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Loss is part of living and most of us have done all this before. People come -- babies are particularly welcome -- and they go. But can our celebrations, our precious times together be the same without a foundation member? Is it worth even trying?

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All the signs were there. I am just so surprised that I didn't pick up on it sooner. Every case of autism is different, with different levels of severity as well as different characteristics being displayed in the individual.

Fred Hollows Foundation

While the reasons for young girls and women being locked out of education are varied and complex, many of us don't consider the obvious links between health and education.

Disney/Lucas Film

Why can't we just admit that BB-8 is adorable, Finn is hilarious, Rey is badass, seeing Han and Chewie again was awesome, the special effects were tremendous, Poe is Soloesque, Kylo Ren is intriguing -- and this movie makes absolutely no sense whatsoever?

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Next year's United Nation's General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem is, by UN standards, set to be controversial. But it is unlikely to be the game changer in global drug policy that some are seeking.

The 20D vote has thus opened the door to no less than three extremely complex and uncertain scenarios. The only certainty about this election is that the country broke with its past.

Lucas Film

Looking back, it seems clear. 'Star Wars' would have been a whole lot better if Vader hadn't been made to be Luke's father. Focusing solely on this Skywalker 'bloodline' turns it from a Space Opera, into just a Soap Opera.

Michael Moore

We are all children of God (or nature or whatever you believe in), part of the human family, and nothing you say or do can change that fact one iota. If you don't like living by these American rules, then you need to go to the time-out room in any one of your Towers, sit there, and think about what you've said.

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Australia has traditionally been a highly successful and prosperous nation. On almost every important business index, we are accelerating. The stakes -- the financial, social, environmental and political consequences -- similarly are rising.

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Every year I tell my husband I'm not doing it again. I'm not doing Christmas. I tell him we should all pack a bag and fly far, far away and not return until January and maybe that could be the family present this year.

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Young children are egocentric by nature. As any three-year-old knows only too well, the world revolves around them. "I want...", "Give me...", "It's mine!" and other variations are the mantras of this age group. This self-centred behaviour is developmental, which means it's something they grow out of... or they're supposed to.

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It's the most wonderful time of the year, but what they forget to tell you is that the feeling disappears as you enter your teens and you spend the rest of your life trying to reclaim it.

Gemma Stiles | Flickr

I'm one of those crazy people who swim every single day, even through the winter. I first learned that I could actually do it, that my body wouldn't protest, that I could in fact swim on cold days and not catch the flu or die of hypothermia, from a group of women and men ranging from their sixties to their nineties at Avalon ocean pool.

Stu Spence

This week's three photions include a coffee shop where everyone orders a double shot whether they want to or not; the dangers of keeping gnomes indoors; plus a sight to behold for rusted-on Republicans.

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When I heard President Hollande mention the critical goal of 1.5°C I knew this would be a different COP. He was the first world leader from a developed country to utter the ceiling of 1.5°C. And the world took notice.

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Heatwaves receive less media and public attention than other extreme events such as flood and fire, but they kill more people than any other natural disaster and cause significant damage to ecosystems, agriculture and infrastructure.

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Most who claim to be atheists generally admit that while they don't know where the first atom came from, they're pretty sure it wasn't from a creator. This position sounds very much like the view of an agnostic who doesn't know whether or not there is a god. Perhaps we need a new term for this position, like 'agnathiesm'.