Author Topic: 31/03/17  (Read 2361 times)

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Online Maik

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31/03/17
« on: Friday, 31 March, 2017 @ 13:31:02 »
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Bangladeshi workers vindicated by European court over forced labor in 2013

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ordered Greece to compensate 42 Bangladeshi nationals to the tune of more than half a million euros for essentially turning a blind eye to their exploitation on a strawberry farm in southwestern Greece in 2013.

Chastising Greek authorities for failing to protect the migrants, the ECHR ordered Athens to pay each plaintiff between 12 and 16,000 euros.

The workers were shot at while protesting over unpaid wages and forced labor on a strawberry farm near the town of Manolada. The incident led to about 20 foreign workers sustaining injuries.

The workers resorted to the ECHR after a Greek court in 2014 acquitted the employers of the charge of forced labor, slapping them with minor fines, to the disgust of unions and rights groups.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/217314/article/ekathimerini/news/bangladeshi-workers-vindicated-by-european-court-over-forced-labor-in-2013

Online Maik

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #1 on: Friday, 31 March, 2017 @ 13:37:02 »
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Ofcom moves to cut superfast broadband prices
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/39452242

Online Maik

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #2 on: Friday, 31 March, 2017 @ 13:41:15 »
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Authorities install 'penis seat' on Mexican public transport

The seat features in an online video in which a number of male passengers appear shocked as they attempt to sit down. A sign on the floor immediately below the seat reads: "It is annoying to travel this way, but not compared to the sexual violence women suffer in their daily commutes."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/03/31/authorities-install-penis-seat-mexican-public-transport/

Offline TonyKath

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #3 on: Friday, 31 March, 2017 @ 20:01:53 »
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Ofcom moves to cut superfast broadband prices
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/39452242
I'll wait to see if my bill comes down. Meanwhile my speed has dropped over three years from 62 Mb to 52 and recently 45.  Sorry to those on Kef who only get 1-2 Mb but I pay £25 or so per month for it!

Tony

Offline Bryan-in-Kilkis

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #4 on: Friday, 31 March, 2017 @ 22:47:58 »
"Superfast" here, Tony, is "up to" 30Mbps (with "up to" 50Mbps available in some parts of Greece).  I have "up to" 30Mbps and pay €25 a month, getting between 22 and 28Mbps in real terms.  So I'd say you're not doing too bad, considering!!  :)

Offline TonyKath

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #5 on: Saturday, 01 April, 2017 @ 20:46:41 »
Yours is remarkably good for Greece, Bryan!  Mine is BT superfast "up to" 75 Mb and falling.  I think they're putting up the price again this month.

Tony

Offline Bryan-in-Kilkis

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #6 on: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 11:49:52 »
I remember back in 1995 when I was the first person in Kilkis to have internet access, Tony - back then it was 56Kbps (if you were lucky) and my phone bill went from 10,000 drs a month to 80,000 drs because it involved the dial-up modem calling Thessaloniki.  No such thing as cheap long-distance calls back then.  How times have changed!!!  :yahoo:

Offline Aristarches

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #7 on: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 11:59:57 »
Don't you think, Brian, that the easier communication has become the less people actually say to each other?

Offline TonyD

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #8 on: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 13:43:21 »
While we're down memory lane...

1976 - Acoustic Coupler with the old full size phone handset pushed in - 110bps (a full 300, if you were lucky)

Then logging into a Fido BBS to play Dungeon - and being able to type faster than the connection could handle

Then a heady 28k with a US Robotics modem logging into Janet (internet predecessor) in the 80's

These days, 2mb is all anyone needs to successfully stream - but Latency and Contention
, now they're the issue, not Speed
« Last Edit: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 13:47:00 by TonyD »

Offline Aristarches

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #9 on: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 18:24:20 »
Latency and Contention:  Wha???

Offline expat

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #10 on: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 20:21:46 »
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Don't you think, Brian, that the easier communication has become the less people actually say to each other?
I see complete families sat in the pub having a meal, each one of them, including children has an electronic dummy that they stare at for the whole duration, no conversation at all takes place, a very sad situation, even women pushing a pram have their electronic dummy in front of their face, the child is ignored.

Offline TonyKath

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #11 on: Sunday, 02 April, 2017 @ 20:56:04 »
I remember back in 1995 when I was the first person in Kilkis to have internet access, Tony - back then it was 56Kbps (if you were lucky) and my phone bill went from 10,000 drs a month to 80,000 drs because it involved the dial-up modem calling Thessaloniki.  No such thing as cheap long-distance calls back then.  How times have changed!!!  :yahoo:
Are you saying, Bryan, that something in Greece has improved?!  :blink:

Tony


Offline TonyD

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #12 on: Monday, 03 April, 2017 @ 14:10:06 »
Latency and Contention:  Wha???
Latency...sometimes referred to as Ping time - liken it to how long it takes someone to pick up a ringing phone, or answer a knock on a front door

Contention...how many other consumers are sharing the telephone cable. Consumer lines often have up to 50 sharers on a copper cable (Business lines usually 20)...liken that to a queue, taking it in turn to knock on that same front door

Whilst a speed test to a known ISP site may indicate a high connection speed, once you to navigate to real world sites, Latency and Contention start to slow things down

Start a DOS Command prompt, and type PING followed by a web address to see latency (Time) - eg, PING www.bbc.co.uk

Next lesson we'll talk about optimum DNS settings  ;-)

« Last Edit: Monday, 03 April, 2017 @ 14:13:33 by TonyD »

Offline Aristarches

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Re: 31/03/17
« Reply #13 on: Tuesday, 04 April, 2017 @ 11:36:35 »
Thanks Tony.  In future, instead of swearing, I'll just say it's that Latency and Contention thing again.  Or. probably. I'll just keep swearing.