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Is Wolverine Leak Investigation Causing Collateral Damage?
Whatever the cause, FBI raids in Dallas hurt a number of businesses...

Earlier this week, an unfinished copy of the upcoming Wolverine movie was leaked via BitTorrent. It's been interesting to watch just how quickly the film industry managed to get the FBI to launch a massive investigation into the source of the leak, which should be helped by forensic marks embedded in the release. User Qumahlin See Profile submits this CBS news report, the user claiming a raid on a Dallas data center is part of this investigation.

Click for full size
"Quite a few companies I do business with are completely screwed and losing money thanks to this," says the user, who claims the impacted companies told him the raid was Wolverine related. We've been unable to confirm this, since the FBI won't comment. Matthew Simpson, the owner of a company named Core IP Networks, blogged about the raid yesterday morning, noting that whatever the reason, the raid impacted a significant number of companies, including AT&T and Google:
quote:
Neither I, nor Core IP are involved in any illegal activities of any kind. The only data that I have received thus far is that the FBI is investigating a company that has purchased services from Core IP in the past. This company does not even colocate with us anywhere, much less 2323 Bryan Street Datacenter. Currently nearly 50 businesses are completely without access to their email and data. Citizen access to Emergency 911 services are being affected, as Core IP's primary client base consists of telephone companies.
We e-mailed Simpson, who isn't sure (or isn't telling) what the cause for the raid was, but didn't seem to think it was pirate/mutant related. A few companies who do business with Simpson have reached out to us to note that all they know is the raid seriously impacted their business. They haven't been told much of anything either, other than the fact that Core IP's lawyers are working with the FBI to get everybody back up and running.

"Our Residential DSL users, authenticate via PPPoE, using a RADIUS server we have hosted with Core IP," says Brent Waldrep, owner of Lightning Bolt Technologies. "Yesterday morning, around 7am, it was brought to our attention a few of our residential customers could not authenticate, and after some quick troubleshooting, we found our RADIUS server was not online," he says. According to Waldrep, a call to Core IP alerted them to the FBI raid.

"We sent out an email to all our residential DSL users, about 20% of our client base, informing them of the authentication issue," he says. He notes that users who were currently authenticated are still able to use their connection, though any users needing to re-authenticate, are not able to do so. Waldrep says he's giving impacted users a free upgrade to SOHO packages, which don't use the residential RADIUS server.

If the raid was part of the Wolverine investigation (which we'll again state isn't established yet) it begs the question whether the revenues of a film studio outweigh the revenue streams, connectivity, and 911 services for dozens of other companies. Especially when you consider that quite often, the most-pirated films still wind up being the biggest box office hits anyway.

Update: One business impacted by the Dallas raid tells us Core IP is now telling impacted customers the raid had something to do with unpaid VoIP fees, which still doesn't explain why it was necessary to disrupt business for fifty or so companies.

Update 2: See our follow up report that indicates the FBI raid was about a VoIP scam, not the Wolverine leak.
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russotto
join:2000-10-05
West Orange, NJ

1 recommendation

russotto

Member

Hey, is that...

...a link to The Pirate Bay, in the story itself? I thought BBR didn't DO that.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that Obama is in bed with the content industry (he's hired a number of their lawyers and lobbyists -- and look at the gift he gave the UK prime minister), so it's not surprising that when they say Frog, the FBI jumps.

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker

Premium Member

Re: Hey, is that...

said by russotto:

...a link to The Pirate Bay, in the story itself? I thought BBR didn't DO that.

Anyway, it's pretty clear that Obama is in bed with the content industry (he's hired a number of their lawyers and lobbyists -- and look at the gift he gave the UK prime minister), so it's not surprising that when they say Frog, the FBI jumps.
Any president would be in bed with the content industry.
matrix3D
join:2006-09-27
Middletown, CT

matrix3D

Member

Re: Hey, is that...

Your statement should be "Any president that takes tons of campaign money from the MPAA/Hollywood would be in bed with the content industry." Obama is Hollywood's whore and this must be what they get in return.

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker

Premium Member

Re: Hey, is that...

said by matrix3D:

Your statement should be "Any president that takes tons of campaign money from the MPAA/Hollywood would be in bed with the content industry." Obama is Hollywood's whore and this must be what they get in return.
Any is a reference to ALL
Pv8man
join:2008-07-24
Hammond, IN

Pv8man

Member

Re: Hey, is that...

LOL, I cannot tell if you are being sarcastic or not.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

1 recommendation

RadioDoc to russotto

to russotto

Re: Hey, is that...

Most of what is on P2P networks leaks from the studios or their contractors so this nothing new. We wouldn't even know about this if some FBI manager hadn't gone all Jack Bauer on the datacenter.

What I want to know is why this site continues to allow clear off-topic political trolling on the front page?

r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium Member
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX

1 recommendation

r81984 to russotto

Premium Member

to russotto
They better not bitch anymore when we post direct links for downloads.

knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN

knightmb

Member

Leaked by Bit Torrent?

It was leaked by someone using Bit Torrent. The summary makes it sound like the BitTorrent creators did it, LOL.

I'm sure they will catch where it came from, given the watermarks in the film, but that just means someone else innocent will probably get in trouble, probably a non-technical person I imagine.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

1 recommendation

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: Leaked by Bit Torrent?

The summary makes it sound like the BitTorrent creators did it, LOL.
Really? "Leaked via BitTorrent" infers Bram Cohen leaked the Wolverine working print? No sure I see that.
openbox9
Premium Member
join:2004-01-26
71144

openbox9 to knightmb

Premium Member

to knightmb
said by knightmb:

I'm sure they will catch where it came from, given the watermarks in the film, but that just means someone else innocent will probably get in trouble
Assuming watermarks are tied to specific people/offices, I don't imagine it will take a rocket scientist to determine the culprit.
Desdinova
Premium Member
join:2003-01-26
Gaithersburg, MD

Desdinova

Premium Member

Re: Leaked by Bit Torrent?

"Assuming watermarks are tied to specific people/offices, I don't imagine it will take a rocket scientist to determine the culprit."

I'd imagine that the watermarks (those rust colored dots that are annoying as hell and in every damn movie nowdays) are pretty easy to beat. All anyone would have to do is edit out the marked frames in any video editor, re-render the file and upload it. Voila! A copy with no fingerprints!
userBeavis
join:2004-01-31
Pleasant Hill, MO

userBeavis

Member

Re: Leaked by Bit Torrent?

Film water marks are much more sophisticated now. The water marks are in places that you wouldn't know to look (like an extra eye lash in a series of frames of a person's face) and can identify right down to the screen the film was shown on.

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
TP-Link TD-8616
Asus RT-AC66U B1
Netgear FR114P

NormanS to knightmb

MVM

to knightmb
said by knightmb:

It was leaked by someone using Bit Torrent. The summary makes it sound like the BitTorrent creators did it, LOL.
That makes about as much sense as assuming that the makers of Colt pistols shot a victim when the news reports say: "Victim was shot by somebody using a Colt pistol".

knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN

knightmb

Member

Re: Leaked by Bit Torrent?

said by NormanS:
said by knightmb:

It was leaked by someone using Bit Torrent. The summary makes it sound like the BitTorrent creators did it, LOL.
That makes about as much sense as assuming that the makers of Colt pistols shot a victim when the news reports say: "Victim was shot by somebody using a Colt pistol".
The summary was changed since I made the comment.

Doctor Four
My other vehicle is a TARDIS
Premium Member
join:2000-09-05
Dallas, TX

Doctor Four to knightmb

Premium Member

to knightmb
Even the changed title "Leaked via Bit Torrent" is not entirely correct. It is not the only place where the Wolverine movie can be found; it is also on Usenet, IRC, and on hosting services such as Rapidshare. And this is after it went through top sites and FTP dumps, which get pirated material first before it ever reaches torrent sites.

So it would be more accurate to say it was leaked to Bit Torrent, and just about everywhere else on the Internet where copyrighted content is traded.

Not Taken
@verizon.net

Not Taken

Anon

Re: Leaked by Bit Torrent?

It was not originally released by the scene (although most pirated digital material gets out like that). I don't know what the original source is, but it could be a bit torrent tracker.

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

Transmaster

Member

Hell has no fury.....

Like an MPAA member getting screwed out of some money. In this case I am on the studio's side. But the FBI is like a elephant in a women's panty shop. What do you bet it was a insider working at the studio that posted the working copy.
firewire9999
join:2004-07-11
Livonia, MI

1 recommendation

firewire9999

Member

Re: Hell has no fury.....

Hmmm must have been the elephant wearing a blue thong that leaked it.

mskittykat
Reality Bites...So I'm Back
Premium Member
join:2002-10-17
Upper Marlboro, MD

mskittykat to Transmaster

Premium Member

to Transmaster
Most likely...

Transmaster
Don't Blame Me I Voted For Bill and Opus
join:2001-06-20
Cheyenne, WY

2 edits

Transmaster

Member

Re: Hell has no fury.....

Click for full size
Elephant in a Woman's Panty Shop
Well you were close.

If you don't know this it came out after J Edgar Hoover's death he was a transvestite.

P.S. Click the image to make it bigger

mskittykat
Reality Bites...So I'm Back
Premium Member
join:2002-10-17
Upper Marlboro, MD

mskittykat

Premium Member

Re: Hell has no fury.....


KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK

KrK to Transmaster

Premium Member

to Transmaster
Maybe the Studio should prosecute itself for allowing the movie to be leaked.

Robert
Premium Member
join:2001-08-25
Miami, FL

Robert

Premium Member

Why?

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?

Milli0ns
@bell.ca

Milli0ns

Anon

Re: Why?

said by Robert:

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?
Millions apparently!

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

hopeflicker to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
Click for full size
23,636 people

jap
Premium Member
join:2003-08-10
038xx

jap

Premium Member

Re: Why?

said by hopeflicker:

23,636 people
Far, far more. No doubt the film is circulating in any number of BT swarms, on ed2k, usenet and other networks. It's not measurable.

Noah Vail
Oh God please no.
Premium Member
join:2004-12-10
SouthAmerica

Noah Vail

Premium Member

Re: Why?

With the increase in circulation caused by the MPAA making sure that this was as high profile an issue as possible.

NV

jap
Premium Member
join:2003-08-10
038xx

jap

Premium Member

Re: Why?

said by Noah Vail:

With the increase in circulation caused by the MPAA making sure that this was as high profile an issue as possible.
Which is why the rather cynical suspicion that it may have been an intentional viral/promo leak cannot be ruled out.
NeoandGeo
join:2003-05-10
Harrison, TN

NeoandGeo to Noah Vail

Member

to Noah Vail
Yea. I would have never have known about it if they didn't freak out and let everyone know.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to Noah Vail

Premium Member

to Noah Vail
said by Noah Vail:

With the increase in circulation caused by the MPAA making sure that this was as high profile an issue as possible.

NV
yea the MPAA and the RIAA both have not yet learned that high profile and big press releases work against them in cases like this.

Nerdtalker
Working Hard, Or Hardly Working?
MVM
join:2003-02-18
San Jose, CA

Nerdtalker to hopeflicker

MVM

to hopeflicker
Oh, believe me, that 24k number is nowhere near how many people already have it, have watched it, and will watch it.

That's not even including copies which leaked on a number of private trackers hours before it went up on public places.

Rogue Wolf
An Easy Draw of a Sad Few
join:2003-08-12
Troy, NY

Rogue Wolf to hopeflicker

Member

to hopeflicker
Who will all then go onto online forums and complain about how lousy the movie is... because it's unfinished.

uid1307457
Premium Member
join:2005-12-30
Tempe, AZ

uid1307457

Premium Member

Re: Why?

said by Rogue Wolf:

Who will all then go onto online forums and complain about how lousy the movie is... because it's unfinished.
»Re: Why?

Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI

1 recommendation

Nightfall to Robert

MVM

to Robert
said by Robert:

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?
That and who would actually watch this movie in a crappy quality on their computer and be happy with it? I know I am going to see this movie in the theater when it comes out. I wouldn't waste my time with downloading even a cam version of this movie in full much the less an unfinished copy. I guess the quality of the movie means more to me than saving a few bucks. If I really want to see it, I will just spend the money and do so.

•••••

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

Matt3 to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?
Go to your local car stereo shop and purchase one of the handheld camera bootlegs they sell. If they'll watch that crap, they'll watch this.

FiL25
Premium Member
join:2005-08-16
Silver Spring, MD

2 edits

FiL25

Premium Member

Re: Why?

Apparently, it's DVD quality. Tell ya later...lol.

Frank
Premium Member
join:2000-11-03
somewhere

Frank to Matt3

Premium Member

to Matt3
said by Matt3:
said by Robert:

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?
Go to your local car stereo shop and purchase one of the handheld camera bootlegs they sell. If they'll watch that crap, they'll watch this.
they sell bootlegs in car stereo shops where you live?

up here in nj usually all you have to do is go eat at a fast food restaurant and some asian person carrying a huge bag will approach you and ask 'you want buy cd/mp3/dvd?'

knightmb
Everybody Lies
join:2003-12-01
Franklin, TN

knightmb to Robert

Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?
It was actually interested to see the movie without all the fuzz of Special FX, etc. I wasn't going to see it anyway, but after watching the rough version, it's still half-way descent enough to actually make me want to go see it at the theater with all the cool special FX in it. Just goes to show that a movie with a plot and no special FX can be better than the most expensive movie with Special FX that is too boring *cough* Speed Racer *cough*
moonpuppy (banned)
join:2000-08-21
Glen Burnie, MD

moonpuppy (banned) to Robert

Member

to Robert
This could be a "booker's" copy.

These are used by people who buy movies for the theaters and book them for whatever amount of time they think it will play.

Most of these movies lack the background music, polished sound and visual effects, and credits.

uid1307457
Premium Member
join:2005-12-30
Tempe, AZ

uid1307457 to Robert

Premium Member

to Robert
said by Robert:

Who would want to watch an unfinished copy anyways?
the movie is complete, but unedited

••••

birdfeedr
MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI

birdfeedr

MVM

blogs = spin

quote:
Simpson closed his online letter with the statement, "If you run a datacenter, please be aware that in our great country, the FBI can come into your place of business at any time and take whatever they want, with no reason."
What made the FBI investigate is a separate issue. If they have a warrant, however procured, that's not "with no reason."

Considering how easy it is to purge evidence, they needed to move fast. If I was Simpson, I'd be trying to get the backups duplicated so I could get my clients back online.

I'm sure he's cooperating to expedite that process.
axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC

axus

Member

Re: blogs = spin

I think it's time to pass a law limiting seizures to things that cannot be copied. Open ended warrants to seize any computer equipment cause more harm than help to society.

catseyenu
Ack Pfft
Premium Member
join:2001-11-17
Fix East

catseyenu

Premium Member

Re: blogs = spin

said by birdfeedr:


What made the FBI investigate is a separate issue. If they have a warrant, however procured, that's not "with no reason."
Warrants based on bad testimony? Never!

»www.scribd.com/doc/13974 ··· down=pdf
quote:
You would expect this kind of totalitarian storm­trooper activity in the name of the war on drugs, the war on terror, or etc. But the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation actually did NO investigation. They took the statements of two ex­employees of the company, one of which was fired for drug use, and the other of which was also fired...and has a pending FBI investigation against him that he is desperately trying to snitch his way
out of...by making up crazy stories about his past employer.

Matt3
All noise, no signal.
Premium Member
join:2003-07-20
Jamestown, NC

1 recommendation

Matt3

Premium Member

A film worth it?

said by Karl :

If true, it begs the question whether the revenues of a film studio are worth disrupting the revenue streams, connectivity, and 911 services for dozens of other companies.
Absolutely not.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
rayeger
join:2003-07-05
Pompano Beach, FL

rayeger

Member

If they were smart...

All of these promotional DVD copies of movies that are sent out for people to watch, they would encode each with a unique code so that when they get leaked, could be traced back to the source.

Stop using the taxpayers money to use the FBI to solve your problems!!!

••••••

insomniac84
join:2002-01-03
Schererville, IN

insomniac84

Member

Is the datacenter owner going to be charged?

It sounds like they are seizing the datacenter as if they are collecting evidence to put Matthew Simpson in jail. Otherwise there would be no reason to conduct a raid, or surround his house.

It would be pretty insane if they are going to raid datacenters and charge the owners and employees rather than just show up with a legal notice requiring the datacenter to take down the offending box and hand it over. As well as provide copies of any available logs.

If this is really connected to Wolverine, it makes no sense. If it is connected to any customer content, it makes no sense. These actions only make sense if Matthew Simpson was directly involved in some kind of digital crime syndicate that he was running out of his datacenters.

Bit00
Premium Member
join:2009-02-19
00000

4 edits

Bit00

Premium Member

Have money, get service

Our gov't is the best money can buy.

All I see is people crying for the poor MPAA member's possible losses. If this was caused by the movie investigation what about Core IP's losses and their customers' losses? Who is going to reimburse them when they're found to not be involved in the slightest?

Perhaps Core IP would be spared such callous action and have Senators and Representatives calling on their behalf if they contributed as much to Federal campaigns as the MPAA does.
said by FBI :
The FBI isn't commenting on specifics but said it could take several days to restore the servers of the affected companies. Officials say they could speed up their analysis of the web servers if the affected companies would contact them.
Wow, how generous of them. God forbid they get off their lazy asses and "speed up analysis" without being begged by decimated companies.

rob_in_chatt
Premium Member
join:2004-09-17
Chattanooga, TN

rob_in_chatt

Premium Member

movies

as long as movies stay with the CGI format, there will be theft of the movies. they are easy to steal with a thumb drive. that is part of the reason that the last Indiana Jones movie was not found anywhere until it had been released. it was filmed using traditional film, not all this fancy ass digital animated stuff that hollywood calls films. too many people have access to the computers that have the movies, so without restricting access to the machines, it is an open door for a thief.

••••••••••••••

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

3 edits

FFH5

Premium Member

CBS news report has no mention to movie investigation

User Qumahlin See Profile submits this CBS news report, claiming a raid on a Dallas data center is part of this investigation.
The CBS news story link has no mention at all of a tie-in to the leaked movie. Neither does the Blog entry of Simpson.

Maybe they chgd the story in later versions of the link provided.
»cbs11tv.com/local/Core.I ··· 706.html
»sites.google.com/site/mn ··· ec/index

dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

1 recommendation

dadkins

MVM

I smell crap!

The movie, by most accounts on the web - sucks!
Yeah, it's unfinished and all, but it's a dog.

I'm betting someone is trying to weasel out of paying back the investor's money...

Leaked... yeah, sure. How convenient.

•••

woody7
Premium Member
join:2000-10-13
Torrance, CA

woody7

Premium Member

hmmmmm....

If this is a "copyright" issue, why are the FBI involved? Are copyright violations now "criminal"? did they have subpoenas? Just fishing or what. I find it annoying that law enforcement is being used for private means. wasting scant resources.Peace
travelguy
join:1999-09-03
Bismarck, ND
Asus RT-AC68
Ubiquiti NSM5

travelguy

Member

Re: hmmmmm....

said by woody7:

If this is a "copyright" issue, why are the FBI involved? Are copyright violations now "criminal"? did they have subpoenas? Just fishing or what. I find it annoying that law enforcement is being used for private means. wasting scant resources.Peace
Haven't read that FBI Warning screen that appears on every VHS tape or DVD produced lately, have we?

kontos
xyzzy
join:2001-10-04
West Henrietta, NY

kontos to woody7

Member

to woody7
said by woody7:

Are copyright violations now "criminal"?
Always have been.
MeKuN
join:2004-07-21
Eugene, OR

MeKuN

Member

Priorities

How come the fbi will go all out to stop people who leak movies but wont stop companies who scalp tickets? If the artist sets the price what right do people have to buy all the tickets up and charge over 10 times the amount? As long as big business is on the big money end there's no problem, but as soon as they feel they are getting short changed its time to call in the government.
markopoleo
join:2003-04-02
Bonne Terre, MO

markopoleo

Member

I love the PR spin lies.

First they say they removed it from the internet, but its called bit torrent so its not removed.

Then they go on saying all the loss of money because of the release, without NO actual ticket sales yet from the movie.

To make it even more comical they say FBI is investigating and can be traced with a watermark. Boy I bet all those thousands of Screeners and workprints already on the internet can attest to how good that works..lol

Lets not beat around the bush and say it like it is.
The movie industry can't control its own internal movie copies and always deflects outward when it screws up.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: I love the PR spin lies.

said by markopoleo:

To make it even more comical they say FBI is investigating and can be traced with a watermark. Boy I bet all those thousands of Screeners and workprints already on the internet can attest to how good that works..lol

Lets not beat around the bush and say it like it is.
The movie industry can't control its own internal movie copies and always deflects outward when it screws up.
If the movie "critics" and reviewers aren't bribed, the sheep won't come and it will be a flop. So you must hand out free copies or else you'll get a negative review from just the plot summary and some imagination.

kfsutops
Premium Member
join:2002-08-19
Lutz, FL

kfsutops

Premium Member

The MPAA leaked it themselves

Think about it. What better way to get publicity about "cracking" down on piracy than to leak your product and then have it blasted all over the news that the FBI is seizing property.

At least this way they may not be going the route of the RIAA trying to sue fluffy the cat.

cpsycho
join:2008-06-03
Treadeu Land

cpsycho

Member

The Xmen movies were a joke period!

Not true to the story line, almost everyone I know didnt like the movies. Thought they were a waste of time and money. So yeah could be a whole stunt by the producers.

On another not one of my other frequenting forums I am a part of had an attack of 1200 bots from Amazon.com's cloud service. I wonder if this has anything to do with it.

Azureus
@comcast.net

Azureus

Anon

Stunt

This is pure BS, 20th Century Fox leaked the movie themselves, just think about it, you watch a pre-release movie, missing special effects, unfinished CGI, IF and I say IF the movie is good people will pay for sure to watch the final version. This is a staged stunt to promote the movie. Software makers do that all the time, they leak a limited or missing features version, people download it, use it, but at the end buy it for the complete application. I will watch the movie and probably buy the HDVDV.

kim
MVM,
join:2001-03-25
ON

kim

MVM,

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

No one here would work for free, why should anyone else?

Getting 'free' movies will get us no where in the long run. If profits cease, content will suffer. What kind of movies will we be left with there's no money in it for the studio's or independants?

Makes me want to go to the theatre and see Wolverine even though I would normally wait for the DVD to come out.

••••••

conk2k
@charter.com

conk2k

Anon

xmen

Watch this all be a publicity stunt by the producers to get more people to notice the movie. I don't think they'll ever find the person either. The people that do this type of stuff aren't just average joes that walk down the street. Someone probably hacked into their systems and pulled it out. Anything could happen if its digital.
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