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Archives for March 2020

Surveillance and Big Brother

23/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

On December 14, 2019 Annalee Newitz in the New Scientist wrote:

‘Who owns your face? Smart doorbells containing cameras can be fun, but we can’t be sure what pictures of our faces are used for – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg’

Big Brother and Facial Recognition

The data captured by these devices is uploaded to server farms where the data is mined for the ‘better-good’ of the company supplying the device, ‘but also for you’; but does the use of data end there?  The answer is no, for the data can be access with your authority if you own a device by police and other services, and obviously governments are taking a high (low) level interest in this data.

The problem is that the police and other government agencies who access this data will do so and then run facial recognition software, which is currently very unreliable, particularly when it comes to people of colour.  Obviously, the tech companies are working on shortening this gap, and they are thinking outside the box to do so (like Google hiring a contractor to take photographs of the homeless to increase the range of their app)

But it is not just tech companies, it is also governments.  When you have a chance research the deal that the Chinese government struck with the Zimbabwe government to do amass surveillance of the faces of Zimbabweans; and there are other things that the Chinese government have done that really make you despair for the human race and its civil liberties.

Big Brother and CCTV

As a sideline to this article, tucked in a side strip on page seven of the New Scientist, was an article about a DNA site being sold to a firm aiding the police.  The GEDmatch site has more than 1.2 million people and their results stored there, and the US police used this site to trace a suspected serial killer, and this site has been bought by Verogen whose CEO, Brett Williams, stated:

‘…a vision for the site that focuses on solving crimes, not just connecting family members via DNA’

obviously, he and his team foresee a very lucrative market in government and government agency circles.

India has also announced that it wants (intends) to build one of the largest facial recognition systems in the world.  The question must be asked what is the Indian Government’s reason?  Also, considering my note on facial recognition software being unreliable for people of colour, what does this really mean for a country which has major problems inherently with the social groups who live in the country?

Maya Wang at Human Rights watch, said:

…The proposed system won’t just affect privacy, it will have a chilling effect on people’s willingness to exercise other rights, such as freedom of assembly or expression…

In George Orwell’s story “1984” he used the phrase ‘Big Brother is Watching You’.  The phrase referred to the government’ surveillance of the people (by the people and for the people) by a myriad of techniques including listening devices and cameras.  This was reinforced through the use of posters used by the government to reinforce that the government wants complete obedience…

The phrase has since become a symbolic representation of dictators and dictatorial regimes … but people don’t say this phrase outwardly in those regimes!

Now today’s government will site the fact of global terrorism and their need for ‘Big Brother’ techniques to combat, but one must ask at what cost to our rights and civil liberties. Where and what point do we say enough is enough, or will it be too late when we do say it, will the barn door be blown away and the horse long gone?

The European Union is considering banning facial recognition for up to five years, however with Brexit being undertaken by the UK it is more than conceivable that Westminster and all the various government quangos will jump quickly (and quietly) on the band wagon to say they urgently need this technology now that we have to go on our own.  Will this also have an impact on our border relationships with Ireland the border between North and South?

But where did CCTV start?

In October 1942, German engineers led by Wernher von Braun, sat in a remote control watching a television screen and monitored the test of the V2 (the Vergeltungswaffe or “vengeance weapon”.  This control room was situated some 2.5km (1.4 miles) away from the launch pad.  So why is this the birth of CCTV and monitoring ‘Big Brother’ style; from these modest beginnings that monitoring developed to the extent it is today. 

C10/V-2

…the pictures in that control room were the first example of a video feed being used not for broadcasting, but for real-time monitoring, in private – over a so-called “closed circuit”.  Tim Hartford (Jan 2020).

CCTV was the start of what has now developed into an extremely large and lucrative industry for some, and the demolishing of civil liberties for many.

Big Brother
  1. How worried should we be about ‘Big Brother’ technology?
  2. Meadowhall facial recognition scheme troubles watchdog
  3. Who owns your face?
  4. DNA site GEDmatch sold to firm helping US police solve crime

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: CCTV, China

A Bitter Field by Jack Ludlow

14/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

A Bitter Field (Roads to War, #3)A Bitter Field by Jack Ludlow
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Firstly the cover of the book is not exactly enticing, its pale green and shadowy buildings with and imposed black figure is supposed to refer to the hidden world of espionage, but it is more reminiscent of the books and stories from the 20s to the 40s with characters like Bulldog Drummond, or Braddock from The Rover and Wizard!

The story is set just before Czechoslovakia was invaded by Nazi German on 15 March 1939. It is also the phoney war period in which the various European countries were jockeying for position to try and placate Hitler’s demands and to try and stop another World War.

It also supposedly shows the infighting which was happening between the various intelligence divisions inside the United Kingdom, and also that old red herring of an Irish man in a position of power with divided loyalties. The main characters ‘on the side of good’ are Cal Jardine and Per Lanchester, with a lovely lady in the guise of Corrie (a fledgeling journalist).

The story moves from France to London, to Czechslovakia’s main city to the border near to Germany. The action is pedestrian, almost predictable, but for all that you almost get to love the characters for the foibles.

A light read, something to easily pass an afternoon

View all my reviews

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: A bitter Field, Czechoslovakia, Jack Ludlow, Poland, WW2

Mali Morris RA – On Paper

13/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

During my London visit last year I visited the Royal Academy

  • W1S 3ET

for a number of exhibitions, one of which was “Mali Morris RA, ‘On Paper’”.  I love visiting museums and galleries and usually come away feeling refreshed and invigorated.  So, before I discuss the exhibition I thought I would jot down some thoughts on why you may go to exhibitions and art shows:

  • Escaping from life and in particular your office routine
  • A possible chance to network, depending on the exhibition – you often have an opportunity to start talking with someone about the exhibition/piece of art/ prices and this can lead anywhere (or nowhere).
  • The opportunity to expand you’re your horizons and knowledge
  • Maybe you will start (re-start) sketching and painting due to being inspired by pieces in the show, or people you see
  • Ulterior motive – sometimes you can get freebies or a reduction in the price of a piece you like

I could go on analysing and summarising forever, but if nothing else it should be to an opportunity to relax and recharge your batteries.

Now back to the exhibition “Mali Morris RA ‘On Paper’” – the exhibition was located in the Tennant Gallery and a little difficult to locate and get to, but it was worth it!  It contained the artist’s selection of some of her earlier works on paper and highlighted her growing preoccupation with the expressive possibilities of abstraction.

Mali Morris RA

Her piece Saskatchewan [1990] is deceptively simple, almost childlike in construction, and it made me review my own limited pieces in a new light.

Showing alongside her own pieces, are those chosen by her from the RA Collection.  She herself acknowledges that the themes that developed were those of artists doodles and immediacy of first pencil/pen/brush strokes.

Some of her chose items were:

Sir David Wilkie – Study of dancing figures for the ‘The Penny Wedding’

Study of dancing figures for the ‘The Penny Wedding’

Philip Reinagle – A bright pink and white shell’

Reinagle, Philip; A bright pink and white shell; https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/O956 Credit line: (c) Royal Academy of Arts

John Constable – ‘Rainstorm over the Sea’

Constable, John; Rainstorm over the Sea; https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/O1841 Credit line: (c) (c) Royal Academy of Arts / Photographer credit: John Hammond /

As a lover of pen and ink drawings, which can be as simplistic or as intricate as you can image, this is a wonder exhibition to get the juices (and your drawing fingers) working.

L0027998 A skeleton and its shadow. Pen and ink drawing by Joyce Cutl Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org A skeleton and its shadow. Pen and ink drawing by Joyce Cutler Shaw, 1992. Pen and Ink 1992 By: Joyce Cutler ShawPublished: 1992 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

If it is still around then please do make an effort to go and see it – and also enjoy everything else on offer.

Filed Under: Editor to ACOMSDave Tagged With: John Constable, Mali Morris, motivation, Royal Academy

Meltdown – a sense of danger

11/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Meltdown. Andy McNab and Robert Rigby by Robert Rigby

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My book reviews end to be short and direct. I feel that reading the book yourself is the best review. This series of books is aimed at the teenage market but equally stands up for the adult one with a small bit of latitude.

Meltdown refers to a new designer drug which is flooding the market and not only will cause a meltdown of those who take the drug but could well lead to the meltdown of society. This has been an interesting series to follow and read, as we follow the story of Danny and his grandfather, Fergus Watts. Danny’s youthfulness being initially curbed by his grandfather, and then the relationship slowly changes its dynamics as Danny ‘grows up’ and matures. He still has his moments of youthfulness even in this last story, but you do love him as a character more for that, and the ending has a definite twist in it.



View all my reviews

Meltdown - a sense of danger

Filed Under: Community Journalist

The Art of Persuasion

10/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Since I have been a small boy I have had a fascination with espionage (in particular codes and cyphers) which these days have turned into novels and non-fiction books on espionage. I also developed a fascination with camouflage because as I was building model first warplanes and setting them in dog-fights they had to be camouflaged. and this also carried over into models of naval ships. The Art of Persuasion drew immediately when I saw the advertisement of the exhibition because it was about an area I loved in history, and also it would enable me to visit The British Army Museum, which I had never been to before.

I was not disappointed with the museum, it was well apportioned, light and easily accessible with many areas to view covering the history for the British soldier from the Zulu Wars to Northern Ireland to the latest sorties.

  • Paul Mason
  • National Army Museum

I revelled in everything presented and will be going back in future visits to London. It also has a lovely restaurant and scrumptious meals.


So where is this leading, well the link may seem tenuous, but last year I was extremely fortunate to be able to go to the National Army Museum’s exhibition ‘The Art of Persuasion’.

Where is the link you may ask, well whether it espionage or camouflage you are seeking to persuade someone about something, and the exhibition ‘The Art of Persuasion: Wartime Posters by Abram Games’ does exactly the same. However, in this case, it is being used as Lisa Broe has stated as:
⦁ an information source
⦁ to provide entertainment (movies, magazines, television, etc.)
⦁ to provide global awareness
⦁ as an educational source
⦁ to shape our knowledge and opinions
⦁ as an advertisement

The Art of Persuasion

The exhibition explored the life and legacy of designer Abram Games and focused on his time as an ‘Official War Poster Artist’ during the Second World War and the impact he had on peoples lives then, and subsequently even on our lives today.

Games was inspired by many things, but in particular by his Jewish heritage, his experiences as a soldier, the politics which he had experienced and was experiencing, and by his need to:
⦁ recruit
⦁ educate
⦁ influence servicemen and women
⦁ influence civilians from all walks of life

This exhibition showed how Games techniques enabled communication effectively, and covered from his stark imagery and visual puns to the airbrush techniques which were so innovative at that time ( and still are).

A book on the work of Abram Games, written by his daughter, [Naomi Games] makes for an (at least for me) riveting read.

Abram Games: His Wartime Work  by Naomi Games (link to Amazon)

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: Abram Games, Museum. Art, Naomi Games, National

Renaissance Nude

09/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

In 2019 I was fortunate to be able to view the Royal Academy (London) exhibition of the Renaissance Nude which brought together pieces of art to trace the development of the nude through some of the great masters:

  • Titian
  • Raphael
  • Michelangelo
  • Leonardo
  • Durer
  • Cranach

The exhibition was a triumph; not because you got a chance to view nudes, but because it was an opportunity to compare the development of the concept of the nude through a period of history which for many is seen as the development of Art!

The range of styles and of brilliance was staggering, and I came away from the exhibition looking for more insights into techniques, and into the hsitory of the various artists.

Renaissance Nude

“Kenneth Clark declared that if nude bodies don’t provoke erotic pleasure in the viewer, they have failed as art. “

There are an amazing number of items on YouTube and on the net which discuss nudes, indeed the explosion of the internet has been built around the provision of all elements of nudes as porn – something that our current government would like to regulate against – to use an old phrase, ‘fat chance’, the genii is out of the bottle now!

Genii out of the bottle - Renaissance Nude
  • Evening Standard – The Renaissance Nude Review
  • ZCZFilms – Renaissance Nudes at the Royal Academy

This is a travelling exhibition, having made its way across the Atlantic from the Getty Museum, it does as the Evening Standard alludes to have some problems in terms following the linear historical route, and in all probability some pieces should have been included in the exhibition. The Renaissance Nude was a wonderful production, and I urge you to see it if you are in a city where it is on show.

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: Getty Museum, Nude., Renaissance

Heart Health

02/03/2020 By ACOMSDave Leave a Comment

Last month where I work dedicated the whole month to make people aware of how to look after their heart

Heart
The Heart Not Working

Heart disease is dependent on two factors:-

  • non-modifiable risk factors
  • modifiable risk factors

Modifiable risk factors include elements that we cannot change such as age, family history and ethnicity. Modifiable risk factors include:-

  • Type Two Diabetes
  • High Cholesterol
  • Tobacco
  • Excessive alcohol
  • Overweight
  • High Blood Pressure

What can you do about it? Look into these steps:-

  • Get a regular check-up with your doctor
  • Be active – 150 minutes of good activity per week – build it up in blocks daily
  • Quit smoking – get help to stop!
  • Eat a nutritional, balanced diet. If you need help, ask your doctor to refer you to a support group
Heart

Filed Under: Community Journalist Tagged With: health, Heart

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