- cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

IQNets: OFFSystem - cursory review and conclusion
by Zenaan Harkness 26 Oct '19

26 Oct '19

The OFFSystem https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OFFSystem and similar (that "free speech" XOR concept it was related to and/or based on), is kinda cool at first glance. It uses RAID disk type principles to mix blocks (/files), to successfully mess upthe concept of copyright on a block: Choose a block size, say 128KiB. Take an original "copyrighted" block A of a file, which we want to store in our file/cache/block store. XOR A together with some other random block (let's say, a block B containing completely random data) - this produces a new block C which is a mathematical version/ combination/ "encoding", of block A. We add this new XOR block C into the store, and we can discard the original block A, since by running XOR again, but on blocks B + C, we are able to produce the original block A; of course we must store the XOR block map somewhere too, so we remember which blocks to XOR. The new block C is therefore quite arguably an encoding of the original copyrighted block A. And now, this new block C also looks like completely random data, and statistically it is, just not when XORed with one very special (in relation to block C) yet otherwise completely random, block B. Next we wish to add another block D copyrighted by some other party entirely, and you happen to randomly choose as your "random block for XORing" block C, producing block E (which you add to the block store) and again discarding this time block D. Original copyrighted, now discarded blocks: A D Block store: B (pure random data), C and E ('encodings' of A and D) Who owns the copyrights on the various blocks?: Block A is regenerated using B XOR C. Block D is regenerated using E XOR C, where C was chosen completely randomly. Block C is an encoding of A. Block E is an encoding of C, so E is also, quite evidently, an encoding of A, and in fact E { XOR C XOR B } gives A, so copyright holder of A can quite legitimately, within the assumption that he has copyright over all encodings of A, claim copyright over block E. But this would probably not be considered satisfactory to the copyright holder of block D, who can also with mathematical certainty, demonstrate that block E is an encoding of block D. --------------------------- In the "free speech" version (HTML paper courtesy grarpamp), this principle was used with a distributed "random data" 128KiB block store - sort of P2P, although it wasn't automated and this was 2000, so the link protocol was FTP, with the intention being the ability to distribute messages over the internet, exposing those messages "at some time in the future" via "just happened to notice these blocks ABC XOR to produce message XYZ". --------------------------- Utility appears to be confounding copyright holders. Utility for "free speech"? Not so much, since: - "speech", such as chatting and email demand various "reasonable maximum" latencies - for email, a few minutes max latency is desirable, often much longer can be tolerated, but still only up to "hours" - for chat/text/forum, a typed message needs to appear within seconds, ideally milliseconds What about storage requirements? Although some folks and systems are designed to record all history for a chat room, and email lists tend to work this way by default, there are many use cases for throwaway chat rooms and flippant discussions about the weather which most folks would never bother or want long term storage for. XOR/RAID-type block stores, where new blocks are created and added to the store based on randomly chosen prior blocks, have the apparent (on first look at least) requirement that all older blocks are kept and never deleted - there may be some other blocks in your store, or in the block store of some peer, depending on your old block. Secondly, except that compression is applied before storage, there is no compression of compressible data (this is solvable in end user software of course - just compress all new blocks before storing, and remember to notate the compression algorithm used). Thirdly, deduplication is not part of the above systems, and would not appear to add much utility anyway... most material is new material and some git style content mapping/ addressing solution is what's really wanted in an upper layer anyway. So we have a significant unavoidable problem built in to this type of system: - an ever expanding block store, where older blocks can never be deleted since they may be XOR encodings of newer blocks, in yours or other's' (in the case of a distributed store) block stores --------------------------- Storing interesting content?: Some content is illegal in one jurisdiction, whilst being legal in another jurisdiction. So what about the case where you happen to be in a jurisdiction where such content is illegal in your jurisdiction?: Someone with access to your block store, can run permutation XORs up to large counts, with enough computing power. This can be described also as "pot luck" - do you want to entrust your defence against local laws to pot luck? Of course, blocks can be hidden with encryption, but then we've already got veracrypt, so what does the extra XOR/RAID layer add? Nothing AFAICT. And if you're storing copyrighted content in your block store to which you simply don't have lawful right to access/view/share, then your block XOR maps must be stored somewhere anyway, with an application that can read and present you with your illicit copyright infringing library of content, for local viewing. That app could put a password on that, but now we're back to password management, crypto password salting, key blocks for multiple keys and etc - i.e., we're back to veracrypt/luks, and again, why bother with OFFsystem? --------------------------- Conclusion: XOR/ RAID stripe type block mixing appears potentially great for confounding copyright holders in an actual court case. This could be a good way for a library to store their digital media - "no Judge, if we remove those copyrighted blocks, we are removing the encodings of many other digital works we store; can't do, won't do". "Potentially contentious" media would be consistently followed by a bunch of other media, all intermingled (this is another time factor problem - in OFFsystem, earlier blocks get more dependencies on them, to later blocks).

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Psychological Warfare... Destroy the alt-right Symbols
by Razer 26 Oct '19

26 Oct '19

On the #MAGA front: https://auntieimperial.tumblr.com/post/188596454164 Rr Sent from my Androgyne dee-vice with K-9 Mail

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Cryptocurrency: Crypto For Activism - Rojava, Liberland
by grarpamp 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

> Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Vol I - Civilization: The Age of Masked Gods and Disguised Kings - Abdullah Ocalan ISBN: 8293064420 ISBN13: 9788293064428 > Manifesto for a Democratic Civilization, Vol II - Capitalism, The Age of Unmasked Gods and Naked Kings - Abdullah Ocalan ISBN: 8293064463 ISBN13: 9788293064466 > https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/693443.Abdullah_calan > http://new-compass.net/publications/manifesto-democratic-civilization-vol-i > https://www.akpress.org/manifestoforademocraticsociety2.html > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_Ocalan > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdistan_Workers'_Party > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Protection_Units > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_Protection_Units > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcha-feminism > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YPG_International > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Freedom_Battalion > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rojava_conflict https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rojava https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_North_and_East_Syria https://mesopotamia.coop/rojava-administration-to-impose-tax-system-in-nort… There are now "government" "constitution" "social contract" "income taxes" "democracy" "courts" "police" "political parties" "public schools" etc ruling over the region. While unique on many levels, governments have a history worldwide, so the region might not remain any particular bastion of say libertarian cooperative over future decades. Any more than say... Liberland https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCh29cq8F3Iz7iqyI_LRhyVQ/videos Anything potentially more free than the rest of the world are still worth trying, getting involved with, following.

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Cryptocurrency: Crypto For Activism - Micah White and Amir Taaki - Books
by grarpamp 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

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India starting to stand up for her own people - [PEACE]
by Zenaan Harkness 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

Many like to take sides, express preferences, and judge as armchair generals, especially Western gen-me sycophant snowflakes in glass houses of relative luxury. Some are under the "Christian dogma" thumb of "do not defend nor stand up for yourself, your family, nor your principles", a sad and lame twist on "turn the other cheek", instead cowtowing to politically correct "dogma nartsees" with no insight into the tyranny and slavery under their own feet. India no more denies her right to stand up for her own people, having faced down China in a months long border standoff, and the USA's sanction threats for ponying up for Russia's S400s, doubled down with French Rafaale fighters, and has in just recent years begun to deliver some serious eye for an eye responses to her Muslim neighbour's "message by mass murder" zealotry (see extract below). India's message is being heard, the USA has backed down, and dignity and partnerships are on the rise. "Nice to see dignity on the rise." New India lauds Mahatma Gandhi on all but one important matter https://www.rt.com/op-ed/471539-india-modi-gandhi-pakistan/ ... Gandhi was the “apostle” of peace and non-violence who offered the other cheek when slapped but the India of today would rather leave a black eye on its aggressor as it did on Pakistan with retaliatory heavy shelling in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) on Sunday, which left at least 6-10 Pakistani soldiers dead and blew up three terrorist camps into thin air. It was a grim fresh reminder to Pakistan that India has the doctrine of an eye-for-an-eye in its new rulebook and the “surgical strikes” and “Balakot airstrikes” which followed the terrorist attacks in Uri (2016) and Pulwama (2019) are the new philosophy and not an exception. India is still an adherent to “non-violence” and has an unbroken history of peaceful coexistence, never eyeing others’ territory but the painful lessons of the past demand it puts a premium on the integrity of its Union. India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval often reminds his audience that India was overrun by invaders despite being arguably the most advanced civilization of its time. It never protected its seas even though they straddle three of its four corners. It led to the servitude of almost a thousand years. It faced wars imposed by Pakistan on three of four occasions: 1947-48, 1965 and 1999. It didn't use 90,000 prisoners-of-war as a bargaining chip nor did it advance deep inside Pakistan after winning a conclusive war in 1971 which led to the creation of Bangladesh. India was seen as the epitome of a “soft” nation as terrorists kept crossing the Line of Control (LoC) through Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and cost tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers’ lives since 1990. The horrific attack in Mumbai, India's commercial capital, when terrorists from across the border sprayed machine guns on civilians on the streets and five-star hotels, known as 26/11 in the nation's damaged psyche, evoked no retaliatory response from India. Worse, the very next year in 2009, the same United Progressive Alliance (UPA), returned to power without any retribution from its masses. All this has changed for good. India today is driven in its bid to modernize its army: It has only recently ceded its top spot to Saudi Arabia as the biggest arms importer of the world — the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reckons India accounted for 12 percent of the total global arms imports for the 2013-2017 period. It has lapped up Russia's S-400 advanced missile system defying the threat of sanctions from the United States. It has gone ahead with its purchase of France's Rafale fighter jets even though the move threatened to derail Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bid for a second term on unfounded charges of corruption this year. India today is literally taking the fight into the enemy camp: It raked up the issue of Balochistan and its independence from Pakistan; it has vowed to wrest back the control of PoK for a unified Kashmir and its Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has already debunked the ‘No-First-Use’ nuclear doctrine. India stood up for its ally Bhutan and stared down China in a face-to-face standoff between the two armed forces in Doklam in 2017 which lasted months. ...

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DMARC + DKIM info for list admins - [sysadmin@gnu.org: Fyi: this list, bug-mailutils, just had it's subject [tag] and footer removed]
by Zenaan Harkness 25 Oct '19

25 Oct '19

May be of interest to some... ----- Forwarded message from sysadmin(a)gnu.org ----- From: sysadmin(a)gnu.org To: bug-mailutils(a)gnu.org Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2019 16:15:40 -0400 Subject: Fyi: this list, bug-mailutils, just had it's subject [tag] and footer removed List-Id: Bug reports and feature requests for GNU mailutils <bug-mailutils.gnu.org> The Free Software Foundation has changed the GNU Mailman settings on this list. The short version is that any subject prefix or message footer has been removed, allowing us to turn off DMARC from munging. Any list administrator for this list is free to change these settings back, instructions are below. The change is to better deal with increased adoption of the DMARC email standard. The default Mailman settings were causing messages sent from users with strict DMARC policy domains like yahoo.com to be rejected when sent to list subscribers by Mailman. See the end of this email for a technical overview of DMARC and DKIM. There are two main ways to fix the issue by changing Mailman list settings. The first option, and the preferable way for discussion lists, is what we call the "unmodified message fix." There are Mailman list settings which modify the messages by adding a subject prefix (e.g. [list-name]) or a footer. Modifying the message breaks DKIM message signatures and thus DMARC, so we just turn those off. Many lists are already this way and there is no change for them. Instead of using the subject prefix to identify a list, subscribers should use the List-Id, To, and Cc headers. List footer information can also be be put in the welcome email to subscribers and the list information page by list administrators. We changed the default for new lists to send unmodified messages, and are now updating existing discussion lists to the new default. We emailed all list administrators and moderators and Savannah group admins to allow them to opt in to the alternate fix before we made this change. However, not all lists had a valid administrator contact. The second option is for lists which want or need to continue to modify the message, for example with subject prefix or footer settings. In this case we turn on a Mailman list setting called dmarc_moderation_action: "Munge From". With this, if a strict DMARC sender sends to the list, we alter the headers of that message like so: A message sent to the list: From: Anne Example Person <exampleperson@examplepersonsdomain> Is modified by Mailman and sent to subscribers as: From: Anne Example Person via Alist <alist@listdomain> Reply-To: Anne Example Person <exampleperson@examplepersonsdomain> Without going into all of the details, here's a few points about why we concluded the unmodified message fix is better for discussion lists. Email clients don't all treat munged messages the same way as unmunged, and humans read these headers so it can confuse people, causing messages not to be sent to the expected recipients. GNU Mailman has an option to do "Munge From" always, but does not recommend using it[1]. While we're not bound by what others do, it's worth noting that other very large free software communities like Debian GNU/Linux have adopted the unmodified message fix[2]. The unmodified messages fix avoids breaking DKIM cryptographic signatures, which show the message was authorized by the signing domain and seems like a generally good security practice. Tools to manage patches, for example patchew, use the from field and are tripped up by from munging. For any Mailman list administrator who wants to change or look over the relevant settings: The dmarc_moderation_action setting is under "Privacy Options" subsection "Sender Filters". The only options that should be selected are "Accept" or "Munge From", along with corresponding changes to the subject_prefix option under "General Options", and msg_footer is under "Non-digest options". If no list administrators or moderators are around for this list, anyone should feel free to try to track them down or figure out who should become one and explain in detail by replying to sysadmin(a)gnu.org. Please be patient, this process may take several weeks. Please send any questions that should be public to mailman(a)gnu.org. For private ones, just reply to sysadmin(a)gnu.org. For the general announcement of these changes, please read https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/savannah-hackers-public/2019-06/msg00018… and https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/savannah-hackers-public/2019-09/msg00016… A short DMARC technical overview: DMARC policy is a DNS txt record at a _dmarc subdomain. For example: $ host -t txt _dmarc.yahoo.com _dmarc.yahoo.com descriptive text "v=DMARC1; p=reject; pct=100; rua=mailto:address@hidden;"; The only important thing there for our purpose is p=reject. p=reject means that conforming mail servers that receive mail with a from header of *(a)yahoo.com will reject that email unless it was either 1. sent from Yahoo's email servers, or 2. its DKIM signature is verified. A DKIM signature[5] is a public key cryptographic signature of the email body and some headers included in the message header "DKIM-Signature". A verified DKIM signature means that email body and signed headers have not been modified. Comprehensive resources about DMARC tend to downplay or ignore its problems, but some that have helped me are Wikipedia[6], the Mailman wiki[1], dmarc.org wiki[7], and the DMARC rfc[8]. [1]: https://wiki.list.org/DEV/DMARC [2]: https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel-announce/2015/08/msg00003.html [5]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DomainKeys_Identified_Mail [6]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMARC [7]: https://dmarc.org/wiki/FAQ#senders [8]: https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc7489 Ian Kelling | Senior Systems Administrator, Free Software Foundation GPG Key: B125 F60B 7B28 7FF6 A2B7 DF8F 170A F0E2 9542 95DF https://fsf.org | https://gnu.org ----- End forwarded message -----

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Asao Inoue: measurement (grading) of IQ "is a great way to maintain the white supremacist status quo" - [PEACE]
by Zenaan Harkness 24 Oct '19

24 Oct '19

>From the "foreigners are more logical" at the dept of logical supremacy, of course. Remember folks, if (hopefully not when on this occasion) the neo Marxist normalizers sieze power for the great "real Communism this time" Communist revolution, it is the "intellectual elite who've been maintaining oppression in our shared class struggle" who literally end up in front of the firing lines first. Sure that Solzhenitsyn's gulag archipelago ca not come to the USA/ Aus/ Canada/ UK/ etc? Perhaps the below will set the stage for the doubters. It's close, folks, much closer than many realize. When (if?) it hits, it's too late to do anything to stop it. May you find that which your Soul seeks for you, Professor Says Grading, Good Grammar Are Examples Of White Supremacy https://www.zerohedge.com/political/professor-says-grading-good-grammar-are… https://www.thecollegefix.com/professor-says-grading-good-grammar-are-examp… Ball State University recently hosted a presentation to “engage with the question of how English language practices in college classrooms contribute to white supremacy.” “Freeing Our Minds and Innovating Our Pedagogy from White Language Supremacy” was the title of the 75-minute guest lecture given on October 14 by Asao Inoue, a professor and the associate dean of the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts at Arizona State University. “We are all implicated in white supremacy,” Inoue said during his presentation, co-hosted by Ball State’s English department, university writing program, and Office of Inclusive Excellence. “This is because white supremacist systems like all systems reproduce themselves as a matter of course,” he said. “This includes reproduction of dominant, white, middle-class, monolingual standards for literacy and communication.” White language supremacy, according to Inoue, is “the condition in classrooms, schools, and society where rewards are given in determined ways to people who can most easily reach them, because those people have more access to the preferred and embodied white language practices, and part of that access is a structural assumption that what is reachable at a given moment for the normative, white, monolingual English user is reachable for all.” ... In one of his slides, Inoue states that “grading is a great way to protect the white property of literacy in schools and maintain the white supremacist status quo without ever being white supremacist or mentioning race.” ... As previously reported by The College Fix, Inoue is known for advocating that students should be graded based on the “labor” they put into their work, not the “quality” of the finished product. [In original article, many more nuggets of logic and wisdom from Inoue, along with links, at least one paper, and deep insights such as the following objection correction: "Objection: 'But language is not racial' - and What we mean: 'We HOPE language is not racial.']

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May God bless the triggering of America. Amen!
by Zenaan Harkness 24 Oct '19

24 Oct '19

Let the triggering begin - well yeah, le triggéríé has been well underway for some time. Nice to see those triggered feelz ramp up in the swamp of course... Trump Cancels All Admins' NYT, WaPo Subs: "Will Save 100s Of 1000s Of Taxpayer Dollars" https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-cancels-all-admins-nyt-wapo-subs-… In what we are sure will be "hair-on-fire" screamed about as 'tyrannical-book-burning', President Trump has reportedly planning to instruct federal agencies to not renew their subscriptions to the New York Times and the Washington Post. ... The decision comes days after the president cancelled the White House’s print subscriptions to the Post and the Times after expressing frustration with their coverage. “We don’t even want it in the White House anymore,” Mr. Trump said of the Times during an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity that aired Monday night. “We’re going to probably terminate that and the Washington Post. They’re fake.” ...

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spambolia - [no-reply@is.email.nextdoor.com: Please accept my invitation to Nextdoor]
by Zenaan Harkness 24 Oct '19

24 Oct '19

Well well. I feelz so special, specially selected by an AI Exggspurt no less :) The below is what you call a shit test, which answers the question "so, are we dealing with a total fretrucking moron or what?" And look at the dears, they even "put an unsubscribe link in, so it's totally legit bro, totally legit!" >From the CIA direct. Like, totally XStatic ya know? - totally! Funny as firetruck :) Did I mention "totally"? ----- Forwarded message from AI Xbert via Nextdoor <no-reply(a)is.email.nextdoor.com> ----- From: AI Xbert via Nextdoor <no-reply(a)is.email.nextdoor.com> To: zen(a)freedbms.net Date: Thu, 24 Oct 2019 19:46:28 +0000 (UTC) Subject: Please accept my invitation to Nextdoor Hello, AI Xbert invites you to join 928 of your Fremont Park Vicinity neighbors on Nextdoor. Nextdoor is a free and private social network that your neighbors are using. AI wrote: My neighborhood is using a private online network called Nextdoor Fremont Park Vicinity. On Nextdoor, neighbors can post events and recommendations, share safety tips, offer things to share, and simply get to know one another better. I think you and your neighborhood could benefit too. Accept AI invitation: https://nextdoor.com/invitation/?i=hbdxttgtnrkbzfmbmzqg&stage=0&txt=1 It's free and only takes a minute. ------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT IS NEXTDOOR? Nextdoor is a free, private social network for your neighborhood. * Build a stronger neighborhood Connect with your neighbors to stay informed and share useful local information. * Keep the neighborhood safe Look out for each other and send updates to keep the neighborhood safe. * Share goods and recommendations Find a great babysitter or trusty dentist. Borrow a ladder or sell that old bookcase. See your neighborhood in action: https://nextdoor.com/invitation/?i=hbdxttgtnrkbzfmbmzqg&stage=0&txt=1 ------------------------------------------------------------ To stop receiving email reminders about this invitation, please follow the unsubscribe link below: https://nextdoor.com/inv_unsub/?e=zen%40freedbms.net&k=3b29f5908fdc3e3&ct=%… This message was sent by Nextdoor, 875 Stevenson Street, Suite 700, San Francisco, CA 94103, and intended for zen(a)freedbms.net. ----- End forwarded message -----

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Whodathunkit? CIA, FBI computers used for Wikipedia edits
by Razer 24 Oct '19

24 Oct '19

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People using CIA and FBI computers have edited entries in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia on topics including the Iraq war and the Guantanamo prison, according to a new tracing program. A screenshot of Wikipedia.com, taken on August 16, 2007. (image onsite) The changes may violate Wikipedia’s conflict-of-interest guidelines, a spokeswoman for the site said on Thursday. The program, WikiScanner, was developed by Virgil Griffith of the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico and posted this month on a Web site that was quickly overwhelmed with searches. The program allows users to track the source of computers used to make changes to the popular Internet encyclopedia where anyone can submit and edit entries. WikiScanner revealed that CIA computers were used to edit an entry on the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. A graphic on casualties was edited to add that many figures were estimated and were not broken down by class. Another entry on former CIA chief William Colby was edited by CIA computers to expand his career history and discuss the merits of a Vietnam War rural pacification program that he headed. Aerial and satellite images of the U.S. prison for terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were removed using a computer traced to the FBI, WikiScanner showed. CIA spokesman George Little said he could not confirm whether CIA computers were used in the changes, adding that “the agency always expects its computer systems to be used responsibly.” The FBI did not have an immediate response. Computers at numerous other organizations and companies were found to have been involved in editing articles related to them. Griffith said he developed WikiScanner “to create minor public relations disasters for companies and organizations I dislike (and) to see what ‘interesting organizations’ (which I am neutral towards) are up to.” It was not known whether changes were made by an official representative of an agency or company, Griffith said, but it was certain the change was made by someone with access to the organization’s network. It violates Wikipedia’s neutrality guidelines for a person with close ties to an issue to contribute to an entry about it, said spokeswoman Sandy Ordonez of the Wikimedia Foundation, Wikipedia’s parent organization. However, she said, “Wikipedia is self-correcting,” meaning misleading entries can be quickly revised by another editor. She said Wikimedia welcomed the WikiScanner. WikiScanner can be found at wikiscanner.virgil.gr/ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-security-wikipedia/cia-fbi-computers-use… Rr Sent from my Androgyne dee-vice with K-9 Mail

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