I am VERY tempted to write another long post about how the decision in the 1970s not to establish a Norway-style sovereign wealth fund in favour of simply using the oil money to prop up finances at the time, has done more damage to the UK than any other decision in history. LONG THREAD, SORRY.
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
mastodon
4.5.7+vivaldimod
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
1d ago
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
2d ago
I just *love* that Trump now wants other countries to clean up his mess, by keeping the Straights of Hormuz open. No, you orange shitweasal, you can clean up your own mess.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Mar 10, 2026
Zen fascists will control you: https://www.ianbetteridge.com/zen-fascist-wi/
In 1979, a punk band from San Francisco recorded a song about the Governor of California. It was a joke, mostly. Jerry Brown was a Democrat, a Buddhist, a man who dated Linda Ronstadt and discussed limits and simplicity at a moment when America was in no mood for either.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Mar 10, 2026
I think this post has been in my drafts folder for about three years, occasionally being reworked, and finally – FINALLY – I've finished it. Joni Mitchell, Jello Biafra, and Peter Thiel all feature. Warning - it's REALLY LONG.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Mar 01, 2026
Once again, I regret to inform you that Ben Thompson is wrong about monopolies.
https://www.ianbetteridge.com/the-fundamental-error-that-doesnt-exist/
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 27, 2026
It’s not a bubble.
But somehow, OpenAI has now raised around $160 BILLION in funding. To put that into context, that’s about as much as all VC funding in the US in 2023, across every business.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 27, 2026
Possibly the most weird statement from a political leaders whose party just got 2% of the vote I’ve ever seen. And, when people are fed up with the cost of living and billionaire leeches, focusing on “single sex spaces” is just bizarre. She really does get her ideas of life off Twitter, doesn’t she?
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 27, 2026
Great line in this from John McTernan: “In the end, No 10 got the result it had worked so hard for – and this morning, Andy Burnham isn’t an MP.”
Says it all about Starmer’s priorities.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 26, 2026
From the department of "No Shit, Sherlock"
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/feb/26/drop-in-overseas-workers-uk-hospitals-and-care-homes
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 26, 2026
The best decision I made in my working life was dropping to a four day week. Seriously, if you can make it work economically, do it.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 22, 2026
Yeah, this. Repeat after me: the job of a reporter is not to breathlessly repeat whatever crap comes out of techbros mouths. It’s to investigate it, and report appropriately.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 21, 2026
RE: https://mastodon.social/@glynmoody/116108231435013218
Tampering with snapshots is very, very bad. I'd encourage everyone to find and use alternatives.
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 21, 2026
“What is surprising is that the authorities are surprised by such an outcome,” he said. “We are not experiencing the worst possible scenario, but simply a probable one, entirely within the range of what can be expected from climate simulations.”
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 19, 2026
Yeah, right, I am REALLY going to let the US government inspect all my internet use.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 18, 2026
Best. Headline. Ever.
https://thehmm.nl/bombardiro-bodies-masculinity-fascism-marinetti-and-a-millennial-transmasc-in-the-age-of-italian-brainrot/
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 16, 2026
99% of new US power generation capacity in 2026 is predicted to be from renewables. This is what has the oil, gas and coal industries so spooked.
https://environmentamerica.org/maine/center/updates/new-forecast-solar-wind-and-battery-storage-to-dominate-in-2026/
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Feb 10, 2026
And this is why you don't let billionaires - or any company - own platforms.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 27, 2026
An example of the rule that, while you can get away with odious candidates in general elections, you can’t do it in by-elections
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/jan/27/matthew-goodwin-gorton-and-denton-reform-uk-minorities
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 20, 2026
What happened to “Britain is a sovereign nation” Nigel? Now you’re letting a foreign president veto our decisions?
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/20/europe-greenland-donald-trump-davos-europe-live-latest-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-696f31a98f0824685e8f70de#block-696f31a98f0824685e8f70de
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 05, 2026
What the AI/robotics "abundance" boosters forget: We already live in a world of material abundance. What is scarce is not goods or productive capacity, but access, security, and bargaining power. AI does not solve that problem; it merely increases the surplus whose distribution is already unequal.
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 04, 2026
Pondering starting an officially licensed Betteridge's Law Judge course, so for just £1000 I train you so that you too can answer question headlines with the word "No".
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Thread context
3 posts in path
Root
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Open
on social.vivaldi.net
Open ancestor post
Parent
@flargh@mastodon.social
Open
@flargh@mastodon.social
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net The "gig economy" is one of the greatest frauds perpetrated on the labor class in the modern age. Selling fiefdom and servitude as economic and individual freedom is
Current reply
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 02, 2026
@flargh@mastodon.social This is what 50 years of "free market" propaganda can do.
View full thread on social.vivaldi.net
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Thread context
4 posts in path
Root
@cstross@wandering.shop
Open
@cstross@wandering.shop
AAAHGH GET THEE BEHIND ME SATAN I suddenly feel a compulsive need to write a thinly-disguised knock-off of Heinlein's "I Will Fear No Evil" about a dying billionaire who has his brain transplanted int
Ancestor 2
@foone@digipres.club
Open
@foone@digipres.club
@cstross@wandering.shop honestly I've been saying for years that it's time "I Will Fear No Evil" was written/copied by someone who knows what trans people are
Parent
@cstross@wandering.shop
Open
@cstross@wandering.shop
@foone@digipres.club Heinlein in the 60s was 100% identifying issues which would be hugely important in another few decades (this is where the best SF comes from!) but made a total dog's dinner of tac
Current reply
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 02, 2026
@cstross@wandering.shop @foone@digipres.club He's such an interesting character. I have a copy of this and it's fascinating reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Robert_Heinlein_Interview_and_Other_Heinleiniana
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Thread context
3 posts in path
Root
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Open
on social.vivaldi.net
Open ancestor post
Parent
@flargh@mastodon.social
Open
@flargh@mastodon.social
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net Same, except 55/56. (December baby too)
Current reply
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Jan 02, 2026
@flargh@mastodon.social You kids today have got it easy
View full thread on social.vivaldi.net
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Thread context
2 posts in path
Parent
@flargh@mastodon.social
Open
@flargh@mastodon.social
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net Honestly I want my Linux laptop to look like an eMate 300.
Current reply
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Nov 30, 2025
@flargh@mastodon.social Why has someone not made this happen?
View full thread on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Nov 29, 2025
I completely missed that Kagi's Orion browser is now out of beta and released to everyone. I've been using it as my main browser on the Mac for a while and it's great. And next up: the Linux version.
https://blog.kagi.com/orion
View on social.vivaldi.net
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Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
Ian Betteridge
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
Journalist, anti-capitalist, degrowther, your pal. I work for the company. But don't let that fool you, I'm really an okay guy. The Eye of Sauron, but for headlines.
social.vivaldi.net
@ianbetteridge@social.vivaldi.net
·
Nov 27, 2025
Sigh. Every single year I end up buying something before Black Friday, only to find there's a lovely steep discount. Such as on Mailbox.org, which I'm moving all my email to. You might like it.
https://mailbox.org/en/news/black-week-deal25/
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