# Cyber attacks as preppers are we ready?



## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

What if anything can we prepare for? What do you think will be the next target? What should we prepare for?

I have increased the cash I have stashed. I have topped off our propane tank and filled all the little ones. I added 4 50 gallon containers of water. Our food supplies are in good shape.

I thought about @Slippy and his spikes when I read this: 
Top cybersecurity official warns of more ransomware attacks


> "It’s time for the United States to start putting heads on spikes when it comes to confronting and dismantling ransomware groups," Kitchen said.
> 
> "If President Biden does not confront Vladimir Putin about the ransomware groups perpetrating from within Russia, he will be failing in his duty to protect the United States from these types of attacks," he added.


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

This sounds like undocumented worry to me. I've pulled up a few forums in my day, and sooner or later the hacks start playing "us vs. them." Sure, I've known people who go way overboard in reading and responding to the stresses of unknown "experts," but in the end it usually winds up as momentary angst.

In all of the 20 plus years some of us have endured on the 'net, was any member *arrested* simply for opining on a new gossipy announcement he heard or printed? Was an entire gossip column ever locked up en-masse and never heard from again? The worst I ever got in 15 to 20 years on the 'net was a singular terse drubbing from a forum monitor. 

I believe there are three grocery stores within my area. Never saw a Nazi, never saw a "food robbery," and never was I held up at gunpoint for insider gossip info. Gossip columns are for fun, not for creating a "enemy target list."


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Auntie said:


> What if anything can we prepare for? What do you think will be the next target? What should we prepare for?
> 
> I have increased the cash I have stashed. I have topped off our propane tank and filled all the little ones. I added 4 50 gallon containers of water. Our food supplies are in good shape.
> 
> ...


With as successful as these ransomware cyberattacks have been, it is a safe bet it's going to happen again.
However, it might depend on the attackers and whether they actually want to affect a whole country/economy. With the pipeline hack, the supposed attackers sent out a message indicating they didn't intend to affect such a large percentage of the country. They stated their main targets are normally just big corporations, not infrastructure or commodities.
But with the latest attack on the beef industry, which admittedly I'm not as familiar with, that tactic might not be the same for all ransom hacking groups.

We prepare for it the same as we'd prepare for any disaster that might affect the whole country. Square away food, water, fuel, cash and other trading goods, and keep weapons at the ready and in working order.
Depending on the system hit, the impact could be tremendous.
Or they could hit Facebook and do us all a big favor.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

For 2 days I was battling Russian and Chinese hackers. One of my co-workers opened a port to allow himself the ability to see his fish tank camera while he was not at work (He keeps salt water fish at work). so they must have scanned for open ports and were able to see those two ports..

plus they exploited an opening I had for our VoIP pbx - I shut that down pretty quickly when i saw calls going to the Bahamas 

They were also trying to get into our VPN connection.

We have been attack free for 2 days


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

These hacks are becoming more brazen and frequent. Water, electricity, gas, shipping, etc. are all controlled by computers. I do not know enough about IT to understand how it all works. I do agree with @Kauboy FB going away would be good for a lot of reasons.

@Maine-Marine glad you got it under control.


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## Any Beastie (Mar 19, 2021)

Not I said the chicken.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

I don't have to worry about hacks on my computer. I do everything using a Morse Code key. Sometimes I use an Aldis lamp.


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

My guess would be the water supply will be next. Then the grids gas, oil, electric and pipe lines. Milk the us for what it's worth before winter then shut up down and freeze us out. By next spring we'll be begging for a bowl of rice.

Biden won't do a thing.


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## Luckyprincess (May 16, 2021)

With the latest attack on the pipeline on the east coast I definitely think it will happen again. I have extra gas, propane and cash. Not sure what else to do. Water supply attacks would really hurt.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

Auntie said:


> What if anything can we prepare for?


In the area of information security, the same approaches can be applied as for any other area of security. 
The tools are slightly different, but the general principles are very similar.


Auntie said:


> What do you think will be the next target?


Any object. 
If the design of the facility and its safety are carried out by hipsters in short pants or too greedy top managers 
who are ready to sacrifice someone else's safety for their own selfish purposes. 
Reasonably smart people talked about such threats many years ago. 
But who listened to them then and who will remember their words now?


Auntie said:


> What should we prepare for?


Perhaps to the fact that taxpayers will again pay for the mistakes of vain dummies.


Auntie said:


> These hacks are becoming more brazen and frequent.


The reason is not that the so-called "hackers" are smart, but that the guards are incompetent or greedy.
The words "hacker" and "hacking" have been so devalued by journalists over the past decades that they call them any student who has not even tried to understand the operation of automation.


Auntie said:


> I do not know enough about IT to understand how it all works.


Nothing is impossible. If you wish, you can learn everything you need.
I heard that there is an American proverb, the meaning of which is roughly the following: if you don’t know something, then your money will go there.
I will thank you if someone can tell me how this proverb sounds exactly.

Most people are completely nonchalant about their computers and gadgets. 
Routers and IP cameras are left with the default settings. There is nothing to "hack", everything is open there anyway. 
Study your equipment, know what you own. It is not always fast, not always immediately clear, but always useful.


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## Demitri.14 (Nov 21, 2018)

Anything and Everything is a potential target. And its not just Ransomware. I think techno-terrorist are probably working on all kinds of stuff. Those Antifa boys sitting in their momma's basement in their underware, are planning something as you read this.

Cell Phone networks
911 dispatch centers
TV stations
Think of anything that would disrupt normal everyday life for most people and you have your targets.

How to prepare ?

Besides the normal stuff, like food, water, fuel, ammo. Better have a secondary means of communications and make sure critical items are de-internetted. IOT is a risky technology.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Demitri.14 said:


> IOT is a risky technology.


Even more so now that Amazon has activated its "Sidewalk" networking technology.
I'm keeping an eye on how long that will take to get hacked and completely exploited.
If any of you have any Amazon networked device, click the link and consider yourselves officially warned.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

@Folklore some excellent points. Sorry I am not familiar with the saying. I do agree with the sentiment

I agree @Demitri.14 I believe a lot of our newer members overlook a secondary communication device. I don't believe that Aldis lamp will work for most.

@Kauboy I had never heard of Amazons sidewalk. I clicked the link and read about it. Yikes!


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Auntie said:


> @Kauboy I had never heard of Amazons sidewalk. I clicked the link and read about it. Yikes!


Most people will be completely unaware. All such devices are automatically "opted in" unless the user takes action to opt out. Without advertising it, most won't know.
Remember 2 years ago when Amazon released that "Show" device that was basically a two-way video chat interface? They recommended you use it as an alarm clock... next to your bed...
It's only a matter of time.
That cloud hack that affected a ton of celebrities a few years ago will pale in comparison to what is coming when this gets cracked.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

Kauboy said:


> Even more so now that Amazon has activated its "Sidewalk" networking technology.
> I'm keeping an eye on how long that will take to get hacked and completely exploited.
> If any of you have any Amazon networked device, click the link and consider yourselves officially warned.


I looked at that link.
I do not have any of that, nor are any of our household applianes (or anything, actually) connected to the "internet of things".
We have no "smart TV", nor would I allow one in my house.
I even put black electrical tape over the camera on my lap top.

I'm a Luddite.


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## Beechnut (Sep 6, 2020)

Kauboy said:


> We prepare for it the same as we'd prepare for any disaster that might affect the whole country. Square away food, water, fuel, cash and other trading goods, and keep weapons at the ready and in working order.


This. You need clean drinking water, preserved food, and depending on where you live either a way to keep warm in winter, a way to keep cool in summer, or both. Of course I believe everybody should have a home defense firearm and know how to use it as well, but that's a personal choice.

Once you have those things covered you should have at least basic first aid knowledge and supplies. Cash on hand is also a big one.

Having these things covered will see you through your local natural disasters along with supply shortages and disruptions. Really it will cover the most likely things that we are going to face and give you a solid base to build off of for the others.


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

Flip the "main" on the fuse panel for a weekend, maybe give your neighbor your cell phone to keep and you should have a pretty good idea of what areas of your plan of action need attention.


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## Demitri.14 (Nov 21, 2018)

Robie said:


> Flip the "main" on the fuse panel for a weekend, maybe give your neighbor your cell phone to keep and you should have a pretty good idea of what areas of your plan of action need attention.


That's a Great Idea!!!


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## The Tourist (Jun 9, 2016)

I wonder if we are placing too much angst on the idea of our "enemy." I've never seen a weirdo in cammo jump out of my wife's bushes and spit out an epithet in sterling WWII German.

I mean, if you sit long enough in Madison's "Joey's Anchor Inn," I guarantee you will be fighting someone or something within the hour. And most of those guys have never taken a survival class.

So, if all of this has some reference to your life, do we really need a *militaristic plan of action*? I mean, if you go to a full house Packer football game I can guarantee someone is going dump beer on you. And most likely it's not a 92 year old former member of the Luftwaffe.

I'll admit I have enemies. To that I must add I do not know how many, where they live or if they have recently died. I will agree that the entry, "---(the last sentence is gone) ???

Sorry guys. The last sentence that I was going to post either was deleted or was just to large for the space provided.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

The Tourist said:


> Sorry guys. The last sentence that I was going to post either was deleted or was just to large for the space provided.


Dang, and I'll bet that was the sentence that would have made the rest of the post make sense.
Better luck next time.


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## Hemi45 (May 5, 2014)

Kauboy said:


> Even more so now that Amazon has activated its "Sidewalk" networking technology.
> I'm keeping an eye on how long that will take to get hacked and completely exploited.
> If any of you have any Amazon networked device, click the link and consider yourselves officially warned.


My wife is pretty nonchalant about such things but even she agrees that Echo's and such devices are the devil - lol!


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## Ahudson (May 25, 2021)

The electrical grid and the cell phone towers would cripple the country and a whole generation or two. People would not know how to communicate with others without one. Heck or how to tell time with cell phone.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

The collapse of the electrical grid would kill tens of millions in very short order.


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## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

> "If President Biden does not confront Vladimir Putin about the ransomware groups perpetrating from within Russia, he will be failing in his duty to protect the United States from these types of attacks," he added.


Imagine being the proverbial 'fly on the wall' for that conversation! Biden and Putin? Just to addled his brain a bit more than it already is, (Thick Russian accent) _"We settle this matter over a bottle of good Russian Vodka, Joe." _


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## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

I’m not opposed to making if a felony for anyone to pay ransom money to anyone. If they know they won’t get paid, perhaps they will stop.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

No sources named, but "Natural News" is claiming to have knowledge of a pending cyber attack on our nation's power grid that could coincide with the results of the Arizona audit being released.








LIGHTS OUT: Cyber strike against America's power grid and energy infrastructure seeks to take down the nation and sow chaos so that bad actors can cover their tracks


We now have intel from multiple sources, both public and private, that indicate a large-scale cyber warfare strike against America's infrastructure will be attempted soon, possibly carried out by both the communist Chinese (for their own strategic reasons) but also potentially aided by the U.S.




www.naturalnews.com





Sounds a bit like an "educated guess" to me, trying to predict something rather than having hard intel... but they could be right either way.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Kauboy said:


> No sources named, but "Natural News" is claiming to have knowledge of a pending cyber attack on our nation's power grid that could coincide with the results of the Arizona audit being released.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Mike Adams is a product of Alex Jones. I don't watch either. And both are wealthy. Alex used to be worth more, until his divorce. I guess she earned it.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

Annie said:


> Imagine being the proverbial 'fly on the wall' for that conversation! Biden and Putin? Just to addled his brain a bit more than it already is, (Thick Russian accent) _"We settle this matter over a bottle of good Russian Vodka, Joe." _


I see that in the United States to Biden a special relationship because of his domestic policy, but Biden behaved in the right way with Pu. This is the correct line in foreign policy. Pu and his team was very unpleasant and hurt. Many people are very very tired by Pu and such people enjoyed. Pu first flew to the meeting in time, as he knows that they will not be joking with him. The last one who knew how to say was George H. W. Bush.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Folklore said:


> I see that in the United States to Biden a special relationship because of his domestic policy, but Biden behaved in the right way with Pu. This is the correct line in foreign policy. Pu and his team was very unpleasant and hurt. Many people are very very tired by Pu and such people enjoyed. Pu first flew to the meeting in time, as he knows that they will not be joking with him. The last one who knew how to say was George H. W. Bush.


Yeah, Biden is a genius with foreign policy.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Folklore said:


> I see that in the United States to Biden a special relationship because of his domestic policy, but Biden behaved in the right way with Pu. This is the correct line in foreign policy. Pu and his team was very unpleasant and hurt. Many people are very very tired by Pu and such people enjoyed. Pu first flew to the meeting in time, as he knows that they will not be joking with him. The last one who knew how to say was George H. W. Bush.


Sorry, but I think your English might be having a hard time with this.

Biden got his ass kicked. Biden doesn't know where he is and Putin knows that.
Putin turned the tables on Biden and Biden doesn't know where the tables are.
The Russian government is watching the U.S. administration, just like I am watching it. The Russian government sees the Biden Weakness and it is acting accordingly.
China? China owns this administration. The ChiComs. The ones who are infiltrating every aspect of this nation.

Prepare, America. It's coming.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

Denton said:


> Biden doesn't know where he is and Putin knows that.


I think that your president's consultants know what to do. Biden spent the ceremony for the public. He simply said out loud what your administration thinks. Pu understood what he was told and he became sad.


Denton said:


> Putin turned the tables on Biden and Biden doesn't know where the tables are.


America is different from Russia that the president decides not all things in America. Biden will not be able to use the tables? Perhaps he does not need personally. You have specially trained people for this.


Denton said:


> The Russian government is watching the U.S. administration, just like I am watching it.


To call them the government would be a great honor for them. But for all sorts of nasty, they are always capable.


Denton said:


> The Russian government sees the Biden Weakness and it is acting accordingly.


Biden voiced very very unpleasant words for Pu. Only presidential consultants who know vulnerable points are capable of such. It seemed to me that someone re-read the tips Zbigniew Brzezinski.


Denton said:


> China? China owns this administration.


And where are they not? Pu their pet.


Denton said:


> The ChiComs. The ones who are infiltrating every aspect of this nation.


Yes, they know how to steal secrets and they have good propaganda. But they need to be able to use stolen secrets. The Chinese have problems even with copying some Soviet technologies. Weakness of any totalitarian and authoritarian regimes in corruption and chatter. Yes, they will show you parades of military equipment, but this is not quite a reality.
You need to fear meanness, yes. I do not see the reasons for direct conflict at the moment.
China is a big problem for Russia. Pu indifferent to Russia's problem, he thinks only about himself.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

OK. You can't speak in concepts. You can only break down concepts and speak to sentences. You are boring.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

I tried to explain how the situation on the other side. I have no idea what concepts in the heads from other people.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Folklore said:


> I tried to explain how the situation on the other side. I have no idea what concepts in the heads from other people.


No, you showed how you can't speak in a conceptual manner.
Furthermore, you are a liar. You aren't a Russian. In one quote, you are barely comprehensible. In this quote, you are two steps from the Queen's English. You are a troll.


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

Well begins! What is trolling? You said and I said. Finished. I am writing using an electronic translator. Quality depends on my care. If you do not check grammar, then there will be bad translation.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Folklore said:


> Well begins! What is trolling? You said and I said. Finished. I am writing using an electronic translator. Quality depends on my care. If you do not check grammar, then there will be bad translation.


All of a sudden you play stupid.
You are no more Russian than I am.
Sell your shite elsewhere.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Denton said:


> ...You are a troll.





> An *internet troll*, or online bully, deliberately tries to offend, cause trouble or directly attack people by posting derogatory comments on Facebook posts, blogs, under YouTube videos, on forums and other social media, such as Twitter and Instagram.


I do not see that behaviour here. Let's play nice. Exchanging ideas is good for us. Does it really matter what country the ideas originate from?


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Auntie said:


> I do not see that behaviour here. Let's play nice.


 I have and commented on it in the past. He/she/it goes from really bad broken English to really well thought out and spoken well. On the educated side of things. So yes, I can see why Denton thought that.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

My quote is referring to troll behavior. As for the English proficiency I don't pay attention to it. I care about the participation. Does the poster provide interesting insight, do they make me look at things from a different perspective, have I learned anything from them? If I can answer yes to any of those I do not believe they are a troll. I haven't seen any intentional pot stirring., have you?

Perhaps my indifference to the quality of their language skills stems from living overseas and the problems I experienced learning their language.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Auntie said:


> My quote is referring to troll behavior. As for the English proficiency I don't pay attention to it. I care about the participation. Does the poster provide interesting insight, do they make me look at things from a different perspective, have I learned anything from them? If I can answer yes to any of those I do not believe they are a troll. I haven't seen any intentional pot stirring., have you?
> 
> Perhaps my indifference to the quality of their language skills stems from living overseas and the problems I experienced learning their language.


It's really simple.
He claims to be Russian and uses choppy, improper English most of the time, in order to make it seem as if he is not American. When he doesn't pay attention, his English writing is better than most.

Trolling might not be the proper description but deception certainly is.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Folklore said:


> Well begins! What is trolling? You said and I said. Finished. I am writing using an electronic translator. Quality depends on my care. If you do not check grammar, then there will be bad translation.


Your electronic translator picks and chooses when it wants to be extremely accurate.
If you are relying on a translator, how would you know what is the proper grammar?


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

Valid point.


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## rstanek (Nov 9, 2012)

We went to Sams Club and top off our pantry with stuff we were getting low on, empty shelves cause anxiety, we are good now…..


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## Folklore (Apr 6, 2021)

Denton said:


> You are no more Russian than I am.


It sounds insulting for me. I can say that you are not from America on the same basis.


Denton said:


> Trolling might not be the proper description but deception certainly is.


You may be ashamed of slander in the future. You do not consider this opportunity?


Denton said:


> Your electronic translator picks and chooses when it wants to be extremely accurate.


Heck! I choose. Yes, now any translator has a database with frequently used phrases and tries to guess the phrases and entire proposals. I am not always pleased with the result. After translating from Russian to English, I sometimes perform a check of the received translation back into Russian. If it looks not very scary, then you can post.


Denton said:


> If you are relying on a translator, how would you know what is the proper grammar?


Because I tried to learn it for many years. Every time without much success due to the lack of constant practice. Now there are paid and free translators. There are online translators. There are Slang Dictionaries and obscene vocabulary, there are dictionaries of English dialects. If you have time and desire, you can manually modify automatic translation.

Even professional translators use a computer. Why I will strain if you can instruct the computer, and then edit the result?

I even gave links to Russian-speaking sites with an article about tactical lights. There is a translation from Russian into English in automatic mode.

I read this forum just mostly through the translator. I just copy the link to the page and read the site in Russian. Without a translator, I will understand less than half.

Try reading through the translator and communicate on the forums. Your questions will disappear. In free translators more than 80 languages of the world. This is easier than it seems.


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## ItsJustMe (Dec 12, 2020)

It sounds as if @Folklore is getting information from MSM in Russia. Personally, I don't believe ANYthing I read in ANY news 100%, no matter the source.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Folklore said:


> It sounds insulting for me. I can say that you are not from America on the same basis.
> 
> You may be ashamed of slander in the future. You do not consider this opportunity?
> 
> ...


Wow! Look at that. Your writing looks like an English major's writing. Isn't that something?

Poser.

BTW, I'm not impressed with those who respond to sentences and not concepts.


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