There's not much to do when you're sitting in the chair at the dentist's office except think of what's coming and try not to be nervous. That's why dentists will pipe music into every room. Soothing melodies or peppy pop numbers are played non-stop, without annoying disc jockey commentary. The other day, I was sitting in the chair when a song came on that I immediately recognized: "The Power of Love," by Huey Lewis and the News.
More than a feeling, that's the power of love.
The song was particularly appropriate for me that day, because over the previous weekend two things happened. The first, and most important, was that I noted my 23rd wedding anniversary to the love of my life, Sue. The second was that I wrapped up Season 3 of the romantic TV drama Outlander. The TV series, in my opinion, is one of the best romance stories ever filmed, while the first thing I mentioned is, without a doubt, the best romance story I've ever been a part of. And best of all: both are still going strong.
I grew up in southwest Wisconsin, and in the sixties and seventies, people down there didn't really know a lot about the upper half of their own state. There seemed to be a dividing line roughly halfway between the Illinois line and Lake Superior. Look at the map below and trace a line from La Crosse, on the Mississippi River (the state's "west coast") through Oshkosh and then very slightly northeast to Manitowoc on Lake Michigan (the "east coast"); everything north of that line was considered "up north." In terms of square miles, that "half" is obviously larger than the southern half, but less populous by a considerable margin. In terms of culture, it was then, and still remains, vastly different than much of the south, which contains the state's major metro areas: Milwaukee and its suburbs, Racine and Kenosha to their south, and Madison.
Even if you click on the map to enlarge it, you still won't see our hometowns. Potosi is down in the southwest corner just west of Platteville; Chetek is in the northwest corner, a few miles south of Rice Lake.
Neither one of us were thinking that far ahead back in the early seventies. Teenagers might dream of a future where they are happy and wealthy and, most of all, fiercely independent of virtually all authority, but our dreams were usually pretty amorphous at best. As for me, I thought I'd wind up to be some hotshot radio announcer. By the mid-90s, when I hit my 40th birthday, I'd be living in some city, working as the "voice" of a major college or professional team. It was all but a done deal as far as I was concerned. I certainly never thought that by 1996 I would be married to a girl from Chetek and living way up in the far north, but that's what happened.
I did become a radio announcer, but getting to the big time proved elusive. By 1991, I was working in the small city of Menomonie, just to the west of Eau Claire, about 200 miles from my hometown. I was calling the games of the local college, the University of Wisconsin-Stout, but even though it was a fine school and played in a very competitive Division III league, it was nowhere close to the Big 10, not to mention the NFL or NBA. I was in my late thirties, had two small kids and a marriage that was going south fast, and starting to wonder where I would wind up. Then one day that spring I got a phone call from an old buddy from our college days at UW-Platteville named Tom Koser. He was from a town near Rice Lake called Almena, about 40 miles north of Menomonie, and a couple years earlier had purchased the AM/FM radio station in Rice Lake. Tom and I had stayed in touch over the years, and he had an opening on his staff. Come to work for me, he said. I didn't have to be persuaded; the Menomonie job clearly wasn't going anywhere, and working for Tom, after several years of toiling for managers of questionable integrity, was a chance for me to start turning things around. I might never get to the big time, I was starting to realize, but there would be other things out there worth achieving.
Boy, was I right about that.
I met Sue within a week of starting my new job at WJMC Radio. At the time she was the manager of a travel agency and was in the process of purchasing the business. She was a regular advertiser on my morning show and we worked on joint projects together. The stars really didn't align for us until the summer of 1993, though. By then, previous marriages were in our respective rear-view mirrors and we started exploring our potential. A trip to Jamaica over Thanksgiving weekend sealed the deal. Six months later we moved into a home Sue had found out in the country, where we remain to this day. A year and a half after that move, we tied the knot on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia.
November 17, 1995. The power of love brought this bride to me.
The year was 1945..and then 1743.
Four years ago, I heard of a new series on Starz that I thought might interest Sue. It was set in Scotland, a place she was already planning to visit the following spring. Outlander was an historical romance, based on a series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. I'd never read the books; romance novels and shows are typically not my cup of tea, but I said, "Let's take a look." Like millions of other viewers, we were hooked from the first episode.
Outlander is the story of Claire Beauchamp Randall, a British Army nurse who in the summer of 1945, after the end of World War II in Europe, is finally able to go on her honeymoon with her husband Frank, who had served as an intelligence officer. Frank wants to go to Scotland to research his family; he's heard tales of "Black Jack" Randall, an army officer who was mixed up in the Jacobite uprising of the 1740s. While staying in Inverness, the Randalls witness what appears to be a group of witches holding some sort of ritual at a Stonehenge-like site deep in the countryside. Claire goes back alone the next day, mysteriously drawn to one of the stones…which she falls through. When she awakens on the other side, she's still in Scotland near Inverness, but soon discovers she has traveled 202 years back in time.
The show is filmed on location and has beautiful cinematography, outstanding production values and first-rate writing and acting. Gabaldon acts as a consultant on the show but the scriptwriting is done by other writers, who must really have a yen for research, based on the detail of the sets and costumes. Claire is played by Irish actress and model Caitriona Balfe, and Scottish actor Sam Heughan plays Jamie Fraser, the hunky Highlander she meets and eventually weds.
Of course they encounter Black Jack very soon, and before you know it Claire is using her futuristic medical skills to save the lives of Scots as they stay one step ahead of the British, who suspect Jamie and his clansmen of conspiring to overthrow the House of Hanover, which had ruled the British Isles since 1714. The Jacobites supported the House of Stuart, which had included the last Catholic monarchs of the empire. For some 60 years there had been constant political and social turmoil in the land, with occasional outbreaks of armed rebellion. Claire already knows, thanks to Frank's research, that "The Rising" is doomed, ending with a catastrophic defeat of the Scots in the 1745 Battle of Culloden. The first two seasons focus on Claire and Jamie's relationship and their efforts to defuse the uprising. At the end of season two, with all their work having gone for naught, Jamie sends a pregnant Claire back through the stones to safety in the 20th century, while he returns to the battlefield to meet his fate.
Frightened and alone, time-traveling Claire soon meets Jamie and his clansmen, who provide her safe haven from Black Jack and his troops.
It doesn't take long for one thing to lead to another, and Claire accepts her new life in the 18th century as Jamie's bride.
In Season 3, Claire is back in her own time, and it's a struggle. She's been gone for two years and Frank has never given up on her. Imagine his surprise when she shows up in Inverness with a wild story about time travel…and oh, by the way, she's carrying Jamie's child. Tobias Menzies plays both Frank and Black Jack in the series and certainly has the toughest roles in the cast; while Frank is noble and kind, his ancestor is the exact opposite. It was easy for me to put myself in Frank's place as he is rocked by Claire's return and then by her story and the pregnancy. The easy thing to do, which is what I suspect is the path most men would take, would be to tell Claire to hit the road, see you in court, good luck and good riddance. Who could believe such a fantastic story anyway? But Frank's love for Claire is boundless. He doesn't believe her story, but he agrees to stay with her and raise the child as his own, with one condition: she never mention Jamie or her time-traveling again. In the 1940s, even a woman as intelligent and skilled as Claire doesn't have many options in this type of situation; she desperately wants her baby to have a father figure in her life, so she agrees.
He's the bad guy, but he's also a good guy. Menzies has the toughest roles in the cast, but he pulls them off well.
The Randalls move to Boston, where Frank takes a professorship in history at Harvard. Claire's daughter Brianna is born, complete with Jamie's red hair, and a few years later Claire enters Harvard Medical School as one of its first female students. The season switches back and forth between Claire's 20th century life as a doctor (fulfilling), Brianna's mother (joyous) and Frank's wife (tense, to say the least), and Jamie's in the 18th century. At Culloden, Jamie finally deals with Black Jack but is seriously wounded in the effort. He is captured but allowed to escape by a British officer whose younger brother had been saved by Jamie a year earlier after his own capture. Back home at his family estate, Jamie remains in hiding for several years before he surrenders, thus sparing his sister and her family further harassment and perhaps arrest. In prison, his leadership earns the respect not only of his fellow inmates but of the warden, Lord Grey. When the prison is closed down, the inmates are to be shipped to the British colonies in America, but Grey uses his influence to have Jamie assigned to the service of another British lord in England. While there, Jamie impregnates his lordship's daughter, who is about to be married to a stuffy old duke and doesn't want to give her virginity to an old guy she doesn't love anyway. One might think that would be problematic for Jamie, especially when his paramour dies in childbirth, but he gets out of that by saving the baby's life when the child is about to be murdered by the enraged widower. In gratitude for saving his grandson, his lordship arranges a pardon for Jamie and grants him leave to go home to Scotland, but Jamie wants to stay awhile with the boy, so he volunteers to remain in his service as the chief groomsman.
…while 200-plus years in the future, Claire has her own challenges with Black Jack's descendant.
And then it was 1968, and then 1766.
Two decades go by. In 1966, Frank finally has had enough of his sham marriage. He's taken a lover and wants to return to England and start a new life with her after his divorce. And he wants to take 18-year-old Brianna with him. Claire, of course, objects to that part, and after a bitter argument, Frank leaves the house. Later, Claire is at her hospital when she's notified that Frank has been killed in a car accident.
Two years later, with Brianna now a student at Harvard, Claire returns to Scotland for the first time since returning through the stones 20 years earlier. She takes Brianna with her, and they visit the Inverness home of the Rev. Wakefield, the minister who had helped Frank with his research after the war. The reverend has just died, and their host is now Roger Wakefield, the reverend's grand-nephew. He's a few years older than Brianna and sparks fly between the young people, even as Claire struggles with her longing to find out what happened to Jamie and her desire to keep Brianna's true heritage a secret. Eventually, of course, it comes out. After a stormy confrontation, Claire convinces Brianna of the truth, with Roger's help. Back home in Boston for Christmas 1968, Claire decides to go back through the stones to find Jamie, after Roger produces strong evidence that he was alive and in Edinburgh as late as 1765. If the pattern holds, he tells Claire, you'll get there just a year later. Claire decides it's worth a shot, and back she goes.
By then, Jamie is living under an assumed name and running a printer's shop. But he's doing some liquor smuggling on the side and also printing seditious pamphlets calling for Scottish independence. His reunion with Claire is surprising and joyous, as we might imagine, but there are complications. There's the smuggling, for one thing; the British official Jamie has bribed to look the other way suddenly gets righteous, and discovers the treasonous pamphlets besides. When the print shop burns to the ground, Jamie quickly sells off his remaining stock of bootleg liquor and takes Claire home to Scotland. There, the second complication comes up: he is married. To make a long story short, Claire's return—her story is that she thought Jamie dead at Culloden and fled to America—invalidates Jamie's second marriage, so he offers a financial settlement to his wife to make it all go away. To get the money, though, Jamie must retrieve a treasure of family heirlooms, which he'd hidden on an offshore island years before to keep it from the British. His young nephew Ian offers to swim out to retrieve the treasure—apparently nobody could find a rowboat anywhere—but is captured by pirates who were there to find the treasure themselves. Loose lips somewhere through the years had let slip the secret, but nobody had found it until now. The pirates take young Ian and the treasure and set sail for the West Indies. Jamie and Claire book passage on a merchant ship and the chase is on.
There's much adventure on the high seas during the voyage, and Claire and Jamie once again are separated, but they are reunited on the shores of Hispaniola, in what is now Haiti. After repairing the ship, Jamie and the crew, with Claire safely aboard, head for Jamaica, where they eventually find young Ian and rescue him from the clutches of the villainess Geillis, a time-traveler herself whose obsession with the dream of Scottish independence had caused her to go back through the stones from 1968. She had encountered Claire in 1743, escaped burning at the stake as a witch, and made her way to the New World, where she married a wealthy British merchant who by now has conveniently died. Geillis needs to retrieve three sapphires from the treasure, which will provide the key to her return to the 20th century. Claire tells her of her own daughter, showing her photographs she'd brought back as proof (Jamie had been shocked by one showing Brianna in a bikini), and Geillis suddenly concludes that to make her scheme work, she must go back to the future and murder Brianna. In a showdown inside a cave where another time portal awaits, this one in the form of a pool, Jamie battles Geillis' hulking Jamaican servant while Claire uses a machete to keep Geillis from going anywhere.
With young Ian safe, Jamie and Claire decide to take him home to Scotland. Somewhere northeast of Cuba, though, a hurricane overtakes the ship and Claire is swept overboard. Jamie rescues her and they are carried ashore. They discover they have landed in Georgia, and other survivors have made it there as well. The third season concludes with the middle-aged lovers grateful to be alive and together, but we know new challenges will await in Season 4. Will they stay in America and get swept up in the Revolution? Or go back to Scotland, where Jamie is still a wanted man? The season is now airing on Starz. Readers of the Gabaldon books, which the series closely follow, know what's ahead, and we have a pretty good idea, but we definitely want to see things play out on the screen.
Back together at last, Jamie and Claire keep their love alive even as they deal with crooked British authorities, pirates, a rogue time traveler and a hurricane. That's a lot for one season of shows, but they make it work.
The power of love, indeed.
The life Sue and I have built for each other hasn't been nearly as adventurous as that of Claire and Jamie, although we've done some traveling, just like they have. We don't time-travel like Claire does, though. We do it like everybody else does, going forward, one day at a time. The path has not always been smooth, but no path ever is. One thing that has endured for me, though, and has grown throughout the years, is my love for this woman who consented to be my bride 23 years ago. As I watch Outlander, the thing I most identify with is Jamie's love for Claire. They meet accidentally, as Sue and I did, and are thrown together under trying circumstances, as we were. And like us, their love blooms rather slowly, but once it arrives, it is white-hot with passion, and it lasts. Nothing can keep them apart, not even history itself. Truly, that is powerful.
Next time you feed it might make you mad.
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Partnerships for action
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CLIMATE ACTION REPORT
Our journey towards a more sustainable future
2021 was an exceptional year in many different respects. It was a year where the world's leaders recognized their collective responsibility to protect the environment and address climate change at COP26.
Yet, it was also a year when scientists gave the world a 50-50 chance of exceeding the target of 1.5 degrees warming within the next five years. The call to better protect our planet is getting louder and momentum on action is increasing. This is not an easy challenge to meet and success depends on cleaning up our energy sources, making our cities and buildings more efficient and changing our own behaviors.
Science-led solutions will play a critical role in helping achieve a net zero future.
At Elsevier, we must continue to reduce our own carbon footprint, but we also have a role to ensure that science is heard and acted upon. The impact that we can have is significant and critical to the progress that is required.
Protecting the environment has been prioritized at both Elsevier and RELX, our parent company, for the past 15 years. We made a commitment to address climate change and become net zero for all emissions by 2040 at the latest – and launched an ambitious Climate Action program to accelerate efforts to decarbonize our business, and drive action on climate change in the communities we serve.
This report outlines the many contributions made by colleagues across Elsevier over the past year, and our ambition to do more.
Stuart Whayman
Managing Director, Academic Researchers and Librarians
Joint Executive Sponsor of Elsevier's Climate Action program
To deliver our commitments we have established a Climate Action program. The strategic direction of the program is set by a steering committee of leaders across the company, and Climate Advisory Board of distinguished researchers helps guide our actions and decisions. Our climate program has three dedicated workstreams:
Emissions reduction: Gather and analyzing data that helps inform strategic decisions enabling us to achieve our net zero ambition by 2040.
Products and insights: Use our unique products and services to advocate and advance research and innovation. Identify where these drive climate action and align them with our net zero ambitions.
Our culture: Embed a sustainability mindset within our company culture. SUSTAIN, our employee network group, and local Green Teams develop resources and activities to bring sustainability to life in all its forms.
Over the past 12 months, our initial actions have seen us recognized by our peers as a company that is doing its part to combat climate change. We know we have more work to do. Along this journey, we will share our progress and learnings, and welcome constructive dialogue and ideas.
First IPA Sustainability Summit at Frankfurt BookFair in 2021: trade associations and publishers from across the supply chain came together to discuss opportunities and challenges we collectively must overcome to address climate.
Being a responsible business
We recognize our responsibility to drive emission reductions across all areas of our business operations, including suppliers —empowering all to be sustainable in their everyday actions.
Since 2010, our parent company RELX has been working to reduce the environmental impact in important areas such as waste, paper and energy use.
In 2021, RELX held certification to the ISO 14001:2015 standard in 27 locations — 55% of RELX businesses by employee count. We are committed to increasing certification to cover the entire business by 2025.
Elsevier's Climate Action program supports RELX's science-based aligned target to reduce direct emissions by 46% for Scope 1 and Scope 2 by 2025 against a 2015 baseline, and is also working towards setting a Scope 3 target that will cover indirect emissions embedded in the value chain.
Our ability to collectively address the complex climate change challenge requires both bold action and a series of small changes, that enable everyone at Elsevier to lead a more sustainable lifestyle.
Our employee network group SUSTAIN empowers all Elsevier colleagues to embed sustainability in their daily lives both at work and at home.
In 2021, the team created a week-long festival exploring sustainability topics in greater detail
The first Elsevier Climate Race involved 250 colleagues competing to make improvements towards a sustainable lifestyle. Together, 1500 specific actions were achieved
In February 2022, we planted the first trees with our charity partner Trees for All in the newly-founded "Elsevier Forest"
Advancing research and knowledge
We are committed to support the dialogue on climate change and its impacts though unique content, data, and products.
The drive to curb carbon emissions, it's essential to secure our future on this planet. Our research trends study Pathways to Net Zero: The impact of Clean Energy Research explores emerging trends and opportunities.
At the intersection of climate and health, the 2021 Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future was published, representing the views of 43 academic institutions and UN agencies.
In 2021 we launched over 20 new journals in topics related to sustainability, environmental science, renewable energy, and the energy transition. And in our books portfolio, Energy with Purpose seeks to publish content supporting energy transition, with 75% of our energy books already focused on renewable, nuclear and energy grids — with the aim to have all titles compliant by 2024.
One Earth, our flagship Cell Press sustainability journal takes a unique approach to understanding and addressing today's environmental grand challenges, focusing on issues of socio-environmental importance.
Helping customers, the research community, policymakers and the public make critical decisions and take evidence-based action.
The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World recognize the achievements of researchers who have made significant contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge. In 2022, the Awards celebrated six talented female scientists from Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Yemen, Guatemala and Nicaragua for their contributions to research that is helping to tackle climate change.
The Elsevier Foundation Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge supports chemistry research that plays a key role in addressing climate change in the Global South. In 2021, winning projects included a solution for turning coconut waste into building materials in Ghana, and an innovation to turn rice husks into biodegradable plastics in Vietnam.
The TWAS-Elsevier Foundation Women in Climate Action program established research grants for projects led by women scientists in the Global South addressing tangible problems in climate change through collaboration and interdisciplinary research.
OUR CLIMATE ACTION BOARD
Elsevier's Climate Advisory Board convenes distinguished experts in the fields of climate research. By joining forces with the research community, Elsevier and the Advisory Board can make an impact by:
Advising on key actions and initiatives that together will deliver a net zero future covering aspects such as scope 1-3 emissions, knowledge transfer, collaborations, and data insights.
Identifying key challenges and exploring best practices that will help drive progress on climate change solutions in a complex and interdisciplinary environment
Influencing and advocating for science-based decisions and action needed to address the urgent climate emergency.
Click on the picture above to learn more about our Climate Action Board.
To learn more about Climate Action at Elsevier:
Built with Shorthand

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This tutorial is proudly sponsored by GroXers, an exciting new online grocery store. First-time registered shoppers get 25% off their first order.
These baked mushrooms are so juicy and delicious, that they are on my family's request list almost every other week. While I usually make the plainer version with sundried tomatoes, shallots and cheese as the filling, I had fun upping the gourmet factor by adding my favourite escargots and truffle oil for a truly pampering treat. The results look good enough for a fancy restaurant, enjoyed at the comforts of home. This recipe can be made in about 30-minutes, thanks to the convenience of using canned escargots, and the oven doing the bulk of the work.
1. Rinse escargot pieces, pat dry and set aside.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan. Saute shallots, garlic, parsley and half of the chopped sundried tomatoes, until shallots are softened.
3. Brush outer mushroom caps with truffle oil. Place mushrooms, cap side down, on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or aluminium foil.
4. Divide and top mushrooms with butter mixture prepared earlier, a layer of cheese, remaining sundried tomatoes and 3-4 escargots. Season with salt and black pepper. Drizzle remaining truffle oil over the mushrooms.
5. Baked in oven until cooked. Garnish with fresh basil.
What do I brush with if I do not have truffle oil. Thanks.
Hey Wiffy, Thanks for sharing the recipe. the photos are mouth watering !
Where can I get sun-dried tomatoes?
Juicy and flavourful, a very premium dish!
It looks beautiful and tasty!
Now this is such a good use of baked mushrooms- a nice twist to use escargots indeed! Didn't realise they come in a can too! LOL Brilliant creativity.
How can we store the balanced of canned escargots if we cannot finish the whole can after opening? And how long can it be kept?


Our round steel bar grinding machine is mainly ideal for grinding hairline or tiny cracks on the surface of quality carbon structural steel and alloy steel during the hot rolling process. Also, it can be used for peel grinding. Our grinding equipment aims at removing surface defects like scales on the surface of all kinds of round steel bars to prepare quality billets for follow-up process. This series of equipment combines mechanical, hydraulic, lubrication and electric technology. In addition, manual mode and automatic mode are available. Our company is able to manufacture many kinds of machines with different structures at customers' disposal.
We are a professional round steel bar grinding machine manufacturer in China. We also provide steel ingot grinding machine, continuous casting mould oscillation unit, metal chamfering machine, heavy weight drill pipe, and much more.


Starting this year, fully and partially accessible schools will prioritize students with accessibility needs.
Kindergarten applicants with accessibility needs will now get offers before other students in their admissions priority group.
Screened programs. Middle and high school programs that are located in accessible buildings and that use a screened admissions method will continue to rank students who meet their selection criteria. However, highly ranked applicants with accessibility needs will get an admissions priority over other highly ranked applicants.
All other programs. For middle and high school programs that are located in accessible buildings and that use an open, educational option, or zoned admissions method, students with accessibility needs will be in the first priority group, over all other applicants.
All accessible middle and high schools will prioritize students with accessibility needs regardless of the zone or district where they live.
We are committed to ensuring that our programs, services, and activities are accessible to staff, members of the school community, students, and family members.
For admissions purposes, a student with accessibility needs is one who uses a mobility device—such as a wheelchair, walker, crutches, or cane—to negotiate the environment, or any student who negotiates the school environment with difficulty and/or at a slower pace than their peers, whether it is due to muscle weakness, lack of endurance, or any other reason.
Need an Accessible School Now?
A partially accessible building where all programs and services have been surveyed and are determined to be accessible.
A partially accessible school or program allows for anyone with mobility impairments to enter and exit the building, access most relevant programs, and have use of at least one restroom, but the entire building may not be accessible.
We continually assess all of our buildings to determine levels of accessibility and ways to improve. For the most up-to-date information on building accessibility, visit our Building Accessibility page. Contact schools and programs directly or visit them to learn more about their accessibility.
All admissions applications include a question that will ask you to indicate whether your child has accessibility needs and requires a school or program in an accessible building. To understand how a school or program can meet your child's specific accessibility needs, contact them directly.
If the offer your child gets through the admissions process does not meet their needs, we will work with you after offers are sent. Placements to meet an accessibility need are based on documentation that details the particular needs of the child.
Note that a school building may contain several programs with different accessibility levels, depending on where those programs are located in the building. For example, in a high school labeled partially accessible, some programs may be fully accessible while others may be partially accessible or not accessible. When you call or visit schools to learn more, be sure to ask about accessibility for the specific program(s) that interest you.


Today there is increasing enthusiasm in many people about green technology. Green technology can be said to be undergoing a revolutionary transition. These developments have largely resulted in many people adopting energy-saving approaches such as the use of solar panels, foam insulators and parquet tiles.
The environmental issues we face today can only be tackled using this approach. The main question now is the sustainability of the green technology movement. Since going green is more about the journey than the destination, innovative green technology must undergo gradual trial and error to provide sustainable improvements.
Global warming caused by greenhouse gases is increasingly becoming a term synonymous with human life extinction. The key to averting such a scenario lies in timely and effective planning. Fortunately, the going green concept is being incorporated in major platforms and this is evident in the building industry.
It has undergone welcomed reforms with more focus on renewable or sustainable materials and technology. These reforms are aimed at reducing the effects of gases on the environment while providing energy sufficiency and cost efficiency. They apply to both initial building projects and renovating projects.
Green technology in the building industry is not limited to only energy conservation. It is an all-encompassing concept involving water conservation, solid waste recycling and basically all innovative methodologies to provide sustainability. A major conservation concern is the often wasted surface runoff.
To tackle this problem, pervious pavements are installed in order to absorb surface runoff and help in replenishing the diminishing underground water reserves. This technique when used in driveways, patios and sidewalks can be very effective especially in curtailing the heating island effect that is common in urban areas.
Since water is essential to the operation of any building, its conservation cannot be more emphasised. Any green concept must be geared towards the same. One of the ways to go about this is through the use of toilets that utilise less water while provided the same hygienic standards. Modern toilet designs can use half as much water for flushing as the traditional conventional toilets.
Home appliances such as dish-washing and laundry machines are known to use a lot of water leading to large monthly utility bills. Energy star rated appliances should ideally perform the same tasks with minimal water wastages. Additionally, housing objects can employ water harvesting units such as rain tanks and barrels. This water can then be used for home purposes like car washing in order to conserve precious tap water.
The high maintenance costs incurred by most buildings largely stem from the energy requirements of their daily operations. As such, the building industry has shifted its focus to energy star rated appliances. These appliances cost more to purchase and install but they are worth their value in terms of energy efficiency.
This largely applies to the air conditioning systems in buildings, where huge savings can be made in the long term through the application of green technology. Moreover, this has affected even the building lights. Nowadays incandescent light bulbs are being replaced with smart energy conserving lighting.


text:
import { BasePermissions } from "gd-sprest-def/lib/SP/complextypes";
import { IhasPermissions } from "../../../@types/helper/methods";
declare var SP;

/**
 * Determines if the user has permissions, based on the permission kind value
 */
export const hasPermissions: IhasPermissions = (permissionMask: BasePermissions, permissions: Array<number> | number = []): boolean => {
    // Set the permissions
    let requestedPermissions = typeof (permissions) === "number" ? [permissions] : permissions;

    // Default the permission flag
    let hasPermissions = true;

    // See if this user has full permissions
    if (((permissionMask.High & 32767) == 32767) && ((permissionMask.Low & 65535) == 65535)) { return hasPermissions; }

    // Parse the requested permissions
    for (let i = 0; i < requestedPermissions.length; i++) {
        let permission = requestedPermissions[i];

        // Determine the value to use
        let sequence = permissionMask.Low;
        if (permission >= 32) {
            // Update the sequence
            sequence = permissionMask.High;
            permission -= 32;
        }

        // See if the user doesn't have permission
        if ((sequence & (1 << (permission - 1))) == 0) {
            // Set the flag and break from the loop
            hasPermissions = false;
            break;
        }
    }

    // Return the result
    return hasPermissions;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Toy Hauler RVs are very popular these days. Their versatility, durability and cutting edge features make them a great choice for a wide range of needs. Here, we'll take a look at the major benefits of owning a toy hauler RV. With a large number of Toy Hauler RVs for Sale at Bill Plemmons RV, there is a camper for every type of outdoor adventure.
The multi-purpose toy hauler garage space is perfect for storage, parties and a variety of other uses. With this unique extra storage area, you can take your camping experience to the next level by bringing along your favorite off road vehicles such as an ATV, motorbike, quad or golf cart.
In addition to motorized toys, you can also safely transport other outdoor gear such as small watercraft, water skis, recumbent bicycles or other bulky items.
Toy haulers are available in a wide variety of sizes and floorplans. Whether you are looking for a fifth wheel or travel trailer camper, there is a toy hauler model right for you.
A big part of camping is spending time having fun with friends and family. This is where these unique RVs really shine.
Many toy haulers feature a rear ramp that transforms into an open air patio, perfect for parties. Your guests will have a comfortable spot to relax thanks to the power drop down Happijac seating found in RV brands such as the Grand Design Momentum and Cherokee Vengeance.
In the main living area, you will find everything a standard RV has to offer, a full kitchen, bathroom and extra seating. Some models even feature a luxurious electric fireplace!
If you are the type of traveler that loves tailgating, music festivals, motorcycle rallies, racing meets or similar outdoor events, a toy hauler camper is an excellent RV choice.
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'najibby-no-economics' – It's laughable, says Zaid
Posted in Malaysia news with tags Zaid Ibrahim on September 30, 2009 by ckchew
Former federal minister Zaid Ibrahim has questioned the need for a tag line to give recognition to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's policies.
"To give a tag name of 'Najibnomics' to those minimal policy changes is laughable. He has done little by way of articulating serious economic policies to warrant a tag line," said the former Umno stalwart who is now in opposition party PKR.
"I do not consider Najib as having enunciated any cohesive economic policy framework at all since he became PM, save for some announcement on bumiputera policy in the services sub-sector and the so-called liberalisation package which was rendered necessary to reverse the dwindling foreign direct investment and to placate the demands on us by our trading partners."
Zaid said Najib has not been open in the way he implements his policies especially in the RM60 billion stimulus economic package, as well as how the government-linked private equity fund, Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) functions.
"Najib did not dare give the details of where the money went, nor does he care to explain if the stimulus are adequate. How has Ekuinas Capital utilised the government funds? So much for his transparency and reforms," said the former de facto law minister.
The setting up of Ekuinas was among Najib's initiatives to acquire a controlling stake in unlisted local companies to raise the level of bumiputera participation in commercial activities.
Zaid also pointed out that Najib has yet to address the country's drop in ranking in the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report for 2009-2010. Malaysia dropped from 17th to 43rd position within two years, according to the report released early this month.
"He has not set out to tell us on how we can be more competitive as a nation. Is he not concerned we have dropped to 43rd position and are rated poorly in this regard?" asked Zaid.
"What happens when the demand of our traditional trading partners are no longer sustainable? How does he plan to replace our dependency on exports of manufactured goods?"
He added that, to him, these are more fundamental questions rather than the ones that Najib is addressing.
Vested interests?
Putting the issue into context, Centre for Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee agreed with Zaid that the praise for 'Najibnomics' is premature.
"It has been coined by various business and consultancy oriented organisations such as the CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets for their clients and, in the case of the Harvard Business School, for its members and students," Lim said when contacted.
"The Harvard case-study work will focus on the pros and cons of the so-called new policy regime of the BN government and what its impact is.
"I presume the study has not been completed yet. Let us await the results of the study and have its findings out in the open so we can have a proper analysis on whether the study is worth looking at.
"To me the jury is still out on how much of a breakthrough there has been in recent policy reforms and the extent to which it has benefitted the people."
Lim also added that the objectivity of the study would be open to question if the foreign group has vested interests.
"It will be important to know whether the group or various individuals attached to the group have been advising the government on the stimulus package, and the kinds of business or consultancy deals that they have on an individual or organisational basis in the country or with the government. If they are interested parties, then the objectivity of the study is open to question."
He downplayed the introduction of stimulus packages in Malaysia, saying that most if not all countries in the region have introduced similar measures in response to the financial and economic crisis.
"It is not only Malaysia that has been responsive. In fact, recent UN studies of these packages show that several countries in the region have had deeper, more people-oriented and reform- oriented packages than Malaysia," he said.
In terms of the recent liberalisation policies announced by Najib, Lim said there is much concern that these may be "too little too late" and, in fact, that they "barely scratch at the surface of our deeply rooted social and economic problems".
"As a result of 50 years of BN rule, we have income inequalities at some of their highest levels ever; the public health system eroded by privatisation, endemic and apparently uncontrollable high level as well as lower level corruption; an educational system that is not competitive and producing too many unemployable graduates; rising inflation and government deficits; a bloated civil service and government-linked companies that have been bleeding the treasury."
He stressed that it will be important for the analysts of 'Najibnomics' to look at these negative indicators and ask whether the new policies are directly addressing them or whether "it is still very much the same business as usual despite the new marketing spin".
Different take
However, RAM economist Yeah Leng Kim lauded it as a good move to enable the public to know the country's economic direction and the new term signifies "regime change".
"Najib's reforms, policies and changes put in place political sensitive policies in order to overcome the fiscal challenges. The shift from quota-based to market-based income approaches are clearly bold reforms undertaken," he explained.
"Because 2009-2010 are critical years that could raise deficit and government debt, Najib's stimulus package is timely, targeted and specific in a sense that the plans are within a specific time period."
Yeng claimed that, under 'Najibnomics', the liberalisation policies can provide a greater multiplier effect for higher economic activities in future.
When contacted, CLSA, the independent brokerage house that issued the report on Najib's economic policies said this is a private special report prepared by its four-member research team in Malaysia and commissioned by a client.
"The report, which was done in July, is not for public circulation. We do not know how the national news agency got it," said its spokesperson who declined to be named.
CLSA is a foreign brokerage house that does equity research. It has its headquarters in Hong Kong, with a branch in Malaysia and other major Asia-Pacific countries. CLSA is an aggregate firm formed by the merger of France's Credit Agricole with Credit Lyonnais in 2003.
Yip Ai Tsin & Hazlan Zakaria/Mkini
The reason Temasek sold BII to Maybank: because it was a bad investment
Posted in RPK with tags Raja Petra Kamarudin on September 29, 2009 by ckchew
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Maybank should come clean and admit that the dilution in the RM 10.77 billion investments in PT Bank International Indonesia(BII) and Pakistan's MCB Bank is RM 2.75 billion and not limited to the impairment losses of RM 1.97 billion. Maybank had reported that its 30 June 2009 fiscal year net profit plunged 76% to RM 692 million as a result of impairment losses of RM 1.62 billion for acquiring BII(in March 2008) and RM 353 million for acquiring MCB Bank.
This is not exactly true. If we consider other losses as revealed above due to exchange rate fluctuation and amortisation, Maybank lost not just RM 1.97 billion but RM 2.75 billion. This RM 780 million difference between RM 1.97 billion and RM 2.75 billion losses may not be big by banking standards but huge for Malaysian public interests.
Looking at the graph above (see at http://dapmalaysia.org/english/2009/sep09/lge/lge1014.htm), Maybank bought BII for RM 7.9 billion which is worth only RM 5.77 billion now and paid RM 2.87 billion for MCB Bank which is worth only RM 2.25 billion now. In other words Maybank incurred RM 2.13 billion loss for BII and RM 620 million loss for MCB Bank for a total loss of RM 2.75 billion.
Even though Maybank was advised not to proceed with the acquisition, Maybank had stubbornly and irresponsibly pressed on to spend an incredible RM 10.8 billion to acquire banks in Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam, months before the global financial crisis erupted last year. Now Maybank conceded that it has lost RM 2.75 billion in these investments in over a year.
READ MORE HERE: http://dapmalaysia.org/english/2009/sep09/lge/lge1014.htm
Temasek gains $30bn from market rally
By Kevin Brown in Singapore, The Financial Times
Published: September 17 2009
The global market rally had added S$42bn (US$29.7bn) to the market value of Temasek's investment portfolio since the end of March, Singapore's state investment company said on Thursday.
The mark-to-market value of the portfolio fell to S$130bn at the end of the financial year in March, but recovered to S$172bn by the end of July — just 7 per cent below its peak of S$185bn in March last year.
Temasek said the recovery reflected its efforts to "continue to reshape our portfolio mix actively". However, it also said the recovery since March was "broadly in line with the markets".
In its annual review, the group said net profit fell to S$6bn for the financial year, compared with S$18bn in the previous year. Its total shareholder returns for the year fell by 30 per cent, measured by market value, but remained at 16 per cent over the 35 years since the group was founded.
The sharp fall in profits means that some Temasek executives will suffer cuts in remuneration as bonuses are clawed back for the first time in the company's history.
However, S. Dhanabalan, chairman, said the worst of the global crisis was over, thanks to extraordinary fiscal and monetary measures set in place by the US and other governments. "These moves have averted extreme meltdown risks, but added the risks of inflation and asset misallocations in the medium term," he said.
Temasek said the lower returns reflected the generally weaker operating performances of its portfolio companies as a result of the global slowdown, as well as gains and losses from S$16bn of divestments.
These included the sale of stakes in Bank of America and Barclays, the UK bank, as well as positions in Bank Internasional Indonesia and China Minsheng Bank, but not the proposed sale of a 62 per cent stake in Singapore's loss making Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, which has yet to be completed.
Temasek defended its sale of the 3.8 per cent holding in BofA, which is estimated by analysts to have incurred a loss of between US$2.3bn and US$4.6bn and attracted unusual public criticism in Singapore.
The group said it decided to sell in spite of incurring a loss because the risk-return profile of its initial US$5.9bn holding in Merrill Lynch "shifted substantially" after the investment bank was acquired by BofA in January.
It made no comment on the sale of a stake of almost 2 per cent in Barclays, which is also thought by analysts to have incurred a loss. Other divestments included two power generating companies in Singapore, completing a divestment programme involving three generators that raised more than S$11bn.
The improvement in the value of the portfolio includes the impact of investments of nearly S$5bn in the nine months to the end of July as the group took up its share of rights issues in companies including Standard Chartered, the UK bank, Singapore's DBS banking group and CapitaLand, the Singapore property group.
Temasek said it had invested a total of S$9bn during the financial year, including about S$700m for a stake of less than 5 per cent in Hong Kong-based Li & Fung, one of the world's biggest supply chain managers.
The group did not directly address claims by critics that its portfolio losses last year reflected over-investment in western assets, including holdings in financial groups acquired as the global financial crisis was beginning.
However, it said its underlying exposure to Singapore and the 30 developed economies of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development had been reduced from more than 80 per cent to just over 50 per cent. OECD exposure now accounts for about 20 per cent of investments, mostly in Australia.
The group also said that returns from investments made since March 2002, when it began to invest widely in Asia following the appointment of Ho Ching as chief executive, had been significantly greater than returns on earlier investments, which were mostly in Singapore.
It said the annualised return on investments for the past seven years was 19 per cent, compared to 9 per cent for those made before the change in strategy. "We have increased our exposure to Asia since 2002, riding with its deep and long wave of growth and transformation," it said.
The group said it was "optimistic" about Asia's long term potential and would target exposure to the region at about 40 per cent of investments, including 20 per cent in China, with Singapore remaining steady at about 30 per cent, OECD countries at 20 per cent and other regions at 10 per cent.
It made no comment on possible listings for major holdings such as Singapore Power and PSA, the Singapore ports operator, which were last month identified by Ms Ho as possible candidates for public offerings.
Officials have said that decisions on when and whether to list will be left to the operating companies' boards. Bankers in Singapore say any listing of PSA is unlikely for two to three years.
Berapakah Kg Buah Pala di Selangor?
Posted in Malaysia news with tags Land Matter on September 28, 2009 by ckchew
Kampung Buah Pala yang mempunyai sejarah 200 tahun tidak dapat diselamatkan daripada nasib dirobohkan. Sebelum perbalahan ini ditenteramkan, pembangunan dan pengusiran di Tanjong Tokong, Pulau Pinang sekali lagi menjadi tumpuan seluruh negara.
Sebenarnya, perkara mengenai setinggan dan perjuangan peneroka Bandar terjadi di seluruh Negara. Kawasan perumahan setinggan di Chan Sow Lian, Kuala Lumpur akan dirobohkan; perbalahan pembangunan di Kampong Baru Plentong tidak dapat diselesaikan selama 20 tahun; Kampung Meru Tin di Perak menghadapi masalah harga tanah terlalu tinggi selepas tanah tersebut diambil balik oleh kerajaan negeri; Kampung Berembang, Jalan Papan dan Jalan Bukit Kerayong di Selangor menghadapi ancaman pengusiran paksa di bawah dasar setinggan sifar yang ditetapkan oleh bekas kerajaan negeri Selangor.
Apa yang telah berlaku di Kampung Buah Pala, ada kemungkinan berlaku lagi di negeri Selangor, ia akan mengakibatkan pertembungan dan merugikan semua pihak. Bagaimanakah menangani masalah ini memang bergantung kepada kebijaksanaan pihak berkuasa, penduduk dan masyarakat madani. Ia bukan sahaja menilai adakah kerajaan baru akan melaksanakan konsep demokrasi dan hak asasi manusia, tetapi juga mencabar kerajaan negeri mengubal dasar-dasar perumahan seragam yang "berorientasikan rakyat" dan bukan berorientasikan kumpulan-kumpulan kepentingan (interest group).
Jawatankuasa Hak Sivil berpendapat, semua pihak berkepentingan dalam isu setinggan di Selangor harus memulakan dialog dan perbincangan awam sebelum pengusiran paksa menjadi satu hakikat. Perbincangan ini membenarkan semua rakyat yang prihatin memberi cadangan dan mencari jalan penyelesaian, melaksanakan kebudayaan rundingan demokrasi dan sebagai satu proses bagi menggubalkan dasar-dasar awam yang memanfaatkan rakyat.
Dengan ini, kami akan menganjurkan satu forum awam bertajuk "Berapakah Kampung Buah Pala di Selangor? – Dari Perbalahan Buah Pala Meninjau Dilema Setinggan di Selangor". Penceramah-penceramah ialah Iskandar Abdul Samad, Exco Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Perumahan, Pengurusan Bangunan dan Setinggan; Tan Jo Hann, Pengerusi Permas merangkap Ahli Majlis MPSJ, Ang Mah Chye, wakil jawatankuasa penduduk Jalan Papan, Pandamaran Klang serta Noralizan bin Ali, wakil Kampung Berembang, Ampang. Moderator ialah Ong Jing Cheng dari Persatuan EMPOWER. Butir-butir forum adalah seperti berikut :
Tarikh: 30 Sept 2009(Rabu)
Masa:7:30 pm
Tempat: Auditorium, KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (Dekat stesen Monorail Maharajalela)
Penceramah:
1. Iskandar Abdul Samad(Exco Kerajaan Negeri Selangor, Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Tetap Perumahan, Pengurusan Bangunan dan Setinggan)
2. Tan Jo Hann(Pengerusi Permas merangkap Ahli Majlis MPSJ)
3. Ang Mah Chye(Wakil jawatankuasa penduduk Jalan Papan, Pandamaran Klang)
4. Noralizan bin Ali(Wakil Kampung Berembang, Ampang)
Moderator :Encik Ong Jing Cheng(Persatuan EMPOWER)
Bahasa:Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Inggeris
Forum awam ini adalah percuma, kedatangan orang awam dialu-alukan. Jika ada sebarang pertanyaan, sila hubungi Encik Chia(03-2272 3519). Sekian, terima kasih!
Pengerusi Jawatankuasa Hak Sivil KLSCAH
Liau Kok Fah
Another case under the OSA for the IGP to NFA: Who are the 2 army officers went to jibby Altantuya's house the night Altantuya's murdered?
The Malaysian government says Altantuya Shaariibuu was murdered between 10.00pm on October 19th and 1.00am on October 20th, 2006. That was the charge against Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar and that was what they were pronounced guilty of.
At 10.01pm on 19th October 2006, two unnamed army officers went to Najib Tun Razak's house, according to log entry 6494 in the police guard book. (See log 1a and log 2a below). These same two unnamed army officers left Najib's house at 6.05am on 20th October 2006, according to log entry 6498. (See log 1b and log 2b below).
The purpose of the visit was never clarified.
This means these two army officers were in the home of the then Deputy Prime Minister for about eight hours during the time Altantuya was supposed to have been murdered. Why they were there during those eight hours and who these two army officers are has not been revealed.
From 10.01pm the night Altantuya was murdered until 6.05am the following morning, two army officers visited the Deputy Prime Minister and/or his wife. This is certainly a most odd time to visit a Deputy Prime Minister and/or his wife in their home. And what does one do for eight hours in someone's home during the time most people would be fast sleep?
According to Fauzi, a driver, Rosmah Mansor left the official residence of the Deputy Prime Minister in Putrajaya at 6.48am on 19th October 2006 using car registration number WLQ 11 to return to her private home in Taman Duta. The car odometer reading was 86,197. That same evening, Rosmah attended a function near the Tabung Haji building in Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur
She did not return home until 11.20pm later that night, according to Fauzi.
The next day, 20th October 2006, Rosmah left her official residence in Putrajaya at 6.32am using the same car bearing registration number WLQ 11 to, again, return to Taman Duta. She also ran a few errands and did not return to Putrajaya until 1.01am the following morning.
The odometer reading was 86,315.
On the third day, Rosmah repeated the itinerary. She left Putrajaya at 6.40am to return to her Taman Duta home and to run some errands and did not go back to Putrajaya until 9.34pm that night. The odometer reading was 86,550.
Over three days, Rosmah travelled more than 350 kilometres to shuttle from Putrajajaya to Taman Duta, plus to some other places in between, according to the records.
I suggest the IGP investigate how these 'officials secrets' managed to leak out and whether the Official Secrets Act (OSA) has been breached. Or maybe the IGP would rather bury the whole issue and file it under No Further Action (NFA) to save the Prime Minister and his wife from having to answer some very embarrassing questions.
Hmm…I wonder who these two unnamed army officers are and whether they were really at the Deputy Prime Minister's house those entire eight hours or whether they sneaked out and in again without any 'official record'.
Ooh, I just love the OSA that protects the wrongdoer and instead sends the whistleblower to jail.
Log 1a
Log 1b
Police Log 19th-20th October 2006
Bagan Pinang by election – umno in lose-lose situation: Uncertainty over candidate spells trouble for umno
Posted in Malaysia news with tags Bagan Pinang By election on September 27, 2009 by ckchew
Umno seems to be in a dilemma in selecting an appropriate candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election, due to be held on Oct 11.
While the Teluk Kemang Umno division is insisting in naming only its chief and disgraced ex-Umno vice-president Isa Samad for the state seat, the party's deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin clearly expressed his stand on the matter by urging the division to come out with more choices.
Umno will have to sort out this mess over naming their candidate before nomination on Oct 4, just a week from today.
The party, which for long held the hegemony over all others, certainly needs to perform well in this by-election, the ninth in the series after the March 2008 general election, and ironically held in a state called Negeri Sembilan. In the previous eight by-elections, Umno and the Barisan Nasional by extension had only won one.
A victory in its home turf is a must for Umno, BN and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak but at the moment the indecisiveness of the party in picking a candidate may just put an end to its hopes of retaining the seat.
This is also a situation which the opposition is watching with much interest.
Umno in lose-lose situation
PKR's election machinery chief Saifuddin Nasution, at a ceramah held at Kampung Pokok Buluh in Pasir Mas, Kelantan on Friday night, was quick in noting Umno's dilemma in choosing the right candidate.
"If they (Umno) do not choose Isa, the party machinery may face a boycott in the Teluk Kemang Umno machinery. This will result in a possible loss.
"If they choose Isa, then it would show that Umno does not have any credible candidates to lead the challenge, not a single credible person from the ranks of the present leadership in Teluk Kemang Umno, even in its Puteri, Umno Youth or putera divisions," he told the crowd.
The PKR election director, who is also Machang MP, said even former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad had given the thumbs down to his former "blue-eyed boy" Isa as a candidate.
Mahathir had repeatedly expressed his views that Isa is not a suitable candidate as he had been found guilty of money politics in winning his vice-president's post in the 2003 party polls and suspended from the party for three years.
PAS not spoilt for choice
Saifuddin was also quick to point out that BN's problem ran deeper as other major component parties too faced leadership crisis, especially in both MCA and MIC which can result on the shift of the Chinese and Indian votes away from the BN to the Pakatan Rakyat.
On the other hand, Saifuddin said PAS' choice of candidates for the by-election showed a list of capable candidates at its stable.
"One is an engineer, another one an economist and the third is a former candidate."Certainly PAS does not have any problems of selecting the right candidate to represent the party and Pakatan," he said without disclosing the identity of the potential candidate.
"The Chinese and Indians have also been receptive of PAS and credit should go to Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat in leading the state for 19 years. Under his stewardship the people's acceptance of PAS has increased and this had broken down the racial barrier," added the PKR strongman.
He also emphasised on the co-operation between PKR, PAS and DAP which had improved tremendously despite claims to the contrary by the Umn-linked mainstream media.
"We have managed to work together in strategising our move. In fact, in December each party will send 500 leaders to the Pakatan Rakyat's national convention in Selangor to further strengthen the coalition and improve co-ordination.
Hard to get the postal voters
He also said that the election directors of PAS, PKR and DAP will be meeting on Tuesday to strategise a Pakatan victory on Oct 11.
While he said that it would be difficult in taking away the 4,000 over postal votes from the army camps located in the constituency, the strategy would be to tackle the normal voters.
"Our strategy is to try and overturn the 2,000 plus majority during the 2008 general election, by attracting more than 1,000 votes to Pakatan. We will be concentrating our efforts outside the army camps while you can be rest assured that BN will concentrate on the army camp," he said.
Both PAS and Umno are expected to announce their candidates on Tuesday.
Hafiz Yatim/Mkini
The 'conspiracy' against MIC: 'umno spreading hate messages'
Posted in Malaysia news with tags samy velu on September 27, 2009 by ckchew
A political wedlock that has spanned for more than five decades is now at the brink of a divorce. More than a year ago, the very mention of this would have been dismissed to the bins of preposterousness.
But the March 8 general election last year had tipped the scales for Barisan Nasional and the nightmare of losing power grows more dreadful with each sunset.
The ruling coalition, especially Umno, appears to be desperate.
According to observers, the denial syndrome is waning and the reality on the ground has left its leaders terrified of what the future might hold.
As the clock ticks down for the next general election, Umno is said to be looking for a 'quick-fix' solution even if this means burning bridges with its partners.
And MIC insiders believe that Umno has hatched a conspiracy against their party and its president S Samy Vellu, one that has been in the making even before the last general election.
According to them, Umno employed the antiquated strategy – the enemy of my enemy is my friend – to ensure that the MIC president was defeated in the polls.
"This was proven when a local Indian businessmen aligned to a former top MIC leader admitted that he and a former Umno minister conspired to ensure the defeat," they said, without naming those involved.Back then, it was said that Umno wanted to seize control of the powerful Works Ministry and to do so, Samy Vellu had to be ousted.
True enough, in the post-March 8 cabinet, MIC was given the more junior human resources portfolio much to the chagrin of the president.
Severe repercussions
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the insiders alleged that the 'conspiracy' has now moved into high gear.
However, they warned that it could lead to severe repercussions, including the possibility of MIC leaving BN to operate independently or even joining forces with Pakatan Rakyat.
They also claimed that Umno was attempting to "split and confuse" the Indian community by approving and associating itself with many Indian-based parties.
This was in reference to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's open support for the Makkal Sakthi Party, which he is scheduled to launch on Oct 10.
"This is the divide and rule policy of the British that Umno has used since independence," said the insiders.
Another strategy was to use the mainstream media, especially the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia and Tamil papers aligned to Umno, to tarnish MIC's image.
These media outfits are given the task of continuously publishing or airing negative stories regarding MIC and its president, said the insiders.
Stage three of the conspiracy was to paint Samy Vellu as the chief culprit for all the shortcomings related to the Indian community.
"They shift the blame to the MIC leadership for the government's failure to look after the Indian community by constantly saying that Samy Vellu did nothing for the Indians and he is to be blamed solely," alleged the insiders.
'Spreading hate messages'
The party insiders claimed that Umno was also "spreading hate messages through the media and public speeches" in order to achieve its aim.
As an example, they cited Najib's opening speech at the recently concluded MIC general assembly where the premier openly called on party delegates to back change.
"However, this approach backfired similar to the one by (former premier and Umno president) Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the eve of the MIC elections on Sept 12," they said.
The insiders also accused Umno of "colluding with a certain former MIC top leader to popularise him through the media in an attempt to take control of MIC."
This was an obvious referrence to defeated deputy presidential candidate and Samy Vellu's political nemesis S Subramaniam.
The insiders stated that Umno leaders found it hard to digest Samy Vellu's "outspokenness and direct confrontation against Umno" and therefore were attempting to weaken his grip on MIC.
"This move was intensified after they realised that Samy Vellu still had a strong command in MIC when the majority of his team won in the party elections," they said.
In view of this, the insiders said the powers-that-be want to ensure that the president exits the party as soon as possible and be replaced with a leader who would "kow-tow" to Umno.
RK Anand/Mkini
DAP's U-turn on PORR
Posted in Malaysia news with tags Dap, Penang on September 26, 2009 by ckchew
The Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP) and Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) are disappointed that the government is proceeding with the construction of the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project.
It has been reported in the media that the project would be undertaken by a private company Daya Aliran Inovasi Sdn Bhd, whose appointment has been approved by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).
The RM1.03 billion PORR project entails the construction of a 18-km toll highway cutting across the island from Tanjong Tokong to the Penang Bridge in Gelugor.
It is reported that the federal government funding for the project is RM150 million while the concessionaire is to come up with the rest. In return, the concessionaire is seeking rights to reclaim 150 acres in Gurney Drive and another 350 acres in Middle Bank, near Jelutong.
When asked if the state government was in favour of the project, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng reportedly said that the state government welcomed any project which would help reduce traffic congestion and generate economic growth and revenue for the state.
He also said that the Penang government is still waiting for feedback from the federal government on the project. On whether the state government would consult the public on the PORR, Lim had said public consultation had already been held, and there were differing views.
We are concerned of these new developments. Since the PORR was first announced in 2002, civil society groups and affected communities who had formed the No-PORR committee had been calling on the government to scrap the project because the environmental repercussions of this project are potentially disastrous, involving hill-cutting and coastal reclamation.
Many citizens and groups have expressed concern not for the sake of simply opposing the PORR, but out of a genuine concern that the social, environmental and economic costs of this project are way too high for an option that does not have long-term benefits. Besides this, the PORR project had been lacking in transparency right from the start. No public consultation was done before the government decided to implement the project.
Now we are exasperated that the Penang chief minister feels that there is no need to consult the public. Earlier when the public's concerns were raised during several consultations with the previous government, it had not been seriously considered. Now, with the new government, civil society is not even being given an opportunity to raise their concerns.
We have been contending that the PORR is a futile attempt in reducing congestion on existing roads, as stressed by the Penang Urban Transport Study which was commissioned by the state and published in 1998.Based on the findings of the study pertaining to the effectiveness, usefulness and efficiency of the PORR, the report stated that PORR will not be of much use to alleviate traffic congestion in the long run.
We have been demanding for an integrated public transport system for more sustainable and cost-effective solution in the long-term. We suggest that the government put its energy and resources into upgrading public transportation in the State. With better public transport, there would be no necessity for the PORR as there would be less private vehicles on the road.
Thus, we urge the federal and Penang government to scrap the construction of the PORR and instead focus on implementing an efficient and integrated public transport system in the state.
SM Mohammad Idris, president of the Consumers Association of Penang and Sahabat Alam Malaysia
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Egyptian Government Expands Control to Social Media with New Press Laws
Fanack Published on August 24, 2018
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi. Photo AFP
Egypt risks being destroyed from within, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said during a televised speech on 22 July 2018 to mark the 1952 revolution. He claimed that 'rumours' are being spread on social media that could fuel discontent, destabilize the country and incite hatred against the government. In the past three months alone, 21,000 of these harmful rumours have circulated, he said.
Two days later, several television adverts were broadcast, warning citizens not to believe everything they read on social media. 'Get your news from a trusted source', they cautioned.
There appears to be a trend in the state's attitude towards social media. On 16 July 2018, parliament passed three new media and press laws, which now only have to be ratified by the president. One of the most controversial points of the new legislation is that it considers social media users with more than 5,000 followers as media, making them subject to charges such as 'spreading false news' and 'inciting against the state'. Blogger Zeinobia described the legislation as 'the end of social media by law'.
The first step towards these new media laws was taken in December 2016 with the creation of three new bodies overseeing the media, namely the Supreme Media Regulatory Council (SMRC), National Press Authority and National Broadcasting Authority. However, it was not until June 2018 that the parliament's Media Committee submitted three new laws, which were approved a month later.
The head of the Media Committee, Osama Heikal, said that the laws would provide "unprecedented guarantees" for media independence. In a tweet, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs referred to the laws as a 'victory for the freedom of expression'.
Journalists have not been quite so positive. Several hundred signed an online statement rejecting the laws, specifically criticizing the sweeping powers granted to the media regulatory bodies, which control the selection of media chairpersons and chief editors and can suspend publications or broadcasts, revoke media licenses, and monitor and remove personal social media accounts.
The low number of seats for journalists in the SMRC (two out of nine) has also been criticized. The head of the SMRC is appointed directly by the president.
The State Council, Egypt's highest judicial body, has expressed concerns about the constitutionality of the laws, but Heikal rejected these concerns, stating that "parliament would not issue a law that is unconstitutional".
International organizations have voiced their own concerns, with Amnesty International saying these laws 'would give the state near-total control over print, online and broadcast media'.
To an extent, the laws provide further legal justification for existing policy. In May, a string of prominent activists were arrested for allegedly 'spreading false news' and 'joining a terrorist organization'. Most of these activists were not directly involved in politics but had expressed discontent with the country's leaderships via their blog, Twitter feed or YouTube channel. All six arrested are still in pre-trial detention.
Perhaps the main problem with the new legislation is its vague language and the room this leaves for interpretation by implementing authorities, according to the Association for Freedom of Thoughts and Expression (AFTE). This Egyptian rights NGO stated in its quarterly press freedom report that certain articles 'allow the administrative authority to arbitrarily use its authority'.
For instance, Article 19 states that it is 'prohibited for media to bring fake news, to incite breaking the law, to spread hatred, violence, racism and extremism or to attack monotheistic religions', and that the SMRC can block or shut down media that violate these regulations.
As stipulated in Article 4, it is forbidden – and can result in the indefinite closure of the offending media – to 'harm national security' and 'violate the ethics and standards of the media profession'. Article 5 adds 'sectarianism', 'inciting pornography' and 'activity hostile to the principles of democracy' as reasons for denying or revoking media licenses, among others.
"The new laws will reshape the entire media scene," Hassan al-Azhary, director of AFTE's legal unit, told Fanack Chronicle in an email. "They tighten the grip of the SMRC on the establishment and activities of websites and newspapers."
Arbitrary use of the power to close down media already appears to be happening. Since May 2017, over 500 websites have been blocked, for allegedly threatening national security or spreading false news. While some of these websites belong to actual violent militant or extremist groups, like the Hasm movement, many are independent news websites and NGOs, both local and international.
In addition, Egypt passed a new cybercrime law, which includes penalties for internet providers that refuse to execute website block orders from the authorities.
In early July, the SMRC used its power to impose a gag order on a case of alleged corruption at a famous charity cancer hospital for children. It was the first gag order issued by a non-judicial body. AFTE described the gag order as 'legally flawed in many respects' but pointed out that the vagueness of the new legislation and broad interpretation of it by the head of the Supreme Council allowed for this gag to happen.
Another case in which the new legislation could well play a part is that against former al-Masry al-Youm chief editor Mohamed Saleh and eight other journalists for 'spreading false news'. The privately owned newspaper reported vote buying during the presidential elections in March 2018. The Supreme Council fined the paper EGP 150,000 ($9,000) for the coverage. Saleh and the journalists were arrested but released on bail in April. The case is still under investigation.
The chief editor of another publication, Masr al-Arabia, was released on bail in July after three months in prison on various charges including 'spreading false news' during the elections.
"The new law applies more restrictions on institutions and websites … which will increase challenges facing journalists," al-Azhary said.
Press freedom in general has been under increased pressure in recent years. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Egypt 161 out of 180 in its 2018 World Press Freedom Index. 'In Egypt … the fight against terrorism has become the regime's key weapon for cracking down on journalists. All independent media and journalists are exposed to the possibility of terrorism charges,' RSF wrote in its latest analysis.
At least 30 journalists are currently in jail in Egypt, according to RSF. One of the best known is photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, aka Shawkan, who has been in jail since August 2013 and is still awaiting a verdict.
The exact effects of the new legislation on the media in Egypt remain to be seen, especially considering the broad and loose terms used. "After approval [by the president], the executive regulations will be issued, which will clarify the detailed rules on how to execute the laws' articles," al-Azhary said. But the current circumstances do not bode well.
Thibault Camus ©AFP
Egypt Human Rights Politics


text:
Q: Debugging a Node.js Azure function

Hi, I am trying to debug and develop locally a simple JavaScript timerTrigger function azure application but I am having trouble. I am trying to follow along this tutorial: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-functions/functions-run-local

Investigative information

Please provide the following:

*

*Timestamp:

*Function App name: testcenter123

*Function name(s) (as appropriate): noderepo

*Invocation ID:

*Region:

Repro steps

I have the application handled via a Git repo so it's on my local machine as well.
Provide the steps required to reproduce the problem:

*

*Go to root level of function app and run (via powershell): func host start --debug vscode
λ func host start --debug vscode

              %%%%%%
             %%%%%%
        @   %%%%%%    @
      @@   %%%%%%      @@
   @@@    %%%%%%%%%%%    @@@
 @@      %%%%%%%%%%        @@
   @@         %%%%       @@
     @@      %%%       @@
       @@    %%      @@
            %%
            %

[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Host has been specialized
Listening on http://localhost:7071/
Hit CTRL-C to exit...
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Reading host configuration file 'C:\Users\xxxxxxxx\code\test-repos\NodeRepo1\host.json'
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Host configuration file read:
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] { }
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Loaded custom extension 'BotFrameworkConfiguration'
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Loaded custom extension 'SendGridConfiguration'
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Loaded custom extension 'EventGridExtensionConfig'
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Generating 0 job function(s)
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Starting Host (HostId=laptop2062-1189224982, Version=1.0.11232.0, ProcessId=8180, Debug=False, Attempt=0)
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] No job functions found. Try making your job classes and methods public. If you're using binding extensions (e.g. ServiceBus, Timers, etc.) make sure you've called the registration method for the extension(s) in your startup code (e.g. config.UseServiceBus(), config.UseTimers(), etc.).
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Job host started
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Executing HTTP request: {
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "requestId": "b2d45bf0-1947-4ad7-a9cd-cdfa469d04d2",
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "method": "GET",
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "uri": "/"
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] }
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Executed HTTP request: {
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "requestId": "b2d45bf0-1947-4ad7-a9cd-cdfa469d04d2",
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "method": "GET",
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "uri": "/",
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "authorizationLevel": "Anonymous"
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] }
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] Response details: {
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "requestId": "b2d45bf0-1947-4ad7-a9cd-cdfa469d04d2",
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM]   "status": "OK"
[10/16/2017 6:54:48 PM] }
launch.json for VSCode configured.
Debugger listening on [::]:5858
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM] Executing HTTP request: {
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "requestId": "9fe12a9e-446a-4c8e-90db-d0004ac42e31",
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "method": "GET",
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "uri": "/admin/functions/noderepo"
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM] }
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM] Executed HTTP request: {
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "requestId": "9fe12a9e-446a-4c8e-90db-d0004ac42e31",
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "method": "GET",
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "uri": "/admin/functions/noderepo",
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "authorizationLevel": "Anonymous"
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM] }
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM] Response details: {
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "requestId": "9fe12a9e-446a-4c8e-90db-d0004ac42e31",
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM]   "status": "MethodNotAllowed"
[10/16/2017 6:54:51 PM] }

*Visit in browser http://localhost:7071/admin/functions/noderepo

Expected behavior

Upon vising my timer trigger, I get:
<Error>
<Message>
The requested resource does not support http method 'GET'.
</Message>
</Error>

I tried substituting noderepo with timerTrigger and myTrigger in the URL and still same thing. How do I debug this?

Actual behavior

Execute the JavaScript function method and break on the VS Code
Other information
My index.js is this:
module.exports = function (context, myTimer) {
    var timeStamp = new Date().toISOString();

    config.UseTimers();

    if(myTimer.isPastDue)
    {
        context.log('JavaScript is running late!');
    }
    context.log('JavaScript timer trigger function ran!', timeStamp);

    context.done();
};

Very simple....

A: It looks like you do not have function folder near host.json. Can you please verify you have following folder: C:\Users\xxxxxx\code\test-repos\NodeRepo1\{yourFunctionName}? If not create it using:
func new -l Javascript -t TimerTrigger -name myTimer

After that you should see:
You should see in startup logs something like:
[10/16/2017 11:05:15 PM] Found the following functions:
[10/16/2017 11:05:15 PM] Host.Functions.myTimer

A: Have you tried running the new version of the Azure tools cli?
npm install azure-functions-core-tools@core
The new version of the cli is build on .NET core and it is x-platform.
The architecture doesn't rely on Edge.js anymore instead it offloads processing to a node worker. The cli worker always starts with --inspect which should allow you to debug easily with VSCode or chrome, you just need to make sure your launch.json is properly configured and matches the address and port.
{
     "type": "node",
     "request": "attach",
     "name": "Attach to Remote",
     "address": "localhost",
     "port": 9229, // Or 5858
     "sourceMaps": true,
     "localRoot": "${workspaceRoot}"
}

Also this should allow you to upgrade to node > 6.5.0 if you need, only caveat I believe you'll need to change the runtime in your Azure function to enable it.

A: Here is the answer a little more clearly laid out. I did not find Microsoft's Article very clear either and it was Alexey Rodionov's answer set set me on the correct route.
Assuming that you want to reference the endpoint as http://localhost:7071/api/MyFunction
The directory structure should look like this:

*

*MyFunction must be the name of the directory

*The files function.json & index.js must be in that directory.

The following two files are at the root of your solution.

*

*host.json

*local.settings.json

What I found missing from Microsoft's article was the fact that you had to change directory between the steps.
func init Sample
cd Sample
func new --language JavaScript --template "Http Trigger" --name MyFunction

`
Note that the way you specify "Http Trigger" is also not correct in the article.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Overview of DVD Copy Protection Methods, With Emphasis on Digital Watermarking James Painter EGR 230.
18 References www.up.ac.za/academic/electron/cd.jpg m%20reel2.gif D. Avioli, Hollywood Ups Ante In Copy Protection Fight, IEEE Spectrum, vol. 39, pp. 24-27, Jul. 2002. J. A. Bloom, I. J. Cox, T. Kalker, J.-P. M. G. Linnartz, M. L. Miller, and C. B. S. Traw, Copy Protection for DVD Video, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 87, pp. 1267-1276, Jul. 1999. G. Kresden, Carnegie Mellon University, Dec. 6, 2000, Content Scrambling System (CSS): Introduction, http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/DeCSS/Kesden/index.html. Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Mar. 31, 2006, Content-scrambling system, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content-scrambling_system. Macrovision Corporation, Mar. 2003, Preserving an Effective DVD Copy Protection System, http://www. macrovision.com/pdfs/Preserving-an-effective-DVD-Copying-System_0303.pdf. B. Markwalter, Consumer Electronics Association, April 20, 2004, Copy Generation Management System - Analog, http://www.cptwg.org/Assets/TEXT FILES/ ARDG/CEA ARDG CGMS-A 3-6-03.ppt. Wikipedia contributors, Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Mar. 19, 2006, CGMS-A, http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/CGMS-A. F. Hartung and B. Girod, Watermarking of Uncompressed and Compressed Video, Signal Processing, vol. 66, pp. 283-301, May 1998. N. F. Johnson, Z. Duric, and S. Jajodia, A Role for Digital Watermarking in Electronic Commerce, ACM Computing Surveys, 1999. M. Maes, T. Kalker, J.-P. Linnartz, J. Talstra, G. Depovere, and J. Haitsma, Digital Watermarking for DVD Video Copy Protection, IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, vol. 17, pp. 47-57, Sept. 2000. D. Kirovski, M. Peinado, and F. A. P. Petitcolas, Digital Rights Management for Digital Cinema, presented at the International Symposium On Optical Science and Technology, Security in Imaging, Theory and Applications, San Diego, Calif. July, 2001. Geek.com Geek News, May 10, 2005, UMD format cracked, pirate games available, http://www.geek.com/ news/geeknews/2005May/bga20050510030385.htm. M. J. Geier, Lights, Camera, Controls!, IEEE Spectrum, vol. 40, pp. 28-30, May 2003. T. S. Perry, DVD Copy Protection: Take 2, IEEE Spectrum, vol. 42, pp. 38-39, Jan. 2005. A. M. Eskicioglu and E. J. Delp, An Overview of Multimedia Content Protection in Consumer Electronics Devices, Signal Processing: Image Communication, vol. 16, pp. 681-699, Aug. 10, 2000.
Download ppt "Overview of DVD Copy Protection Methods, With Emphasis on Digital Watermarking James Painter EGR 230."
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Click the button below to add the 221B Baker Street: Master Detective Game to your wish list.
The Classic Games Collection 221B Baker Street Game features 20 original Sherlock Holmes adventures written by mystery writers. Each player figuratively dons the detective's iconic deerstalker hat and pipe and takes a turn being the sleuth. This Sherlock Holmes board game lets you travel the streets of London to find clues that might help them solve the case. Once you unravel the mystery out in the field, you then return to Sherlock Holmes' residence at 221B for the big reveal. This game will provide hours of entertainment for Holmes fans or for anyone who just enjoys a good mystery. It includes 20 original Sherlock Holmes cases and is suitable for two to six players. This mystery board game comes with a game board, Scotland Yard cards, skeleton key cards, a die and a checklist pad. There's also a clue booklet and an answer booklet.


text:
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Object.defineProperty(exports, "__esModule", {
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exports.default = void 0;
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var _jsxRuntime = require("react/jsx-runtime");
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On October 8th one of our fave Teen Mom stars, Maci Bookout, tied the knot with her longtime sweetheart and father of two kiddos, Taylor McKinney, in a stunning destination wedding in Greenville, Florida — and we have the ridiculously gorgeous photos to prove it! Brittany Cole of Brittany Photographs shared the stunning pictures with BRIDES, and we have to say... we're pretty speechless.
The newlyweds said their "I do's" in front of friends and family at Florida's Honey Lake Resort which featured rustic-chic vibes. Before the beautiful bride headed down the aisle though, she got ready with her gal pals in some pretty adorable custom flannel shirts. Her red flannel button down sported the words "Mrs. T Money," naturally. When the time came, Bookout slipped into her romantic Riki Dalal Haute Couture wedding dress and held a colorful bouquet of burgundy and peach peonies. Her bridesmaids donned custom Watters' gowns in a brand new French Blue hue.
After their first kiss, the duo and all those attending headed to the reception where they found a mouthwatering dessert table that featured a single-tier cake and lots of delectable glazed donuts just waiting to be devoured. Once everyone's bellies were full after dinner, the newlyweds danced to John Legend's "All of Me," consequently causing LOTS of runny mascara.
Though Bookout had her first child Bentley with ex Ryan Edwards (who was actually in attendance on her big day!) it was clear to see how totally in love she is with her new hubby. The pair got engaged back in January and recently had baby number three (McKinney's second) before celebrating their marriage together this fall.
And look what 16 and Pregnant stars joined them on their wedding day! "It was romantic. It was beautiful," Caitlyn Lowell told Us Weekly, after posing with the newlyweds and her husband Tyler Baltierra.
As for these cuties' next plans, it seems like they'll be heading to the Caribbean for a lovely week-long vacay — sans kids. "We're going for seven nights, eight days," Bookout told Us Weekly. "So eight days with no children and beer and a beach, it's going to be awesome. I'd say by day five, though, we're probably going to be missing the kids a lot! But we'll try to enjoy it."
Aaand while they sip margaritas by the ocean, we'll be here at our desks swooning over their wedding pics for eternity.