"Child's Play: Toys That Spy"

What do the talking doll, "My Friend Cayla" and the "i-Que" robot have in common? They're both spies!

That's right gang--both toys are equipped with technology that is linked through an app to your smart phone and can:

• ask children for very specific personal information
• record and collect conversations
• understand and respond to kids in real-time
• send all collected intel on to the manufacturer (presumably to be used for marketing purposes)

How is this legal, you ask? Apparently, it shouldn't be. Consumer advocacy and privacy organizations have filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against the manufacturers, Genesis Toys and Nuance Communications, requesting an investigation:

"This complaint concerns toys that spy. By purpose and design, these toys record and collect the private conversations of young children without any limitations on collection, use, or disclosure of this personal information. The toys subject young children to ongoing surveillance and are deployed in homes across the United States without any meaningful data protection standards. They pose an imminent and immediate threat to the safety and security of the children in the United States."

The complaint goes on for 24 pages, but you get the idea--toys that spy are not just play things. They can be hazardous to your child's privacy or worse. Can anyone say 'Big Brother'?

A wise man once said: "If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself...Big Brother is watching you." -- George Orwell, 1984

"What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops." Luke 12:3

How To Go To Heaven

News:

• The Sun: Mercedes admits it spies on drivers with tracking devices covertly installed in its cars; used only in "extreme circumstances" company claims.
• Fast Company: Silicon Valley is building a Chinese-style social credit system where the availability of credit is based on behavior.
• DEBKAfile: Israeli jets destroy Iranian UAVs in Damascus to foil imminent attack

"3 Ways 2 Win"

 

"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

 According to Greg Laurie of Harvest Crusade fame, "this verse touches upon three important facets of the Christian life that should give you great joy:

• You have a new identity. When you accept Jesus Christ into your life, God gives you a new identity. You discover that you are not merely some product of random chance. You are not a speck in the universe. You are a child of God. And as God's child you can rest assured that you will be loved and cared for by your heavenly Father.
• You have power to face life. With that new identity and hope in Christ, you also have the promise of the Holy Spirit's presence and power in your life. The Holy Spirit works constantly in your heart, helping you to understand God's Word and to  transform your attitudes and behaviors.

An expanded translation of Romans 15:13 says that by the power of the Holy Spirit, your whole life and outlook will be "radiant with hope". God has not left you to face life on your own. He has promised to guide you and strengthen you with His Spirit.

• You have hope for the future. As a Christian, you have hope and knowledge that there is life beyond the grave. Your last breath on earth will be followed by your first breath in heaven. 

The world offers many roads to happiness: sex, money, power, personal success. But they are all cheap and worthless substitutes in comparison to knowing that you are God's child and that you have the hope of heaven.

"This," says Laurie, "is the only road to lasting--indeed, eternal--joy."

A wise man once said: "There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere."    --John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach

Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in Me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in Me and will never perish. Do you believe this?" (John 11:25-26)

How To Go To Heaven...click here! 

News: 

• NTEB: Kansas & Oklahoma Hit By 65 Earthquakes Within Last 7 Days; largest a 4.1 magnitude
• CBS: Democratic state senator from Chicago apologizes for mock Trump assassination photos at his fundraiser on Friday.
• Israel News: Bill Gates will try to block the sun by injecting millions of tons of dust into the atmosphere to counter global warming; Gates teamed with Harvard University scientists for the experiment

"Zero Hour"

In his classic commentary on The Book of Revelation, What The World Is Coming To, the late Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel states:

"The world is moving toward its zero hour.We're in the final countdown...The "birth-pains" have begun." (Matthew 24:8; Mark 13:8).

Doom & gloom? You betcha--if the birth-pains (or doom & gloom) were the only message.

"The Book of Revelation delves into grave details using remarkable symbols of judgment," proclaims S. Douglas Woodward of Faith-Happens. "Each broken seal discloses a new horror; each trumpet portends a new calamity; each vial grows increasingly more horrible."

"If we dwell on these images of doom, no doubt we too would become gloomy," cautions Woodward. "Nevertheless, the Bible consistently offers a starkly contrasted message: the greatest day for those who believe in Christ, comes on the worst day for those that don't."

In other words, the doom & gloom has a purpose. For the unbeliever, these "birth-pains" are a warning: seek God while He may be found; receive the redemption His Son suffered and died to purchase for you before it's too late.

For the believer and student of Bible prophecy, these same birth-pains are an amazing, faith-building, fear-of-God producing, awe-inspiring wonder to watch as events unfold exactly as God said they would in His word.

Remember, the purpose of Bible prophecy is not to predict the future, but to authenticate the message.

And what is the main message of the Bible?

Hope! God is the creator of everything. He has a plan and a purpose to redeem not only those of us who believe that Jesus died in our place and rose again as our Savior, but His entire creation as well.

"Now we live with a wonderful expectation because Jesus Christ rose again from the dead. For God has reserved a priceless inheritance for His children...It will be revealed on the last day for all to see. So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead..." 1 Peter 1:3-6

Eventually, there will be a new heaven and a new earth where everything (including us) must be born again. But first, like any birth--there are birth pains.

A wise man once said: "Night is coming...a darkness that will cover this globe in suffering and sorrow such as we have never known. But we must not sit and wring our hands about the state of the world. God has provided a way to escape the coming night. Now is the time to tell everyone about the hope of a brand new world waiting for us." -- David Jeremiah, author

"So I pray that God who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in Him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

Find out HOW TO GO TO HEAVEN! 

News:

• Natural News: The West Coast is a literal toilet: 80% of coastal areas infected with toxic feces as 80,000 homeless defecate in gutters daily
• U.S. News & World Report: California ranks @ bottom for 'quality of life' due to state's astronomical cost of living & progressive leadership
• CBN News: Gay Hollywood Designer Has Dramatic 'Damascus Road' Conversion to Christianity. (to listen to his interview  click here ).

"Technological Deception"

'Seeing is believing'  became obsolete once Photoshop made sure we could no longer believe our eyes.

Now we've got the equivalent for our ears: A "voice manipulation" app, VoCo made by the software firm Adobe.

"The software makes it possible to take an audio recording and rapidly alter it to include words and phrases the original speaker never uttered, in what sounds like their voice," according to BBC News.

"At a live demo in San Diego recently, Adobe took a digitised recording of a man saying "and I kissed my dogs and my wife" and changed it to say "and I kissed Jordan three times."

The edit was simple and took only seconds.

By using a text-based tool to create a synthesized voice track, it is now possible to put words in the mouth of another.

Horrified by the development, Dr. Eddy Borges Rey, a lecturer in media and technology at the University of Stirling said:

"It seems that Adobe's programmers were swept along with the excitement of creating something as innovative as a voice manipulator, and ignored the ethical dilemmas brought up by its potential misuse.

"Inadvertently, in its quest to create software to manipulate digital media, Adobe has (already) drastically changed the way we engage with evidential material such as photographs," Dr. Rey said, referring to Adobe's Photoshop.

"This makes it hard for lawyers, journalists, and other professionals who use digital media as evidence."

Not to mention the risks associated with no longer being able to believe anything you see or hear.

Having come through one of the most contentious election cycles in recent history, just imagine (if you will) the extra added attraction of a voice-mimicking app in the wrong hands. The 2020 Election should be interesting.

Welcome to the age of deception.

A wise man once said: "God's word is the same, yesterday and today and a million years from now." -- Franklin Graham

"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you," declares the LORD. Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me: "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down. To destroy and to overthrow, To build and to plant." Jeremiah 1:9-10

find out How To Go To Heaven...click here! 

News:

• DEBKAfile: Iran re-deploys at new Syrian sites opposite Israel's border; no explanation offered
• FNC: 2020 Dems unleash profane attacks on Trump, Republicans following mass shootings; Trump condemns 'white supremacy'; calls for 'strong background checks'.
• CBN NEWS.com: U.S. officials rush to stop Turkish invasion of Northeast Syria; Turkey has amassed tens of thousands of troops on Syrian border.