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Be Prepared for Natural Disasters
Follow some simple steps to keep you and your home safe in the event of a natural disaster.
If a disaster strikes, will you be ready? Here's how to prepare and respond to most natural emergencies.
"Emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere. Families may not be together and you may not have access to cell phones, gas stations, grocery stores or some of the other things that you are used to having every day," says Darryl Madden, Director of the Ready Campaign of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "By taking a few simple steps now, each of us can make sure we are better prepared for the next emergency or disaster." FEMA, along with other government agencies and nonprofit associations such as the Federal Alliance of Safe Homes (FLASH) and Firewise offer a wealth of tips. The Ready Campaign has suggestions for basic emergency preparations. The new FLASH Web site provides videos, "Pick-a-Peril" by state information and a consumer forum.
While each household is unique—young children, disabilities, pets, high-rises, isolated rural homes—proper preparations can help bring potentially bad situations to better conclusions. We've rounded up the essentials here, as well as tips for specific emergencies: flooding, fires, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes and severe winter storms.
No matter which type of natural disaster your area is prone to having, each household should have some type of emergency prep. As soon as possible, you'll want to do the following—before disaster strikes:
1. Gather Information
Take pictures.
To help recoup any insured losses, create a room-by-room inventory now. Take photos or videos to better document items. Record serial or model numbers. Write down purchase dates and prices (best if kept on a computer and emailed to yourself for safe-keeping). For valuables like jewelry, have copies of expert appraisals. Put one inventory in your safety deposit box and keep a copy at home in a waterproof container.
With any disasters, you will need to provide information about your losses for an insurance claim. According to Leslie Chapman-Henderson, CEO of FLASH, one of the best ways to reduce confusion and to accurately account for belongings is a photo or video inventory after a disaster. With items documented, you then can remove property that could pose a health risk, like wet, moldy furniture or items with sharp, damaged edges.
Make appointments.
Schedule phone time or a visit with your insurance agent each year. Discuss updates that might be needed. If you live in an area with specific natural disaster risks, learn about any extra policies needed.
Stay informed.
Check local radio and TV stations. Visit the Web site of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) (or become a fan on Facebook). Its Storm Prediction Center and National Weather Hazards pages can help you learn what's shaping up, from blizzards to flash floods, fire to high winds. NOAA Weather Radio provides weather and emergency information 24 hours a day.
Safeguard documents.
Prepare a vital records kit with copies of important documents to store in a waterproof and fireproof container in a safe place in your home. Include copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records, proof of vaccinations for pets, mortgages, passports, and birth/marriage certificates, as well as irreplaceable keepsakes and family photos.
2. Develop a household emergency plan
Choose a contact person.
Arrange with a friend or family member outside the area to be the emergency contact. Landline and cell phones are the quickest and most available technology and do work in many cases, says Michele Steinberg of Firewise. She suggests that if family members regularly use Facebook and Twitter, these may be good tools but since many "tweets" arrive via cellphones or computers, they, too, could be limited. "But the 'viral' nature of these media mean those folks who have Facebook open all day or follow Twitter will have immediate access to information about what is happening to their friends/relatives and an ability to mobilize help in some situations." Make sure family members and the emergency contact have details including information about your Facebook page, Twitter handle, and email address.
Determine an escape plan.
Decide on reunion spots via foot or car, depending on the type of disaster. If it is an emergency isolated to your house or block, choose a nearby rallying point that will allow a headcount. If the emergency involves a larger area, decide on a destination further away—perhaps a relative's home or a public emergency shelter—and a backup to that in case that site also is affected.
Learn evacuation routes.
Run a few practice drills out of your area so you will know where traffic congestion might occur.
Locate public emergency shelters.
Get their rules. Find out if they can accommodate pets, for instance.
Plan with neighbors.
If a flood occurs or a tornado hits when you are not at home, have a plan with neighbors, sitters, or relatives for your kids and pets. Decide on how you will get in touch, what will be done and where everyone will go.
Shut down.
Determine who will handle utility shut-off.
Learn basic safety and emergency first aid skills.
The American Red Cross offers courses through its local chapters. Find classes near you through the ZIP code look-up on its site.
3. Stock Supplies
Prepare an emergency supplies kit to ride out any event. Downloadable lists of suggested kit contents and disaster protection devices are available on the FLASH site (search "disaster kit"). FLASH's Chapman-Henderson recommends buying only products that are tested and approved to a national or certified testing standard.
Among items to include:
- A radio capable of receiving NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards transmissions available on seven VHF frequencies from 162.400 MHz to 162.550 MHz. Remember extra batteries.
- A First Aid kit that includes such items as a first-aid manual, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic cream, sharp scissors, and tweezers. Include prescription medications, including those for your pet.
- Water. Have about a gallon per person and pet per day. Stock enough for at least three days. Include extra water for sanitation.
- Nonperishable food and the all-important manual can opener. Have enough food for at least three days. Don't forget pet food.
- Flashlights, extra batteries, and portable chargers for cellphones and such. Charge all cell phones and PDAs the night before any storm is due.
- A portable generator and fuel.
- Garbage bags.
- Matches in a waterproof container.
- Personal hygiene products and moist towelettes.
Plans for Specific Disasters
Next, organize for specific emergencies that can occur in your area. FEMA offers advice for individual disasters. Here are a few quick tips:
1. Flooding
Floods are the most common severe weather-related disaster in the U.S., but one that many assume will affect the "other guy." With their risks misunderstood or ignored, floods also are the most expensive and deadly natural disasters. From rapid snowmelt to burst dams, hurricanes to major rainstorms, flooding affects many. But according to FLASH's Chapman-Henderson, floods don't have to be catastrophic. Just a few inches of water can cause thousands of dollars in damages. And typical homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage.
Here's what you can do to help protect yourself:
- Check the FEMA-NOAA interactive flood impact map . It features searchable data about floods over the past few years; offers tips on what to do before, during and after a flood; and encourages flood insurance protection.
- Learn what a flood could cost you. Check out the interactive tool and learn more about the Flood Insurance Protection Program at www.floodsmart.gov. What may surprise you is that areas susceptible to flooding can change each year.
- Check with your insurance agent to see what is covered in your present policy and if you need flood insurance. Most policies take 30 days to become effective.
- Make sure your sump pump works. Install a battery backup.
- Raise electrical components. Have your furnace, water heater, washer and dryer set at least a foot above any possible flood waters.
- Consider waterproofing your basement. Check your basement drainage systems for blockages.
- Clear the drainage outlets and fix any eroding foundation walls.
- Keep eavestroughs and gutters clear.
- Consider certified flood vents that prevent water pressure buildup, thereby reducing structural damage and costly repairs. Smart Vent (www.smartvent.com) offers an online demonstration of how foundation flood vents work.
2. Fires
If you are in an area where dry or drought conditions persist or occur at certain times, prepare for possible wildfires. Find advice at FEMA . Firewise, a program of the National Fire Protection Association in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior, offers interactive educational tools . Michele Steinberg, Firewise manager, says the advice is based on the science of wildfire behavior. Its catchphrase, "Homes that don't ignite, can't burn," sums up the idea behind the tips.
- Here are suggestions to prevent your house from burning down:
- Build new or retrofit with nonflammable materials. Particularly important: a noncombustible roof.
- Choose double-pane or tempered glass windows that typically better withstand a fire's intense radiant heat.
- Select nonflammable siding or keep combustible materials away from your present siding.
- Keep the gutters and roof clean. Flying embers can ignite debris and spread fire to the house.
- Modify landscaping and materials storage to keep an area five feet from your house fuel-free.
- Within 30 feet of your home, keep the lawn well-watered and mowed.
- Consider xeriscaping, landscaping that focuses on drought-tolerant plants. Firewise offers plant suggestions.
- Remove tree limbs that hang over your roof. High winds can knock flaming branches onto your home.
- Ensure your street number is clearly marked for emergency vehicles.
3. Earthquakes
Most earthquake-related deaths and injuries result from collapsing walls, flying glass and falling objects. One vital preparation can make a big difference: Have your home checked to make sure it meets the seismic code and is tied to its foundation. With the house properly tied together, the load can be redistributed, the house shouldn't slide off its foundation, and it should be able to handle a quake's rocking and sliding actions.
Beyond that, secure fuel tanks, water heaters and shelving. FEMA offers downloadable instructions , but suggests that, since these affect the structure of your home, they be performed by licensed professional contractors.
If a quake does strike:
- Stay away from glass, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall; drop to the ground; hide under sturdy furniture; and hold on.
- Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go out.
- If you are trapped under debris, don't yell so you won't breathe in dirty air. Tap on a pipe to let others know where you are. Don't light matches in case there are gas leaks.
- When you are out of your home, stay informed about the damage and assistance available.
- Avoid turning on the power if there is flooding from broken pipes.
- If your home has been damaged, consider getting a professional to conduct a thorough inspection to make sure it is safe to enter.
4. Hurricanes
You can be hundreds of miles from the coastline and still feel the effects of a hurricane. The winds are destructive, turning debris into deadly projectiles. But the dome of water known as the storm surge and flooding bring much of the destruction.
The National Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service; FEMA ; and FLASH offer great tips. FLASH's interactive Web tool can help you perform a wind-resistance inspection.
Here are some tips:
- Anchor things down. Bring in any outside items that could become airborne.
- Bolt doors at the foot and head using bolts with at least a 1-inch throw length. Have professionals reinforce the garage door and tracks with center support, and brace gable end walls with horizontal and/or diagonal braces.
- Cover large windows, doors, and patio doors with securely fastened, tested, and approved impact-resistant shutters. If you remodel, consider impact-resistant window and door systems.
- Trim trees and shrubs so they won't break and smash into your home.
- Consider building a safe room. Check out FEMA's downloadable publication .
- Turn off propane tanks.
- Have a roof covering rated for hurricane-force winds. Fasten rafters and trusses to walls with hurricane straps and clips.
- Disconnect appliances and equipment. Leave on one light to indicate when power is restored.
- Consider having licensed contractors inspect your home and help in repairs.
5. Tornadoes
According to FEMA, almost every state is at risk for tornadoes. They can appear suddenly, with a damaging path that can be more than a mile wide and 50 miles long. Moving in any direction, they can occur at any time of day. Be prepared. Experts suggest you:
- Consider having a safe room since, even if your house is built to code, that does not mean it can withstand extreme storms such as tornadoes. You can have it site-built or install a manufactured safe room. A constructed or manufactured safe room or storm shelter should meet the guidance of the National Storm Shelter Association (NSSA) and the International Code Council (ICC) Standard for the Design and Construction of Storm Shelters (NSSA/ICC-500).
- Notice of a tornado sighting is typically short—about 15 minutes, if at all. Be aware of changing weather. Look particularly for a greenish sky, large hail, and/or a dark low-lying cloud. If a tornado "watch" is issued, it means conditions are favorable for severe weather. You must remain alert and stay tuned to NOAA Weather Radio or commercial radio or TV for information. If a tornado "warning" is issued, it means one has been sighted or indicated by weather radar and you need to take shelter immediately.
- If you don't have a safe room, contact local government leaders to learn if your community has designated tornado shelters and their locations.
6. Severe Winter Storms
Major winter storms can bring snow, hail, freezing rain, and extreme cold that can leave you powerless in more ways than one. Here are a few basics to help you prepare:
- Stay current on local and regional weather forecasts.
- Add rock salt, sand, and snow shovels to your emergency supplies.
- Make sure you have sufficient heating fuel to last more than what might be the intended length of the storm. In winter, it's always good to be well stocked in case of changing weather conditions.
- Learn how to shut off water valves in case a pipe bursts. If pipes freeze, remove insulation, wrap pipes in rags, and open all faucets.
- Keep your home cooler than usual to save heating fuel. Layer your clothes and use blankets instead.
- If you need to use small portable kerosene heaters, ventilate the toxic fumes by opening a window to allow in fresh air.
- Stay dry and warm. Don't wear yourself out, get cold and wet, or endanger your health by being out in the middle of the storm.
- Watch for a loss of feeling or a whitish color in your fingers and toes that may signal frostbite. The signs of hypothermia are shivering, disorientation, and slurred speech.
- Save the battery power of flashlights, radios, or other equipment. Use candles if you need light but be careful that a fire does not start.
- In case of a household emergency, try to keep your home exits and car clear of snow. You may want to arrange ahead of time with a shoveling and snowplow service to help you do this.


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Box Office: How 'Lone Survivor' Crushed Expectations as 'Frozen' Set Another Record
Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell is portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in Lone Survivor, Image source: Comcast/Universal Studios
On Friday, I said I wouldn't be surprised if the weekend box office debut of Comcast Universal's R-rated Lone Survivor managed to "handily exceed" expectations. After all, the based-on-a-true-story war epic was not only enjoying strong advance ticket sales, but had also drawn high praise from critics, who are hailing it as the Saving Private Ryan of our generation.
But I certainly didn't expect this.
According to preliminary totals from each studio, Lone Survivor easily won the weekend by hauling in more than $38.5 million in the U.S., nearly equal to its $40 million production budget and more than double the $15 million earned by Disney's second-place holdover in Frozen.
That's also more than double the high end of Comcast's own estimates, and good enough for the second-highest January opening of all time behind only the $40 million earned by 2008's Cloverfield. What's more, Lone Survivor's launch is the most successful of any post-9/11 war film, easily beating the $28.6 million grossed by 2001's Black Hawk Down, and $24.4 million from Zero Dark Thirty in 2012.
To the credit of its predecessors, however, keep in mind both Saving Private Ryan and Black Hawk Down still technically hold an edge, having earned the inflation-adjusted equivalent of $51.1 million and $38.6 million, respectively.
But polled audiences also granted Lone Survivor a rare "A+" CinemaScore, which means the film should enjoy overwhelmingly positive word of mouth going forward -- a likely testament to the studio's efforts to avoid political statements and focus instead on the themes of brotherhood, heroism, and courage.
For some perspective, consider Disney's fellow "A+" winner Frozen, which not only set records with its own Thanksgiving launch, but also miraculously managed to win the top spot seven days ago after six full weekends in theaters. In fact, Frozen's most recent $15 million was the highest seventh-weekend total for any animated film, and the fourth-highest overall, trailing only Avatar, Titanic, and The Passion of the Christ.
As a result, Frozen has earned an incredible $712.3 million globally so far, or nearly five times Disney's $150 million production budget.
Meanwhile, Viacom Paramount's holdover in The Wolf of Wall Street managed a distant third place this weekend at just $9 million, bringing its current worldwide gross to $97.1 million after three weeks. All things considered -- and keeping in mind Viacom merely has a distribution deal in place with Wolf financier Red Granite Pictures -- it appears The Wolf of Wall Street won't substantially exceed its lofty $100 million budget, although it could see a bump from star Leonardo DiCaprio's Golden Globes victory last night.
Speaking of under-performers, Lions Gate's The Legend of Hercules earned just $8.6 million in its debut, sharing fourth place with Sony Pictures' fifth week overachiever American Hustle. Like Viacom, however, Lions Gate muted its risk this time by simply acquiring distribution rights to Hercules from primary financier Millennium Films. The folks at Sony, on the other hand, should be pleased with the performance of American Hustle, the global gross from which has nearly tripled Sony's reasonable $40 million budget.
Finally, Time Warner's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug managed to earn only $8 million in its fifth week stateside. However, note international audiences continued to prop up the epic sequel, accounting for 70% of all sales so far and bringing its worldwide total over $808 million.
Coming up next
Viacom hopes to steal some of Comcast's thunder next weekend with the 3,000-theater release of Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. The action-thriller should benefit both from a broader audience from its PG-13 rating, and a built-in fan base given the popularity of the character and producer Mace Neufeld's experience bringing Tom Clancy's books to life. Remember, as the most recent film in the Jack Ryan universe, The Sum of All Fears managed a solid $31.2 million weekend launch in 2002.
If one thing's for sure, however, it's that Lone Survivor is a huge hit. Unless Shadow Recruit can absolutely wow audiences this Friday, it'll have plenty of work to do breaking through the buzz surrounding this week's champion.
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The article Box Office: How 'Lone Survivor' Crushed Expectations as 'Frozen' Set Another Record originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Steve Symington has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Walt Disney. The Motley Fool owns shares of Walt Disney. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Watch where you're going
As people travel more with their iPods, they continue to look for new ways to consume their iPods' contents. It's not unheard of these days to catch someone on a planes, trains, or automobiles (on the passenger side, we hope) watching movies or TV shows on the screens of their 5G (video) iPods. But not everyone wants to spend hours staring downward onto a tiny screen. Even if the screen size doesn't bother you, the pain in your neck will act as a reminder as to why it's not a preferred position.
That's where wearable video displays come into play. Wearable video isn't a new concept, but consumers have generally found very little reason to use them in the past. However, once popular handheld devices such as the iPod, the Zune, and the PSP started carrying videos, and people started used the machines to watch longer clips and even movies, the wearable display suddenly seemed to have a purpose for the average user. Well, at least, compared to before.
There are other benefits, besides relieving neck and back pain, to using a wearable video display. For one, a wearable display prevents you from bothering others with light from your iPod or other portable device—anyone who shares a bedroom with a spouse or significant other who is a light sleeper can probably relate. It also offers privacy: those around you won't be able to peer in on what you're watching. Just yesterday, I observed a rather burly man on the train watching an episode of (this is not made up, folks) America's Next Top Model on his video iPod. If he was identifiable, he would probably not be pleased with me for broadcasting that to the world.
But how practical are these wearable displays? Do they even provide a decent viewing experience? And are they worth the money? We were able to secure two of the most popular displays marketed to iPod users, the myvu by MicroOptical and the ezVision Video iWear by ezGear, and I donned each of them for hours in the service of our loyal readers. Here's what I found.
Manufacturer: myvu (shop for this item)
Price: $299
The myvu is an iPod-only device. The connector that comes with the myvu set is the "standard" iPod connector that fits into the Universal iPod dock and many cars with iPod integration, so it cannot be used with any other video source (like the PSP). MicroOptical does not currently offer any sort of conversion cables.
The package includes a viewer with built-in earbuds, a wired remote, AC adapter, car adapter, iPod battery pack, ear and nose pads, belt clip, and a hard case.
The viewer contains two TFT LCD displays—one for each eye—and is thin and fairly sleek-looking. It's about as sleek as you can get...
...while still looking like Geordi LaForge, anyway.
You'll never look sexier than this
The myvu does not claim to provide an immersive video viewing experience, and it certainly does not; you can easily see your surroundings while wearing the viewer. This means that you can function relatively normally, tending to pets, kids, fiddling with a cell phone, all while watching a video.
I was concerned at first that I would be distracted by the brightness of my surroundings while viewing something, and I was to some degree. But once my videos started, it wasn't difficult to focus on what was being shown; it's at least on the same level as watching a regular television set while other things are going on in the room.
The video displayed by the viewer comes in 320x240 form, regardless of what the video output is from the file on the iPod. However, the myvu can display widescreen video files without any extra configuration. The display of the video on the "screen" is relatively clear but will certainly not appease HD enthusiasts in the least (or even some SD aficionados who have standards). Colors are a bit whitish and washed out, even during the most color-intensive music videos, and if the video itself is compressed in any way, it's especially easy to see video artifacts.
The "screen" itself is not tiny when observed through the viewer but not all that large, either. Some displays, such as the iWear (which we will be addressing next), advertise a 50" TV viewing experience from an 8.5" distance. While the myvu makes no such claims, if we assume that the iWear does in fact simulate a 50" TV, the myvu is more like a 30" TV. Not terrible by any means, but it's also nothing to write home about.
The first thing I noticed about the myvu is that it will not be able to fit on your face properly if you wear glasses. This was fine for me, as I don't require glasses to function normally in the world, but many people do. There is no real solution to this problem that doesn't involve spending more money, either (aside from contacts). MicroOptical does offer an optional myvu Rx clip, which is created to match your prescription and clips directly onto the myvu unit. The clip costs an additional $99 and must be purchased through participating providers.
The earbuds that come attached to the myvu are in-ear and come with small, medium, and large pads so that you can choose which ones fit your ears the best. The sound quality on the earbuds was surprisingly good; to my relatively untrained ear, the sound quality was slightly better and richer-sounding than the new headphones provided with iPods these days. Unfortunately for those who may want to use their own earbuds, there is no way to connect any other pair of headphones or earbuds to the device. It's the built-in myvu earbuds or no sound for you.
The myvu wired remote is built into the set and cannot be removed. From here, the user can control volume, adjust brightness (toggle between three brightness levels), play/pause, skip ahead, fast forward, skip back, and rewind. The controls are easy to learn and easy to use. There is also a clip on the back of the controller so that the user can clip it to a piece of clothing.
Finally, MicroOptical provides a battery pack for use with the iPod and the myvu. The myvu itself does not have a battery and does not require its own power source, so it doesn't need to be charged. But the company says the viewer draws its power from the iPod, meaning that the only power in the entire system comes from the iPod. Hence, the battery pack.
The battery back is not required for watching video through the myvu, so if you're just watching video at home and can easily recharge your iPod the traditional way, you may opt to go without the bulk of the myvu's included battery pack. It does allow you to get a lot more battery life out of your iPod and myvu if you're planning on doing more video watching without recharging in between—this seems particularly helpful for long flights.
The company advertises that the battery pack can provide up to eight hours of viewing time, and it fits all sizes of video iPods (30GB, 60GB, and 80GB). Comparatively, Apple advertises that the 30GB iPod can get up to 3.5 hours of video playback when fully charged, and the 80GB iPod can get up to 6.5 hours. (The 60GB model is no longer in production.)
The battery pack and its protective case can be used by setting the iPod onto the battery, sliding the protective case over the top, connecting the battery to the iPod through the universal connector at the bottom, and then connecting the myvu to the battery pack's universal connector at the top.
The battery pack can be used independently of the viewer as well. So if all you want is a little extra battery boost while listening to music or watching videos without the myvu viewer, you can use it that way as well.
The myvu does offer a lot for the money. The entire system is $299 (or $299 + $99 for the prescription add-on if you need it), and for that you get an okay video viewing experience, a good audio experience, a battery pack that can be used with or without the rest of the system, an easy-to-use remote, and a hard carrying case. If you've been dying to get a wearable video device for use with the iPod, it's a decent choice.


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Home Prices Fell Again In October
Home prices dropped from September to October in 19 of the 20 cities where it tracks the real estate markets, according to the widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report.
According to a statement from David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices:
"Atlanta and the Midwest are regions that really stand out in terms of recent relative weakness. Atlanta was down 5.0 percent over the month, after having fallen by 5.9 percent in September. It also has the weakest annual return, down 11.7 percent. Chicago, Cleveland Detroit and Minneapolis all posted monthly declines of 1.0 percent or more in October."
Reuters says the news "underscored the challenges facing the housing market."
According to the report, prices were down 3.4 percent from a year earlier across the 20 cities where S&P/Case-Shiller tracks them. Among the reasons prices remain weak: the nation's still working down a large backlog of homes that went into foreclosure after the housing bubble burst in 2007 and 2008.
Phoenix was the only city where prices didn't fall in October from September — they were up 0.3 percent before "seasonal adjustment." But prices are still down 5.1 percent from a year earlier in Phoenix.
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Pro&Con: Smart businesses know they can earn more by paying more
Contrary to popular belief, one of the most compelling reasons for raising the minimum wage is because it could help U.S. business.
In fact, businesses that now pay the minimum wage would be wise to act ahead of Washington. Their strategy should be simple: to transform minimum wage jobs into better-paying jobs that deliver higher value added.
That means the higher wage costs can be covered by productivity increases achieved through improved employee recruitment, skills development, training and supervision.
One of the reasons some companies object to a higher minimum wage, such as the $10.10 per hour President Obama has proposed, is because they view employee compensation solely as a cost, rather than an investment.
Viewed as an investment, however, higher wages can be more than justified. It all depends on whether employees can be motivated to create added value for the business.
A higher wage should not be a one-time benefit, but part of a package. Other elements of the package should include better training, opportunities for employees to upgrade existing skills — and learn new ones — and other incentives designed to increase their commitment and value to the company.
A living wage is a first step. At $7.25 an hour, many employees may not be motivated to give it their all. After all, what's in it for them?
At $10.10 per hour or more and fresh opportunities for advancement, the equation changes. This can transform the same task — selling, for example — from something that is repetitive and robotic to something that is both rewarding for employees and increases revenues for the company — such as sales associates engaging customers.
It can happen almost anywhere: Great service and perfect delivery in restaurants would allow companies to raise their prices a little. Who would complain if the service is efficient and friendly, rather than indifferent and slow? Not only would higher prices be acceptable, but companies with reputations for friendly and fast service will gain new customers. Those whose employees are disinterested drones will lose business.
Customer engagement requires training and examples. When sales associates listen carefully and react to customers one on one, sales take off. Instead of just processing transactions, the employee becomes a true salesperson.
That's why it's so important to see higher wages as part of a larger process of advancement, for both employees and the company.
Higher wages require a better-trained workforce with more-advanced technical skills, better people skills, improved problem-solving abilities and encouragement to innovate.
A company doesn't have to pay excessive salaries to be known as a great place to work. It has to treat its employees fairly, provide them with a living wage and let them know that they are valued members of the team, critical to the company's future.
We all know the names of many such companies: Chipotle, the Container Store, Starbucks, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and Costco, among others.
Container Store employees, for example, earn up to 50 percent above minimum wage. They are problem solvers for the customer, providing solutions to home organization issues. They sell more and make more.
The bottom line is this: Companies that invest in their employees will earn more money for their shareholders.
In fact, our research, covering the years 2008-13, shows that companies that have reputations as good citizens and good employers outperformed the market by an average of 24 percent per year in total shareholder returns. This shows that bettering society and bettering the bottom line are totally in sync.
A good place to start is with employee compensation and advancement. We can deliver a higher wage by delivering higher value on the job.


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- Genghis Khan
/jeng"gis kahn"/ or, often, /geng"-/1162-1227, Mongol conqueror of most of Asia and of E Europe to the Dnieper River.Also, Jenghis Khan, Jenghiz Khan.
* * *or Chinggis Khan orig. Temüjinborn 1155, or 1162, or 1167, near Lake Baikal, Mongoliadied Aug. 18, 1227Mongolian warrior-ruler who consolidated nomadic tribes into a unified Mongolia and whose troops fought from China's Pacific coast to Europe's Adriatic Sea, creating the basis for one of the greatest continental empires of all time.The leader of a destitute clan, Temüjin fought various rival clans and formed a Mongol confederacy, which in 1206 acknowledged him as Genghis Khan ("Universal Ruler"). By that year the united Mongols were ready to move out beyond the steppe. He adapted his method of warfare, moving from depending solely on cavalry to using sieges, catapults, ladders, and other equipment and techniques suitable for the capture and destruction of cities. In less than 10 years he took over most of Juchen-controlled China; he then destroyed the Muslim Khwārezm-Shah dynasty while his generals raided Iran and Russia. He is infamous for slaughtering whole cities and destroying fields and irrigation systems, but admired for his military brilliance and ability to learn. He died on a military campaign, and the empire was divided among his sons and grandsons.
* * *▪ Mongolian emperorIntroductionGenghis also spelled Chinggis, Chingis, Jenghiz, or Jinghis, original name Temüjin, also spelled Temuchinborn 1162, near Lake Baikal, Mongoliadied Aug. 18, 1227Mongolian warrior-ruler, one of the most famous conquerors of history, who consolidated tribes into a unified Mongolia and then extended his empire across Asia to the Adriatic Sea.Genghis Khan was a warrior and ruler of genius who, starting from obscure and insignificant beginnings, brought all the nomadic (nomadism) tribes of Mongolia under the rule of himself and his family in a rigidly disciplined military state. He then turned his attention toward the settled peoples beyond the borders of his nomadic realm and began the series of campaigns of plunder and conquest that eventually carried the Mongol armies as far as the Adriatic Sea in one direction and the Pacific coast of China in the other, leading to the establishment of the great Mongol Empire.Historical backgroundWith the exception of the saga-like Secret History of the Mongols (1240?), only non-Mongol sources provide near-contemporary information about the life of Genghis Khan. Almost all writers, even those who were in the Mongol service, have dwelt on the enormous destruction wrought by the Mongol invasions. One Arab historian openly expressed his horror at the recollection of them. Beyond the reach of the Mongols and relying on second-hand information, the 13th-century chronicler Matthew Paris (Paris, Matthew) called them a "detestable nation of Satan that poured out like devils from Tartarus so that they are rightly called Tartars." He was making a play on words with the classical word Tartarus (Hell) and the ancient tribal name of Tatar borne by some of the nomads, but his account catches the terror that the Mongols evoked. As the founder of the Mongol nation, the organizer of the Mongol armies, and the genius behind their campaigns, Genghis Khan must share the reputation of his people, even though his generals were frequently operating on their own, far from direct supervision. Nevertheless, it would be mistaken to see the Mongol campaigns as haphazard incursions by bands of marauding savages. Nor is it true, as some have supposed, that these campaigns were somehow brought about by a progressive desiccation of Inner Asia that compelled the nomads to look for new pastures. Nor, again, were the Mongol invasions a unique event. Genghis Khan was neither the first nor the last nomadic conqueror to burst out of the steppe and terrorize the settled periphery of Eurasia. His campaigns were merely larger in scale, more successful, and more lasting in effect than those of other leaders. They impinged more violently upon those sedentary peoples who had the habit of recording events in writing, and they affected a greater part of the Eurasian continent and a variety of different societies.Two societies were in constant contact, two societies that were mutually hostile, if only because of their diametrically opposed ways of life, and yet these societies were interdependent. The nomads needed some of the staple products of the south and coveted its luxuries. These could be had by trade, by taxing transient caravans, or by armed raids. The settled peoples of China needed the products of the steppe to a lesser extent, but they could not ignore the presence of the nomadic barbarians and were forever preoccupied with resisting encroachment by one means or another. A strong dynasty, such as the 17th-century Manchu, could extend its military power directly over all Inner Asia. At other times the Chinese would have to play off one set of barbarians against another, transferring their support and juggling their alliances so as to prevent any one tribe from becoming too strong.The cycle of dynastic strength and weakness in China was accompanied by another cycle, that of unity and fragmentation amongst the peoples of the steppe. At the peak of their power, a nomadic tribe under a determined leader could subjugate the other tribes to its will and, if the situation in China was one of weakness, might extend its power well beyond the steppe. In the end this extension of nomadic power over the incompatible, sedentary culture of the south brought its own nemesis. The nomads lost their traditional basis of superiority—that lightning mobility that required little in the way of supply and fodder—and were swallowed up by the Chinese they had conquered. The cycle would then be resumed; a powerful China would reemerge, and disarray and petty squabbling among ephemeral chieftains would be the new pattern of life among the nomads. The history of the Mongol conquests illustrates this analysis perfectly, and it is against this background of political contrasts and tensions that the life of Genghis Khan must be evaluated. His campaigns were not an inexplicable natural or even God-given catastrophe but the outcome of a set of circumstances manipulated by a soldier of ambition, determination, and genius. He found his tribal world ready for unification, at a time when China and other settled states were, for one reason or another, simultaneously in decline, and he exploited the situation.Early strugglesVarious dates are given for the birth of Temüjin (or Temuchin), as Genghis Khan was named—after a leader who was defeated by his father, Yesügei, when Temüjin was born. The chronology of Temüjin's early life is uncertain. He may have been born in 1155, in 1162 (the date favoured today in Mongolia), or in 1167. According to legend, his birth was auspicious, because he came into the world holding a clot of blood in his hand. He is also said to have been of divine origin, his first ancestor having been a gray wolf, "born with a destiny from heaven on high." Yet his early years were anything but promising. When he was nine, Yesügei, a member of the royal Borjigin clan of the Mongols, was poisoned by a band of Tatars, another nomadic people, in continuance of an old feud.With Yesügei dead, the remainder of the clan, led by the rival Taychiut family, abandoned his widow, Höelün, and her children, considering them too weak to exercise leadership and seizing the opportunity to usurp power. For a time the small family led a life of extreme poverty, eating roots and fish instead of the normal nomad diet of mutton and mare's milk. Two anecdotes illustrate both Temüjin's straitened circumstances and, more significantly, the power he already had of attracting supporters through sheer force of personality. Once he was captured by the Taychiut, who, rather than killing him, kept him around their camps, wearing a wooden collar. One night, when they were feasting, Temüjin, noticing that he was being ineptly guarded, knocked down the sentry with a blow from his wooden collar and fled. The Taychiut searched all night for him, and he was seen by one of their people, who, impressed by the fire in his eyes, did not denounce him but helped him escape at the risk of his own life. On another occasion horse thieves came and stole eight of the nine horses that the small family owned. Temüjin pursued them. On the way he stopped to ask a young stranger, called Bo'orchu, if he had seen the horses. Bo'orchu immediately left the milking he was engaged in, gave Temüjin a fresh horse, and set out with him to help recover the lost beasts. He refused any reward but, recognizing Temüjin's authority, attached himself irrevocably to him as a nökör, or free companion, abandoning his own family.Temüjin and his family apparently preserved a considerable fund of prestige as members of the royal Borjigin clan, in spite of their rejection by it. Among other things, he was able to claim the wife to whom Yesügei had betrothed him just before his death. But the Merkit people, a tribe living in northern Mongolia, bore Temüjin a grudge, because Yesügei had stolen his own wife, Höelün, from one of their men, and in their turn they ravished Temüjin's wife Börte. Temüjin felt able to appeal to Toghril, khan of the Kereit tribe, with whom Yesügei had had the relationship of anda, or sworn brother, and at that time the most powerful Mongol prince, for help in recovering Börte. He had had the foresight to rekindle this friendship by presenting Toghril with a sable skin, which he himself had received as a bridal gift. He seems to have had nothing else to offer; yet, in exchange; Toghril promised to reunite Temüjin's scattered people, and he is said to have redeemed his promise by furnishing 20,000 men and persuading Jamuka, a boyhood friend of Temüjin's, to supply an army as well. The contrast between Temüjin's destitution and the huge army furnished by his allies is hard to explain, and no authority other than the narrative of the Secret History is available.Rise to powerWith powerful allies and a force of his own, Temüjin routed the Merkit, with the help of a strategy by which Temüjin was regularly to scotch the seeds of future rebellion. He tried never to leave an enemy in his rear; years later, before attacking China, he would first make sure that no nomad leader survived to stab him in the back. Not long after the destruction of the Merkit, he treated the nobility of the Jürkin clan in the same way. These princes, supposedly his allies, had profited by his absence on a raid against the Tatars to plunder his property. Temüjin exterminated the clan nobility and took the common people as his own soldiery and servants. When his power had grown sufficiently for him to risk a final showdown with the formidable Tatars, he first defeated them in battle and then slaughtered all those taller than the height of a cart axle. Presumably the children could be expected to grow up ignorant of their past identity and to become loyal followers of the Mongols. When the alliance with Toghril of the Kereit at last broke down and Temüjin had to dispose of this obstacle to supreme power, he dispersed the Kereit people among the Mongols as servants and troops. This ruthlessness was not mere wanton cruelty. Temüjin intended to leave alive none of the old, rival aristocrats, who might prove a focus of resistance; to provide himself with a fighting force; and, above all, to crush the sense of clan loyalties that favoured fragmentation and to unite all the nomads in personal obedience to his family. And when, in 1206, he was accepted as emperor of all the steppe people, he was to distribute thousands of families to the custody of his own relatives and companions, replacing the existing pattern of tribes and clans by something closer to a feudal structure.At least from the time of the defeat of the Merkits, Temüjin was aiming at supremacy in the steppes for himself. The renewed friendship with Jamuka lasted only a year and a half. Then, one day while the two friends were on the march, Jamuka uttered an enigmatic remark about the choice of camping site, which provoked Temüjin's wife Börte to advise him that it was high time for the two friends to go their separate ways. What lies behind this episode is difficult to see. The story in the Secret History is too puzzling in its brevity and its allusive language to permit a reliable explanation. It has been suggested that Jamuka was trying to provoke a crisis in the leadership. Equally, it may be that the language is deliberately obscure to gloss over the fact that Temüjin was about to desert his comrade. In any event, Temüjin took Börte's advice. Many of Jamuka's own men also abandoned him, probably seeing in Temüjin the man they thought more likely to win in the end. The Secret History justifies their action in epic terms. One of the men tells Temüjin of a vision that had appeared to him and that could only be interpreted as meaning that Heaven and Earth had agreed that Temüjin should be lord of the empire. Looking at the situation in a more down-to-earth way, the interplay of the vacillating loyalties of the steppe may be discerned. The clansmen knew what was afoot, and some of them hastened to move over to Temüjin's side, realizing that a strong leader was in the offing and that it would be prudent to declare for him early on.The break with Jamuka brought about a polarization within the Mongol world that was to be resolved only with the disappearance of one or the other of the rivals. Jamuka has no advocate in history. The Secret History has much to tell about him, not always unsympathetically, but it is essentially the chronicle of Temüjin's family; and Jamuka appears as the enemy, albeit sometimes a reluctant one. He is an enigma, a man of sufficient force of personality to lead a rival coalition of princes and to get himself elected gur-khān, or supreme khan, by them. Yet he was an intriguer, a man to take the short view, ready to desert his friends, even turn on them, for the sake of a quick profit. But for Temüjin, it might have been within Jamuka's power to dominate the Mongols, but Temüjin was incomparably the greater man; and the rivalry broke Jamuka.Clan leaders began to group themselves around Temüjin and Jamuka, and, a few years before the turn of the century, some of them proposed to make Temüjin khan of the Mongols. The terms in which they did so, promising him loyalty in war and the hunt, suggest that all they were looking for was a reliable general, certainly not the overlord he was to become. Indeed, later on, some of them were to desert him. Even at this time, Temüjin was only a minor chieftain, as is shown by the next important event narrated by the Secret History, a brawl at a feast, provoked by his nominal allies the Jürkin princes, whom he later massacred. The Jin (Jin dynasty) emperor in northern China, too, looked on him as of no great consequence. In one of the reversals of policy characteristic of their manipulation of the nomads, the Jin attacked their onetime allies the Tatars. Together with Toghril, Temüjin seized the opportunity of continuing the clan feud and took the Tatars in the rear. The Jin emperor rewarded Toghril with the Chinese title of wang, or prince, and gave Temüjin an even less exalted one. And, indeed, for the next few years the Jin had nothing to fear from Temüjin. He was fully occupied in building up his power in the steppe and posed no obvious threat to China.Temüjin now set about systematically eliminating all rivals. Successive coalitions formed by Jamuka were defeated. The Tatars were exterminated. Toghril allowed himself to be maneuvered by Jamuka's intrigues and by his own son's ambitions and suspicions into outright war against Temüjin, and he and his Kereit people were destroyed. Finally, in the west, the Naiman ruler, fearful of the rising power of the Mongols, tried to form yet another coalition, with the participation of Jamuka, but was utterly defeated and lost his kingdom. Jamuka, inconstant as ever, deserted the Naiman khan at the last moment. These campaigns took place in the few years before 1206 and left Temüjin master of the steppes. In that year a great assembly was held by the River Onon, and Temüjin was proclaimed Genghis Khan: the title probably meant Universal Ruler.Unification of the Mongol nationThe year 1206 was a turning point in the history of the Mongols and in world history: the moment when the Mongols were first ready to move out beyond the steppe. Mongolia itself took on a new shape. The petty tribal quarrels and raids were a thing of the past. Either the familiar tribe and clan names had fallen out of use or those bearing them were to be found, subsequently, scattered all over the Mongol world, testifying to the wreck of the traditional clan and tribe system. A unified Mongol nation came into existence as the personal creation of Genghis Khan and, through many vicissitudes (feudal disintegration, incipient retribalization, colonial occupation), has survived to the present day. Mongol ambitions looked beyond the steppe. Genghis Khan was ready to start on his great adventure of world conquest. The new nation was organized, above all, for war. Genghis Khan's troops were divided up on the decimal system, were rigidly disciplined, and were well equipped and supplied. The generals were his own sons or men he had selected, absolutely loyal to him.Genghis Khan's military genius could adapt itself to rapidly changing circumstances. Initially his troops were exclusively cavalry, riding the hardy, grass-fed Mongol pony that needed no fodder. With such an army, other nomads could be defeated, but cities could not be taken. Yet before long the Mongols were able to undertake the siege of large cities, using mangonels, catapults, ladders, burning oil, and so forth and even diverting rivers. It was only gradually, through contact with men from the more settled states, that Genghis Khan came to realize that there were more sophisticated ways of enjoying power than simply raiding, destroying, and plundering. It was a minister of the khan of the Naiman, the last important Mongol tribe to resist Genghis Khan, who taught him the uses of literacy and helped reduce the Mongol language to writing. The Secret History reports it was only after the war against the Muslim empire of Khwārezm (Khwārezm-Shāh Dynasty), in the region of the Amu Darya (Oxus) and Syr Darya (Jaxartes), probably in late 1222, that Genghis Khan learned from Muslim advisers the "meaning and importance of towns." And it was another adviser, formerly in the service of the Jin emperor, who explained to him the uses of peasants and craftsmen as producers of taxable goods. He had intended to turn the cultivated fields of northern China into grazing land for his horses.The great conquests of the Mongols, which would transform them into a world power, were still to come. China was the main goal. Genghis Khan first secured his western flank by a tough campaign against the Tangut kingdom of Xixia (Xi Xia), a northwestern border state of China, and then fell upon the Jin empire of northern China in 1211. In 1214 he allowed himself to be bought off, temporarily, with a huge amount of booty, but in 1215 operations were resumed, and Beijing was taken. Subsequently, the more systematic subjugation of northern China was in the hands of his general Muqali. Genghis Khan himself was compelled to turn aside from China and carry out the conquest of Khwārezm. This war was provoked by the governor of the city of Otrar, who massacred a caravan of Muslim merchants who were under Genghis Khan's protection. The Khwārezm-Shāh refused satisfaction. War with Khwārezm would doubtless have come sooner or later, but now it could not be deferred. It was in this war that the Mongols earned their reputation for savagery and terror. City after city was stormed, the inhabitants massacred or forced to serve as advance troops for the Mongols against their own people. Fields and gardens were laid waste and irrigation works destroyed as Genghis Khan pursued his implacable vengeance against the royal house of Khwārezm. He finally withdrew in 1223 and did not lead his armies into war again until the final campaign against Xixia in 1226–27. He died on Aug. 18, 1227.AssessmentAs far as can be judged from the disparate sources, Genghis Khan's personality was a complex one. He had great physical strength, tenacity of purpose, and an unbreakable will. He was not obstinate and would listen to advice from others, including his wives and mother. He was flexible. He could deceive but was not petty. He had a sense of the value of loyalty, unlike Toghril or Jamuka. Enemies guilty of treachery toward their lords could expect short shrift from him, but he would exploit their treachery at the same time. He was religiously minded, carried along by his sense of a divine mission, and in moments of crisis he would reverently worship the Eternal Blue Heaven, the supreme deity of the Mongols. So much is true of his early life. The picture becomes less harmonious as he moves out of his familiar sphere and comes into contact with the strange, settled world beyond the steppe. At first he could not see beyond the immediate gains to be got from massacre and rapine and, at times, was consumed by a passion for revenge. Yet all his life he could attract the loyalties of men willing to serve him, both fellow nomads and civilized men from the settled world. His fame could even persuade the aged Daoist sage Changchun (Ch'ang-ch'un) (Qiu Chuji) to journey the length of Asia to discourse upon religious matters. He was above all adaptable, a man who could learn.Organization, discipline, mobility, and ruthlessness of purpose were the fundamental factors in his military successes. Massacres of defeated populations, with the resultant terror, were weapons he regularly used. His practice of summoning cities to surrender and of organizing the methodical slaughter of those who did not submit has been described as psychological warfare; but, although it was undoubtedly policy to sap resistance by fostering terror, massacre was used for its own sake. Mongol practice, especially in the war against Khwārezm, was to send agents to demoralize and divide the garrison and populace of an enemy city, mixing threats with promises. The Mongols' reputation for frightfulness often paralyzed their captives, who allowed themselves to be killed when resistance or flight was not impossible. Indeed, the Mongols were unaccountable. Resistance brought certain destruction, but at Balkh, now in Afghanistan, the population was slaughtered in spite of a prompt surrender, for tactical reasons.The achievements of Genghis Khan were grandiose. He united all the nomadic tribes, and with numerically inferior armies he defeated great empires, such as Khwārezm and the even more powerful Jin state. Yet he did not exhaust his people. He chose his successor, his son Ögödei, with great care, ensured that his other sons would obey Ögödei, and passed on to him an army and a state in full vigour. At the time of his death, Genghis Khan had conquered the land mass extending from Beijing to the Caspian Sea, and his generals had raided Persia and Russia. His successors would extend their power over the whole of China, Persia, and most of Russia. They did what he did not achieve and perhaps never really intended—that is, to weld their conquests into a tightly organized empire. The destruction brought about by Genghis Khan survives in popular memory, but far more significant, these conquests were but the first stage of the Mongol Empire, the greatest continental empire of medieval and modern times.Charles R. BawdenAdditional ReadingPaul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan: His Life and Legacy (1991; originally published in German, 1983), is an important, scholarly biography, examining various aspects of Genghis Khan's personality and life and offering a critical discussion of original sources, which are sometimes at variance. Other biographies include B.I. Vladimirtsov, The Life of Chingis-Khan (1930, reissued 1969; originally published in Russian, 1922); Ralph Fox, Genghis Khan (1936); H. Desmond Martin, The Rise of Chingis Khan and His Conquest of North China (1950, reissued 1971); René Grousset, Conqueror of the World (1967, reissued 1972; originally published in French, 1944), containing a critical bibliography; R.P. Lister, Genghis Khan (1969, reissued 1989), an account of his early life based on a Mongol chronicle written in 1240 and recovered in the 20th century; Leo de Hartog, Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World (1989; originally published in Dutch, 1979); and Michel Hoang, Genghis Khan (1990; originally published in French, 1988), emphasizing the military strategy and foresight of the ruler.Accessible versions of the only contemporary native Mongolian portrait of the early imperial period may be found in Francis Woodman Cleaves (trans. and ed.), The Secret History of the Mongols, trans. from Mongolian (1982); and The History and the Life of Chinggis Khan: The Secret History of the Mongols, trans. from Mongolian and annotated by Urgunge Onon (1990). For general reading, Leonardo Olschki, Marco Polo's Asia (1960; originally published in Italian, 1957), is recommended. Eustace D. Phillips, The Mongols (1969), is a brief general history of the early Mongols, concentrating on the period of expansion in the 13th century. The relevant pages from René Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes: A History of Central Asia (1970, reissued 1988; originally published in French, 1939), provide a concise account of the subject, and the whole book may be read with profit. Igor de Rachewiltz, Papal Envoys to the Great Khans (1971), presents a history of European exploration that includes a summary of 13th- and 14th-century literature (prior to Marco Polo) on Mongols, with a good bibliography. J.J. Saunders, The History of the Mongol Conquest (1971), is a general history, with an annotated bibliography and genealogical tables. A carefully researched history of Mongol conquests, illustrated with maps and tables, is offered in Peter Brent, Genghis Khan (also published as The Mongol Empire, 1976). David Morgan, The Mongols (1986), situates the achievements of Genghis Khan within a general survey of imperial Mongolia. A well-documented account of Mongol successes in Europe with specific military detail is found in James Chambers, The Devil's Horsemen, rev. and extended ed. (1988).Charles R. Bawden Ed.
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Universalium. 2010.


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Escape to a forgotten hillside, a cluster of wild orange trees, and a sunny breeze through lavender brush with hints of cedar.
A good quality shave is all about the preparation, especially for those with sensitive skin. Alluvian Pre-Shave & Beard Oil serves to moisturize sensitive facial skin, soften facial hair, and provide a light and aromatic blend of high quality and exotic essential oils. The base oil profile offers excellent emollient properties with antioxidants, Omega-6 fatty acids, and Vitamins A and E. Irish Moss is a red seaweed from the Atlantic that is added to enhance the oil by providing unique polysaccharides, minerals, and nutrients that help fortify your skin and hair. Alluvian Pre-Shave & Beard Oil serves the duel purpose of getting skin supple for a blade or facial hair soft, strong, and conditioned for the confident look you desire.
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皇冠体育官网app:Maybulk's 2Q net profit rises to RM61.07mil
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Bulk Carriers Bhd's (MBC) net profit for the second quarter ended June 30, 2022 (Q2FY2022) rose to RM61.07 million from RM32.06 million registered in the same quarter last year.
Revenue, however, fell to RM39.57 million from RM53.62 million previously.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, it said the company also registered a higher profit of RM69.51 million in the first half of financial year 2022 (1HFY2022) from RM47.06 million in the same corresponding period last year despite recording a lower revenue of RM78.65 million in 1HFY2022 compared with RM100.24 million a year ago.
It said the decrease in revenue was mainly due to reduced hire days from a smaller fleet size despite a 26 per cent increase in charter rates compared with corresponding last year.
"The drybulk shipping markets remained relatively firm in Q2FY2022 due to the shift in trading patterns as a result of the Ukraine-Russia conflict," it said.
It said interest expense decreased by 56 per cent to RM2.68 million mainly due to lower borrowing cost from the repayment of loans and reduced lease liabilities with the redelivery of two chartered-in vessels in the financial year 2021.,
Meanwhile, MBC said it had completed the disposal of a Kamsarmax sized vessel, MV Alam Kukuh, with net proceeds of RM160.554 million which resulted in a total gain on disposal of RM50.06 million in 1HFY2022.
Going forward, it said replacement supply after the Russian coal ban by the European Union in August 2022 could be coming from the US, Colombia, South Africa and Australia which could increase tonne mile.
"However, increasing volatility in the drybulk shipping market is expected with negative impacts from high global inflation and the underwhelming Chinese economy cushioned by some positive developments including a temporary deal of 120 days between Russia and Ukraine allowing the resumption of grain exports.
"Drybulk vessel prices and sales and purchase activity have been on a slightly downward trend since May 2022," it said.
It added that the company continued to deploy short to medium-term charters to mitigate against volatile market conditions. - Bernama


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As an organization that has implemented multi-factor authentication (MFA), you're part of a growing trend. The MFA industry is expected to grow to $13.59B by 2022.
One challenge you may be facing with MFA is scaling its deployment across your business. Since manufacturers have multiple work environments - offices, factories, warehouses - we recommend that you think about how to manage MFA across multiple devices and locations.
Managing MFA
Technologies such as Intel® Authenticate—available on devices with 8th Gen Intel® vPro™ Technology—simplify MFA scaling. It gives IT the flexibility to create and deploy custom MFA policies that enforce user identity protection. The IT administrator can mix and match identification factors for different users and provide varying levels of access across the corporate domain, network, VPN and more. Intel Authenticate provides a simple self-service enrollment tool for end users to quickly get started, eliminating calls to IT.
Enabling True "Hardware" Authentication
Lenovo recommends using MFA grounded in hardware. This MFA type is much harder for hackers and malicious code to snoop and capture password data because it's located deep in the silicon, isolated from the OS and applications.
There are several ways to authenticate users and ensure that the credentials are stored at the hardware level, and you can use Intel Authenticate to set up different combinations of the following:
- Facial Recognition: Infrared (IR) cameras are more secure than regular cameras for facial recognition. In addition, ThinkPad Glance utilizes face, eye- and gaze-tracking to automatically lock a device if the user is not present.
- Fingerprints: Lenovo Match on Chip Fingerprint Reader (MoC FPR) stores biometric credentials on a separate chip, making it almost impossible to hack.
- PIN: Short numeric codes can be used alongside other authentication factors as part of an MFA solution.
- Consider the following as supplementary MFA factors:
- Phone Proximity: Users can pair their smartphone with their PC via Bluetooth and use the proximity of their phone as a secure authentication factor.
- Location: Use location-based services to determine if a user is in an expected location like their office.
As you look to update your access management strategy, you'll need modern devices to support and scale hardware-based MFA and the convenience of solutions such as Windows Hello.


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A new report says increased enrollment in Kansas schools is being driven by births in the Hispanic population.
The report by the Kansas Association of School Boards predicts that within five years, Kansas public school enrollment will reach 500,000 for the first time since 1970.
The report's author, Ted Carter, says most of the increase is because of births among Hispanics, not migration into the state.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports total student enrollment has been growing steadily since the 2006-2007 school year. But without the growth among Hispanics, total enrollment would have been declining since the late 1990s.
Carter estimates that in five years, Hispanics will make up 22 percent of the total student body in Kansas, an increase from less than 5 percent in the early 1990s.


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LAS VEGAS – After defeating a string of welterweights and winning the 16th season of "The Ultimate Fighter," Colton Smith is considering a new weight class.
Smith shut out Mike Ricci on Saturday at The Ultimate Fighter 16 Finale to win the 32-man tournament.
But unable to finish Ricci, a fighter who's also expected to drop to lightweight for his next, Smith realizes his size may be a disadvantage at 170 pounds.
Smith (4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) and Ricci (7-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) co-headlined Saturday's FX-televised event at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Smith fought from close quarters, scored frequent takedowns, and smothered the Tristar Gym fighter en route to a unanimous-decision win (via 30-27, 30-27 and 30-26 scores).
But he couldn't get the finish.
"Mike Ricci is an extremely tough opponent," he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I knew he was tough coming in. He's a very precise striker. You can't make a mistake with him. He'll knock you out. We saw that during the show. He's a 155-er and fought a bunch of 170-ers and did an awesome job on the show."
Ricci, in fact, was a 2-to-1 favorite heading into the bout. He had previously fought for Bellator, and while dominating the Canadian fight circuit, he picked up a 2009 win over Strikeforce contender Jordan Mein.
Smith knew he didn't want to stand and trade with the striker, and though he knew he it might not be the flashiest of game plans, he had hoped it'd lead to a finish.
"I knew my pressure and my wrestling were definitely going to play a factor in it," he said. "My jiu-jitsu I figured would play a factor. But I couldn't get the finish. He's an extremely tough guy. I just had to keep wrestling. I couldn't have any separation. My hat's off to him. I couldn't get the finish, but I tried my ass off."
Smith, an Army Ranger and based out of Fort Hood, Texas, currently trains with the likes of Strikeforce fighter Tim Kennedy and undefeated UFC prospect Andrew Craig. He said he's beaten up daily by the bigger fighters, so despite his success on "TUF 16," he knows he may need to go smaller for his UFC career.
"Absolutely there's a possibility of me moving down," he said. "Especially if Tim Kennedy moves to 170, then I'm definitely going down to 155."
For complete coverage of the TUF 16 Finale, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.


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National Lamp Recycling Outreach
Types of Universal Waste
In the mid-2000s, EPA conducted a mercury lamp recycling outreach program to promote the recycling of mercury-containing lamps by commercial and industrial users. The outreach program increased awareness of the proper disposal methods of mercury-containing lamps in compliance with federal and state universal waste rules. This outreach effort sought to increase the amount of lamps recycled in the short-term, as well as have lasting impact over the long-term.
To support this effort, EPA awarded funds in the form of cooperative agreements to state and non-profit organizations for the development and implementation of a coordinated nationwide mercury lamp recycling outreach program.
Below is a list cooperative agreement recipients and an outline of their specific outreach efforts:
- Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers
- California Department of Toxic Substances Control
- Center for Ecological Technology
- Hawaii Department of Health
- Northeast Waste Management Officials Association
- Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center
- St. Regis Mohawk Tribe
- University of South Carolina
- Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR)
The Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers worked in collaboration with EPA to increase the national recycling rate through an education and outreach campaign. In order to encourage better management of mercury from spent lamps, ALMR targeted outreach efforts towards the people who can best contribute to diverting these lamps from municipal solid waste landfills such as building owners and managers of commercial, industrial and government properties. The objective was to get enough information to the right people so that both mandatory and voluntary recycling increased.
Accomplishments from ALMRs Lamp Recycling Outreach Program (LROP) are as follows:
- Produced education materials, resource information and a plan for national outreach and implementation, along with outreach to target groups who can influence lamp disposal. Waste handlers can learn about end-of-life lamp management by:
- reading a guidance manual (PDF) (129 pp, 1M, About PDF) on the Solid Waste Association of North America website
- viewing a PowerPoint presentation training module on the Solid Waste Association of North America website Download a free PowerPoint viewer
- Developed a public service announcement, contributed to EPAs lamp recycling website (frequent questions page), updated the state programs databases and compiled data that will be used to determine effectiveness of outreach.
- Published a CD-ROM (11/04) aimed at educating users, contractors, waste handlers and others about the regulations, issues and responsibilities surrounding proper end-of-life lamp management. About 5,800 copies were sent to hundreds of groups, agencies and individuals. About 40 high priority organizations were targeted for individual follow up for workshops or publicity via member media. Over 80 other organizations were contacted and sent materials.
- Provided community assistance several cities, counties and local organizations have asked for assistance with infrastructure, access to recyclers, information on how to set up collection, and other lamp recycling information.
- Held outreach meetings LROP materials were distributed at over 80 meetings or workshops across the country.
California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Mercury Lamp Recycling Outreach project has three components: (1) an online training course; (2) presentations to businesses; and (3) incorporation of information on lamp recycling into the California State University and California Compliance Schools (CCS) existing curriculum.
DTSC, in collaboration with the California State University of Sacramento, has incorporated the Mercury Lamp Recycling Outreach program material developed through EPAs Lamp Recycling Outreach Program (modified to reflect the differences in Californias regulations) into an informative online training. The self-paced online training course will allow the California Compliance School to target a larger portion of the regulated community. The course went online October 17, 2005. Course is no longer available as of 2013.
CCS is a partnership between DTSC and the California Community Colleges. CCS is administered through the Bakersfield Community Colleges Environmental Technology Institute, and offers basic instruction to the regulated community on compliance with state hazardous waste laws and regulations. CCS is an innovative, activity based training program that teaches the basics of complying with the hazardous waste laws and regulations in a fun and interesting format. This component of the project was incorporated into a new training module that addresses the proper management of fluorescent lamps into the CCS curriculum. CCS can offer their activity based training at various locations throughout California. In addition, violators of universal waste management requirements for lamps would be referred to CCS as part of the settlement agreement. The CCS mercury lamp module was completed in June 2006.
DTSC is providing training on the requirements for managing universal waste lamps and information on proper disposition of waste lamps to various industry associations, environmental managers, building managers, electrical contractors, and local agencies. DTSC has also developed a fact sheet (PDF) (2 pp, 300K, About PDF) and Best Management Practices (PDF).(12 pp, 75K, About PDF)
Center for Ecological Technology (CET)
Outreach and Education for Results
CET promotes mercury-containing lamp recycling to businesses and industries, schools, organizations and municipalities in western Massachusetts through outreach and education, technical assistance and infrastructure development.
The Evolution of Methodology
CET began the lamp-recycling project using traditional outreach techniques and greatly increased its effectiveness over time by forming innovative partnerships with local boards of health.
|CETs Lamp Recycling Outreach Projects
Working with Health Departments
CET had great success in reaching out to municipal health departments as a way to add regulatory muscle to lamp recycling. This proved especially true for businesses that need to have an annual permit from the health department.
CET partnered with the health departments in the Towns of Amherst, Belchertown, Granby, Greenfield, South Hadley, and Ware. In each town, CET worked with the health department to send a letter on health department stationery to all tanning salons. A week or two after the letter was sent, CET met with each salon owner to talk about the importance of lamp recycling and to provide technical assistance to the owner. During these visits, CET:
- Ascertained the number of bulbs;
- Addressed questions about storage and logistics;
- Provided a poster about proper management of spent bulbs; and
- Worked with the owner to determine which local recycling option would be most cost-effective.
This two-pronged approach was very effective in ensuring that tanning lamps are recycled. CET worked with over 27 tanning salons, all of which are recycling. At least 28,720 linear feet of tanning lamps were recycled in 2005 as a result of CETs efforts.
CET worked with the Town of Granby, Massachusetts to institute a by-law that requires all tanning salons to recycle used lamps as a part of the permit to operate a tanning facility. Inspectors who conduct semi-annual health inspections of the facilities will now be able to ask about lamp recycling as part of their visit.
In addition to oversight of tanning salons, health departments regulate food establishments, supermarkets, hotels, spas, schools and convenience stores through an annual permitting process. The South Hadley, Massachusetts Health Department chose to incorporate recycling mercury lamps into the 2006 permit renewal process. CET worked with the health department and the Recycling Coordinator to distribute information to 80 permitted businesses. Now, these businesses must document their recycling of spent lamps when they apply for an annual operating permit. This additional item on the permit application doesnt burden the health department and it helps get mercury out of our air and water.
Similar letters from the West Springfield Health Department have been sent to over 300 businesses. CET provided site visits to these businesses through the first half of 2006.
The Expanding Effect
Health department partnerships have helped CET gain access to an expanding audience. Several chain businesses (Friendlys, Curves, Rockys/Ace Hardware) are now considering recycling at multiple locations in the region in order to stay ahead of future health department initiatives in surrounding towns.
Lessons Learned
- On-site interactions with businesses build commitment, overcome barriers (such as logistics, storage, and cost) and compel owners to institute recycling programs.
- Face-to-face technical assistance is more effective than letters, advertisements, newspaper articles or other passive educational devices and provides measurable results.
- Partnering with local regulatory entities creates access to many businesses and establishes a process for institutionalizing recycling in several industry sectors.
- Mercurys health impacts provide an opportunity to educate and engage health officials.
- Health officials add credibility, authority and in some cases regulatory muscle.
Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH)
Hawaiis Lamp Recycling Project had two parts:
- The first part was to develop a lamp recycling outreach program in Hawaii. Due to lack of education and awareness, many Hawaii businesses have been handling their mercury-containing lamps as hazardous wastes or as municipal solid waste. This project focused on increasing awareness among all commercial lamp users and promoting mercury lamp recycling. Used lamps are one of the largest hazardous waste streams generated by businesses that typically would not generate hazardous waste as part of their daily operations.
Hawaiis unique geography makes it difficult to easily provide and distribute information among the separate island counties. Therefore, the state has attempted to partner with other state (especially the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism via the Hawaii Green Business Program), city, and federal agencies; major lamp manufacturers (Philips, GE, Osram-Sylvania) and distributors; and lamp recyclers to provide outreach to lamp users on all the islands. One of the goals of the project was to expand the outreach and awareness on mercury-containing lamps and regulations on universal waste. Additionally, the use and recycling of low-mercury lamps was also promoted as part of the outreach.
- The second part of the project was to work with the recycling and lighting industry to determine the feasibility of offering recycling services in the state since recycling is currently not available. Therefore, a key project component was the completion of a study, which evaluated the feasibility of in-state lamp recycling. The study was expected to generate HDOH fact sheets aimed at increasing lamp recycling and recommendations which will facilitate the establishment of in-state recycling facilities.
Northeast Waste Management Officials Association (NEWMOA)
NEWMOAs Lamp Recycling Outreach Project has focused on promoting lamp recycling among two sectors: electrical distributors and commercial property managers. To conduct this work NEWMOA first formed a Lamp Recycling and Outreach Workgroup comprised of environmental agency representatives from its member states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont). NEWMOA also created a listserve for the Workgroup members to share information about lamp recycling.
NEWMOAs Lamp Recycling Workgroup conducted outreach to electrical distributors to encourage them to set up reverse distribution (also known as a lamp take-back program), so that lamp users would have more options for recycling their lamps. NEWMOA believes lamp take-back programs can help address the issue of inconvenience, which is often cited as a reason why lamp users do not recycle their lamps. Electrical distributors can follow different approaches to reverse distribution, ranging from simply acting as a broker to picking up spent lamps from customers.
NEWMOA also believes that electrical distributors are uniquely positioned to offer their customers a convenient one-stop shopping arrangement for lamp purchasing and spent lamp management. At the same time, distributors stand to make a profit by offering recycling services. As The Electrical Distributor (TED) Magazine says, Offering a recycling option to customers can be a good value-add service for distributors, TED Magazine, July 2002.
Following a social marketing model, NEWMOAs Lamp Recycling Workgroup began its efforts to motivate commercial property managers to recycle their lamps by investigating the barriers that prevent property managers from recycling and the incentives that could motivate them to change their behavior. NEWMOA hired a social marketing consultant to conduct this research.
After-background research confirmed that barriers preventing property managers from recycling their lamps include cost, perceived lack of convenience, poor awareness, and lack of enforcement. The Workgroup then narrowed the focus of its research to:
- How and where property managers get information;
- How lamp management decisions are made;
- Communication with tenants; and
- The budget process.
To reach commercial property managers, incorporating the lessons learned from the social marketing research, NEWMOAs Lamp Recycling Workgroup:
- Placed advertisements promoting lamp recycling in publications read by property managers;
- Mailed promotional brochures to thousands of property management companies in its member states;
- Met with property manager professional organizations;
- Placed articles in newsletters and magazines read by property managers; and
- Exhibited at trade shows frequented by property managers.
View information pertaining to the Lamp Recycling Outreach Project on NEWMOAs website. .
Pacific Northwest Pollution Prevention Resource Center (PPRC)
PPRC led an effort to educate hospitals, lighting contractors and property managers about the proper disposal of spent fluorescent lamps. The PPRC partners included the Washington State Hospital Association, Lighting Design Lab, and the City of Boise Public Works. The outreach plan included holding presentations and workshops at trade association meetings, maintaining a presence at trade conferences, and a media plan that includes a full year of advertisements and articles in targeted trade journals.
St. Regis Mohawk Tribe (SRMT)
SRMTs Waste Lamp Project has two goals:
- Empower businesses on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation to properly dispose of waste lamps; and
- Create a model for other tribal communities to implement in their communities.
SRMT has been executing a demonstration project since October 2003. Since that time, SRMT has developed tribal-specific outreach materials including a brochure and video. SRMT developed a video training for businesses in the community and began collecting waste lamps in early 2006. Businesses are allowed to bring their used waste lamps to SRMTs transfer station. Once there, the lamps are inventoried and stored in standard universal waste lamp boxes.
SRMT developed a waste lamp training manual. Other communities can use the manual to execute a waste lamp collection program. The waste lamp training manual was completed in July 2006. Read the training manual (PDF) (35 pp, 1.2M, About PDF)
University of South Carolina (USC)
The Environmental Research and Service (ERS) unit of the Institute for Public Service and Policy Research (IPSPR) at the University of South Carolina (USC) is a partner with the Business Recycling Assistance Program (B-RAP), a joint program of the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).
USC has focused its activities in particular on outreach to owners and operators of tanning parlors. Tanning parlors are of particular concern because they generate comparatively large numbers of mercury-containing lamps. Also, the lamps used in tanning beds tend to contain a higher level of mercury than do lamps normally available in commerce (i.e., those used in ordinary fluorescent lighting fixtures).
The project also has resulted in a number of site visits to companies interested in recycling their spent lamps. B-RAP staff have made numerous site visits to a variety of types of facilities, during the course of the project. B-RAP staff also have provided a number of interested companies with educational and outreach materials.
The project provided mini-grants to Dorchester County and Georgetown County to assist these counties with collecting spent mercury-containing lamps by allowing them to purchase lamp collection boxes and have the boxes collected when they were full. Dorchester County has reported that the mini-grant assisted it in recycling more than 300 lamps. The county also reported that activities funded by the mini-grant gave county employees a greater sense of the need to recycle these lamps, and provided a safer work place for the countys maintenance personnel.
Also, B-RAP organized a mercury lamp amnesty day at a Home Depot home improvement store in Aiken, SC on May 14, 2005. Anyone could bring used mercury-containing lamps and leave them for proper packaging and recycling. Lamps accepted included all sizes of fluorescent tubes, flood lamps, plastic encased spotlights, high intensity discharge (HID) lamps, household or compact fluorescent bulbs, and tanning or UV bulbs and lamps. The amnesty day was advertised in local newspapers and through signs posted in local convenience centers. More than 800 bulbs were collected during the event.
The final education and outreach segments of the program were conducted at the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006. The second final segment provided interested school districts with lamp collection boxes, and arranged for the boxes to be collected by two private lamp recycling companies with facilities in the state of South Carolina.
This outreach project distributed educational material and information on available recycling resources and programs to more than 8,500 recipients. This was accomplished through newsletter distributions and distribution of literature at conferences, workshops, and as part of oral presentations to individual organizations and business groups. In addition, there were four public service announcements broadcasted throughout the state of South Carolina (one announcement was broadcasted at 158 stations).
Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
The Vermont DEC lamp recycling outreach project involved outreach on lamp recycling to business and commercial enterprises, schools and municipalities. Efforts are also being made to measure changes in lamp recycling after outreach activities have been conducted. DEC contracted with the Association of Vermont Recyclers to conduct outreach activities with schools.
The following outreach activities have been conducted:
- Mailing of lamp recycling brochure to 16,000 businesses, representing most employers in Vermont, with a second reminder mailing planned;
- Three media campaigns with newspaper advertisements and radio public service announcements conducted between 2003 and 2005. Advertisements were included in all of the daily and weekly papers in the state and nine radio stations;
- A newspaper insert of the lamp recycling brochure was placed in the Burlington Free Press (circulation 140,000);
- Newsletter articles were developed for inclusion in 14 business, municipal and school organization newsletters;
- 60,000 dumpster stickers were printed and are being distributed to solid waste management business and waste haulers for placement on commercial, municipal, and residential dumpsters. The stickers encourage keeping lamps out of the trash and recycling them;
- A two-year pilot lamp recycling program at over 30 True Value hardware stores has been established and is being promoted to small businesses and the general public. The program offers free recycling;
- An informational mailing was sent by the Association of Vermont Recyclers to over 500 public and private schools in Vermont that included information on lamp recycling;
- Several presentations were made by the Association of Vermont Recyclers at regional school meetings and conferences on lamp recycling, reaching out to principals, custodians and school nurses;
- Direct phone consultation assistance was provided by the Association of Vermont Recyclers to over 20 schools to answer questions on setting up lamp recycling programs, and 15 schools received lamp recycling information as part of a comprehensive on-site environmental audit of cleaning supplies and hazardous products; and
- Website information on lamp recycling is now available on the DEC website .
Measuring Results Baseline lamp recycling for the state was determined for calendar year 2003 by gathering data from lamp recycling facilities serving the state. This baseline represented lamp recycling prior to outreach activities conducted under the cooperative agreement. In calendar year 2004, similar data on lamp recycling were gathered to determine any changes in recycling as a result of the first year of outreach. Results showed a 6% increase in linear feet of fluorescent tubes recycled and more than a 20% increase in compact fluorescents recycled. By September 2006 (end of the project period), the number of linear fluorescent lamps recycled had increased by 18% over the 2003 baseline. The number of compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) increased by 4.4% over the 2003 baseline.