thenotsomightyom

Thanks to Macaully Moffat and the Argus for the Headline.

Passengers arriving at Gatwick Airport can now pass through the eGates without showing their passports. This is because facial recognition cameras are in place and can even be used by children aged 8 and over making it easier for whole families to go through as long as they don’t have toddlers or babies.

The director of Border Force is very happy as it speeds up the process of people going through the gates as well as maintaining Security.

Under the new process passengers will have their photo taken at the eGate, they system will then compare the live image to official records , allowing entry without the need to show their passport. Though it is recommended that they carry their passport with them and be ready to show it if necessary.

The new system is part of wider efforts to modernise the UK border, as outlined in the government’s Immigration White Paper. ( Sorry must have missed that one).

Other recent updates include the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)scheme which helps officials identify potential security risks before travel.( I wonder how many people work in that department?)

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Facial recognition cameras serve a useful purpose and their use by the Police and should be quite clearly marked in areas where they are being used in mass demonstrations.

However, a Freedom of Information Request by ” Liberty” has ascertained that a local Council as 130 Cameras that have the software in them to be used for Facial Recognition. The Council say that only one of these Camera’s is used and that is in the Town Hall and it only has one subject on the camera’s watchlist.

Liberty say that these type of “watchlists” should be made public and that it is everyone’s right to know if they are on one , which seems fair.

I suppose the only problem is people covering their faces when near the cameras, so the facial recognition cannot work. Though this by it’s very nature makes them more likely to be spotted.

The benefits in using this technology far outweigh the negatives for example, where cameras can be used for supporting a Police Investigation or assisting with a missing person enquiry. I assume the technology does not need to be “live” but can be used where there is CCTV film footage to be reviewed.

In “live usage” by the Police watchlists are created 24 hours before the deployment in well signposted areas , they are not continuously running in the background.

Thank you for Iolo Cheung and BBC News Online for the Headline

Perhaps this behaviour is generally people not behaving at work they way they do at home, which I suppose we really should be grateful for. The article pertains to Wales , but I think it applies anywhere where you get a group of people gathered together in a place of work.

I have personal experience of this ( Not in Wales) having watched youngsters in their first job, some not so sure of the whys and wherefores, some thinking why am I here? Suddenly not doing what your told becomes a game and there’s always someone else who will clear the mess up. So food waste goes in the plastic recycling and general waste , “well what is general and how am I suppose to know what is recyclable?” “At home they probably don’t go anywhere near a bin anyway.

However the Charity “Wrap” has came up with some figures and we could all do better. One Company got rid of “personal desk bins” and reduced their wheelie bin collections from 6 to 1 a week. Messy workers. It was actually food waste that was the biggest reduction. Of course the Welsh’s government’s Workplace Recycling Law may have helped in 2024.

Interestingly enough “Wrap” say the worst recyclers are the Universities and students, so again I think the rule of young people letting their new found freedom go to their heads plays a part.

Actually recycling is quite fun and it is definitely worth doing , what happens to the waste is I hope positive too. Although that is another story.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Alys Davies and Alba Morgade and BBC News Online for the Headline.

Very sad to read that Maricarmen Abascal, the Madrid resident who was evicted from her flat that she had called “home” for the last 70 years has passed away in hospital.

She wanted more than anything to stay in her home and instead was subject to law courts and a media circus, which focused on her predicament.

May she rest in Peace now .

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏