Her - Man falls in love with his Operating System

On Wednesday I went to see "her" on the cinema. I was eager to see this movie because I really enjoyed another movie of the same filmaker, Spike Jonze, "Being John Malkovich", which I found so weardly funny and thus very unique. Then I expected a lot from this new movie, "Her", and I was not disappointed!

"Her" is a very touching, surprising yet believable love story about a man with his computer program ("Samantha"), played by the sensual voice of Scarlett Johanson.

As the "relationship" between Theodore Twombly and Samantha is growing, I found myself forgetting that "Samantha'(Scarlett Johanson) is not human, that she is an operating system. I really had to remind me that, but the acting is so good that it really makes you believe in this odd love story.

But for me the main subject of the movie was not love or even a debate about artificial intelligence. It was about loneliness and melancholy. About the kind of craziness that can appear after a hard breakup. In this movie the main character -played by Joaquin Phoenix- loses touch with reality and you can see that it is sorrow and loneliness that makes him first fall for this operating system.

In addition to this interesting psychologic issue, there's a bit of nice fantasy that reminded me of the crazy "Being John Malkovitch" movie... Spike Jonze shows us there is a thin line between human emotions and an operating system made to evolve, learning from experience and adapting to our needs and personnality, and puts the doubt in our mind about the real nature of "Samantha". How far can we control this intelligent and continuously growing system?

I strongly recommend you this movie, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it ;) !

"Her" official Trailer

P.S: I realize this is a bit off topic for african news, but I'm sure you'll forgive me ;)

Semlex presentation : short version

Africa's Youth, new Target for Cigarettes Dealers

Times are tough for cigarettes dealers in Europe. Prevention and prohibitions make it harder and harder for them to attract new smokers. Awareness is growing, we are more aware than ever about the dangers of smoking. Nevertheless there are still a great deal of smokers left -it is still seen as cool when you begin to smoke young, to show everyone you are grown up and show off in front of your friends-, but it seems it is not enough for cigarettes dealers, who have already found a new market to conquer: Africa. More precisely, Africa's Youth.


Africa's teenagers and children, are indeed not very protected by law in most african countries. For example, in Kenya there are no prohibition against advertising for smoking and packs of cigarettes have not come to the crazy prices reached in Europe. 

Agressive marketing

In addition to the regular adverts found in the streets, cigarettes dealers use many strategies to promote tobacco in Africa.

Cigarettes dealers have come further by creating few years ago "kiddie packs", who contain less cigarettes and are thus cheaper and affordable for younger smokers: 

Kiddie packs 

It is in fact interesting to know that Marlboro and other tobacco brands tried to distribute these "kiddie packs" in Europe, but some countries like Poland have hopefully banned packs that contain less than 20 cigarettes.

In Guinea, you can find beautiful "cigarette girls" who work to appeal new customers in nightclubs and other public spaces.

Young people, a weak target

Medical researchs showed that young people are more enclined to become addicted, because their bodies need less cigarettes than adults to develop an addiction.
The other problem is that teenagers and children are easely influenced by adverts, and since they are not forbidden in many african countries (Kenya, Senegal), young people are surrouded by them.

More pictures of cigarettes'ads in Africa here

Also, in countries where children suffer from malnutrition, some use cigarettes to quiet hunger pain.

South Africa, an example

South Africa is an example of country where the governement has been more involved to protect people from cigarettes addiction. Indeed it is forbidden to smoke in public areas, and on packs are written the "Smoking Kills" warnings seen on every single pack in Europe. 

But still there is a lot to achieve in some countries like Kenya for organisations such as the "International Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids" to prevent children from smoking. 
You can check out their campaign, wich I find very well done, just here! 

Thanks for reading, don't hesitate to share this!



Main Source: Ravi JaiPaul, "Tabac: Les industriels à l'assaut de la jeunesse africaine", in Think Africa Press, 7th February 2014.
Other interesting articles: / in Scope, "Menthol sweetens the poison, attracks more young smokers". /In Mail Online: "Marlboro accused of encouraging teenagers to smoke (...)".
Additinal Web Sources: "Protection of Minors",  Trinket&Trash

*Music news*

Singer Mansa Solo

Source: Koaci

This week I found two nice artists you can check out on youtube: 

The Kenian duo Kanana and Rabbit with the hit song "Ni Mapenzi Tu":

The other one, Mansa Solo, with "Enfant de l'Indénié" is definitely my favourite. He offers us a soft, positive sound with lyrics about love, tolerance and sharing.

Another palm oil project in Cameroon

We all know the problem about palm oil's exploitation, which destroys palm trees- home of differents species like chimpanzees and elephants. It has already destroyd the house of many orangutans in Borneo.

Furthermore, palm oil is not very healthy. Just picture a big jar of Nutella left on the sun: the mouth-watering oil on the top is palm oil. Is it worth the extinction of beautiful species?

Picture: Distroyed rainforest

Greenpeace's new goal is to stop the deforestation of Cameroon rainforest, planned by an american company, Herakles Farms. The company wants to tear down the rainforest for its palm oil project, threatening species living there but also villagers.

Source: Greenpeace

So if you feel concern, you can send an email to the CEO of Herakles Farms (the email is pre-written by Greenpeace, but you can of course add your personnal touch to it): just click on this link!

Picture: Orangutan boxed in,  Say no to palm oil

If you want to avoid palm oil, take into account that it is founded in many everyday life products like baked goods, biscuits, cosmetics, body products like moisturisers and cleaning agents.

So next time you hesitate to buy a Nutella jar, think about him:

...and choose something healthier.

Picture: Say no to palm oil

Christina Aguilera saving Rwanda

I was amazed by the lattest Christina Aguilera's news: apparently she just went to Rwanda to feed starving children but above all, make them enjoy her beautiful voice...

I recommend you to watch the video first to make your own opinion:

I think it is pretty sad to see how people can't make a selfless good deed nowadays... She could have help Rwanda withouth making all this fuss about it and make a simple video talking about the real problems of the country: because in this video, the main thing we learn is that Christina Aguilera is such a good singer and generous human being. Very important, right? The video is really made for the singer's own glory.

The other strange fact we learn is that The World Food Program's amazing plan is to feed poor countries with really odd partners: KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurants. So for americans, junk food seems to be the best answer to world's hunger. Don't think it is a marketing decision, no! It is only generosity ;)...

Image: Youtube.com

Before you go, don't forget Christina's simple message: "Together, we can end world hunger!"

Biometrics in Africa - followed by an interview: the uses of biometrics in Semlex

Africa is now at the leading edge of technology with the introduction of biometric official documents in many countries. Mozambique, Gabon, Comoros islands and Guinea-Bissau (to name a few) are now using biometric passports and biometric identity cards. These official documents content personal data and also the owner’s fingerprints, which are unique and thus impossible to copy.

Semlex created the BNS,

 a large database of biometric information which can be used in many fields.

The company producing biometric documents for those countries is Semlex Group, a company based in Brussels. Semlex Group is specialized in biometric identification systems and the realization of passports, identity cards, visas and other official documents (driving licenses, work permits, etc.) equipped with electronic and biometric security.

Albert Karaziwan, Semlex's CEO

Semlex works with governments and offers them highly secured documents equipped by many security features. A biometric passport’s authenticity can be verified by many features such as UV fibers, paper with specific characteristics, watermark, optically variable ink (OVI), Anti scan/copy patterns, and many more.  

The belgian company has now produced official documents for many countries in Africa: DR of Congo, Gabon, Comoros, Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, and attends Interpol's General Assembly every year.

Countries in Africa in which Semlex introduced biometric identification systems

Semlex Group is currently working in Mozambique, producing biometric visas, e-passports, residence permit for foreigners, national identity cards and biometric border control, all this assuring security at a large scale of the country. The whole project in Mozambique can be seen in a movie, displaying a complete solution from the production of the identity documents in europe until the delivery in Mozambique: ---> See full movie here <--- 

Interview: Ralph Hajjar, commercial engineer at Semlex Group

Ralph Hajjar is working at the Semlex group as a commercial engineer since 2003. In this interview, he explains the different uses of biometrics, and how it brings security to official documents. He then tells us about the company Semlex’s current work in Africa and new projects with governments.

Interviewer: Mr. E. Figaro (blogger)

Interviewee: Mr. R. Hajjar (Semlex Group)

EF: How does the company Semlex differentiates itself from other companies on the security documents market?

RH: We propose complete solutions, a long-term project from the conception until the delivery of the complete system, followed by the monitoring of the project until the end of the contract. This includes the opening of offices on territories, the training of new employees and the constant production of documents provided by our technicians. And more importantly, we respond to the needs of our customers.

EF: How does the BNS System created by Semlex work? How does it strengthen the security of identity documents?  

R.H.: “BNS” means Biometric Network System. We chose that term to describe the centralization of biometric data in a national server in which each individual has a unique identification number, which will follow him all his life. All official documents –ID, passport, driver license and so on- are created on the basis of this identification number, the fingerprint of the individual and his personal informations. We are currently moving to a new generation of software, the “Web AFIS” [Automated Fingerprints Identification System], which uses fingerprints to recognize individuals.

Biometric e-passport of Mozambique ®Semlex Group

In what ways does the system AFIS differentiates itself from the former system, the BNS?

It is more complete. It will allow us to adapt to each service and project in particular. In comparison, the BNS System is less easily adaptable to each country’s needs, we can do it but it requires more effort than with the AFIS System. So now we are creating a new software with new technologies, new writing techniques easier to handle. The goal is to make the system simpler and more efficient.

“All official documents (…) are created on the basis of [an] identification number, fingerprints and the civilians’ personal informations.”

Except the countries in which you already work [Senegal, Kenya and Nigeria for example], where are your new projects located?

In Mozambique. This is more than just a project, it is a whole program that was established in partnership with the Government of Mozambique. This is an agreement we had with the State to supply a complete identification system. This identification system includes the creation of a unique identification number: each person who will be introduced in our system will have a folder created with the number of his province, his district, and its unique number identification. From this number, the biometric ID card is edited and then the passport can simply be produced on the basis of the identity card. Besides that, we also deal with the migration service in Mozambique. We related the foreigner’s database and the identity cards database to verify that there are no foreigner’s attempts to have an identity card illegally. We also produce biometric residence permits for foreigners, and have created a system of visa delivery at the airport. Semlex also set up a system of border control for inputs and outputs at the airport. This is a system that reads Mozambican and foreign documents and records the passage of individuals by taking their fingerprints and photo.

Did you already use the Border Control System in other countries?

Yes we have, for instance we just installed it in Comoros. The first border control installed by Semlex was in Gabon. The one we use now in Mozambique has important features dealing with the registry of all civilians and the registration of passages of all people. For instance when someone crosses the border for the first time, he is registered and if when he will come back we will find him in the database using the fingerprints recognition, even if he presents himself with another passport. This prevents from identity theft. We also set up a “watch list” of wanted persons –for example someone who stole a passport- using information we have about the criminal (photo, fingerprints or the stolen passport’s number).

“Semlex takes all the [financial] risks, even in countries economically unstable.”

What type of funding is proposed to governments by Semlex?

Semlex’s business model is a bit different than others’ companies, because we do not seek to only sell a solution to our customers and then leave then. The idea is that since we are offering systems which are difficult to manage without training, we propose to follow projects from beginning to end. Thus we propose to governments 5 to 10-year projects with quality material assurance and mostly, we propose to finance the whole project. So in this type of contract, the State doesn’t invest money and receives a part of the revenue. Semlex takes all the risks, even in countries economically unstable. For us the most important is not the cost of the project, it is the result.

How is your staff composed in the different African countries?

There are two types of staff. First we have the State’s operators of the country in question. Those people are paid by the State, and trained by us to use Semlex’s equipment. Then there is the staff from Semlex team working on the spot in different countries. For example, in Mozambique we count 25 Semlex’s employees. In this vast country –about 3000 km-long- we have a lot of missions where we have to ensure the maintenance of services -500 machines through the 11 Mozambican provinces.

 Do you train local people for you projects in Africa? Do you create jobs?

Yes, and mostly in Mozambique, which is currently our major project. In all our projects, it is important to us to transmit an expertise, to train people.

This interview was translated by kind authorization of the author E. Figaro, blogger for “Nouvelles d’Afrique”

Portuguese translation also available here

Other Sources: Dailymotion, Slideshare, Biometric News, Interpol.