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Darkening Skies

@disturbedsleep.bsky.social
194 followers 159 following 1.2K posts

Septuagenarian relocated to South Lanarkshire, where it's wet , windy and wonderful, though I didn't expect quite so much wind! Longtime advocate of geothermal as a baseline energy resource in the UK as part of a mix with solar/wind with battery storage.

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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 5h
It just leaves me speechless, incredulous, that such a hideous slug has been handed so much power. That there are still millions of American voters willing to even contemplate continuing to support him is sickening. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Trump says Ukraine needs a new leader after diesel deal with Russia
US president suggests Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has not done enough to end war
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 18h
The world as it should be , apart from the deaths on the roads.
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Reposted by Darkening Skies
Jake Grumbach @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
New working paper: the Norwegian wealth tax was a huge success. The "exodus" of wealthy people never happened (less than 100 individuals left). Tax revenue increased by 71.5%. No changes in business activity or investment. www.nber.org/papers/w35854
Taxing Entrepreneurial Wealth: Evidence from
Norway, 2021-2025
Marius A. K. Ring
WORKING PAPER 35854|
DOl 10.3386/w35854
ISSUE DATE October 2026
Whether imposing higher taxes on business owners adversely affects business activity by constraining investment and inducing capitalist flight is a central question in the ongoing debate on how to tax the ultra wealthy. To shed new light, I exploit a series of related Norwegian reforms during 2021-2024 that increased dividend tax rates, removed migration-related capital gains tax loopholes, and nearly doubled the effective marginal tax rate on business wealth. These reforms spurred international debate and, allegedly, an "exodus" of Norwegian billionaires (Financial Times,
2023). While I document clear effects on migration, these responses are concentrated among the top 0.1% of the wealth distribution and mostly confined to 2022 and 2023. My results indicate that at most 100 individuals left due to the reforms. I find no evidence of significant outmigration or reduced inflows of startup founders or inventors. I estimate that absent any outmigration, wealth tax revenues would have increased by 75% from 2021 to 2024. Reform-driven outmigration lowers the revenue gain to 71.5%. My findings further show that outmigrating owners' firms remain economically active and do not reduce investment. In a broader set of analyses, I examine whether business outcomes are affected, regardless of whether owners outmigrate, since firms may reduce investment both due to liquidity constraints or distortions to owners' savings decisions. I compare firms owned by Norwegian individuals subject to the wealth tax with firms owned by foreigners and other tax-exempt entities. By merging historical ownership data from Orbis with the Norwegian shareholder register, I perform these analyses on both Norwegian and foreign-domiciled firms.
Across settings, I find no evidence that Norwegian-owned firms pay out more dividends or invest less after the reforms,…
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 19h
Absolutely. Come on America, you voted him in, twice! Come to your senses and get rid of him! www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Zelenskyy furious as Trump announces deal to buy Russian diesel
President says deal essential to lower US fuel prices but move set to create fresh crisis with Ukraine and Nato allies
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 19h
Trump the fantasist - and a dangerous one as he holds America's purse strings as if they were his personal property to do with as he wishes. Where on earth are America's "checks and balances" that protect democracy? It's a mafia country with an unhinged godfather www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump fumes over Nobel peace prize snub and criticizes Norway
President complains about not winning prize in year he started war with Iran and says: ‘We will not forget, Norway’
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
“There’s about a 50% chance we all die because of the development of smarter-than-human AI systems” says Geoffrey Irving. I really don't like those odds and I don't like Altman's free and easy attitude to the potential for harm. It's not like eggs and omelettes. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
Accept ‘bad things’ in return for benefits of AI, says Sam Altman
Boss of OpenAI calls for a regulatory light touch because of the ‘good stuff’ the technology can deliver
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Just to be clear: 1/ Jewish trauma is real and must be honoured 2/ Palestinian trauma is real and must be honoured 3/ The Israeli right advances a supremacist ideology rooted in ethno‑nationalist fascism 4/ American Christian Zionism enables this by providing political, financial & ideological cover
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I think this is a mistake. Zionism is understand differently by different generations and outlooks. My mum (d.2017) saw it through the lens of 1945 socialism - the necessity for Jewish safety. She could not see the result - settler colonialism and oppression. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Green party votes to adopt policy that equates Zionism with racism
Motion calling for single Palestinian state, which is opposed by most Green MPs and expected to be challenged, passes by 1,022 votes to 813
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Remember David Icke ? I wondered what had happened to him. In a 2013 survey in the United States by Public Policy Polling, 4% believed that "'lizard people' control our societies" That would mean 12.8 million American citizens believed this crap. Isn't that incredible?
static.klipy.com
Rr Reptilian Renegade
ALT: Rr Reptilian Renegade
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
A bit of a misstep from South Korea, I think. North Korea is learning from active military duty for Russia in attacking Ukraine and also producing weaponry. They should be helping Ukraine not compalining.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Well said Ed! Let's hope it's not too late for Palestine. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Ed Miliband to acknowledge Labour’s former stance on Palestine fell short
Foreign secretary will tell party’s conference ‘we are not here to accept the status quo but to change it’
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
What a sad way to go. Here's my favourite song, it's so uplifting. The perfect all nighter. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn6S...
youtube.com
(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher & Higher
YouTube video by Jackie Wilson - Topic
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
There's no hope for America when people like this are made White House advisors. This "faith advisor" has a history worth looking at.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Isn't this an obvious war crime? Not content with diverting the rivers that fed Palestine , Israel completely and purposefully destroyed all sources of drinkable water for Gazans. It is an incredibly cruel and callous thing to do to an entire population. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Israel facing water shortages caused by destruction of Gaza’s treatment plants
Five desalination plants shut down for days, while Gaza remains in grip of severe water and sanitation crisis
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Reposted by Darkening Skies
MAKS 26 👀🇺🇦 @maks23.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🇱🇹🇺🇦 Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda on Russia: In all but name, Russia has already lost the war. Yet, its leadership does not allow itself to admit defeat, fearing international legal accountability and possible revenge from its own people. Kremlin regime increasingly finds itself cornered.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
More terrible war crimes to add to a very long list. These volunteers are heroic in their dedication to helping others. It must be extremely frightening in the face of such a callous enemy.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
That was very sweet.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
What led this man, educated and trained at Odessa Institute of Land Forces (1996) & National Defense University of Ukraine (2011), to abandon both his country and the people he served just at the moment Russia seized Crimea ? His treason and subsequent war crimes caused his recent execution.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I've 'liked' this but there's nothing likeable about the continuing lawless Russian aggression. Russia alone is responsible and for any response from Ukraine as it tries to defend itself. The western nations need to put themselves more firmly on a war footing as this will not stop.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
That temporary bypass indicates that the main road is impassable due to more than a burning truck or two, and it really slows down the traffic. A few regular drones at this pinch point to take out the almost stationary trucks backed up on the bypass could possibly stop all traffic.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
It would not surprise me to learn that Russia was behind both the boat traffickers and the right-wing anti-migrant movements. A relatively cheap and low risk way to destabilise the UK, but also Europe, along with the rest of the hybrid warfare going on. #Russia www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Far-right activist Daniel Thomas slashes dinghy in Channel with blade while rescue worker onboard
Thomas called followers to protest against arrival of asylum seekers in Gosport, but Border Force instead transported them to Dover
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There is a road that runs along the Lithuanian/Polish border from Belarus to Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic coast. It would need agreement with Lithuania which is an EU member, a Schengen state and a NATO member. Impossible since 2022. Via Russia is also absurd. So, zero chance.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Can you believe this guy? Some ally! He hates Canada, hates UK, hates Europe but adores Putin , and would rather fund Russia's lapdog, Belarus, than come to terms with America's closest friends. He is ruining America and bringing down the rest of us. #Trump www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Trump seeks ‘massive’ Belarus fertiliser deal amid Canada trade war
Trump’s announcement on Russia ally comes as he steps up his trade war with Canada, a long-term US ally and top supplier of potash
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
If you're serious about sustainable living , and maybe have a little compassion for animals too, you really should stop this addiction to meat and dairy. We're losing critical rainforest in order to feed the animals you then kill and eat. It's lazy and it's unnecessary.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Facilities like Moscow, Ryazan, Yaroslavl, Novokuibyshevsk, and now Kuibyshev are major suppliers to Russia’s “Center” and “South” groupings—exactly the forces attacking Ukraine. Damage there directly complicates fuel planning for those fronts. Well done Ukraine!! Keep Going!!
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Trump seems to always move the blame away from himself and his own failures. If he'd backed Ukraine from the start and not been Israel's dupe in attacking Iran, he wouldn't have doubled the cost of diesel at home. #Trump #Ukraine #Iran www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump set to press Zelenskyy at UN to agree energy ceasefire with Russia
President to meet Ukrainian counterpart in New York as Ukraine steps up attacks on Russian energy sector
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Good opinion piece by Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian today. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
This Israeli election could be the country’s last – this week I saw that for myself | Jonathan Freedland
Spend time on the ground and you see how high the stakes are for next month’s contest – for Israelis and Palestinians alike, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
He's one mean mothertrucker. Grrrrrrr, what a man. A man's man. He loves gasoline and big trucks and playing with the big boys. Solar panels and windmills are for pussies. Drill, Baby, Drill ! You gotta grab life by the throat and put pedal to the metal. Everyone loves a man's man.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
If government steps in now, the one thing it must not do is hand it back to private owners. That’s exactly how we got here. A monopoly with no market discipline will always be run for extraction, not service.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Water is a natural monopoly. When it’s privatised, there’s no competition to keep it honest and no regulator strong enough to stop financial engineering. Thames Water is the proof: debt‑loading, under‑investment, and sewage everywhere. Public ownership is vital. www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
MPs urge ministers to break off Thames Water talks with US hedge funds
Efra committee calls for emergency legislation enabling government to take public control of the company
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
If ever there was a story showing the complexity of history and people, this is a good example. A repressed people, a righteous cause, seemingly good people doing bad things in dark times. Justice must be done but Kosovo will be in pain over this. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Kosovo’s former president jailed for 25 years over war crimes
Hashim Thaçi, 58, was convicted by The Hague for crimes committed while he was senior commander of the Kosovo Liberation Army
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Family homes of Naza directors targeted and calls for them to have their citizenship revoked. Netanyahu condemned the film as “intolerable”, saying it portrayed the IDF as war criminals. They are. He is. I support the brave film directors & hope they stay safe. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Netanyahu seeks to strip citizenship from Israelis as threats to NAZA film directors intensify
Israeli prime minister to pursue new laws as directors of Guardian-produced film face threats from far-right officials and activists
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Erdogan is aiming to boost birthrates ... by suppressing gay rights? "in a country with a large and concerning record of domestic violence, many cases of child abuse and murders of women, the protection of the family cannot be focused on LGBT people.” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
theguardian.com
Turkey detains dozens in crackdown on LGBTQ+ activists and journalists
Protesters teargassed as minister claims widespread raids and arrests under obscenity laws were to ‘protect families’
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Why does Israel even need 40,000 one-ton bombs? Even pro-Israel Democrats are questioning the purpose and legality. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Key House Democrat refuses to clear Trump’s $2.8bn arms sale to Israel
Pro-Israel Gregory Meeks raises concerns over threat to civilian lives from package of 40,000 one-ton bombs
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Poor Ed, I like him, but he should have supported Macklemore. He crossed the line by trying to play both sides. He thinks it's diplomacy but it isn't. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
All supporting acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore
Four openers and live band for Sheeran’s tour depart after removal of Macklemore over ‘free Palestine’ comments
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
There's talk about how much the NHS depends on Israeli drugs, so I found this revealing Board of Deputies report from 2015 which says: "The high dependence of the NHS on Israeli ethical (?) drugs ...has the power to overcome the focus of diplomacy on settlements and Gaza" bod.org.uk/bod-news/the...
bod.org.uk
The Israeli drug company which is taking on the world
One of my favourite statistics about surging British-Israel trade is that one out of every seven prescriptions filled by the NHS is sourced from Israeli
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The blatant methods of the pro-Israel camp to silence those that support the creation of a state of Palestine is both anti-democratic and a reminder of the extent of the insidious influence of the Israeli State . Ed Sheeran should not bow to this pressure. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
All supporting acts withdraw from Ed Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore
Four openers and live band for Sheeran’s tour depart after removal of Macklemore over ‘free Palestine’ comments
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Is Donald Trump deliberately complicit in accelerating the end of life on Earth? He wants zero controls on AI and it's "Burn Baby Burn" for oil and gas. How can the world just stand by and watch as he kills us all? www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
US ends limits on coal and gas plant emissions, removing key tool to battle climate crisis
Trump’s EPA strips itself of regulation ability, gutting Clean Air Act in what experts say is a gift to planet polluters
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Trump has said today "Ukraine has agreed not to hit Russian Energy targets. Russia has agreed to do, likewise! The World’s Diesel price rise is mostly caused by the Russia/Ukraine War, not Iran." He's lying again to deflect attention away from his failing war on Iran by blaming Ukraine. #Trump
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
AI is getting dangerous - beyond our control. 🤖 The race to build ever more powerful AI is reckless. Tell the EU to put safety first! ✊ action.wemove.eu/sign/2026-08...
action.wemove.eu
AI should serve us, not tech billionaires!
Share the petition and you'll help multiply the impact of this campaign: AI should serve us, not tech billionaires!
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Are you saying that the Social Democrats (S) are not a centre-left social democratic party? How would you define the Sweden Democrats (SD)? Are they not a right-wing populist party with historical neo‑Nazi roots ? I realise politics in Sweden is different from the UK as government is via a coalition
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
You said yourself that the label does not necessarily match the actions. Russia used to be USSR and socialism in America is strongly associated with communism. Hitler led the National Socialists but they were not at all socialist under him. His was a fascist dictatorship as you know.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I don't defend an anti-Nato stance and I don't defend anti-Semitism. I also don't defend populist anti-immigration policies as espoused by the UK's Reform party. I do however understand that people can hold views that I disagree with for quite understandable emotional reasons.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I do believe that some people can be fooled into lumping a whole group together when some of the group do something wrong. It is an emotional, not a rational response.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Do you think I indicated it was wrong for them to be expelled? I don't think I know enough about the candidates to know for sure but if the news report was accurate and the party presumably agreed then I must assume it was the right thing to do.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Those policies are actually very mainstream in Sweden — they’re standard social‑democratic welfare ideas. They don’t indicate anything extreme. Thanks for sharing your perspective.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I agree with your comment that I read as saying "Conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism silences legitimate critique" I support the two state solution and a boundary along the 1967 proposal, which is still very bad for Palestinians but is the best that can be hoped for.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Just to be clear, Vänsterpartiet isn’t entering government, and they haven’t been the only party to oppose any Ukraine aid package. I’m following the Swedish reporting, and the situation is different from how you’re describing it, in my view. But thanks for sharing your perspective.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
I may be wrong but I feel the post strongly suggests a pro‑Israel NAFO identity that equates European left parties as inherently antisemitic. I am completely supportive of Ukraine and utterly against Putin's unwarranted aggression in Ukraine. I believe Europe is also at threat from Russia.
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Darkening Skies @disturbedsleep.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
When V has voted against specific measures, it was due to 1. objections to how the package was structured , or 2. concerns about NATO‑related provisions or 3. disagreements about procurement mechanisms BUT NOT because of opposition to supporting Ukraine itself.
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