Features

About My Mother
Tahar Ben Jelloun
Translated by Ros Schwartz and Lulu Norman
London: Telegram, 2016
Pp. 247 

First published in French in 2008, this is Moroccan author Tahar Ben Jelloun’s account of the time spent with his mother in her last years (2000-2007), but that is only half the story. Parallel to his own thoughts and feelings, he records the memories of childhood, marriage and family which she imparts as he sits by her bedside. 

By devoting his eloquent prose to his mother, he constructs a memoir of her life, his own childhood and a perspective on Morocco’s past that might otherwise have been lost, for Lalla Fatma was illiterate. Plus, there were many things of which she had never spoken before due to social convention and her desire to smooth relations with others. 

Mother and son seem so opposite: she, who had no public life, lived totally within the parameters of family and neighbourhood, and never left Morocco; he, a world renown author living in Europe, travelling widely, and writing about unconventional topics. Yet, “About My Mother” reveals just as much about what they share: a common background in Moroccan customs, a very strong mother-son bond and an intuitive understanding of one another, no matter how different their worldviews and life styles became. 

As Ben Jelloun describes his mother, “She’s uneducated but not uncultured, she has her own culture, religious beliefs, values and traditions”. (p. 10)

“Mother’s revisiting my childhood. Her memory’s been toppled, lies scattered over the damp floor. Time and reality are out of kilter”. (p. 1)

Despite having lived in Tangier for decades, Lalla Fatma thinks she is still in post-war Fez, her birthplace and that of her children. She has erased the death of her last husband and talks to the dead, but vividly remembers how a woman noticed her at the hammam and engaged her mother in conversation with the intent of finding a wife for her son. Lalla Fatma was only 15 and still playing with dolls, but this encounter led to the first of three marriages in which she outlived her husbands and had four children, Ben Jelloun being the youngest.

The narrative also covers the time of resistance to French colonialism and the post-colonial opposition to regime repression in the 70s, which led Ben Jelloun to immigrate to France, and made his mother fear that his writing would land them all in trouble. 

Love, respect and anguish permeate this memoir, as does Ben Jelloun’s elegant, perceptive prose. One feels one has discovered a key source of the author’s descriptive powers for some of his mother’s ruminations are quite poetic. There is minimal medical information but more about how she perceives her declining health and memory loss. “All these dead people flitting around in my head! It must be the diabetes, it must be all the pills I’ve been taking for such a long time…” (p. 14)

She does not fear death but is plagued by boredom and the fear of being totally dependent on others. 

Gradually, sadness and distress take hold of the author in the face of his mother’s decline, her bodily failures, increasing incoherence and final retreat into silence — she who had always cared about her appearance, who had loved light and gathering her family to cook for them. Now, her greatest wish is that they will all be with her at her death, and Ben Jelloun does his best to honour that wish.

He also understands and honours her wish to stay in her own home, even though this involves many hassles, including dealing with a loyal but ornery caretaker who is both Lalla Fatma’s best friend and greatest enemy. All this leads to some introspection: “when the person you love goes missing and time stretches and disintegrates, you look at your own shattered image in that unreliable mirror and scrabble around for happy moments, hoping to fill these cracks in the soul and salvage words from this agonising confusion”. (p. 182)

It also leads him to ponder the differences between Europe and Morocco regarding care of the elderly, writing of Westerners’ propensity to place their parents in old people’s homes: “They blame lack of space, lack of time. They take refuge in easy selfishness, which these same parents will pass on to their children: the wheel keeps turning in the eternal cycle of a modernity that will sacrifice old people even as it seeks to prolong their life expectancy. This paradox is the inevitable result of a society in which the only values celebrated and protected are those of the market”. (p. 52)

Writing this book was surely not an easy task because of the conflicting emotions involved, but one can be glad that Ben Jelloun was up to it. His beautiful, honest account can provide comfort and guidance for an experience that most will go through at some time or another. Amazingly, in such a context, his writing is full of compassion, but devoid of sentimentality.

NEW YORK — Just one year after he catapulted into the ranks of top pop stars, The Weeknd has returned with a sprawling new album in which his silky voice goes into steamier territory.

“Starboy”, the third studio album by the Toronto singer, stretches for 18 songs plus an accompanying short film and is full of star collaborations including with the elusive French electronic duo Daft Punk.

The album came out Friday, almost exactly a year after the artist whose real name is Abel Tesfaye released his breakthrough “Beauty Behind the Madness”, which topped the charts through mega-hits such as “Can’t Feel My Face”.

As evidenced by his quick and voluminous return, the 26-year-old has no shortage of ideas for his latest album with tracks that take cues from hip hop to 1980s New Wave.

But the album’s overall vibe is steaminess, as if “Starboy” takes place in a packed but chilled-out nightclub in the early hours of the morning.

The Weeknd’s defining trait remains his celebrated voice, strong yet smooth with a comfortable falsetto. On the tracks such as “Secrets”, The Weeknd also shows his ease at lower ranges.

“Starboy” marks the highest-profile project by Daft Punk since the duo, long-time leaders of the French house scene, won worldwide mainstream acclaim with the 2013 album “Random Access Memories”.

Daft Punk injects a heavy bass that drives the title track and closes the album with a retro R&B feel on “I Feel It Coming” — a track that reinforces the oft-noted vocal similarities between The Weeknd and Michael Jackson.

While Daft Punk is only credited as featured collaborators on the two tracks, the French duo’s influence can be heard throughout “Starboy” with its embrace of audio filters and a minimalist production that emphasises beats and The Weeknd’s voice rather than synthetic effects.

The Weeknd said he had become friends with Daft Punk’s Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and went into the duo’s studio in Paris, with the three men experimenting with sounds and recording the two songs in just a few days.

The Weeknd said it had always been on his “bucket list” to work with the “enigmatic and mysterious” members of Daft Punk, who never appear in public outside of their robotic disguises.

“I was definitely inspired by that at the beginning of my career because nobody knew how I looked as well,” he told Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio.

The Weeknd, who grew up with humble means as the son of Ethiopian immigrants, made his name by posting recordings on YouTube, winning fame online despite his anonymity.

‘Homeless to Forbes list’

The quick earning of riches is much on the mind of The Weeknd, who topped the Forbes magazine list of top-grossing celebrity newcomers of 2016 with $55 million earned.

Much of the lyricism on the album recalls braggadocio rap as The Weeknd — or perhaps his alter ego “Starboy” — lists off the money he earns, the cars he drives and the women he woos.

“Homeless to Forbes list/These niggas bring no stress,” he sings on “Sidewalks”, a collaboration with leading rapper Kendrick Lamar.

“I feel like Moses. I feel like I’m chosen,” he sings.

Lana Del Rey imagines an erotic encounter as she sings on “Stargirl Interlude” — an apt collaboration with Del Rey’s music fitting in with the album’s breathy mood.

Yet, The Weeknd is also reflective, especially as the album nears its end. On “Ordinary Life”, he sings of a sexual experience with another woman he barely knows.

“If I could, I’d trade it all / Trade it for a halo,” he sings as he ominously suggests, “Like I’m James Dean, I’mma die when I young”.

Recent feedback from readers of this column says I may be putting the accent too much on Cloud and Cloud-related topics. So perhaps we can cover a more down-to-earth but still thrilling subject this week and talk about a few high-tech innovations; some big others small. And there are a certain number of them.

One of the most spectacular has been announced by Google and consists of improving the resolution, the sharpness of photos that are less than perfect, and after they have been taken, of course. The process is called up-sampling. Google calls its “invention” RAISR which stands for Rapid and Accurate Image Super-Resolution. Automated photo processing methods that pretend to improve the resolution of existing pictures have been around for years, and most are… well, like sometime the photo itself, less than perfect.

Whereas they do improve its resolution, they damage other traits of the photo at the same time, such as tones for example; or the photo ends up looking un-natural and artificially processed. One such easy to use method is called the “unsharp mask” and is often provided by Photoshop or simply by your scanner’s built-in software. Google’s RAISR claims to do much better by improving sharpness, resolution and focus while resulting in a photo without any the unwanted side effects. Sample photos found on the web seem rather convincing. Only actual use, however, and over a period of time and a number of photos, will tell if RAISR is as revolutionary as Google says it is.

On the more practical, tangible side, and so as to quench our thirst for data storage, Seagate, a leader in disk drive technology is making available to the masses a portable, external USB disk drive that provides an incredible 8TB of storage. This is eight terabytes! It is space enough to store 8 million MP3 songs, or as many high resolution photos, or 8,000 high resolution full-length movies. Is it enough for your personal collection?

Only five or six years ago such a portable disk drive would have been totally unthinkable — at least at consumer level – and yet it is available off the shelf now, for about JD150. Just like most other portable drives, it is small and directly connectable to the USB port of your computer. This is a dream come true for all those who manage large collections of pictures, music or videos.

Want to take selfie shooting to another level, literally? Forget about those sticks that let you move the camera somewhat far from your body, for here comes the drone for smartphones. It is called AirSelfie and it flies up in the air, remains under your control wirelessly and takes the stunning aerial pictures you tell it to take. It is actually a pocket-sized camera drone and it is the brainchild of Kickstarter. The project has not materialised yet though chances are high that it will soon. Kickstarter presents it as “the only portable flying camera integrated into your mobile phone cover”.

Kickstarter is a global community that is “…built around creativity…”. Since it started seven years ago the concept has brought in and convinced 12 million people who pledged a total of $2.7 billion. It has insofar successfully funded 115,597 projects. The AirSelfie is one of the projects currently under funding.

On the luxury side of computer accessories you cannot ignore Microsoft’s dazzling Arc Touch mouse. Everything in it is high-tech, class and refinement. It does not only look great with its superbly arched design that perfectly fits your hand, it is also super light, accurate and works well on virtually all surfaces, which means you do not necessarily need a mouse pad with it.

Its most spectacular aspect, however, is the fact that you can literally squeeze it and flatten it to carry it around easily in a laptop case or even in your pocket. This is because the Arc Touch mouse is thin and completely hollow under its arch. It is made of flexible matter, and, therefore, allows you to change its shape. This is what truly makes the design unique. Price also is on the luxury side. Count about JD75 for one such fine piece. It is not yet available in Jordan and should be ordered online. It is also wireless; it goes without saying.

I do not like to be hypnotised and that is the truth. Why? The main reason is that I intensely dislike being told what to do. So any trancelike state of altered consciousness, which is induced by a hypnotist to have his suggestions readily accepted by me, is a complete no-no.

Therefore, I have not witnessed many hypnosis shows in my life. I mean why take a chance and go to a performance where, before you know it, you are on a stage, ostensibly willingly but in fact involuntarily? And then become a part of the act itself? I would rather not pull out a rabbit from a hat and be instructed to eat both the rabbit and the hat by the mesmeric voice of whoever is performing the hypnosis. The idea itself gives me the heebie-jeebies.

However, a few years back, I was invited to a hypnotist’s concert. It was actually a formal black-tie affair, one of those that nobody actually likes to attend but is forced to, because of a real or imagined professional obligation. This charity fund-raiser had accumulated a lot of money and wanted to seat me in the front row. I declined politely and moved to one of the far corner tables where I could potentially duck under it, if I needed to. Dire situations called for drastic measures, you see.

I had two people accompanying me to the function. One was my spouse, of course, and the other was an old friend of mine who was visiting us from South Africa. Now, this gentleman, who I had known for donkey’s years, never gave me the slightest inkling that he was crazy about hypnosis. But soon I was informed that so insane was his addiction for anything mysterious that there was not a single illusionist or conjuror event that he had not been to. Also, he loved volunteering during such occasions and happily offered to become the proverbial guinea pig. You can imagine my dismay at being party to this information just when we were on our way to the official gathering.

I tried to dissuade him to the best of my ability. As he strode towards the first few seats I told him that they were reserved and pointed him towards the back table that had our place tags. His enthusiasm dipped momentarily but before sitting down, he smartly turned his seat around to face the lit up platform.

The show started, as it usually does, with some boring speeches. My husband and my friend settled into their typical social postures. One fiddled with his drink while the other puffed at his cigar. Things appeared to be normal. Suddenly the stage became dark and a lone spotlight shone on the new entrant. It was the hypnotist and he made a grand entry in a black tuxedo with a matching tall hat. He was also holding a black baton in his hand. We all sat up straight in attention.

From the corner of my eye I say my friend stubbing out his cigar. Even before the hypnotist could request for some volunteers, my friend stood up and started waving.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1 you are asleep now,” the hypnotist told my friend

“Why did he rush up there?” I asked my husband. 

“He forgot to pack his sleeping pills,” my spouse confided. 

“What has that got to do with this?” I was confused. 

“He gets to sleep for free,” he guffawed.

LOS ANGELES — Just like credit cards, smartphones or search engines, autonomous cars will carry a trove of information about their owners as they make driving more comfortable, raising new concerns about privacy.

Automakers are engaged in a fierce race to develop the first driverless car, which experts say should hit the road by 2020.

Apart from legal obstacles facing the industry as the technology evolves — such as who is responsible in the event of an accident — a digital battle is being waged over the huge amount of technical data that will be stored in such vehicles.

“Data is the new oil,” Intel Chief Executive Brian Krzanich said this week during a speech at the Los Angeles auto show, AutoMobility LA.

“If you have rich data, your car will be able to deal with complex route situations,” Krzanich said. “If not, the car will stop.”

Sensors, radars and cameras on autonomous vehicles will be able to exchange data with other cars but also, perhaps, with “intelligent” roadways that can help set speed limits depending on weather and traffic conditions.

The passenger behind the wheel, meanwhile, can send e-mails and text messages, listen to music, stream movies, hold a conference call or make a restaurant reservation.

Even homes will be connected to vehicles.

South Korean automaker Hyundai revealed at the auto show a partnership with Amazon’s Alexa voice service to allow customers to start their car, charge their battery or turn on the air conditioner via a quick voice request.

Experts say the data stored in these vehicles represents a gold mine for companies.

“Where are you, where you stop, how often, what’s in there can be used to provide you a rich user experience,” Krzanich said. “What music you like, craft choices... that’s an opportunity as well.”

He said Intel was investing $250 million into self-driving technology over the next two years.

Karl Brauer, senior director of industry insights at Kelley Blue Book, said all the data collected will be used by carmakers and other companies to maximise profit.

“If they know you like to go to Starbucks [they will say] ‘Oh, he always stops at Starbucks,” Brauer said.

Krzanich acknowledged that the technology posed great challenges in terms of privacy protection and secure sharing.

CJ Frost, an Alexa executive, told a panel that consumers were heading into a world where applications will allow users, for example, to track down friends coming to dinner to ask them to stop on the way and buy a bottle of wine.

Security concerns

One question on many people’s mind is whether, in a world that could be edging closer to the Big Brother oversight of George Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984”, it will be possible to disconnect at some point.

“Consumer privacy is an open question,” said Jeremy Carlston, a senior analyst with IHS Automotive.

“A smartphone holds a lot of info about the owner but when we provide that info to a service provider, we’re getting value in return,” he added.

“It’s the same trade-off with an autonomous car.”

Cyber security was also the topic at a panel discussion during which speakers raised the issue of privacy.

“Connected cars have added firewalls against hacking,” Egil Juliussen, the director of research at IHS Automotive, told AFP. “Criminals could make the car inoperative and ask money to make it operate again.”

In mid-2015, two American online-security researchers demonstrated how easily they could hack into a Jeep Cherokee, remotely taking control of the car’s functions, including its braking system.

Krzanich said such challenges “will require the industry coming together and collaborating”.

SAN FRANCISCO — Airbnb expanded beyond home sharing services to letting travellers dive into local happenings, enhancing security measures in the process.

In what it described as the most significant development in the company’s eight-year history, Airbnb launched Trips, tools that tourists can use to book local offerings or happenings on Thursday.

“Until now, Airbnb has been about homes,” co-founder and Chief Executive Brian Chesky said in a statement.

With Trips, Airbnb seeks to bring together “where you stay, what you do, and the people you meet”, he added.

Trips launched with three categories: experiences, places and homes. Airbnb planned to eventually add flights and services.

Hidden gems

Experiences will provide access to “hidden gems”, such as violin making in Paris or marathon running in Kenya, that perhaps only could be learned about from local residents, according to Airbnb.

“Having already transformed where people stay when they travel through people-powered hospitality, Airbnb is taking this same people-focused approach to the rest of the trip and, in doing so, providing a way for people to make money from their passions and interests,” the company said.

Experiences were described as handcrafted activities led by local experts.

Trips launched with about 500 experiences in a dozen cities, including San Francisco, Havana, Paris, London, Tokyo and Seoul.

Airbnb also said it is adding Insider Guidebooks that feature recommendations from neighbourhood insiders about bars, restaurants, parks, cafés and attractions.

The company has partnered with a restaurant booking platform with the intention of adding an option to book tables from inside the Airbnb application.

Another potential revenue-generating feature being added was the ability of local businesses to host events for Airbnb guests to get together.

A new Trip Itinerary feature provides a timeline for booking accommodations and activities.

“Airbnb’s vision is to ultimately cater for every aspect of a trip,” the company said.

Checking ID

The Trips launch came with the introduction of a new identity authentication process in which hosts and guests of “experiences” will be asked to submit scans of official government identification along with photos of themselves to confirm who they are.

“Having a more robust standard of authenticating identity will make the Airbnb community stronger,” the company said.

The new identity authentication step was required for all Experiences users, and was being tested for home bookings, according to Airbnb.

The San Francisco-based start-up said in September that it took in $555.46 million through a private funding round that launched in late July and remained open, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The funding round had the potential to reach $850 million and valued Airbnb at $30 billion, a source close to the company told AFP at the time.

Money raised was expected to be used to fuel growth and international expansion of Airbnb.

First launched in late 2006, the Ford Edge was the Blue Oval’s first foray into a then still somewhat nascent car-based compact SUV segment that soon developed into the now booming Crossover or CUV segment. Replacing the long-serving original, the new Edge first launched in the US as a 2015 model and arrived in the Middle East and global markets earlier this year. Slightly larger, better packaged and with a more focused European flavoured dynamic experience, the new Edge is a huge all-round improvement on its predecessor.

Built on Ford’s contemporary CD4 platform underpinning many saloons, crossovers and MPVs, the Edge is perhaps most closely related to Ford’s somewhat sporty European S-Max model. More of a mid-size CUV by European standards rather than a compact model, the Edge’s ground clearance and design clearly mark it out as a Crossover SUV. However, its relation to the S-Max only becomes obvious when seated in the rear seats, where the Edge offers better passenger space and ergonomics than typical in its segment.

Ridged and rugged

Chunky and tightly packaged in terms of design, the new Edge’s fascia features a new two-slat hexagonal grille design with automatic opening and closing shutters to allow for better aerodynamics and enhanced efficiency or improved cooling when needed. Squinting headlights flank the grille and are topped with a ridged clamshell bonnet, which smoothly trails off to the roofline. From side view, the Edge features defined character lines and at the rear a tailgate spoiler and diamond-shaped lights connected by a central strip. 

Sitting high off the ground and with lower black cladding and skid-plate style lower lip, the Edge has a rugged sense of charisma and the clearance for off-road driving over rutted and gravelly dirt roads and trails and dusty, sandy and choppy plains, as driven at Wadi Rum during its regional debut event. Additionally, a slightly longer wheelbase short overhangs and provides added driving stability and improved cabin dimensions to comfortably seat even larger rear passengers with generous 1,023mm leg and 1,030mm headroom.

Perky performer

Powered by a twin-scroll turbocharged direct injection 2-litre four-cylinder Ecoboost engine almost identical to that driving the thuggishly good Ford Focus ST hot hatch, the Edge 2.0 Ecoboost develops 249BHP at 5,500rpm and
278lb/ft as quoted for Middle East markets. Though it may not pack quite the same brutal wallop as used in the Focus ST, the larger and heavier 1,849kg Edge’s 2.0 Ecoboost is nevertheless perky and punchy. Driven through a slick and quick shifting automated dual clutch gearbox, it is estimated to dash through the 0-100km/h benchmark in 8- to 8.5 seconds.

Responsive and eager, the Edge’s 4-pot Ecoboost engine suffers very little by way of turbo lag from idle, and with its turbo spooling up swiftly, yields and rich and creamily abundant mid-range sweet spot. Flexible and confident in mid-range, the Edge overtakes easily and feels responsive when powering out of corners through switchbacks. Building power with a punchy urgency slightly masked by its weight and refinement, the Edge 2.0 Ecoboost has an eager and willing character, and is quoted as returning reserved 10.2l/100km combined fuel efficiency for Middle East market models.

Control and comfort

Built on a stiffer structure than before, the new Edge’s enhanced rigidity helps make it safer and a more comfortable and better handling vehicle. With MacPherson struts in front, the new Edge receives integral-link rear suspension, which allows for a rigid lateral set-up along with supple vertical movements for improved dynamics and comfort. Smooth and stable at speed, the Edge processes road imperfections comfortably despite its optional low profile 255/45R20 tyres, while rebound control is settled after crests and dips.

Finds a happy medium between comfort and handling ability the edge turns into corners tidily, with its smaller and lighter engine lending it a more agile feel for its size and weight and in comparison with V6 rivals. Quick and precise, the Edge’s steering is reassuringly stable at speed, but feels responsive and positive through corners. Well controlling body lean for a vehicle this tall and heavy, the Edge’s longer wheelbase, meanwhile, lends itself to good stability and grip through long fast sweeping corners.  

Generous space and equipment

Driving the front wheel primarily, the edge’s four-wheel drive system reallocates power rearwards through and electronically controlled clutch, when necessary for additional traction or grip, through corners, over loose surfaces and in off-road driving. Meanwhile inside, the Edge’s well adjustable seats and steering provide a supportive, comfortable and alert driving position. Ergonomic, user friendly and practical, the Edge features good front visibility to manoeuvre, lots of storage compartments, reclining rear seats, rear armrest, big door apertures for easy access and a low loading height for its generous 1111-litre boot.

Thoroughly well-equipped with a slew of standard and optional convenience, infotainment, safety and driver assistance systems, the driven top-spec Titanium model features 10-way adjustable heated and cooled leather seats, hands-free automatic liftgate, 12-speaker Sony audio system and voice-activated Sync infotainment system with 8-inch LCD touchscreen. Also standard is torque vectoring, dual-zone climate control, rearview camera and glovebox integrated knee, height adjustable shoulder and other airbags including. Optional equipment includes inflatable rear seats, panoramic roof, remote stop/start, blind spot and cross traffic assistance and adaptive cruise control among numerous options.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 2.0-litre, turbocharged, transverse 4 cylinders

Bore x stroke: 87.5 x 83.1mm

Compression ratio: 9.7:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, variable valve timing, direct injection

Gearbox: 6-speed automated dual-clutch, four-wheel drive

Power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 249 (253) [186] @5500rpm

Specific power: 124.5BHP/litre

Power-to-weight: 134.6BHP/tonne

Torque, lb/ft (Nm): 278 (378) @2500rpm

Specific torque: 189.6Nm/litre

Torque-to-weight: 204.4Nm/tonne

0-100km/h: 8-8.5 seconds (estimate)

Fuel consumption, city/highway/combined (US EPA): 11.76-/8.4/10.22 litres/100km

Length: 4,779mm

Width: 1,928mm

Height: 1,742mm

Wheelbase: 2,849mm

Track, F/R: 1,646/1,643mm 

Headroom, F/R: 1,020/1,023mm

Legroom, F/R: 1,081/1,030mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,531/1,536mm

Hip room, F/R: 1,420/1,461mm

Liftover height: 755mm

Luggage volume, behind 2nd/1st row, liquid, to roof: 1111-/2078 litres

Fuel capacity: 68 litres

Kerb weight: 1,849kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack and pinion

Turning circle: 12 metres

Suspension, F/R: MacPherson strut/integral-link, coil springs, anti-roll bars

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs, 345mm/315mm

Tyres: 255/45R20 (optional)

SAN FRANCISCO — It sounds like a great idea: Forget passwords, and instead lock your phone or computer with your fingerprint. It’s a convenient form of security — though it’s also perhaps not as safe as you’d think.

In their rush to do away with problematic passwords, Apple, Microsoft and other tech companies are nudging consumers to use their own fingerprints, faces and eyes as digital keys. Smartphones and other devices increasingly feature scanners that can verify your identity via these “biometric” signatures in order to unlock a gadget, sign into web accounts and authorise electronic payments.

But there are drawbacks: Hackers could still steal your fingerprint — or its digital representation. Police may have broader legal powers to make you unlock your phone. And so-called “biometric” systems are so convenient they could lull users into a false sense of security.

“We may expect too much from biometrics. No security systems are perfect,” said Anil Jain, a computer science professor at Michigan State University, who helped police unlock a smartphone by using a digitally enhanced ink copy of the owner’s fingerprints.

Bypassing the password

Biometric security seems like a natural solution to well-known problems with passwords. Far too many people choose weak and easily guessed passwords like “123456” or “password”. Many others reuse a single password across online accounts, all of which could be hacked if the password is compromised. And of course some use no password at all when they can get away with it, as many phones allow.

As electronic sensors and microprocessors have grown cheaper and more powerful, gadget makers have started adding biometric sensors to familiar products.

Apple’s iPhone 5S, launched in 2013, introduced fingerprint scanners to a mass audience, and rival phone makers quickly followed suit. Microsoft built biometric capabilities into the latest version of its Windows 10 software, so you can unlock your PC by briefly looking at the screen. Samsung is now touting an iris-scanning system in its latest Galaxy Note devices.

All those systems are based on the notion that each user’s fingerprint — or face, or iris — is unique. But that does not mean they cannot be reproduced.

Lifting prints

Jain, the Michigan State researcher, proved that earlier this year when a local police department asked for help unlocking a fingerprint-protected Samsung phone. The phone’s owner was dead, but police had the owner’s fingerprints on file. Jain and two associates made a digital copy of the prints, enhanced them and then printed them out with special ink that mimics the conductive properties of human skin.

“We tried the right thumb and it worked right away,” Jain said.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina, meanwhile, fooled some commercial face-detection systems by using photos they found on the social media accounts of test subjects. They used the photos to create a three-dimensional image, enhanced with virtual reality algorithms. The spoof did not work every time, and the researchers found it could be foiled by cameras with infrared sensors. (The Microsoft face-recognition system uses infrared-capable cameras for extra precision.)

But some experts believe any biometric system can be cracked with sufficient determination. All it takes are simulated images of a person’s fingerprint, face or even iris pattern. And if someone manages that, you cannot exactly change your fingerprint or facial features as you would a stolen password.

To make such theft more difficult, biometric-equipped phones and computers typically encrypt fingerprints and similar data and store them locally, not in the “cloud” where hackers might lift them from company servers. But many biometrics can be found elsewhere. You might easily leave your fingerprint on a drinking glass, for instance. Or it might be stored in a different database; Jain pointed to the 2015 computer breach at federal Office of Personnel Management, which compromised the files — including fingerprints — of millions of federal employees.

Compelled to unlock

Most crooks will not go to that much trouble. But some experts have voiced a different concern — that biometrics could undermine important legal rights.

US courts have ruled that authorities can’t legally require individuals to give up their passwords, since the Fifth Amendment says you can’t be forced to testify or provide incriminating information against yourself. In the last two years, however, judges in Virginia and Texas have ordered individuals to unlock their phones with their fingerprints.

There’s a legal distinction between something you know, like a password, and something you possess, like a physical key or a fingerprint, said Marcia Hofmann, a San Francisco attorney who specialises in privacy and computer security. While you cannot be forced to reveal the combination of a safe, she noted, the supreme court has said you can be required to turn over a physical key to unlock a door.

“Getting your thumb print or iris scan is not the same as making you speak,” agreed Orin Kerr, a law professor at George Washington University. “In practice it’s another way of getting access to the computer, but through a very different means.”

The issue has not been tested yet in higher courts, though it’s likely just a matter of time.

Even with vulnerabilities, some analysts say the convenience of biometric locks is a plus — not least because it may give the password-averse another easy option to secure their devices. “It’s bringing secure authentication to the masses,” said Joseph Lorenzo Hall, a tech policy expert at the nonprofit Centre for Democracy and Technology.

Others say the best approach would combine biometric systems with other protections, such as a strong password or PIN.

“It’s good to see biometrics being used more, because it adds another factor for security,” said Jain. “But using multiple security measures is the best defence.”

Iraq in Wartime: Soldiering, Martyrdom, and Remembrance
Dina Rizk Khoury
Cambridge University Press, 2013
Pp. 281

This book’s starting point is a fact often overlooked by policymakers: “When US-led forces invaded Iraq in 2003, they occupied a country that had been at war for twenty-three years… war had become the norm rather than the exception.” (p. 1)

Much has been written about the Iraq wars, but few have addressed them from the angle of how Saddam Hussein’s regime dealt with the consequences of war in such a way as to normalise it. Dina Rizk Khoury, professor at George Washington University, also explores how Iraqis of different generations, regions, classes and affiliations reacted to the regime’s measures. 

“Iraq in Wartime” begins with a review of the wars fought during Ba’thist rule: the long, conventional war against Iran, the counterinsurgency of the 80s and 90s in the North and South of the country, the 1991 US invasion, and the UN-sanctioned embargo which has been termed an “invisible war”. “Clearly, the process of rendering these seismic ruptures in Iraqis’ lives into part of the business of living was no small undertaking.” (p. 5) 

With war sapping resources, state development policies were scaled back, while the Ba’th Party’s bureaucracy and security role was exponentially expanded. Faced with rapidly changing circumstances, state policy was often improvised, but it also entailed massive, systematic record keeping to determine who was eligible for a share in dwindling resources, and who was considered a threat.

In examining “war as a way of governing that structures everyday lives”, Khoury focuses on “key categories of people — soldiers, deserters, prisoners of war, and martyrs’ families — all of whose mobilisation, control, and acquiescence were central to the state’s ongoing ability to wage war and who were therefore the target of myriad state policies”. (p. 2) 

Though war was mainly the business of men, the book also traces its impact on women’s rights, once quite advanced in Iraq, and their role in the family and society. 

Already in the Iran-Iraq war, desertion became a major problem despite new mechanisms of control, and deep fissures emerged in Iraqi society, especially due to the parallel counterinsurgency campaigns. Khoury puts less emphasis on the sectarian basis of such fissures than on the effects of the war situation and related regime policy. While the rebellion in the South following the US invasion is often termed a “Shiite” uprising, Khoury reminds that over 100,000 Iraqi soldiers returned from Kuwait in just a few days, viewing the uprising as “fuelled by returning soldiers who were hungry, defeated, bedraggled, and tired of being at war… its participants were those sectors of Iraqi society that had suffered most during the Iran-Iraq war and the First Gulf War”. (p. 133)

As Iraqis reeled under the impact of successive wars, the regime redefined the parameters of their lives via seemingly bureaucratic means, though these had political intent. Citizens’ rights were categorised according to their war service, determining access to or denial of entitlements, and the meting out of punishment.

Martyrdom itself was redefined as civilians came to constitute a growing portion of war casualties, and the image of the strong, victorious Iraqi soldier gave way to that of Iraqis as victims. At the same time, the deliberate revival of tribalism and economic privatisation changed the value system previously espoused by the Ba’th, and the rules by which people struggled to survive.

Two chapters of the book involve culture, chiefly how the regime worked to monopolise the narrative through which Iraqis understood and remembered war, and how martyrs were commemorated. Here one gets a taste of the photos, journalism and literature produced during the wars, how they changed, and how they were discussed among Iraqi intellectuals, both those involved in these efforts in Iraq, and dissidents in exile. 

Khoury’s postscript is sobering: “as of this writing, neither the Baghdad nor the Arbil government has attempted to develop a war narrative in a manner that could forge a pluralistic, non-authoritarian, national consensus on the legacies of Iraqis’ encounter with violence…” (p. 245) 

With Iraqis caught up in yet another war, this time against Daesh, one can hardly imagine this happening any time soon. 

Khoury’s assessments gain credibility from her broad array of sources, ranging from Iraqi state and Ba’th Party archives, to interviews conducted in Amman and Damascus in 2007-9, with Iraqi men who lived the successive wars. On issues that usually spark heated debate, she charts a judicious course that is only biased towards the welfare of the Iraqi people. 

Perhaps most importantly, Khoury steers clear of dealing with Iraq as an aberration, making the book relevant for understanding what is happening in other parts of the world. In her words, “The normalisation of war is neither a symptom of Iraqi exceptionalism nor simply a product of the militarism of the Ba’thist regime. Rather it is a condition Iraq shares with a number of other countries, democratic and authoritarian, in the post-Cold War period.” (p. 3)

NEW YORK — Alton Brown thinks about food differently than you do. You do not get obsessive with hummus. He does. You do not research the long, weird history of nutmeg or put sumac in everything. He does.

You never considered having spaghetti in the morning. He did — and made it delicious. “Why are not we having pasta for breakfast? I don’t understand why we don’t do this?” the TV chef and writer asked recently.

You can find Brown at the intersection of food, science, history and theatre. It’s a weird place, as even he admits: “I don’t fit in anywhere.” He has a restless, inquisitive mind and a chemist’s rigor. He blends his own red pepper flakes and yet knows how strange that is. “I’m a freak,” he confesses.

Brown returns this fall with two typically idiosyncratic offerings: A cookbook of the unexpected stuff he eats at home and a live variety show that hits Broadway with a mix of unusual food demonstrations, puppets and songs.

“EveryDayCook: This Time It’s Personal”, his eighth book and first in five years, has 100 quirky recipes, from mussels in miso to kimchi crabcakes. The recipes were adapted from memory; some were scribbled on Cabinet doors.

“Ostensibly, it’s a self-portrait in food,” he says. “That is what I eat and cook. If you were to come over to my house, it would be something out of that book. I think I was at a point in life where it was time to do a self-portrait.”

How Brown came up with one dish — his breakfast carbonara — is instructive: It was an accident. He had been intending to make biscuits and gravy with sausage but burned the biscuits. So he threw some leftover pasta into the gravy.

“I started thinking, ‘Wait a second, this isn’t that far away from carbonara’,” he recalled, and stated adding more ingredients. “All of a sudden, I had a different dish. That was born of a complete goof on my part.”

It was only after he saw the book’s photos — all taken by his assistant using an iPhone — of the way he likes to serve his food that Brown, as he politely notes, “was made mindful that I’m not normal”.

“Not everyone plates their chips and salsa in a 1974 Mercury hubcap. Not everybody plates crackers in a Kodak slide carousel. I had not really reckoned with how odd I am,” he says. “If you don’t like this book, odds are you don’t like me. Because that’s pretty much me.”

There will be more of Brown on view on Broadway when his touring show “Eat Your Science” lands at the Barrymore Theatre. A former actor with a theatre degree who did summer stock, Brown models his shows on “The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour” and describes it as “culinary vaudeville”.

“I can finally say to my mom, ‘Yes, my theatre degree did matter’,” he jokes.

Lee D. Marshall, a producer at MagicSpace Entertainment, says Brown’s stage shows are funny and informative, drawing on his background as a writer, producer, cinematographer and comedian.

“Most folks that are television chefs, they cook. He explains how things work,” Marshall says. “He can make making scrambled eggs the most interesting topic on the planet.”

Brown says he does not get caught up in food trends and often does not trust them. He avoided jumping on the molecular gastronomy bandwagon a few years back because he really did not care.

“Nobody wakes up in the middle of the night craving soy sauce spheres. We wake up craving pizza. I’m far more interested in helping people get to the dishes they kind of already want,” he says.

Brown made his name with the quirky “Good Eats” on Food Network from 1999-2011. In each episode, Brown examined a new recipe or ingredient, the science behind it, the proper tools to use and its history. He plans on reviving the show as an online-only series.

But though he’s a star, Brown is leery of the Kitchen-Industrial Complex, telling fans they do not need to buy titanium corkscrews or an $8,000 pizza oven. On “Good Eats”, he insisted that every gadget do multiple tasks.

“I have no endorsement deals and I don’t have multiple homes,” says Brown. “At some point along the line, I decided authenticity above everything else.” He adds: “I like empowering people.”

His own tastes are, as you might expect, all over the map. He puts harissa and mayonnaise in his scrambled eggs, and adds curry to watermelon, suspecting that since India and the American South both have fearsome heat, they might have complementary flavours.

“I’m pedantic, I guess, when it comes to my tastes,” he says. “I’m fascinated by Japanese food and, at the same time, I’d rather have a well-made Cuban [sandwich] than almost anything on Earth. And I’m pretty sure French fries are the best food on earth.”