text:
Michele Landsberg
One of the most exciting and innovative social justice initiatives to emerge in Canada this past year has been the formation of the Jewish Refugee Action Network
Gina Csanyi-Robah
The Federal Court of Canada has thrown a lifeline to a deported Roma refugee family, whose former lawyer was suspended by the law society for professional misconduct.
In a recent ruling, the court ordered Immigration Minister Chris Alexander to reopen the case of Jozsef Pusuma, his wife Timea Daroczi and their daughter Viktoria, who were forced to leave Canada in December after they spent three years in sanctuary in a Toronto church.
Immigration officials must now reconsider the humanitarian application and risk assessment of the family.
"I agree with the applicants that there are numerous problems with the immigration officer's analysis of the applicants' H&C application and that the decision cannot stand," wrote Justice Anne L. Mactavish in her 28-page decision, referring to the refusal to grant the family permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
"The officer carrying out the assessment of the applicants' PRRA (pre-removal risk assessment) application was the same officer who decided the applicants' H&C application, and . . . many of the errors that I have already identified . . . were also present" in the PRRA that concluded the family would not be at risk if deported back to Hungary.
Although the court fell short of ordering the federal government to bring the family back to Canada from their current hiding place in Europe, the decision opens the door for their future return.
Pusuma, a onetime researcher for Viktoria Mohacsi, a prominent Roma and member of the European Parliament, arrived in Toronto with his family from Hungary in 2009. Their asylum case, prepared by lawyer Viktor Hohots, was heard in 2010 and later denied by the Immigration and Refugee Board.
Their subsequent applications for permanent residence on humanitarian grounds and PRRA were denied by immigration officials, who later also refused to reopen their case despite learning that the now disgraced lawyer faced disciplinary proceedings.
In March, Hohots admitted to professional misconduct for failing to adequately prepare some of his clients claims for asylum, including the Pusumas's.
This month, a Law Society of Upper Canada disciplinary panel suspended him for five months and barred him from practicing refugee law for two years. He was ordered to complete a practice review and pay $15,000 in legal fees.
The family's current lawyer, Andrew Brouwer, praised the court ruling.
"It's a very strong decision. Justice Mactavish found unequivocally that the Pusuma family was denied a fair hearing of their refugee claim because of the professional misconduct of their previous lawyer," Brouwer said.
"Citizenship and Immigration Canada had unjustly refused their requests for humanitarian and compassionate consideration and for PRRA, including by failing to give proper consideration to the danger they face in Hungary and the best interests of their daughter."
The government had argued that Hohots' misconduct did not taint the assessment of the Pusumas's humanitarian case but the judge chided immigration, saying it was "apparent" officials relied heavily on the original asylum decision when assessing the risks faced by the family in Hungary.
The immigration department said all official decisions are made based on the merits of an individual case and refused to comment further, saying the case is now being reassessed. Immigration officials are prevented from appealing the court decision because the judge did not certify any questions.
"This family has already suffered such injustice, first in Hungary at the hands of the right-wing extremists, and then in Canada at the hands of their previous lawyer and Canadian government officials," Brouwer said.
"It's time to make things right. Let's hope Minister Alexander does the right thing this time."
With files from Rachel Mendleson
Originally Source:Toronto Star
View the Original Article
© Paliare Roland Rosenberg Rothstein | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer


text:
Char Dham Tour Package to Yamunotri Temple
Yamunotri is the origin of holy river Yamuna. Yamunotri is considered as the seat of Hindu Goddess Yamuna. It is situated at an altitude of 10,804 feet or 3,293 meters in the Garhwal Himalayas.
There are two trekking routes to the holy place. One route is by trekking 13 kilometers from Hanuman Chatti. The second route is from Janki Chatti and the distance by this route is around 6 kilometers. Trekking route passes through many rivers and rivulets. Crossing Ruinsara Tal, a clear water lake at the foot of Mount Kalanag, takes you to the holy Shrine.
Yamunotri temple visit is part of the Chota Char Dham Yatra (Chota means small or and Yatra means tour) . Chota 4 Dham Tour Package is the pilgrimage package tour of Yamunothi, Gangothri, Kedarnath and Badrinath.
The temple is open from the Akshaya Tritiya day in May and closes on the Yama Dwitiya day i.e. Second day after the Diwali festival.
How Do I Go to Yamunotri?
Yamunotri is at around 30 kilometers North of Uttarkashi, the district headquarters of the district with the same name. Uttarkashi is well connected other major cites by road and is easily accessible. It takes a full day's travel from the nearby major cities like Dehradun, Haridwar or Rishikesh.
Dehra Dun Airport is the nearest airport at around 90 kilometers distance. Chandigarh airport is at around 180 kilometers away. Dehradun railway station is the nearest railway station.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Control Desk Attendant
- Depends on experience
- Part Time
- Ask Us!
- Employer Fairly Likely to Respond
Control Desk Attendants ensure that guests have an enjoyable bowling experience during their visit to Lucky Strike by being hospitable while upholding the company's guest service standards.
- Manage and track the availability of lanes
- Greet and proactively communicate lane status and wait times to all guests
- Ensure that all guests are equipped with proper footwear and any lane specifications requested
- Assist management with seamless execution of all large and small private parties
- Communicate any guest requests to the appropriate FOH staff
Knowledge, Skills, and Qualifications:
- 1 year of previous bussing experience in a fast pace and full service restaurant/bar or entertainment venue is a plus, but not required
- 6 months of customer service experience
- Enthusiastic, outgoing and cheerful!!
- Passionate about guest service and hospitality
- Open availability including weekend nights and holidays
Lucky Strike Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Thriving at the bustling intersections of live music, chef-driven cuisine, nightlife, arcade games and bowling, Lucky Strike has emerged as an industry leader in entertainment by crafting immersive, unforgettable experiences through timeless friendly service, one-of-a-kind atmosphere, chef-driven food & drink, and industry leading bowling.
Lucky Strike Entertainment is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.


text:
This revitalizing cocktail made with pickle juice will help you replenish those lost electrolytes and soak up the residing alcohol molecules aiding you in your recovery process while you nurse your hangover. The Dickel Bloody Mary is a mix with Sycamore Tavern's famous Dickel shot, George Dickel Tennessee Whiskey and pickle brine, and their classic Bloody Mary. Infusedwith premium vodka, an ounce of George Dickel Whiskey, Sycamore Tavern's house made spicy Bloody Mary blend, fresh pickle juice and a dash of Tabasco sauce with crushed red peppers for extra heat does the trick.
Still not ready for another sip of booze? Sycamore Tavern's food menu will help bring you back to life. Start with their the Salt Pretzel served with a side of savory mustard butter, then load up on their Smoked Chicken Wings with lemon pepper or their appetizing Meatballs with a side of garlic knots. For the main dish, order up their flavorful American Burger loaded with all the fixins and a side of shoestring fries or onion rings.
Link to Menu: http://www.sycamoretavern.com/
3 oz Vodka
1 oz George Dickle Tennessee Whisky
5.5 oz Bloody Mary Mix
1 Teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Teaspoons dill pickle juice
1/3 Teaspoon celery salt
1/4 Teaspoon Pepper (or more if you prefer)
Crushed Red Peppers
Garnish: Dill pickles, celery stalk, olives and lime
Method: Build over ice, add vodka, Bloody Mary mix, tobacco, Worcestershire and pickle juice. Stir well to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
About Sycamore Tavern
Located on Sunset Boulevard and Sycamore Street in Hollywood, Sycamore Tavern is a local neighborhood destination offering a playful take on traditional American fare paired with craft beer and cocktails amid a casual Hollywood atmosphere. Boasting 10,000 sq. feet and over 55 flat screen TVs, the spacious tavern is the go-to for social gatherings, events and celebrations. Sycamore Tavern is located at 7038 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028 and is open Monday – Friday from 4 p.m. – 2 a.m., Saturday and Sunday 11 a.m. – 2 a.m. (8 a.m. for select games).
Executive Editor, Luxe Beat Magazine
Editor-in-Chief, Where and What in the World
Member: International Food Wine & Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA)
Member: Society of American Travel Writers (SATW)
Member: Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)
Luxury & Culinary Journalist, Speaker, Food Judge
ment'or – Inspiring culinary excellence
Blogs: Where and What in the World & Success with Writing
Follow me: @maralynhill
FB: http://www.facebook.com/The.Epicurean.Explorer, http://www.facebook.com/Success.With.Writing
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/maralynhill
If you would like to submit a guest post on food, wine or travel to Where and What in the World, I would be happy to feature your travel experience , drink, special wine tasting, or family or simply delicious recipe. If you go to submission tab, you will see how to submit, as well as have the opportunity of telling me if you would like to would like to be a regular contributor. When uploading a file for submission, you are also able to upload jpegs. Please feel free to put a last paragraph about you and a link to your profile. No html please. You can also include a head shot.


text:
In my mind there's never been any doubt that the MTM NBN has been anything more than a complete debacle. At a technological level it is an inferior idea, one that fails to provide the base infrastructure needed to support Australia's future requirements. As time went by the claims of "Fast, Affordable, Sooner" fell one by one, leaving us with a tangled mess that in all likelihood was going to cost us just as much as the FTTP solution would. Now there's some hard evidence, taken directly from nbn's own reports and other authoritative sources, which confirms this is the case and it's caused quite a stir from the current communications minister.
The evidence, released by the Labor party last week in a report to the media, includes the following table and points to numerous sources for their data:
The numbers are essentially a summary of much of the information that has already been reported on previously however it's pertinent to see it all collated together in a single table. The first row showing that the initial cost estimates were far out of line with reality has been reported on extensively, even before the solution was fully costed out in the atrocious CBA. There was no way that the initial claims of the FTTN install costs would hold, especially with the amount of cabinets required to ensure that the speeds met their required minimums. Similarly assuming that Telstra's copper network was only in need of partial remediation was pure fantasy as the aging network has been in sore need of an overhaul for decades. The rest of the figures simply boil down to the absolutely bullshit forecasting that the Liberal's did in order to make their plan look better on paper.
This release has prompted a rather heated response from the current communications minister Mitch Fifield, one which strangely ignores all the points that the Labor release raised. Since the figures have been mostly taken directly from nbn's reports it would be hard for him to refute them however he made no attempt to reframe the conversation to other more flattering metrics. Instead it focuses on a whole slew of other incidents surrounding the NBN, none of which are relevant to the above facts. With that in mind you can only conclude that he knows those facts are true and there's no point in fighting them.
It's completely clear that the Liberal's have failed on their promises with the NBN and this song and dance they continually engage in to make it seem otherwise simply doesn't work. The current state of the NBN is entirely on their hands now and any attempt to blame the previous government is a farce, carefully crafted to distract us away from the real issues at hand here. They could have simply replaced the nbn's board and continued on as normal, claiming all the credit for the project. Instead they tried to make it their own and failed, dooming Australia to be an Internet backwater for decades to come.
Take your licks Fifield and admit that your government fucked up. Then I'll grant you some leniency.
There's little doubt now that the Multi-Technology Mix was a viable path forward for the NBN. The tenants of faster, cheaper and sooner have all fallen by the wayside in one way or another. The speed guarantees were dropped very quickly as NBNCo (now known as just nbn™) came face to face with the reality that the copper network simply couldn't support them. The cost of their solution has come into question numerous times and has shown to be completely incorrect. Worst still the subsequent cost blowouts are almost wholly attributed to the changes made by the MTM switch, not the original FTTP solution. Lastly with the delays that the FTTN trials have experienced along with the disruption to provisioning activities that were already under way there is no chance that we'll have it sooner. Worse still it appears that the HFC network, the backbone upon which Turnbull built his MTM idea, isn't up to the task of providing NBN services.
The leaked report shows that, in its current state, the Optus HFC network simply doesn't have the capacity nor is it up to the standards required to service NBN customers. Chief among the numerous issues listed in the presentation is the fact that the Optus cable network is heavily oversubscribed and would require additional backhaul and nodes to support new customers. Among the other issues listed are pieces of equipment that are in need of replacement, the presence of ingress noise reducing user speeds and the complexity of the established HFC network's multipathing infrastructure. All said the cost of remediating this network (or "overbuilding" it as they are saying) ranges from $150 million up to $800 million in addition to the capital already spent to acquire the network.
Some of the options presented to fix this solution are frankly comical, like the idea that nbn should engage Telstra to extend their HFC network to cover the areas currently serviced by Optus. Further options peg FTTP as the most expensive with FTTdp (fiber to the distribution point) and FTTN coming in as the cheaper alternatives. The last one is some horrendous mix of FTTdp and Telstra HFC which would just lead to confusion for consumers, what with 2 NBN offerings in the same suburb that had wildly different services and speeds available on them. Put simply Optus' HFC network being in the state it is has no good solution other than the one that the original NBN plan had in mind.
The ubiquitous fiber approach that the original NBN sought to implement avoided all the issues that the MTM solution is now encountering for the simple fact that we can't trust the current state of any of the networks deployed in Australia. It has been known for a long time that the copper network is aging and in dire need of replacement, unable to reliably provide the speeds that many consumers now demand. The HFC network has always been riddled with issues with nearly every metro deployment suffering from major congestion issues from the day it was implemented. Relying on both these things to deliver broadband services was doomed to fail and it's not surprising that that's exactly what we've seen ever since the MTM solution was announced.
Frankly this kind of news no longer surprises me. I had hoped that the Liberals would have just taken credit for the original idea that Labor put forward but they went one step further and trashed the whole thing. A full FTTP solution would have catapulted Australia to the forefront of the global digital economy, providing benefits far in excess of its cost. Now however we're likely decades away from achieving that, all thanks to the short sightedness of a potential one term government. There really is little to hope for when it comes to the future of the NBN and there's no question in my mind of who is to blame.
The current MTM NBN is by all accounts a total mess. Every single promise that the Liberal party has made with respect to it has been broken. First the guaranteed speed being delivered to the majority of Australians was scrapped. Then the timeline blew out as the FTTN trials took far longer to accomplish than they stated they would. Finally the cost of the network, widely described as being a third of the FTTP solution, has since ballooned to well above any cost estimate that preceded it. The slim sliver of hope that all us technologically inclined Australians hang on to is that this current government goes single term and that Labor would reintroduce the FTTP NBN in all its glory. Whilst it seems that Labor is committed to their original idea the future of Australia's Internet will bear the scars of the Liberals term in office.
Jason Clare, who's picked up the Shadow Communications Minister position in the last Labor cabinet reshuffle before the next election, has stated that they'd ramp up the number of homes connected to fiber if they were successful at the next election. Whilst there's no solid policy documents available yet to determine what that means Clare has clearly signalled that FTTN rollouts are on the way out. This is good news however it does mean that Australia's Internet infrastructure won't be the fiber heaven that it was once envisioned to be. Instead we will be left with a network that's mostly fiber with pockets of Internet backwaters with little hope of change in the near future.
Essentially it would seem that Labor would keep current contract commitments which would mean a handful of FTTN sites would still be deployed and anyone on a HFC network would remain on them for the foreseeable future. Whilst these are currently serviceable their upgrade paths are far less clear than their fully fiber based brethren. This means that the money spent on upgrading the HFC networks, as well as any money spent on remediating copper to make FTTN work, is wasted capital that could have been invested in the superior fiber only solution. Labor isn't to blame for this, I understand that breaking contractual commitments is something they'd like to avoid, but it shows just how much damage the Liberals MTM NBN plan has done to Australia's technological future.
Unfortunately there's really no fix for this, especially if you want something politically palatable.
If we're serious about transitioning Australia away from the resources backed economy that's powered us over the last decade investments like the FTTP NBN are what we are going to need. There's clear relationships between Internet speeds and economic growth something which would quickly make the asking price look extremely reasonable. Doing it half-arsed with a cobbled together mix of technologies will only result in a poor experience, dampening any benefits that such a network could provide. The real solution, the one that will last us as long as our current copper network has, is to make it all fiber. Only then will we be able to accelerate our growth at the same rapid pace as the rest of the world is and only then will we see the full benefits of what a FTTP NBN can provide.
In terms of broadband Australia doesn't fair too well, ranking somewhere around 58th in terms of speed whilst being among some of the most expensive, both in real dollar terms as well as in dollars per advertised megabit. The original FTTN NBN would've elevated us out of the Internet doldrums however the switch to the MTM solution has severely dampened any hopes we had of achieving that goal. However if you were to ask our current communications minister, the esteemed Malcolm Turnbull, what he thought about the current situation he'd refer you to a report that states we need to keep broadband costs high in order for the NBN to be feasible. Just like with most things that he and his department have said about the NBN this is completely incorrect and is nothing more than pandering to current incumbent telcos.
The argument in the submission centers around the idea that if current broadband prices are too cheap then customers won't be compelled to switch over to the new, obviously vastly more expensive, NBN. The submission makes note that even a 10% reduction in current broadband prices would cause this to happen, something which could occur if Telstra was forced to drop their wholesale prices. A quick look over the history of the NBN and broadband prices in Australia doesn't seem to support the narrative they're putting forward however, owing mostly to the problems they claim would come from a price drop already happening within Australia.
You see if you take into consideration current NBN plan pricing the discrepancies are already there, even when you go for the same download speeds. A quick look at iiNet's pricing shows that your bog standard ADSL2+ connection with a decent amount of downloads will cost you about $50/month whereas the equivalent NBN plan runs about $75/month. Decreasing the ADSL2+ plan by 10%, a whopping $5, isn't going to change much when there's already a $25/month price differential between the two. Indeed if people only choose the cheaper option then we should've seen that in the adoption rates of the original NBN, correct?
However as the adoption rates have shown Australians are ready, willing and able to pay a premium for better Internet services and have been doing so for years with the original FTTP NBN. The fact of the matter is that whilst ADSL2+ may advertise NBN level speeds it almost always delivers far less than that with most customers only getting a fraction of the speeds they are promised. The FTTP NBN on the other hand delivers exactly the kind of speeds it advertises and thus the value proposition is much greater than its ADSL2+ equivalent. The MTM NBN won't have this capability unfortunately due to its mixed use of FTTN technologies which simply can't make the same promises about speed.
It's things like this that do nothing to endear the Liberal party to the technical vote as it's so easy to see through the thin veil of political posturing and rhetoric. The facts on this matter are clear, Australians want better broadband and they're willing to pay for it. Having cheaper options aren't going to affect this, instead they will provide the opportunity for those who are currently locked out of the broadband market to get into it. Then for those of us who have a need for faster Internet connections we'll happily pay the premium knowing full well that we'll get the speeds that are advertised rather than a fraction of them. The sooner the Liberal party wakes up and realises things like this the better, but I'm not holding out any hopes that they will.
It's no secret that I'm loudly, violently opposed to the Liberal's Multi-Technology Mix NBN solution and I've made it my business to ensure that the wider Australian public is aware of frightfully bad it will be. The reasons as to why the Liberal's solution is so bad are many however they can almost all be traced back to them wanting to cast anything that Labor created in a poor light and that their ideas are far better. Those of us in the know have remained unconvinced however, tearing into every talking point and line of rhetoric to expose the Liberal's NBN for the farce it is. Now, as the Liberals attempt to rollout their inferior solution, they are no longer able to hide behind bullshit reports as the real world numbers paint an awfully bad picture for their supposedly better NBN.
The slogan of the MTM NBN being "Fast Affordable. Sooner." has become an easy target as the months have rolled on since the Liberal Party announced their strategy. Whilst the first point can always be debated (since 25Mbps should be "more than enough" according to Abbott) the second two can be directly tied to real world metrics that we're now privy to. You see with the release of the MTM NBN strategy all works that were planned, but not yet executed, were put on hold whilst a couple FTTN trial sites were scheduled to be established. The thinking was that FTTN could be deployed much faster than a FTTP solution and, so the slogan went, much cheaper too. Well here we are a year and a half later and it's not looking good for the Liberals and unfortunately, by extension, us Australians.
It hasn't been much of secret that the FTTN trials that NBNCo have been conducting haven't exactly been stellar with them experiencing significant delays in getting them set up. Considering that the Liberals gave themselves a 2016 deadline for giving everyone 25Mbps+ speeds these delays didn't bode well for getting the solution out before the deadline. Those delays appear to have continued with the trial now having just 53 customers connected to the original Umima trial and not a single one connected to the Epping trial. This is after they gave a timeline of "within a month" in October last year. Suffice to say the idea that FTTN could be made available to the wide public by the end of 2016 is starting to look really shakey and so is the 2019 timeframe for their completion of the NBN.
Worst still the idea that the MTM NBN would be significantly cheaper than the full FTTP NBN is yet again failing to stand up to scrutiny. Additional cost analysis conducted by NBNCo, which includes opex costs that were previously excluded under previous costing models, has seen the cost per premises estimate for brownfields (deployed to existing houses) rise to $4316. That's a substantial increase however it's a more accurate representation of how much it actually costs to get a single house deployed. Taking that into account the total cost for deploying the FTTP NBN comes out to about $47 billion, very close to the original budget that Labor had allocated for it. Whilst it was obvious that the Liberal's cost-benefit analysis was a crock of shit from the beginning this just adds further proves the point and casts more doubt over the MTM NBN being significantly cheaper.
I'm honestly not surprised by this anymore as its clear that the Liberals really had no intent of adhering to their rhetoric and were simply trashing the FTTP NBN because it was Labor's idea. It's an incredibly short sighted way of looking at it, honestly, as they would have won far more favour with a lot of people if they had just continued with the FTTP NBN as it was. Instead they're going to waste years and multiple billions of dollars on a system that won't deliver on its promises and we'll be left to deal with the mess. All we can really hope for at this point is that we make political history and cement the Liberal's reign under the OneTermTony banner.
The age of the Internet has broke down the barriers that once existed between Australia and the rest of the world. We're keenly aware that there are vast numbers of products and services available overseas that we want to take advantage of but either can't, because they don't want to bring it to us, or won't because it's far too expensive. We're a resourceful bunch though and whilst companies will try their darnedest to make us pay the dreaded Australia Tax we'll find a way around it, legitimately or otherwise. Probably the most popular of services like this is Netflix which, even though it's not available here, attracts some 200,000 subscribers here in Australia. That number could soon rocket skywards as Netflix has finally announced that they'll be coming to our shores early next year.
Australia will be the 16th country to receive the Netflix service, 7 years after they originally launched in the USA. Whilst there's been demand for them to come Australia for some time now the critical mass of semi-legitimate users, plus the maturity of the cloud infrastructure they will need to deliver it here (Netflix uses AWS), has finally reached a point where an actual presence is warranted. Details are scant on exactly what they'll be offering in Australia but looking at the other 14 non-US countries to get Netflix we can get a pretty good idea of what to expect when they finally hit the go live button for the Australian service.
For starters the full catalogue of shows that the USA service has will likely not be available to Netflix Australia subscribers. Whilst original content, like House of Cards or Orange is the New Black, will be available the content deals inked by rights holders with other companies in Australia will unfortunately take precedent over Netflix. This doesn't mean that this won't change over time as it's highly likely that rights holders will look to move onto Netflix as old contracts expire but it might put a damper on the initial uptake rate. Considering that there are numerous services to change your Netflix region to get the full catalogue though I'm sure the restriction won't have too much of an effect.
The DVD service probably won't be making it here either, although I don't think anyone really cares about that anyway.
Probably the biggest issue that Netflix will face coming to Australia is the dismal state of the Internet infrastructure here. Whilst most of us have enough speed to support some level of streaming the numbers of us that can do anything above 720p is a much more limited market. As long time readers will know I have little faith in the MTM NBN to provide the speeds required to support services like Netflix so I don't think this is a problem that will be going away any time soon. Well, unless everyone realises their mistake at the next election.
Overall this is good news for Australia as it has the potential to break the iron grip that many of the pay TV providers have on the content that Australians want. It might not be the service that many are lusting after for but over time I can see Netflix becoming the dominant content platform in Australia. Hopefully other content providers will follow suit not long after this and Australia will finally get all the services it's been lusting after for far too long. Maybe then people will realise the benefits of a properly implemented FTTP NBN and I'll finally be able to stop ranting about it.
The unfortunate truth about telecommunications within Australia is that everyone is under the iron rule of a single company: Telstra. Whilst the situation has improved somewhat in the last decade, mostly under threat of legal action from the Australian government, Australia still remains something of an Internet backwater. This can almost wholly be traced back to the lack of investment on Telstra's behalf in new infrastructure with their most advanced technology being their aging HFC networks that were only deployed in limited areas. This is why the NBN was such a great idea as it would radically modernize our telecommunications network whilst also ensuring that we were no longer under the control of a company that had long since given up on innovating.
To us Australians my opening statements aren't anything surprising, this is the reality that we've been living with for some time now. However when outsiders look in, like say the free CDN/DDoS protection service Cloudflare (who I've recently started using again), and find that bandwidth from Telstrat is about 20 times more expensive than their cheapest providers it does give you some perspective on the situation. Whilst you would expect some variability for different locations (given the number of dark fiber connections and other infrastructure) a 20x increase does appear wildly out of proportion. The original NBN would be the solution to this as it would upend Telstra's grip on the backbone connections that drive these prices however the Liberal's new MTM solution will do none of this.
Right now much of the debate of the NBN has been framed around the speeds that will be delivered to customers however that's really only half of the story. In order to support the massive speed increases that customers would be seeing with the FTTP NBN the back end infrastructure would need to be upgraded as well and this would include the interconnects that drive the peering prices that Cloudflare sees. Such infrastructure would also form the backbone of wide area networks that businesses and organisations use to connect their offices together, not to mention all the other services that rely on backhaul bandwidth. The MTM NBN simply doesn't have the same requirements, nor the future expandability, to necessitate the investment in this kind of back end infrastructure and, worse still, the last mile connections will still be under the control of Telstra.
That last point is one I feel that doesn't get enough attention in the mainstream media. The Liberals have released several videos that harp on about the point of making the right amount of investment in the NBN, citing that there's a cut off point where extra bandwidth doesn't enable people to do anything more. The problem with that thinking is though that, with the MTM NBN, you cannot guarantee that everyone will have access to those kinds of speeds. Indeed the MTM NBN can only guarantee 50Mbps to people who are 200m or less away from an exchange which, unfortunately, the vast majority of Australians aren't. Comparatively FTTP can deliver the same speeds regardless of distances and also has the ability to provide higher speeds well into the future.
In all honesty though the NBN has been transformed from a long term, highly valuable infrastructure project to a political football, one that the Liberal party is intent to kick around as long as it suits their agenda. Australia had such potential to become a leader in Internet services with an expansive fiber network that would have rivalled all others worldwide. Instead we have a hodge podge solution that does nothing to address the issues at hand and the high broadband costs, for both consumers and businesses alike, will continue as long as Telstra controls a vast majority of the critical infrastructure. Maybe one day we'll get the NBN we need but that day seems to get further and further away with each passing day.
There seems to be this small section of my brain that's completely disconnected from reality. At every turn with the Liberal's and the NBN it's been the part of my head that's said "Don't worry, I'm sure Turnbull and co will be honest this time around" and every single time it has turned out to be wrong. At every turn these "independent" reports have been stacked with personnel that all have vested interests in seeing Turnbull's views come to light no matter how hard they have to bend the facts in order to do so. Thus all the reports that have come out slamming Labor's solution are not to be trusted and the latest report, the vaulted cost benefit analysis that the Liberals have always harped on about, is a another drop on the gigantic turd pile that is the Liberal's NBN.
The problems with this cost-benefit analysis started long before the actual report was released. Late last year Turnbull appointed Henry Ergas as the head of the panel of experts that would be doing the cost-benefit analysis. The problem with this appointment is that he'd already published many pieces on the NBN before which where not only critical of the NBN but were also riddled with factual inaccuracies. So his opinion of the NBN was already well known prior to starting this engagement and thus he was not capable of providing a truly independent analysis, regardless of how he might want to present it. However in the interests of fairness (even though Turnbull won't be doing so) let's judge the report on it's merits so we can see just how big this pile of horseshit is.
The report hinges primarily on a metric called "Willingness to Pay (WTP)" which is what Australians would be willing to pay for higher broadband speeds. The metric is primarily based around data gathered by the Institute for Choice which surveyed around 3,000 Australians about their current broadband usage and then showed them some alternative plans that would be available under the NBN. Problem is the way these were presented were not representative of all the plans available nor did they factor in things like the speed not being guaranteed on FTTN vs guaranteed speed on FTTP. So essentially all this was judging was people's willingness to change to another kind of plan and honestly was not reflective of whether or not they'd want to pay more for higher broadband speeds.
Indeed this is even further reflected in the blended rate of probabilities used to determine the estimation of benefits with a 50% weighting applied to the Institute for Choice data and a 25% modifier to the other data (take-up demand and technical bandwidth demand) which, funnily enough, find in favour of the FTTP NBN solution. Indeed Table I makes it pretty clear that whenever there was multiple points of data the panel of experts decided to swing the percentages in ways that were favourable to them rather than providing an honest view of the data that they had. If the appointment of a long anti-NBN campaigner wasn't enough to convince you this report was a total farce then this should do the trick.
However what really got me about this report was summed up perfectly in this quote:
The panel would not disclose the costs of upgrading [to] FTTP compared with other options, which were redacted from the report, citing "commercial confidentiality associated with NBN Co's proprietary data".
What the actual fuck.
So a completely government owned company is citing commercial in confidence for not disclosing data in a report that was commissioned by the government? Seriously, what the fuck are you guys playing at here? It's obvious that if you included the cost of upgrading a FTTN network to FTTP, which has been estimated to cost at least $21 billion extra, then the cost-benefit would swing wildly in the direction of FTTP. Honestly I shouldn't be surprised at this point as the report has already taken every step possible to avoid admitting that a FTTP solution is the better option. Hiding the upgrade cost, which by other reports commissioned by the Liberals is to be required in less than 5 years after completion of their FTTN NBN, is just another fact they want they want to keep buried.
Seriously, fuck everything about Turnbull and his bullshit. They've commissioned report after report, done by people who have vested interests or are in Turnbull's favour, that have done nothing to reflect the reality of what the NBN was and what it should be. This is just the latest heaping on the pile, showcasing that the Liberals have no intention of being honest nor implementing a solution that's to the benefit of all Australians. Instead they're still focused on winning last year's election and we're all going to suffer because of it.
There's 2 main reasons why I've avoided writing about the NBN for the last couple months. For the most part it's been because there's really been nothing of note to report and sifting through hours of senate talks to find a nugget of new information to write about isn't really something I'm particularly enthused about doing. Secondly as someone who's deeply interested in technology (and makes his living out of services that could make heavy use of the NBN) the current state of the project is, frankly, infuriating and I don't think people enjoy reading about how angry I am. Still it seems that the Liberal's MTM NBN plan has turned from a hypothetical farce into a factual one and I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to lay down criticism where criticism is due.
The slogan the Liberal's ran with during their election campaign was "Fast. Affordable, Sooner." promising that they'd be able to deliver at least 25Mbps to every Australian by the end of 2016 with that ramping up to 50Mbps by the end of 2019. This ended up being called the Multi-Technology Mix (MTM) NBN which would now include the HFC rather than overbuilding them and would switch to FTTN technology rather than FTTP. The issues with this plan were vast and numerous (ones I've covered in great detail in the past) and suffice to say the technology community in Australia didn't buy into the ideas one bit. Indeed as time as progressed the core promises of the plan have dropped off one by one with NBNCo now proceeding with the MTM solution despite a cost-benefit analysis not being completed and the speed guarantee is now gone completely. If that wasn't enough it's come to my attention that even though they've gone ahead with the solution NBNCo hasn't been able to connect a single customer to the FTTN solution.
It seems the Liberal's promises simply don't stand up to reality, fancy that.
The issues they seem to be encountering with deploying their FTTN trial are what many of the more vocal critics had been harping on for a long time, primarily the power and maintenance requirements that FTTN cabinets would require. Their Epping trial has faced several months of delays because they weren't able to source adequate power, a problem which currently doesn't have a timeline for a solution yet. The FTTP NBN which was using Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology does not suffer from this kind of issue at all and this was showing in the ramp up in deployment numbers that NBNCo was seeing before it stopped its FTTP rollouts. If just the trial of the MTM solution is having this many issues then it follows that the full rollout will fare no better and that puts an axe to the Liberal's election promises.
We're rapidly approaching the end of this year which means that the timeline the Liberals laid out is starting to look less and less feasible. Even if the trial site gets everyone on board before the end of this year that still gives only 2 years for the rest of the infrastructure to be rolled out. The FTTP NBN wasn't even approaching those numbers so there's no way in hell that the MTM solution would be able to accomplish that, even with their little cheat of using the HFC networks.
So there goes the idea of us getting the NBN sooner but do any of their other promises hold true?
Well the speed guarantee went away some time ago so even the Liberals admit that their solution won't be fast so the only thing they might be able to argue is that they can do it cheaper. Unfortunately for Turnbull his assumption that Telstra would just hand over the copper free of charge something which Telstra had no interest in doing. Indeed as part of the renegotiation of the contract with Telstra NBNCo will be paying some $150 million for access to 200,000 premises worth of copper which, if extrapolated to all of Australia, would be around $5.8 billion. This does not include the cabinets or remediating any copper that can't handle FTTN speeds which will quickly eat into any savings on the deal. That's not going into the ongoing costs these cabinets will incur during their lifetimes which is an order of magnitude more than what a GPON network would.
I know I'm not really treading any new ground by writing all this but the MTM NBN is beyond a joke now; a failed election promise that's done nothing to help the Liberal's waning credibility and will only do damage to Australia's technology sector. Even if they do get voted out come next election it'll be years before the damage can be undone which is a royal shame as the NBN was one of the best bits of policy to come out of the tumultuous time that was Labor's last 2 terms in office. Maybe one day I'll be able to look back on all my rants on this topic and laugh about it but until that day comes I'll just be yet another angry IT sector worker, forever cursing the government that took away my fibre filled dream.
Not so long time readers will know that a month ago (exactly, strangely enough) I posted about the issues that a FTTN NBN wouldn't fix, namely that of the horrendous nature of the copper network that Telstra currently maintains. When I posted it I figured that my almost unusably slow Internet was the byproduct of the incumbent weather and would soon rectify itself, something which had happened in the past. Unfortunately that wasn't the case at all and after many days of sunshine and no improvement in sight I decided to do the thing I had been regretting: calling up Telstra to get the line investigated.
You can then imagine my elation when I saw that they now have a handy online form for you to fill out instead of calling them. Like a dutiful consumer I filled it out and sent it on its way, not caring about the multiple warnings about getting charged $120 if there was no fault found. The site guaranteed me a response within a week and so I waited for them to respond. Almost like clockwork a response appear from Telstra a week later claiming that the problem had been resolved and inviting me to take a survey about my experience. If my problem hadn't been fixed, it said, I could say so on the survey and they'd continue investigating the issue.
Of course the fault hadn't been fixed as no one had contacted me since lodging the fault so it was obvious that they hadn't done any troubleshooting at all, that was just the system automatically closing out a ticket that had no action on it. I replied to the survey in kind, outlining the issues I was experiencing and the troubleshooting steps I had taken to fix it. I received a call back a day later from an agent who was going to handle my case who was very understanding of the situation I was in. However the earliest he could send out a technician was a month away although he promised he'd get that moved up.
I never heard back from him after a couple call backs where he told me he couldn't do anything for me (even though he promised to keep me updated). Luckily the technician did arrive on the scheduled date although at 8AM rather than the agreed time of after 5pm. Upon inspection of my outlet he asked if I was able to get a connection at all as the line was essentially unusable by his diagnostic tools. After a quick trip to the pit he came back with an assessment that shouldn't shock anyone but should make you lose all faith in the state of Telstra's copper network.
Essentially the pit had been uncovered for quite some time, much like the above picture, with the terminals exposed to the elements. Another technician had been by recently though as they had put a temporary cover the terminals to protect it however this had to have been done after my terminal had degraded. A simple rewiring job fixed the issue but the pit still remains uncovered although, hopefully, the terminals are now protected from the elements so that it won't happen again in the future.
The issue here is that I know this isn't exactly uncommon as I've managed to pass multiple pits in my travellings around Canberra that are in a similar state. To get speeds higher than what I get right now would mean that a lot of remediation to the copper network would need to be done and no where in the government's NBN plan does it stipulate that happening. This makes their promise of getting higher speeds to everyone cheaper and faster hollow as the infrastructure they're relying on to provide it simply isn't capable of delivering the required outcomes. I could go on but I feel like I've said my peace about this a dozen times over already. I just wanted to highlight the amount of rigmarole I had to go through to get a single connection fixed which, when multiplied by an entire nation, shows how infeasible a FTTN NBN really is.


text:
"12-year-old design prodigy Kelly Callaway took us into the fashion future with her collection of modern dresses and separates. The Star Trek inspired pieces popped with color and geometric shapes. With no formal training other than her mother teaching her, Kelly has been designing and sewing since the age of 7 in her hometown of Scottsdale, AZ. If she is capable of this at 12 years old, I can only imagine what she will accomplish in her teen years. Watch out Project Runway Junior!"
At eight years old, Kelly Callaway started to become interested in fashion. She learned how to design, she sketched, she learned how to become a patternmaker. The interest grew.
At 11 years old she showed in Phoenix Fashion Week and participated in Kansas City Fashion Week.
Today, at 13 years old, she is an emerging designer at Charleston Fashion Week. Callaway has it all planned out from here: go on Project Runway, attend school to learn more about business and fashion, and expand her brand.
Callaway's designs were colorful, fun, bright, lively, and modern. She focused on using cool tones, limiting her palette to mostly blue, purple, and white. Close fitting pieces balanced the shape of her voluminous outer pieces.
Her cohesive collection hit all the right notes, even brining a nod to the 80s trends that have been resurfacing this season."
–Kelly Callaway – This designer is 12 years old. 12! What was I doing at 12? I don't even remember but it certainly wasn't showing my beautiful collection at fashion weeks."
Has anyone has ever wondered if a dream can be achieved by the age of 12? Well, according to Scottsdale native Kelly Callaway, the answer is yes. On the surface, Callaway seems like your typical 12-year-old; however, after getting to know her a little more, it is apparent that this mature young woman is destined for high success. She uses her passion and love of creative energy to make show-stopping pieces that will have you doing a double take. The incorporation of color and pattern bring the fun of a carefree tween and her perfectly tailored lines illustrate her sophistication.
Callaway will be lighting up the runway with her bold, brave and beautiful designs this March at the Lexus Charleston Fashion Week (CFW). By already having previous fashion week experience, she is on the road to victory in the competition CFW has for emerging designers. CFW is one of the leading fashion weeks in the U.S. and Callaway is one of only 12 designers chosen from all over the country competing for $40,000.
So take a moment to read on about her dreams and successes. You never know, she might inspire you to continue pursuing your own.
AFM: Tell me something about yourself people usually do not know.
Kelly Callaway: I am very fast at memorizing song lyrics and know a lot of songs from the 80's to today.
AFM: Do you plan on studying design in the future/college?
KC: I enjoy fashion design, interior design, and urban planning (basically anything creative) very much; however, my interest might change from now until college. There are so many things I am interested in doing.
AFM: What are your hobbies outside of fashion design?
KC: I play club soccer, so that takes up a lot of my time. I also love learning and reading more about interior design and urban planning since I am so interested in it.
AFM: What was your feeling when you saw your designs go down a runway the first time?
KC: When I was 11, I showed my first mini collection at Phoenix Fashion Week's Community Night Runway Show (in 2016). Seeing my designs walk down the runway was surreal. I was so excited to have people see my designs for the first time. In March of 2017, I showed a full 10-piece collection at Kansas City Fashion Week and was on the runway again at Phoenix Fashion Week later that year as part of their Community Night Runway Show once again.
AFM: What are you working on right now?
KC: I am working on my collection for the Fall 2018 runway show at Charleston Fashion Week being presented on March 15. I was chosen as one of 12 semifinalists in their Emerging Designer Competition.
AFM: Do you ever design/make clothes for your friends?
KC: No, I usually design for women who are willing to take a chance on wearing bold colors and patterns.
AFM: What would you like to achieve by the end of this year?
KC: By the end of 2018 I hope to be a more recognized designer and have my brand out in stores so I can sell to a larger audience.
AFM: What inspires you?
KC: I find inspiration in the lines and architecture of shapes and flattering silhouettes.
AFM: Who do you look up to?
KC: I look up to my mom because she taught me how to sew and pattern-make. She is the person who really introduced me to the whole world of design.
AFM: Who's your favorite artist/designer?
KC: I don't spend a lot of time looking at recent fashion and designers but anyone who has fun colors and patterns, and clean, modern garments is who I would look up to.
AFM: Walk me through the process of creating a piece.
KC: First, I select and finalize my design sketch. Then, I pattern-make each garment by draping on a dress form. My pattern is made in muslin and then is cut out in the actual fabric. When everything is ready, the garment is sewed. After it is done being sewn, I check the design on the dress form to make sure it looks OK and, if it does, I then fit the garment to a model or client.
AFM: What is your dream?
KC: My dream is to be very successful in my field once I graduate from college, move to a big city and find an amazing job. I would also love to appear on Project Runway Junior when I am old enough!
#KCFW F/W'17 Wednesday Night Runway Show
Kelly Callaway Designs
Kansas City Fashion Week F/W 2017 - Wednesday Night Recap
Kelly Callaway Designs
I was seriously blown away by this next collection from Kelly Callaway Designs… Why? Because Kelly is only 11 years old!!! Yep…just 2 years older than my oldest son. Craziness. Her designs were very bright and vibrant and many were asymmetrical, which I've always loved. She mostly showed dresses and skirts, but there were some looks with pants, too. She got a standing ovation during her finale and it gave me goosebumps! I can't wait to see what else she does in the future!
FW '17 Wednesday Night Runway
Kelly Callaway Designs
At just 11 years old, Kelly Callaway is living her dreams of being a fashion designer! She has shown her collections previously at Phoenix Fashion Week and now debuting for the first time in Kansas City! Her looks are vibrant and fun featuring amazing craftsmanship with beautiful colors and patterns. Kelly's vision for bold and modern designs were a crowd favorite, earning her a standing ovation!
KC Fashion Week
Kelly Callaway Designs
At the age of 12, Kelly Callaway has arguably done more than most post-college graduates. The seventh grader on the club soccer team has a self-titled online design line and has had her collections featured in three fashion weeks already. Charleston Fashion Week will be her latest endeavor.
"I was first introduced to fashion when I was about 8 years old," says Callaway, who's from Arizona. "I was a very artistic person. I would paint and draw and took a lot of art classes. I had books filled with sketches. Then I wanted to know how to create them."
Between full days of school and soccer matches during the evenings, Callaway made time to fit in design.
"I'm really interested in the architectural side of fashion, so I like a lot of the lines and pattern-making," she says. "I like crazy patterns but also the silhouette side of it — clean cut, asymmetrical."
Her previous collections have been in two Phoenix Fashion Weeks and one Kansas City Fashion Week and have focused on bright patterns along with architectural configurations. She'll be doing a bit of the same, though she's incorporating more solid colors this time around.
"My collection is going to be a combination of hard, outer pieces on top of close-fitting garments," says Callaway. "There will be fun patterns and prints; it's colorful and whimsical."
Following in Freeman's footsteps, Callaway hopes to make it onto "Project Runway." However, she can't apply to "Project Runway Jr." until she is 13 or 14, according to show guidelines. That hasn't stopped her from pursuing her dreams.
"You're never too young to start doing something that you love and making a living out of it," she says.
Scottsdale native Kelly Callaway, 11, is an aspiring fashion designer who made her fashion debut this past October on the runway at Phoenix Fashion Week.
As part of PHXFW's Community Night runway show, Ms. Callaway presented a two-look mini-collection that introduced her design talent to local fashionistas, according to a press release.
She received positive press and feedback on her designs that news of her debut reached as far as Kansas City, Mo. Kansas City Fashion Week reached out to her inviting her to present a full runway collection on March 29 at its Fashion Week show, a release states.
Ms. Callaway will be one of eight designer shows featured for that evening. The show will be at The Grand Hall at Power & Light in Kansas City, Mo. from 7:30-10 p.m.
At a very early age, Ms. Callaway developed the skill of expressing herself visually through art. She first developed that expression through painting, and then through fashion design.
Ms. Callaway says her mentor is her mother, who studied Fashion Design at The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. It is through her mother's training Ms. Callaway learned how to transform her sketches into actual, physical garments, through draping, patternmaking and sewing.
She designs bold, modern, colorful silhouettes that are made for a strong and independent woman who is willing to take risks. She says she is inspired by bold prints and color that are futuristic and modern. She will be presenting her Fall/Winter 2017 collection of 10 looks in March on the runways at KCFW.
Ms. Callaway currently sells her art and designs on her website, kellycallaway.com. It is her goal the premiere of this collection will garner enough interest to help her launch her fashion business.


text:
Upper foot pain can seriously inhibit your day-to-day activities. Unfortunately, more Americans experience this pain than one might think. Obviously, your feet are one of the body parts that experience the most wear and tear. Here are 10 common causes and solutions for your upper foot pain.
Read More: 10 Causes of Upper Foot Pain and Some Solutions
Foot pain can be caused by genetics, or it can be the result of an injury or disease. The location and severity of the pain, as well as the accompanying symptoms, are important to consider when seeking a pain-relieving solution.
Read More: Common Causes of Foot Pains
Tendonitis is the inflammation of a tendon; tendons are thick cords of tissue that connect muscles to bones. Tendonitis can be the result of overuse of a tendon, from a foot or ankle injury such as a ligament sprain, or repetitive friction on the tendon including a shoe rubbing on a tendon.
Read More: Foot and Ankle Tendonitis


text:
If you're a fan of Big Sean, then you've most likely heard one of Key Wane's productions.
Wane decided to drop a new single "Not The Same" featuring Quentin Miller. Miller, who became well-known to the public for allegedly being Drake's ghostwriter, raps over the smooth beat along with the producer himself. Although this cut sounds a little unfinished, you'll still be able to vibe along. Check it out below.


text:
This swing deserves a standing ovation...
Our exciting new take on an age-old pastime, with this Stand Up Swing, your kids have tons of new opportunities at their fingertips. With this funky design, your youngsters can safely stand on their swing's large, square 14" x 14" platform – reinforced for extra-strength and security. This exciting swing comes with coated chains that prevent pinched fingers, and guard against rust and other wear-and-tear. Your swing is built to hold up to 115 lbs., and is easy-to-install on your home play structure. Get your new Stand Up Swing today and add a new and inspiring element for your backyard swing set; enchanting and engaging your little ones.
Product Specs
Special Features:
- Sturdy 14" x 14" platform
- Coated chain for pinch-free grip
- Supports up to 115 lbs.
- Builds core body strength and coordination
- Easy to install with wildly exiciting results
- Attaches easily to swing hangers - available for separate purchase
- Meets and/or exceeds ASTM standards for backyard residential use only
- 5-year limited warranty
- Not for commercial use
- Age: 2-10 years
- Weight Limit: 115 lbs.
- Packaged Dimensions: 14.75" L x 14.5" W x 3.5" H
- Assembled Dimensions: 14" x 14" W x 74" H
- Weight with Packaging: 8.75 lbs.
- Assembled Weight: 8.25 lbs.
- Color: Green
- Material: Metal and plastic
- Chain or rope length: 60"
- Swing Chain Material: Plastisol coated chain prevents pinched fingers and will not rust
- Weather Resistant: Yes
- Safety Certifications: ASTM and CPSIA compliant
- Resources
No safety tips found for this product.
Before You Buy
No before you buy tips found for this product.
- Customer Reviews


text:
Beneficial Bacteria Slayers to Improve Your Health
Posted on December 28 2016
Did you ever have a gut feeling something isn't working correctly within your body?Your gut bacteria may be telling you something. Scientists are studying the link between the bacteria in our gut and virtually every disease that ails us.
Bacteria are microbes and our bodies are filled with them. This complex community of microorganisms live everywhere in your body. Bacteria line your intestines and help you digest food. During digestion, they make vitamins that are vital for life, send signals to the immune system, and make small molecules that can help your brain work.
No matter how well you eat, you must be equally aware of the factors that can put your microflora at risk. To improve your gut flora balance, make sure to avoid these probiotic killers.
Prescription Antibiotics
If your doctor has prescribed antibiotics, don't stop taking them. However, they're Kryptonite to both good and bad bacteria, so it is important to take a probiotic supplement either a few hours before or after your antibiotic for optimal protection. It's a well-known fact that antibiotics kill good and bad bacteria within your gut. If you add a probiotic to your regimen, you can help restore beneficial microbes.
Probiotics, whether naturally occurring or added to foods, are affected by high-sugar environments. An environment rich in sugar draws water from cells, causing the cell walls to break down and eventually leading to cell death.
Tap water
Unless you are drinking well water, tap water is full of excess amounts of chlorine and fluoride that harm your beneficial gut bacteria.
GMO Foods, Pesticides, and other Toxins
With factory farmed meats and dairy, you are likely to consume traces of pesticides and herbicides, which can also negatively impact your gut flora. Livestock is typically fed genetically engineered grains. Common weed killer, used widely throughout conventional agriculture, was once thought to be harmless. However, science is now uncovering the fact that it can cause mutations in the white blood cells, thus severely weakening the body's natural ability to fight off disease. To avoid this, eat organic, so you know that your food is pesticide-free.
femMED's products partake in 3rd party GMO testing by the International GMO Evaluation and Notification Program (IGEN™). IGEN™ is the world's first formal certification program that tests finished products, and their ingredients to determine if genetic engineering was used in the production of the product or is present in the final product. Product testing results will be publicly available online on www.igenprogram.com
Gluten – Grains
Exposure to gluten means intestinal damage that takes the form of increased intestinal permeability and changes in the gut microbiota. The good news is that preliminary studies found types of friendly bacteria in probiotics can degrade gluten.
Emotional stress
Stress takes a significant toll on the body, and the gut feels the brunt of the effects.
Chemicals and medications
Over-the-counter drugs such as Advil, Motrin, Midol, and heartburn pills. A recent study shows that if you are taking the over-the-counter or prescription proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for heartburn, you may be putting your gut flora at risk.
Show your gut some love
80 percent of your immune system resides in your gastrointestinal tract. When your gut is healthy, you have a large, thriving population of beneficial or friendly bacteria, or probiotics, supporting your immune system. They help form a protective barrier within your gut.
We are exposed to many of these foods, toxins and stressors daily. Optimizing and supporting the beneficial bacteria in your gut is one of the most powerful things you can do for your health and well-being. An imbalance in your system becomes a breeding ground for "bad" bacteria, yeast, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
If you can help your body maintain this optimal balance – 85 percent beneficial to about 15 percent "bad" bacteria – you support the health-promoting benefits of probiotics. Eliminate the foods that feed bad bacteria; think of sugar, unhealthy fats, gluten, GMOs, pesticides, chemicals, and toxins as fertilizer for harmful bacteria, and start consuming probiotic rich foods and supplements.


text:
How To Find Out Reputable Roofer in Noblesville indiana
July 26, 2017 Category :Roofing Off
Finding the Noblesville roofer can be a huge investment throughout terms of money, time, and also trust. Yes, you want for you to get the lowest price in your residence renovation, however you furthermore want to find somebody which will execute a good along with lasting job. The idea seems just such as a simple equation, but obtaining a new roofer who meets these demands can be harder than a person think-especially since unlike various other house contractors, roofers don't require just about any certification or even unique coaching to legally operate in several places.
With this in mind, you're going to want to do the little bit of investigative study prior in order to signing just about any contracts. To be Able To ensure it is easier, we're here to supply a person with this particular handy self-help guidebook to making certain your Noblesville roofer is the proper one for the job.
As we mentioned, roofers within Canada don't require virtually any unique licensing or even certification, thus all regarding it will come right down to hands on experience. Request your own prospective roofer if he features just about any training or perhaps experience, specifically with the type of labor you would like done. for instance, if you have the complexly shaped roof, you don't want to employ somebody who's merely done flat sheds. In the actual event that one thing seems fishy, anyone should not be embarrassed to ask for references or even photographs of your roofer's past work.
If your current contractor has his own, or even functions regarding someone else's business, then create an effort to find out about it. Sometimes any easy search on Google can let a person know all anyone could must know-or additional times, it's certainly not likely to let an individual know something which in turn can easily additionally be considered a poor sign. In case neither a person nor anybody you understand offers heard about your current Noblesville roof company along with you cannot find them on your internet or perhaps within your neighborhood phonebook, then you may have a problem. Inside cases such as these, once again-don't always be ashamed to ask for any reference!
Even if it isn't your fault, if your roofer falls or perhaps is injured while working on your own home, you could discover youself to end up being able to be in a lot of legal hot water. With Regard To this reason it's crucial which you discover regardless associated with whether your current roofer has liability and workplace safety insurance. Far Better yet, request in order to view a copy involving it, and also call the insurance agency to discover out if your own contractor is at excellent standing.
Before investing hiring the roofer, be positive you both signal an throughout depth contract that features details in pricing, occasion frames, insurance as well as liabilities, plus a list of each aspect regarding the task in hand. It's additionally smart to agree on a guarantee for a set amount of time.
Most, or even all, reputable roofers Noblesville as well as contractors will accept provide the above info and terms. In your event that they do not this may be the first red flag that an inexpensive contractor could be as well excellent to become true. When referring as the outcome of it, we're discussing your house here, and that's no place to chop corners. Accomplish the research, ask questions, along with you'll be certain to find the right roofer pertaining to you.… Read More


text:
Published on July 28th, 2013 | by Idania.Silvia0
How Does Your Business Solve a Strategic IT Issue
WIth the increasing reliance by businesses on information technology, and the growing complexity of desktops, tablets, networks, the cloud and applications, related problems are on the rise as well. Some of these are of no consequence, often just user error. Others are more alarming, and can threaten to bring down a company's entire information infrastructure.
How to deal with problems like these is often the subject of water cooler talk within companies, and on a large scale, entire conferences are dedicated to IT problem solving and those with masters in cyber security.
While the easiest path, if you have a full-time IT person or staff, may be to refer it on them, turn a blind eye (and ear) and hope for the best. If you don't have a staffer, hiring a consultant, or sometimes, if your hardware or app is under warranty or service contract you can get those people to survey the situation and make recommendations.
But often company management is faced with having to solve the problem of plotting a course on how to achieve the strategic objective or solve the original problem. For that, you need to have a company policy, practice, or procedure that you can turn to for jump starting the process.
Some companies use the 'divide and conquer' strategy. Works in battle, doesn't it? And you're doing battle against your IT setup! The divide and conquer strategy involves breaking the large problem into several, smaller, manageable problems to solve. That way it doesn't seem like the sky is falling, but rather that there is some uncomfortable precipitation that has to be dealt with.
The smaller decisions might be as simple as 1) Is this problem critical enough to interfere with company operations; 2) Can the problem be fixed in-house; 3) If not, do we have a reputable contractor that we have used in the past; or 4) Would it be easier to just purchase all new hardware or apps, is that workable? Once these questions are answered, you can look at the larger problem.
A hard lesson learned for many small companies and start-ups, is to have to retrofit hardware and apps into a company that is growing faster than its resources. Many experts believe it is prudent to install systems from day one that are either scalable or capable of supporting a much larger company. Along with that process, consider keeping a company journal of IT problems as a kind of road map for the future. When a problem crops up, look back through the journal and see how it was solved before. It might not be the ideal solution this time, but it will provide you with a solid starting point for solving the problem. Document the new process as well.
In the end, strategic IT problems can cease to be a problem, with forward thinking about the growth needs of the company, and adequate capital expenditure planning and budgeting. It is always better not to have problems to begin with if they can be avoided.


text:
The Ark Community Project
The Ark Community Project Ltd has been in the north of Plymouth for over 12 years and has moved from the Widewell area, just a few minutes' walk down the road, to Southway.
The Ark Community Project Ltd, managed by Jenn and Zoé, now based in The Church of the Holy Spirit, where they have access to a large hall for groups and other facilities.
Still supporting service families in the northern area of Plymouth, we have links with the Primary schools, including working with their Military Kids Club Heroes groups and also arranging Storybook Waves.
Jenn and Zoé are still running groups for the under 5s and sewing and crafting. And as they have always have a kettle ready to make a cup of tea when needed.
For contact details please visit our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/TheArkCommunityProject


text:
Regulations in legal states, aiming to childproof cannabis products, have had the side effect of creating massive waste, while cultivation can be energy and water intensive.
For the cannabis industry to be sustainable — whether from the perspective of greening the cultivation process or cutting back on packaging waste — consumers need to hold their favorite brands accountable, and support only those that do their part to reduce their environmental impact.
Click here to read the complete article
Madison Margolin ~ Civilized.Life ~


text:
Want to be a small cog in a big machine? Then this is not for you!
Want to be an integral part of a small world-class team? Then read on!
We are looking for skilled software engineers and architects from all levels to join us in building a revolutionary product. Participate in the full development lifecycle from design to code to deployment and work with cutting edge technologies in mobile, cloud, virtualization, and web development.
Opportunity highlights:
Are you the geek we're looking for?
Skills and Requirements:
Other than a solid-background in Computer Science, there are no hard requirements. We value opinionated, independent individuals who take pride in their work and, at the same time, are easy going, good team players, and accept criticism.
However, any of the following development experiences are desirable:
Apply today:
If this opportunity sounds right for you and you meet the demanding requirements, please send your ASCII or PDF resume as an attachment to firstname.lastname@example.com and tell us why you're the person we should add to our visionary team.


text: The Cherry Tree Boutique is the Sunshine Coast's first boutique undergarment store, focusing especially on bras of all shapes and sizes. Started in Halfmoon Bay in 2017, the Cherry Tree Boutique was welcomed into Trail Bay Centre in May 2018. Our mission is to sell quality bras to Sunshine Coast women of ALL shapes and sizes, at reasonable prices. We currently have several styles available up to a J cup size, and even offer minor alterations to achieve that perfect fit. We also carry a wide array of panties, as well as a selection of lingerie, swimwear, and maternity bras. Some of our brands include Elomi, Freya, Fantasie, Goddess, Steven Madden, Parfait, Sofra, and others.


text:
Why Everyone Should Rent a Photo Booth
Everyone that is going to throw a party in the near future will definitely find that there is a lot of things that will be filling up their minds at the moment. People will find that there are a lot of things that they have to think about and plan out before they can do this. When someone is planning their party, one thing that they should certainly consider getting is a photo booth. People that decide to rent a photo booth for their party will discover that there are a ton of advantages that they can enjoy when they do this. Everyone that has never done anything like this in the past will no doubt be wondering what exactly the benefits that come along with getting photo booth rentals are exactly. Today, we are going to have a short look at some of the very many benefits that everyone that makes the right decision by renting a photo booth for their next party will definitely enjoy when they decide to do this.
When you decide to rent a photo booth, you will find that this is going to make your event a lot more fun. All people today that are the ones who are in charge of a party are no doubt always trying to find some ways that they can make their party even more fun. And people who are going to have a lot of people attending their party should definitely make it as entertaining as possible for them. Everyone today knows that when a photo booth is in a party, it is something that is going to be super enjoyable indeed. And when people set up the photo booth, they will find that so many of their party guests are going to head to the photo booth to get their pictures. This is why all people who are going to have a party should definitely make sure that they add a photo booth to their party right now. All people that do this will find that their party is going to be so much more fun for everyone that is involved!
Another great thing about photo booth rentals is the fact that people can go home with a wonderful souvenir. There's something about the photos of photo booths that make them very wonderful to bring home. That is why when the party is long over, people will still have special memories of this time if they bring home a photograph. Everyone today that has a party coming up should go and get photo booth rentals right now. When you do this, you can be sure that everyone is going to go home with a piece of the party with them.
Photo booth bee see page about photo booth temecula photo booth rental temecula Photo booth bee now! see page


text:
When it comes to our road system, Ben & Jerry's annual ice-cream giveaway has much to teach us.
Today's that day, folks. Ben and Jerry are giving away free ice cream to everyone who comes by their stores. Whether you're hankering for Cherry Garcia or Chunky Monkey, you can now get it for absolutely zero price.
Well, there is that one thing: You're going to have to wait in line, and probably for a long time. As you're standing there, it would be a good time for you to ponder the valuable lesson that Ben and Jerry are providing in the fundamentals of transportation economics.
You'll note that unlike the average day at a Ben & Jerry's, when you might have to wait in line a for a minute or two to get your favorite flavor, now you're going to end up waiting twenty minutes, or a half hour, or possibly longer. In terms of customers served and gallons scooped, this is going to be their biggest day of the year—last time they gave out a million scoops of ice cream worldwide.
You'll probably also notice that most of the people standing in line are people who aren't working nine-to-five. Not many investment bankers or plumbers, but lots of students, moms with small kids, and people who have at least part of the day off from work.
Make no mistake, although you're not laying out any cash for your ice cream, you are paying for it: with your time. Let's say that you'd pay $2.50 for that scoop of Phish Food (they're a bit smaller than regulation on free cone day). If you have to wait half an hour, and you value your time at say, $15 per hour, that $2.50 scoop really cost you something like $7.50. It's a safe bet that most of the people waiting in line value their time at something less than $5 an hour if they're willing to wait that long for a "free" cone. Also, if you really want ice cream, and are pressed for time, there's no way that you're going to jump to the head of the line, no matter how much you'd be willing to pay.
Substitute "freeway" for "free cone" and you've got a pretty good description of how transportation economics works. When it comes to our road system, every rush hour is like free cone day at Ben & Jerry's. The customers (drivers) are paying zero for their use of the limited capacity of the road system, and we're rationing this valuable product based on people's willingness to tolerate delays (with the result that lot's of people who don't attach a particularly high value to their time are slowing down things for everyone).
If Ben & Jerry's were run by traffic engineers, instead of smart business people (albeit smart business people with a strong social-minded streak), they'd look at these long lines and tell Ben and Jerry that they really need to expand their stores. After all, the long lines of people waiting to get ice cream represent "congestion" and "delay," that can only be solved by building more and bigger ice-cream stores. And thanks to what you might call the "fundamental law of ice-cream congestion," building more stores might shorten lines a little, but it would also likely prompt more people to stand in line to get free ice cream, or to go through the line twice. Of course, with zero revenue, Ben & Jerry's would find it hard to build more stores.
No doubt Ben and Jerry generate enough good will and probably attract a few new customers with their willingness to give up one day of revenue per year. And they'll make more than enough money on the other 364 days of the year to cover their losses today. But what works for ice cream one day a year is an epic failure when it comes to roads. As long as the price is zero, there will be more demand than you can handle, and you'll be struggling to pay for the capacity that (you think) is needed.
This article originally appeared on CityObservatory.


text:
Gift Card
Shopping for someone else but not sure what to give them? Give them the gift of choice with a gift card to be used online at www.poshponyboutique.com
Gift cards are delivered by email and contain instructions to redeem them at checkout. Gift cards bought online can only be used online at www.poshponyboutique.com. Our gift cards have no additional processing fees.


text:
It's time for week 9 of my money on the side series where I share with you all the ways I have made money on the side and brought in little treats for my family. This week has been so busy blog wise. I'm working on lots of reviews at the moment which I really do enjoy.
Surveys and competitions have taken a back seat while the blog is busy. I'm still trying to squeeze a few entries here and there as I find comping a great stress reliever.
Some important things to note before I begin.
All earnings from income streams including blogging, surveys, focus groups etc must be declared for tax purposes. I recommend using a spreadsheet to keep track it makes completing your tax return a lot easier.
In the UK prizes are not taxable.
For freebies I will try to include links where I can, lots are time sensitive offers so may have expired by the time I post.
£160 blogging income.
I've not had a minute to complete any surveys this week at all. When I have a good week on the blog I don't mind relaxing on the other income streams. The great thing about surveys is that you can pick them up whenever you want.
I have a couple of sites that are almost at the cashing out point, I will concentrate on these over the next few weeks.
There was a short-lived offer in The Guardian newspaper a few weeks ago. You could apply for a cardboard virtual reality headset for free. I thought this might be fun for the kids to try over the half term.
I mentioned a few weeks ago that I won a Captain Birdseye soft toy on an instant win purchase competition. He arrived this week and Jake didn't hesitate to snap him up. The competition is open until November 26th if you want to have a go yourself.
Blog Reviews
This week has been really busy with opportunities for the blog and lots of great products have arrived. We certainly have lots to keep us busy over the half-term. Thankfully the kids have 2 weeks off so we should squeeze it all in.
These lovely personalised story books from Wonderbly arrived for the kids this week. Look out for a blog post coming up soon.
I'm working with bakerdays on a review and a giveaway. Look out for my upcoming post where you could win one of your very own.
John Adams have a brand new craft club page on Facebook and we are collaborating with them. They have sent these lovely crafty goodies for the kids to enjoy.
This fantastic Anki Overdrive* arrived for us to review. It's absolutely fantastic, I can't wait to share our review with you.
Jake was delighted to be sent the new PJ Masks DVD this week. It's due for release on October 30th. We have had a sneak peek so we can tell you what we think.
I'm working on a Christmas gifts campaign with Britmums and Sports Direct. I chose these goodies, each thing only cost £5 which is amazing.
If you have enjoyed this weeks post then make sure you check out last weeks Money On The Side post too.
Disclosure: This posts contains affiliate links*.


text: Enjoy superior comfort on the porch or patio with these stylish traditional outdoor ceiling fans. These fans not only add style to your porch, but they also provide a way to cool down during the summer months while enjoying the outdoors. Choose from an array of colors and finish options, as well as between an outdoor ceiling fan with light, or without. You'll also find plenty of controls, blades, and lighting kits, which allow you to change an outdoor ceiling fan without light, to one with added lighting. Find rustic, casual, and elegant fans to be suit your home's traditional design theme. It's all here at Destination Lighting.


text:
New Jersey Connect, Inc. hopes that you find the following resources informative and helpful. Please click on the names to go directly to the individual websites:
Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is a registered 501(c)3 organization dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research, and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information, and advocacy.
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plainfield & Middlesex County
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Plainfield & Middlesex County is a nonprofit, equal opportunity, Christian housing ministry dedicated to helping low and moderate income families improve the conditions in which they live in the Greater Plainfield area and Middlesex County of New Jersey.
Kessler Foundation
Kessler Foundation is a public charity dedicated to improving quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
Kessler Foundation bears the name of Dr. Henry H. Kessler, an orthopedist who founded Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in 1947 to provide comprehensive rehabilitation for people with physical disabilities and to help them achieve maximum independence. Today, the rehabilitation research and community employment programs of Kessler Foundation continue Dr. Kessler's legacy.
Kessler Foundation maintains its charitable mission; Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation, the largest and most comprehensive hospital for medical rehabilitation in New Jersey, now operates as a for-profit institution.
Kessler Foundation strives to improve the lives of people with physical and cognitive disabilities caused by stroke, multiple sclerosis, brain and spinal cord injury, and other chronic neurologic and musculoskeletal conditions. Over the past decade, Kessler Foundation has invested almost $50 million in the work of its Research Center, where investigators develop ways to help people with disabilities overcome obstacles to leading full and productive lives in our communities.
New Jersey Department of Human Services: Division of Disability Services
Within the New Jersey Dept. of Human Services, the Division of Disability Services (DDS) provides a single point of entry for those seeking disability-related information in New Jersey. DDS works to streamline access to services and information that promote and enhance independent living for individuals with all disabilities by facilitating coordination and cooperation among local, county, and state government agencies.
DDS promotes maximum independence and the full participation of people with disabilities within all aspects of community life. DDS publishes New Jersey Resources, the most comprehensive guide of services available throughout New Jersey for people with disabilities. This directory is updated annually.
New Jersey Housing Resource Center
The New Jersey Housing Resource Center is a free, online searchable registry of affordable and accessible housing units throughout the State of New Jersey.
The R.P. Marzulli Co.
R.P. Marzulli Co., Inc. is a property management business that manages the two projects developed by New Jersey Connect: Freeman Apartments in Springfield and The Apartments at St. Elizabeth's in Linden. The company currently manages 30+ properties with more than 2700 units.
Union County Office for the Disabled
The Union County Office for the Disabled, under the Union County Dept. of Human Services, works to advance independent living and assists consumers with disabilities in realizing their full inclusion in all aspects of County life. The Office also promotes community-based living options.


text:
STELLAR have been unfairly boxed in by many as a one-dimensional 'sexy' group, but they're more diverse than people give them credit for. If you go right back to their debut with "Rocket Girl," they've really done a lot of sounds and concepts. They've also been quick to get in on burgeoning trends; "Marionette" came pretty early in the sexy concept craze of 2014, and "Sting" served trop-house a year-and-a-half ago.
For their new crowd-funded comeback album, Stellar into the World, the girls are pushing the envelope again, but in a totally different way than we've ever seen before. Lead single "Archangels of the Sephiroth" not only has one of the most unique song titles in K-pop history, it also sounds like nothing else on the charts right now. With hypnotic sitars and cinematic drums, Swedish producers Samuel Waermö (BoA, Arashi) and Jon Hällgren (SHINee, Girls' Generation) weave an exotic music tapestry inspired by the Middle East and India. The chorus, a fist-pumping cry of "Gimme your – love!," is incredibly potent, while the lyrics have a new-agey, tantric quality to them.
STELLAR step further outside the box for the music video, which has a fresh fantasy concept with an elaborate good and evil narrative. It feels a bit like a ploy to appeal to nerds, which I think it smart. The video also marks the debut of STELLAR's new member, Soyoung, who I'm not convinced was a necessary addition yet. She doesn't do anything that the other members couldn't do, and it's not like she's from Produce 101 or some other high-profile platform where she can bring new fans to the group.
For the rest of Stellar into the World, the girls take a safer approach. There's not one but TWO trop-house b-sides, both produced by Gr8moon (who just did "Cactus" for rookies A.C.E). The best of the pair is "Why Me," which has a gorgeous tropical chorus sung by my girl Minhee. They should've stopped there, but they continue the sound on "The Wave," which is closer to the tired trop sound that we're all sick of at this point. The only people really stanning this track are going to be K-pop fans that love anything dancey and non-cute.
The album wraps up with "Twinkle," which is one of those limp ballads for the fans that almost every K-pop group has. While it's a definite skip for me, I can appreciate the sentiment considering how STELLAR's fanbase have literally kept the group alive through crowd-funding for over a year. And bonus points to Gayoung for writing and co-producing it.
Overall, this is a decent enough K-pop album, but with STELLAR it's always about the title track. After playing it safe with last year's "Crying," it's nice to see the girls back to their daring selves again. Their presence is even more important in 2017 where most groups are doing identical cute concepts and copying each other both musically and visually. "Archangels Of The Sephiroth" is predictably flopping on Melon, but with their small-but-loyal fanbase and record-breaking success, hopefully STELLAR will be around for a long time to come.


text:
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
On Tuesday 25th February, Year 5 children were invited to be part of a Careers Day organised by Rodings Primary School and held at Dunmow St. Mary's Primary School. Volunteer parents gave up their working day to deliver short presentations to the pupils about their career. Many had lots of practical activities for the children to try and they answered lots of questions posed by pupils- the most popular one being about their salary!! Please enjoy the photos.