Nov. 15th, 2014

jazzy_dave: (Default)
Following on from the radio programme another discussion on Free Speech via the O.U. website -

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/free-speech
jazzy_dave: (Default)
Another philosophic problem is posed in this article about technology and trust again from the wonderful Open Learn website -

http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/philosophy/technology-and-trust

Why don't people trust technology?

The transcript -

Insidiously our lives have been regulated, monitored. Glass lenses watch impassively as we move about our daily lives, recording, noting all. Computers compile dossiers of where we live and how we spend our money.

Our letterboxes fill with unsolicited pamphlets, our names and addresses sold to mailing lists across the country. We can’t even browse our favourite web pages without the data being recorded and kept. How can we have trust in a society where our lives are being monitored by technology to such a huge degree?

The increased use of CCTV surveillance cameras has been, we are assured, for public safety. But what does this surveillance of our personal movement say about trust in our society? Do we need such a level of transparency to ensure public safety?

Surely, as Onora O’Neill argues, increased surveillance lowers the level of trust, and increases suspicion - the antithesis of trust. Do we have the right to go about our private business without this level of suspicion?

The implication is that we are no longer trustworthy, guilty before the act. If you have something to hide, then you must be guilty. Where does privacy sit in this transparent society? Is privacy a fundamental human right?

The alternative view is that surveillance cameras are able to furnish the authorities with images that identify criminals. Surveillance then, is useful in investigation, may act as a deterrent, but is unable to actively prevent crime.

What use privacy, when it gets in the way of solving crime? If we are to police our increasingly complex society, surely we should use all of the help we can get? Surveillance is merely a tool, and is used by responsible authorities for the public good. Privacy is irrelevant if you don’t have anything to hide.

The problem, it appears, is that the public is becoming increasingly suspicious of the authorities and their use of the information that we often give away unknowingly in the course of our daily lives.

The increasing use of computer databases to store personal information, and then the sharing and indeed the selling of this information by authorities and organisations has outraged many. We provide this information for the purpose of a transaction, and it is a breach of trust if this information is passed on.

With computer data tracking, it is possible to follow a credit or loyalty cardholder’s purchases, and from this information, target marketing to an individual’s spending habits. It is possible to know who you are, where you live, what you buy, if you’ve ever defaulted on a payment, ever had a motor vehicle incident - the list is endless.

Similar technology is used on the Internet, with the use of server-side applications, cookies and databases. Information on how you arrived at a particular web page, whether you have visited before (and how often), who you are, and what other pages you have been to can easily be obtained.

Do we really want other people to know our browsing habits? Do we want this sort of information to be available on the open market? The internet is even being used to broadcast CCTV cameras world wide, so it’s not only our browsing habits that are monitored.

The threat to privacy has been partly addressed by the UK’s 1998 Data Protection Act, which outlines what is meant by personal data, and the latest laws relating to the collecting, possession and distribution of data. It makes interesting reading, and illustrates the extent to which personal data has been used up until now.

One of the fundamental questions that arises from this law is - who is going to enforce it, and how? Do we trust our governments to follow up this type of legislation and not to use these technologies to oppress or manipulate us, or to promote certain private interests?

Technology is changing so rapidly that governments and legislation are struggling to keep up. The next change in technology will doubtless bring many benefits to consumers, but at what cost? Are we giving away our right to privacy, the right to lead our lives without the eyes of government and commerce on us?

Governments need to be particularly careful in the management of personal data and the level of surveillance on the populace. If the government cannot trust the people, then how can the people trust the government?

A breakdown of trust will lead to the breaking of the social contract, which in turn could lead to a primitive yet post-apocalyptic society. It’s a sobering thought, but at least then we will know which of the great philosophers is right about the extent of human beings' natural trust in each other.

Eroica

Nov. 15th, 2014 12:57 am
jazzy_dave: (Default)
And finally, with a nod and a thanks to [livejournal.com profile] swordznsorcery the movie based on the creative genius of Beethoven and his third symphony "Eroica"..

"Genesis of Beethoven's Symphony No 3, the Eroica.
Staring Ian Hart as Beethoven in this film of the first performance of the Eroica Symphony.
BBC television film that dramatises the performance of Beethoven's third symphony - Eroica.
Conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner (one of the world's foremost Beethoven experts) with the Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique .

Executive Producer and Head of BBC Classical Music Peter Maniura says:
"Beethoven's revolutionary Third Symphony, The Eroica, burst upon an unsuspecting world in the summer of 1804.

Cast:

Ian Hart — Ludwig van Beethoven
Tim Pigott-Smith — Count Dietrichstein
Jack Davenport — Prince Franz Lobkowitz
Fenella Woolgar — Princess Marie Lobkowitz
Claire Skinner — Countess Josephine von Deym
Lucy Akhurst — Countess Teresa von Brunswick (Josephine's sister)
Frank Finlay — Joseph Haydn
Leo Bill — Ferdinand Ries
Peter Hanson — Wranitzky (leader of the orchestra in the film and of Orchestre Revolutionnaire et Romantique)
Robert Glenister — Gerhardt (one of the prince's servants)
Anton Lesser — Sukowaty (Beethoven's copyist)."



Enjoy, and good night.
jazzy_dave: (Default)
Big thanks to [livejournal.com profile] cmcmck for posting a Sandy Denny tune the other day. She was, along with, Maddy Prior , one of my favourite female folk singers.Denny was once part of Fairport Convention singing on their Liege and Lief album but stayed with the band only briefly during 1969, and then went solo to concentrate on her own career.

Sandy Denny by David Bailey 1972 wiki.jpg

She died tragically in 1978.
Denny was injured when she fell down a staircase and hit her head on concrete. Following the incident, Denny suffered from intense headaches; a doctor prescribed her the painkiller Distalgesic, a drug known to have fatal side effects when mixed with alcohol. On 1 April, several days after the fall, Denny performed a charity concert at Byfield. On 13 April, concerned with his wife's erratic behaviour and fearing for his daughter's safety, Trevor Lucas left the UK and returned to his native Australia with their child, leaving Sandy without telling her.

On 17 April, Denny collapsed and fell into a coma while at friend Miranda Ward's home. Four days later, she died at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon. Her death was ruled to be the result of a traumatic mid-brain haemorrhage and blunt force trauma to her head.

I still miss her wonderful voice having seen her live once in 1975.

So here is a track with Fairport Convention called Farewell Farewell.




Plus rare footage  from 1975,of her with the band and a track called White Dress.


Enjoy.
jazzy_dave: (Default)
Does any LJ friend want any rain? We have buckets of the stuff today. I am trying to get over to Deal to do a mystery shop and it looks like the only one i will be able to get done. Sevenoaks and Tonbridge will have to wait till next Saturday. Sigh!
jazzy_dave: (Default)
Whenever i pass a Waterstones i am compelled to investigate. I am drawn like a magnet to it, much like my brother. Today in Canterbury i succumbed and bought a paperback, used my loyalty points , so that it only cost me £1.24.

The book is this in the wonderful great ideas series from Penguin.

.

I then took the bus to Deal to my chairty shop visit , and ended up with these two books and a couple of CD's.





The CD's were £1.99 each. So,all in all, a very good deal in Deal. In particular finding this great jazz classic! John Coltrane at his most sublime.
jazzy_dave: (Default)
A bit of quality modal jazz from John Coltrane and his version of My Favourite Things.



Enjoy.
jazzy_dave: (Default)
Latest pic of Riley the cat.(from bro)

riley2

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