Storms’ effects weigh on Midwest
It could take electric utilities days to restore power to all customers left in the dark by this week’s storms, officials said.
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A large tree lies across a small car in Chicago, Illinois, after strong storms and heavy rain.
Power was restored by Saturday morning to more than half a million customers in Illinois, but about 120,000 ComEd customers in northern Illinois remained without electricity, said ComEd spokesman Joe Trost.
The storms in Illinois were responsible for at least one death, a man struck by a wind-toppled tree, officials said. In addition, an autopsy was planned on a man found lying in more than 2 feet of water in his basement in suburban Inverness.
Powerful storms rolling through the Upper Midwest over most of the past week caused disastrous floods from southeastern Minnesota to Ohio that were blamed for at least 17 other deaths. Video Watch cats being rescued in Ohio »
Rain had mostly stopped falling Saturday in northern Illinois as a line of storms moved eastward and southward, but flooding was still a danger for hundreds of thousands of people who live near swollen creeks and rivers.
“There’s still a chance of rainfall, but we’re not expecting as much and the potential for flash flooding is going away,” said Casey Sullivan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
The flood alert level for northern Lake County was raised to red, the highest, as the Fox River approached 50-year levels, with flooding possible this weekend when water from rain-drenched Wisconsin arrives
In Dyer, Indiana, southeast of Chicago, Illinois, authorities evacuated St. Margaret Mercy Hospital as water seeped into the building from a nearby creek. About 70 patients were being moved out, spokeswoman Maria Ramos said.
Police and firefighters went door to door in Dyer telling people to leave.
In southern Michigan, more than 100,000 customers were without power Saturday, utilities said. Powerful storms a day earlier spawned at least one tornado that destroyed several homes and barns in Fenton, and minor injuries were reported.
Three to five tornadoes may have hit southeastern Michigan, the weather service said. The region also had flooded highways and fallen power lines and trees.
Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator R. David Paulison surveyed damage Friday in Rushford, Minnesota, especially hard hit by this week’s flooding. Mayor Les Ladewig said about half of Rushford’s 760 homes were damaged, including 248 that were destroyed and 91 with serious damage.
About 1,500 homes were damaged around Minnesota. Paulison said FEMA recovery centers should be running early next week in the three counties where President Bush declared disasters Thursday.
Paulison also visited Wisconsin, where flooding destroyed 44 homes and damaged more than 1,400, most of them in the southwestern part of the state. Photo See images of flooding from all over »
In DeKalb, Illinois, 50 miles west of Chicago, the Kishwaukee River reached near-record levels, spilling over its 15-foot levees, flooding residential areas and blocking roads.
About 600 residents of DeKalb and nearby Sycamore were displaced, said DeKalb City Manager Mark Biernacki. Northern Illinois University’s flooded DeKalb campus was closed.
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Some flooding occurred in the area around Prospect Heights, six miles north of O’Hare International Airport west of Chicago.
“The river is so quiet for so many years,” Mark Bednarowicz, 57, said as he filled sandbags for his home. “For everybody it’s a shock it (flooding) happens. … Everybody’s scared.”
Pimp in the game
Want to be the king of riches where you can increase your worth and build an empire? Then welcome to Ace Pimpin, a free online game where all you need is your browser and is part of the the Entertainment Network located at QBS games. Here, you are a pimp and you need to build your pimp empire using hoes to generate your income and with thugs to protect your empire. To become the best of the pimps, you will need to learn how to keep your hoes and thugs happy by balancing economics. It is only here where you can get the opportunity to have fun by becoming a pimp with this text-based RPG game and rule the streets. With an opportunity to play collaboratively with friends, you can now get together and test your skills against the toughest and ruthless pimps you will never find anywhere else. There are even 10 voting options which you can acquire at Ace Pimps. For each vote that you earn, you will get 15 free credits in return. You can get a maximum of 150 extra credits every 24 hours that you play on this game. This game is basic, highly addictive and of course fun to play but beware of the strong content, it is certainly not for the faint-hearted. If you think you have what it takes, then prove your pimp skills. Be an Ace Pimp!
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Biker crimes are fun
Not when you are doing it for real as you can be sent to prison for that. But it sure is fun when you are a biker, at least virtually. You don’t even need to own a bike in order to be a biker crime lord! So where do you find a RPG game based on bikers and biker crime?. Try out this interesting text-based MMORPG game called BikerCrimes.com, which is part of the larger Entertainment Network series of games that is located at QBS games. Now you can enter the biker world and become the outlaw of your own club, or join an existing club with your fellow biker outlaws.
As the game consists of only text and is a browser-based MMORPG, you really do not need a graphics card or anything expensive like that. A simple browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer would be enough to run the game. The game is community-based, so players can either join forces with other players or attack each other. when you register for the game, you can obtain 15,000 starting credits, and for every hour that you spend time online with the game, a bonus of 50 reserves is rewarded to you. So be a biker, BikerCrimes.com is surely for you!
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Be kingly and rule
I love fantasy series and always like the part where the ruler or king makes his judgement and pit his skills, whether in economics or in battle. There are many RPG games based on kings and building empires. One of these games is this interesting text-based MMORPG game called Villagerz, which is part of the the Entertainment Network located at QBS games. To generate income, you have peasants to do the job for you, and knights to protect your kingdom. Rule them all, and be the true king!
The game is a browser-based, text MMORPG and therefore you do not need anything fancy to power up your computer such as a graphic cards, or face any issues of incompatibility with your system as long as your PC is able to run a browser and surf the internet.The game is community-based, so players can either join forces with other players or attack each other. There is even real cash prizes which can be won from the game, but only if you can become a truly good king that can make the citizens happy. So try Villagerz today if you are an RPG fan!
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Mobsters unite online!
If you are fascinated by mob movies like The Godfather series and want to know how to become a mobster, here is your chance to do so! You can become one legally through an online mobster game. Have a look at this online text-based Mafia game called Tru Mobsters. Part of the the Entertainment Network located at QBS games, it is based on real life situations of the mafia and follows traditional role-playing game (RPG) rules. All you have to do is to collect cash, purchase weapons, produce drugs and be the biggest, baddest lawless mobster in Tru Mobster community style.
The game is totally 100% browser-based, which means you do not have to allocate space on your hard drive for it as everything is loaded from the browser, so there are no issues of incompatibility. Players can participate along with other users in creating empires and attack other online Mafia businesses in order to win the game. Plus, you can even win real cash prizes from the game, so what better way to pit your gaming skills and earn money int he process?
So be a mobster online, and rule the mob with Tru Mobsters.
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Ten laws every employer needs to know
Faced with a mass of red tape, employers often make basic and costly mistakes. A leading employment lawyer looks at the current legislation
There are many employment laws that employers need to comply with, not to mention a mass of tax and health and safety regulations. Many of these employment laws are long-standing, while others are newer and some even change annually, such as the minimum wage. But employers still make mistakes about even the most basic and established of these. Every mistake is potentially costly but some can be threatening not only to the sanity of business owners or managers but to the survival of the business itself.
Here, starting with the beginning of employment and finishing with termination, are the key employment laws that businesses need to comply with. Following these basic principles should keep most employers out of serious trouble, most of the time.
1. Anti-discrimination
Under our anti-discrimination laws, employers cannot pick and choose between job applicants on the basis of sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or equivalent belief, or age. Huge amounts of compensation can be awarded against employers where they discriminate in this way and they can find themselves failing to win central or local government contracts because they are marked down in the assessment regimes. Of course, employers can refuse to employ applicants under the minimum school-leaving age (broadly age 16), as it is generally illegal to employ them except for in part-time or holiday work. Employers must also refuse to hire applicants who cannot demonstrate that they have the right to work in the UK under our immigration laws; knowingly employing illegal immigrants could cost you a heavy fine. Once employment is underway, there must be pay equality between men and women, part-time and full-time workers and fixed-term and permanent staff.
2. Employment contracts
Many employers still fail to meet their legal obligation to issue written statements of employment particulars to new employees, even though this law has been around since 1963. There are a number of areas the statement must cover - too numerous to list, but you can read more here - all laid down by law, and it must be provided within eight weeks of employment starting. The Government-sponsored Business Link website has an easy to use software tool that will write a legally compliant statement for you in no more than half an hour. Many problems will be avoided if employers take the time to get this right, as the written statement will avoid later arguments about what the employee’s package and the disciplinary process is. The old adage of a stitch in time saves nine later comes to mind. Any subsequent changes to the statement must be confirmed in writing within four weeks.
3. Family-friendly rights
Using New Labour-speak, this is the collective term for rights such as paid maternity leave. Maternity pay rights have of course just been significantly increased and a form of swapping of unused maternity leave between mothers and fathers is on the cards. In addition, there is also the right to take unpaid time off to care for a child or other dependent in case of emergencies, which many employers do not understand at all. Then there is the right for parents of young or disabled children (and soon for carers of dependent adults) to request so called “flexible working” - which is to say, shorter or different hours. An employer has to give such a request reasonable consideration, but the employee has to submit a reasoned request in writing and the arrangement must be proposed on a permanent (as opposed to temporary) basis. If there is a reduction in working time, the employer is entitled to proportionately adjust salary.
4. Working time
Under the working time laws, employees are subject to a maximum average working week of 48 hours (40 if under age 18), a maximum of 13 hours work in any one day, and are entitled to one whole day off a week on average. Employers should also have a system for monitoring working time to ensure compliance. Employees can of course opt out of the 48-hour limit but this has to be in writing and they can cancel it at any time on three months notice. They are legally protected against victimisation.
5. Holidays
While the working time laws entitle employees to four weeks paid leave a year, there is no general right to have paid leave on public holidays, contrary to popular belief. However, changes are being made to the working time laws to increase the amount of annual leave to 28 working days a year, which is intended to allow employees paid time off on public holidays or paid time off in lieu from 2009.
6. Anti-harassment
Every employer must take effective measures to ensure his employees are not subject to verbal or physical bullying or harassment (particularly but not exclusively sexual harassment) from their bosses, fellow workers or customers or suppliers. This can even extend to out of work activities. Legal cases in the Employment Tribunal for constructive dismissal, sexual discrimination and workplace “stress” resulting from this are increasing. Criminal prosecutions against the harasser (for example, for assault) are also possible: at least one sexual harasser has been jailed. So employers need to take this very seriously.
7. Business sales and outsourcing
When an employer sells all or part of his business, or outsources a function it has previously conducted in-house, this will probably amount to a transfer of an undertaking. Under the transfer of undertakings law (“TUPE”), the employees working in the business or relevant part or function will transfer to the new owner or outsource provider on their existing contracts, and they have the right to be informed in advance. Any breach of the law will give rise to legal claims, including potentially for unfair dismissal.
8. Changing terms and conditions of employment
Many employers think they can change terms and conditions of employment by giving (say four weeks) prior written notice. But it is a centuries old legal principle that a contract can only be changed by a negotiated agreement. So giving notice of change can only work legally in two cases. First, where the matter in question is outside the contract (such as a discretionary benefit-in-kind) or, second, where the contract expressly allows it to be changed by the employer by this method. If none of these routes is open to the employer, it can always serve the correct notice to terminate the contract, but that then counts as a “dismissal”.
9. Dismissal
There are three key laws to comply with here. First, there is a legal minimum notice period, which is one week after one month’s employment, rising from the end of the second year at the rate of one week for each completed year up to 12 weeks notice after 12 years employment. Second, employees’ dismissed after 51 weeks employment can claim for “unfair dismissal”, which currently could cost an employer up to around £70,000 compensation. To successfully defend an unfair dismissal claim, the employer must satisfy an Employment Tribunal that it had a legally good reason for dismissing the employee and that it acted reasonably. Third, the employer must follow a mandatory three-step dismissal process or automatically be guilty of unfair dismissal. The 3 steps are: (1) written notice stating why the employer is considering the employee for dismissal; (2) a formal meeting to discuss the matter with the employee (and his/her companion); (3) a right of appeal against dismissal.
10. Redundancy
Genuine redundancy is a fair reason for dismissal, but employers still need to act legally reasonably and follow the three-step process to avoid being guilty of unfair dismissal. Redundant employees are of course entitled to notice or pay in lieu, and redundant employees with two or more years service will also be entitled to (tax-free) statutory redundancy pay, which rises to a maximum of £9,300 for 20 years service. If the employer is proposing 20 or more redundancies in a 90-day period, there has to be a 30-day period (90 days in which 100 or more redundancies are proposed) of information and consultation before any of this happens. An extra penalty of up to 90 days pay will be payable to the affected employees if the employer defaults.
Hurricane Dean travel warnings 20/08/07
Holidaymakers are being warned against all travel to Jamaica due to “extreme damage and eight to 13 foot storm surges” from Hurricane Dean that struck the island this weekend.
“Both international airports (Norman Manley in Kingston and Sangster in Montego Bay) closed on the evening of Saturday 18th August. There will be no flights in or out until airports re-open after the hurricane passes,” the Foreign Office warned.
It added: “If staying in Jamaica at a hotel, you should follow the guidance of local hotel management. You should not go outdoors during the hurricane and because of likely storm surges remain well away from the sea.”
A British consular team based in Montego Bay has set up a helpline for Britons with problems related to Hurricane Dean - (00 1 876) 510 0700. The British High Commission will also be open 24 hours.
As well as Jamaica, the storm is set to hit the Cayman Islands, some areas of Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.
Holidaymakers are advised against all travel to the Cayman Islands “until further notice” and Owen Roberts Airport on Grand Cayman is closing during the storm.
The Foreign Office reports hotels have been advising holidaymakers to leave the islands ahead of the storm.
Britons are also being warned against all but essential travel to Quintana Roo in Mexico, which includes the tourist hotspot Cancun and the Mayan Riviera.
“It is possible that, having crossed the Yucatan Peninsula, Dean will cross the Gulf of Mexico then re-enter Central or north-eastern Mexico later in the week. The local authorities are asking that no more tourists travel to the state of Quintana Roo . . . until Dean has passed,” the Foreign Office stated.
Travel warnings are less severe in Cuba, where six eastern provinces of the island are on cyclone alert - Guantanamo, Santiago de Cuba, Granma, Holguin, Las Tunas and Camaguey.
“British Tourists in the region should follow the advice of their tour representatives and of the local authorities,” the Foreign Office advised.
Budget Backpacking: How to Travel Within Europe
In the past week or so I’ve been researching my European Budget Backpacking Quest itinerary fairly extensively. I’ve become much more familiar with how to travel within Europe during my trip, which is my major concern when choosing destinations and trying to make a backpacking itinerary. So staying on course with the time table I created in the rough guide to my backpacking quest, here is a more specific itinerary that discusses how to travel within Europe. (or a few of them at least). I would appreciate any comments or suggestions!
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Where I want to travel to
The “loop” destinations: Berlin, Munich, Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest.
Extra [out of the way] cities: Amsterdam and Barcelona.
The loop destinations are all pretty close to each other, hence my nickname the loop. They can probably be tied together cheaply. Barcelona and Amsterdam are just so desirable for me though, so I want to hit one up during my trip, which will require an extra flight.
Traveling within Europe - Transportation
Deciding where I want to go is the easy part. Trying to figure out how I’m going to piece it together affordably is a bit trickier. I’m on a tight budget, so I’ve been scouring the travesphere for transportation prices, since my means of transportation will be determined only by the price. So here are the options:
Bus
I have found two options for bus travel through Europe: Eurolines and BusAbout
Eurolines is the Eurail for bus service in Europe. They operate bus routes to places all across Europe. Eurolines offers a bus pass for 15 days of travel within Europe to any destination you like for €279, which is $375. Pretty spendy, but Eurolines covers all of Europe, so I could start in Amsterdam and bus over to Berlin to continue my trip. The drawback would be that it’s probably pretty slow, and I just personally don’t see it as a desirable way to travel across Europe.
BusAbout is something I just found, and am very impressed with. BusAbout is basically the bridge between independent travel and group guided travel. They offer a hop on hop off bus tour called BusAbout Explorer. Basically, a bus appears at the door of a certain hostel every day or two and you can ride it and get dropped off in the next city. You can stay at each place however long you want to, and you can travel at your own pace. It’s flexible, but offers a sense of security. There are three different loops through Europe, and the Northern loop happens to hit every destination I want to see: Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, and Munich (among several others)
So why not BusAbout? Well, it costs $434.
Train
A Eurail pass is the only way to go by train, and looking at the places I want to go, a 3 country Select Pass would work for the loop destinations. It would cover Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic. A youth 2nd class seat for 6 days of travel costs $309, which isn’t too bad given the flexibility and many places I could visit. If I went with a Eurail pass, I may just forget Amsterdam and/or Barcelona and spend that time somewhere else.I considered just getting a regional, 2 country pass, but the savings of ~$40 would not be worth the hassle and extra cost of finding transportation to places outside of the included countries.
Budget European Airlines
European budget airlines are all the rage nowadays, and I’ve spent most of my research time finding ALL the cheapest flights that service my desired destinations. Flying within Europe is fast, and budget friendly, sometimes. I have looked through every European budget airline and have compiled a list of numbers. Here are a few notable rates that give me a ballpark rate.
* Amsterdam to Prague: $45 (SkyEurope)
* Amsterdam to Barcelona: $50 (Vueling)
* Barcelona to Berlin: $45 (EasyJet)
* Berlin to Munich: $45 (AirBerlin)
I have more than 30 more flights that I took note of that piece together my destinations. So why not European Air travel? It seems to be good for just the big destinations, but by flying around all the time I won’t ever get out of the cities much, and it’d be nice to see a little bit of the country side sometimes.
Deciding on Transportation
So deciding on my desired transportation through Europe is going to be difficult, as it is a major part of the trip. Now that I have all the data, I will organize it into several “What If” travel itineraries where I will piece together the different possibilities of traveling through Europe. I will include my methodology on how to create “what if” travel itineraries and I will include my best “what if” itineraries in my next Budget Backpacking Quest post. Comments, suggestions, or ideas are always welcome!
Malaysia regain overall title in Formula Future
Malaysia’s young pilots secured a fitting birthday gift for the country’s 50th Merdeka Day when they regained the overall title in the Formula Future World Championships in Leer, Germany, on Sunday.
Malaysia beat six other countries to the overall title with a haul of 2-3-1. The gold medallists were Khairuddin Khalil (Class One) and Mohd Noor Shazwan (Class Two).
The three silver medals came from Tengku Hanisah Tengku Mohd Zainal Abidin Petra (Class One), Muhd Faqih Noor Hamzah (Class Two) and Syed Abdul Razique Syed Abdul Hamid (Class Five) while Azri Yahya was the bronze medallist in Class Five category.
Malaysia chalked up 2,200 points to secure the overall title. Germany finished second on 2,125 points.
It was the third time that Malaysia finished as the overall champions after 2004 and 2005.
For the future: The Malaysian team posing with the Ralf Frohling overall trophy after winning the Formula Future World Championships in Leer, Germany on Sunday.
After finishing a close second to Italy in the championships last year, Malaysia were determined to regain the title. And the 10 pilots in the team with ages between eight and 18 went to Germany a week earlier to undergo training.
The Formula Future president, Senator Datuk Wira Syed Ali Al-Habshee, also staked his job on the line and said that he would quit if the team failed to win the overall title.
“We received official confirmation of the results that we have won the overall title,” said a relieved Syed Ali.
“I am proud that they fought hard over there despite the different weather, different environment and different boats used compared to the ones they used in training.
“I have pledged to quit my job (if they failed) and I am glad they took it seriously. It is also a perfect birthday present for our country.”
He added that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, also congratulated the team on their success.
The team will return home on Aug 24.
“I received a phone call from the PM and he promised to be at the airport if he is free on that day,” said Syed Ali.
H20 Sports managing director Datuk Yahya Jalil also expressed his thanks to Putrajaya Corporation for allowing the team to train at the Botanic Gardens in Putrajaya since 2004 without imposing any charges.