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Posted on 01/02/2007 7:23:18 PM PST by nwctwx
http://www.mvleadvocate.com/web/isite.dll?1167839628718
"32 cars derail near Hanover"
By Dan Thalmann - Washington County News
Jan. 4, 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "A cause has not yet been determined in a 32-car train derailment Friday morning near Spence, northwest of Hanover. There were no injuries in the accident.
Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said the derailment occurred at 8:35 a.m. Friday near the Spence bridge. Thirty-two cars loaded with coal overturned, some falling to the side and others piling on top of each other. The train had a total of 132 rail cars and was traveling eastbound from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming to an Oklahoma Gas & Electric plant.
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Davis said derailments have become more rare over the years."
Fyi:
http://www.wmata.com/
WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Alerts:
http://www.wmata.com/metrorail/alertdisplay.cfm?nocache
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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1763834/posts
"DC Metro car derailed"
Fox news | 7 Jan 07 | Self
Posted on 01/07/2007 1:58:26 PM PST by SLB
Off Topic - SPECIAL PROJECT:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1763788/posts
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2610
Terrorists Killed in Iraq, 35 Detained; Bomb Damages Tank
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2007 – Four insurgents were killed, an al Qaeda cell leader was captured and 35 other insurgents were detained through several recent operations in Iraq. A Marine tank also hit a roadside bomb, coalition officials said.
Coalition forces killed four terrorists and detained a fifth armed gunman during a morning raid yesterday in Baghdad. The raid targeted terrorists involved in the production of homemade bombs.
When coalition forces arrived at the objective, five armed individuals attempted to flee the scene. The forces tracked four of the individuals to a nearby building where they refused to surrender, officials said. Their subsequent actions were deemed an immediate threat to the forces and Iraqis in the area. The troops reacted by engaging and killing the four terrorists.
The fifth individual, found hiding in a ditch, surrendered to coalition forces.
In Samarra yesterday, members of the 4th Iraqi Army Division, with coalition advisors, captured seven members of a homemade bomb cell during operations.
The suspects are responsible for coordinating and conducting bomb attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces, officials said. Cell members also are involved in small-arms and mortar attacks in the Samarra area. They are suspected of using their homes and businesses as places to store and sell weapons and explosives to other insurgents in the area.
On Jan. 5, more than two dozen suspects were detained and weapons caches seized in several operations.
In southern Baghdad, coalition forces captured the leader of an al Qaeda terrorist cell, officials said. Tied to senior level al Qaeda leadership, the terrorist allegedly is responsible for coordinating and conducting kidnapping, torture and murders of Iraqi civilians and security forces.
Coalition forces detained an additional person for questioning.
South of Baghdad in Iskandariyah, officials said Iraqi Police special forces, with coalition advisors, captured four suspected insurgents during operations.
The suspects are responsible for coordinating and carrying out kidnapping, murder and small-arms attacks against Iraqi civilians and security forces. They also are suspected of conducting bomb and mortar attacks against Iraqi security forces in the Iskandariyah area.
In the southeastern Baghdad neighborhood of Hadar, elements of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, detained four men at a checkpoint.
The men were detained after illegal weapons and terrorist propaganda materials were found in their cars following a search at the police checkpoint, officials said. A sniper rifle, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, assault rifles, assorted ammunition, weapons magazines and bomb-making materials were recovered from the suspects’ two vehicles.
The men are being held for further questioning.
In Ghazaliyah, a western Baghdad neighborhood, coalition forces found and destroyed a cache used for manufacturing and assembling bombs Jan. 5.
Soldiers from Company D, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Division, attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, found about 200 pounds of explosives in two houses near the Al-Shadra Mosque, officials said.
The first of the two adjacent houses was identified as a homemade bomb facility, while the second was identified as the bomb-assembly site.
In addition to the explosives, the soldiers found washing machine timers, Iraqna cell phone cards, passports, blasting caps, time fuses, detonation cords and numerous physics and engineering books.
After securing the area surrounding the two houses, an explosives disposal team arrived and the team’s on-scene commander spoke with a local sheik and community leaders to explain the severity of the situation. The local community leaders agreed to in-place disposal of the items.
The explosives team conducted a controlled detonation. Any collateral damage to surrounding houses was identified and the owners were instructed on the claims process, officials said.
Samples of all suspected explosive material was collected for further analysis.
In Hurriya, a northwestern Baghdad neighborhood, elements of Multinational Division Baghdad, along with Iraqi army elements, conducted clearing operations designed to disrupt insurgent activities and deny urban support zones to terrorists from Jan. 1 to Jan. 5, officials said.
While conducting the operation, elements from the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, and 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, detained 16 suspected insurgents, found seven illegal weapons caches and conducted a civilian medical assistance operation.
Officials said the confiscated caches included rocket propelled-grenade launchers, AK-47 assault rifles with AK-47 ammunition magazines, rifles, machine guns, pistols, mortars, and blocks of C-4 explosives. Rocket-propelled grenades, rocket-propelled grenade stabilizer shafts, and rocket-propelled grenade booster rockets, along with identification cards, maps, insurgent propaganda, and $3.25 million Iraqi Dinar and $2,200 in U.S. currency also were confiscated.
With the support of Task Force 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, Iraqi troops also aided the community by providing medical care to the local population.
Iraqi medics treated and provided medication to about 2,000 Iraqi civilians during this operation, officials said. Iraqi army personnel handed out blankets to those waiting in line, and passed out candy, soccer balls, stickers and gum to the waiting children.
Elsewhere in Iraq on Jan. 5, a Marine tank was severely damaged when it struck a roadside bomb in Fallujah, officials said. It caught fire but no coalition force casualties have been reported.
Marines cordoned the area and established security around the damaged vehicle to protect local citizens and begin recovery of the vehicle.
Near Ubayday, south of Baghdad, the same day, Iraqi highway patrolmen and paratroopers from 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, found and destroyed a roadside bomb, officials said.
The Iraqi officers contacted the paratroopers, who requested an explosives detachment. A controlled detonation destroyed the bomb on site.
On Jan. 4, west of Mahmudiyah, soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division and Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), detained two suspects during a joint operation.
The operation targeted bomb-making cells operating near the town. Working on Iraqi army intelligence, troops worked with local residents of the area to help identify and detain the first suspect.
U.S. soldiers, working with aviation support, tracked the second suspect, who was seen fleeing the area. Iraqi army soldiers caught and detained him in a nearby palm grove.
Both suspects are being held for further questioning.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=2611
Iraqi Army, Coalition Forces Continue To Clear Safe Haven
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2007 – During ongoing operations south of Balad Ruz, Iraq, soldiers of the 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army, with support from coalition forces, continue to target specific terrorist cells that use the area as a safe haven.
The current operations began Jan. 4, with a combined air and ground assault into the outskirts of Turki village.
Iraqi army and coalition force soldiers established mobile and stationary positions along possible escape routes to isolate the area and facilitate searching the area for weapon supplies, bomb-making material and terrorists.
"The terrorists believe we will not attack them in their safe havens and believe they can use these areas to spread violence throughout the region," Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division commander, and senior U.S. Army officer in the Diyala province, said. "The 5th Iraqi Army Division believes that we must continue to take the fight to those individuals that use violence against the Iraqi people for their own personal and financial gain.
“The coalition forces will continue to support this Iraqi force," he added.
During the initial hours of the operation, the Iraqi army, with coalition force soldiers supporting, encountered numerous roadside bombs in an attempt to defend these safe havens and slow down the movement of coalition forces. The insurgent efforts were ineffective and the obstacles were cleared.
Additionally, coalition aircraft engaged a number of insurgents in fighting positions, as well as those who were spotted placing roadside bombs along one of the main roads. Several suspects were detained.
"Although the Iraqi army and coalition forces have not encountered heavy resistance as of yet, this operation remains critical for the establishment of a safe and secure environment for the citizens of Diyala," Sutherland said.
“So far, what we have found, and the actions of the enemy, is consistent with our expectations. There have been no surprises, and operations will continue based on the goals of the Iraq army and the government of Diyala," Army Maj. Robert Cain, the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division executive officer, said. "The Iraqi army and coalition forces are here to capture or kill the terrorists and provide security for the citizens of Diyala.”
Because the Iraqi army will soon take full responsibility for securing the province, it is vital the soldiers conduct these types of operations, Sutherland said.
"The morale of the Iraqi soldiers is high and they are continuously showing discipline and professionalism when dealing with the local civilians; this includes men, women and children," Sutherland added. “Developing a military force with valid leadership skills comes from training. The Iraqi army is training (and) are … doing very well," Sutherland added.
(From a Multinational Corps Iraq news release.)
Cindy, have you heard of any chantter about cruise ships as targets?
This incident at the Port of Miami makes me suspect these guys were trying to seak on a cruise ship to wreak havoc.
Since they usually work in teams of 5 or 6, where are the others?
That Freedom of the Seas holds about 3000 passengers, plus crew. To sink it would be, for a terrorist, as big a hit as the Trade Towers. Plus the economic harm done to the billion-dollar cruise ship and travel industries.
"Cindy, have you heard of any chantter about cruise ships as targets?"
OPINION: Large gatherings/crowds seem to be an ongoing interest by terrorists.
(http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_1161.html )
I have not read anything online recently about a specific threat to a cruise ship.
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ON THE NET...
http://news.google.com/nwshp?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&tab=wn&q=cruise%20ships%20%2B%20threat
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cruiseship
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cruiseships
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http://www.icc-ccs.org/prc/piracyreport.php
Note: The following news brief is a quote:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3349548,00.html
Jerusalem: Network smuggling illegal aliens busted
Published: 01.07.07, 23:41
Border Guard investigators in Jerusalem busted a network responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into Israel. The suspects apparently transported Palestinians to central Israel under poor conditions – stuffed into refrigerated trucks and commercial vehicles.
Two Jews and two Palestinians headed the operation, which transported some 250-350 Palestinians per day, made some NIS 1,200,000 in profits monthly. (Efrat Weiss)
UPDATE...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1167467680167&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Jan. 7, 2007 18:45 | Updated Jan. 7, 2007 23:44
"Teheran: Israel will regret any attack"
By JPOST STAFF AND AP
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Israel on Sunday denied a British newspaper report that it is planning to attack Teheran's nuclear sites using low-yield nuclear "bunker busters.""
ON THE NET...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=KOSOVO
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=MACEDONIA
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6239809.stm
Last Updated: Sunday, 7 January 2007, 22:50 GMT
"Macedonian police in cocaine haul"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Police in Macedonia have seized around 400kg of cocaine in the country's largest-ever haul of the drug.
Officers found the cocaine, which has a street value of more than $50m (£26m), hidden in 60 paint tins on a truck which was crossing from Kosovo.
The driver of the vehicle, a Macedonian citizen, was arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling.
A police spokesman said the narcotics - high-quality Venezuelan cocaine - were likely bound for Greece."
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ON THE NET....
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=VENEZUELA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=GREECE
AMSTERDAM — Military police arrested a man who was allegedly carrying eight passports at Schiphol Airport on Thursday. Military police said the man — who was about to board a flight to Istanbul — was carrying seven Swedish and one Finnish passport.
The passports were real and at least four of the Swedish documents were registered as being stolen. The man is being held on remand and authorities are investigating what he was planning to do with the travel documents.
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=35383
‘Human pipeline’ of terror linked to Pakistan
Sunday, January 07, 2007
WASHINGTON: There is a “human pipeline” that arranges for alienated British Muslim youths – many of them born in the UK of Pakistani heritage – to travel to Pakistan for indoctrination and training at temporary terrorist “camps”, believed to be operated by Al Qaeda leaders, according to a report in the current issue of Newsweek.
The report quoted US authorities as saying that the UK-Pakistan pipeline had played a role in several planned terrorist plots. A US intelligence official said that agencies on both sides of the Atlantic had information linking a 26-year-old London man, Muhammed Al-Ghabra, as a major organiser for Al Qaeda and other terror groups to some of the well-known plots.
The information that the US Treasury Department made public in its announcement freezing Ghabra’s assets appears to affirm his role as a “terrorist fixer”. The Treasury statement said some of the would-be terrorists that Ghabra allegedly helped travel to Pakistan returned to the UK to “engage in covert activity on Al Qaeda’s behalf”. It said that during a visit to Pakistan in 2002, Ghabra allegedly met and stayed at the home of Abu Faraj Al-Libi, who at the time was believed to have succeeded the 9/11 mastermind as the Al Qaeda operations chief. Ghabra was also accused of training at a terror camp in Kashmir. The US government is the only party involved in designating Ghabra as a terror organiser that has released such detailed information on him.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007/01/07/story_7-1-2007_pg1_2
Report: U.K. Army Guarding Energy Plants
Jan 6, 7:34 PM
LONDON (AP) - Britain's army will be deployed at oil, gas and electricity facilities in the country to defend them from potential terrorist attacks, a newspaper reported on Sunday.
The News of the World cited an unnamed security source as confirming security will be increased around the facilities after intelligence suggested terrorists may target the country's infrastructure. The newspaper said the measure would mark the first time soldiers had been called in to guard such facilities. The Home Office said the review of security around key infrastructure did not come in response to any specific threat and added the general threat level to the country has not changed. A Home Office spokeswoman declined to comment further on the report.
UPDATE...
http://www.westernresistance.com/blog/archives/003534.html
January 7, 2007
"UK: British Muslim Is 'Al Qaeda Banker'"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "On December 19, the US Treasury, pursuant to Executive Order 13224, designated a British citizen as a supporter of terrorism. Adam Szubin, director of the US Office of Foreign Assets Control, stated: "Mohammed Al Ghabra has backed al Qaida and other violent jihadist groups, facilitating travel for recruits seeking to meet with al Qaida leaders and take part in terrorist training. We must act against those who fund and facilitate al Qaida's agenda of violence against innocents."
The Sunday Times reports that Britain has agreed with the US and the assets of Mohammed Al Ghabra are now frozen by the UK Treasury, the Bank of England.
Mohammed Al Ghabra lives in Forest Gate, east London. He is a supporter of George Galloway's "Respect" party, He has spoken to the Sunday Times at his home, and denies the claims. He said: "If I am the moneymaker and this is why they have decided to put the sanctions against me, how could I have so many financial problems myself?"
Ghabra admits to being an active member of the Muslim Prisoner Support Group. This is an organization which campaigns for the rights of Muslims who are imprisoned as suspected terrorists.
Ghabra, born in Syria, is a known associate of Haroon Rashid Aswat. This individual, from Dewsbury, west Yorkshire, met Ghabra in a religious school in Lahore, Pakistan.
Aswat is wanted on an extradition order by the United States, for his involvement with Abu Hamza and James Ujaama to set up an AL Qaeda raining camp at Dog Cry Ranch in Bly, Oregon. Aswat was arrested in Zambia shortly after the 7/7 bombings, originally suspected of involvement in the London Transport attacks as an organizer. Aswat is in custody, and he was a member of Al-Muhajiroun.+
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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/014727.php
TIMESONLINE.co.uk
January 07, 2007
"London resident named as al-Qaeda 'banker'"
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http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/014473.php
NEWSWEEK
December 18, 2006
"Newsweek: 12-man team of Westerners being trained by al Qaeda in Pakistan"
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http://osint.internet-haganah.com/archives/000649.html
December 19, 2006
"AL GHABRA, Mohammed [SDGT]"
(DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY)
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http://blogsearch.google.com/blogsearch?hl=en&client=news&q=%22al-Ghabra%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&scoring=d
Yes, yes, I am interested as to what he was going to do with those travel passorts.
Thanks for the post, Oorang.
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=35383
Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't expect Israel to telegraph its intentions. However, Israel is suffering from an infection of liberal wackos just as we are here (NY Times for example). And Olmert is a few fries short of a happy meal when it comes to military operations, bluffing? This will be a tense year.
"This will be a tense year."
Yes.
_______________________________________
Friends say recently deported Ohio imam has disappeared
7 Jan 2007
DETROIT Friends and family of a prominent Ohio Muslim leader who deported to his native Palestinian territories say he has disappeared.
The U-S government reported taking Fawaz Damra (FAH-wahz DAHM-rah) to the West Bank. But his friends in Cleveland say no one has heard from Damra since he left. They're worried that he was detained by Israeli authorities on his way to Palestinian territories. His friends are planning a news conference this week in Ohio to encourage authorities to find him.
Damra was convicted in 2004 of lying about his ties to Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which the State Department labeled as terrorist. He had been held in Monroe, Michigan, since then.
http://www.wlns.com/Global/story.asp?S=5903280&nav=menu25_2
Bangladesh task force seize bomb materials, arrest 6 suspected Islamic militants
January 7, 2007
DHAKA, Bangladesh: Bangladesh security forces recovered bomb-making materials and arrested six suspected Islamic militants after a raid on a town near the capital, a statement by the anti-crime force said Sunday.
The Rapid Action Battalion seized the materials — including 80 hand grenade casings, about 15 kilograms (33 pounds) of a gel explosive, a detonator and a book on "jihad" or holy war — on Saturday in raids in Narayanganj town, the statement said.
Six suspected members of the banned Jumatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh militant group also were arrested, it said.
Excerpted
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/07/asia/AS-GEN-Bangladesh-Bomb-Materials.php
A little recap and an update:
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3349554,00.html
"PM travels to China to discuss Iran's nuclear program
Olmert to leave for Beijing Monday afternoon, set to meet Chinese president, prime minister"
Ronny Sofer
Published: 01.08.07, 00:46
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http://intelligence-summit.blogspot.com/2007/01/australia-to-sell-uranium-to-china.html
Friday, January 05, 2007
"Australia to sell uranium to China"
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http://www.janes.com/defence/news/jdw/jdw060306_1_n.shtml
06 March 2006
"Israel admits resuming defence exports to China"
By Alon Ben-David JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv
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http://off-topic.internet-haganah.com/
http://off-topic.internet-haganah.com/archives/000690.html
http://off-topic.internet-haganah.com/archives/000659.html
Maybe he took the scenice route.
THANKS for that update Oorang.
LONDON (AP) - A British newspaper reported Sunday that Israeli pilots were training to strike targets in Iran with low-yield nuclear weapons, but Israel swiftly denied the report and analysts expressed doubts about its reliability.
Citing unidentified Israeli military sources, The Sunday Times said the proposals drawn up in Israel involved using so-called "bunker-buster" nuclear weapons to attack nuclear facilities at three sites south of the Iranian capital. Israel has never confirmed it has nuclear weapons, although the Jewish state is widely believed to possess a significant stockpile.
Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes like generating electricity. The Sunday Times reported that Israeli military officials believed Iran could produce enough enriched uranium to build nuclear weapons within two years, and the newspaper said Israeli pilots had made flights to the British colony of Gibraltar to train for the 2,000-mile round trip to the Iranian targets.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office declined to comment on the report. "We don't respond to publications in The Sunday Times," said spokeswoman Miri Eisin. However Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev denied the report, saying: "if diplomacy succeeds, the problem can be solved peaceably." The United States and its allies suspect Tehran of secretly trying to produce atomic weapons there.
Some view Israeli officials' occasional implied threats as a means of pressuring the world community to take action, building on the recent United Nations Security Council decision to impose some economic sanctions on Tehran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment. Some analysts viewed Sunday's report as another element of delicate diplomacy. "I refuse to believe that anyone here would consider using nuclear weapons against Iran," Reuven Pedatzur, a prominent defense analyst and columnist for the Israeli daily Haaretz, told the AP. "It is possible that this was a leak done on purpose, as deterrence, to say: 'Someone better hold us back, before we do something crazy.'"
Ephraim Kam - a former senior intelligence official now at Tel Aviv University's Institute for National Strategic Studies - also suggested the report should not be taken literally. "No reliable source would ever speak about this, certainly not to the Sunday Times," he said.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070107/D8MGLDE00.html
Men in Jordan Charged With Attack Plots
Jan 7, 5:15 PM (ET)
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Two men were charged Sunday with plotting attacks against Americans living in Jordan. Prosecutors indicted Mohammed Shehada, 25, a Jordanian, and Sameeh al-Hotari, 25, who was born in Kuwait, for conspiracy to carry out terrorist attacks and possession of an automatic weapon, a Kalashnikov.
Shehada and al-Hotari, who were in police custody, allegedly decided to avenge Muslims "who suffer from the Americans" and planned to kill an American man who lived in a suburb of the Jordanian capital, Amman. The indictment did not identify the American. The two suspects began watching the American in August but were arrested before they could try to kill him, the indictment said. The two men were accused of plotting to kill other Americans, but indictment did not give specifics about those plans. There was no information about attorneys for the two men, and a trial date has not been set.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070107/D8MGN2503.html
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