Sadly, I report two child pornography stories

Ontario child porn bust snares 50
"Police in Ontario are expected to release details Thursday morning of what could be the largest child pornography bust ever in Canada. According to Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Sgt. Pierre Chamberlain, police will release "results of a provincial-wide sweep of child sex offenders that occurred over the last couple of days in the province of Ontario." Police have scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Vaughan that will include participants from more than 20 police departments across the country. "We'll be drawing attention to the serious blight that is child pornography," Chamberlain told CBC News. Police said they have taken more than 50 people into custody after raids across Ontario on Wednesday. Those arrested were not part of an organized child porn ring, police said. Members of the provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the internet have laid more than 200 charges while the investigation continues." Video of the news spot at link

The CBC news spot video opens with this statement: "The victims are society's most vulnerable, young children, even infants. The crimes against them, heinous." The video reporter stated that child pornography doesn't just include still photos of children in abusive situations, as most people suppose, but nowadays also includes live streaming of the abuse. Worse, "victims are increasingly younger, sometimes, even infants."

In another story from California in the US, we read something that is positively sickening in its inventive evil:

"Teacher who 'bound and gagged children, put roaches on their faces, and fed them semen' jailed on $23 million bail"

This teacher had taught for 30 years in that school, and was held in high esteem by parents and community. The children victims ranged in age from 7 to 10.

A hallmark of Christianity is care for society's most vulnerable-- the poor, the widows, the children, and the oppressed.

For example, God regards equally the rich and the poor: "How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands." (Job 34:19)

So James warns us not to show favoritism, either: "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

"Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?" (James 2:1-5)

It is the same with the widows. They should be treated with honor, 1 Timothy 5:3; and they should be helped, 1 Timothy 5:16.

How widows were treated is a component of judgment:

"And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts." (Malachi 3:5)

As for children, the Lord has a special place in His heart for them, because they are a special gift from His grace: if I may be so bold as to interpret thusly from the following:

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward." (Psalms 127:3).

Children are capable of glorifying God and therefore should be brought to Him, (Psalms 148:12-13; Mark 10:13-16) and trained in His ways.

I've been speaking of progressive judgment. God does give individuals, and nations, over to their depravity. It doesn't happen all at once. It is described in Romans 1:18-32. First we are told that God reveals His glory and His wrath in creation. Why? because God's glory is obvious and man deliberately suppresses it. (Romans 1:18-20).

Not only to they suppress it, but they fail to give Him thanks and they fail to glorify Him, so then their thinking becomes futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. They start worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. In this, they think they are so wise, but they are fools. (Rom 1:21-22).

Next, because they cannot think straight, sinful desires of their hearts arise and sexual impurity enters in, and they degrade themselves with one another. (Homosexuality). (Romans 1:24)

But sin can always go deeper, and in the progressive judgment of God, the sinners are allowed to follow its natural course to shameful lusts, and "even" the women (mothers and widows, who are the moral compass of a family and thus of society) become lesbians. (Rom 1:26).

Finally, in verse 28-29, they end up with a depraved minds. They are out of their minds with degrading shameful lusts and cannot think of what is right and good any more. By now they are completely unmoored from anything resembling purity or goodness. "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity...."

Filled. No room to squeeze into a conscience anything good or pure, only depravity. Now, the verse says they exchanged normal lust for unnatural lusts to do with each other. Adults. But what about the terrible stories we read above, the shameful, evil, and degrading lusts perpetrated involving children? Given how the Lord feels about children, would it not seem that a special wrath would come upon those who abuse their own bodies with children in such a way? Paul finishes the chapter thus:

"...He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." (Romans 2:28b-32)

They are brutal, depraved, "doing what ought not to be done". They invent ways of doing evil. If ever there was a verse that spoke to my heart regarding these precious children subjected to trafficking, porn, and degrading bondage games, this is it. And we know that many people applaud these kind of activities, such as members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). We know that in dark corners of sticky, sour rooms, men will smirk and gleefully applaud the teacher's inventiveness who subjected the children to what he subjected them to.

Are we at the point as a nation and a society where God has given us over to shameful lusts and deserved wrath? I would venture to say yes. Though I began the essay with the title "Sadly, I report two child pornography stories" I can end it with pointing to Jesus. HE is good, pure, perfect. He loves all His creatures, especially children. Though we suffer now in the fallen creation from witnessing such sin, He has vanquished it. If we are in Him, we are victors through Him of the victory over sin. (Romans 6:18). And there WILL come a day when he wipes sin from the earth!!!

"The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)

"On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity." (Zechariah 13:1)

On His day, the Lord will put an end to sin (Daniel 9:24) When he calls for those who had believed in Him and whose names are entered in the Lamb's Book of Life, He will install us in the place He has prepared for us, New Jerusalem, and nothing impure will ever enter it.

"Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." (Revelation 21:27)

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who is sinless, who takes away our sin, and with whom we will dwell in sinless purity forever!!

Comments

  1. This is complete and utter sickness. Oh those poor, poor children. It hurts to read stuff like this.

    Praying for these children.
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  2. I agree, it hurts. I struggle with things like this not just in the sense of having normal compassion! but also struggle with whether to even react to and post stuff like this. I read about the CA teacher about three days ago, and prayed. Finally when I read the Canada child porn bust the feeling came that I should address it and then the Spirit showed me how, the Romans passages

    In one way, it is a blessing to read these things. It seems weird to say. In the first sense, He allows us to see how deep sin will go, and thereby I feel a greater sense of gratitude to Him for His sacrifice, and for saving ME from behaving in sinful ways.

    Secondly it makes me burn with hatred against sin. Not against the people, they are led by satan and as blind and lost as I once was. But hatred of sin and what it does to people and how it besmirches His name.

    Third, it makes me gasp in wonder that such sludge thrown up to our visible eyes is the exact sludge He died for. And He will come soon and put an end to all of it. I feel a great sense of awe in Him. The dirtier the world gets, the more I love Him because I see the brighter Light against the darker darkness.

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  3. This is sick and heartbreaking. I cannot even allow my mind to go there. This reminds us why God is so furious at the wickedness and darkness of this world.

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  4. And imagine the church and The One who restrains is still here bit yet...This is why I wish all children could be taken in the rapture...I also have cousins who are 9 and 11 and I fear so much for them and kids their age if they are left behind. I pray they truly know Christ as they tell me.

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  5. I disagree with calling this "sickness" - this is just plain evil. It IS sickening, but the only "sickness" these people have is sin.

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  6. Anonymous, regarding the children and the rapture, there is a doctrine called the 'age of accountability.'

    The doctrine is something Paul alluded to. God is Judge and our sins are law-breaking- children included. (Romans 3:10). Within the context of a court, visualize this- though in the book of Romans it says we all sin, there are some people who cannot cognitively make the decision to ask Jesus for forgiveness because they do not understand the ramifications of their sin or cannot make the choice to ask for forgiveness. On earth, a secular court charges them as a juvenile offender, mercy is granted and their charges are not held against them the same way as an adult's would be.

    These are babies, children aging at different maturity rates, and the severely mentally impaired. It is alluded to in Romans 7:9. Of that verse, I believe it is saying, though they sin, God does not hold that charge against them. The issue is explained here:
    http://www.gty.org/Resources/Articles/A264_The-Age-of-Accountability?q=age+of+accountability

    I personally believe that God will treat the minor children and the infirm of mind in that way- not holding their charges against them. Therefore it is my opinion that what Paul was saying in Romans, means that children WILL be taken in the rapture.

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  7. Hi Elizabeth,
    I personally believe that children will be raptured with the church and 'enter into the promised land' from reading...
    Numbers 29-31

    29 In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. 30 Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. 31 As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected.

    The number the Lord gives here for accountability is 20 years old. So if this passage is in alignment with the rapture, which I think it is, then children of the age 19 and under will be raptured with the church.

    What are your thoughts on this?
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  8. Child of God,
    The age of 20 had nothing to do with accountability. Think about it, if God had removed ALL adults during the 40 year wandering, who would have raised the children?

    I think the "age of accountability" is not chronological, rather it is maturation. Someone 25 years old could have the mental capacity of a 5-year old.

    As for the Rapture, I am a firm believer that the Rapture will occur at the END of the Tribulation. The Pre-Trib view is something that developed in the 19th century and prior to that Christians (not Romanists or those who still follow Romanist teachings in many ways) the Church taught a rapture at the end of the Tribulation. There was no "get out of Tribulation free" card before the 1800s. As the saying goes, "If it is new, it isn't true."

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  9. I was not aware of the Numbers verse, so I thank you for sharing it. So He does make a distinction among those who were under a certain age. He said something similar in Deuteronomy 1:39, that the children have no knowledge of good and evil. In that case He didn't specify an age.

    In the OT the word "innocent" in relation to children is used a lot, and it means translated innocent of charges in a court. But people in different cultures reach maturity at different ages. Also, in times past when the life span was shorter, an eleven-year-old may have been considered a man but not so today.

    So we have the Numbers verse which proves He makes that distinction of sin applied to a person among ages, the Deuteronomy verse, the Romans verse, and lastly the Jewish tradition of assuming manhood for 13 year old boys thru the Bar Mitzvah.

    But God knows at which age each person individually is able to accept responsibility for their choices in sinning. I can't go so far as to say that God has established a date-certain age under which ALL children will not be held for the charge of their sins against them but the verse you provided and others make the circumstantial case that God will rapture children who He deems spiritual juveniles.

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  10. Thank you Elizabeth for explaining your thoughts. I sure do have a lot of questions for our Father when I finally get to meet Him. I can see that eternity will be needed to explain the why's of His written Word. :)

    Hi Glen,
    If God said the age of accountability is 20, then I choose to believe this. It took 40 years of wandering for the people to die off during that time the 19 year olds were growing up, and were able to look after the others. Also by the time 40 years was up the babies that were born would now be 40 years old and tending to the younger ones.

    Blessings,
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  11. Glenn, the pre-trib view, respectfully, was known to all the earliest church fathers from the beginning (Paul) onward all the way thru the ages. It was not a new doctrine put forth in the 1800s...

    For example, Increase Mather (1639-1723) Increase Mather was a pastor, scholar, and was the first President of Harvard College. Mather said "that the saints would be caught up into the air beforehand, thereby escaping the final conflagration." Other, earlier teachings of it were from
    Papias (60-130)
    Clement of Rome (90-100)
    The Sherpherd of Hermas (96-150)
    Ignatius of Antioch (98-117)
    Barnabas (100)
    The Didache (100-160)
    Justin Martyr (110-165)
    The Epistle of Barnabas (117-138)
    Irenaeus (120-202)
    Tertullian (145-220)
    Hippolytus (185-236)
    Cyprian (200-250)
    Lactantius (260-330) among others thru the middle ages, Renaissance and 1700s America- such as John Gill.

    We will be raptured at the beginning of the tribulation, because He said He is punishing the Israelites and the world for sin, (Dan 9:24) and yet He has forgotten our sins (Col 2:14) and they are remembered no more (Heb 8:12). We are not under wrath, we will be rescued from it. (1 Thess 1:10).

    If we go thru the Tribulation it must be explained that if we are forgiven for sins why we are being punished for them, why we were told we're rescued from wrath but the wrath begins in Rev 6, why we're saved by faith alone but in the Tribulation sacrifices must be made, why it is said He calls us up to Him in the rapture but in the Second Coming we come down with Him, why Paul said of the rapture to be comforted by these words yet Jesus said the time will be so evil it never has been this bad nor nor shall ever be (which is not a comfort), why Paul is reassuring the Thessalonians who thought the tribulation had begun and therefore they had missed the rapture, if Paul had taught they were to go thru the Tribulation anyway...too many contradictions.

    We will be gone in the blink of an eye, and the last seven years remaining in the decree will resume on earth. Up there, we'll have our bema ceremony, we will have the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and then we will return with Him at the end of the Tribulation at the last day (Rev 19:14)

    We can all take comfort in these words. His promises are true.

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  12. Elizabeth,

    What these teachers used to teach was that the Rapture would be at the end of the tribulation but BEFORE the final conflagration. The issue of teaching a Pre-Trib rapture (which I was taught by the Navigators when I came to the Lord, and all the Hal Lindsay books I devoured) makes for a "get-out-of-tribulation-free" card, with those left having a second chance at salvation. I see nothing in Scripture about such second chance. "In the days of Noah" there was no second chance, nor was there for those in Sodom and Gomorrah.

    The "wrath" of the Trib is not the same as the "Wrath" of God poured out on unbelievers, which is part of the problem with this teaching.

    Nevertheless, I only find harm in the pre-Trib view when Christians use it with an attitude of "I'm not going to be here so I don't care," which is what I have encountered for many, many years at many, many churches.

    I think we need to be prepared for suffering.

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  13. Child of God,

    There is no mention in the text as 20 years of age being an "age of accountability." It is just stated as the age at which God chose to make the cut-off.

    Think about what you are saying - Everyone 20 and under is not accountable for their sin! Only in this culture of hedonism have we been treating our teenagers as children. In past cultures those in their early teens - child-bearing years - were considered adults. Teenagers married, had farms, raised children, and murdered (Billy the Kid). They are not children - they are young adults.

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  14. Glenn, We DO get out of Tribulation free card. The wrath begins in Revelation 6 and we are not subjected to His wrath for punishment of sins.(Dan 9:24). Not when we have been forgiven for them. The wrath in Rev 6 is noted to be the wrath of the day of the Lord, prophesied since the beginning.

    I'm sorry, the view of post trib rapture is not one that is doctrinally correct nor is sound. It is not encouraging nor it is consistent with the larger view of what God is doing and why (according to Dan 9 and many other verses).

    He has a number in mind for His church (Rom 11:25) and when that is fulfilled He will take us out and soften the hearts of the Jews that He has hardened, and they will no longer be blind to Him or to their Messiah. He will pour out His spirit on them.(Ez 39:29)

    The tribulation is the time of Jacob's trouble, not the time of the church's trouble. We are distinct from Israel and He is dealing with the two in different ways. Mt 16:18 shows Jesus making the statement He is building His church, an effort distinct from what He is doing and will do with His people the Jews. Romans 11:25 ends that effort of His with the church.

    Then He goes on to say the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church, yet in the Tribulation, satan overcomes the saints. (Rev 13:7). The antichirst rules the entire world. Did God lie? Surely not. God is not inconsistent and there are no contradictions. He has already removed His church from the time on earth of satan's overpowering influence. The church satan overpowers in the Tribulation is not His spotless, forgiven bride, but the Harlot false church.

    It is not just a matter of theological contention. It is a practical question: does the Christian need to get ready for suffering, and prepare, or does the Christian need to get ready for Jesus?

    I'm getting ready for Jesus.

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  15. Hi Glen,

    Only God can judge the heart and soul of a person and only God knows when the accountable age is.

    Since the Bible is prophetic and many of the Old Testament reference have meaning for the New Testament and for our day and the future day, then how can you not say that 20 years isn't a number God gave as accountability. The reference to 'the promise land' in Numbers is also prophetic to a reference of the promise land for us.

    I don't wish to argue about Scripture for God tells us not to do this. We are to build each other up in the Lord and His Word, not tear each other down.

    Romans 14:1-6

    1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

    Now, I am not saying your faith is weak but that we have differing opinions. What may seem right for you may not seem right for me and what I do I can only hope does not cause you to stumble and what you do hopefully will not cause me to stumble. So with that I ask your forgiveness if I have made you stumble.

    Thank you Elizabeth for allowing this bantering to go on.

    God bless,
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  16. Elizabeth,
    Having studied this subject for several years, it was the plain teachings of Scripture which led me to accept the post-trib position.

    I think there is more tradition of what texts mean than what proper hermeneutics brings out. There are many, many understandings of what Revelation is actually saying, and most have some things to say for and against them.

    My point is, though, that the Pre-Trib theory did was not a prominent teaching prior the the 19th century. To say a Christian should never need to be ready for persecution and suffering flies in the face of reality for all those Christians around the world, especially in the Islamic nations, who see persecution and suffering daily.

    The question of the timing of the rapture is one issue I will not get all worked up over. I know many who separate fellowship over it and I think that is just plain wrong.

    I'm sort of pragmatic: I'm psychologically ready as possible to undergo severe persecution, and the Rapture happens first, well then I got my "get out of trib free" card. But I think those who aren't prepared for such trials are going to suffer the most.

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  17. Hi Child of God,

    I'm sorry, but the text itself doesn't even intimate that this is an "age of accountability." Yes only God knows the heart, but the vast majority of people are young adults in their early teens - not children.

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  18. Glenn, after having studied this for a number of years I know that the clear teachings of scripture are that we will not go through the Time of Jacob's Trouble (Jer 30:7), The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord (Malachi 4:5). Those verses which support my stance I have shared already several times.

    I didn't say Christians won't endure persecution. I said that the church, the bride, will not endure His Day of Wrath. You might consider that it hasn't been a "prominent" teaching until these days because the Angel said to Daniel to shut up the book of prophecy until the time of the end. (Dan 12:4).

    The rapture and other second coming doctrines were not taught as frequently nor as explicitly because of the verse that says it won't be a prominent teaching until the time of the end. Which it is now, and which in due course, Satan tries to corrupt so as to steal the joy and expectation of the encouragement Paul shared about it.

    I am spiritually ready to believe the savior when He says the gates of hell shall not prevail against His church, and that He is not contradicting Himself in Revelation when He says to John that the power given to satan will overcome the saints (Rev 13.) I believe Him when He says we are rescued from the coming wrath. I believe Him when He says He has forgotten our sins and we are not under condemnation (Rom 8:1) but that the Day of Wrath is a time when He will atone for wickedness of those left behind.

    I rest fully on Him and His promises. I am not hedging my bets. Nor am I girding my mind with thoughts of even one moment of doubt that we will be gone. The scriptures explain so. Therefore I encourage you with those words. (1 Thess 4:17-18)

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  19. I think Child of God was not being dogmatic on the age, but only asking me to discuss the possibility that there could be scriptural validation for God taking such a position. I think the question has been asked and answered...

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  20. There is so many strong biblical evidence for the rapture. The fact that Paul has alluded to the "hardening of the hearts" of the Jews is a clear reference to the unfolding of the Church Age which will come to a close when God shifts back His focus on Israel. And does anyone else see the allegory behind the night when Jacob wrestled with God? He was alone. Everyone else had crossed the river. And he wrestled with God for many hours until almost daybreak when he finally recognized Him. This is Israel coming back to her God.

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  21. I think many of us experience MUCH tribulation in this life....As a matter of fact Jesus said we would, so did the apostles. Whether we escape "THE tribulation" or not I really don't know, but Christians WILL suffer, one way or another.

    That is all too real, but part of the plan.


    I don't think pretribbers are trying to "escape" suffering, Christians suffer. It is an eschatological thing, not a fear thing, imo.

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  22. Just to clarify:

    I am a firm believer in the Rapture; I just put it at the end of the tribulation.

    And I don't make it a really big issue. I have lots of dear friends who put it pre-trib.

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  23. Follow up for one of the articles you posted above. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2096315/Martin-Springer-Second-teacher-fondled-girls-school-Mark-Berndt-spoon-fed-pupils-semen.html

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  24. I am a teacher out here in CA and I am ashamed to say that CalSTRS is still paying the dirt bags pension despite the fact that as a "teacher" he was feeding the students semen. He is receiving $4,000 a month (since July). Since I am a member, I called to complain, and they simply said that that is their policy. I said, that maybe in other cases, if there is a possibility of innocence it is okay to wait until conviction. But there is so much evidence and photos in this case.

    Common sense, suspend benefits.

    People don't know how to do right anymore!

    They actually think it is right to give him a pension, because he technically quit before he was fired (by a matter of hours).

    He is such a dirtbag. The worst of the worst.

    As a teacher, a parent, and a taxpayer I am disgusted by how this is being handled. He should have his benefits suspended and if his case is dismissed (WHICH WON'T HAPPEN) he can be compensated, but the money is going to DEFEND him. Disgusting.

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