#267075 - 12/10/2005 23:04
Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
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addict
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 510
Loc: NY
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I don't even have words for how f'ed up this one is.
I just got a lovely visit from the NYPD regarding my pretty little phone I bought on amazon this summer.
It's stolen. And posession of it implicates me in a felony (although the very nice group of large men in bullet proof vests assured me they don't think I did anything. As a matter of fact, they seemed surprised by what I looked like when I told them it was me they were looking for.
I however, am out of a phone, and am soon to be low on vodka (trying to get back to that nice relaxing evening at home I was originally planning on.)
If anyone has a phone number for amazon, I'd be quite grateful.
_________________________
Heather
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." -Susan B Anthony
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#267076 - 12/10/2005 23:10
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Heather]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/10/2000
Posts: 4931
Loc: New Jersey, USA
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1-800-201-7575
_________________________
-Rob Riccardelli
80GB 16MB MK2 090000736
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#267077 - 12/10/2005 23:29
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Heather]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 12/02/2002
Posts: 2298
Loc: Berkeley, California
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Damn, who exactly do you have to be to get the NYPD to show up for a stolen phone?
The most I've ever gotten out of the police around here was "if we stop someone in a stolen vehicle and they have all your stuff together so it's obviously yours, then we'll call you".
I assume you bought it from an amazon merchant?
Matthew
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#267078 - 13/10/2005 02:03
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: matthew_k]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 19/09/2002
Posts: 2494
Loc: East Coast, USA
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Didn't we decide that it's not profitable for police to chase burglars of even multi-thousand dollar value? Whoever pawned this phone must be bigtime. Reselling from a truck heist?
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- FireFox31 110gig MKIIa (30+80), Eutronix lights, 32 meg stacked RAM, Filener orange gel lens, Greenlights Lit Buttons green set
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#267079 - 13/10/2005 02:10
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: matthew_k]
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addict
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 510
Loc: NY
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Quote:
Damn, who exactly do you have to be to get the NYPD to show up for a stolen phone?
It's not the stolen phone alone, it's all manner of other nastiness associated with said stolen phone that's really gdf'n inconvenient on top of the entire fucking shocking mess.
And the NYPD is usually pretty damn good about at least pretending to make an effort. Most of them are really nice about it too. However two of the lot that showed up tonight were royal asshats. One clearly hated the affluent and pale, and the other seemed to have just enough intelligence to fill a shot glass. The other three took about 45 seconds to realize they had someone who didn't have a damn thing to do with what they were after.
Looks like my goal of trying to get out of a lawyer's office by the end of 2005 ain't happening.
Quote:
I assume you bought it from an amazon merchant?
Nope. Amazon themselves. If it was an Amazon merchant, I would have named them. Also compounds the wierdness. I wouldn't exactly be shocked if I got a stolen phone from some place like "Larry's phone-o-rama".
_________________________
Heather
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." -Susan B Anthony
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#267080 - 13/10/2005 07:24
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Heather]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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There are two possibilities here:
1) Amazon has unwittingly bought a batch of stolen phones
2) Somebody has reported a phone stolen to claim on insurance and then returned the for a refund, it either being repacked by the retailer or sent back for factory repacking.
Phone insurance fraud is rampant here in the UK, a recent estimate said that the majority of phone robberies were actually just so that people could get the latest phone, and some phone dealers/sales staff were encouraging people to report a fake robbery so they could get the commission on a new phone.
Gareth
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#267081 - 13/10/2005 10:00
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: g_attrill]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/12/2001
Posts: 5528
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I think option 2 is more likely. Plenty of scammers out there unfortunately  I doubt it's official policy but Carphone Warehouse on several occasions has been dodgy They've suggested that I "accidently" break or lose my phone on three occasions now. My brother went in to buy a new phone and they asked him if he wanted to switch over to TalkTalk (calling plan) and he said no. A week later he gets a letter from BT saying how they're sorry to see him leave and whether he has any comments on why he was switching to another provider. Turns out the sales guy just put the application through anyway as most people don't reply to the letter quick enough and get automatically switched over.
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#267082 - 13/10/2005 10:24
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tman]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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For what it's worth, I bought my cel phone from Amazon and had no problems at all. When you bought your phone, was it still packaged and sealed as new, or was there any indication that it might have been a returned item? Clearly, Amazon owes you a new phone. If you press them, I'll bet you can get some kind of concessions as well. I'd personally use this as a chance to demand a better phone and/or a nice pile of phone accessories gratis.
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#267083 - 13/10/2005 12:04
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tman]
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old hand
Registered: 14/04/2002
Posts: 1172
Loc: Hants, UK
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Quote:
I think option 2 is more likely. Plenty of scammers out there unfortunately
I agree, it is very unlikely they bought a dodgy batch. However bad things can happen to big companies - a while back there was a flood of counterfeit Duracell batteries in the UK. One large independent electronics shop was selling them on racks at the counter, they were good copies but obviously fake if you know what to look for.
Gareth
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#267084 - 13/10/2005 13:41
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: g_attrill]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/03/2000
Posts: 12338
Loc: Sterling, VA
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Quote:
2) Somebody has reported a phone stolen to claim on insurance and then returned the for a refund, it either being repacked by the retailer or sent back for factory repacking.
But given her description, that doesn't sound like the case. That sounds like small time, not "all manner of other nastiness associated with said stolen phone." Unless it's a really large scale scam going on.
_________________________
Matt
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#267085 - 13/10/2005 14:24
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Dignan]
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addict
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 510
Loc: NY
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Phone insurance fraud is rampant here in the UK, a recent estimate said that the majority of phone robberies were actually just so that people could get the latest phone,
Well, at the time I bought this, the black razr was one of the newest most sought after phones. Doesn't quite seem right.
For what it's worth, I bought my cel phone from Amazon and had no problems at all. When you bought your phone, was it still packaged and sealed as new, or was there any indication that it might have been a returned item?
This was at least the third one I've bought from them. Everything was still plastic wrapped with no indication of anything having been used.
Amazon owes you a new phone. If you press them, I'll bet you can get some kind of concessions as well. I'd personally use this as a chance to demand a better phone and/or a nice pile of phone accessories gratis.
Um, you get me implicated in a few felonies, I think you owe me a bit more than a replacement phone and a free headset. Unfortunately, I can't call them and start screaming yet, as I don't want to do anything to derail the cops, nor have I spoken to my lawyers yet, since it's Yom Kippur, and I'm not about to call either of them unless it's a truly life or death situation, which this is not. I'm just really, really, unamused right now.
But given her description, that doesn't sound like the case. That sounds like small time, not "all manner of other nastiness associated with said stolen phone."
Yeah. 5 of them showed up, this is no small time crime. They only sent 2 for death threats.
_________________________
Heather
"I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." -Susan B Anthony
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#267086 - 13/10/2005 20:02
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Heather]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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Quote:
Unfortunately, I can't call them and start screaming yet, as I don't want to do anything to derail the cops
Do you have a case number or anything along those lines? You could always ask the cops whether they have any objection to you yelling at Amazon.
Pretty much no matter how you spin it, there's no way that you, personally, are at any risk of being charged with any crimes. You bought a phone from Amazon that turned out to be bogus. Amazon has your money. The police have your phone. Amazon owes you a phone. Simple as that.
Quote:
Um, you get me implicated in a few felonies, I think you owe me a bit more than a replacement phone and a free headset.
Well, unless they hauled you away, fingerprinted you, and locked you up, then you're going to have trouble getting anything else out of Amazon beyond assorted gimmes.
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#267087 - 13/10/2005 20:13
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Heather]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
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Actually, I just came up with a different theory for what might have happened. Have you seen Brasil? A typo changed the name of a known scoundrel to an innocent fellow who promptly gets lost in a Kafka-esque bureaucratic hell trying to right things that went horribly wrong. Given that they showed up, looking for you with what appeared to be the sort of firepower normally reserved for drug kingpins and such, I'll wager that some kind of typo led the cops to believe that the holder of your phone number was an evil-doer terrorist of some sort. Of course, evil-doers are likely to be using stolen phones, in much the same sort of way that Al Capone also happened to do mail fraud. They're just evil like that. As such, I'll wager that Amazon.com did nothing wrong, and that the error resides entirely with your local police force and/or your cel phone service provider. Amazon may then rightly insist that they've done nothing wrong, leading you inexoriably into the aforementioned Kafka-esque bureaucratic hell that stands between you and the recovery of what is rightfully your cel phone, sitting in some lame evidence bag, buried in a police evidence room.
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#267088 - 13/10/2005 20:17
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: DWallach]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Remember, we're all in this together.
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#267089 - 13/10/2005 20:23
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Hm, maybe I got the quote wrong. Anyway, if anyone out there has NOT seen Brazil, make sure that the DVD you get is the Criterion collection one. The others are the US cut-down release. The film is much better with Terry's original edit, makes much more sense and flows properly. Sorry to hijack the thread. Back to topic: God, so very sorry about the police thing. That utterly sucks, buying something from a reputable company and then being told it was stolen. But since you ordered from a national online merchant like Amazon, how can they possibly hassle you about it? Maybe I'll drive over to the Amazon fortress here in Seattle and give them a piece of my mind for ya.
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#267090 - 13/10/2005 21:11
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tfabris]
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member
Registered: 12/08/2001
Posts: 175
Loc: Atlanta
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Quote:
Remember, we're all in this together.
Keep your stick on the ice!
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#267091 - 14/10/2005 01:29
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Folsom]
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addict
Registered: 24/07/2003
Posts: 500
Loc: Colorado, N.A.
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The Red Green Show (on PBS here in the U.S.) is what I thought of first, as well! But I believe Tony's clear intent was to be quoting Terry Gilliam's movie, Brazil. And on what other BBS would one find (perhaps a majority) of participants familiar with both? 
_________________________
-- DLF
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#267092 - 14/10/2005 02:20
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 06/10/1999
Posts: 2591
Loc: Seattle, WA, U.S.A.
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Quote:
Maybe I'll drive over to the Amazon fortress here in Seattle and give them a piece of my mind for ya.
Well, dang, Tony did it. Moved to Seattle! So, is Tony working?
Anyhow, be careful around the Amazon HQ. Former Public Health Service Hospital, as everybody knows. What few know, though, is the previous history guarding the northern approaches of Boeing Field during B17-B39 production. Can hardly tell there were AA gun emplacements on the 3rd-4th (or 4th-5th?) floor, but they keep finding 20mm and other old ordinance around...with some not-so-happy results. So, just watch your step is all I'd say.
_________________________
Jim
'Tis the exceptional fellow who lies awake at night thinking of his successes.
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#267093 - 14/10/2005 04:40
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: jimhogan]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
So, is Tony working?
Not yet. Got any leads? 
Sorry to hijack your thread again, Heather.
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#267094 - 14/10/2005 09:41
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tfabris]
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addict
Registered: 27/10/2002
Posts: 568
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So why move to Seattle in the first place when you didn't have a job waiting...? Except that you like rain, of course... Stig
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#267095 - 14/10/2005 13:22
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: StigOE]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
So why move to Seattle in the first place when you didn't have a job waiting
Among other reasons, I lost the job in CA and decided I wanted a change of scenery. And a change in the ratio between salary and cost of living.
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#267097 - 14/10/2005 15:24
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: andy]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31597
Loc: Seattle, WA
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Quote:
Remind us again what you are looking for.
Resume Here.
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#267098 - 14/10/2005 18:57
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5549
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
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Resume Here. Yes... but do you have any computer skills? tanstaafl.
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"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"
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#267099 - 14/10/2005 19:23
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 25/08/2000
Posts: 2413
Loc: NH USA
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"You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills... Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills. "
-N.D.
_________________________
WWFSMD?
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#267100 - 14/10/2005 23:11
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Ezekiel]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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Quote:
"You know, like lightsabre skills, speederbike skills, levitation skills, jedi mind-trick skills... You know, skills! GOSH!"
-A.D.
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10101466 (2x60GB, Eutronix/GreenLights Blue) (Stolen!)
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#267101 - 15/10/2005 00:45
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 14/01/2002
Posts: 2858
Loc: Atlanta, GA
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I guess moving to Atlanta is not an option considering you just moved . . .
_________________________
-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.
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#267102 - 15/10/2005 00:50
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: DLF]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 13/02/2002
Posts: 3212
Loc: Portland, OR
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Quote:
The Red Green Show (on PBS here in the U.S.) is what I thought of first, as well!
I was thiiiiiis close to replying "If the women don't find you handsome, they'll at least find you handy!"
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#267103 - 15/10/2005 01:00
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: tanstaafl.]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 24/01/2002
Posts: 3937
Loc: Providence, RI
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Quote:
Resume Here.
Yes... but do you have any computer skills?
tanstaafl.
Well, he's always looking for a Windows answer because Linux is scary, so I'll guess not 
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#267104 - 15/10/2005 05:14
Re: Fair Warning - Amazon.com cell phones
[Re: Daria]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 16/04/2002
Posts: 2011
Loc: Yorkshire UK
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How about starting a separate thread on this one and getting back to the poor young ladies phone prob. I'd like to know the outcome?
Not that I've been above hi-jacking threads myself!
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Politics and Ideology: Not my bag
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