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A sixth grader, through his father, has sued officials at the President House at the Islamabad High Court, accusing them for plagiarising and using his speech without his consent.
Eleven-year-old Mohammad Sabeel Haider, who studies in Islamabad Model College for Boys, told DawnNews on Friday that he was chosen to deliver a speech at the President House in Islamabad on Dec 22.
The ceremony was recorded and is supposed to be aired on Pakistan Television on Dec 25, marking the 141st birth anniversary of Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
However, when Sabeel arrived at the President's House, he was informed he will no longer be delivering the speech.
He said in his petition that a tenth-grader delivered the speech he had written and prepared, alleging that his intellectual property was stolen.
According to Sabeel's lawyer, as per Section 3 of Intellectual Property and Copyrights Ordinance 1967, a literary piece that the person has produced themselves cannot be used by a third party without their consent.
The court's judgement in this regard has been reserved.
Read more
On DawnNews
Comments (95) Closed
Dec 23, 2016 08:44pm
The President has himself confessed that he had never been to school so its new normal in Pakistan.
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Dec 23, 2016 08:49pm
Good!! We should stand up for our rights!!
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Dec 23, 2016 08:54pm
It's called homeschooling people. Fatima Suraiya Bajia and her siblings didn't attend school and were educates at home.
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Dec 23, 2016 08:57pm
Nice job - They should stand up for there rights and people should be behind them.
Faisal
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Dec 23, 2016 08:55pm
Bravo! I feel proud for this boy and his courage. My prayers for him and I hope he gets justice.
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Dec 23, 2016 08:56pm
Good job My little friend. Hope someone also sues PIA for their criminal negligence.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:00pm
Elbowing out the little guy to promote a favorite kid and stealing literary work are part of our deep-rooted culture of ruthless nepotism, shameless plagiarism and callous discrimination.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:03pm
Here Here...good boy!
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Dec 23, 2016 09:03pm
something fishy for sure.Media got something to make noise
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Dec 23, 2016 09:10pm
I support you Sabeel, be brave and teach some lessons to these guys. If office of the President will not know the law of its own country, who else will. Also I want to tell you that your father is a very brave and great father and he is giving you a very good education.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:17pm
Should be compensated well.
A case none less than Panama Gate.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:19pm
How embarrassing for the government.
Oh, but wait, this government is full of people with fake credentials and other nefarious characteristics.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:19pm
The President should look into the matter and ensure justice. i believe that this act must have been done by some operational staff responsible in order to favour his/her related candidate and President has no idea of this wrong doing. However, as the matter has been surfaced, it should be investigated fairly and the culprit should be punished accordingly.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:22pm
Pakistan is always in headline for one reason or the other !!
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Dec 23, 2016 09:24pm
Research who is the girl . I am sure she is daughter of high ups. This Govt. has spoiled every institution. Well done Mohammad Sabeel Haider for standing up for your rights.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:27pm
In 1976 when I was a 10th class student, same happened to me. My school (comprehensive school Bahawalpur) told us about debate competition among different schools. I prepared a speech, however school teacher took my speech and handed over to some other girl. Someone told me that she did so because other girl was beautiful etc. This incident devastated me and I cried a lot. The other girl couldn't win any prize. It hurt me so much that I sent an article about such behaviour of teachers in a local urdu newspaper titled "Khudawandaan-e-Maktab Sae (achae asaataza sae mazarat kae saath)" and the newspaper published it. I can fully understand the agony of the young boy. I hope justice will be served.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:32pm
Such practices are common in our country good to see a young boy has courage to challenge it.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:31pm
The young girl is probably related to some mid-level official at the Presidency. In any case, quick action must already be underway to hush things up.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:36pm
Two children, destined to be two different personalities because of their parents and their grooming. One is learning sheer hardwork and to fight for his rights and the other is learning how to cheat and snatch.
In Pakistan, it will always be a struggle between the weaker right and a much stronger wrong as here it is between presidency vs a school boy.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:39pm
This hilarious since when has our president house turned into candy snatchers little kid :)
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Dec 23, 2016 09:46pm
Who is this "Ayesha Ishtiaq" and by what means she got hold of the speech? How did obtain the speech or was she given the video recording provided by PTV?
Reminds me of the Beijing Olympics blunder in the opening ceremony, when a pretty little girl was lip syncing a song sung by another girl who was not considered "Pretty".
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Dec 23, 2016 09:50pm
Who is Ayesha Ishtiaq ?
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Dec 23, 2016 09:55pm
Let's see how just is Pakistan court system and if judges can stand up to power.
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Dec 23, 2016 09:55pm
he is a hero ! love you kid !
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Dec 23, 2016 10:06pm
Very bad example from a top house.
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Dec 23, 2016 10:09pm
Bravo! Only youth of Pakistan could make an egalitarian and peaceful society based on rule of law.
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Dec 23, 2016 10:13pm
Dear Mohammad Sabeel Haider, Thank you for standing up for your right. You are a role model at age 11. and you have all our support!!!
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Dec 23, 2016 10:10pm
That is powerful step.
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Dec 23, 2016 10:25pm
I am sure the tenth grader was the son of a buddy.
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Dec 23, 2016 10:35pm
Favouritism and corruption is in our blood. An old age grown with money and not education president staff needs to learn from a true pakistani sixth grader..a corrupt soul is neither pakistani nor human race..
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Dec 23, 2016 10:43pm
@Samina
'home schooling' and 'missing out on school' are very different things.
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Dec 23, 2016 10:52pm
I extend my moral support to the young boy
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Dec 23, 2016 11:05pm
Good. The presidency has again and again tarnished its image at every level.
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Dec 23, 2016 11:10pm
Bravo! to his courage and outspokenness. Hah..this will continue to hapeen again and again. When enlighted ones are rules by elites with no honor and dignity. Let see how the judiciary responds to it, or closes it as just another case.
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Dec 23, 2016 11:19pm
excellent expression of the boy
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Dec 23, 2016 11:38pm
Sabeel. I am so happy for you and pray that you win this case. It shows how much care they show even in the President House. The staff should be dismissed who ever is guilt y for this crime. Every one should stand up for their rights regardless how powerful the other party is. I hope justice will be served accordingly.
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Dec 23, 2016 11:47pm
excellent. good boy.
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Dec 23, 2016 11:57pm
"Shamelessness knows no bonds"!
Just find out who this replacement was and his family back ground!
Such is the educational standard of Pakistan, where scholars are trained to bear and adopt favoritism as a norm!
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Dec 24, 2016 12:01am
Wow! so someone now steals a speech? No wonder why everyone in the political arena can be called a thief.
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Dec 24, 2016 12:03am
Cheating is a habit whether it is Panama Leaks or stealing a hardworking boy's speech.
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Dec 24, 2016 12:13am
So hilarious!!!
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Dec 24, 2016 12:23am
Who is that 10th grader. Must be a daughter or son of an elite. Great step. That is what we expect from our young generation. Stay firm.
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Dec 24, 2016 12:26am
10 grader must be a child of some beurocrat or political person.
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Dec 24, 2016 12:53am
We should not sit at home or using Internet to appraise this boy. We should all stand up and on the street for the Justice.
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Dec 24, 2016 01:02am
Who other than GOD will listen to the painful plight of this boy. How hurt he will feel when he will listen to his speech without his voice or name attached to it.
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Dec 24, 2016 01:04am
good job boy! made up the history for raising children's and human right's voice in pakistan. i' m going to follow this story. i know how it feels , wish i had time machine back then i was such a dumb kid to stand up for myself.
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Dec 24, 2016 01:10am
Just a publicity stunt by his father. Who is advocate, nothing else
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Dec 24, 2016 01:21am
Our fearless next generation!! I feel so proud..
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Dec 24, 2016 01:45am
May you get justice in this case and may God give you knowledge and wisdom in years to come. May your never forget to stand by your principles. God speed.
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Dec 24, 2016 01:58am
Well done Kiddo.
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Dec 24, 2016 02:18am
President usually doesn't steal speeches due to busy schedule. The responsibility falls on the staff.
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Dec 24, 2016 02:18am
Thanks to Sabeel and his family, for taking a stand on this issue!
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Dec 24, 2016 02:21am
Youth is powerful. Good going parents.
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Dec 24, 2016 03:13am
Sabeel I can understand your pain. But my friend how can you expect justice when there is no sense of shame. I am sure the boy who read your script is son of some MNA or MPA and he will not be held accountable.
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Dec 24, 2016 03:33am
@Pagrri Sambhal He was homeschooled, if you know what that is.
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Dec 24, 2016 03:39am
Why we are making Pakistan laughing stock of the world?
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Dec 24, 2016 03:48am
Director of Toronto Public School Board was forced to resign and his Teaching Certificate cancel due to plagiarism.
Let see who will fired from President staff (my guess NO one)
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Dec 24, 2016 03:58am
The speech writer is out of job.....he is the one who may have plagiarized.
Keep the story alive!
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Dec 24, 2016 04:45am
A new low for the country's image. Nepotism and Sifarash culture flourishing...
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Dec 24, 2016 05:29am
@Pagrri Sambhal Maudoudi JI founder also never been to school but has great influence around now too...However why our people are so prone to air a scandal than making positive show of their intelligence
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Dec 24, 2016 05:37am
:)
Amazing :)
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Dec 24, 2016 06:11am
All the best Sabeel. May truthfulness, brilliance and courage wins over corruption, injustice, illiteracy and cowardice. AMEEN
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Dec 24, 2016 07:51am
Kudos to the kid for establishing a precedent in suing the powerful people for safeguarding his rights. Pakistan needs more people like him.
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Dec 24, 2016 08:25am
Say no to corruption then we can on the way progress
Every person should be honest to country and himself
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Dec 24, 2016 10:06am
By sticking with his intellectual property right, little Sabeel Haider has set an example for all of us on the one hand and has exposed the entire criminal mindset of the state functionaries on the other hand. He has established the fact by knocking the doors of IHC that our ruling elite is morally bankrupt to the extant that it can snatch the rights of even a minor. Well done Sabeel, you are my hero from this day.
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Dec 24, 2016 10:11am
Media can make anything upside down or downside up.
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Dec 24, 2016 10:12am
It is really embarrassingly pathetic that not a single voice has been raised by the accused or his PrimeMinister!
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Dec 24, 2016 02:09pm
Can some body put the web link address of these videos?
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Dec 24, 2016 04:33pm
I know him he's such a great debater last year he nailed everyone on 23rd March's show and I still remember when he first deliver his speech at my college every single person was drooling over him.
"Daleel e subh roshan hai sitaro ki tunq rabi"
still remember his first line
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Dec 24, 2016 04:43pm
And please don't blame that girl she is innocent I am part of that show. rehearsals were held in our college its a mistake not a pre-planned thing.
Indeed he is the most deserving he delivered his speech in last year 23rd march function.
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Dec 24, 2016 08:25pm
LIKE A BOSS !!!!
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Dec 25, 2016 09:35am
Good step boy! Continue fighting for your rights. Bravo.
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Dec 25, 2016 03:08pm
Good, at least now these people will stop taking the masses for granted.
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Dec 25, 2016 03:20pm
I work as an internee with a govt. department who covers events and then disseminates the information through various newspapers who then claim it to be their own property and write their own names instead of mine.
I have seen my work getting plagiarized numerous times and when I reported it to the Deputy Director, he told me "these are the rules of business to not quote the name of a government official; and since you are working with us, the rules apply on you too." That was the end of argument. I wonder what kind of sinister has framed these rules of business where media outlets blatantly plagiarize work of government officials and this robbery gets covered under the tag of 'rules of business'. It is really painful to not get acknowledged for the work you do, especially when one is at the very start of his career becoming a journalist. At the end of my internship, I would have 1 year`s experience but no proof to show my work to the future employers.
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Dec 25, 2016 05:02pm
Unfortunately This kind of thing happens commonly in government schools where the principal and teachers want to please higher ups or their bosses. The teachers are appreciated for this by their bosses. Though this is also our national characteristic.
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Dec 25, 2016 05:14pm
Keep it up son, at least there is someone displaying the actual faces.
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Dec 25, 2016 06:12pm
Hope that this is a publicity seeking gimick. Office of the president is an estmeed position.
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Dec 25, 2016 06:22pm
What amazes me the most is that why and how there is no action or reaction from President or President House. I do not ask PM Mian Nawaz Sharif at this point if time rather he is exempted because PPP has served notice to PM to implement their 4 demands or PPP will be on streets on 27th which is 2 days off in any case. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi
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Dec 25, 2016 07:11pm
Feel proud of this young talent but boy U need to learn politics as well if wanna become successful ... U approach to court is a big mistake ...
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Dec 25, 2016 08:24pm
Pakistan has wakened.....holding higher ups accountable....fantastic news.
DAWN is always on the forefront of highlighting similar stories.
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Dec 25, 2016 09:57pm
It just confirms there is only one educated of the two!
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Dec 25, 2016 11:56pm
@Dr Siddique Because people are awakening !! It is good for the nation. Would you rather accept a murder just to avoid discussing shameful act or would you like to speak up and condemn the murderer for a good cause of future prevention ? We should not be ashamed of people who points to injustice rather be proud of them. In US history Rosa Parker is a hero, Martin Luther King is a Legend because they stood up to the injustice although they exposed the shameful injustice that was ingrained in that society.
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Dec 26, 2016 12:08am
@Moth Lets not destroy another child, that ten grader may not have anything to do with it. it might be the organizers' mishandling. In Pakistani culture such things carry very nominal weight. Many teachers take child's work as another piece of paper written by "a child," unimportant, worthy of no respect. But sure not of "this child" Kudus !!!
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Dec 26, 2016 12:35am
Great job.Be brave and fight.
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Dec 26, 2016 03:44am
Great how low can you get? Robbing a 11yrs old.
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Dec 26, 2016 05:41am
Good decision. Such issues should be brought out in the open and discussed because they occur all the time amongst Pakistani school children. I too was a victim of plagiarism when I was 14 and studied at a reputed school in Karachi. Such action do not encourage creativity and fair-mindedness amongst youngsters.
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Dec 26, 2016 09:30am
Its a great day for our country when a young kid can sue the highest office in the state. Pakistan Zindabad!
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Dec 26, 2016 09:35am
@Kashif Malik president does not dispense justice. The judiciary does.
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Dec 26, 2016 09:40am
First up: A Constitution Petition under Article 199 cannot be used in a civil claim against any party. Suing is a civil claim, which needs evidence to establish the claim - the court cannot examine evidence in a Constitution Petition.
Secondly: Article 199 can be invoked where there is no other remedy provided by law - the Intellectual Property and Copyright Ordinance 1967 stipulates approaching the IP tribunal.
This case is most likely to be dismissed on the above grounds. It is simply a publicity stunt.
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Dec 26, 2016 09:45am
Brilliant Sabeel. Surley, whomever delivered your speech would be some bureaucrat's or govt official's son or daughter. Next time be with people with respect and dignity instead.
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Dec 26, 2016 09:56am
@Pagrri Sambhal If you want to get some few details you can check websites of some of the school boards in Canada and USA. You will come to know there is something called homeschooling.
But plagiarism is an issue and must be addressed strictly
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Dec 26, 2016 10:44am
That is what i called a super parenting, what a stand, super father!
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Dec 26, 2016 11:58am
I appreciate daring act of sixth grade student who filed sue against official of president under copy write act as his material allegedly were stolen. The Honourable court should keep the case on top priority as nation is waiting of its outcome.
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Dec 26, 2016 12:12pm
Piracy and copy rights theft is a serious issue of Pakistan which holds many major international brands and companies back from launching in Pakistan. Harsh punishment at this level and more strict implementation of rules and regulations can help prevent that and we can then enjoy some premiere services in our country too.
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Dec 26, 2016 02:09pm
it is very easy to find if the said 6th grader has written the speech or some genius from the president house wrote it. If it has sense and seems like truth the obviously the 6th grader's intellectual property has been stolen
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