an essential public diplomacy tool.

I can happily report that in the last three years, our network of EducationUSA Advising Centers have truly adopted social media as a core part of their work. I encourage my higher ed colleagues in the States looking to connect with our centers via social media to review our 2012 EducationUSA Global Social Media Presence report with links to all the available centers' pages, groups, and profiles on Facebook, YouTube Channels, and Twitter feeds." Image from article

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar named U.S. global cultural ambassador - Rene Lynch, latimesblogs.latimes.com: "Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA Hall of Famer and Laker legend who continues to reign as the league's all-time leading scorer, transcends basketball with his latest gig: global cultural ambassador. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton made the appointment Wednesday, tasking Abdul-Jabbar with engaging young people worldwide and 'using people-to-people diplomacy as a means to create opportunities for greater understanding.' First up is a trip to Brazil, where Abdul-Jabbar 'will lead conversations with young people on the importance of education, social and racial tolerance, cultural understanding, and using sports as a means of empowerment,' according to the secretary of State's website.


And, of course, there will be basketball clinics. Compare that with Abdul-Jabbar's website, where he says he is honored for the appointment and adds: 'My first assignment will be in Brazil, a country that I’m thrilled to visit. The culture there is so vibrant and engaging. I’m a big jazz fan and Brazilian jazz is a very popular part of the nation's cultural profile. I think I’ll get a chance to sample some of the current jazz on this trip. And of course there’s basketball. I’ll be involved putting on some clinics for the local hoopsters! All in all this is going to be a fun and exciting trip both educationally and culturally.'" Uncaptioned image from article

Time to Admit Poland into the Visa Waiver Program - Jessica Zuckerman, blog.heritage.org: "Senator Mark Kirk (R–IL) and Congressman Mike Quigley (R–IL) returned from a four-day trip to Poland this week. The bipartisan pair made the journey to discuss an important topic in U.S.–Polish relations: admitting Poland into the Visa Waiver Program. Under the Visa Waiver Program, visitors from friendly member nations are able to travel to the U.S. for up to 90 days without first obtaining a visa. To ensure that dangerous individuals do not enter the United States through the program, a visitor must first submit information through the program’s online portal, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). Once vetted and cleared, a traveler is then pre-approved for visa-free travel for up to two years. Since its inception in 1986, the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) has reduced the workload on U.S. consulate offices while encouraging travel to and tourism in the United States. The program also offers tremendous benefits in terms of economics, public diplomacy, and national security. In 2008 alone, nearly 17 million visitors entered the United States, spending more than $100 billion in U.S. restaurants, hotels, and shops. These visitors not only infuse much-needed money into the U.S. economy, but they also carry home with them their experiences and perceptions of American culture, helping to improve America’s image throughout the world. Likewise, security measures added since the program’s inception have made it an important counterterrorism tool."

Statement of Criticism on Jaipur Literature Festival - bargad.org: "US Congress ... recommended the passage of the US Information and Educational Exchange Act on January 27, 1948 [and] declared that 'truth can be a powerful weapon'. ... [T]he amendments to the US Foreign Relations Authorization Act of 1972 in July 2010 ... banned disseminating within the USA any 'information about the United States, its people, and its policies' prepared for dissemination abroad with the aim to engage in a global struggle for minds and wills to bolster its 'strategic communications and public diplomacy capacity on all fronts and mediums – especially online[.] This reveals that US government’s relationship with the non US citizens is

not healthy . ... US government institutions like American Centre[s] ... have failed to reveal as to why there are some 702 military installations of world’s super power throughout the world in 132 countries along with 8,000 active and operational nuclear warheads." Image from

Nation Building in Laos - Yale Richmond, American Diplomacy: "I arrived in Laos in June 1954 one month after the fall of Dien Bien Phu. The US mission was to support the Lao government in its efforts to prevent an insurgent movement, the pro-Communist Pathet Lao, from taking over the country. But most of the Lao people did not know that they lived in a sovereign state. Information about Laos and the rest of the world was sparse. The Lao government operated a few low-power radio stations and published a daily information bulletin in Lao and French, based on the Agence France Presse (AFP) wire service, but illiteracy was high and the reach of the radio and print media did not extend beyond the few provincial cities. Radio broadcasts from Thailand could be received but the low-cost transistor radio had not yet come to Laos. The term 'nation building' had not yet been coined and we had no example to follow, but over the next two years my colleague Ted Tanen and I accomplished a few major achievements in Public Diplomacy. First, we began publication of a Lao-language edition of USIA’s monthly photo magazine, Free World . ... Next, we produced a monthly Lao-language newsreel highlighting news of the Lao government, the royal family, and US assistance to Laos. ... And third, we distributed large colorful posters with a photo of the Buddha and the Lao king . ... Having just completed five years as a cultural officer in Germany, not a typical Foreign Service assignment in those years, I was looking forward to a real Foreign Service posting. Little did I realize that Laos would be as atypical as Germany, but much more dangerous and far less comfortable."

Interweaving of Public Diplomacy and U.S. International Broadcasting: A Historical Analysis - Ted Lipien, American Diplomacy: "With the current efforts by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) to de-federalize the Voice of America, it may be worthwhile to look at the history of the gradual divorce between public diplomacy and U.S. international broadcasting over the past several decades. Relying on my own perspective as a VOA journalist employed by the United States Information Agency (USIA)

to broadcast radio programs to Poland during the Cold War, this article describes the disappearing links between the two cultures in frequent conflict with one another but also successfully working in tandem to advance U.S. interests and support for human rights. ... While some VOA journalists may think that it would be better to have a complete separation between broadcasting and public diplomacy, political realities dictate that they themselves can only be effective and supported with public funds if U.S. international broadcasting is to some degree linked to the foreign policy and national security parts of the U.S. Government. ... U.S. ambassadors and other State Department officials should not exercise a veto power over what goes on the air. But a complete divorce of U.S. international broadcasting from the experience of the U.S. Government’s foreign affairs community is politically unwise and will not be good for America or the world." See also. Image from

All Quiet on the Western Front: 2012 Challenges and Opportunities in the Five-Year Strategic Plan for U.S. International Broadcasting - Alan L. Heil Jr., American Diplomacy: "Content is king, and credibility will continue to be the North Star of U.S. international broadcasting program producers

and reporters in every region of the world and in the United States. ... [A]ccurate, objective journalism produced at the broadcaster level is what matters most and empowers listeners in a wide range of settings . ... Congress, after all, has termed U.S. international broadcasting a national security function. It, along with the administration, the BBG, and the networks themselves, can and must master the challenges." Heil image from

VOA Deewa Radio reporter shot and killed near Peshawar (updated) - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

English subtitles now available with VOA Persian News Network's popular "Parazit" - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting

Parliament’s review to help reset ties: Sherry - Anwar Iqbal, dawn.com: “Ambassador Sherry Rehman, who presented her credentials to US President Barack Obama on Wednesday. ... 'We need to see the Pakistani community in the US as a key resource to mobilising opinion in Pakistan’s favour, and they will be our first line of public diplomacy and outreach here in Washington.

Strengthening and broadening the bilateral relationship, setting it on a firmer, more equitable footing, and educating the people of both countries to better understand each other and to advance Pakistan’s goals would remain my key priorities in Washington[.]'” Rehman image from article

Soft power: It's culture war for India and China: China spends billions of dollars on soft power, but India's press is free - Jason Overdorf, globalpost.com: Soft power seems to be the new mantra for

India and China, as the long-running diplomatic tiff between Asia's two largest powers cools down. But this a contest that India can win with its bureaucrats tied behind its back. ... [B]ecause India allows its vibrant, free press to hammer the government, the opposition, big business, big religion and everybody else, it hardly takes any flak for its myriad failures. ... That's more important than you may think. For one thing, it's allowed India's 'public diplomacy' wing to branch out into social media, hoping that its Facebook friends and twitter followers will do for the government what it can't do for itself. It doesn't need to control the message. But that's not because it hasn't done or doesn't do anything wrong, but because it has always let its own people air its dirty laundry and fight for change (often with less results than achieved in China, ironically)." Image from

Q and A with Craigslist founder and veterans advocate Craig Newmark - Bill Murphy Jr.- stripes.com: "In 1994, programmer and self-described 'nerd' Craig Newmark started an email distribution list. He wrote about things to do in San Francisco and other items he found interesting.

The distro took off and eventually evolved into Craigslist. More recently, Newmark has spent time promoting charitable causes that he finds compelling, including veterans’ issues (along with public diplomacy and opposing the SOPA and PIPA acts)." Image from article, with caption: Craigslist founder Craig Newmark is working with veterans groups to raise awareness for various issues affecting the vet community.

Meeting Mayors, Cordray Continues Public Diplomacy - netbranchnews.com: "Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief Richard Cordray pledged to work with mayors and city governments Wednesday, continuing a tour of the nation's cities and industry sectors he started earlier this month to make introductions and allies."

RELATED ITEMS

Study abroad is necessity, not luxury - Rick Steves, USA Today: American college students understand the value of study abroad. Four out of every five first-year students aspire to study overseas. But at any given time, only about 2% of students are able to. ... The Paul Simon Study Abroad Act, currently being considered in Congress, would dedicate $80 million annually to incentivize study abroad, with the goal of encouraging a million American students from a wide range of backgrounds to study abroad each year. Is now the time to be devoting precious public funds to sending college kids overseas? Absolutely. Our world is one big, rapidly evolving marketplace. Employers crave graduates who are flexible, multilingual and comfortable in multicultural settings. Study abroad sharpens these skills and helps

keep American workers competitive. In spite of its financial turmoil, the European Union recently expanded its Erasmus Program, which helps students study abroad. That's because the people of the EU understand that globalization is like the weather: Regardless of what you think about it, you have to live with it. And when it comes to stoking trade, building international partnerships and simply co-existing peacefully, Europe understands that study abroad is a smart investment. Image from

UK admits to deploying ‘spy rock’ in Russia - Catherine Belton, Financial Times: Vladimir Putin was handed a propaganda gift on Thursday in the form of an admission that British embassy officials had deployed a fake rock to spy on Russia. Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, admitted in a BBC interview that Russian allegations in 2006 that four British diplomats had used a fake rock to transmit secret data were in fact true. The UK had always denied the Russian allegations that the four mid-level British diplomats targeted in the affair were involved in covert operations to make secret payments to Russian human rights and pro-democracy groups. But it had skirted the issue of whether or not the rock was in fact a spy gadget, with officials preferring instead to quietly suggest they would never be caught using such an apparently stone age device. High quality global journalism requires investment. The “spy rock” admission today could spark new fears for Russian NGOs. The groups are facing renewed pressure over Mr Putin’s claims that western powers are sponsoring the wave of protests that have broken out over alleged

vote fraud and December parliamentary elections and the former president’s planned return to power in elections in March. High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Russian state television on Tuesday night hit out at the new US ambassador to Russia, Michael McFaul, with suggestions his agenda was to foment revolution in Russia by supporting opposition leaders. It targeted him for meeting opposition figures on his second day of work. Image from, with caption: UK admits spying on Russia with the help of a fake rock.

South Park: Iraq to Control Which Armed Mercs are Allowed In - Peter Van Buren, We Meant Well: Cartman: Those bastards! Those damn Iraqis are now trying to control which armed thugs the World’s Largest Embassy (c) and other foreigners are allowed to bring in to Iraq!

Kyle: No way dude! Image from article

Guantanamo and Its Critics: Some regard the camp as so immoral that detainees must not only be innocent, but uniquely good - Robin Simcox, Wall Street Journal: Guantanamo Bay will almost certainly outlive this U.S. presidency, and possibly even the next. Despite pledging to shut the military prison, Barack Obama clearly does not intend to do it any time soon. Yet while the president seems to have accepted the camp's usefulness, the recent 10-year anniversary of its use as a base to imprison suspected terrorists has led to a predictable glut of negative press. Some regard Guantanamo Bay as so immoral that those detained there must not only be innocent, but uniquely good. Detainees have freely admitted to terrible acts, only for that part of their story to be completely ignored in the media. The White House should push back. President Obama's administration should be far more open about the activities of all those it has detained there. This may not play well to his electoral base, but it is vital for America's overall reputation. Instead of the year in which Mr. Obama shuts down Guantanamo, 2012 should be the year that he starts defending it.

Columnist warns of new Spanish-language Islamic channels, with "no broadcasting counterweights" from the US - Kim Andrew Elliott reporting on International Broadcasting: Actually, the United States has a sucessful [sic, 7:50 AM Jan 19] international Spanish-language channel: CNN en Español.

It provides the news and information that provides the anecdote to propaganda. And this for-profit, and profitable, channel does this at no cost to the US taxpaters. I think, however, Mr. Thomas is another "small government" conservative who wants to expand the size of government by adding another broadcasting bureaucracy -- one that will take sides on matters of theology. Image from

Breathing easier on Taiwan: Ma Ying-jeou's reelection lowers the chances for new tensions with mainland China. But that doesn't mean U.S. support for Taiwan is unnecessary - Dennis V. Hickey, latimes.com: Ma Ying-jeou, the incumbent president of Taiwan, has now won his hard-fought battle for reelection. To state it plainly, Ma's victory means one less headache for any U.S. administration, Democratic or Republican.

Image from article, with caption: Taiwan's President Ma Ying-jeou addresses hundreds of volunteers at his election headquarters in Taipei after his successful reelection bid.

China Announces More Open Gov't., Less Open Internet - thenewamerican.com: In response to rising citizen demand for government transparency and efficiency, this year China plans to defog the secretive workings of the government and ruling Communist Party, a senior official said Wednesday. "In this new year, we will adopt an even more open attitude and even more forceful policies," asserted Wang Chen, a Chinese propaganda official. The Chinese government will expand the overseas spread of state media, strengthen the presence of its spokespeople, and nourish the rising trend of microblogs to provide more information to the public. Wang indicated that emergency response systems and information about the government’s day-to-day activities will be streamlined and expanded to provoke interest and encourage public interaction. However, while Chinese officials tout a new "transparency" in government, its intrusive Internet censorship laws remain perfectly intact. In recent years, China’s Internet traffic has undergone explosive growth, with 513 million people now online and over 250 million registered microbloggers, more than any other country.

Rise up! The art of North Korea’s propaganda posters -ottawacitizen.com: Inside the Hermit Kingdom is a typically provocative show at La Petite Mort Gallery (306 Cumberland St.). Following the recent death of North Korean tyrant Kim John Il, the gallery will display 35 “large, hand-painted North Korean propaganda posters, on hand-made paper. The real thing.”

The posters were collected by a Canadian,Jean-Frédéric Beauchesne, working in North Korea, and are the same posters that would have festooned the country to help secure the Kim family’s hold on power. Image from article

Uproar over first reprint of 'Mein Kampf' - iol.co.za: Historians have welcomed news that Adolf Hitler's “Mein Kampf” will be reprinted in Germany for the first time since the Nazi dictator's fall in 1945, just as Holocaust survivors hit out at the move. British publisher Peter McGee said he would issue excerpts from the anti-Semitic manifesto, which laid out the Fuehrer's vision long before he took power in 1933, alongside commentary putting the work in historical context. However Jewish groups were sharply divided about the prospect, with some saying McGee was playing with fire.

The book, written in 1924 when Hitler was languishing in a Bavarian prison, combines elements of autobiography and sets out his views on Aryan racial purity, his hatred of Jews and his opposition to communism. Around 10 million copies were published in Germany until 1945, according to British historian Ian Kershaw. From 1936, every German couple marrying received a copy as a wedding gift from the Nazi state. McGee said he intended to put out weekly excerpts with a circulation of around 100 000. The publisher has been involved in disputed projects in Germany before. In 2009, he caused a stir when he began selling reprints of the Nazi propaganda newspaper Voelkischer Beobachter (People's Observer) with comments from historians. Image from article, with caption: A copy of the deluxe edition of Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf."

Cold war propaganda exhibit opens Tuesday at the Elmhurst Historical Museum: "Alert Today, Alive Tomorrow: Living with the Atomic Bomb, 1945-1965" runs Tuesday through March 18 - mysuburbanlife.com: The dropping of the atomic bomb on Japan in 1945 marked the end of World War II but resulted in a new threat — the uncertainty of the Atomic Age.

The new traveling exhibition at the Elmhurst Historical Museum from ExhibitsUSA explores the ways in which Americans lived with the daily fear of atomic war, and how government responded to the growth of atomic powers and the onset of the Cold War. Through period artifacts and displays, “Alert Today” shows how Americans were inundated with multi-media propaganda that warned of the dangers of atomic energy and reflected a nervous public and shifting global politics, the museum said. Image from article

Revisiting Larry Heller - Edie Adelstein, Indy Blog, Colorado Springs Independent: The Art of War is a student-curated exhibit of World War II propaganda posters and ads by Larry Heller. These works by Heller, which have never been exhibited before, were made during his time as a propaganda artist for the Army Air Corps.

Heller image from article

AMERICANA

More body parts found near man's head in Hollywood Hills park: Police discover a hand, then another, and, as they are about to end their search for the day, they find two feet below the Hollywood sign - Alan Zarembo and Andrew Blankstein, Los Angeles Times: As the sun set over the Hollywood Hills park where police spent Wednesday searching for human body parts, they still didn't have a name to go with the man's head discovered there a day earlier. What they did have were two hands and two feet.

Authorities were optimistic that the hands were in good enough condition to obtain fingerprints. The homicide investigation began Tuesday afternoon after two dog walkers in Bronson Canyon Park noticed their dogs playing with a plastic bag and went to inspect it. Inside was a man's head. His hair was graying. Police said he appeared to be in his 40s and that he probably had been dead for a day or two. Image from article, with caption: A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter searches steep, brushy terrain below the Hollywood sign, where a man's head, two feet and two hands were found.

Is Banking Bad? - Nicholas D. Kristof, New York Times: In 2007, on the eve of the financial crisis, 47 percent of Harvard’s graduating class headed for consulting firms and the financial sector.

The Good Wife: Can Callista Gingrich save her husband - Ariel Levy, New Yorker: Callista Gingrich has a firm formality that can be very effective in curtailing conversations she does not wish to engage in. In April, 2010, she appeared with her husband on “Hannity” to promote a documentary they made about Pope John Paul II. (The two of them are partners in a film company, Gingrich Productions, but Callista holds the title of president. “I’m just talent—she does all the hard work,” Newt told Sean Hannity.) At the end of the interview, Hannity said to Mrs. Gingrich, who was dressed in a crisp violet suit, “He won’t answer this. How do you feel about him running for President?” She replied, “We haven’t talked about that yet.” “Not once? Not even over dinner?” Hannity persisted. “Are you planning on a long discussion about it, maybe in the near future?”

Callista Gingrich raised her eyebrows slightly and replied in the implacable tone of a kindergarten teacher scolding a six-year-old, “We’ll discuss it early next year.” Via Princess Sparkle Pony's Photoblog. Ms. Gingrich image from article, with caption: "The woman is always the grownup,” Newt Gingrich says. “I think no matter what.”

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