WEBVTT

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[intro music]

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After a relative prosperous period
America was hit with some of it's

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greatest challenges, only to respond
with long awaited changes that

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reshaped the course of the nation
during this decade.

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>> Thank you. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.

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>> Welcome to watchMojo.com
and today we are counting down

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our picks for the top ten defining 
moments in 2000's America.

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>> It does not appear that there is 
any kind of effort up there yet,

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now remember, Oh my god.

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>> For this list, we've chosen moments
that we've felt best represent this

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essential decade in American history.

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>> Yes, I saw Lance Armstrong using
drugs.

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>> Number 10: The Stigma of Steroids
in Sports.

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>> What other supplements did you use?

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>> I'm not here to talk about the past.

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>> Long hidden under the 
bright lights of sports,

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steroid abuse was 
exposed this decade.

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Former players like Jose Canseco,
opened up about their use.

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>> As early as his MVP season in
1988, there were whispers that

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Jose Conseco was using steroids.

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>> Leading to rigorous and 
refined anti-doping programs

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across the major sports 
organizations.

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>> Around 300 separate tests
that he has undergone.

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>> From Marion Jones to Mark McGwire
the resulting investigations shattered

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many reputations and achievements.

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Tests to detect performance
enhancing drugs continued to evolve

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but recent scandals show that 
athletes still use to seek that

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ever desirable competitive edge.

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Number 9: Corporate Scandals

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>> Scott D. Sullivan, and David F. Meyers
were charged with seven counts of

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securities fraud.

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>> The early 2000's were host to an
abnormally large amount of

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corporate corruption and bankruptcies.

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Facing debt and a recessing 
economy, major companies

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like Enron and WorldCom
used fraudulent schemes

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to disguise their massive loses.

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>> Plant operators were coached
on how to lie to officials.

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>> However in every case, the 
sham came to an end

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and several corporations toppled
to the tune of billions of dollars.

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Enron's fall was especially bloody
with trials and lawsuits

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dragging on throughout the decade.

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>> Number 8: Same-sex Marriage Legalized
in Some States.

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>> It is important for me to go ahead
and affirm that I think that

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same - sex couples should be
able to get married.

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>> At the decade's start, same
sex marriage wasn't permitted

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anywhere in the United States.

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This all changed in 2003 when 
the Massachusetts Supreme Court

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legalized it.

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>> Everyone deserves an equal chance for 
life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

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And this law is just so monumental,
it just makes me so proud to

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be from Massachusetts

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>> Marriages were authorized for
many states at a torrid pace.

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Four total by the decade's end.

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This started a major movement
for gay rights, as antiquated laws

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and policies were slowly 
phased out.

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Marriage legalization has
strongly continued since

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with its seeds first planted
in the 2000's.

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>> But that alone doesn't make people
equal, so it is time for equality

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in marriage in Washington State.

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>> Number 7: The USA Patriot Act.

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>> President George W. Bush 
signed the Patriot Act which

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gave law enforcement broader
authority to investigate and

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prosecute suspected terrorists.

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The actions of 9/11 stunned
the American people and it

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was to be expected that the 
government attempt to

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increase security measures.

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The Patriot Act was the resulting
act of Congress, including initiatives

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meant to empower investigations
into terrorist activity.

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>>Never in my worst nightmare
would I ever think that it

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would be my own government
that I would have to protect

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my children from.

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>> Many criticized the act for violating
civil liberties with expanded

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surveillance and stringent 
immigration policies.

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The debate continues as the Patriot
Act has survived through the years

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with minor changes.

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>> Today is the 10th anniversary of 
President George W. Bush signing into law

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the Patriot Act. So happy birthday
to extended wiretaps.

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>> Number 6: Social. Local. Mobile.

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>> You know someone is going to build
this, someone is going to build something

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that makes it so that people can stay
connected with their friends

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and their family, but no way would we
be the ones who were contributing to

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leading the whole Internet in
this direction.

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>> The 2000s saw Americans again change
the way they communicate.

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Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter
and Myspace attracted

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millions of users to chat and share their
pictures, interests, and daily lives.

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This was aided by the prominent
advancement of the cellphone

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to the smartphone.

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>> The colors in your photos will look
truer and your skin tones more natural.

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>> No longer mere communication devices,
they allow people to experience

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a full electronic world from anywhere
at anytime.

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The social grid was inescapable.

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Number 5: Hurricane Katrina.

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>> In the world of weather, this is
the weapon of mass destruction.

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The United States' costliest natural
disaster shook the country's core

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in the summer of 2005.

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Hurricane Katrina terrorized the Gulf
coast, killing nearly 2,000 people

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and leading some to question a connection
to climate change.

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>> Reporting from the Hurricane,
in New Orleans, [inaudible}.

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>> The disaster was worsened by the
failure of levies in New Orleans

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and left much of the city flooded.

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Afterwards, criticism was directed
at the federal and state governments

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for unorganized rescue efforts and
insufficient preparation.

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>> And in a country accustomed to
watching its troops swoop into

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foreign terrain and deliver aid, seemingly
at a moment's notice,

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people are beginning to wonder
what's going wrong?

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>> Number 4: Econopocalypse.

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>> A lot of Americans may feel that
we've been in a recession

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for some time, and now, according to
the National Bureau for Economic Research,

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they would be right.

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>> With the economic success under
President Clinton a distant memory,

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the U.S. suffered a serious recession
starting at the end of 2007.

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The economic collapse was fueled by
the burst of the housing bubble

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earlier in the year.

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>> It was really the granddaddy of
all bubbles, and it affected

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an asset class of 22 trillion.

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>> To make matters worse, the federal
budget was in a deep deficit,

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limited by ongoing warfare.

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Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy
and unemployment hit a peak

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of 10%.

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Plans were introduced to curtail
the damage, but the nation is still

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recovering today.

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Number 3: the election of Barack Obama.

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>> Welcome to the White House.

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Wheels of change kicked into motion
when Senator Barack Obama

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announced his decision to run for
the presidency in 2007.

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Defeating Senator Hillary Clinton to
become the primary Democratic candidate,

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the once-impossible dream of an
African American president

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no longer seemed a fantasy.

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>> And CNN can now project that Barack
Obama, 47 years old, will become

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the president elect of the United States.

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>> Obama's economic plan and opposition
to the Iraq war rocketed him

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into the White House on election day
and brought new hope to America.

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>> And with eyes fixed on the horizon
and God's grace upon us,

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we carried forth that great gift of
freedom and delivered it safely

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to future generations.

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>> Number 2: A decade of war.

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>> We will make no distinction between
the terrorists who committed

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these acts and those who harbor them.

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Caught off-guard by an attack on its
own soil, America pushed against

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foreign threats for much of
the 2000s.

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Operation Enduring Freedom was launched
to eliminate Al Qaeda leadership

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in Afghanistan, while the Iraq war
served to overthrow Saddam Hussein

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and rebuild a new government.

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>> This supercarrier arrives for battle
in mid December in

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the northern Arabian Sea.

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It relieves another carrier to join
Operation Enduring Freedom.

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>> Though Hussein and Osama Bin Laden
were eventually eliminated,

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the wars dragged on with continuous
insurgency.

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>> Afghans will have full responsibility
for their security and this war

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will come to a responsible end.

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>> Numerous U.S. troops were lost,
but the battle in Afghanistan

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raged on.

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Before we look at our final pick,
here are some honorable mentions.

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>> I'm going to cut you off because
we do have now word,

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according to the Los Angeles Times,
the Los Angeles Times is reporting that

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Michael Jackson has died.

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>> Hello everyone, and welcome to
American Idol, the show that's

00:08:57.689 --> 00:09:00.960
on a mission to discover the next
superstar.

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>> Number 1: the September 11 attacks.

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>> Into-- oh my goodness,
there's another one.

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Oh my goodness, there's another one.

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>> This seems to be on purpose.

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>> A date that will forever live in
infamy, the events of 9/11

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completely altered the country's course.

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In protest of U.S. foreign policy,
terrorist group Al Qaeda

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hijacked four commercial airliners and
crashed them into the World Trade Center,

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the Pentagon, and a Pennsylvania field,
leaving nearly 3,000 casualties.

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>> 9:59 A.M., the outer columns of
the south tower finally give way.

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>> The deadliest attack on America in
six decades, the losses were unfathomable

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and the grieving process long
and challenging.

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The attacks defined the era for America,
as it spent much of the decade

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in combat, seeking to prevent future
tragedies.

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Do you agree with our list? Which events
do you think define 2000s America

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and beyond?

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For more informative top tens published
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