The Anatomy of Public Corruption

Showing posts with label Larry Ellison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry Ellison. Show all posts

Milken Money Milking the Redwoods

Pete Bennett contracted to SBCglobal during 9/11 helped bring down Building 7 containing SEC documents aimed at Enron.

Bennett sued Southern Pacific, worked for ComputerLand where his reporting project revealed the owners sold to Merisel Fab a big bucket of cooked books that cost his peers thier retirement. 

Then Bennett became a pawn in the game of International Politics of War by deploying the global virus that wiped out servers around the globe.

Effectively ensuring the Enron investigation died along with 3000 during the previous week.

Amazing considering the tears of millions were weeping while the flesh was rotting and first responders inhaling the acrid toxins creating those last future beath decades later.

Bennett v Southern Pacific 
Contra Costa v Helix, kinder Morgan,  union Pacific 

MG Dan Helix grandson found dead in Las Vegas just like Madeline Seeley in connection to PG&E before San Bruno

Officer Clemente arrests Bennett over and over 
eeping 


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Feature

Ravaging the Redwood: Charles Hurwitz, Michael Milken and the Costs of Greed

by Ned Daly

The fate of the largest unprotected redwood forest in the world may now rest in the hands of an unlikely savior, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Since the 1985 MAXXAM takeover of Pacific Lumber, the redwood ecosystem known as the Headwaters Forest, located in Humboldt County on California's North Coast, has been under siege. Lawsuits, direct action, legislative efforts and all other attempts at preservation have so far failed to curb MAXXAM's ravenous appetite for redwood lumber. Now many environmentalists and community activists are hoping the FDIC can stop the forest from falling victim to corporate greed. The federal agency may be able to acquire the redwood forest as partial or full payment for the $548 million outstanding claim against the United Financial Group (UFG), a holding company for United Savings Association of Texas (USAT), a failed savings and loan controlled by MAXXAM and its chief executive officer, Charles Hurwitz.

Hurwitz is not averse to transferring part of the Headwaters Forest to federal government control, but he is insisting on rather different terms than environmentalists are proposing. Ignoring the fact that a company he controls, UFG, owes $548 million to the government, he has asked the government to pay him $600 million cash for a small grove of redwoods; if the offer is refused, he has threatened to liquidate the forest.

"If the federal government does not purchase the Headwaters Forest, Pacific Lumber will go ahead with its timber operations," says MAXXAM's Director of Public Relations Scott Lamb.

 A Wall Street Journal article said Hurwitz's proposal "brings new meaning to the term greenmail." Hurwitz paid approximately $900 million for the 196,000 acres owned by Pacific Lumber. If the government were to accept his proposal to buy 4,500 acres for $600 million, Hurwitz would earn a profit of more than 2,800 percent.

The people of California's North Coast know Charles Hurwitz and MAXXAM well enough to take his threat seriously. Twice in 1992, the company cut hundreds of trees in the old-growth grove of Owl Creek on holidays and weekends when state regulators were not working, in violation of the California Board of Forestry cutting regulations. Both times the cutting was eventually stopped by court injunction. Under current plans, MAXXAM will harvest all the remaining old-growth redwoods it owns within the next 14 years.

One of the last stands

 The government's response to MAXXAM and Hurwitz's threat will determine the fate of a unique ecosystem.

Many trees in the Headwaters Forest are as old as 2000 years. The cornerstones of an old-growth ecosystem are species diversity and a continual recycling process interlocking life and death. After a 300- foot redwood falls, it serves as a nurse log to help new seedlings grow. The seedlings grow right out of the nurse log, which provides nutrients to the new trees as it decays. As the older tree falls, it creates one of the few canopy breaks in an otherwise shady forest floor. The nurse log lies basking in the sunlight, offering the new seedlings essential light as well as nutrients.

 Logging, especially clearcutting, stops this ecological recycling process and seriously threatens the forest's ability to regenerate. When loggers remove cut trees, they also remove the nutrients that the trees would have returned to the soil. The soil itself will be lost after a rain because it no longer has trees holding it in place. As topsoil is depleted, desertification begins.

Though the redwood forests still support a diverse array of species, including California black bear, mountain lion, Pacific fisher and steelhead trout, logging is taking a severe toll on forest wildlife. Many rare and endangered species also call the redwoods of Humboldt County home, among them the northern spotted owl, marbled murrelet, pacific giant salamander, tailed frog and coho salmon. Their survival is dependent on a diverse and healthy old-growth forest.

 Carl Ross, co-director of Save America's Forests, the nation's largest grassroots forest protection organization, says, "If we fail to protect these last stands of redwoods, we will lose one of the greatest wonders of the living world for all time. Less than 4 percent of native redwoods are still standing, and that tiny percentage is being hacked and cut for the last shred of money that can be sawed from their red roots. If we allow the extinction of these largest of all living things, we will be condemned as a society that knew the price of everything and the value of nothing."

Takeover plunder

 The redwoods of Humboldt County may seem a long way from Houston, and United Savings Association of Texas, but whether the FDIC decides to pursue the connection may determine whether the Headwaters Forest survives.

 There was little need to worry about the Headwaters Forest before Hurwitz's takeover of the Pacific Lumber Company. The family-run business was one of the most economically and environmentally sound timber companies in the United States. Pacific Lumber rarely if ever clearcut; it generally left standing 30 to 50 percent of the timber in a harvested area. This not only created natural canopy break for new growth, it also kept much of the soil stable, increasing the forests' growth potential.

 The company was also generous to its employees. Pacific Lumber rented housing at below market rates to employees and maintained a "no layoff" policy despite downturns in the timber market. The company also funded a very generous pension fund.

 Pacific Lumber's strength soon became its weakness, however. The pension fund was overfunded by $60 million, and, because of its sustainable cutting practices, the company held tremendous assets (old- growth redwoods) that could be liquidated quickly. Assessing Pacific Lumber in 1985, Charles Hurwitz decided it was ripe for a takeover, and he plucked it in the fall of that year.

Almost immediately after the takeover, Hurwitz raided the pension fund and doubled the rate of cutting to pay off the loans and junk bonds used to finance the takeover. If there was any doubt about Hurwitz's intentions and his dedication to preserving the sustainability of his new acquisition, it was cleared up in his first meeting with the workers of Pacific Lumber. Hurwitz was quoted by Time magazine as telling his new employees, "There is the story of the golden rule: he who has the gold rules."

Creative financing

 The story of MAXXAM's takeover of Pacific Lumber is itself a tale of intrigue, shady dealings and questionable business practices. MAXXAM announced that it would make a cash tender offer for Pacific Lumber on September 30, 1985. Drexel, Burnham, Lambert structured the financing, which consisted of a $300 million short-term loan from the Irving Trust Company and $450 million dollars worth of junk bonds sold by Michael Milken's high-yield bond department at Drexel Burnham.

 Shortly after MAXXAM made its offer, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) initiated an investigation into the heavy volume of trading in Pacific Lumber stock which took place in the days before MAXXAM made its offer. A House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigation report states that the NYSE investigation uncovered significant evidence of insider trading and parking stock, although no civil or criminal actions were brought against MAXXAM or its associates for their activities related to MAXXAM's purchase of Pacific Lumber.

 The NYSE investigation, the subcommittee's report and subsequent congressional hearings all make a strong case that stock parking took place. Parking stock is the practice of buying stock for another party in order to conceal the identity of the true or eventual owner. If Hurwitz had someone park stock for him, he could have accumulated Pacific Lumber stock anonymously and at a lower price than after the company was put "into play" (when it became known a single party was accumulating large blocks of the company's stock), which would drive the price of stock up almost immediately.

 Boyd Jefferies, former chairperson of the Los Angeles brokerage firm Jeffries Group, Inc., who later pleaded guilty to parking stock for Ivan Boesky, accumulated 539,600 shares of Pacific Lumber stock and sold the shares on September 27 to MCO Holding Company, a Hurwitz-controlled enterprise. Presumably, this purchase gave Hurwitz enough stock to begin the hostile takeover of Pacific Lumber which he commenced three days after MCO purchased the stock.

Hurwitz and Jefferies both deny any prior agreement to park stock, but Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell, D-Michigan, and Representative Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, concluded in October 1987 that it was unlikely that the sale took place without a prior agreement, because the stock was sold well below the trading price on September 27, 1985. Since there had been so much trading before Hurwitz's offer, the stock price had already begun to rise. On September 27, Pacific Lumber was trading at close to $34 per share. In what was probably one of the more philanthropic stock sales ever seen on Wall Street, Jefferies sold the Pacific Lumber stock at $29.10 rather than its market trading price of $34. The discount sale was not attributable to a prior agreement, according to both parties, but apparently to the fact that Boyd Jefferies felt good-hearted that day.

Jefferies' generosity was not enough to ensure the financial stability of the newly acquired company. Though the interest payments on the junk bonds Hurwitz and MAXXAM used to finance the takeover were not due for four years, it was evident soon after the purchase of Pacific Lumber that it would be difficult to cover the debt. The annual interest payment on the junk bonds was more than the historical annual profit of Pacific Lumber.

To make the bonds more attractive to potential bidders, MAXXAM announced it would terminate the pension plan and sell most nontimber assets to pay the bank loan. MAXXAM also decided it would increase Pacific Lumber's timber cutting rate to pay off the junk bonds.

Getting to the pension fund required some slick maneuvering. According to William Bertain, a lawyer representing shareholders in Pacific Lumber and residents of Humboldt County in a suit against Pacific Lumber, the company attempted to protect the pension fund before Hurwitz's raid by declaring that the pension fund's excess $60 million would vest directly to the employees and retirees in the event of a hostile takeover.

Under pressure from a suit by MAXXAM, the Pacific Lumber board of directors agreed to a "friendly takeover," and MAXXAM agreed to defend the Board if it was found to have breached its fiduciary duty to the shareholders. MAXXAM increased its offer by $1.50 a share, for a total increase of approximately $33 million. But since it was now undertaking a friendly takeover, MAXXAM had access to the $60 million excess in the pension fund - so MAXXAM came out $27 million richer, despite the higher price paid.

Hurwitz was later sued by the U.S. Department of Labor and employees for investing Pacific Lumber's pension fund with the now-failed Executive Life Insurance Co. allegedly in return for Executive Life's junk bond financing of the Pacific Lumber takeover. The suit is still pending.

Failing Finances

 Three years after MAXXAM's takeover of Pacific Lumber, another piece of Hurwitz's empire, United Savings Association of Texas, failed. The circumstances of the failure remain hazy. Although MAXXAM's Lamb claims that "USAT's decline can be attributed to a decline in the Texas real estate market," the S& L's deep involvement in Michael Milken's junk-bond schemes appears to have been an important factor in its downfall.

 By the time USAT failed in 1988, Hurwitz had already gained the attention of regulators. In 1971, Hurwitz was sued by the Security and Exchange Commission for alleged stock manipulation, and charged by New York State regulators with looting Summit Insurance Company. Hurwitz was not found guilty in either case.

 In the three years prior to its failure, USAT purchased more than $1.3 billion worth of junk bonds underwritten by Drexel Burnham. During those same years, the Milken group raised about $1.8 billion for Charles Hurwitz and his takeover ventures, including the takeover of Pacific Lumber, according to a FDIC lawsuit against Michael Milken.

 The FDIC told the United Financial Group (UFG) that the company and its officers are liable for breach of fiduciary duty for wrongfully failing to maintain the net worth of a failed savings and loan. The FDIC also alleges that Hurwitz used USAT to aid Michael Milken's scheme to manipulate the junk bond market. And the FDIC accused UFG of wrongfully causing USAT to pay dividends to UFG.

 At the time of the failure, MAXXAM owned approximately 22 percent of USAT and 28 percent of United Financial Group, the thrift's holding company. Charles Hurwitz was chair of both MAXXAM and UFG when USAT failed.

The questions of propriety surrounding the takeover of Pacific Lumber and the collapse of USAT may provide hope for the preservation of the Headwaters Forest, as Congress and environmentalists try to fashion a response to Hurwitz's demands.

 One possibility is for the government to accede to the proposal for a $600 million cash buyout of the forest. The Headwaters Forest Act, introduced by Representative Dan Hamburg, D-California, would authorize the Department of Agriculture to buy 44,000 acres of the forest. Because of Congress's understandable reluctance to pay $600 million, the bill leaves the amount and method of payment open to negotiation between the Department of Agriculture and Hurwitz.

 Hamburg's bill has passed the House of Representatives and Senator Barbara Boxer, D- California, has introduced a Senate version of Hamburg's bill, but it currently has no co-sponsors.

 Another, bolder approach would avoid the need for Congress to directly or indirectly authorize funds for the purchase of the Headwaters Forest. Prodded by some environmentalists, Representative Ron Dellums, D-California, Chair of the House Banking Committee Henry Gonzales, D-Texas, and other members of the House have asked the FDIC to consider "disgorging" Pacific Lumber from MAXXAM, on the grounds that MAXXAM's takeover of Pacific Lumber was inextricably bound up with USAT's failure.

 The case for disgorgement, Dellums wrote to FDIC Chairman Andrew Hove, "is based on the assessment that MAXXAM acquired Pacific Lumber as a direct result of certain alleged breaches of fiduciary duties owed United Savings Association of Texas (USAT) by MAXXAM, as controlling stockholder, and by similar alleged breaches of duty on the part of certain overlapping officers and directors." The letter explains, "These alleged breaches include causing USAT to invest heavily in junk bonds underwritten by Drexel, Burnham and Lambert as a quid pro quo for Drexel's underwriting of the bonds MAXXAM used to acquire Pacific Lumber."

 Jill Ratner, a lawyer at the Oakland-based Rose Foundation was the first to look into the idea of disgorgement. According to Ratner, "We based our theory on the FDIC's own allegations in a related case. The FDIC's complaint in FDIC v. Milken alleged that Drexel, Burnham and Lambert and MAXXAM's CEO, Charles Hurwitz, arranged for the S& L [USAT] to purchase millions of dollars of Drexel's underwritten bonds in return for Drexel's securing the financing that allowed MAXXAM to buy out Pacific Lumber. In the end, these alleged interested insider transactions were very much to MAXXAM's advantage and very much to USAT's detriment."

 In sum, Ratner says, "What we're saying is that if the FDIC can prove what it already alleged, MAXXAM should be made to surrender the profit it made on the allegedly improper financing deal, and that profit is Pacific Lumber."

 The FDIC has responded to the calls for disgorgement by stating that it is still reviewing the matter, and that it has entered into an agreement with UFG and others who may be responsible for losses resulting from the failure. The parties have all agreed to hold off legal actions and negotiate toward a settlement.

 Disgorgement would put the Headwaters into federal ownership, but many in the communities throughout Humboldt County would like to see Hurwitz pay for his actions with more than just trees. Darryl Cherney, an Earth First! activist in Garberville, California, has been working on this issue since MAXXAM took over Pacific Lumber. Cherney has a deep disgust for Hurwitz and his business practices. "Hurwitz has pilfered the Pacific Lumber pension fund, ripped off the redwoods, and swindled a savings and loan to do it. We say three strikes and you're out. The only thing that is up for negotiation as far as old growth redwoods are concerned is the length of Hurwitz's jail sentence."


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Oracle's Hostile Takeover of PeopleSoft (A) - Harvard Business Review



Oracle's Hostile Takeover of PeopleSoft (A)

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Oracle's Hostile Takeover of PeopleSoft (A)

 

Are you an educator?

Product Description

Publication Date: May 30, 2006
Industry: Consumer Electronics
Industry: Technology
Source: Stanford Graduate School of Business
In June of 2003, PeopleSoft management announced a merger with J.D. Edwards. Within hours of the announcement, Oracle had launched a hostile takeover attempt of PeopleSoft. Oracle's bid raised enormously difficult questions for the PeopleSoft board, questions about whether PeopleSoft products would continue to be supported and customers became reluctant to buy PeopleSoft software. Managers were therefore faced with a decision about how to respond to the bid and the uncertainty it created. To regain customer and analyst confidence, PeopleSoft's board considered adopting a Customer Assurance Program in which customers would receive a cash payment in the event of a takeover. This promise of a cash payment would not only encourage customers to invest in PeopleSoft products, but also created a liability that might be large enough to derail Oracle's takeover attempt altogether. The board therefore had to consider the implications of a Customer Assurance Program for the welfare of the firm, its customers, and its duties to shareholders faced with a tender offer.
Product #: CG4A-PDF-ENG
Pages: 24
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Oracle's founder and longtime CEO (from Business Insider)

Larry Ellison v. Pete Bennett

A unique of power and influence overcoming the weaker competitor by overwhelming force and economic power.



Pete Bennett - International Challenger to Outsourcing


NoNoreH1b.com

What happened to research sent to Congress lost when Bennett was attacked by police officers, attorneys, bankers and their dominating tech CEO's flush with cash seeking to put Bennett out of Business.
Cnetscandal.blogspot.com


The mother of all data breaches is the best kept PG&E secret of the ages.
Cnetscandal.blogspot.com



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Larry Living Large as Ever

We got our visas our friends got Bennett


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Oracle's founder and longtime CEO

Oracle's founder and longtime CEO is infamous for his lavish lifestyle and business acumen. Here are 30 surprising facts you may not know about Larry Ellison:
  1. Ellison is currently the 5th richest person on the planet, with a net worth of $54.3 billion (at time of writing).
  2. Born to an unwed mother in New York City, he contracted pneumonia at just nine months of age and was given to his great-aunt and uncle for adoption. He wouldn't see his biological mother again for almost five decades.
  3. Unlike Bill Gates, Larry Ellison was not exposed to computers in his childhood and didn't have that inherent advantage early in life. He was first introduced to computer design during his second attempt at university.
  4. Ellison studied at both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago, but dropped out of school for good to move to California in 1966. He'd spent a summer there between his two stints in university, after the death of his adoptive mother.
  5. Prior to the loss of his mother, Ellison had been named science student of the year at University of Illinois.
  6. The first company Ellison co-founded launched in 1977. It was called Software Development Laboratories and his investment was $1200. He and his partners won a two-year contract to build a database for the CIA; they called the project "Oracle." Their company would become Relational Software Inc. in 1979, and change names one more time, in 1982, to become Oracle Systems Corporation.
  7. Ellison almost lost everything when Oracle nearly went bankrupt in the early 1990s.
  8. An adventurer and adrenaline junkie at heart, Ellison suffered numerous injuries as a result of his participation in extreme sports, including mountain biking and body surfing.
  9. He was inducted into the Academy of Achievement (the museum of living history in Washington) in 1997.
  10. The Lawrence J. Ellison Ambulatory Care Centre opened in 1998 and is so named after he donated $5 million to seed the Lawrence J. Ellison Musculo-Skeletal Research Centre. Ellison has shattered his elbow in a high-speed cycling crash and felt inspired to kick off his philanthropic efforts in a huge way.
  11. Ellison sued the City of San Jose in 2000 after he was cited for violating rules around night takeoffs and landings at the San Jose Mineta International Airport. He won.
  12. As of 2002, Ellison had access to $1 billion in credit. When a judge unsealed court records in 2006 from a shareholder lawsuit, it was revealed that Ellison's accountant had chastised him for repeatedly pushing his credit limit to the max with extravagant purchases including mansions, yachts, and luxury cars.
  13. A 2003 book authored by investigative journalist Mike Wilson gets right to the heart of Ellison's legendary reputation. It's titled, The Difference Between God and Larry Ellison*: God Doesn't Think He's Larry Ellison.
  14. Ellison was responsible for the priciest real estate deal in US history when he purchased five lots on Malibu's Carbon Beach in 2004 for $65 million. He held the title only briefly; Ron Perlman unloaded his Florida estate for $70 million a few months later.
  15. Between 2004 and 2007, Ellison led Oracle through an acquisition-based growth that strategy that saw the company drop $25 billion on other software brands, large and small.
  16. By 2006, Forbes had declared him the richest Californian.
  17. That same year, Ellison made waves by reneging on his pledge to donate $115 million to Harvard University after the departure of the President of the school.
  18. From 2007 to 2009, Ellison raked in over $50 million per year (sometimes well over). In August 2009, his base salary was reduced from $1 million to one dollar.
  19. Ellison owned one of the largest yachts on the planet until 2010, when he sold his rights to the Rising Sun to David Geffen.
  20. He's a licensed pilot and owns two military jets.
  21. Ellison has been married and divorced four times. His second wife married him prior to the founding of Oracle and when they divorced shortly after, signed off on any rights to the company for $500.
  22. When Ellison married his fourth wife, romance novelist Melanie Craft, his good friend Steve Jobs served as wedding photographer.
  23. Ellison had a cameo (alongside fellow tech guru Elon Musk) in the 2010 movie Iron Man 2.
  24. In 2011, Ellison hired a "tree lawyer" (yes, those actually exist) and took his neighbors to court for blocking his views with three redwoods and an acacia tree. They eventually settled.
  25. He's one of the 128 (or so) billionaires to sign The Giving Pledge, committing at least half of his fortune to philanthropic causes.
  26. Ellison has long been passionate about yachting and in 2013, his Oracle Team USA defeated the Emirates Team New Zealand to win the America's Cup.
  27. He owns 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
  28. Ellison stepped down as CEO of Oracle in 2014, entrusting the company he built from the ground up to two trusted colleagues. He now serves as Executive Chairman and CTO.
  29. He's tried and failed to buy two NBA teams, the New Orleans Hornets and Golden Gate Warriors. Though he doesn't own a team, he still has Oracle Stadium.
  30. Ellison reportedly owns hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate around the world, including a Rhode Island estate and historic gardens in Kyoto.x





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Accenture Management Consulting - Building one of many connections to DOS

December 2013: When the CEO of Accenture viewed my profile he accidently connected Accenture to the Bin Laden Group.  


Accenture Management Consulting Information Session

Thursday, September 5, 2013 • 6:30pm–7:30pm Add to Calendar

Location

Room 250, GSPP West (1893 Le Roy Ave)

Description

Accenture Management Consulting – US Consultant, 2013-2014 Recruitment
Accenture will be recruiting for both 2014 summer internships and fulltime opportunities. Fulltime recruitment will be focused on San Francisco & Washington DC. Summer internship program is nationwide, including San Francisco. This event is open to all GSPP Students (1st & 2nd yr MPPs), and Masters of Engineering students.
RSVP Deadline: Tuesday September 3rd 11:59 PM

As a consultant, you will work with some of the most prestigious organizations and governments to analyze and address the complex issues they face. We offer clients a unique spectrum of end-to-end management consulting solutions that help them achieve high-performance. With Accenture Management Consulting, you could be involved in the strategic analysis and development, creation, design and build of new business models, through to helping clients integrate and operate them.
THIS EVENT IS ONLY OPEN TO GRADAUTE STUDENTS FROM THE UC BERKELEY SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC POLICY, AND & ENGINEERING
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OBIT: Debian Creator Ian Murdock Dead At 42

Debian Creator Ian Murdock Dead At 42

Ian Murdock – the ‘ian’ in Debian – was found dead at his home in San Francisco on Monday. The cause is yet unknown.

Murdock was an integral figure in the open source movement. His Debian Project – and his work at Docker

Ian Murdoch

    

With a heavy heart Debian mourns the passing of Ian Murdock, stalwart proponent of Free Open Source Software, Father, Son, and the ‘ian’ in Debian.
Ian started the Debian project in August of 1993, releasing the first versions of Debian later that same year. Debian would go on to become the world’s Universal Operating System, running on everything from embedded devices to the space station.
Ian’s sharp focus was on creating a Distribution and community culture that did the right thing, be it ethically, or technically. Releases went out when they were ready, and the project’s staunch stance on Software Freedom are the gold standards in the Free and Open Source world.
Ian’s devotion to the right thing guided his work, both in Debian and in the subsequent years, always working towards the best possible future.
We will update if and when more details become available.

 

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