Monday, November 07, 2011

Why Adventists Should Consider Supporting Gay Marriage ?




Today is a historic day in the history of the State of California and in the history of the United States as a whole. Today is the day when a ban on homosexual marriage will be lifted in accordance with a decision of the California Supreme Court. Homosexual couples from across the United States will descend on California in the coming days and weeks, and will receive the legal rights and responsibilities that accompany marriage.

Today’s removal of the ban on same-sex marriage is part of a larger debate in America over the definition of marriage. Because at stake in the discussion are issues of morality, justice, ethics, and separation of church and state, Adventists cannot and must not remain silent on the issue. Adventists have always insisted on speaking the truth, demonstrating God’s love, and working for justice. For those reasons, I suggest several reasons below that voters in California and elsewhere should stand in firm opposition to any constitutional amendments that would ban same-sex marriage. Below, I enumerate my reasons and provide a starting place for further conversation on the topic.


Seven reasons to oppose a ban on same-sex marriage

1. Adventists affirm separation of church and state. Advocating a ban on same-sex marriage on moral grounds is tantamount to coercive mandating of a religious viewpoint. We cannot spread morality by force through law! We should oppose all efforts to do so.

2. Protecting marriage: Supporters of a ban on same-sex marriage define the issue as protection of marriage. We must note that same-sex marriage is still marriage. Marriage as an institution is not under attack. Rather, it is being affirmed.

3. Promoting fidelity and monogamy: If we, as Christians, support and uphold fidelity and monogamy as better than cohabitation, then we should be consistent. The purpose of marriage is to promote monogamy and fidelity. Get it?

4. Marriage is beneficial for society both structurally and fiscally. Marriage promotes stable, lasting relationships over transient ones. Further, marriage is related to greater financial security and mental and physical health. Married people provide societal benefits for those reasons.

5. We cannot defer to the “will of the people” or “deeply rooted tradition,” as attempts by some organizations have done, to ban same-sex marriage. The will of the people and tradition consented to slavery in America. America’s elected officials outlawed slavery as a violation of human freedoms and dignity. America enacted laws banning interracial marriage by the will of the people and tradition. Appointed judges rescinded the laws as violations of the U.S. Constitution’s 14th amendment. Majority does not equal right. The court-ordered desegregation of schools in the 1950’s also went against the will of the people.

6. Same-sex marriage is NOT a slippery slope to the permitting of polygamy in America. (See discussion below).

7. Same-sex marriage does not threat pose a threat to me, my choices, or my way of life. The practice of marital fidelity by homosexual couples does not impinge upon any of my liberties, it does not harm me or my religious practice, and it does not threaten God or God's sovereignty.

Discussion – an opening for polygamists?

Some have argued that allowing same-sex marriage will open the door to a broad definition of marriage that will inevitably come to include polygamy. That slippery slope argument is demonstrably false. The following discussion comes courtesy of the article Gay Marriage and Polygamy, and is reprinted here for your convenience.

Any proposal for the expansion of marriage must be good both (1) for the individuals involved and (2) for the society in which they live. Gay marriage meets both of these criteria. The case for polygamous marriage is distinguishable (and weaker) on both counts, especially the second.
On the first issue — the effect of allowing gay marriage on homosexuals themselves — the deprivation for gays if gay marriage is banned is greater than the deprivation to polygamists if polygamy is banned. A polygamist may still marry someone if we ban polygamy; he simply may not marry many someones.

The deprivation to the polygamist is large, especially if polygamy involves the exercise of his religious faith, but not total. The gay person, however, has no realistic choice of a mate available under a gay-marriage ban. The deprivation is total.

Further, there is no “polygamous orientation” causing a person to need the close companionship of multiple partners (though some people may prefer it). There is, however, a homosexual orientation, causing a person to need the close companionship of a same-sex partner. The ban on polygamous marriage is the denial of a preference, perhaps a strong one; the ban on gay marriage is the denial of personhood itself.

On the second issue — the effect of recognition on society — the differences between gay marriage and polygamous marriage are more pronounced. There is ample evidence that people who live in stable, committed couples are healthier, happier, and wealthier than those who are single. Gay marriage is a good idea because it will benefit not only the gay couple but their families, friends, neighbors, and taxpayers whose burdens to care for unmarried gay partners is greater.

Jared Wright is pursuing a M.Div at La Sierra University. He blogs at Adventist Environmental Advocacy.

Of course anyone can respond below, but if someone would like to write up a formal essay responding to the seven points that Pastor Wright makes, email us.


Source

Russia warns against air strike on Iran

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov has warned that a military strike on Iran would be a “very serious mistake” with “unpredictable consequences”, after Israel’s president Shimon Peres said that an attack was increasingly likely.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov Photo: REX
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov Photo: REX
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov Photo: REX

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov Photo: REX
Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavov Photo: REX

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In comments published in the Israeli daily Hayom, Mr Peres said that “the possibility of a military attack against Iran is now closer to being applied than the application of a diplomatic option”.

"We must stay calm and resist pressure so that we can consider every alternative," he added.

The drumbeat of war is expected to grow louder this week when United Nations nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, issues its most detailed report to date on nuclear research in Iran.

It will provide what Western officials and experts regard as irrefutable evidence that Tehran is compiling the capacity and skills to build a bomb. It will be used as leverage for a fifth round of sanctions at the UN, but could also provide Israel, with the tacit support of Washington, to finalise plans for an air strike.

Among its findings are that Tehran was helped by nuclear experts from two countries, believed to be Russia and Pakistan. The Washington Post reported that key assistance was provided by Vyacheslav Danilenko, a former Soviet nuclear scientist, hired by Iran's Physics Research Centre.

Documents handed over to UN officials showed that he had worked for the Iranians for at least five years, giving lectures and sharing his expertise on developing and testing an explosives package that the Iranians have now succeeded in making part of their blueprint for a nuclear warhead.

Moscow, the closest thing Iran has to a big power ally, is deeply opposed to any military action against the Islamic republic, though Moscow has supported UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran.

"This would be a very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences," said Mr Lavrov, addressing reporters in Moscow. "Military intervention only leads to a multiple rise in casualties and human suffering."

A raid on Iran's nuclear facilities would be likely to provoke Tehran into disruptive retaliatory measures in the Gulf that would sever shipping routes and disrupt the flow of oil and gas to export markets.

Some analysts have said it could backfire and bolster the theocratic regime to the detriment of the pro-democracy movement, and spawn terror attacks on Israeli and US targets around the world.

The issue has been debated in the Israeli cabinet, where Mr Netanyahu has argued that only a muscular response will keep the Iranians in check. He has often spoken of the “existential threat” posed by Iran, whose president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel’s annihilation.

Washington is pushing for tighter measures after discovering an Iranian plot to kill the Saudi ambassador to the United States.

Russia has tried to push Tehran to disclose more details about its nuclear work to ease international concerns.

Senior Russian security officials accept that the West has legitimate concerns about the nuclear programme though Moscow still says there is no clear evidence that Iran is trying to make a nuclear bomb.

The Iranians, who insist that their nuclear programme is designed for peaceful purposes, have dismissed the IAEA report as “counterfeit”.

Western officials have admitted that the report, due to be circulated to its 35 member states on Tuesday or Wednesday, will not reveal a “smoking gun” of Iranian nuclear weapon-making.

But it will contain new details of particular activities and add flesh to previous reports that make no other conclusion possible, they have said.

The report will reveal that the Iranians are constructing a chamber the size of a London bus whose design is best suited for testing nuclear explosives. They have also finished a blueprint for a nuclear warhead and have enough uranium for four weapons that could be readied in a matter of months.



Source



A Song of Salvation


Isaiah 26

1In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.

2Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.

3Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

4Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

5For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.

6The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.

7The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.

8Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.

9With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

10Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.

11LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.

12LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.

13O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.

14They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.

15Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.

16LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.

17Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.

18We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.

19Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

20Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.

21For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.


Sunday, November 06, 2011

Commonwealth to lift law banning monarchs from marrying Catholics



Monday, 31 October 2011 10:02
Written by Catholic News Service
The law that bans a British monarch from marrying a Catholic is to be lifted after more than 300 yearsThe law that bans a British monarch from marrying a Catholic is to be lifted after more than 300 years

MANCHESTER, England - The law that bans a British monarch from marrying a Catholic is to be lifted after more than 300 years.

The reforms were announced following the unanimous agreement of the 16 nations that have Queen Elizabeth II as their constitutional head of state.

But they will not include the repeal of a Catholic becoming monarch because allegiance to the pope might conflict with the sovereign's role as the supreme governor of the Church of England.

The changes will also see the end of the ancient tradition of male primogeniture, the rule under which boys take precedence in the line to the throne over elder sisters.

The reforms will be included in the next British program of parliamentary business to be unveiled in November, while New Zealand will lead a working group to coordinate their implementation in other Commonwealth countries affected.

The announcement, made at an Oct. 28 summit of Commonwealth heads of government in Perth, Australia, was welcomed by Catholic leaders in Britain.

"This will eliminate a point of unjust discrimination against Catholics and will be welcomed not only by Catholics but far more widely," said Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales.

"At the same time I fully recognize the importance of the position of the established church (Anglican) in protecting and fostering the role of faith in our society today," he said in an Oct. 28 statement.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien of St Andrews and Edinburgh, president of the Scottish bishops' conference, said Oct. 28 that he was pleased to note the process had started to repeal aspects of the laws.

"I look forward to studying the detail of the proposed reforms and their implications in due course," the cardinal said.

In recent years there have been 11 attempts to reform the laws on royal succession, but none has made any meaningful progress, partly because of the difficulty in reforming laws across 16 jurisdictions.

But British Prime Minister David Cameron was able to announce the changes after he won the support of the leaders of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Papua New Guinea, St. Christopher and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu, Barbados, Grenada, Solomon Islands, St. Lucia and the Bahamas -- who would also have to amend their laws.

Announcing the reforms, Cameron, leader of the center-right Conservative Party, said: "Let me be clear, the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England because he or she is the head of that church.

"But it is simply wrong they should be denied the chance to marry a Catholic if they wish to do so," he said. "After all, they are already quite free to marry someone of any other faith."

He said the idea that a younger son should become monarch instead of an elder daughter simply because he is a man was "at odds with the modern countries that we have become."

The reforms may entail amendments to nine acts, including the 1689 Bill of Rights, the 1701 Act of Settlement and the 1772 Royal Marriages Act.

The laws brought to a close centuries of religious turmoil that began in the 1530s when King Henry VIII took the English Catholic Church into schism so he could nullify his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, his mistress.

They were brought into force following the deposing of openly Catholic King James II, Britain's last Catholic monarch, in the bloodless coup of 1688, which came to be known as "the Glorious Revolution."

After James' Protestant sister Anne, his successor, failed to produce an heir, the throne was given to Electress Sophia of Hanover, Germany, from whom the reigning House of Windsor is descended.

The abolition of the rule of male primogeniture will apply only to the descendants of Prince Charles, but it will mean that if the first-born child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge -- William and Kate -- is a girl, then she will ascend the throne ahead of any younger brothers.


Source

Northeastern Birth Pangs?




Three recent nature related manifestations make me wonder whether they are judgment from the Lord.

In the Northeastern region of the United States the following have occurred:

  1. An extremely early Snow Storm during the weekend of October 29, 2011 caused massive power outages that are still affecting some homes and businesses. (11/6/11) .
  2. Hurricane Irene Hammers the Northeast. It flooded towns in New Jersey. New York, and New England during the last weekend of August 27, 2011.
  3. 5.8 magnitude Virginia earthquake stuns Northeast U.S. on August 23, 2011. It was centered near Richmond, Virginia; But, it was felt from South Carolina to New England.


What do you think? What's your explanation?

I think it's a case of Global Warning.

Arsenio
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Utah churches reach out to ‘lost’ generation

image
(Djamila Grossman | The Salt Lake Tribune) Jonathan Hickerson paints as he worships at The Mount, a service for young adults at Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church on the Salt Lake Valley's east bench on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2011.

First published Nov 04 2011 09:51AM
Updated Nov 4, 2011 06:52PM

Churches like the new, nondenominational EastLake offer short services punctuated with drums and electric guitars. Other more traditional churches such as Mount Olympus Presbyterian Church on the valley’s east bench have added looser, more relaxed young adult services to their repertoire. And this year, Utah’s predominant faith, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, dissolved its student congregations, creating new Young Single Adult wards partly to stem the loss of active Mormons between ages 18 and 30, LDS apostle M. Russell Ballard said earlier this year.




Oklahoma rattled by 5.6 earthquake Homes damaged and roads buckled by series of shocks including the biggest on record in US state

Homes damaged and roads buckled by series of shocks including the biggest on record in US state

Reuters in Oklahoma City
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 6 November 2011 02.20 EST

Oklahoma has been shaken by a series of earthquakes
Oklahoma has been shaken by a series of earthquakes, culminating in a 5.6 magnitude quake that is the state's biggest on record. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty



Earthquakes of up to 5.6 magnitude have shaken Oklahoma, damaging buildings and roads and sending a handful of people to hospital.

The first quake was recorded on Saturday morning at a magnitude of 4.7. The second came on Saturday night and is the largest recorded in Oklahoma, topping a tremor of 5.5 magnitude in 1952, according to the US Geological Survey.

In Prague, Oklahoma, where the first quake was centred, city manager Jim Greff said part of the town library's ceiling collapsed and a chimney fell through the roof of a home. There were no serious injuries.

The quake buckled highway 62 in three places west of Prague and sent a boulder "about the size of an SUV" tumbling onto a rural road in south-east Lincoln County, said Aaron Bennett, dispatch supervisor for the county's emergency management division.

The quake was felt more than 300 miles away in Kansas City, where it rattled windows and shook houses for half a minute.

The second quake was a shallow 3.1 miles (5 km) deep and centered four miles east of Sparks, east of Oklahoma City.

JL Gilbert, owner of the Sparks Vineyard and Winery, about four miles from the epicentre of the second quake, said it lasted "a good 30 seconds".

"It was a pretty good jolt. We're not used to this. We're used to being sucked up into the wind," he said, referring to Oklahoma's reputation as a tornado alley.

Earthquakes of a 4.0 magnitude east of the Rocky Mountains can typically be felt from up to 60 miles away, according to the USGS. A 5.5 magnitude quake can be felt up to 300 miles from its epicentre.

One of Gilbert's employees went to the hospital after tripping and hitting his head on a doorway while scrambling to get out of his home, Gilbert said.


Source

Bible Prophecy and the Standard American Diet

Bible Prophecy and the Standard American Diet from ModernMannaMedia on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/22470698

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Don’t Panic! FCC To Shut Down All TV And Radio Next Wednesday

by Frances Martel | 10:54 am, November 5th, 2011


If your favorite TV show or radio program airs weekdays at 2 PM, the FCC has an important message for you. In order to test its new emergency alert system, the FCC has announced it is shutting down all communications on television and radio to test out its new Emergency Alert System on Wednesday, November 9th. While the system has been tested in various states previously, this will be the first all-inclusive, national test.

While the system will be tested nationally this weekend, it is also designed for state emergencies, according to the FCC, like AMBER alerts, but can also work in cases of national security emergencies. It has been designed as a joint venture by the FCC and FEMA. According to the FEMA website:

At the Federal Communications Commission’s June 9, 2011 Agenda meeting, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau Chief Jamie Barnett, joined by representatives from FEMA and the National Weather Service, announced that the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) would take place at 2:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time) on November 9, 2011. The purpose of the test is to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism. EAS Participants currently participate in state-level monthly tests and local-level weekly tests, but no top-down review of the entire system has ever been undertaken. The Commission, along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will use the results of this nationwide test to assess the reliability and effectiveness of the EAS as a public alert mechanism, and will work together with EAS stakeholders to make improvements to the system as appropriate.

Besides these announcements, the FCC has released a fairly spooky PSA featuring Chief of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau of the FCC James Barnett, who reminds everyone to please not panic when they lose their television and radio for a few minutes on Wednesday. That ad, courtesy FCC, below:


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Vatican officials ‘stunned’ by Irish decision to close embassy

Pope said to be ‘deeply irritated’ by the move to end diplomatic ties

By CATHY HAYES, IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Saturday, November 5, 2011, 7:56 AM
Updated Saturday, November 5, 2011, 7:56 AM




The Vatican


The Vatican was stunned by the Irish government decision to close down their Embassy to the Holy See and oversee future diplomatic relations from Dublin.

Reuters reports that the Irish informed the Vatican only hours before the decision was made public and relations between the two are at an all time low.

Top Vatican officials up to and including the pope were said to be “deeply irritated” by the Irish move which the government said was due to cost efficiencies.

However, top diplomats from other embassies in Rome believe that without the church sex abuse scandals the embassy would never have been closed.

"This is really bad for the Vatican because Ireland is the first big Catholic country to do this and because of what Catholicism means in Irish history," a Vatican diplomatic source told the news agency.

Vatican officials fear that other countries will follow suit because of the cost of keeping two embassies in Rome, one accredited to the Vatican, the other to the Italian government

A Vatican source said Ireland only informed the Vatican shortly before the announcement was made on Thursday night.

Dublin's foreign ministry said the embassy was being closed because "it yields no economic return" and that relations would be continued with an ambassador in Dublin.

The source said the Vatican was "extremely irritated" by the wording equating diplomatic missions with economic return, particularly as the Vatican sees its diplomatic role as promoting human values.

Irish Government has denied that Ireland’s failing relationship with the Catholic Church had anything to do with the decision to shut the Irish embassy in the Vatican. They maintain its closure is entirely down to the cost-cutting programme prompted by Ireland’s EU-IMF bailout.

Ireland’s decision to close the embassies in Timor Leste, Iran and the Vatican will save the country around $1.6 million per year.

Eamon Gilmore, the Minister for Foreign Affairs to Ireland’s National Broadcaster, RTE : “That was not a consideration.

“Our diplomatic relations with the Vatican will continue and they are valued.”

Last July the Vatican recalled its ambassador in Ireland after Prime Minister Enda Kenny accused the Holy See of obstructing investigations into sexual abuse carried out by Catholic priests in Ireland.

However Gilmore insisted: “The fact that we have chosen to close our mission in the Vatican and to have it serviced from Dublin doesn’t necessarily mean that we won’t have a Papal Nuncio here.”

He also said it was “one of those regrettable decisions we have had to make."

On Thursday, Ireland’s Primate Cardinal Sean Brady expressed his “profound disappointment" with the Government’s decision embassy to the Vatican.

He said this decision “means that Ireland will be without a resident Ambassador to the Holy See for the first time since diplomatic relations were established ... in 1929.


Source: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Vatican-officials-stunned-by-Irish-decision-to-close-embassy-133290623.html#ixzz1cvLh76P6
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Saturday, November 05, 2011

White House refuses to provide Solyndra documents

Saturday, November 5, 2011


Officials discuss the Solyndra collapse after a raid on the Fremont company in September. Agents from the FBI and the Energy Department served search warrants and collected company records.

The White House on Friday strongly rebuffed a subpoena from House Republicans seeking all communications about Solyndra, the failed Fremont solar-panel manufacturer that received a half-billion dollar federal loan guarantee.

In a letter to two top Republicans on the House energy panel, White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said the request "was driven more by partisan politics than a legitimate effort to conduct a responsible investigation."

The White House and the Energy Department already have turned over 85,000 pages of documents on Solyndra Inc. The company filed for bankruptcy and laid off 1,100 workers after receiving $528 million in federal backing.

Ruemmler said those documents show no wrongdoing or political favoritism by the administration. She added that curiosity alone is not a justification to encroach on the executive branch's long-standing confidentiality interests.

House Republicans have used Solyndra to highlight what they see as President Obama's failure to create clean-energy jobs. The company was the first to receive a federal loan guarantee under the 2009 stimulus law, which greatly expanded the program. Obama visited the company last year to praise it publicly.

Documents already obtained by the committee show that the administration knew the firm had problems, yet continued to support it.

On Thursday, a subcommittee of the energy panel voted on party lines to issue the subpoena, calling the White House "obstructionist."

House Energy and Commerce chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said in a statement issued Friday that he was disappointed that the White House and House Democrats were continuing to put up "partisan roadblocks to hide the truth from taxpayers," when, he said, the investigation so far has shown that the GOP is on the right track.

"Solyndra was a jobs program gone bad, and we must learn the lesson of Solyndra as we work to turn our economy around and put folks back to work," he said.

The White House announced last week it had ordered an independent review of similar loans made by the Energy Department. The review by former Treasury official Herb Allison will assess the status of more than two dozen other renewable-energy loans and loan guarantees made by the Energy Department program that supported Solyndra.

This article appeared on page A - 5 of the San Francisco Chronicle



Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/11/04/MNB01LQRSL.DTL#ixzz1cr9Mdihk
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