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ItsYaBoyChipsAhoy1985 karma

Well the AMA is over, here is a chart of all his answers, some paraphrased.

Question Answer
Why did you scowl at me? I don't recall
Why is the Atheist Religion so violent? There is no "Atheist religion". And let's not start talking about violent religions.
Hilary or trump? Need you ask? Do you think I'm insane?
What is the most misunderstood thing about evolution? They think it's a theory of random chance.
Which one of your own books is your favorite and why? Climbing Mount Improbable, strangely the book that has sold the least.
how do you feel about the fact that Emma Watson looks like you? How sure are you that that photo pairing has not been photoshopped or put throiugh a Morphing program?
WHO IS WRITING THIS FOR YOU SINCE YOUR BRAIN CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE A PORK RIND? wtf?
What was the funniest bit of hate mail you've received? "I hope you lose your watch and are late for an important appointment."
How do you respond to the "Embryology in The Quran" argument? The embryo is like a blob and then like a leech. Oh my, such stunningly advanced science!
Is there a question that has given you pause from debaters, referring to god? No
Which one do you think is the most dangerous religion or belief of them all and why? Anyone who believes that what is written in a holy book is true even if the evidence is against it is dangerous. Christianity used to be the most dangerous religion. Now Islam is.
Can you comment on what insights writing software has given you on evolution? The answer for this is too long for here, but you can look at the 2nd volume of my autobiography, Brief Candle in the Dark as it is more extensive
If you had to convert to a religion, which one would it be? I would only convert to a religion is some evidence turned up to support it. So far there is none, so your question is unanswerable.
What do you think of Game Of Thrones? I have never watched it
How does it feel like to be owned over and over again? What are you talking about?
Do you agree with Trump's proposal to ban Muslims? Of course I don't agree with it. I doubt if he agrees with it any more. Does anyone know what he really thinks?
My question to you is whether you have any specific book(s) you would recommend to follow on from your own? Sam Harris's The End of Faith (although it was published before TGD). Dan Dennett's Breaking the Spell. Lawrence Krauss's A Universe from Nothing. Anything by Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Why didnt you try smuggling some honey through airport security by concealing it in your diaper? Oh very funny. Stupid little twerp
I am currently reading Frans de Waal's "Primates and Philosphers", in which you are criticized for supporting "Veneer Theory". What type of evidence do you think best supports this theory? de Waal has never understood The Selfish Gene. If you want to criticise a book, you really have to read past the title
Any advice for the atheists in Arab countries? Did you ever think that there is 0.0001% that god exists? I am delighted that there seem to be so many readers of the illicit Arabic translation. Salaams to all of you.1 WHICH god are you talking about? Baal? Mithras? Zeus? Thor? There's a small but finite chance that gossamer winged fairies exist2
Assuming you have one, who is your favorite philosopher? Tossup between Daniel Dennett and Jonathan Glover, among living philosophers
Do you think marijuana should be legalized at the Federal level in the United States? Yes. Read Johann Hari's latest book
What has been the most surprising thing about evolutionary biology that's been turned on it's head, convincingly? The close cousinship of whales to hippos, revealed by molecular sequencing. But there's lots of other fascinating stuff..
How are you? Pretty well, thank you. Still can't sing but that's not a great deprivation. My voice croaks somewhat too
Are clocks or honey more dangerous to people? I suppose you think you're clever. You are not.
What is your opinion on the phenomenon of the regressive left, and the rising anti-free speech and censorship in that movement? I have nothing but contempt for it, and I do think it's a passing phenomenon.
When was the last time you thought about two animals in full 69? What is the point of asking a silly question like that? You think it's clever?
You also say that nature is neither kind nor unkind. Could you explain that? Judged objectively, natural selection is cruel. But it has no intentions and is therefore, in that sense, neither kind or unkind
How did you like working with Nightwish? I loved working with Nightwish. They are a wonderful group of people, highly intelligent as well as brilliant musicians.
Are you afraid of eternal non-existence? Think of death as a general anaesthetic to spare you from eternity..
Can you tell us anything interesting (important lessons learned, personality quirks) about your academic advisor, Niko Tinbergen? Takes too long. There are discussions of him in my autobiography, volume 1, An Appetite for Wonder
What's your opinion on GMOs? GMO is not a substance like arsenic. It is a technique which can be used for good or ill. The important thing is to use it for good.
Do you ever still hear from people who don't realize that "gerin oil" was satirical? No. It's quite hard not to realise it's satirical, although not everybody spots the anagram
What has the recovery process been like for you for the past few months? I was very impressed with the British National Health Service. Physio or other therapists came to my house every day (except weekends) for six weeks after I left hospital.

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Ctd

Question Answer
Many of your articles in Free Inquiry have gone viral or been incorporated into later books. Are there any you wish had gotten more widespread attention? I'm now working on a new volume of collected essays, a bit like A Devil's Chaplan but with many of the Free Inquiry essays included
Could you explain a little bit about Lateral/Horizontal gene transfer, and what its implications are for the current evolutionary paradigm ? It's common in bacteria. Very rare in eucaryotes and not of great evolutionary significance.
...are there any other examples like this in animals or humans where evolution has "made a mistake" so to speak and created a complicated solution for a simple problem? The recurrent laryngeal nerve has long been one of my favourite examples is UNintelligent design in nature.
What is the most compelling argument for religion you've heard? I have never seen a compelling argument for religion. If I ever saw one I'd convert.
What's the biggest unsolved question in biology/evolution? What is consciousness and why did it evolve?
What is your favourite sci-fi flick? I enjoy Doctor Who in Lalla's era. And Carl Sagan's Cosmos is good, though marred by being soft on religion. 2001 is good too but, surprisingly too optimistic about how far things would get by that date. Jurassic Park has lovely dinosaurs and is marred by the presence of superfluous and irrelevant human drama.
Do you ever go on /r/atheism? No. Do you recommend it?
What is your favourite type of carnivorous plant? Venus fly trap
Professor, I'm very curious about this statement of yours: - [insert long quote] Could you elaborate on this? It's a big question, too big to answer here. My most extensive discussion of it is in the title essay of A Devil's Chaplain
What are your thoughts on the 2016 Presidential Race? Hillary will beat Trump. I'm sorry Bernie Sanders will not have the chance to do so.
Do you have any ideas on what caused the current anti-scientific mindset that is particularly prevalent in the US? I don't know enough about whatever research might have been done. Is it, perhaps, a manifesation of more general anti-intellectualism?
What would you say is best course of action for those living in uber religious third world countries who are unable to express themselves without fear of isolation or even violence? It's a terrible situation to be in and I am deeply sympetheti. I think the Internet is a great hope because it penetrates barriers to freedom...
What are your thoughts on Pantheism? Harmless but not very interesting
What is another physical example similar to the laryngeal nerve that refutes the idea of intelligent design and what does it indicate about our past? The path of the human vas deferens is a similar example. More famous is the vertebrate retina being installed backwards for historical reasons
Do you think religion is something that humans will ever be able to move on from? Religion is dying from decade to decade. It will take a while but the long arc of history is pointing in the right direction
Hi Dr. Dawkins, Great admirer of your work on evolution and of course your commitment to the spreading of rational thinking and atheism. My question(s) concerns the EU referendum. Where do you stand on Brexit? Is it responsible to entrust a decision on such a complex and high stakes matter to the electorate? As a scientist, what is your view on economists (and their field of study, whose status as a "science" is hotly debated), and what weight should we attribute to forecasts regarding Brexit? Wishing you well. Many thanks. I am not entitled to an opinion on Brexit since I don't have a degree in economics or history. It is an outrage that ignoramuses like me are being asked to vote on such an important and complicated question which is way above our level of expertise. Nevertheless I shall vote to stay in Europe, applying the precautionary principle and because the arguments the leaving are mostly emotional, those for staying mostly rational and evidence-based. But I repeat, it is a disgrace that this important question has been put to plebiscite, apparently as a sop to UKIP-leaning members of the Tory party.. I believe in democracy but in parliamentary, representative democracy, not plebiscite democracy.

Those were all the questions. Side comments from him include

MRW I'm doing an AMA

Just chilling with the fam in Penguin Offices

and

Peace

ItsYaBoyChipsAhoy156 karma

All answered questions in the thread. Leave suggestions/feedback

Question Answer
In your opinion, is the current situation fixable or should we just move to countries that aren't treating it as a profit-machine? Well I think it would be a bit impractical for everyone in the US to move to another country, so we had better fix it...
Stub^ Are you remotely concerned that BigMed is too big to fail or be reinvented? Well, it would be rather catastrophic to have our entire health care system "fail" for obvious reasons. As I say in my conclusion: [click link to view quote]
(Does it make sense to just outlaw insurance carriers? No, that would be outlawing a multi trillion dollar industry (which is impractical to say the least) and people do need health insurance in order to cover medical costs that most people couldn't afford to pay for themselves. We need to reform the existing system extensively, though, to get rid of all the current scams in health care finance.
I've always been super frustrated that my lifesaving insulin prescription costs upwards of $50 a month (depending on my insurance coverage), as a copay to my insurance, and hundreds of dollars without insurance, but someone wanting a non-essential drug (like viagra), pays $5 for the treatment of something unpleasant, but not life threatening. Do you see this trend ever reversing, so life saving drugs are more affordable? Well, to start with, Viagra isn't covered all that often by insurance plans. I see it rejected all the time. Also, any policy that covers Viagra for $5 would also cover insulin for about the same copay. Viagra costs about $40 a pill (that's the cost to the pharmacy) and most forms of insulin cost about $20-$30 per ml....
Stub^ :How is the cost [of viagra] justified? Actually you can get generic Viagra here for about 60¢ a pill. It comes only in 20 mg doses so most people have to take 2-3 pills at a time
Stub^ :Those $40 per [viagra] pill seem outdated and overpriced. Yes they are. In fact, you can even buy generic Viagra here for far less: https://www.healthwarehouse.com/sildenafil-20mg-tablets-generic-revatio-16564.html
Who is most invested in maintaining the status quo? Do you think the greatest obstacles to health care reform are these monied elites, or just inertia? Yes, and that's exactly what I said in my conclusion:[Another quote](do you guys want the full quotes?)
[Question about why medical costs are higher in the US] The biggest problem we have (IMHO) is that there is no consistency whatsoever in the pricing of any medical service. That exposes everyone to being overcharged for inexpensive services.
Which is more difficult: trying to untangle healthcare cost, or trying to untangle headphones after leaving them in your pocket for a while? Health care costs. The healthcare system is quite a bit larger and the knots can be very difficult to find, let alone untangle. Also, a new set of head phones costs a couple of dollars if you can't untangle them whereas new health care system cost a few trillion dollars
How could we improve price transparency and give consumers the ability to choose less expensive for.s of treatment in non emergency situations? By forcing all medical providers to post prices. That includes pharmacies, doctors, hospitals, etc... Also, insurance companies should by forced to itemize how much they pay to each type of provider. Currently...
Stub^ :Did the USA just ruin business for all anti-insurance medical care? That actually happened decades ago and here is the story behind that: http://truecostofhealthcare.net/conclusion/
Stub^ :In the NHS we don't do this. Patients rarely have to think about the cost. How about moving towards that type of system? It's been tried many times here. The story of all that is in my conclusion: http://truecostofhealthcare.net/conclusion/
Who/what is responsible for this mystifying tangle of costs? Hospitals? Government regulations? Pharmaceutical companies? I think the insurance companies are doing what they can to encourage the confusion but, since nearly every player in health care is profiting from the confusion, most don't want to fix it
I work in a personal injury firm and we negotiate billing statements down on behalf of clients. It seems doctors/hospitals are eager to lower a bill if they know they are actually getting paid. Do you think the average person getting treatment should be able to negotiate their bills down in a similar fashion? Also, do you think doctors/hospitals are willing to lower bills because they themselves are aware of how inflated their costs/prices are? It's not whether you can negotiate a bill dow, it's by how much. Most hospitals bill four or more times their expected payment for medical services. If you negotiate 50% off a bill from a hospital that normally bill eight times what the value of their services, you've been taken big time
Do you think that the debt doctors go in to attend medical schools makes them more money seeking afterwards to pay it down? If you read my section on office billing, you'll see that doctors themselves have very little direct influence on these costs. In fact, I make it very clear that most doctors have no real clue how much they get paid to see a patient...
After Obamacare, do we need more or less government to fix this mess? The purpose of Obamacare was just to expand insurance coverage. If no laws are passed to increase transparency in medical pricing or to protect consumers from gouging then we'll have no protection whatsoever from being overcharged.
Would it make sense to outlaw employer provided healthcare and open it to the free market similar to other forms of insurance? Well, I don't see how you can outlaw employer provided health care. You could either eliminate the tax break for employer provided health care (good luck with that) or you could provide the same tax break to individuals who buy their own health care....
Who will you be voting for this election/do you find their healthcare standpoint sustainable or practical? I'm not sure I want to discuss politics on Reddit. Some of the people here get really insane about that topic. It's as bad as Facebook.
Do you think an NHS medical system could work in the US? The problem would be that we would have to completely restructure a multi-trillion dollar industry. That, in and of itself is impractical. The other major problem is that most of the industries within health care would oppose that restructuring with everything they've got.
What is your opinion on tort reform as a method to lower costs of healthcare? I wrote rather extensively on tort reform in the third part of my section on medical malpractice. It has had surprisingly little effect on malpractice costs in most states, outside of Texas, and almost no effect on health care costs overall: http://truecostofhealthcare.net/malpractice/
Would capping medical malpractice claims have much of an effect? No, and I establish that here: http://truecostofhealthcare.net/malpractice/
How many more lives would be saved if doctors were not controlled by insurance companies and were allowed to treat as they were trained? How many more lives would be saved if doctors were not controlled by insurance companies and were allowed to treat as they were trained?

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ItsYaBoyChipsAhoy83 karma

They didnt do that much questions, but the answers were long. Here they are.(this is a really ugly table how to fix?)

Question Answers More Answers One more Answer And another oneeee
Why is it called the lonely island? Andy: First off, /u/amnotjelly , wonderful name. Akiva: We consider all of North America to be an island. Jorma: And I have always considered our world, Earth, to be an island. But that's just me. Akiva: He only got to second grade, I think.
Is there any chance we’ll see you or even all of Lonely Island on there[Comedy Bang Podcast] any time soon? Andy: This Friday on the premiere episode on this season, we are the guests, the three of us. We're on it, and then I was on the podcast again, and I don't know when that is gonna be up. Jorma: So the answer is yes. Andy: And let's just say there will be mention of the Hollywood song.
1) I was wondering if there would be a possible continuation in the Andy/Justin Timberlake digital short series in the future? 2) What would you recommend to upcoming aspiring comedians? No immediate plans, but we are always buds with Justin, and who knows? And then, the advice we always give to anyone is, if you want to make comedy or any other kind of film,the best advice we can give is to just start doing it, and don't wait to have people give you permission to do it, or wait for huge budgets and crews. You can shoot on your phone now, and edit on your laptop, and start getting whatever is your style is, going. Akiva: What a nice concise thoughtful answer, Andy. Andy: Thanks Akiva. Jorma: I liked it too.
1) What was the biggest difference from filming the movie compared to Digital Shorts? 2) Any plans on coming to Boston, MA soon? Jorma: B town that's what we call it, we also call Berkeley B-town, but we'd love to go to B town. Akiva: Beantown. Andy: we have no immediate plans to go to Boston. Akiva: Aw, thanks dad. ( they also answered this twice)
What's up with Jorm's butt? Jorma: Somebody finally read the bio. Andy: Guys, I told you not to ask about that. Jorma: It's less toned now. (lots more)
Who are each of your favorite rappers? Jorma: Of all time? Whew, well let's give all-time and then right now. Kendrick would be my favorite dude now. Akiva: I'll go with the Fat Boyz, Rakim, and Aaron Carter. Pretty generic answer, I know. Andy: ... you know, all of them. Akiva: Every rapper, is your answer.
What's been the hardest part of your career? Andy: He's the 456th NeoBaba. It was a long day that day: NeoBaba1, NeoBaba2, NeoBaba3, all taken. 456 was the magic number. Akiva: Can you imagine how happy he was the moment it happened? "YEEEAAAASSS" Andy: Probably overcoming Jorm's ugliness. (a whole lot more)
If you were all stuck on a deserted island together, who would be the one remaining survivor rescued a year later? Jorma: Akiva. Andy: Akiva, yeah. We've actually been asked this before and we say Akiva because he's the most crafty. Andy: He would definitely filter water and learn how to make a fire. Akiva: And I wouldn't share it.
What prompted the idea to create this film? Also, will all three of you be in Kung Fury II now that Jorm has opened the door for you? Andy: We wanted to make a movie that utilized the fact that we make comedy comedy songs and our producer, Judd Apatow, had the same idea of doing sort of a pop documentary as the genre. That's very much it. We started writing. Akiva: Ugh..that sucked.. Jorma: Yeah I didn't...first of all, I didn't say it! Akiva: Yeah, don't blame Jorm!
Is a hotdog a sandwich? Also what are your favorite condiments? Andy: I say no. Akiva: I'm gonna go yes. Jorma: Andy says no, because Akiva says yes. Akiva: Here's the thing; it would definitely be a sandwich if you just break the bun, right? As soon as the bun breaks, now you're in sandwich territory.(more)
Where did the band name The Lonely Island come from? Akiva: I even have a suspicion that this person knows the answer already and was just trying to think of a question to ask us. Jorma: The quick answer is that it is the name of the apartment that we all lived in when we first moved to LA. Andy: We named it. Jorma: It was on a sea of traffic. On Olympic Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was an island on a sea of traffic.
What are some of your favorite concerts that you've been to? Andy: I had wonderful experiences seeing The Roots in concert, many times. The Farside was a wonderful concert. The Strokes were a great concert. I saw The Pixies reunion concert. Radiohead was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Jorma: Wolf Parade. Andy: Wolf Parade, yeah in Vancouver.
Jorma, why does my phone want to keep changing your name to Norma? Andy, same question. Akiva: Why does it keep changing Andy's name to Norma? sigh lots more just click the link
Are we ever going to get a song featuring Weird Al? Or a song of his featuring you guys?
If you guys could have one superpower, what would it be?
When do you plan on stopping? Akiva: Never. Jorma: I'm gonna go out on a limb and say never. With a B. So, neber.
Is Popstar on a new level? Andy: Pop Star is definitely on a new level. We got us a new shovel. We put all of our work into the movie, into the dirt. We got the chain with the new bevel. And hanging on that chain is a Pop Star medallion.
How do you like your memes? Andy: Spicy Jorma: Spicy. That wasn't actually the question :/
What was you're favorite thing about making a movie and being on set? Andy: The food. Jorma: Oh, craft service. It was so good. It was by a guy named Chance of a Lifetime. Akiva: That really was his name. Chance of a Lifetime. Andy: The food was good during the shoot.
Can you tell me what brand your glasses are? Andy: Not my Warby Parkers. Andy: Mine are Sol Moscot; it's a place in New York, in the Village. Akiva: Mine are Robert Mark I believe.
Hey guys! How does it feel knowing your "Everything is Awesome!" song has been throughly engrained in every parents' head?
Thoughts on Frisbee the dog?

ItsYaBoyChipsAhoy60 karma

Yay I'm early. Here we go!

Pregunta Responder
What aircraft do you usually use for support operations? Normally, we will fly 4-5 hours a day using the ULM. With this ultralight we can support our rangers with surveillance and supply them thru airdrops. The cessna 206h that we have remaining is more for longer flights
Do you actually engage the poachers yourselves at anytime or leave it up to the rangers? Are the rangers local? That is the job of the ranger, that is what they are trained for and they are all local from this region. When we have to engage, we have a variety of weaponry, some of it confiscated.
How do you feel about ecotourism as a way to combat poaching? Eco tourism is a pretty wide concept. We are focusing first on stabilizing the region and gaining enough control of the area to hopefully in the future turn this into a park for tourism to begin.
[4 part Question about Ivory sales and uses. And poachers.] 4 part answer about Ivory sales and uses. And poachers.
Would you like to take an AK to someone you caught chopping off a rhino horn? Actually, the last thing we want is a violent confrontation. We would prefer to arrest poachers, and try to convince invasive Sudanese herders to help us keep this park pristine.
How does the local culture respond to you being there? Do they understand the plight of the poachers? Is there a sense of local conservation? The majority of the poachers actually come from outside of the Chinko reserve from other countries. In fact, there is little concern about local poaching because the nearest village is 100's of km's away.
What did the cost / mb come out to? Unfortunately the contract is handled by African Parks in South Africa and they don't work over the weekend! I can tell you that bandwidth is very valuable to us.. hence why I was so livid when I realized how much may have been taken by these background downloads.
Where should I start looking for a job involving protecting animals in for example Africa ? Simply go to our website and contact us through email.
How do you ensure the security and safety of your camp and equipment? Also, how many rangers are you able to train and support in the bush at a given time? Due to security reasons.. we prefer not to discuss our tactics or give away positions/quantity of active rangers. Hope you understand.
Do you think that it's realistic for Microsoft to take into account <1/1,000,000 situations like yours? To be honest, I don't think this is a 1 in a million situation...
How are you liking Windows 10? Classic shell and a healthy fear of updates. Not like my job here is stressful already.
Why did you decide to do what you are doing? What's your biggest goal? And biggest fear? Most of the year, I actually work in Antarctica. But having been a bush pilot for many years, I still want to fly during the off-ice season.
Stub^ How do you cope with the change in climate? After a long stint in Antarctica.. Trees, greenery, animals, STARS & THE MOON are all amazing. It's nice.
Did Microsoft do anything to try to make up for this? Did they contact you and offer aid or anything? I haven't heard from Microsoft in an official capacity.. however I was contacted by an employee of theirs that understands and appreciates our plight and what we do. He was nice enough to escalate my post within their PR department, but with no promises obviously. We'll see if anything comes of it.
Besides bandwidth, what is your biggest challenge doing IT for this organization? I'm actually not the IT GUY!! I was supposed to be the pilot, however since the ULM aircraft had it's accident right as I arrived, I've tried to help where I can. As for the IT work.. it's been a lot of cleanup...
As the IT guy what is your list of ideal technology supplies/ solutions? Drones with UNLIMITED cargo capacity would be great.. Free internet would be a HUGE boon.. But there isn't even a tower out here.. satellite is all we've got.. As for animal tracking... a fleet of helicopters + fuel for 10 years.
Why do you use Windows instead of Ubuntu or another Linux based OS? This is not a huge operation.. and it's scarcely 2 years old. This is the bush.. the real bush. You work with what you have available and what this staff has done, and created to this point is very impressive. It would be nice to have an IT staff that could design, build, and maintain such a system. I don't know where they got the machines.. but I assume donations with Windows already installed. The staff has larger concerns to focus on with the anti-poaching efforts and OS takes a backseat.
It seems like quadcopters with cameras could be very useful to you guys -- have you thought about investing in them? The main concern is range and time. The Chinko reserve is 17,600 sq/km! The weather patterns and terrain would just make that unfeasible.
When we can we have a projector to watch a movie on the wall. We have Sundays off and occasionally the staff would get to ride in the ULM for a pleasure flight/patrol to lend a hand and enjoy the park more. What do you all do in your down-time?
Stub^ What movies do you watch? Our most recent flick was SAMURAI COP!! Also.. it's the only movie we have... on VHS.. with no rewinder.
How did you first get involved in this? Did you just get a job offer from the Chinko reserve? I personally found out about this from a friend on facebook. Us african bush pilots love to brag to each other online about our exploits :) It was a nice connection to make. Other staff tell me that they also find it thru friends of friends or going to our website.
Has /u/thisisbillgates donated to your cause yet? Me and Bill haven't had a chance to speak yet :) if we did, I'd tell him I miss him at the helm of Microsoft. Also, having working in East Africa in the medical field.. I would thank him for all he's done.
So will you guys be sticking with Windows for the future, maybe with automatic updates disabled? Or are you considering alternatives? Once there is actually time to work on redesigning the system.. we'll take all the advice we've received from both posts
Apart from getting shot at, what's the most challenging part of aviation in this part of the world? I would say in this particular area, weather...From chasing animals off the runways, to landing on inclines on the side of volcanoes and craters with crazy winds and simply people sabotaging runways. Plus birds and downdrafts when flying low for an emergency
It's one thing to combat the poachers actually killing the animals and gathering the ivory. Do you ever have run-ins with the actual buyers of the ivory or even corporations that purchase the ivory? The supply chain ends so far away, we don't have interaction. Khartoum departure point out of Africa. National geographic did an article about the ivory trail (gps in a fake tusk) and tracked it just east of the Chinko border!

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