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is-the-fire-real · 18 days

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'Reminder that "punch a nazi uwu" leftists utilize Nazi rhetoric to justify punching Jews.

It was never about punching Nazis; it was about getting social permission to punch.'

It was this very mentality that drove me away from considering myself a liberal anymore (I AM VERY MUCH LEFT LEANING, I DIDN'T DECIDE TO BECOME CONSERVATIVE JUST TO BE CLEAR. I just don't feel like those spaces have any intrinsic safety any longer). It feels like so much of western leftism has become about "punching up". I don't think it's about compassion or concern anymore, it's about finding the "right" targets. And so often that was just used as a way to excuse bigotry. I'm a goy but I noticed this on a personal level plenty with people identifying as feminists, they'd be perfectly okay saying something unquestionably sexist, as long as "white women" was attached onto the front. It's very much the same with shaming people over physical features that others may have, as long as the individual person is "bad enough" it doesn't matter if wide foreheads or big noses or acne are features many people have and would feel hurt by seeing them used as an insult, because they're only "really" directing it at "one of the bad ones"

So, I'm going to link to this piece again because it's been embarrassingly useful, and explains why I say things like "pretending to believe" despite their clunkiness. For new material, I hope you don't mind that you have accidentally triggered a massive unskippable cutscene, but you tapped into a few things I have been pondering and I'd like to take advantage of your observances to add my own.

Part of what you're discussing here, which I agree with, is that toxic slacktivists pretend to believe that they are Good People Doing Good Work. They are Bad People and their work is Bad Work, but if they all get in a group and pretend together that it's Good, then that's almost the same as being Good, right?

Another worthwhile aspect of what you're discussing is something I became aware of in the aftermath of the collapse of Occupy Wall Street. One commenter on a liberal blog I still follow lamented that mass protest never seems to accomplish anything, and how the millions of people who turned out for OWS protests should have affected more political change. Considering most of them could also vote, write to representatives, etc., something other than littering and arrests could've been done.

Another commenter pointed out that he had personally been at most of the anti-Iraq War protests, including the largest worldwide protest on 15 February 2003 (6-10 million estimated participants). But most of those protesters did not agree with each other. There were at least four major coalitions of antiwar protesters showing up then and thereafter. The ones he listed were:

"Just war" advocates who believed the Iraq War was unjust.

Total pacifists who believed all armed conflicts are unjust, and therefore the Iraq War is as well.

Right-wing bigots who believed a war might potentially benefit those they thought of as religiously or ethnically inferior and subhuman.

Xenophobes, both left- and right-wing, who believed "the US can't be the police of the world" and that any action taken outside USian borders was immoral.

Imagine four people with these beliefs in a room talking about the Iraq War... then bring up the war in Ukraine to them and see how fast the coalition falls apart.

"Well, the war for Ukrainian liberation is a just war," says the just-war advocate. The pacifist starts to scream "HOW COULD YOU DEFEND ANY ACTION THAT MIGHT LEAD TO CHILDREN DYING, YOU MONSTER!". The right-wing bigot says they support the war, too--on the side of the ethnically and religiously superior Russians. And then a left-wing xenophobe says we're wasting money that should be supporting American workers and uplifting Americans out of poverty instead of buying new bombs for Ukraine.

And your "antiwar" coalition collapses, with the pacifist wandering off to agree with the xenophobe while the just-war liberal and the right-wing bigot scream at each other pointlessly and without resolution.

This is one of the wisest breakdowns of human behavior I have ever discovered:

Any coalition of people is made up of many sub-coalitions who only temporarily agree on a single aspect of a single issue. Making sure the group does not collapse prematurely is the true, unsung labor of movement maintenance.

To be real, it's much easier to let one's coalition collapse and scream about how The Menz, or The CIA, or Greedy Capitalists, or The Jews artificially forced your group's collapse than it is to admit that one might just suck a big one at coalition building. This is especially true among leftists, who are sometimes anti-hierarchy and frequently fall for populist, anti-expert nonsense. Having a leader means you're suggesting someone should have authority, and a lot of leftists are allergic to that suggestion.

Moreover, though, a lot of "leftists" are "leftists" but only agree with one or two aspects of leftism.

To use your feminism example: I have absolutely seen feminists who think they can be misogynists so long as they say "white" before they say "woman". I mean, who can even argue? I have also seen feminists who think they can be gender bioessentialists so long as they're doing it towards "men" (a category which includes a lot of people who neither look like men, nor live as men, nor benefit from male privilege). I have seen feminists who think they can call themselves "trans allies" while consistently ignoring, degrading, and dismissing the concerns of anyone who isn't a binary trans woman. Etc.

The thing is, they are all feminists. What makes someone a feminist, at bottom, is the acceptance of and opposition to patriarchy. That's it. It's similar to how what makes a person a Protestant Christian is the acceptance of Jesus as their Lord and Savior--you might need to do one or two things to be considered a part of a specific branch of Christianity, but all you need is that one specific belief about that one specific idea. There's a lot of bunk about how "you can't be a REAL Christian unless you do X" just like there's bunk about how "you can't be a REAL feminist unless you do Y", and it's all bunk.

There are people who might be really bad feminists or Christians, but that's not the same as not being feminists or Christians.

So, the coalition of leftism has several sub-coalitions who actually despise each other. Here is my proposal for the sub-coalitions. (Please keep in mind that I am not defining groups by how they define themselves, but by the far more useful metric of their actions.)

Liberals who agree with leftist economic thought, but strongly disagree with leftist conclusions regarding violent revolution. Liberals do not have time for online arguments and superficial action. They are generally participating in protests, running for office, writing postcards to advocate for candidates, informing voters, and working within the system for positive change that alleviates suffering. They are pro-expert but opposed to a vanguard party due to its inherent authoritarianism.

Tankies, whose primary interest in leftism is authoritarian. They oppose capitalism and support violent revolution because they imagine themselves as the vanguard party who gets to control everything when the revolution comes.

Anarchists, whose primary interest is opposing hierarchy. They want to burn down the system because it is a system, and frequently become angry and defensive if you try to ask them any questions about what would be built out of the ashes.

Progressives, whose primary interest is opposing liberals. They also oppose capitalism; they are, like tankies, positioning themselves as the vanguard party because they are already in political power. What makes them Not Tankies is that they care more about sticking it to "the Dems" than they do about actually being the vanguard, opposing capitalism, or achieving anything of worth or meaning politically.

"Red fash", who used to be called "beefsteak Nazis". They say all the right things regarding violent revolution and economics/capitalism, but they only believe what they believe for the sake of their specific ethnic group and nation (frequently, white and USian, but this is extremely popular in Europe too). IOW a red fash wants the vanguard party to only have whites of a specific ethnicity in control of the revolution; they only want universal health care for "their" people, that sort of thing. Some red fash are actual Nazis cosplaying as leftists, but some are just really, really, REALLY bigoted leftists.

Whether we like it or note, the acceptance of armed, violent revolution as a Good Thing means that leftism has always regarded punching up and violence as a necessary component of leftist thought. This is not a perversion of Real Leftism. This is leftism. If you think revolution is good and necessary instead of a terrifying possibility, then you also think punching up is okay; it's just a matter of who is Up and who gets to punch.

Of the five sub-coalitions I described, only one has rejected violent revolution--and it's the one all the other leftists accuse of being right-wing. And interestingly enough, only liberals are habitually accused of secretly colluding with the right... when red fash are natural allies to the right, and when all other forms of leftists openly ally with right-wingers so long as they say the right things about economics. (See under: "After Hitler, us" leftists, left-wing Trumpistas who think they'll rule the ashes after Trump burns down the current system.)

And if you believe in violent revolution, then (let me be facetious for a second) what's the problem with making fun of your political enemies for being ugly? If we believe Steve Bannon is a Nazi, aren't we obligated to stop him by any means necessary, and doesn't that include mocking him for his alcoholism? Isn't mocking someone for their appearance and intrinsic characteristics mild compared to, say, threatening them with exploding cars covered with hammers? Or retweeting pictures of pitchforks and guillotines?

If we believe Ben Shapiro is an opponent to the revolution we accept is necessary and vital to the movement, then what's a little antisemitism in the name of the people? Don't we have to be bigots to oppose bigots? And--

--oh. There's that horseshoe bending round to the right again.

#leftist antisemitism #horseshoe theory #coalition failure #political analysis #from someone who never attended college but who is old and has seen and read a lot. to be fair #the people most likely to die in your violent revolution are the people most likely to die under capitalism #the people who advocate the hardest for violent revolution are those most convinced they will live through it #as for me. well. i already live under threat of constant violence and kind of don't look forward to it #so a political philosophy that fetishizes violence was never going to fit me very well

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new-dinosaurs · 6 months

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Neophilydor Sangster et al., 2023 (new genus)

(An individual of Neophilydor erythrocercum, photographed by Nick Athanas, under CC BY-SA 4.0)

Meaning of name: Neophilydor = new [in Greek] Philydor [genus of ovenbirds including the black-capped foliage-gleaner]

Species included: N. erythrocercum (rufous-rumped foliage-gleaner, type species, previously in Philydor) and N. fuscipenne (slaty-winged foliage-gleaner, previously in Philydor)

Age: Holocene (Meghalayan), extant

Where found: Primarily evergeen forests in Central and South America, including much of Amazonia

Notes: Neophilydor is a genus of ovenbirds, a diverse group of small birds from the American tropics. Members of Neophilydor and their close relatives tend to forage by climbing along branches and searching for arthropod prey in vegetation (often in bundles of dead leaves), hence their common name of "foliage-gleaners".

The two species of Neophilydor were traditionally classified in the genus Philydor, members of which they closely resemble other than having a less rounded tip of the tail. However, genetic studies have shown that the rufous-rumped and slaty-winged foliage-gleaners are probably more closely related to either the great xenops (Megaxenops parnaguae) or the genus Anabazenops. Given the lingering uncertainty regarding the evolutionary interrelationships among the foliage-gleaners, as well as the fact that the rufous-rumped and slaty-winged foliage-gleaners noticeably differ from Megaxenops and Anabazenops in having less robust beaks, among other features, the authors of a new paper chose to coin a new genus for these two species.

Reference: Sangster, G., M.G. Harvey, J. Gaudin, and S. Claramunt. 2023. A new genus for Philydor erythrocercum and P. fuscipenne (Aves: Furnariidae). Zootaxa 5361: 297–300. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5361.2.11

#Birblr #Dinosaurs #Birds #Neophilydor #Holocene #North America #South America #Telluraves #2023 #Extant

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clanslist · 2 years

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Warrior Cats Name Generator in 2022

FIRST LETTER OF FIRST NAME:

A - Aspen

B - Blue

C - Coast

D - Drizzle

E - Eel

F - Finch

G - Gorse

H - Hawk

I - Ivory

J - Jagged

K - Kestrel

L - Lime

M - Mite

N - Nectar

O - Oat

P - Poppy

Q - Quick

R - Rosette

S - Sorrel

T - Thyme

U - Urial

V - Vole

W - Whistle

X - Xenops

Y - Yew

Z - Zip

ZODIAC (SUN) SIGN:

Aries - pelt

Taurus - rush

Gemini - split

Cancer - blossom

Leo - mane

Virgo - face

Libra - swoop

Scorpio - teeth

Sagittarius - fire

Capricorn - scratch

Aquarius - fur

Pisces - drop

#Not an ad #Warrior Cats #wc #Warrior Cats name generator #Warriors #Warrior Name #Sorry if you get a name that's ugly to you!

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bonefall · 1 year

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Reply Roundup: All Over The Place Edition

Had a couple of questions piling up over time, so I’m gonna get to them all in one place! No theme to this Reply Roundup because there’s a lot of different scraps today

@halogenwarrior for Bonefall TNP: “How long will Frostfur and Wildfur live?”

For Frostfur, she can survive up to early OotS without a problem. I’m keeping her in mind as a body to toss into a major epidemic, she will probably die in one of the Color Cough outbreaks at the beginning and end of Po3. That said, I’m keeping her in mind as a possible kill for TNP, too. In any case, she won’t be left behind at the Forest Territory.

For Wildfur, he will no longer die of chest complications! There’s no need to kill him as a warning for Briarlight in the future. He’s getting a simple mobility device and he will be making the journey as a respected ShadowClan elder. He’s not getting a BIG role, it’s just nice to just have some disabled characters in the background. He’ll either die peacefully just before Briar’s injury, or shortly after giving her some practical advice.

@halogenwarrior for Bonefall TPB: “Since Cloudtail is now Firestar’s adopted son, does Cloudpaw have a new mentor?“

This is a special case where a father figure mentors their son. It’s not forbidden under the code, just usually counterproductive to the social purpose of Mentor/Apprentice relationships.

But here, the reason this taboo is being broken is because Bluestar is trying to make Firestar eligible for deputyship as quickly as possible. It’s not that she expects Tigerstar to betray her the way he does... but she also isn’t stupid. There’s a prophecy about Fire Alone saving the Clan, there’s at least suspicion about this deputy, and there’s constant war, disease, famine...

Things can change fast. Best to be prepared, and make sure that there’s no way to dispute Fireheart’s legitimacy under the Law of the Deputy (AND THEN SHE JUST WAITS A WHOLE DAY AFTER TIGER’S BETRAYAL, CASTING DOUBT ON HIS LEGITIMACY ANYWAY)

And besides, Fireheart brought this extra kittypet to ThunderClan. Bluestar also expects him to make it into a warrior as well.

TL;DR outstanding circumstance, mentor remains Fireheart.

@hehhdhejdudues “Why are Runningnose, Frecklewish, and Ravenwing in the Dark Forest?“

Runningnose is a Bad Boy in this rewrite, Frecklewish and Ravenwing are sent to the Dark Forest because of StarClan’s clouded judgement due to their mob-like fury about the Mapleshade situation.

There are lots of reasons to end up in the Dark Forest in this rewrite, but it’s also not as bad as canon. There’s even cats who go there in protest of StarClan.

@halogenwarrior “Is Hawkfrost and Reedwhisker’s age gap too steep?”

No, don’t worry, I went and charted it out. Reedwhisker is noted as a toothless kitten when Fireheart saves him from the river, meaning he’s less than 3 weeks old in Forest of Secrets (leopardstar’s humdrum made him older but we dont respect that book or its retcons). So, he’s a few weeks older than Bramble and Tawny.

Even if we went by the official wiki estimate, at most, Reed and Hawk are 1 year apart in age. Going by the toothless-kitten evidence, it’s somewhere near 9 months. That’s well below my 4-year-cutoff.

If Reedwhisker was a warrior, the small age gap WOULD still be an issue because of the power dynamic. However, add in the fact that Reed is forced to stay as an apprentice for an entire year because of Skyheart, there’s no problematic power dynamic at play here. It all checks out.

Aaaand for this last one, I’m going to talk a bit about ex-TigerClan supporters and Thistle Law in a serious discussion about fascism so this one’s going under a cut. TW for Fascism and all the racism, sexism, and xenophobia that comes with that, with a real-world example.

What exactly do RiverClan cats besides Hawkfrost (who wants an ally in his bids for power) get out of the WindClan rebellion? I would think their aggression and xenophobia would make them unhappy to get a leader who is also aggressive and xenophobic, but against THEM. Xenophobes won't be allies of other xenophobes from the very groups they are prejudiced against.

@halogenwarrior

Much like real-world fascism, Thistle Law looks different between its incarnations. Supporters of Tigerstar’s brand of Thistle Law are committed to annexing other Clans into one unit, to enforce a standard of purity into itself. Blackclaw, Reedtail, Heavystep, and the rest of Hawkfrost’s RiverClan reinforcements want a second TigerClan.

In its simplest explanation, I could leave it there. Anything that gets them closer to TigerClan 2 is their goal.

In addition though, I think it’s very important to remember that bigotry is not logical, consistent, or principled. Prejudice is irrational. Fascists only understand power and will work with groups they're actively bigoted against, until the exact moment they don’t have to anymore.

So, I flatly disagree with the idea that xenophobes don’t ally with other xenophobes of the groups they are prejudiced against. That’s actually one of the things Fascists are known for, worming their way into other movements by breaking off prejudiced subgroups. Terfs are the well-known example, antisemitic minorities are another. If fascists take power, they will turn against the JK Rowlings and Kanye Wests who were previously useful. They don’t reject the help before that point.

I could get into deeper historical examples about this, this tactic is as old as the term Fascism itself. But I’ll leave it there for now because it’s already gotten heavy.

Just know this is a topic I care immensely about. I put more effort into this aspect of my rewrite than anything else, because I think it is the most important thing I’m doing with it.

Back to Funnie Battle Cat though,

Mudclaw thinks the RiverClan cats are united in helping to get rid of Onewhisker, and fight the encroach of Firestar’s influence. Accepting all these outsiders (thinking about this part i should definitely give windclan an ex-bloodclan member), giving away land peacefully, all this inter-clan mingling... He was willing to give Hawkfrost deputyship to get his supporters on his side for that push. I do really like Winds of Change, but one thing I reject about canon is the idea that Mudclaw was just... completely Bamboozled by Hawkfrost and really had the interests of his Clan at heart.

Like, no lol. You were going to make a total stranger your deputy so you could have more claws to kill Onestar’s supporters with. The inciting incident for the assassination was finding out StarClan was going to speak to him-- totally abandoning the idea that StarClan would sort this out if One, Fire, and Bramble were all lying about Tallstar’s switch. “Best interests of his clan” yeah right.

Hawkfrost’s plan was to get deputyship in WindClan, and then present this to Leopardstar as evidence of his capability. He is actually right that this would impress Bonefall Leopardstar, and set the stage to start merging the two Clans.

#Bonefall Rewrite #Bonefall TNP #Hawkfrost #Mudclaw

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alphabetcompletionist · 1 year

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what are your favorite animals? a few of mine, real quick:

polar bear

zebu

dog

jackrabbit

xenops

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

26/26

possum

#and per se and #pangram sure nice. sorry i hit a wall

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thefunkyclouds · 2 years

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"H-H-Hey X-Xenop-p-phanes d-do you want a h-h-hug?"

"NOO!"

"D-D-Did I hear a Y-Y-Yes...?"

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME YOU!"

"A-A-Awww C-C-Come h-h-here..."

*Insert a big chase scene*

#you can't run // sonic exe #hmp yeah haha // corrupted boyfriend #random funky conversations

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444names · 2 years

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dinosaurs, minerals and periodic table elements

Aadhanite Aallite Abalite Aberaton Achisaurus Acite Acomon Actite Adensaurus Adhreite Afnite Aghus Ahexia Ajurus Akadite Akaia Aksite Alaene Alcite Aldandite Alganiteus Alisaurus Alite Alnatoplite Alocoelsite Alonite Alonium Alospolita Aloste Altanotite Ameykun Amicryx Amite Amocobar Ampfickite Anedaxinyx Anite Ankyita Anotasite Anraite Arcira Arcovus Arcupaurus Ardaurus Argasaurus Arkite Armana Arohaurus Aronite Arsaurus Arselites Arsite Arstu Asperinite Atibisaurus Aurus Aurusaur Aurutan Avilvannang Avipus Avitite Awskis Baimus Baite Barrite Baurus Beite Beltaothon Bermoronite Berops Berus Bisaurus Bischyttor Blawson Blite Bogerropor Bolia Borbiumbar Brasite Brepte Brerasaurus Brezite Brosaurus Bréeite Bréelia Bulondite Burite Burus Byite Calallonia Canite Cannite Cantholite Carkiite Caurus Celmeling Cenite Ceracrixine Cerlite Cerrite Cerrosaurus Chantorbena Chlosaurus Chomaganite Chrocite Chryosauron Chtopenite Chuanc Churus Chylas Chysite Clabaianyx Clatite Clite Closaurus Colite Colum Corpins Cosaurus Cramar Cranabon Crapte Croite Cronite Crosaurus Crányx Cupium Custe Cyale Daddesinium Danate Danes Daurus Denesaurus Deviante Diite Dindysaurus Diohsaurus Dipum Ditops Dmonite Drianite Droceis Drokylite Dromes Dropeadmite Drosaurus Dryite Dulaurus Dylves Dymimaite Dymite Dyrryx Dysaurus Effite Elinosaurus Elite Elodosaurus Emonteriops Eocorhous Eorhaena Eosenen Eotieite Eriteinite Eronite Eulite Eurus Fenodochus Feraple Ferrichlops Feryogerite Fonite Fonon Fracerite Fracite Frampernite Frangtite Gaburus Galite Galle Galquerus Gancyluite Ganoreeite Gantite Gantroite Garcte Gasaurugite Gedmacan Genite Glose Gosaurus Gosrus Gratinenite Greazentite Gremettrine Grytribnine Guniumbium Hadite Haerite Halcite Hanine Hellite Hengxips Henosaurus Herse Hetite Hitergaste Hocosaurus Hodonyx Hosaria Hosaurus Hosuaite Hurus Hyrrithous Hålesaurus Hübnite Ickadmite Igadylus Igisaurus Illaps Illium Indraiite Irahnite Irnite Irourus Isaurus Jasaurus Jasaus Jenite Jenzite Jeratops Jerinops Jevan Jocelan Junite Kacilopte Kelinangite Kitanchite Knotolite Kovor Kreetite Lanite Lasaurus Leckissium Lecotite Leite Lemor Lepite Lerimectite Lesaurus Leshusite Linus Liorian Litetite Lopurus Loravane Losaugia Losaurus Lovia Luchiang Luorasaurus Lusperite Lyite Maddinite Malite Mallayasite Manasaurus Manatops Manocite Manotite Margite Marite Masaurus Mchnkamadon Melle Meratuor Mersaurus Mertogite Molopharte Mooidaurus Mosaurus Murustite Nacium Nansaurus Nardus Naylurus Neornite Nerysaurus Neurus Nismarus Néite Okite Oluxenite Oremese Orian Orite Orriitandus Osauddite Osaurus Oshorite Otuksite Ovite Oxferapurus Oxferysite Packenite Padite Paite Palinyx Pangarite Parcosaurus Parite Partovite Patordtite Patosarkite Patukornite Paurus Pedoceromus Pelium Penite Peschus Phingite Phosaurus Piosaurus Plasaurus Popus Posaurapis Preaurus Prite Prochine Prolosaurus Prosaureris Ptornite Rabiven Rachite Rantite Rapellinite Rasepiode Reaurite Renzhen Reochus Rersea Rhanite Rherite Rholosaurus Roidisaurus Ronite Ronyx Rosaurus Rotite Saite Saudonite Sauelon Saurite Saurnite Saurus Saurusaurus Scarcus Schosaurus Scubaurus Seithne Shamapte Shusaurite Silium Sitehous Sittasaurus Splite Spongton Spovagus Squobsaum Stigite Stinmosarus Stite Stonite Strolite Suchte Svahium Syratus Tacite Tadhodon Tanosaurus Taowakovite Tarchite Tasauruia Tavia Thanithous Thilips Thine Thnite Thodowite Thuchilite Tiste Toiderrus Tosaurus Tracerinax Trosaurus Tryphus Tsposaurus Tugus Turumnohus Turus Tyrium Udite Ulriaia Unalips Urubne Utiaurus Vaespide Valindysar Valite Vantitany Vartite Velar Venchte Vesite Visaurus Vlang Welesseite Welite Weltarbsite Wodonite Woleigite Wuesauri Xenops Xiannus Ximeite Xingerite Xinosaurus Xipor Xixite Xosaurus Xuwalovia Yelite Yulfor Zachus Zahinite Zapte Zarasaurus Zargite Zasaurus Zinite Zirite Zunykus Zuruitatite Åkerus

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