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What Global Warming? Antarctic Ice is Increasing By 135billion Tonnes a Year, Says Nasa
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
Express
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Antarctic ice gain reduces sea levels by 0.23mm a year, says NASA

NASA

Antarctic ice gain reduces sea levels by 0.23mm a year, says NASA

This small thickening, sustained over thousands of years and spread over the vast expanse of these sectors of Antarctica, corresponds to a very large gain of ice – enough to outweigh the losses from fast-flowing glaciers in other parts of the continent  - a NASA spokesman.

The study analysed changes in the surface height of the Antarctic ice sheet measured by radar altimeters on two European Space Agency European Remote Sensing (ERS) satellites, spanning from 1992 to 2001, and by the laser altimeter on Nasa’s Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) from 2003 to 2008.

It had been argued by the climate change lobby the gains in elevation seen in East Antarctica were due to recent increases in snow accumulation. But the Nasa team used meteorological data beginning in 1979 to show the snowfall in East Antarctica actually decreased by 11 billion tons per year during both the ERS and ICESat periods. 

They also used information on snow accumulation for tens of thousands of years, derived by other scientists from ice cores, to conclude that East Antarctica has been thickening for a very long time. 

The spokesman added: "Extra snowfall that began 10,000 years ago has been slowly accumulating on the ice sheet and compacting into solid ice over millennia, thickening the ice in East Antarctica and the interior of West Antarctica by an average of 0.7 inches (1.7 centimetres) per year. 

"This small thickening, sustained over thousands of years and spread over the vast expanse of these sectors of Antarctica, corresponds to a very large gain of ice – enough to outweigh the losses from fast-flowing glaciers in other parts of the continent and reduce global sea level rise."

The UN Plans to Implement Universal Biometric Identification for All of Humanity By 2030
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
Michael Snyder
Categories: World Government

Did you know that the United Nations intends to have biometric identification cards in the hands of every single man, woman and child on the entire planet by the year 2030? And did you know that a central database in Geneva, Switzerland will be collecting data from many of these cards? 

Previously, I have written about the 17 new “Global Goals” that the UN launched at the end of September. Even after writing several articles about these new Global Goals, I still don’t think that most of my readers really grasp how insidious they actually are. 

This new agenda truly is a template for a “New World Order”, and if you dig into the sub-points for these new Global Goals you find some very alarming things.

For example, Goal 16.9 sets the following target…

“By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration”

The United Nations is already working hard toward the implementation of this goal – particularly among refugee populations. The UN has partnered with Accenture to implement a biometric identification system that reports information “back to a central database in Geneva”. The following is an excerpt from an article that was posted on findbiometrics.com…

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is moving forward with its plans to use biometric technology to identify and track refugees, and has selected a vendor for the project. Accenture, an international technology services provider, has won out in the competitive tendering process and will oversee the implementation of the technology in a three-year contract.

The UNHCR will use Accenture’s Biometric Identity Management System (BIMS) for the endeavor. BIMS can be used to collect facial, iris, and fingerprint biometric data, and will also be used to provide many refugees with their only form of official documentation. The system will work in conjunction with Accenture’s Unique Identity Service Platform (UISP) to send this information back to a central database in Geneva, allowing UNHCR offices all over the world to effectively coordinate with the central UNHCR authority in tracking refugees.

I don’t know about you, but that sure does sound creepy to me.

And these new biometric identification cards will not just be for refugees. According to a different FindBiometrics report, authorities hope this technology will enable them to achieve the UN’s goal of having this kind of identification in the hands of every man, woman and child on the planet by the year 2030…

A report synopsis notes that about 1.8 billion adults around the world currently lack any kind of official documentation. That can exclude those individuals from access to essential services, and can also cause serious difficulties when it comes to trans-border identification.

That problem is one that Accenture has been tackling in collaboration with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which has been issuing Accenture-developed biometric identity cards to populations of displaced persons in refugee camps in Thailand, South Sudan, and elsewhere. The ID cards are important for helping to ensure that refugees can have access to services, and for keeping track of refugee populations.

Moreover, the nature of the deployments has required an economically feasible solution, and has demonstrated that reliable, biometric ID cards can affordably be used on a large scale. It offers hope for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of getting legal ID into the hands of everyone in the world by the year 2030 with its Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative.

The Identification for Development (ID4D) initiative was originally launched by the World Bank, and they are proud to be working side by side with the UN to get “legal identity” into the hands of all. The following comes from the official website of the World Bank…

Providing legal identity for all (including birth registration) by 2030 is a target shared by the international community as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (target 16.9). The World Bank Group (WBG) has launched the Identification for Development (ID4D) cross-practice initiative, with the participation of seven GP/CCSAs sharing the same vision and strategic objectives, to help our client countries achieve this goal and with the vision of making everyone count: ensure a unique legal identity and enable digital ID-based services to all.

Of course all of this is being framed as a “humanitarian” venture right now, but will it always stay that way?

At some point will a universal biometric ID be required for everyone, including you and your family?

And what would happen if you refused to take it?

I could definitely foresee a day when not having “legal identification” would disqualify you from holding a job, getting a new bank account, applying for a credit card, qualifying for a mortgage, receiving any form of government payments, etc. etc.

At that point, anyone that refused to take a “universal ID” would become an outcast from society.

What the elite want to do is to make sure that everyone is “in the system”. And it is a system that they control and that they manipulate for their own purposes. That is one of the reasons why they are slowly but surely discouraging the use of cash all over the world.

In Sweden, this movement has already become so advanced that they are now pulling ATMs out of even the most rural locations…

The Swedish government abetted by its fractional-reserve banking system is moving relentlessly toward a completely cashless economy. Swedish banks have begun removing ATMs even in remote rural areas, and according to Credit Suisse the rule of thumb in Scandinavia is “If you have to pay in cash, something is wrong.” 

Since 2009 the average annual value of notes and coins in circulation in Sweden has fallen more than 20 percent from over 100 billion to 80 billion kronor. What is driving this movement to destroy cash is the desire to unleash the Swedish central bank to drive the interest rate down even further into negative territory. 

Currently, it stands at -0.35 percent, but the banks have not passed this along to their depositors, because depositors would simply withdraw their cash rather than leave it in banks and watch its amount shrink inexorably toward zero. 

However, if cash were abolished and bank deposits were the only form of money, well then there would be no limit on negative interest rate policy as banks would be able to pass these negative interest rates onto their depositors without adverse consequences. 

With everyone’s wages, salaries, dividends etc, paid by direct deposit into his bank account, the only way to escape negative interest rates would be to spend, spend, spend. 

This, of course, is precisely what the Keynesian economists advising governments and running central banks are aiming at….a pro-cash resistance movement is beginning to coalesce and the head of a security industry lobbying group relates, “I’ve heard of people keeping cash in their microwaves because banks won’t accept it.”

If you aren’t using cash, that means that all of your economic activity is going through the banks where it can be watched, tracked, monitored and regulated.

Every time the elite propose something for our “good”, it somehow always results in them having more power and more control.

I hope that people will wake up and see what is happening. Major moves toward a one world system are taking place right in front of our eyes, and yet I hear very, very few people talking about any of this.

Shock Alert: World Faces Year of Catastrophic Weather from Most Powerful El Nino & La Nina
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
Express
Categories: Contemporary Issues

STAGGERING ocean changes, from El Nino and La Nina threaten global climate chaos for months to come with floods, storms, heavy snow and rapid fluctuations in temperature across Britain and the rest of the world.

Scientists are now certain the powerful El Nino warming of waters off the coast of South America which set in earlier this year will be the strongest for almost 20 years and will have catastrophic knock-on effects around the world including in Britain. 

El Nino is still growing rapidly with a peak forecast around Christmas and latest data suggests it will match the two strongest El Ninos ever recorded in 1997/98 and 1982/83 threatening serious consequences for the UK.

El Nino, which sees ocean temperatures in the eastern Pacific rise due to a change in wind direction, has been linked to colder than average winters in northern Europe.

However the almost unprecedented strength of the event now threatens to throw a spanner in the works next summer.

Scientists warn that rather than recovering to normal values after El Nino peaks this winter, ocean temperatures will make a dramatic swing in the other direction.

The so-called La Nina phenomenon will trigger a reversal of oceanographic conditions leading to a major cool down of the eastern Pacific.

Like its brother El Nino, La Nina - which means The Girl - can have major impacts on climatic conditions around the world.

In the tropics La Nina is linked to wetter than average conditions while in the United States the southeast and central plains are drier than normal with the northwest unusually cold.

In the UK, a particularly strong La Nina threatens to quash any hopes of a decent summer with cold and wet weather associated with the pattern.

Scientists say the exceptional strength of the current El Nino will trigger a’pendulum effect’ with an equally strong La Nina possible.

Dr Nick Klingaman, climate scientist from the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, said temperatures in the east Pacific are currently 2.5C above normal.

He said latest data suggests a maximum rise to 3C is likely to put the event among the three strongest on record.

He said: “This is a very strong event, over the summer in particular we saw a very rapid warming of ocean waters.

One of the Most Dangerous Volcanoes in North America is Roaring to Life
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
End of the American Dream
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Popocatepetl - from Wikipedia

More than 25 million people live in the vicinity of North America’s 2nd-highest volcano, and in recent weeks this volcano has been steadily rumbling and has been spewing out massive amounts of black smoke and ash.  I have previously written about “the most dangerous mountain in the United States” (Mt. Rainier), but if the volcano that I am talking about today experiences a full-blown explosive eruption it could potentially be a cataclysmic event beyond what most of us would dare to imagine.  Popocatepetl is an Aztec word that means “smoking mountain”, and it is also the name of a giant volcano that sits approximately 50 miles away from Mexico City’s 18 million residents.  “Popo”, as it is called by locals, was dormant for much of the 20th century, but it came back to life in 1994.  And now all of this unusual activity in recent weeks has many wondering if a major eruption may be imminent.

Historians tell us that Popocatepetl had a dramatic impact on the ancient Aztecs.  Giant mud flows produced by massive eruptions covered entire Aztec cities.  In fact, some of these mud flows were so large that they buried entire pyramids in super-heated mud.

But we haven’t witnessed anything like that in any of our lifetimes, so it is hard to even imagine devastation of that magnitude.

In addition to Mexico City’s mammoth population, there are millions of others that live in the surrounding region.  Overall, there are about 25 million people that live in the immediate vicinity of Popocatepetl.  Thankfully, we haven’t seen a major eruption of the volcano in modern times, but at some point that will change.

As most of you already know, Mexico sits on the “Ring of Fire” that stretches along the outer rim of the Pacific Ocean.  Over the past couple of years seismic activity throughout this area has started to really heat up, and according to Volcano Discovery there are dozens of volcanoes associated with the Ring of Fire that have recently erupted.

That is why so many people are alarmed about the very unusual activity that we began to see from Popocatepetl starting in mid-September.  The following is from a report that was posted on September 23rd…

Let the Headlines Speak
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
From the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines

One Of The Most Dangerous Volcanoes In North America Is Roaring To Life
More than 25 million people live in the vicinity of North America’s 2nd-highest volcano, and in recent weeks this volcano has been steadily rumbling and has been spewing out massive amounts of black smoke and ash. I have previously written about “the most dangerous mountain in the United States” (Mt. Rainier)....  

What global warming? Antarctic ice is INCREASING by 135billion tonnes a year, says NASA
The US space agency research claims an increase in Antarctic snow accumulation that began 10,000 years ago is "currently adding enough ice to the continent to outweigh the increased losses from melting glaciers.  

SHOCK ALERT: World faces YEAR of CATASTROPHIC weather from most powerful El Nino & La Nina
Scientists are now certain the powerful El Nino warming of waters off the coast of South America which set in earlier this year will be the strongest for almost 20 years and will have catastrophic knock-on effects around the world including in Britain. El Nino is still growing rapidly with a peak forecast around Christmas and latest data suggests it will match the two strongest El Ninos ever recorded....  

Cyclone Chapala in the Arabian Sea Likely to Be Rare, Destructive Landfall in Yemen
Cyclone Chapala is headed for an extremely rare landfall at hurricane strength along the coast of war-torn Yemen late Monday or early Tuesday (mainland U.S. time). While wind damage will be a threat near the point of landfall, the bigger concern will be extremely heavy rainfall in a normally arid region, leading to life-threatening flash floods in a country already suffering a major humanitarian crisis stemming from years of violent conflict.  

Archaeological find in Jerusalem's City of David may answer ancient mystery
IAA excavation directors Dr. Doron Ben-Ami, Yana Tchekhanovets and Salome Cohen, said the discovery has afforded them the unprecedented opportunity to reconstruct the layout of the settlement in the city, on the eve of the Maccabean uprising in 167 BCE.  

GEOMAGNETIC STORM UPDATE
Earth is entering a region of dense and unsettled solar wind. This could be the leading edge of a high-speed solar wind stream originally expected to reach Earth on Nov. 2nd, but now more likely to arrive on Nov. 3rd. NOAA forecasters say a strong G3-class geomagnetic storm is possible during the next 24 hours,  

Small earthquake is measured 17 miles from Bar Harbor
AR HARBOR, Maine — The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude-2.4 earthquake has been measured 17 miles off Bar Harbor.  

Russia steps up push for Syria peace deal, proposes talks
Syrian government officials and members of the country's splintered opposition could meet in Moscow next week as Russia pushes to broker a political solution to the crisis, a senior official said on Tuesday. "Next week, we will invite opposition representatives to a consultation in Moscow," Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.  

ISS Nasa live cam cuts after 'suddenly locking on to mystery glowing UFO'
A UFO hunter claims the ISS camera locked on and zoomed into a “mystery glowing orb”, but after monitoring the ball of light, Nasa cut the live stream... The "Unidentified Flying Object" was visible...between the ISS and Earth, according to Scott C Waring, editor of UFO Sightings Daily... Mr Waring said: "I was watching the space station live cam when I noticed the camera switch to a new camera.  

Al-Qaeda Chief Urges 9/11-Style Attacks In New Audio Message
In a new audio message released late Sunday night, Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri urged 9/11-style attacks against the U.S. and praised a recent spate of stabbing attacks by Palestinians against Israelis. The 16-minute message...features al-Zawahiri calling for attacks against “the West,” especially against the U.S. for its support of Israel.  

Archaeological find in Jerusalem's City of David may answer 100-year-old mystery
A recent discovery by the Israel Antiquities Authority in Jerusalem’s City of David may reveal the answer to one of archaeology's most enduring mysteries: the location of the Greek Acra citadel. The exact location of the famous stronghold built by Antiochus IV, to control Jerusalem and monitor activity on the Temple Mount, has long been unknown due to the paucity of architectural remains...  

After reports of Israeli strikes in Syria, Ya'alon issues warning
Israel will respond with zero tolerance to cross-border artillery fire from Syria, weapons trafficking to terrorists, and the distribution of chemical weapons to terrorists, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Tuesday. ...It was the first reported attack attributed to Israel since Russia began providing air support to the Assad regime and its allies, who are fighting rebels on the ground.  

Border Patrol Joins Quentin Tarantino Boycott
An organization representing over 16,500 male and female border patrol agents are joining in the national police boycott of director Quentin Tarantino. Comments from Tarantino calling cops “murderers” last week have snowballed into the protest of his forthcoming awards hopeful “The Hateful Eight,” which now includes the National Border Patrol Council.  

Egypt Votes for Israel at UN for First Time in 67 Years
For the first time since Egypt voted for the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, the Arab state has voted in Israel’s favor at the United Nations, this time to support Israel’s bid for membership of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Affairs (COPUOS). The bid passed, admitting Israel to the committee, which governs the exploration and use of space for peace, security and development.  

4.4 Earthquake Near Langston
Oklahoma is shaking again. A relatively large, for Oklahoma, earthquake hit just before 11 this morning near Langston in central Oklahoma. The quake was a magnitude 4.4. There have been a few reports of pictures knocked off walls and nick-knacks scattered, but no injuries.  

Strong earthquake hits in Aleutians; no reports of damage
The Alaska Earthquake Center says the magnitude 5.9 temblor struck at 11:15 p.m. Sunday and was centered in the Bering Sea about 140 miles east of Adak or 1,100 miles southwest of Anchorage. A series of quakes measuring between magnitude 5.2 and 4.2 struck in the same area over the next couple hours.  

BAE Systems and Reaction Engines to develop hypersonic space engine
The SABRE is a scramjet. That is, it reduces the propellant load because it acts as a jet while in the atmosphere and a rocket in space, so it doesn't have to carry as much oxygen to burn the liquid hydrogen fuel. It does so at velocities above Mach 5 (4,500 mph, 7,200 km/h) before flying into space....  

EU: No Negotiation With Israel on Settlement Labeling
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
INN
Categories: The Nation Of Israel

EU ambassador adamant there's 'nothing to negotiate' on imminent discriminatory labeling, French ambassador admits political statement.

EU Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen, together with French Ambassador to Israel Patrick Maisonnave, spoke to Arutz Sheva on Tuesday about the impending EU labeling of products from Jews in Judea and Samaria.

Faaborg-Andersen began by saying the decision to label "settlement" produce was made back in 2012, and is now being implemented with an exact start date expected to be announced soon.

When asked about Israeli pressure in response to the discriminatory practice, the EU ambassador said, "it's a technical thing, it's about compliance with our own rules and regulations so there's not so much to negotiate on that."

"It's a strictly legal technical matter which doesn't really lend itself to any kind of negotiation, and I think that's the framework in which it has to be seen, rather than any political move," he added, rejecting the notion of discussing the move with Israel.

Despite his talk of rules and regulations, Dutch European Union MP Bastian (Bas) Belder warned in late September that the labeling breaches international law, in an assessment that was shared by international legal expert Professor Eugene Kontorovich of Northwestern University.

Kontorovich said that the EU was discriminating against Israel by singling it out and ignoring other disputed areas in labeling, such as the Western Sahara, which Morocco is occupying while exporting a large amount of fish products to the EU.

A matter of law?

Maisonnave echoed the EU ambassador, telling Arutz Sheva on Tuesday that the labeling is a matter of implementing law.

"At the end of the day it's a matter of implementation of European law, but also the information that has to be provided to the European consumer," he said.

When asked whether beyond implementation there is not a statement in the move, he acknowledged, "there is a statement, I mean everyone knows the position of the European Union regarding the settlements so it's a kind of consequence of this well-known European position."

When asked about the economic harm that the labeling is anticipated to inflict against Palestinian Arab workers at Jewish factories, Maisonnave stuttered around the question before saying, "if I consider that the role that the products of these settlements play in the Israeli economy, I can imagine it will not harm the Israeli economy much."

The French foreign minister appeared to be trying to play down the economic damage threatened by the move singling out Israeli products from Judea and Samaria, and dismissing its potential impact on Arab workers.

Along the same lines, Faaborg-Andersen said, "it's a question of whether you are talking this up or talking it down, and there the issue is what context do you see it in. We see it in a predominantly technical context and therefore we think that it's really not something that ought to create a major rupture in our relationship (with Israel)."

"That is our point of view, others may have a different point of view, but nevertheless that remains our view."

Regarding the legality of Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria, and consequently the legality of products from there, the 2012 Levy Report proved that Israel's presence in its Biblical heartland is completely legal according to international law.

However, despite being commissioned by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, the coalition government has yet to adopt the report.

Christianity Faces Worldwide Decline
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
Tom Olago
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Is Christianity on its way to becoming extinct? Are Christians everywhere now an ‘endangered species’? This question may have seemed bizarre just a decade or two ago. 

Even today, in numerical terms, Christianity remains the largest faith in the world. Yet, the probability of a major decline in the numbers of Christians worldwide no longer seems so far-fetched, given the rate at which the persecution of Christians and anti-Christian sentiment worldwide is growing. 

Christianity is now developing more regional than global dimensions due to the fact that Christians are being summarily evicted from geographical locations hostile to Christian belief and practice.

Pew Research Centre findings from April 2015 predict that nearly one in three people worldwide (2.9bn) will be Christian in 2015, but affirms the regional shift. It foresees that by 2050, the growth of Christians living in sub-Saharan Africa will have grown 14 percent, while Europe’s share is expected to decline by about 10 per cent.

The most notably affected regions by persecution currently are parts of the Middle East, particularly Syria and Iraq where Christians have been ferociously attacked. 

Africa on the other hand is reported to have suffered a double blow – a high rate of decline in Christian belief and morality from other causes, in addition to terrorist attacks. The terror attacks have been carried out by militant Islamist groups primarily in Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya and Tanzania, and were largely designed to intimidate and destabilize Christians.

According to a new report from the U.K. Catholic group, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Christians are now the most persecuted faith group in the world. The report cites the International Society for Human Rights 2012 report, which estimates that 80 percent of all acts of religious discrimination were against Christians. 

The number of countries where Christians have suffered ‘extreme’ persecution rose from six to 10 in the most recent report, which covers October 2013 through June 2015. All four new countries – Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan and Syria – are ones that saw an upsurge in extremist Islamism.

And with devastating results: Christianity in Iraq, for instance is said to be at risk of dying out in as little as five years, thanks primarily to ISIS. Since they invaded Iraq in 2014, tens of thousands of Christians were forced to flee. Only about 260,000 Christians remain, down from about 1.4 million during Saddam Hussein’s reign. 

The report further highlighted that Christians also suffer when their faith is seen as a ‘colonial, corrupt and exploitative’ foreign import from the West, triggering suspicion from Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist and Jewish nationalists. Totalitarian regimes such as China are threatened by the growth of Christianity because much of it is practiced ‘underground’.

Nineteen of the 22 countries examined in the latest report from ACN were also featured in its 2013 report. Of those 19 countries, the situation for Christians was deemed to ‘worsen’ in 15.

No wonder British Prime Minister David Cameron felt prompted to react by stating: “Every day in countries across the world, Christians are systematically discriminated against, exploited and even driven from their homes because of their faith. Now is not the time for silence. We must stand together and fight for a world where no one is persecuted because of what they believe.”

The decline has not just been in the numbers, either. The standards of the faith have dropped drastically too. Surveys have shown that factors of decline included legal changes manifestly compromising the freedom of Christians, and hate speech, especially in the media. 

Not to mention the fast-encroaching moral and spiritual decay with regards to fundamental Christian doctrine and practice globally, which is ‘the enemy within’ – the other major cause for the implosion of Christianity worldwide. 

Perhaps a good example of this trend would be from ‘Christian America’, where it has been noted for at least several years now that the American church is in serious decline. It has been reported that churches are shrinking, skepticism is growing and apathy about spiritual matters seems to be at an all-time high. 

This has been found to be especially true with regards to the youth, and generally across Evangelicals.

The end results of both the persecution and backsliding of the church worldwide are however effectively the same. The persecutions by expulsion leave little or no witness left for the sustainable spread and growth of the church. 

The backsliding churches, on the other hand, cause more people to reject the true and uncompromised gospel of Jesus Christ. Just what Satan ordered: the overall decline in Christianity, with the hope of eventually eliminating it altogether.

But as Jesus said of His true church, “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18).

Ai Intelligence Coming to a Playroom Near You
Nov 3rd, 2015
Daily News
David Smith
Categories: Contemporary Issues

Almost everyone had at least one toy that they would talk to as a child and imagine the responses from the other side. 

Well, those days might be well and truly in the past as toys loaded with complex AI intelligence are all set to be the biggest rage this holiday season. 

A number of companies, including Mattel, one of the biggest toy companies in the world have embraced technology that will allow the toys to understand, learn about and respond to the children that play with them. 

Mattel has teamed up with ToyTalk to use its proprietary software in their immensely popular Barbie Dolls. 

These dolls will have a button on their belt buckle which starts recording audio and then relays back to company servers to choose intelligently between 8000 responses appropriate for children between 3 and 9. 

These dolls also have the ability to remember where they left off the conversation, whether the child has any siblings or when the child played with the toy last. Prices begin at $74.99 so expect to hear a lot more about them soon.

Another company, Elemental Path is set to release a talking dinosaur which will harness the power of the IBM Watson AI intelligence system. This toy generated a lot of interest on Kickstarter raising close to $275,000 from early backers. 

This gives you an indication of the kind of interest there is out there for such toys. The distinguishing feature of this toy is that it has the ability to learn and adapt to the child over a period of time. Its connection to Watson gives it access to unlimited knowledge and it can package this knowledge to match the cognitive abilities of the child. 

Theoretically, this toy has the capability to 'grow up' with the child.

Google, one of the leaders in AI and home automation also patented similar technology where a teddy bear able to understand voice commands and gestures is at the heart of a sophisticated automated system to monitor your home and its appliances.

While all of this sounds fascinating and will no doubt enthrall a child, as an adult it raises a few alarms. Do you really want your young child to be monitored constantly by an internet connected toy that is learning and recording things that might be stored for years to come in some massive database? 

Legal questions about the privacy of children have already been raised and they bring up some extremely valid points. 

How many times were you told about the impenetrable defense on your credit card/email/social media/healthcare records? 

History has taught us that any database of information is like a treasure trove to hackers, who almost always succeed in breaching security. Even the most secure facilities in the world have experiencd hacking attempts such as the Pentagon and nuclear facilities.

What if the database collecting your child’s data was hacked? Even worse, what if these devices could be hacked for two way communication? 

It may seem like a dampener thinking about everything that could possibly go wrong but we have seen such things happen with other Internet connected devices at home such as TV's and even baby monitors.

Researchers had previously found that the Phillips In.Sight B120 baby monitor had a direct, unencrypted connection to the Internet. That could allow a hacker to watch its video stream online, as well as remotely access the camera itself and change its settings.

There is no doubt that toys are evolving and they are set to get smarter. Any technology takes a few generations to mature and have the kinks worked out and this will be no different. 

Where the privacy and well being of children is concerned, toy companies and parents should tread with caution this Christmas season.


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