Tuesday, February 26, 2013

LGUs asked to help influence Peza on Metro Cebu exclusion


By Mia E. Abellana
Sunday, February 24, 2013
THOUGH he has yet to follow up on their position regarding new guidelines from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) concerning the granting of incentives to developers of IT parks and buildings, Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Prudencio Gesta hopes to involve the local government units in their request to revisit the new guidelines.
Gesta said the LGUs can use their influence to have Peza change its position about excluding Metro Cebu from the areas that are no longer eligible for the five percent incentive granted to developers of IT parks and buildings.
Earlier the CCCI sent a position paper to the Peza board seeking their reconsideration in excluding Metro Cebu from the areas entitled to the incentive, saying Cebu has not saturated the market for such zones and buildings.
Tax holiday
The Peza board released Resolution 12-329 last year, removing the five percent tax holiday granted to developers of IT parks and buildings in Metro Cebu and Metro Manila in a bid to level the playing field among all areas in the country and encourage similar investments in other regions and spur economic development. The incentives granted to companies occupying these buildings will remain.
Gesta said this would put areas in Metro Cebu at a disadvantage. He added that even if the Peza board should clarify that it is only Cebu CIty and not Metro Cebu that is excluded, they still believe the decision should be changed.
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Small parts
He pointed out that the concentration of IT buildings is in small parts of Cebu City. Considering its land area, Gesta said there is much room for more areas in Cebu City to be developed to cater to the booming business process outsourcing and information and communication technology industry.
“Cebu City is not over-supplied with these businesses yet. There is much room for expansion.”
Gesta said that majority of the ICT and BPO businesses are in Cebu City and that the neighboring cities of Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu and Talisay can benefit from the incentives if they start developing to cater to this industry as well.
He believes that if these LGUs also write formally to the Peza and other government agencies that have a say in it, they can use their influence to have the decision changed.

Firm setting up adventure resort in Balamban

By Katlene O. Cacho
Monday, February 25, 2013
ALLIANCE Aquaculture Inc., an affiliate of International Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPI), is planning to develop its 36-hectare prawn farm in Baliwagan, Balamban into an integrated mountain resort that will have adventure activities.
According to Cristino Lim, general manager of Wild Wild West Recreation Center, they added recreational activities to maximize the farm’s 20-hectare development.
“The areas surrounding the ponds are idle so we thought of putting recreational activities to bring more life to the farm,” Lim said.
They retained the prawn farm, which was developed in the 1980’s for export. It has 16 ponds with an average annual harvest of 50 tons to 70 tons. Each pond can harvest five tons to six tons on the average. It is the farm’s major source of income.
“The long-term plan is to make this an integrated resort, a new destination for family-bonding activities,” said Lim, who is also IPI’s vice president for admin and finance.
The recreation center formally opened last summer. Its opening also provided jobs to 30 Balamban residents.
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Investment
The company initially invested P2 million for the setting up of a racecar drifting activity in the resort. Lim said they were surprised by the positive feedback, especially among male car racing enthusiasts.
Lim said they thought of adding other activities that are good for family and group outings.
He purchased equipment and resources for activities like horseback riding, fish feeding, tirador challenge, camping, fishing, all-terrain vehicle (ATV) adventure ride and biking.
Lim said all the activities they offer were spurred by requests of guests who wish to spend more time at the farm. The firm built cottages and a restaurant to complete the adventure experience. He said they encourage prior reservations at their restaurant as prawns and fish served are all taken fresh from the pond.
Lim said it is during weekends where they have a lot of guests, who usually come in groups. They expect more guest with the coming of summer.
Adventure tourism, according to tourism stakeholder Jonathan Jay Aldeguer, is great way to draw tourists to Cebu and has potential to grow more.
He said Cebu is conducive for this as the province has access to sea and mountains.
Aside from that, Cebuanos are now adapting their lifestyle with adventure events held almost every weekend.
“Adventure tourism adds a new dimension to activities and events in Cebu,” Aldeguer told Sun.Star Cebu.
Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 director Rowena Montecillo is pleased at how municipalities and companies in Cebu have come up with their own adventure activities.
She said adventure destinations provide new attractions to Cebu’s growing number of local and foreign visitors, giving them more reasons to extend their stay here.
Aside from promoting Cebu as a leisure and cultural destination, her office is also actively promoting the province as an adventure tourism destination to attract young Filipino-Americans, especially those from the third and fourth generation, who are into all sorts of adventures.
Asked whether Cebu is slowly moving from being leisure to adventure type of tourism site, Aldeguer said the growing attraction still cannot replace the more lucrative leisure market.
He said Cebu should continue to develop and be vigilant in developing the leisure market since this sector continues to grow and covers a wide spectrum including wellness, attractions and adventure.
“Adventure tourism should just be a part of Cebu’s lure as a top leisure destination,” Aldeguer said.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Emotional pope celebrates final Sunday prayers





Pope Benedict XVI leads the Angelus prayer from the window of his appartments on February 24, 2013 at the Vatican. He delivered an emotional last Sunday prayer in St Peter's Square, saying God had told him to devote himself to quiet contemplation but assuring he would not "abandon" the Church
AFP News - Pope Benedict XVI leads the Angelus prayer from the window of his appartments on February 24, 2013 at the Vatican. He delivered an emotional last Sunday prayer in St Peter's Square, saying God had …more 

Pope Benedict XVI delivered an emotional final Sunday prayer in St Peter's Square, saying God had told him to devote himself to quiet contemplation but pledging not to "abandon" the Church.
Tens of thousands of supporters turned out for Benedict's weekly Angelus prayer, his last ahead of his formal resignation on Thursday, often interrupting him with clapping, cheering and chanting.
"The Lord is calling me to climb the mountain, to dedicate myself even more to prayer and meditation. But this does not mean abandoning the Church," the pope said from the window of his residence in the Vatican, his voice breaking with emotion.
"If God is asking me to do this it is precisely so I can continue to serve with the same dedication and love as before but in a way that is more appropriate for my age and for my strength."
The pope thanked the crowd with a final unscripted call, telling them: "We will always be close!"
The 85-year-old leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics said earlier this month he will be stepping down because he lacks the strength to carry on in an announcement that shocked the world.
He is the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign.
The final days of his pontificate however are being overshadowed by scandal over two cardinals -- one accused of covering up paedophile abusers and the other accused of "inappropriate acts" -- who are set to take part in the conclave to elect his successor.
That did not deter an estimated 100,000 people from coming out to bid the pope a final farewell on Sunday -- many times more than usually attend the traditional event in St Peter's Square.
"Holy Father, We Love You" read one banner, while others said: "Thank You, Your Holiness" and "Dear Father, We'll Miss You".
"I have come to support the pope and to ask for his blessing," said Joao-Paulo, a 26-year-old seminarian from Brazil.
Birgit Marschall, 37, a teacher from Germany, said: "He is an intellectual who speaks in simple language, who writes what we have in our hearts."
Claire Therese Heyne, a 34-year-old theology student from the United States, said the pope "must have had a very strong reason" to leave.
"It is an act of courage and humility," she said.
Benedict will be only the second pope to resign of his own free will in the Church's 2,000-year history.
But Gianpaolo, 33, said Benedict had been "less courageous" than his predecessors, and stressed the need for major reforms.
"The Church has to have a major reflection after this resignation. Something has changed inside the Church and this decision reflects this," said Gianpaolo, who came with his two sons.
-- 'Completely false news stories' --
Forty-five-year-old Linda from Wales said: "He was not so open as the last popes before him. A new pope should be more open to people, to new ideas."
There was tight security in and around the Vatican, with more than 100 police officers and snipers on surrounding rooftops, as well as two field clinics and hundreds of volunteers to help pilgrims.
The event was being seen as preparation for the pope's final general audience in St Peter's on Wednesday where around 200,000 people are expected.
Following his resignation announcement, some Italian media have said that Benedict's health may be worse than has been revealed, and others have said an explosive report on intrigue, corruption and blackmail in the Vatican was to blame.
The Vatican's Secretariat of State -- the government of the Catholic Church -- took the unusual step on Saturday of issuing a statement condemning "completely false news stories" as an attempt to influence the vote of cardinals.
The upcoming conclave is also under a cloud over allegations that one of the 117 "cardinal electors" -- US clergyman Roger Mahony -- had covered up for paedophile priests for years in Los Angeles.
Another cardinal, Britain's Keith O'Brien, has been reported to the Vatican over claims of inappropriate behaviour by four people, the Observer newspaper reported on Sunday.
The Vatican said the pope was considering the case.
John Allen, a Vatican expert at the National Catholic Reporter, said current discussions on sexual abuse by priests showed "how enormously damning this scandal has been for the Church."
"Even at the most awesome moment in the life of the Church, even then, this scandal rears its ugly head," he said, referring to the papal conclave.
The Vatican has said Benedict will retire to the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome for the next two or three months while a former monastery inside the Vatican is renovated for his use.
Vatican sources said he is likely to retain the title of "His Holiness" -- an unprecedented move -- and will also be known under the previously unheard-of title of "Bishop Emeritus of Rome".
In Catholic theology the pope, as the successor of Saint Peter, is the bishop of Rome.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Roadmap to Well-Being




You won't arrive at better health by accident.

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So how’s that New Year’s resolution to drop a few pounds going? Are you scarfing down a hamburger you picked up in the drive-thru with a creamy vanilla shake on the side? Yep, thought so.
Why is it so hard to keep our health resolutions? We know we should eat better and exercise more, and we even know how to do it in most instances. So why can’t we stick to it?
Dr. Randall Wright, co-author of The Wright Choice: Your Family's Prescription For Healthy Eating, Modern Fitness and Saving Money, says the main problem is that we’re not planning our health. We plan our finances, we plan our vacations, we plan when to have kids. But even though we can’t enjoy any of life’s experiences fully without good health, we skip the planning process for it.
Wright says we should sit down on our own or with our families and map out a health plan just like we would a financial plan with a broker. “Assess where you are now,” he says. “Visit your doctor; get your weight, your blood pressure, your cholesterol checked.” Just because you feel good does not necessarily mean you’re healthy, he says. For example, heart disease and diabetes are chronic diseases that often have no immediate symptoms.
Then start making changes gradually enough that you can stick to them. No need to get a membership at Gold’s Gym and eat nothing but whey protein and baby carrots. Because let’s face it: You won’t stick to it if it’s too hard. You have to acclimate yourself to a healthier lifestyle. “Just as there are no real ‘get rich quick’ schemes,” Wright says, “there are no ‘get fit quick’ schemes either.”
Remember to check your health as you do your bank account. “A lot of people don’t like to count calories. If you don’t, however, you’re not investing in your health,” Wright says. “You don’t say ‘Well, I think I have enough money,’ so what makes you think you haven’t eaten too many calories today?”

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Simple Tips for Following the Path to Health

A lot of people think getting healthy is an overwhelming task requiring loads of deprivation. But you can make changes gradually, ease into a new routine and do so while hardly noticing you’ve made a change. Pretty soon, you’ve got a whole new mindset about eating and exercise. Here are Dr. Randall Wright’s tips on how to get going:
- Keep a food journal or use a nutrition app and track what you eat. Then make one small tweak that will cut your calories. Don’t overhaul your diet; just take out one of those cookies you eat every day.
- Do a vice check. Pick one vice per month to work on. Maybe you eat too many chips, watch too much TV, don’t get enough sleep or drink too much soda. Pick one of those vices and eliminate it for the month.
- Start small and start at home. If you’ve never exercised, walk just five minutes a day for a week then increase the walking time another five minutes the next week. Pretty soon, you’ll have a good habit.
- Just like you make a household budget, make an eating plan. Plan your meals for the week, including snacks, and stick to the plan. If almonds are on the menu for snack time, don’t grab a cookie instead.

source: www.success.com


Modern Marketing: Make It Count




You can use these proven techniques to str-r-r-etch your marketing moolah.

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Every day 294 billion emails, 534 million Facebook updates, 400 million tweets and 2 million blog posts are generated worldwide. Print advertising surrounds you, and TV and radio commercials blare intermittently. When you market your business, you’ve got to get through all this noise by using the right medium and sending the right message.
My solution is what I call “precision marketing.” It helps you identify your best targets and then create tailored marketing messages that appeal to them specifically. You’ll spend your marketing dollars wisely while generating better results.

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Where to Start

The first step is often the hardest, and you need to set manageable objectives that are clear and specific. Do you need to work on keeping your customers more loyal? Do you need to get your current customers to try new products? Do you want to “reactivate” customers who went dormant? Do you need new customers?
Figure out what you need to do by comparing your business to industry metrics. You can find these through Internet research, industry analysts (Forrester Research, for example), industry or trade associations (for the insurance industry, for example, the Professional Insurance Marketing Association has statistics); your chamber of commerce might be helpful for more locally focused information. Things worth looking at include your customer retention statistics and/or your revenue growth rate vs. industry benchmarks and growth rates.
Many of us focus solely on finding new customers, but there may be lower-hanging fruit. The widely accepted rule of thumb is that new customers cost about seven times more than retaining and expanding your sales to existing customers. And current customers can often be transformed into customer advocates who will attract new customers for you. Customer loyalty is a powerful asset.
For example, Perricone MD, a skincare products company, employed a successful email marketing strategy that focused on customers subscribed to Perricone MD emails but not actively buying. The goal was to find the high-potential dormant customers and figure out their preferences and interests by offering inexpensive samples and discounts each week. From there, Perricone MD determined the most tempting products for such customers and offered promotions on those products—leading to a 33 percent purchase rate from customers that other companies might have dismissed as “dead.”


Strategy or Bust: Focus, Focus, Focus

Once you’ve taken your first small step, set a laser focus on strategy. Key questions: Which customer groups should I target based on my goals? What do they want? What content/messages/offers will engage them?
State Bicycle Co., a medium-sized Arizona business, used a highly strategic Facebook campaign to connect with prospects and customers, learn their preferences, and generate purchases. The company posted about new products and events to increase awareness—measurable in clicks, likes and comments. State Bicycle also tailored coupons for its Facebook fans based on the preferences revealed by the likes and comments.
On Fridays, the company ramped up excitement by posting sneak peeks of new products and by using fan reaction to determine which products and offers would be best-received. The Facebook page directed fans to the website to learn more about items of interest—increasing the chance to convert fans into purchasers. State Bicycle cut through the marketing noise and gave its fans relevant information. And in addition to earning a legion of Facebook fans, the company turned many of them into paying customers: 12 percent of State Bicycle’s website sales traffic comes from its Facebook page.


Choosing Your Channel

You know about FacebookTwitter, email, direct mail, TV/radio and print ads. With the range of choices available, which medium or marketing channel is right for you? Your customers select the channel in which they want to receive your messages. Knowing how your customers like to converse with you is key.
To start, make sure your messages and offers can resonate across many channels. Then you can consider factors such as customer demographics, your products, your messages’ timing and your budget. If you don’t know whether your customers prefer text messages to emails, then start with tests to see what generates the best conversation, engagement and response.
Royal Canin Canada, a pet-food maker, wisely gathered important demographics from customers in its PetFirst! email program. The company advertised the program in pet stores and on its packaging to build a relationship with current customers by inviting them to join and to enter specific information about their pets, such as age and breed. Royal Canin got off on the right paw by acting as an adviser rather than just another seller clogging inboxes. The company customized emails with the names of the owners and their pets as well as with content specific to the pet—a great way to hold the attention of smitten pet owners. For example, owners with puppies on the cusp of being full-grown would receive “Lifestage Guides.” Diet guidelines and recommendations were also made based on breed.
The emails generated an 80 percent click-through rate—a testament to how much customers appreciate and act on customized information, that all-important “relevance” you keep hearing about.


Skinny Budget Workarounds

So you’re thinking, Where will I find the money for this new marketing approach? Well, a big budget isn’t necessary to get big results. Remember that a common (and expensive) mistake is marketing to all customers, even those who aren’t likely to respond. If you plan well and tailor your messaging, you will spend less and reap a greater reward.
Let’s take a look at Rapid Racking Ltd., a U.K. company that sells shelving solutions by catalog. A few years back, Rapid Racking blasted out its expensive-to-produce 160-page catalog to any potential shelving buyer, and the cost of finding new customers this way was too high.
So Rapid Racking bought lists of prospective buyers. The company figured out which prospects on those lists were the most promising by comparing their profiles to those of current customers. Then, instead of mailing that big, generic catalog to an entire list of untargeted prospects, Rapid Racking began mailing smaller, more targeted and less expensive mini-catalogs to specific prospects.
The result? Pieces mailed by Rapid Racking were reduced by 25 percent, but revenue grew 8 percent. The cost per acquired customer has decreased 47 percent. This is how a skinny budget can deliver more bang for every buck.
Lists are a smart tactic, and here’s how to use them: Start by determining your target audience in terms of industry, size, function, location, etc. Next you’ll need to decide between renting or buying a list from, for example, InfoUSA, Dun & Bradstreet, Harte-Hanks or Experian. (For a valuable tutorial about which lists are best and whether to buy or rent a list, watch a terrific online video atSUCCESS.com/lists.) Once you’ve pared your list(s) to your best prospects, market to them using snail mail or electronic messaging.


Measuring Your Marketing

Business owners don’t measure results nearly enough, and even when they do measure, they may not examine the right things. Here’s a specific example to demonstrate the value of the marketing measurements.
Harold’s Chicken Shack—a favorite haunt of President Obama—measured its marketing results to test, learn and get smarter. The company’s goal was boosting sales between lunch and dinner, and text-message marketing was selected as the medium for the campaign because most people look at a text message the instant they receive one. In-store signage (banners, counter fliers, table tents and window posters, for example) as well as print ads and door fliers encouraged customers to opt in for cellphone texts announcing special deals.
Customers who signed up got an immediate thank-you text to save 10 percent during the slow 1-to-5 p.m. period (if you brought a friend, 20 percent off for each of you). The company then sent weekly messages with varying promotions. Each promotional message had a distinct keyword that simplified the tracking of responses.
By tracking which codes drove redemptions, Harold’s Chicken Shack could select the best text promotions both in terms of message delivery times and the time limits on the offer. (In case you’re wondering, messages delivered before noon and redeemable over a span of a few days turned out best.)
Results: 10,000 opt-ins during the first seven months, with the promotions delivering 53 percent redemption of the introductory coupon, 37 percent redemption rate of subsequent promotions, and an overall 11 percent hike in sales among participating outlets.


The Bottom Line

Marketing drives your business. So try a few narrowly focused tactics using readily available insights to keep your efforts simple and inexpensive. Then test, measure and learn along the way. Keep doing what works, but add refinements and new elements, measuring every change so you know what’s smart to keep and to discard. You’ll develop a marketing program that really counts.

source: www.success.com/

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

President praises Megaworld for Newtown; Cebu, too, for its skilled workers

By Elias O. Baquero
Thursday, February 21, 2013
PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III reiterated a promise to make it easier for business owners to transact with the government and to avail themselves of competitive incentives.
He made the assurance in his speech during the unveiling yesterday morning of the Mactan Newtown, the flagship project in Cebu of Megaworld Corp.
“This is your first such (township-type) project outside Metro Manila, and the people from around here can assure you that you’ve made the right choice,” the President said.
“If there is any place where you can replicate your success in such projects in Metro Manila, it’s here in Cebu. The workers you will find here are skillful, creative, lighthearted, while possessing an unshakeable pride in the quality of their work,” he also said.
On the second day of his visit to Cebu, the President skipped a political sortie in Liloan town and instead went to Mactan. There, he thanked Megaworld executives, led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Tan, for investing in Cebu, creating jobs and providing facilities for more tourists.
Malacañang issued in June last year its Proclamation 407, declaring the 16 hectares of land owned by Megaworld in Mactan as a special economic zone.
Tan, in his speech, said the company is investing P20 billion for the project. He commended the Aquino administration for attracting more foreign retirees to the country.
Japanese retirees make up the bulk of buyers of two condominiums that Megaworld launched last year, 8 Newtown Boulevard and One Pacific Residence, the company said in a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange.
The President has instructed the Philippine Retirement Authority (PRA) under General Manager Ernie Atienza and the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) to help Megaworld.
Higher target
The PRA processes documents of retirees who want to invest and reside permanently in the Philippines. Peza supervises economic zones.
“We see the Mactan Newtown as a major driver of growth for Lapu Lapu City and Cebu in general in terms of job opportunities, sports and recreation, retail shopping and of course, tourism,” Tan said.
President Aquino also reported the revised tourism target of 56.1 million travelers by 2016. That, after the tourism department confirmed that in 2011, the Philippines recorded 37.5 million domestic travelers.
“Just to put this number into perspective, this already surpassed our original 2016 target of 35.5 million domestic travelers…By then (2016), we expect that we will need more than 37,000 additional rooms in our destination clusters, which include Cebu,” Aquino said.
“Suffice it to say: we fully intend on sending more guests to hotels in Cebu—guests who will be riding in your boats, buying your dried mangoes, and eating your famed Cebu lechon. So, to Megaworld: If you have some extra space here after all your buildings are done, you cannot go wrong with building another hotel.”

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Could the go-go-gadget straddling bus be headed for the U.S.?


By 

October 27, 2010

The Elevated High-Speed Bus could be headed for U.S. streets
The Elevated High-Speed Bus could be headed for U.S. streets















The Elevated High-Speed Bus could be headed for U.S. streets



The giant Straddling Bus we reported on earlier this year could be headed to the U.S. This week the inventor of the bus, Mr. Song Youzhou, announced that his Shenzhen-based company is aiming to form partnerships or licensing agreements with specialized manufacturers to build the vehicle for the American market. Designed as a way to reduce traffic snarls without the need for much in the way of new infrastructure, the “Elevated High-Speed Bus” straddles two lanes of traffic allowing cars to drive underneath.
The bus is designed to travel on rails or special painted guidelines and each bus contains four compartments that can carry “hundreds of passengers”. With a top speed of 80 km/h (50 mph) and average speed of 40 km/h (25 mph) the mega buses should be able to outpace ordinary buses, which the company says have an average speed of 20 km/h (12 km/h) – although whether there’s enough clearance for them to literally overtake an ordinary bus is another matter.
The Elevated High-Speed Bus
The bus is also greener than existing diesel-powered buses, being fueled by municipal electricity and solar power, which is supplemented by solar energy collected by panels on the oversized roof. Additional benefits of the bus listed by the company include reduced traffic congestion and lower construction cost and time when compared to other public transportation solutions.
Mark Shieh, a spokesman for the new venture said, "relative to the cost of a subway line or other rail transit, our bus delivers extraordinary value. Aside from the low cost, the time for construction is about one third that for a subway."
The Shenzhen-based company plans to start building the buses in 2011 in China where traffic jams have become commonplace – in August this year a massive 100 km (62 mile) long traffic jam near Beijing slowed vehicles to a crawl for nine days.
The Amercian venture, US Elevated High-Speed Bus (Group) Inc., is responsible for business development in the Americas and Europe. In addition to looking for U.S. based manufacturers, it is also interested in transport industry manufacturers in Central America, South America and Europe.
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Shieh said a motor home, RV, train or bus manufacturer with production facilities in the U.S. that is looking to diversify would be an ideal partner for the U.S. venture. You’d imagine any potential partners would be inclined to wait and see how the things progress in China before committing money to what seems like a risky venture, but maybe there’s a U.S. company adventurous enough to take the leap. We’ll wait and see.

About the Author
Darren QuickDarren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continued through a number of university courses and crappy jobs until 2008, when his interests found a home at Gizmag.   All articles by Darren Quick



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