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Want to trade crypto? Here are the top 5 exchanges to try your hand
To buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, you have multiple options. You can go to a Bitcoin ATM, accept them as payments for your goods and services, buy them peer-to-peer or from a brokerage. The most popular option for most is to head to a cryptocurrency exchange. Not all exchanges are used to buy Bitcoin with fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar or the euro. Some exchanges are primarily used to trade Bitcoin back and forth for short-term profits. This is very risky but, similar to online gambling, can be a fun and entertaining way of losing your money.
With the hundreds of crypto exchanges currently in existence, which one is right for you?
Cryptocurrency exchanges are magnets for hackers and fraud. Around 1 billion USD was pilfered from cryptocurrency exchanges in 2018, so a little research into crypto exchanges could go a long way to avoid using an exchange that loses your money (you want to lose your money yourself, after all).
What’s more, not all exchanges are created equal. Exchanges differ in features and coins available for trading. Some offer margins and futures, while others trade hundreds of obscure tokens with small market capitalizations. Others may only accept a handful of popular fiat currencies, such as U.S. dollars, or trade entirely in crypto itself.
Some other things worth looking out for are average daily volumes: A high number of trades exudes confidence in the exchange and shows liquidity. The percentage of funds in “cold wallets” is another factor—these are funds stored offline, making them more difficult to hack.
Let’s take a closer look at the top crypto exchanges. But before you start trading, make yourself familiar with your country’s local tax laws. In many places, such as the U.S. or Europe, each purchase or sale of Bitcoin, even against another cryptocurrency, constitutes a “taxable event,” meaning you need to separately declare it and compute capital gains taxes. For hundreds of trades per day, this can be very difficult and expensive!
Many cryptocurrency exchanges operate outside of a clear regulatory framework. While exchanges in the U.S. and Europe will report all your activities to your local tax authorities, offshore platforms might find themselves at odds with the law at any point and be shut down, together with any funds you may have deposited there.
1. Coinbase Pro
Coinbase, headquartered in San Francisco, is a mature player in the crypto space, having been around since 2012. It’s great for beginner users, works in over 100 countries, and accepts a range of fiat currencies including U.S. dollars.
At the time of writing, the exchange has never fallen victim to a hacking attempt—no mean feat given the sophistication of crypto heists. In August, it published a blog post detailing how it was able to rebuff a highly advanced attack.
Coinbase Pro stores 98% of its funds in a cold wallet, requires all users to undergo two-factor authentication prior to any transaction, and protects all sensitive data with 256-bit AES encryption. Needless to say, it takes security very seriously and requires employees to complete a criminal background check.
An additional bonus is that all online funds are covered by insurance.
2. Kraken
Kraken’s another veteran crypto exchange, starting operations in 2011. Registration is fairly straightforward, and the exchange supports fiat payments in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, and euros. It’s designed to appeal to both individual as well as business users, and an easy onboarding process takes you through the nuts and bolts of how to get started with crypto trades.
Users looking for advanced options can make use of features like margin trading and futures.
Kraken stores 95% of its funds in a cold wallet, relies on two-factor authentication, and has an active bug bounty program in place to uncover any security loopholes its team might miss.
3. Binance
Binance only started in 2018, but it’s quickly grown to be one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the world. It claims to process over 1.4 million transactions each second with a daily trading volume in excess of 1.2 billion USD. Originally headquartered in China, Binance shifted operations to Malta to escape regulatory pressure.
This exchange supports over a hundred altcoins including popular ones such as Ethereum, Ripple, and EOS. It initially started as a crypto-to-crypto exchange only, meaning you couldn’t use fiat currency to buy crypto, but it’s recently allowed credit card payments.
Earlier this year, Binance was hacked to the tune of 7,000 Bitcoin, or 40 million USD in fiat equivalent, but all users were compensated from an emergency fund that the exchange had set up, and the CEO kept things very transparent.
It charges a flat 0.1% trading fee on all transactions, with a 25% discount if you trade in Binance Coin (BNB).
4. Gemini
Gemini is the brainchild of the Winkelvoss twins, most famous for claiming that the idea of Facebook was theirs and not Mark Zuckerberg’s. However, they do know a thing or two about crypto and are passionate advocates for greater inclusion of it in mainstream financial circles.
The exchange recently passed a comprehensive security audit by Deloitte and, as is standard crypto practice, chooses to store only a small portion of its funds in the online, hot wallet. It accepts U.S. dollars as its only fiat currency and allows trade in Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ether, Litecoin, and Zcash.
5. Huobi
Founded in China, Huobi is now headquartered in Singapore and has offices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan and the U.S. It supports Bitcoin and a range of altcoins such as Ethereum, Ripple, Litecoin, and more. Users can buy cryptocurrencies with debit and credit cards and the exchange maintains a 20,000 Bitcoin reserve fund to deal with emergencies such as a hack.
It offers two versions: Huobi Pro is the advanced one, designed for lots of cryptocurrency trading options, while Huobi is meant for newcomers and beginners. Customer service via live chat is also accessible 24/7.When comes to the issue of online privacy and security, we suggest to use a fast VPN, and our recommendation is RitaVPN. RitaVPN is a relatively new VPN service, but it’s already making a name for itself，which makes it one of the best VPN in 2019.
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Instead of freeing us, the internet is making us conform
The fact that we’re far less likely to engage in deviant behavior if we think we’re being watched isn’t a new discovery.
In 2012, a group of researchers from the University of Newcastle in the UK used simple signage in three spots on campus that had an extremely high prevalence of bike theft. The signs featured a pair of eyes along with prominent statements suggesting that the area was now under surveillance.
The net result? A 62% decrease in overall theft in each of those three locations.
While I’m all for using technology to promote the public interest and reduce criminal acts, the reality is that surveillance may have a far more chilling effect on our behavior than initially thought.
A new study seeking to examine the relationship between mass surveillance and online opinion found that people tend to suppress their true beliefs if they think their opinions constitute a minority view.
Far from just stopping illegal acts, mass surveillance may compel us to mold our behavior to please the majority.
Again, maybe this discovery isn’t exactly new. “Democracy in America,” a 19th-century treatise written by French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville, warns about the “tyranny of the majority”—a scenario where public opinion comprehensively overshadows minorities and those holding unpopular views.
Tocqueville was a fervent admirer of American individualism, but he felt that its characteristics could lead to a society where all citizens would, paradoxically, try their best to be like each other. And while he died far before mass surveillance took effect, his words could have been a prophecy of what was to follow.
The Snowden effect
The internet was designed to foster community and bring people closer together. It aimed to promote free speech, cast aside authoritarianism, eradicate barriers to information, and allow people to engage in meaningful debate online.
Events such as the Arab Spring of 2011, also known as the “Twitter revolution,” gave us a glimpse of how powerful online communities had become. Even repressive governments with monopolies on the instruments of violence couldn’t prevent mass uprisings organized purely via social media.
Whether social media actually helps democracy and reduces tyranny is a topic for another day, but it’s pertinent to note that the events of the Arab Spring haven’t exactly resulted in stronger democratic institutions in the Middle East.
On the other hand, just a couple of years after the Arab Spring, the bombshell Snowden revelations of mass surveillance in the U.S. and, potentially, around the world, confirmed our darkest fears. The internet wasn’t the safe haven we had thought it to be.
So how did Snowden’s disclosure impact online behavior? According to Jon Penney, a former fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, there was a drastic decline in Wikipedia searches for terrorism-related keywords such as Al Qaeda, chemical weapon, and jihad.
The researcher documented that the searches were declining even a year after the end of the study. And given the lack of evidence for punishment or prosecution for trying to access such information, Penney declared that it was unlikely that the fear of prosecution was a reason behind the decline. The explanation he offered was “self-censorship.”
Bruce Schneier, of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Government and International Affairs, has stated that “the fact that you won’t do things, that you will self-censor, are the worst effects of pervasive surveillance.”
Welcome the panopticon effect, with slightly modified tools.
It’s the surveillance, stupid
Some of this behavior is simply human nature. We’re political animals, as Aristotle declared in fourth century BC. We gravitate towards social acceptance and community. Most of us don’t seek to be exclusionary and are far happier when accepted by others. Hence, if we knew that an unknown entity was tracking our every move, we’d do a lot more to be perceived as ‘normal’ and just like anybody else.
But Penney’s findings are far more troubling because they point to a situation where the boundaries of debate are being arbitrarily delineated. It’s okay to argue over whether the Kardashians are useful for society, but not a word against the government. And if you step out of line, rest assured that the algorithms will catch you.
The decentralization of the internet and the lack of a controlling node was a key facet in the development of the web by its original founders. The fact that they didn’t patent the idea and chose to forgo profits speaks volumes to their intention of building strong, global societies in an environment free from repression and retribution.
The internet today is a far cry from the non-commercial ideals of those who gave birth to it. Net neutrality is a thing of the past, unlikely to ever return. Walled-off internet networks, selective in the information and apps they allow, are more common than open and free ones. Surveillance is so ubiquitous that we’ve taken a passive view of it, almost to the point that it doesn’t bother us anymore.
Our future is only more devices, not fewer. More facial scanners, surveillance cameras, IoT devices, and smarter machine learning algorithms to complement them. Intelligent cities. What happens then? Blind adherence to unspoken ideals? Apolitical citizenry? Uniformity of thought?
Rather than encouraging and promoting diversity, the internet may end up silencing it. And that’s a future we should be worried about.
When comes to the issue of online privacy and security, we suggest to use a VPN service, and our recommendation is RitaVPN. RitaVPN is a relatively new VPN service, but it’s already making a name for itself，which makes it one of the best VPN in 2019.
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Why Facebook is the tool of choice for government manipulation
The Global Disinformation Order, a new study by the Oxford Internet Institute, confirms our worst fears about governments’ use of social media to influence their people.
“Evidence of organized social media manipulation campaigns have taken place in 70 countries, up from 48 countries in 2018 and 28 countries in 2017,” the study reads. “In each country, there is at least one political party or government agency using social media to shape public attitudes domestically.”
Social media has been effectively co-opted by authoritarian regimes in 26 countries, it says. “Cyber troops,” in the form of bots or groups of trolls, are one of an increasing number of tools used to promote specific narratives, suppress human rights, and publicly smear political opponents.
And these operations aren’t just limited to domestic audiences. The report found that seven countries—Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, Pakistan, China, Russia, and Venezuela—have actively tried to use computational elements of social media algorithms (virality, hashtags, and incessant squawking) to promote disinformation on a global scale as well.
And Facebook dominates in this sphere. “Despite there being more social networking platforms than ever, Facebook remains the platform of choice for social media manipulation,” the report reads.
The most common methods of influencing opinion lie in these broad categories:
Creation of disinformation or manipulated media
Mass reporting of content or accounts
Data-driven strategies
Trolling, doxing, or harassment
Amplifying content and media online
Facebook users are vulnerable targets
I’m not proud of the fact that I can’t get myself to stop using Facebook and other social platforms. But the justification I give myself is that I almost exclusively follow trusted, legitimate publications, including lots of regional and niche ones, and I rely on social media to serve as a content engine of sorts.
While I’m experienced enough to be able to understand the difference between a credible site and bot accounts enthusiastically pumping out fake news, lots of users new to the internet are not.
In Nigeria, Indonesia, and India, for instance, many netizens think Facebook is the internet. This suggests that they rely heavily, if not exclusively, on Facebook as a source of news, communication with friends and family, games, and other forms of content consumption.
It’s no wonder then that people trust whatever’s shared on social media. Given how Facebook, historically, has done little to nothing to prevent disinformation means we live in times where the truth can be easily manipulated.
What are social media companies doing about fake news?
To be sure, social media companies have taken some action to combat troll armies. In April, it published a statement detailing how it removed “coordinated inauthentic behavior and spam from India and Pakistan.”
In the past few months, Twitter has removed thousands of accounts from Egypt, the U.A.E., China, Spain, and Ecuador for amplifying messaging from governments or political parties.
Broad measures Facebook has announced include lessening News Feed exposure of posts by groups that repeatedly provide misinformation and posts from low-quality publications. It has also beefed up its fact-checking program and introduced indicators in Messenger to help users assess the reliability of the information they receive.
And as Buzzfeed News wrote in 2017, WhatsApp is “the primary vector for the spread of misinformation” in India. The messaging app’s role in the fake news crisis has been extensively scrutinized and this year the company announced it was limiting forwarding to five times per message.
Be very afraid
Those of us sitting in the West may not think much of the Oxford Internet Institute study. Propaganda has existed for centuries after all, and there will always be rumors and misinformation flying around. While in the past this may have been the work of court whisperers, some might argue that it’s just the tools that have changed in modern times.
But that’s the equivalent of burying your head in the sand. Propaganda campaigns organized solely on social media have contributed to genocide. Digital activists have been targeted by troll armies, abducted, and tortured.
The internet can’t be hijacked by the vested interests of a few. Given the present circumstances, its future as a means for open communication and knowledge sharing is under serious threat. Unless we do something to take back control, it may not serve humanity the way its original founders had envisioned.
When comes to the issue of online privacy and security, we suggest to use a VPN, and our recommendation is RitaVPN. RitaVPN is a relatively new VPN service, but it’s already making a name for itself，which makes it one of the best VPN in 2019.
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Jakarta Kulit yang berjerawat adalah kondisi yang akan jadi pengganggu penampilan. Terlebih lagi ukuran jerawat tersebut cukup besar dan sangat terlihat jelas di bagian hidung atau dagu. Meski jerawat sering terjadi di anak muda, namun di masa dewasa pun kita juga mengalami kulit yang berjerawat.cara menghilangkan jerawat membandel di pipi

Jerawat sendiri merupakan kondisi kulit yang terjadi saat folikel rambut tersumbat oleh minyak dan sel kulit mati. Gejala dari jerawat ini berkisar dari komedo yang tidak berinflamasi, penuh nanah atau benjolan besar berwarna merah serta benjolan lunak. Salah satunya adalah jerawat batu yang menyebabkan wajah menjadi kemerahan disertai dengan benjolan lunak tapi penuh nanah. Jerawat ini menimbulkan rasa sakit atau gatal. Jerawat batu terdapat pada wajah, dada, punggung, lengan atas, dan bahu.
Kondisi berjerawat ini sungguh terasa sangat menyiksa dan membuat wajah jadi tidak sedap dipandang, yang pastinya membuat Anda akan merasa minder dan malu. Oleh karena itu, berikut deretan bahan yang bisa digunakan sebagai cara menghilangkan jerawat batu yang mudah serta aman, seperti yang dirangkum pada Rabu (5/9/2018) dari berbagai sumber.

1. Kentang

Kentang adalah jenis umbi-umbian dan sering digunakan sebagai bahan makanan. Ternyata anda juga bisa memanfaatkan kentang untuk menghilangkan jerawat batu.

Cara menghilangkan jerawat batu secara alami menggunakan kentang:

Kupas 1 buah kentang, lalu potong tipis.
Tempelkan potongan tipis tersebut pada area wajah yang terdapat jerawat batu.
Diamkan selama 10 menit, lalu cuci muka dengan air dingin.
2. Kunyit, jeruk nipis dan madu

Cara menghilangkan jerawat batu secara alami menggunakan campuran dari kunyit, jeruk nipis dan madu:

Haluskan kunyit secukupnya, lalu tambahkan jeruk nipis dan 2 sdm madu.
Campurkan hingga merata dan berbentuk pasta, gunakan pasta ini sebagai masker wajah.
Diamkan dulu selama 10 menit, lalu cuci muka Anda dengan air bersih.
3. Putih telur

Putih telur mengandung enzim lusozim yang mampu menghancurkan dinding sel dari bakteri penyebab jerawat. Tak cuma itu, putih terlu juga mampu mengecilkan pori-pori kulit, serta mengurangi kelebihan minyak pada wajah.

Cara alami menghilangkan jerawat batu menggunakan putih telur:

Siapkan telur, pisahkan kuningnya, ambil bagian putih telurnya saja.
kocok putih telur hingga mengembang, lalu oleskan pada bagian yang berjerawat.
Biarkan selama 10 menit, lalu cuci muka Anda dengan air hangat.
4. Lidah Buaya

Tanaman Lidah buaya mengandung antioksidan, mineral, vitamin C dan E. Selain bermanfaat untuk perawatan rambut, ternyata juga bisa untuk menghilangkan jerawat batu dengan cepat.

Berikut cara menghilangkan jerawat batu menggunakan lidah buaya:

Ambil daun lidah buaya, belah bagian tengahnya, lalu ambil gelnya.
Haluskan gel lidah tersebut, lalu gunakan sebagai masker wajah.
Diamkan sampai mengering, lalu cuci muka Anda dengan air bersih.

Hai, kali ini Cianjur Today mengulas tips kecantikan menggunakan masker alami untuk hilangkan jerawat hingga komedo. Hal itu mengingat menjaga kecantikan wajah selalu dilakukan dengan berbagai cara.cara menghilangkan jerawat komedo

Cantik dengan menggunakan masker alami menjadi pilihan utama para wanita. Selain mudah juga menghindari risiko yang mungkin terjadi.

Telah kita ketahui bahwa kebanyakan make up bagi kulit seringkali berefek negatif. Selain mengandung bahan kimia yang dapat menimbulkan alergi, beberapa produk juga bisa menyumbat pori-pori sehingga membuat kulit susah bernafas. Hingga menimbulkan reaksi yang tak nyaman bagi kulit, bahkan seringkali kulit malah jadi rusak karenanya.

Mengunakan masker alami lebih dianjurkan, lagi pula kebanyakan bahannyapun dapat kita peroleh dengan mudah di rumah.
Dalam sebutir telur, terdapat 3,6 gram protein. Komponen utama dari putih telur adalah protein. Manfaat dari masker putih telur ini mampu mengencangkan kulit.

Manfaat yang satu ini bahkan bisa terasa secara langsung setelah mengaplikasikan masker putih telur. Selain itu, putih telur mengandung vitamin dan mineral yang baik untuk kulit.

Mengunakan masker putih telur, juga mampu menhilangkan minyak berlebih yang menimbulkan jerawat. Mengangkat komedo bahkan menghilangkannya jika dilakukan secara rutin.Noda di wajah selalu mengganggu, terutama bekas jerawat. Hal ini menjadi permasalahan semua orang, baik wanita ataupun pria. Namun kini tidak perlu risau lagi, dengam menggunakan lemon dan lidah buaya terbukti mampu hilangkan noda-noda dan bekas jerawat secara cepat dan alami.

Menghilangkan bekas jerawat dengan jeruk lemon. Dalam air perasan lemon terdapat kandungan asam alfa-hidroksi alami (AHA) yang mampu untuk menghilangkan flek hitam bekas jerawat.

Selain itu meiliki fungsi untuk mempercepat penyembuhan dan revitalisasi kulit. Mengunakan masker perasan lemon ini sangat simpel.Menghilangkan bekas jerawat berikutnya adalah dengan lidah buaya. Selain banyak digunakan sebagai bahan perawatan rambut, lidah buaya juga bermanfaat untuk menyehatkan kulit. Mengandung zat aloesin yang berfungsi untuk menghambat pembentukan melanin yang menyebabkan kulit menjadi gelap. Caranya pun tak kalah midah.

Beer brewing began in the Delaware Valley in the mid-seventeenth century when early Swedish settlers first brewed beer in the home. Quakers established the first commercial brew houses in Philadelphia in 1683. Eastern Pennsylvania's rich farmland provided an ample source of barley and hops, key ingredients for brewing beer, and the proximity of the Delaware River allowed Philadelphia brewers to ship beer south to Wilmington. By the American Revolution, Philadelphia was among the country's leading brewing centers, and remained so through the late-nineteenth century.brewing equipment manufacturer

SOUVENIR ALBUM
F.A. Poth Brewing Company
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1890
This souvenir album from the F.A. Poth Brewing Company of Philadelphia contains twenty color plates with views of all parts of the brewery. Shown here, clockwise from top left, are a general view of the brewery complex, an interior view of the brew house, where water, malt, and hops are combined to create wort, and an interior view of the fermenting room, where barrels of wort are left open to the air as yeast converts sugars into alcohol, turning the wort into beer.
ENGRAVING
"View of the inside of a Brewhouse"
The Domestic Encyclopedia
by A.F.M. Willich
1821
Text accompanying engraving:
Of the Brew House
The following is an eligible construction where brewing is followed as a trade. "The cold liquor [water] pump A, raises the water from the river or well B, which, as well as the wort pump M, is driven by a horse with proper machinery, which likewise grinds the malt used in the brew-house. The grinding house is situated between the pumps, as may be seen by the mill spout P, which conducts the malt from the mill into the mash tun H. The liquor from the river B, is pumped into the cistern or reservoir, where it is ready at all times during the hurry of brewing; and from the cistern it passes through the large pipe D, into the liquor copper, E, where it may be stopped by a cock at the extremity of the pipe. The liquor when warmed for mashing is let into the mash-tun, H, by opening the cock, F, in the bottom of the copper, and runs down the trunk Z, which carries into the raising spout, G, in the mash-tun, H, this spout by a notch in the moveable or false bottom of the mash-tun, conducts the liquor between the moveable and real bottoms, which, by ascending, assists the mashing very much.
The extract or wort is let go, by turning the cock, K, into the underback, L, and is from thence carried by the horse pump, M, into a level with the wort copper, O, and runs from the pump through the pipe,N, into the wort copper.
When cold liquor is required for mashing, as is the case in small beer brewing, it is obtained from the cistern, C, by the pipe, Q, which communicates with it.
Thus these three very laborious parts of the business, viz. pumping the liquor from the river or well; mashing, and pumping up the worts into the copper, may easily be performed by two men; and they are able to mash a very considerable quantity of malt, and attend to the steaming of the casks, liquoring the backs, &c. between the mashes. When all the worts are in the great copper, O, and are boiled sufficiently, they are run off into the first back, T, by turning the cock, R, from the spout, W, conducting the worts from the drainer, S, which detains the hops. This back communicates with the two large backs, Y, which are sufficient to contain all the worts, and they may be laid at a greater or less depth, by using one or both these backs, stopping either of the pipes, X, by putting in one of the plugs, U. The situation of these two backs is higher than the fermenting tuns, and by pipes the worts are conveyed into them below; and if there is conveniency, the tuns, when cleansing, ought to be high enough to fill the casks in the cellar by means of a leathern pipe.

Breweries can vary enormously in size, from the smallest microbrewery to the largest multinational brewing corporation. The diversity of processes is likewise diverse, being largely dependent on the type of beer produced and the degree of automation desired.beer brewing equipment

For example, a larger brewery is more likely to be composed of distinct sections such that each is dedicated to a specific phase of the brewing process.At the other extreme, a microbrewery is more likely to consist of a single room, where the entire brewing process is performed.

Despite the great difference in size, however, much of the brewing process has remained essentially unchanged, as it’s dictated by relatively simple biochemical processes.A microbrewery, or craft brewery, is typically owned independently and much smaller than the corporate breweries that produce most of the beer appearing in bars and retail shelves.

However, this distinction has become blurred in recent years as major brewers have created some very large “craft breweries.”
Brewery Equipment Material

Brewery equipment is made of various materials, the most common brewing kettles being made from copper and stainless steel.

Copper Brewery Equipment

Brewery equipment has traditionally been made of copper, especially the kettles in which the wort is boiled. Copper ore is readily available and easily smelted into pure form.

Furthermore, copper transfers heat quickly and evenly, which is highly desirable for brewing. However, copper reacts with many chemicals, which can give a metallic flavor to the beer. It can also be corroded by many types of cleaning solutions.

Stainless Steel Brewery Equipment

Today’s commercial breweries predominantly use kettles made of stainless steel, although they’re still known as “coppers” regardless of the materials used to make them.Many modern kettles have copper cladding to provide a more traditional appearance, but this cladding is purely cosmetic as it doesn’t come into contact with the wort. Stainless steel reacts with very few chemicals, although chlorine is one of them.

Brewery equipment made of stainless steel shouldn’t impart any flavors to the beer, provided it isn’t cleaned with bleach. Stainless steel is also much stronger than copper, which is a critical consideration since kettles are pressurized when the wort is boiled.

If you wear hair extensions, chances are you’re pretty picky about what type of hair you wear. You know if you prefer Remy or non-Remy hair, Indian or Brazilian, synthetic or human. You may also believe you can simply look at hair extension packaging to find out its origins. But the truth is, it’s pretty difficult to tell where your hair extensions come from, and there are plenty of manufacturers who are deliberately misleading about where they source their hair from. Hair manufacturers

Riqua Hailes, owner of Just Extensions hair extension bar in Los Angeles and The Weave Express in Washington, D.C., knows this firsthand. After noticing inconsistencies in the hair extensions she received from vendors, Hailes decided to dig deeper. She embarked on a journey through China, Cambodia, Malaysia and India and will continue her travels to Brazil and Russia later this year to uncover the long, storied journey hair extensions take before they reach a salon or retail store. Here is her account.
Separating Fact From Fiction In China

"I started my journey in March 2014. My first stop was China, the largest exporter of human hair in the world. China can reproduce almost anything — and hair is no exception. Chinese hair is often considered cheap in the extensions industry because it isn’t donated hair, so in order to be on the same playing field as other exporters, they will market it as Brazilian or Malaysian hair, which can go for twice the money.

"China imports fallen hair, also referred to as non-Remy hair, from India. Fallen hair is dead hair that naturally sheds and is collected from hair salons and hairbrushes. Because the hair’s quality has been jeopardized and matting is likely to occur, non-Remy hair is less desirable in the extensions industry. But China collects this hair, cleans it and mislabels it as being from a higher-quality hair extension source like Brazil, Russia or India.

"If you’re shopping for extensions, and they say they’re shipped from China, it’s probably Chinese hair masquerading as something else. One hair distributor taught me to pay attention to the smell: Fallen hair has a smell of acid and silicone that’s easily recognizable."
Phnom Penh, Cambodia, is dusty, developing and rife with suffering, yet culturally rich and bustling. In this desperately poor country, women sell their bodies, their hair and sometimes their daughters to put food on the table. Even my hotel was a reminder of the desperate circumstances here, with a sign that read, ‘Please do not participate in the sex trade.’ One Cambodian woman told me, ‘I’ll sell my hair before my body to feed my family. My hair grows back.’

"About 45 miles outside the city, I visited a village where women cut hair to be sold as extensions. There were about 80 families with little to no food, clothes or electricity. I saw only one man, and when I asked him to show me his wife, he responded by pointing to a group of women. Women between the ages of 18 and 60 lined up to sell their hair (the women made it very clear they don’t cut the young girls’ hair), receiving 20,000 to 33,000 riel (about $5 to $8) in exchange. Every four to six months, a collector comes to the village to purchase the hair.

"One woman with a short bob cut came up to me said through my translator, ‘I don’t feel pretty with short hair.’ I took off my hat and showed her my short hair. I said through the translator, ‘You’re certainly one of the most beautiful women I’ve met.’

WIS is located in Hangzhou, the capital and largest city in Zhejiang Province. Despite its population of 7 million, Hangzhou retains a delightful small city feel. Its US sister city is Boston, with whom it shares the distinction of a long, significant history and rich cultural life. In the 13th century Marco Polo recognized Hangzhou’s exceptional beauty, naming it the City of Heaven, the most magnificent city on earth. It remains one of China’s most picturesque cities and one of its most culturally rich. Dotted with beautifully landscaped gardens, parks, and countless museums and historical sites, it is home to beautiful West Lake, one of China’s most scenic landmarks. Unlike other large cities, Hangzhou embraces its natural environment and incorporates it throughout its urban design. Lushly green in all four seasons, Hangzhou is surrounded by mountains making it ideal for outdoor activities such as hiking and mountain biking. The starting point of the historic Grand Canal, Hangzhou is situated on China’s third longest river, Qiantang Jiang, and is crisscrossed by a system of ancient canals and bridges, adding further distinction to its landscape.Living in Hangzhou

In contrast to its lengthy history, Hangzhou is the home of China’s high tech and e-commerce industry, providing a modern vibe to a historical city. The absence of heavy industry has allowed the city to maintain its pristine environment. Combining historical landmarks and modern convenience, Hangzhou was chosen to host the 2016 G20 Summit. An eclectic blend of old and new, Hangzhou is world headquarters to some of China’s largest and most successful companies, such as e-commerce giant Alibaba (China’s Amazon and more), and China’s largest food and beverage company, Wahaha Group.

Hangzhou is easily reached by air, ground transportation, or train and is located only a quick one-hour ride from Shanghai by high-speed railway. Its international airport offers regular flights to destinations throughout China and Asia. The timely, clean, state-of-the-art metro system allows easy travel throughout the city and the Metro Line 4 features a stop within footsteps of the WIS campus, making travel to and from school quick and convenient.
Hangzhou has a rapidly growing international community. All major international hotel groups, retailers, and restaurants such as Carrefour, Ikea, Starbucks, H&M, Element Fresh, Outback Steakhouse and Baskin & Robbins have stores in the city. A diverse food culture thrives in Hangzhou, with restaurants featuring not only every type of regional Chinese food but also international cuisines from Mexican to Thai to Indian to Middle Eastern – shellfish enthusiasts can even find an excellent lobster roll. The Shang Cheng district of Hangzhou is home to many high caliber retail malls and online shopping either for goods or meals with home delivery is both quick and convenient.

t can be difficult and overwhelming to find the right school for your family, especially in a new country. That’s why we’ve provided you with a comprehensive guide to international schools to help you find the perfect school for your kids.Shanghai international school admission

Wellington College

With over 150 years of royal British heritage, This School (WellingtonCollege Shanghai) joined the Wellington community of schools worldwide in 2014.

They are a co-educational day and boarding school for children aged 2 to 18 that follows a British curriculum. Their Wellington Aptitudes and Wellington Values hold that all students can achieve, succeed and thrive – and it is the mission of everybody at the College to ensure every opportunity is provided for this to happen for every student.

Type: Pre-Prep / Prep / Senior / Sixth Form / IGCSE / Boarding
Location: Pudong
Extra-curricular options: Their co-curricular activities form an integral part of the school day which run until 4.45pm everyday. They include cultural, sporting and arts activity options with more activities offered in the evenings and on weekends.
Languages: English, Mandarin, French and Spanish
British International School Shanghai
Founded in 2004, BISS Puxi belongs to Nord Anglia Education, which is a global education group of more than 34,000 students in 15 countries. They are the only Dutch school integrated in Shanghai, combining the best of Dutch and British education. BISS Puxi promises a personalized and stimulating experience for each of its 1,500 students, aged between 2 and 18 years. Representing more than 50 nationalities, BISS Puxi students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zones and try new things.

Type: First year / Primary / Secondary / Diploma IB
Location: Minhang
Extra-curricular options: more than 80 activities, including photography, sport, debate, gardening, newspaper publishing, theater and science club.
Languages ​​taught: English, Mandarin, French, German, Spanish, Dutch and Korean

Britannica International School Shanghai
Britannica International School is a British school located in Shanghai. The English national curriculum is at the center of their educational curriculum with students working at the IGCSE in year 11. With 800 students aged 2 to 18 representing more than 30 nationalities, Britannica is committed to creating leaders Tomorrow and teach students their responsibility to be an effective global citizen.

Type: Early Years / Primary / Secondary / Sixth Form
Location: Gubei
Extra-curricular options: a variety of options that change by term that often include sports, cooking classes, dance, homework club, theater club, public speech and many more.
Languages ​​taught: English (including EAL), Mandarin, Korean, French and Spanish

Concordia International School Shanghai
Modeled on Christian values, Concordia International School Shanghai has developed a reputation for good character and a strong sense of camaraderie. They embrace the concept of the Philosophy of the Child, promoting the idea that education does not stop at the door of the class and offers a unique balance for each child. The school has more than 1,160 students from 29 different nationalities and an average SAT score of 2050 (at the old scale). Concordia works to make the most of its location in China and helps students integrate into the cultural environment.
Dulwich College Shanghai
Dulwich College is one of the oldest independent schools in the United Kingdom and their location in Jinqiao in Shanghai was the first establishment of the Dulwich family to be established on an international scale. Their mission is to create “a college, many campuses,” which promote their students’ inspiration. With 70% of British teachers, the College is recognized as a British school abroad, offering both the IGSCE program and the IB program to more than 1,500 students of 44 nationalities. Their Minhang location opened in August 2016.
German School of Shanghai
The German school, founded in 1995, offers a German-style education in Shanghai. As all classes are taught in German, a level of conditional release is essential for students. Its location Qingpu is part of a “EuroCampus” combined with the French school. With a teacher / student ratio of 1: 9, the 400 students at the school are sure of individual attention. Among other impressive facilities, the school has the largest German-language library in China.