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Once Again, In Defense of Legal Positivism
This article is a continuation of my previous article: In Defense of Legal Positivism - A Reply to Iman Nasima. Since Imam has kindly responded to my article here, I think it should be appropriate to press the discussion one step further (though I have to apologize for the huge delay in responding to his second article).
Legal Positivism is Not a Method of Legal Interpretation
The first question that I asked in my previous article is: how critics to Legal Positivism perceive Legal Positivism? Is it a legal theory or method of interpretation? For me, the answer is obvious. Legal Positivism does not deal with method of legal interpretation, it is a theory of law.
Why does this distinction matter? Because from my readings of various people who criticizes Legal Positivism, I get a tendency that they equate Legal Positivism with strict Textualism or Legal Formalism, i.e. that under Legal Positivism, judges tend to interpret the laws solely based on the texts of the formal laws issued by the state, and that these judges do not consider other basic principles such as justice and morality when they can found a governing law in resolving legal matters.
Of course this is completely wrong and shows a lack of understanding of what is Legal Positivism. You cannot make a good critic if you don't understand the concept that you criticize. It will simply be a waste of time for everyone.
Whose Authority?
This is indeed a really difficult question. In practice, questioning the normativity of law will not be completed without asking who is the authority that must be honored in the first place. This is in line with the support given by Legal Positivism to the Source Thesis, i.e. that the existence of law can be solely derived from its sources and not its contents.
Under the Source Thesis, people can recognize the existence of the law by paying attention to the sources of that law, i.e. the authority who issues the law. HLA Hart tried to explain this thesis through Rules of Recognition, i.e. secondary rules in a legal system that give guideline on when certain rules can be treated as laws.
When certain rules meet the criteria of the Rules of Recognition, those rules will be deemed as laws with all of their authoritative/normative power upon their subjects. The problem is, who stipulates the rules of recognition and why we should follow those rules of recognition in the first place?
At this stage, Legal Positivism as a descriptive theory of law would be unable to answer that question. Why? Because it is a question of fact. Imam correctly shows that there are various competing theories on dealing with the concept of authority and how authorities derive their power.
To give more context on the above discussion, I recently read Justice Scalia and Bryan Garner's treatise on Legal Interpretation where they said that British and US judges differ in terms of authority. In England, the judges can hold the same position with legislators, so they can make the law and interpret the provisions at the same time. While in the United States, the power to make laws lies with the legislators while judges are required to enforce the laws.
The basis for this separation of power in US (at least according to Scalia and Garner) is to maintain the basic principles of democracy, i.e. that laws should be promulgated by representatives of the people that will be held accountable to their voters, and not by judges who are not appointed through democratic process.
It's an interesting theory of how judges and legislators should behave in a legal system, but I'm not sure that we can consider this as a pure legal theory. It's more of a political theory. There is no legal basis on why judges should behave like what Scalia said nor a rule of recognition for that given the fact that judges in the United States are still debating on their roles in the legal system.
The same thing is also applicable for Indonesian case. Suppose that judges political power is weak here, would that be a concern of Legal Positivism? I would say no and that would be enough for the purpose of defending Legal Positivism. From the very beginning, what I want to show through my previous article is that the critics misunderstand the issue. If the judicial branch is weak in Indonesia, it does not have any correlation with Legal Positivism as a theory of law.
How Social Facts Are Determined?
In dealing with Imam's second question, I find it interesting that he made a correlation between public acceptance of judges decision with the normative power of such decision. Should the judges decision be accepted by the majority of the public in order to be eligible to be considered as a valid law?
As interesting as it may be, it is actually not a question that can be answered by Legal Positivism as a descriptive theory of law. It is again, a question of fact. Legal Positivism only says that law is a social fact, that its existence relies on the acceptance of the majority, including the people and legal authorities.
However, Legal Positivism is silent on the actual practices of social acceptance because they can have many different forms. Theoretically speaking, we can have a legal system where court's decisions will be automatically considered as an authoritative source regardless of public acceptance of the content, and it is also possible to have a legal system where in order to obtain validity, a court's decision should be accepted first by the majority of the people. Can we use Legal Positivism to endorse the first system against the second one and vice versa? I don't think so.
In fact, we already have a very good example when we discuss the power of judicial precedents. It is common to aspiring Indonesian law students that in Indonesia (and other civil law countries), unlike in the common law countries, the principle of stare decisis, i.e. that a court's decision will be considered as a binding precedent to be followed by future court decisions, is not applicable. Thus, in Indonesia, future judges are free to disregard previous decisions and make their own decisions for a similar case.
Will Legal Positivism say that common law stare decisis system is better than civil law system? No. Can Legal Positivism explain why Indonesia and civil law countries choose to abandon stare decisis system? No.
But I am confident that Legal Positivism can explain to us that stare decisis is not applicable in Indonesia because most, if not all, of Indonesian legal authorities reject the concept. In other words, under Indonesian rules of recognition, court decisions do not have binding precedent power toward future court decisions (at least as of the date of this article). Can this rule of recognition change in the future? Might be, who knows?
Can Law and Economics Succeed in Indonesia?
Imam claimed in his article that Law and Economics method will fail as long as the judicial power is not strong enough to uphold any form of legal certainty. I do not think so. After all, judicial branch is just a part of the overall legal system and Law and Economics can become a mainstream legal thought through many windows, including the academic world and other branches of government.
When Imam mentioned the names of Posner, Dworkin, Barak, etc, I do not think that he discussed their debates in legal theory but more on legal interpretation method. This is not relevant to Legal Positivism. How the judges should interpret the laws is not a question for Legal Positivism (the same mistake made by Dworkin when he criticized Legal Positivism).
As a descriptive legal theory, Legal Positivism would be more interested on what are the actual methods of interpretation that are acceptable in a legal system. What does this mean? In a situation where there is no clear ground rules for legal interpretation, every system of legal thought can fight for domination.
As I said in my previous article, Law and Economics was not a mainstream thought in the United States prior to the 1970s era. It was thanks to Richard Posner and many other academics and political patrons that Law and Economics could finally gain a dominant position in the US legal thought. We see more judges using economic analysis in resolving cases.
How about in the executive branch? It was Cass Sunstein who brought cost and benefit analysis to the next level in the US government regulatory making process through his office, OIRA. Is this because of Legal Positivim? Of course not, it's a political and academic fight. The same thing can also happen in the legislative branch through political process.
This is what I want to reiterate to the misleading critics of Legal Positivism. If you want to ensure that your personal legal thought (whatever that is) can dominate Indonesian legal thought, it is a waste of time to criticize Legal Positivism because it is not Legal Positivism's mistake in the first place. In short, try other persuasive methods and good luck with that.
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Tuesday, May 08, 2018 10:48:00 AM
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NWM, an umbrella company providing payroll solutions for contractors and recruiters, has partnered with Perkbox, a leading employee engagement platform, to launch an exciting new incentives, rewards and engagement programme for its employees and contractors.
As part of its continuing commitment to improve retention and loyalty, NWM will now provide its staff and contractors with free and exclusive access to over two hundred practical and recreational perks. New benefits now available to the team at NWM via Perkbox include up to 8% off at 20,000 retail stores and 50 nationwide brands, 4% off at Amazon, two for one or 50% off in more than 6,500 restaurants with a free tastecard, free mobile phone insurance, money off in pubs, bars and coffee shops, heavily discounted theatre tickets and attraction day passes, corporate rates in top gym chains and half price MOTs, amongst hundreds of other benefits. Fresh perks will be added to the platform regularly and all employees and contractors will be able to redeem these 24/7 via their own dedicated account, using Perkbox's online desktop and tablet platform and smartphone app.
As well as easy online and on-the-go redemption using the latest technology, NWM staff and contractors will also have access to an engagement platform that is designed to enhance financial, emotional and physical wellbeing. This includes a wellness hub of professionally-made online classes in yoga, healthy cooking, exercise and meditation, a 24-hour assistance helpline and financial advice. The team will be automatically enrolled in an online internal Rewards and Recognition platform – a gamified system carefully constructed to facilitate top-down rewards and drive peer-to-peer recognition via the exchange of digital badges. Admin users will also be able to add any other perks they offer in addition to Perkbox to the platform and will be able to track return on investment via an online dashboard, which highlights how many staff are actively using the platform and how much money staff have saved.


If you are thinking of bringing a close family member or relative over for a visit to the UK, it is important to ensure that all procedures and requirements have been satisfied. There are very strict requirements set out by the Home Office in respect of being able to provide your family member with suitable accommodation and also ensuring that he or she does not use public funds/resources.
There are also stringent rules on the length of period a visitor may stay and the restrictions placed upon him or her in terms of activities he/she may carry out in the UK..
Therefore, if you are confused or unsure as to whether you satisfy the requirements of the Immigration Rules, feel free to contact our immigration team who will be happy to assist.


Today, Koei Tecmo have announced Samurai Warriors 4 DX for PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch. The game will launch on March 14, 2019 in Japan and will cost ¥5,800. We have no confirmation on a western release at time but we'll keep you updated.
Samurai Warriors 4 DX comes with all previous DLC including weapons, costumes, scenarios and more.
Samurai Warriors 4 is currently available on Playstation 4, Playstation 3 Playstation vita and PC.


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The BJP Monday released its election manifesto for the LS polls with a promise to provide pension for small and marginal farmers to ensure social security after 60 years of age.
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its election manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls at the party headquarters in the national capital. Titled "Sankalpit Bhatar Sashakt Bharat", the manifesto encompasses 75 poll promises and focuses on overall development of the nation.
Released in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah and other seniors leaders, the manifesto includes a slew of promises such as the construction of Ram Mandir and abrogation of article 370. The 45-page manifesto also promises to provide a pension for small and marginal farmers to ensure social security after 60 years of age and zero tolerance towards terrorism.
Zero-Tolerance Approach to Terrorism BJP's security doctrine will be guided by national security interest only. The party promises to firmly continue their 'Zero tolerance policy' against terrorism and extremism and will continue to follow the policy of giving a free hand to security forces in combating terrorism.
Abrogation of Article 370 BJP reiterated their position to the abrogation of Article 370. Further, the party has also committed to annul Article 35A of the constitution of India, as the provision is discriminatory against non-permanent residents and women of Jammu and Kashmir, the manifesto read.
Doubling Farmers' Income In its manifesto, the ruling party promised to double the farmers' income by next year. Pension to small and marginal farmers to ensure social security after 60 years of age.
Goods and Service Tax BJP will continue with the simplification of the GST process by engaging in dialogue with all stakeholders.
Uniform Civil Code BJP believes that there cannot be gender equality till such time India adopts a Uniform Civil Code, which protects the rights of all women, and the BJP reiterates its stand to draft a Uniform Civil Code, drawing upon the best traditions and harmonizing them with the modern times.
Ram Mandir BJP reiterated their stand on Ram Mandir. "We will explore all possibilities within the framework of the Constitution and all necessary efforts to facilitate the expeditious construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya," the manifesto read.
Women Empowerment To ensure gender equality, the BJP will legislate a bill to prohibit and eliminate practices such as Triple Talaq and Nikah Halala. Further, to generate better work opportunities, 10% material to be sourced for government procurement will be done from MSMEs having at least 50 per cent women employees in their workforce.
Entrepreneurship & Starts-Ups To encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship amongst the youth, BJP will launch a new scheme to provide collateral-free credit up to 50 lakh for entrepreneurs. The party will guarantee 50% of the loan amount for female entrepreneurs and 25% of the loan amount for male entrepreneurs.
Jal Shakti BJP has promised to form a new Ministry of water. "We will launch 'Jal Jivan Mission' under which we will introduce a special programme, 'Nal se Jal' to ensure piped water for every household by 2024," the poll promise read.
Other promises include citizenship amendment bill, stop illegal migration fully, clean Ganga by 2022 etc.


To help celebrate NBC Rivalry Night, NHL.com will look at a rivalry within the rivalry of the featured game on Wednesday nights. For this week, we are trying to determine not just which goalie -- the New York Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist and the Pittsburgh Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury -- is better, but just how far apart they truly are in comparison with each other.
One won a Vezina Trophy two seasons ago and was a finalist last season. The other has been a Stanley Cup Playoff washout the past two seasons.
Entering 2013-14, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers was viewed as arguably the best at his position in the League, while the Pittsburgh Penguins' Marc-Andre Fleury was seen as having a tenuous-at-best hold on his job.
But as the Rangers and Penguins prepare to meet at Madison Square Garden in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game (7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TSN2, RDS2), have the roles become reversed?
Lundqvist has struggled this season for a number of reasons. There was the shrinkage of his goalie pads, a lingering lower-body injury that sidelined him for two games last month and the giant philosophical change from John Tortorella's shot-blocking defensive approach to new coach Alain Vigneault's more open, offensive-oriented style.
Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Fleury appears to have put all the talk about his postseason struggles far behind him. The Penguins always will be headlined by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but someone has to stop the puck and this season few have been better than Fleury. And he's had to do more work this season as Tomas Vokoun, who replaced him last spring and was expected to play a significant role this season, is out indefinitely after blood clots were found around his pelvis.
While it's expected that at some point Lundqvist will return to his lofty place among his peers, how far off is Fleury? Can this run of regular-season success earn him recognition among the top echelon of NHL goalies?
Why is Henrik Lundqvist regarded as one of the best in the business? His consistently excellent performance in his first eight seasons with the Rangers has earned him that lofty praise. He won at least 30 games in each of his first seven seasons, and his 24 wins last season tied for the League lead. He's also been a workhorse, playing at least 62 games in six straight seasons, including four seasons with at least 70 games.
"Hank has been all-world basically since he came into the League," NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes told NHL.com. "He hasn't really had a lot of extended stretches where he didn't play well. This season at the beginning of the year he didn't play well [but] you've got to look at the overall body of work."
Lundqvist's best season came in 2011-12 when he won 39 games, and finished in the top four in the League in goals-against average (1.96), save percentage (.930) and shutouts (eight). That earned him the Vezina Trophy as the League's best goaltender. He also has been strong in the playoffs with a 2.28 career GAA and helping the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final in 2012.
This season, though, has not been kind to Lundqvist. With Tortorella's departure and a commitment to a more offensive style under Vigneault, Lundqvist is seeing more high-quality scoring chances per game than he's used to. He lost some height on his goalie pads, which necessitated some adjustments to his coverage points. And he also played through a lower-body injury that he said he sustained Oct. 7 against the Los Angeles Kings.
After leading the League in wins last season, Lundqvist enters Wednesday with four wins in 11 games. His 2.56 goals-against average is 18th in the League and his .914 save percentage ranks 20th.
While it's odd to see Lundqvist's chief statistical markers so far off -- he has a career GAA of 2.26 and save percentage of .920 -- there are signs he's starting to rediscover his old form.
Since missing two games with that lower-body injury, Lundqvist is 2-2-0, but has allowed five goals in those four games. Included in his strong play was a 29-save shutout on Halloween against the Buffalo Sabres.
"Hank has done a good job getting himself back on track," Weekes said. "He had some adjustments to make with the new equipment. If it's a game of inches, now he is playing with fewer inches. It increases your margin of error. I think that had a big impact on Hank and just executing saves, playing with less surface area. I can see how that took a while to get used to."
Regular-season numbers haven't been an issue for Marc-Andre Fleury the past few seasons. He averaged 37.5 wins per season from 2008-2012, and went 23-8-1 in 33 games last season.
It's the postseason, however, that has skewed the view some people have of Fleury.
"The playoffs are the question mark he's had the past four years," Penguins general manager Ray Shero told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review during the summer. "I think it's probably something on his mind."
Fleury has won one playoff series since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, and the last two postseasons have been the worst. He was bombarded for 26 goals in six games in the first round of the 2012 playoffs against the Philadelphia Flyers, and after allowing 14 goals in Games 2, 3 and 4 of the first round against the New York Islanders, he was replaced by Vokoun. Fleury played one more game, in relief against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Final, but allowed a goal on the first shot he faced. It was the last action he saw until the 2013 preseason.
When you add it up, Fleury is 4-6 with a 4.11 GAA and .858 save percentage in the playoffs the past two seasons.
Offseason talk ranged from Fleury being traded, to being a candidate for a compliance buyout or being made the backup. Instead, the Penguins stuck with him. In agreement with the Penguins, Fleury tweaked his offseason approach, including spending time with a sports psychologist.
"Goalie is a delicate position, no different than a golfer or a tennis player," Shero said during the summer. "You're on your own a lot. I think it's a good step for him. … It's kind of like the situation with Matt Cooke in that you can't just hope you're going to come back and things are going to be different. A lot of guys talk to somebody. It's a confidence thing."
Whatever Fleury did has worked wonders. He was the first goalie in the League to reach 10 wins, and he has a 1.83 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage. He's allowed more than two goals three times in 12 games.
"Marc-Andre Fleury is a unique goalie because he is so gifted," Weekes said. "He's good technically and is so athletic. I find when he's at his best he's right in the middle between the two, he isn't over-athletic and isn't relying too much on his technical game. He finds that sweet spot in the middle. That is what he looks like right now. And his headspace is where it needs to be right now. That's a big part of it."
Verdict: Despite the slow start, there's little question Lundqvist remains regarded as one of the best at his position in the world. But how big is the gap between him and Fleury? Not as large as you might think.
Though Lundqvist has the Vezina Trophy, Fleury has won a Stanley Cup and has guided the Penguins to the Cup Final twice.
Lundqvist has 172 wins in the previous five seasons; Fleury has 173. Lundqvist's goals-against average (2.24) and save percentage (.923) are better than Fleury's (2.49, .913) but it's not a gaping chasm separating them.
And though much has been made of Fleury's playoff shortcomings, Lundqvist has a career playoff record of 30-37 and he's gotten the Rangers past the conference semifinals once in seven tries.
Fleury's strong start also brings him deeper into the discussion of the top goalies in the League. He's played 12 of the Penguins' 15 games due to Vokoun's absence and has responded better than imagined to the increased workload. Fleury's play is a major reason why the Penguins have the most points in the Eastern Conference.
"When you talk about Fleury it's easy to say he struggled in the last two playoffs," Weekes said. "He did. He didn't play very well in the last two playoffs and he knows that. On the other side of the coin you're talking about a guy who has won a Stanley Cup and has carried a team to a Stanley Cup Final. He didn't forget how to play goal overnight. You've got to have to balance it out a little bit."
So where does Fleury rank among the top goalies in the League? Well, he might not be on Lundqvist's lofty perch, but he's not all that far behind.


I was having a weekend away at a holiday house in Venus Bay with my husband Paul and our 2 year old son Tobey. It was an unusually hot weekend for March and we had fans going all day and the windows wide open all night. I was laying in bed around 4am, unable to sleep with busy thoughts running through my head, when I felt a gushing sensation and went to the bathroom to find that – unmistakably – my waters had broken.
We scrambled for the phone and the Yellow Pages and made our way first to Leongatha hospital, Tobey chattering away and eating Hot Cross Buns on the way. This small country-town hospital was darkened and a kind lone nurse let us in, agreed that my waters had gone – completely, and gently suggested that my baby may need to be born and that we should continue on to a hospital with appropriate facilities.
This took us to Monash Hospital, which has a NICU section, and I was promptly sent to a Delivery Suite. Here it was established that more information was needed to determine whether my baby should be born today or at a later date, and I was admitted as a patient in the Jessie McPherson section of the hospital. Over the next 48 hours I had blood tests, ultrasounds, and two doses of Steroid injections which would dramatically assist Emily's lungs should she need to be born – these were excruciatingly painful jabs in my bottom and thigh. While my blood test upon admission suggested no signs of infection, two days later my white cell information indicated infection had set in and an ultrasound showed my baby appearing listless within my now-dangerously unhealthy uterine environment.
With Foetal Compromise suspected, Emily was quickly delivered via emergency caesarian, at 27 weeks gestation. Upon being told that Emily needed to be born, I cried spontaneously and uncontrollably, and then shook so much I struggled to sign my name on the surgery consent form.
I was blessed to be allocated an incredibly adept obstetrician, Dr Danielle Wilkins, who conveyed calm and reassurance which alleviated the shock of the situation I had found myself in and allowed me to enjoy the sensation of becoming a mummy again while knowing that the medical care for me and my baby were absolutely optimum.
I was helped into a surgical gown and wheeled toward the delivery suite and met on the way by my husband running down the corridor to be with me. I felt so emotional that Paul had made it on time and could be there to hold my hand while Emily was born. My mum and sister arrived at the hospital also and waited anxiously outside the delivery suite. The operating theatre was large and it needed to be as two medical teams, one for Emily and one for myself, participated in the process.
The caesarian took around half an hour and during this time we were told that, if all was well, our baby could be held up for us to have a quick look. So we cried when Emily, weighing 1.174kgs, was held up at 11.26am for us to admire in a quick glance. She looked like a perfectly formed little baby, but tiny.
While I was being stitched and then in the recovery room, Paul and my mum and sister visited Emily as she lay on a special exposed warm bed in NICU Bay 8 where each baby had a constant bedside nurse and visits twice each day by a team of specialist doctors. It quickly became apparent that Bay 8 was where the most fragile babies were cared for, and that as their wellness improved, they would progress to Bay 7 and so on, and that Bay 1 meant readiness to go home.
Emily began feeding exclusively on IV fluids in her first days of life (a serious infection in her digestive system known as necrotising enterocolitis thankfully cleared up completely with an IV course of antibiotics), then gradually commenced breastmilk, beginning with 1 mil every two hours. Emily's tiny body was struggling against infections in her first few days, which included pneumonia and sepsis.
This picture shows Emily in her humidicrib with CPAP (Continuous Positive Air Pressure) attached. Emily's attempts to cry were completely silent early on. As Emily's lungs needed to be forced open to enable her to breathe at first, she developed Chronic Lung Disease. Emily's young lungs replenished themselves and were in good condition by the time she left hospital.
Kerry and Paul visited Emily every day to touch her, talk to her and sing to her. Emily was first allowed to be held at just over one week old, snuggled up in a heated blanket on mummy's lap, and a few days later daddy gave Emily her first kangaroo cuddle (skin-to-skin with baby huddled closely against the chest underneath their parent's clothing).
At two weeks old, Emily was transferred from Bay 8 to Bay 6 - signifying that she has reached a good point of stability. We were thrilled to hear a senior doctor comment to his team that "Emily is doing really well".
A huge milestone was when Emily was able to have baths – she looked completely relaxed in the warm water while we washed her.
At about 5 weeks old, Emily began a weaning off CPAP and this proceeded successfully, with her completely off CPAP a few days later. She was then transferred to an Open Cot rather than Humidicrib, in Bay 5 (Special Care rather than NICU). At this point Emily's tube/gavage feeds were 26 mils EBM every 2 hours. I kept up a steady routine of expressing and storing breastmilk so that Emily always had plenty to feed her as well a good backlog of EBM for later in the freezer.
Also around 5 weeks old, Emily was able to start wearing clothing – beginning with clothes from a Pumpkin Patch range designed for dolls! Here is Emily wearing her first top. Her tiny nappies were especially made to fit premature babies, and her clothes were sized about 000000.
Notably, a heart valve which was open at birth (previously causing a heart murmur as well as anaemia resulting from insufficient haemoglobin levels) had resolved itself and was no longer symptomatic.
Planning then began for a transfer to Mitcham Hospital, a small local hospital where Emily could be close to home. We had a setback where Emily had a big brady on the day she was due to transfer, but eventually she moved to Mitcham as planned and we were able to see her a lot more often and proceed with breastfeeding more readily.
This photo was taken at Mitcham Hospital on the day Emily was due to be born. She came home 2 days later - June 12, 2005 (mummy's birthday!).
Emily breastfed relatively well (given her prematurity) but suction was inconsistent and we relied a lot on EBM bottles – at 4 and a half months old Emily's intake had become purely bottle-fed EBM and – having taken medication to boost my breastmilk supply and struggled on with expressing milk around the clock, I finally gave up trying to breastfeed Emily. It was a weight off mine and the entire family's shoulders when we switched to feeding Emily formula instead.
At 4 months old Emily was hospitalised with bronchiolitis, and at 8 months old she was hospitalised with croup, each time for a couple of days. It was explained to me that her airway is narrow due to her premature arrival and that her history of Chronic Lung Disease made her vulnerable, and hence her breathing became strained during these illnesses. Since the bouts of bronchiolitis and croup, Emily has been generally healthy and robust.
This is Emily at 6 months corrected (9 months actual). Emily impressed her paediatrician by meeting all her 6-month developmental milestones, many earlier than expected.
Emily began crawling at 8 months corrected (11 months actual) and began walking at 15 months corrected (18 months actual).
Below is a photo of our gorgeous Emily just after Christmas 2006, dressed up as a fairy and playing in her sandpit. As a family we spent 4 months in London in 2006 and Emily adapted quickly to this change of environment and absorbed so much from the experience.
Emily is now 2 years old, and is a happy and socially confident child. She has enthusiastically participated in a range of activities with her peers including Gymbaroo, swimming lessons, Mother's Group, and occasional care.
We believe her resilient and strong nature partly stems from her prematurity, and we love everything about our beautiful girl.


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Steady As They Go: The uncluttered appeal of The Black Keys and The Raconteurs
You need to take this music for what it is.
Karla Smith
Expectations are so much higher when well-known, experienced artists deliver new music. Bands like The Black Keys and The Raconteurs (The Saboteurs here in Australia) have produced that much impressive, timeless rock n' roll music that when both announced new albums, the hype was through the roof, for good reason. I was over the moon to hear Let's Rock by The Black Keys and Help Us Stranger by The Raconteurs, as I am always impressed by what both bands can produce, but it seems not everyone was as impressed as I was.
Successful bands like these two are harshly criticized because of their status and criticized even harder because of their previous success. It is harder to impress when releasing new music. I have observed that it has been increasingly difficult for The Black Keys and The Raconteurs to please everyone. The bands have been criticized for lacking clarity, being less compelling, dull, a lack of conviction and less ambitious. Most of these criticisms have come from Pitchfork and other sites, but in no way do I think either albums are lacking anything. Both bands have taken a break and have come back passionate and determined to once again produce some classics.
The Black Keys have released a solid album. Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney work so well together, they know exactly how to make rock n' roll catchy without throwing out the integrity (like in "Go"). They supply guitar riffs in pretty much every song that encourages you to play along, as it's not overly fancy music, yet is so thrilling. If you isolated all aspects of The Black Keys, it wouldn't seem as effective, but the compilation of the drums, guitar, and Auerbach's diverse voice makes for the tastiest recipe. One of the main attractions of The Black Keys, is the fact that Auerbach has such a sweet, gentle voice. And this great combination of classic rock sounds paired with that delicate, skillful voice that is a match that is not often seen. Let's Rock was written from scratch in the studio, there was no pre-planning or recording, and if that ain't rock n' roll then I don't know what is. Carney told RollingStone; "Auerbach played most of the guitar solos live; he'd simply stop playing rhythm and kick into lead". They've taken a well-earned break, and have come back excited and inspired to work together again and their melodies and riffs are approachable, catchy and just as impressive as every other album they have produced.
The Raconteurs are just as well strung and assembled. Right from the very beginning "Help Me Stranger" is ready to impress you. The album demonstrates a nice variety of fast and slow, acoustic and restraint, and going all out. It showcases the best of all the band members. "Don't Bother Me" parades the full brunt of the band. With the classic Jack White yell/sing, it's flat out from the beginning and that damn break down in the middle gets me real excited every time. I can't fault this song. It changes paces and direction and manages to stay the same amount of epic all throughout. According to the commentary, "Shine The Light On Me" was recorded for White's solo album, which you can tell straight away; it's very Jack White. What's impressive about The Raconteurs is that they can explore influences of other genres within their songs. "Somedays I Don't Feel Like Trying" adds a country/western guitar that brings a different feel to this song, and the elements of doo-wops and different harmonies have produced songs like "Now That You're Gone", a type of ballad within a heavy rock n' roll song. When I first listened to this album, my notes for "Sunday Driver" read: 'the guitar riff is awesome, the bridge is awesome, everything about this song is awesome.' You can feel the proudness of this song, it's just an amazing rock n' roll track that offers everything a song like this needs to offer, and the same can be said about "Live A Lie". "What's Yours Is Mine" screams Jack White. The intro is bloody fantastic and the sounds of both guitars are impressive. The harmonies are lovely, the collaboration between them is well heard, it always sounds like a group effort, even if it stems from one person and then grows to everyone. It's a good mix of White's ideas running crazy, and then homing in with Brendon Benson's melodic genius. The Raconteurs are a band that really know what they are doing.
The New York Times claimed, "In an era of blatantly computerized pop, Let's Rock flaunts basics from yesteryear: guitars, drums, vocals". And this is where I think there has been some misinterpretation. You need to take this music for what it is. Yes, so many bands excel and explore different pathways and there are so many new pathways musicians can take these days, but The Black Keys along with The Raconteurs are flaunting the basics and the roots of music, perhaps it is even more impressive that they can restrain from additions to their music (that they probably would get criticized for even more). This music works and they are showcasing what works so well. They're not being pretentious about it, if anything the simplicity of it should show a humbleness. It's just epic guitar riffs and composed music, if you've got the knowledge and experience why should they be punished for that? Both albums are playful and exciting. I stand my ground when I say both albums are needed today. They are uncluttered and are both strong outings by professionals of the trade.
The Black Keys' Let's Rock and The Raconteurs Help Us Stranger are both out now.
Related Topics:Jack WhitespotlightThe Black KeysThe RaconteursThe SaboteursThe White Stripes
The White Stripes – Icky Thump
The Raconteurs – Broken Boy Soldiers
The White Stripes – Get Behind Me Satan

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Hitomi. . HD Wallpaper and background images in the Dead or Alive club tagged: alive dead or doa hitomi.
This Dead or Alive wallpaper might contain balsa, kayak, bikini, dalawang piraso swimsuit, and damit-pampaligo.


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Home Film Sex and Brandy
Sex and Brandy
Aubrey Plaza gets freaky, filthy, and funny in The To Do List.
KRISTIAN LIN
Aubrey Plaza sucks on a push pop while preparing to go through the items on "The To Do List."
Aubrey Plaza gets herself a whole new act in The To Do List, ditching the jaded, sarcastic persona she assumes on TV's Parks and Recreation to portray a girl who's wide-eyed and earnest as she takes a self-administered crash course in sex. Watching her play such a different character isn't the only attraction in this rumbustious and extremely filthy comedy, but it's perhaps the most entertaining one.
The movie is set in the summer of 1993, and Plaza plays Brandy Klark, a bookish, Hillary Clinton-worshipping high-school valedictorian who becomes fed up with the taunts of her peers and her bitchy older sister Amber (Rachel Bilson) over still being a virgin. The hyper-organized Brandy makes a list of sexual activities to engage in before she goes off to college and eyeballs potential sex partners in her job as a lifeguard at the local pool. In the pre-internet age, she has to gather information from Amber, her own not-so-well-informed friends (Alia Shawkat and Sarah Steele), and back issues of Penthouse magazine. No wonder she thinks "teabagging" involves making tea.
This is the first feature by Funny or Die writer Maggie Carey, and she's not the smoothest director. The rift that develops between Brandy and her friends late in the story doesn't ring true, but it does lead to a funny musical reconciliation scene that's typical of the wealth of comic material that Carey comes up with. In particular, she invents enough awkward sex scenes to fill a season of Girls, including one between Amber and Brandy's boss (played by Carey's real-life husband, Bill Hader) and a shower scene with Brandy and a Kurt Cobain wannabe rock singer (Andy Samberg) who just dyed his hair. Encouragingly, there are slapstick laughs to be found in the nonsex scenes, too, as when Amber tries to teach Brandy some dance moves or when the guy who likes Brandy (Johnny Simmons) gets tangled up in his car's shoulder belt.
Mostly this movie is a great showcase for Plaza, who has never been called on to do so much physical comedy before. Her surprising gameness wins her huge laughs whether she's trying to masturbate — and doing it all wrong — or wearing an ill-fitting bikini to catch the attention of a hot fellow lifeguard (Scott Porter). She takes to it all well and puts an endearing spin on the role of a girl who's more attractive than she thinks, even if she's flat-chested, a fact that the movie has quite a bit of fun with.
I could end this review by pointing out how few films like these are told from a female point of view. However, The To Do List (originally entitled The Hand Job, by the way) is funny enough that it doesn't need any special pleading on its behalf, and it's considerably better than that other high-profile female-centric comedy this season, The Heat. Do yourself a favor and find a theater playing it. Or, as Brandy puts it, "Let's get to work, vagina!"
[box_info]
Starring Aubrey Plaza. Written and directed by Maggie Carey. Rated R.
[/box_info]
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text:
Sketchy Details
Horror/Haunts/Halloween
Music, Views
Best Music Videos of 2012
29 January 2013 Robert 1 Comment
2012 was a really interesting year for music videos. A lot of great videos came out from independent and international artists that became far more popular than anything put out by the major labels in the US. Many times, these were low budget affairs with excellent execution. Other times, they were elaborate collaborations with animation studios and large casts. And then there's a Korean rapper dancing like a pony to mock a certain cultural stereotype in his country.
These are the Best Music Videos of 2012. Six honorable mentions followed by a ranked top six. You can also click on over to the fourth page for a YouTube playlist of all the videos.
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra, "Want It Back"
Ben Folds Five, "Do It Anyway"
The Guild, "I'm the One That's Cool"
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, "Fashion Monster"
Le1f, "Wut"
Manlia Luzon & Latrice Royale, "The Chop"
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Previous PostAmour Review (Film, 2012)Next PostBest Performers in Limited Roles of 2012
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text:
Nationals' Jonathan Papelbon finally apologizes…
Nationals' Jonathan Papelbon finally apologizes publicly for choken Bryce Harper
By Jeff Faraudo |
PUBLISHED: February 19, 2016 at 4:43 p.m. | UPDATED: May 17, 2018 at 8:12 a.m.
It only took Washington National relief pitcher Jonathan Papelbon 4 1/2 months to deliver his first public apology for choking Bryce Harper, his National League MVP teammate.
"I was in the wrong," Papelbon told reporters Friday at spring training in Viera, Fla. "It should never have gone down that way and I understand that. I had a lot of time this offseason to reflect on that. . . . I have been in contract with Bryce, J-Dub (Jayson Werth) and (Max) Scherzer and all these guys. I think the main goal is to know everybody here has each other's back."
Papelbon was suspended four games without pay — for which he and the MLB Players Association filed a grievance — in the wake of grabbing Harper by the throat during a game on Sept. 29. Friday was the first time he'd spoken publicly about the episode.
It was the first time Papelbon has spoke publicly about the incident in which he grabbed Harper's throat during a game on Sept. 28. Papelbon was suspended four games without pay, a sanction Papelbon and the MLB Players Association filed grievance over.
Jeff Faraudo
Police log for Jan. 28


text:
Q: How to find all elements with a custom html attribute regardless of html tag using Beautiful Soup? I have two cases where i want to scrape html tags with custom html attributes
This is the example of the html.  How do you scrape all the elements with the custom attribute "limit".

Bar

Foo

Baz

The second case is similar but with all the same html tags

Bar

Bar

Bar

My question is different than How to find tags with only certain attributes - BeautifulSoup because the latter targets attribute values with a specific tag whereas my question finds attributes only regardless of tag or value

A: # First case:
soup.find_all(attrs={"limit":True})

# Second case:
soup.find_all("div", attrs={"limit":True})

Reference:

*

*http://www.crummy.com/software/BeautifulSoup/bs4/doc/#kwargs

*http://www.crummy.com/software/BeautifulSoup/bs4/doc/#find-all

If your attribute name doesn't collide with either Python keywords or soup.find_all named args, the syntax is simpler:
soup.find_all(id=True)

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text:
Review - Rocky Horror Show 2018: the usual rapturous welcome
Above: Timewarp time and below right: Janet (Michelle Smitheram) and Frank-N-Furter (Adam Rennie)
Rocky Horror Show 2018
By Richard O'Brien
Directed by Christopher Luscombe
Musical Director Dave Skelton
Choreography by Nathan M Wright
Produced by Howard Panter, John Frost and GWB Entertainment
Season: January 17-February 11. Bookings: qpac.com.au or 136 246. Running time: two hours including interval.
After all the trouble and turmoil Dr. Frank-N-Furter arrived with the usual rapturous welcome in Brisbane. Adam Rennie wore the pearls and fishnets and wore them well. He deserved the acclaim he was given after the hectic finale. He had been thrust into the role at a moment's notice and yet it looked as though he had been playing the role from the start as he continued the happy-go-lucky ghoul with a penchant for fun tradition, but also revealed the darker side; the temper tantrums and a violent streak.
I saw the 2014 version of the play and described it as "more of a rock concert than a play." This time though, after the all-too-familiar short opening act with the dramatic entrance of Frank and the two top songs – The Timewarp and Sweet Transvestite - we saw a lot more emphasis on plot and character.
Mind you, this is not to say that the choreography, the band and the singing of the whole cast was not terrific, it was. I loved every dance segment and was surprised at the sweet harmony created at times.
The plot is a compendium of the Hammer horror and sci-fi movies of the 1950s that were so popular at the drive-in movies. Frank, like Mary Shelley's Dr Frankenstein, has created life in his laboratory, but this time it's not some badly sewn together body parts but a fully fit looking muscle man he calls Rocky played once again by circus and stage star Brendan Irving. Brad and Janet, newly engaged, blow a tyre and seek help from the monster's mysterious mansion and then everything goes pear-shaped for the unfortunate duo.
The cast was strong, with an exceptional Brad played by Rob Mallet, who had one of the best voices on stage. He played the nerd perfectly and yet gave him a bit of backbones in the end.
He was a lot of fun – and Janet was a delight as played by Michelle Smitheram.
Kristian Lavercombe was another ring-in from the 2014 production and he showed he had forgotten nothing as he played the frenetic hunchbacked Riff Raff and James Bryers was great as Frank's rock singing experiment gone wrong, Eddie.
It was only once scene but he rocked beautifully with the Sweet Patootie number.
I also thoroughly enjoyed Cameron Daddo's appearances. He was most suave Narrator since the days of Stuart Wagstaff. It was nice work- and he dealt with some loud hecklers very efficiently.
Frank's laboratory assistants, Magenta played by Amanda Harrison and Columbia (Nadia Komazec) were as sexy as they come.
I was wondering how the cast would cope with the bed scene, the one that allegedly got Craig McLachlan into strife. It is a full-on simulated sex scene edged with humour. It was on opening night too but with a brilliant comedy performance from Adam Rennie it was a whole heap funnier. It was ruder, cruder and brought gasps, squeals, and screams of shock and laughter from the audience but thanks to Rennie, Smitheram and Mallett It was outrageously funny.
As before there were sound problems with lyrics being drowned the band – the words to Rocky's Sword of Damocles were lost completely, I did not hear one word.
But little things like that did not bother the main bunch of fans, they cheered, stamped and bounced along and they were on their feet arms waving and bodies swaying and dancing to the Timewarp finale.
A great night was had my most.


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Indian Youth Congress today, staged a protest against NDA Government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on looting the Nation.
Editor February 16, 2018 Political No Comments
AA News
In the biggest banking fraud in India's history, Nirav Modi, a billionaire, luxury jewellery designer is the main accused. Government run 'Punjab National Bank' (PNB) has detected "fraudulent and unauthorised" transactions of over Rs. 11,400. The prime accused, Nirav Modi has already fled the country.
No action was taken either by PMO or any other authority, instead Nirav Modi was seen in Davos at the WEF accompanying PM Modi. He then fled the country, in return the bank and the nation suffered a loss close to Rs. 12,000. Punjab National Bank it self-has reported the total loss to be above Rs.11,400 crore. What the Modi Government had hidden from us is that there is also an exposure of Rs. 9,872 crore of other banks with Gitanjali Gems Limited, a company promoted by Shri Mehul Choksi.
The entire system was bypassed to favour both the accused. All regulatory mechanisms broke down. Everything escaped the eyes of auditors and investigators when the country is hit with the biggest banking fraud in the history. The Prime Minister must break his silence and answer the Nation. It is high time that the country needs to wake up and fight these dacoits who are looting the country.
IYC protest began from IYC National office at Raisina Road and was forcefully stopped on the way towards PMO. Many activists have been detained by police and police used forceful measures to stop the march. IYC National President Shri Amrinder Singh Raja said that PM Modi needs to answer the Nation as to why no action is being taken against these continuous scams occurring in the Country.'
This protest march of IYC was led under the leadership of IYC National President Sri Amarinder Singh Raja, along with IYC National Secretary Shri. Sitaram Lamba . IYC Sec. Abid Kashmiri, IYC Sec. Dheeraj Meena . IYC Sec. Praveen Kumar, DPYC President Vikash Chikara, DPYC VP Mahendra Chaudhary, DPYC VP Ranvijay Singh Lochab and delhi state office bearers and youth activists.
दिल्ली प्रदेश पूर्वांचल कांग्रेस कार्यक्रम
By Editor January 13, 2018
बवाना चुनाव नतीजो के बाद तीनो ...
By Editor August 28, 2017
आठ वर्ष बाद स्लैक्शन ग्रेड मंजूर
By Editor January 1, 2018


text:
is a Japanese politician of the Liberal Democratic Party, a member of the House of Representatives in the Diet (national legislature).

Overviews

A native of Chiba, Chiba and graduate of Chuo University,  he was elected for the first time in 1980 after an unsuccessful run in 1979. In 1996 he served as Director General of the Japan Defense Agency.

References

External links
  in Japanese.

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

Japanese defense ministers
Ministers of Justice of Japan
Members of the House of Representatives (Japan)
Chuo University alumni
People from Chiba (city)
1939 births
Living people
Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) politicians
21st-century Japanese politicians

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The latest news from the International Finn Association.
In a fantastic opening ceremony reflecting both Finn class and Greek culture, the 2015 Finn World Masters in Kavala, Greece was declared open on Saturday evening. It was a very warm welcome in a warm climate with the stage set on the quayside overlooking the race area.The massed crowds were joined by class and local dignitaries including the Mayor, the Deputy Regional Governor and three members of the Greek parliament.
It is an understatement to say that the Finn Class has received an exceptionally warm welcome in Kavala. Half of the main waterside street has been closed to traffic to create a dinghy and trailer park in the centre of town. Finns are littered everywhere, mainly in front of the bars that flank both sides of the street. Nova Sports, a national TV company and sponsor of the event was also present filming the ceremony and interviewing sailors and dignitaries for broadcast across Greece.
Kavala is located in northern Greece on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos, in the north of the Aegean Sea. The sailors have so far enjoyed nice breezes in temperatures in the high 20s. Sailors and boats starting arriving more than one week ago and preparation is in full swing ready for the start of racing on Monday.
Andy Denison (GBR), President of the Finn World Masters replied, "The Finn World Masters is deeply grateful for the most generous and warm hearted welcome. We are overwhelmed by your hospitality and we thank you from the bottom our hearts. I hope this is a gateway for future events for you as there has been fantastic enthusiasm by everyone here to welcome us and and it seems the whole town is keen to host the sailors." Then last year's winner Michael Maier (CZE) was asked to come on stage present Mr Keramidas with the winner's trophy to be kept in safe keeping until the conclusion of the championship next Friday.
Then Andy Denison handed over the Finn Class flag to Kostas Keramidas to officially declare the championship open. Everyone then moved to the nearby Galaxy Hotel for a lavish Welcome Party which lasted well into the night.
The pre-entry list contains 244 sailors from 27 nations. Equipment inspection and registration concludes on Sunday, with a practice race scheduled for Sunday afternoon. Then from Monday to Friday, eight races are scheduled, including a medal race for the Top Ten Plus (top 10 plus those on equal points with tenth) as the finale.
Copyright © 2015 International Finn Association, All rights reserved.


We can recycle for FSC products. : Custom-made Pulp Manufacturer, Nisseysangyo Co.,Ltd.
We can recycle for FSC products.
We were judged for an evaluation of FSC certification on January 28th.
We received a new certification for " FSC-Controlled Wood " and " a broker of FSC products " this time.
So we can recycle any of your for used paper FSC products.


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text:
Fieldfisher advises administrators of listed pharma company on ground-breaking IP disposal
Our team led advised joint administrators of Redx Pharma plc on the disposal of assets, including patents in the Redx BTK program, for the sum of US$40 million.
A multi-disciplinary team led by Restructuring and Insolvency partner Stewart Perry, Life Sciences partner Alison Dennis and Equity Capital Markets partner Jonathan Brooks has advised the joint administrators of Redx Pharma plc (Jason Baker and Miles Needham of FRP Advisory LLP), on the disposal of certain assets, including patents in the Redx BTK program, for the sum of US$40 million.
The sale by the listed company, which entered administration in May after failing to repay a secured loan, will pave the way for the company to continue as a going concern after the administration, and return to trading, with all creditors being paid in full. The company will then be in a position to resume the development of its other drug programs. The transaction has been described as the first of its kind on the AIM market.
The disposal of assets in insolvency situations often presents diverse legal and practical challenges to office-holders, but in this case those challenges were exacerbated by the fact that the company's shares are listed on the AIM market, meaning that the administrators had to navigate an additional regulatory regime, on top of the highly specialised nature of the pharmaceutical assets being disposed of. The intricacies of the transaction were such the team made urgent Court applications on behalf of the client pursuant to the Insolvency Act 1986 and the Insolvency Rules 2016 during the course of negotiations, in order to avoid the publication of commercially sensitive information.
Restructuring and Insolvency partner Stewart Perry commented: "Fieldfisher were pleased to be able to assist our clients at FRP Advisory in offering the necessary specialised insolvency, securities and life sciences skills in relation to this complex and unprecedented transaction within a very short timetable, enabling all creditors to be paid in full, the company to be rescued and the eventual restoration of its AIM listing."


An old man was selling toys at the market in Bagdad. His buyers, knowing he had weak sight, would sometimes pay him with fake coins.
The old man noticed the trick but didn't say anything.
In his prayers he asked God to forgive those who had tricked him.
'Perhaps they don't have much money and want to buy gifts for their children,' he would say to himself.
Time passed by and the man died.
Standing before the portal of Paradise, he prayed once again. 'Lord,' he said, 'I am a sinner.
'What should I forgive? How can I judge someone who has never judged anyone throughout his life?


It comes as a shock to return to these brutally described and gruesomely detailed tragedies after reading Seneca's eloquent and rational arguments for stoicism in the face of anger, grief, misery and disaster in his letters and essays. In particular, the scenes in this play describing the unnatural entrails and gore of the sacrificed animals for augury, and where Oedipus gouges out his eyes in horror and remorse, are graphic and terrifying.
The lengthy Chorus interludes between acts are still present, and I must confess to reading through them rapidly to get to the next Act. They probably deserve better than my impatience grants them. Also annoying is Seneca's too-frequent use of aliases instead of direct naming of characters : Dis (Pluto/Hades), Lyaeus (Bacchus), 'master of the winds' (Neptune/Poseidon), the Cnossian King (Minos), all very poetic and probably obvious to the audiences of the time, but send me scurrying repeatedly to the footnotes.
Again, Seneca has retold a Greek play, in this case Oedipus the King by Sophocles. I went back and read my post covering that play (https://chronolit.com/2016/03/21/39-oedipus-the-king-by-sophocles-429-bc/) and found the earlier version more satisfying and quotable. The Greek tragedies certainly continued to dominate theatre 400 years later, at least from what examples of Latin plays survive today.


Today's guest is Jamie Lerner. Jamie is a therapist, a coach, and the co-author of the book, The Ever-Loving Essence of You.
You know, I really have enjoyed our last couple of weeks with Taryn Voget. And they align precisely with our guest today. Two weeks ago we talked about Putting Yourself First (by Loving Yourself) and then last week we did a fabulous show in how to Discover Your Genius during which we put our producer Paul Roberts through a process of discovering his genius. It was a blast!
Today I'd like to conclude these discussions, with what I'm calling The Wonder of You, with a very special guest, Jamie Lerner.
I'm excited to see exactly what emerges in our discussion with Jamie on The Wonder of You.
A bit of background on Jamie Lerner: After earning her MSW at Loyola University, Jamie Lerner spent several years in private practice, working with adults and couples. As a therapist she continues to explore the many avenues to maintaining a balanced and happy connection with yourself and others. She has developed what she refers to as an integrative approach to well being.
Jamie believes that people are amazing, beautiful, filled with light and love, passion, joy and enthusiasm. She also believes that we are beings with intuitive knowing and infinite intelligence. We can learn anything, can have everything and w are powerful manifesters that thrive in well-being.


The field of panda research is still full of many mysteries. Cutting-edge technology is needed to advance research. A mother panda's labor pains can last 6 to 7 hours and it's extremely difficult to capture the moment of birth. In addition, a mother panda who has just given birth is very sensitive to her environment and the behavior of people around her. Because the GH5 enables long recordings, we were able to capture the long birthing process uncut. Being able to turn off the shutter sound also helped us to shoot post-birth scenes without disturbing the mother panda. The GH5 continues to help us in providing invaluable data for our research.
A public social organization for promoting the understanding of pandas and preserving the natural environment. With many professional experts as their members, they continue to collect attention and support from all over the world.
Panasonic fully supports the Wolong Panda Club in their efforts to protect and promote understanding of pandas.
What does an untouched world - seemingly unchanged for a thousand years - look like?
Who exactly are these men who dedicate their lives to Indian "Kushti" wrestling?
What's it like when mother Earth reveals her most vibrant moments?


The average pay for a Layout Artist is €49,444 a year and €24 an hour in Finland. The average salary range for a Layout Artist is between €35,548 and €60,754. On average, a Bachelor's Degree is the highest level of education for a Layout Artist. This compensation analysis is based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in Finland.


text:
Sears Holdings Names President for Jewelry Business Unit
Michelle Pearlman to Lead Kmart and Sears Jewelry Teams
Sears Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: SHLD) announced today that Michelle Pearlman has joined Sears Holdings as SVP and president -- Jewelry.
Pearlman was most recently with Ann Taylor Stores Corporation, where she served as EVP, ATC Direct, leading the internet sales division, including AnnTaylor.com and AnnTaylorLOFT.com. She was responsible for e-commerce merchandising, marketing, technology and operations. She joined Ann Taylor in 2004 after five years at McKinsey & Company, most recently as an Associate Principal where she managed turnaround and growth strategies with numerous retail clients and prior to that, spent seven years with Procter & Gamble where she held brand management and customer business development roles.
"Michelle brings a wealth of expertise in managing profitable online and traditional retail businesses and driving operational turnarounds," said Bruce Johnson, Interim CEO and president of Sears Holdings. "As we continue to work to transform our business, we have been concentrating on strengthening our leadership bench. Since we announced our new business unit structure, we have been able to add a number of talented business presidents with extensive experience running related operations including: Jim Barr (Microsoft Corporation), John Froman (Namco, LLC and Circuit City), Nick Grayston (Foot Locker, Inc.), Craig Israel (Robinson's-May/Meier & Frank and Kaufmann's), Stu Reed (Motorola) and Guenther Trieb (Procter & Gamble)."
Pearlman holds a MBA from the University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business. She also earned a Bachelor's degree from Stanford University.
About Sears Holdings Corporation:
Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fourth largest broadline retailer, with approximately $50 billion in annual revenues, and with approximately 3,800 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, home electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are offered exclusively in the U.S. by Kmart and in Canada by Sears Canada. The Company is the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 13 million service calls made annually. For more information, visit Sears Holdings' website at http://www.searsholdings.com/.
FCMN Contact: kregan1@searshc.com
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A study of spatial heterogeneity of groundwater geochemistry is conducted within an abandoned underground quarry of chalk. An associated geophysical study (electromagnetic mapping at low induction number, and electrical resistivity tomography) is carried out on the surface. It allows to determine the structural geometry of superficial formations, in order to understand the link between the geochemical spatial variability of the lakes and the properties of the environmental medium.


Don t Just Get In By the Skin of Your Teeth Again, let the gentleman of birth and fortune but have this intention, and you will see how it will carry him from every appearance of evil to every instance of piety and goodness. He cannot live by chance, or as humor and fancy carry him, because he knows that nothing can please God but a wise and regular course of life. He cannot live in idleness and indulgence, in sports and gaming, in pleasures and intemperance, in vain expenses and high living, because these things cannot be turned into means of piety and holiness, or made so many parts of a wise ad religious life. As he thus removes from all appearance of evil, so he hastens and aspires after every instance of goodness. He does not ask what is allowable and pardonable, but what is commendable and praiseworthy. He does not ask whether God will forgive the folly of our lives, the madness of our pleasures, the vanity of our expenses, the richness of our equipage, and the careless consumption of our time; but he asks whether God is pleased with these things, or whether these are the appointed ways of gaining His favor. He does not inquire whether it be pardonable to hoard up money, to adorn ourselves with diamonds, and gild our chariots whilst the widow and the orphan, the sick and the prisoner want to be relieved. But he asks whether God has required these things at our hands, whether we shall be called to account at the last day for the neglect of them; because it is not his intent to live in such ways as, for aught we know, God may perhaps pardon, but to be diligent in such ways as we know God will infallibly reward.
Love, My True Character To say that I am made in the image of God is to say that love is the reason for my existence, for God is love. Love is my true identity. Selflessness is my true self. Love is my true character. Love is my name. Thomas Merton – New Seeds of Contemplation, ©1961 by the Abbey of Gethsemani, Inc.
Faith the Overcomes the World That man is perfect in faith who can come to God in the utter dearth of his feelings and desires, with the weight of lowly thoughts, failures, neglect, and wandering forgetfulness, and say to Him, "You are my refuge because You are my home." Such a faith will not lead to presumption. The man who can pray such a prayer will know better than another that God is not mocked; that tears and entreaties will not work on Him to the breach of one of His laws; that forgot to give a man because he asked for that which was not in harmony with His laws of truth and right would be to damn that man — to cast him into the outer darkness. And he knows that out of that prison the just, imperturbable God will let no man come until he has paid every cent. George MacDonald – The Best of George MacDonald © 2006 Cook Communications Ministries.
The Cause for Pause and Applause That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or — if they think there is not — at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it. C. S. Lewis – Mere Christianity, copyright 1952, C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd.


The physicians of Illinois CancerCare, P.C. have a wide range of research interests that deal with cancer treatment, cancer prevention, and symptom management. Through the Heartland Cancer Research National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program (Heartland Cancer Research NCORP), the physicians are able to bring state-of-the-art cancer research to the residents of central and western Illinois. The physicians of Illinois CancerCare participate in research with many large national cancer research bases, including the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (Alliance), ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, NRG Oncology, Southwest Oncology Group, the University of Rochester Cancer Consortium (URCC) as well as other top medical research facilities, such as Mayo Clinic.
The physicians also have a strong interest in promising new agents that can be used alone or in combination with standard accepted therapies. The physicians maintain a membership in the University of Chicago's Personalized Cancer Care Consortium (PCCC) and continue to participate directly with numerous pharmaceutical companies, opening doors to the promising new agents that could become the standard therapy of tomorrow. Illinois CancerCare has a history of bringing quality, groundbreaking research opportunities to the people of central and western Illinois both in the treatment and in the prevention of cancer. Illinois CancerCare played a part in early research of drugs like Oxaliplatin, CPT-11, and Procrit, which have become very important parts of the arsenal of chemotherapy and supportive drugs.
Currently, Illinois CancerCare has clinical trials for many types of cancers. Therapies include many new biological agents and targeting compounds. For a listing of current trials, please visit the clinical trials section of the website. For more information about a specific clinical trial, please contact Illinois CancerCare at 1-800-793-2262.


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Q: IntRange with long parameters I was looking into IntRange implementation at Android support library, and I noticed both from and to parameters are of type long, and by default they use long max and min values.
Here is the official documentation for a reference: https://developer.android.com/reference/android/support/annotation/IntRange.html#from()
My question is, why is it a long if it is defining an int range, why could it be required or useful at all?

A:
Denotes that the annotated element should be an int or long in the given range

In the documentation it is noted that the annotated element should be an int or long so I guess it is to avoid creating a separate class for LongRange.
And as the long values can be way more than int values therefore the IntRange.from() and IntRange.to() should be of type Long


1. Both these criminal revision applications arise out of the same judgment by the learned Civil Judge, (Junior Division) and Judicial Magistrate, First Class, Gangapur in Miscellaneous Criminal Application No. 2 of 1976 on his file and they arise out of the following facts.
2. Initially, Riyasatbi (hereinafter referred to as "the wife") filed an application for maintenance for herself and for daughter Najmabi (original petitioner No. 2) against Shaikh Jani (hereinafter referred to as "the husband") at the rate of Rs. 175/- per month. It is not disputed that Riyasatbi and Shaikh Jani were married to each other and the marriage is still subsisting. The wife alleged that the relations between the couple were cordial for about five to six years after the marriage and thereafter the husband started ill-treating her on flimsy grounds. The wife further alleged that on one occasion the husband beat her so heavily with an iron rod that she was admitted to the hospital. She alleged further that thereafter the husband drove her out of the house along with the child and thereafter did not care for their maintenance at all. She further alleged that the husband was having sufficient means and hence this application.
3. The husband resisted this application and he denied ill-treatment and beating as alleged by the wife. He offered to maintain her in his house. He contended that the wife herself left his house of her own accord without his consent and against his will. According to him, he tried to bring her back to his house but the wife herself refused to accompany him. He further contended that he issued a notice to her calling upon her to stay with him, but she refused to do so. He contended further that his wife is able to maintain herself. He denied that he had any income from any landed property.
4. The learned Magistrate recorded the evidence and ultimately held that the petitioners proved that the opponent neglected and refused to maintain them and so he awarded Rs. 40/- p.m. for the wife and Rs. 25/- per month for the child from the husband.
5. Being aggrieved by this order of granting maintenance, the husband preferred Criminal Revision Application No. 4 of 1979 in the Sessions Court at Aurangabad, and being aggrieved by the meagre amount of maintenance, the wife preferred Criminal Revision Applications No. 10 of 1979. Both these criminal revision applications were heard together by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Aurangabad, and were disposed of by a common judgment. The learned Additional Sessions Judge found that the finding of the trial Court that the husband refused or neglected to maintain the wife was not at all supported by the record of the case. The learned Additional Sessions Judge held that the wife has miserably failed to prove that she was ill-treated by her husband at any time and consequently, the learned Judge held that the trial Court was wrong in awarding separate maintenance to the wife but, according to the learned Additional Sessions Judge, the order of maintenance in favour of the child was actually legal and proper. The learned Additional Sessions Judge, therefore, dismissed the criminal revision application filed by the wife and partially allowed the criminal revision application filed by the husband. In the last mentioned application, he set aside the order of the trial Court granting maintenance at Rs. 40/- per month to the wife, but confirmed the order of the trial court granting maintenance at Rs. 25/- per month to the child. Feeling aggrieved by these two orders, the wife has preferred these two criminal revision applications in this Court.
While making these observations, this Court relied upon a decision of the Supreme Court in AIR 1979 SC 663, State of Orissa v. Nakula Sahu and Others. There can hardly be any dispute about the proposition of law that is laid down by this Court in the aforesaid ruling. As against this Shri A.M. Dabir, learned advocate appearing for the husband contended before me that the finding of the trial Court was perverse and was not based on any evidence whatsoever on record and, therefore, the learned Additional Sessions Judge was right, according to him in interfering with the finding of the trial Court so far as the maintenance to the wife was concerned, We shall, therefore, proceed to the judgment of the trial Court to find out whether the trial Court had really considered all the aspects in deciding the case.
7. If we come to paragraph 4 of the judgment of the trial Court, there is nothing in this paragraph which is worth considering. In this paragraph, the learned Magistrate made a reference to the stories put up by the rival parties and the learned Magistrate observed that as there were no pleadings by either side, it was useless to consider that evidence and in this manner, he has rightly ignored that evidence. Then we come to paragraph 5 of his judgment and therein he has referred to the evidence of the wife. He referred to the fact that the wife was staying with her brother at Ghodegaon for the last two years, and then relying upon the fact that during these two years, the husband did not provide anything either in cash or in kind to the wife, he jumped to the conclusion that the wife Was entitled to separate maintenance and similarly he relied upon the petitioner's (that is wife's) sole testimony that her husband and his mother mercilessly beat her and drove her out of the house. This is thus, clear that only paragraph 5 is worth considering for ascertaining whether the trial Court has rightly considered all the aspects of the case. Unfortunately we find that the trial Court has not at all considered the oral evidence on record. Shri Dabir was to a certain extent right when he urged that there is no evidence of any doctor, etc, to show that the wife was beaten by the husband. 1 find from the facts stated by the trial Court in paragraph 2 of the judgment that the wife alleged that it was only once that her husband heavily beat her with iron rod for which she was admitted to the hospital. In this background, the learned Additional Sessions Judge was right when he observed that no evidence was led to show that the wife was really admitted to the hospital and that she had sustained any injuries, so that this circumstantial evidence could be read in support of the statement of the wife that she was assaulted by her husband and by her mother-in-law. The trial Court has not considered this aspect at all. The learned Magistrate has observed that it is impossible for a lady to get independent and actual eye-witness about the ill-treatment. About this observation, it may be said that it is correct one, because no person would beat his wife in the presence of strangers. But, at the same time, when the wife says that the was admitted to a hospital, it was incumbent upon the wife to lead evidence from that hospital to show that she was actually admitted to the hospital for injuries on her person. There is no such evidence on record and the learned Magistrate has totally ignored this aspect of the case. Merely on the solitary testimony of the wife, the learned Magistrate has jumped to the conclusion that she was beaten by her husband and that it was sufficient for her to claim separate maintenance. It will, therefore, be seen that the finding of the trial Court is based on no evidence whatsoever. The learned Magistrate has failed to take into consideration all these facts and, therefore it was incumbent upon the learned Additional Sessions Judge to deal with this matter exhaustively. It is, therefore, clear that there was an apparent error of law committed by the trial Magistrate in ignoring the material evidence on record and, therefore, in my opinion, the learned. Additional Sessions Judge was justified in going through all these facts while deciding the case. Hence, it is not a case of excess of jurisdiction by the revisional Court.
8. Then the next question for my consideration is whether the wife has really led any evidence to show that the husband refused or neglected to maintain her and the learned Additional Sessions Judge has considered all the aspects in details and has come to the conclusion that the wife has failed to prove this fact and it is a finding of fact, which is not vitiated by any error and hence, it is binding upon me and I would not interfere with that finding of the learned Additional Sessions Judge. In my opinion, therefore, the learned Additional Sessions Judge was right in passing the orders in both the revision applications before him.
9. The result is that there is no merit in both these criminal revision applications, and, therefore, they are dismissed and the rule discharged.


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Twitter shares plummeted on Thursday after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that sharply missed analysts' estimates and revenue growth that slowed to just 1% in the same period.
Shares fell 11% to $16.67 at 9:40 a.m. EST and had tumbled as much as 11% in pre-market trading.
The San Francisco, Calif.-based company posted a net loss of $167 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $90 million, or 13 cents a share. Excluding certain expenses, Twitter said it would have earned $119 million, or 16 cents a share, topping forecasts of a profit of 12 cents per share on that basis. Twitter currently monetizes users at about half the rate of Facebook .
Twitter's tepid user growth didn't buoy the stock. Excluding "SMS fast followers," or users who access Twitter via feature phones, monthly active users increased by 4% year-over-year to 319 million in the fourth quarter, slightly higher than year-over-year growth of 3% in the prior quarter. Over the latest quarter it added 2 million more users, in line with analysts' expectations. The company saw year-over-year user growth, excluding SMS fast-followers, of 3% in the third, second and first quarters of 2016.
The company also forecast weak first-quarter earnings. Twitter said it expects first-quarter earnings before taxes of between $75 million and $95 million, well below the $191.3 million expected by analysts.
Twitter COO Anthony Noto said in a statement on Thursday that revenue growth will continue to "lag audience growth due to the sales cycle" and could be hampered by growing competition for digital advertising dollars. He also warned that revenue growth could decrease as the company de-emphasiszes some of its revenue-generating products.
"We're focusing our investments on revenue products that strengthen our unique value proposition, especially in live and video," Noto said in a statement. "We're hearing positive feedback from our ad partners about our continued acceleration in audience growth and engagement."
The results weren't the positive signal investors had hoped for after quarters of flatlining user growth and declining growth in monetization per user, metrics that likely dampened talks with potential acquirers like Salesforce.com , Walt Disney and Google last year.
"It's been hard, it will continue to be hard, but it's all worth it," Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said on a conference call with investors on Thursday. "Twitter changed the way the world communicates, and we'll do it again."
Dorsey announced layoffs in October affecting 9% of total staff as part of a restructuring plan aimed at making the company profitable by this year. This followed an earlier round of layoffs about a year ago, which involved an 8% reduction in overall staff. The company also announced in October that it would shutter Vine, its app for looping videos which had about 150 employees.
"We made tough choices to make sure we can put all of our effort behind Twitter and what has made Twitter great," Dorsey said on Thursday's conference call. "Live video is a big focus of that. We wanted to cut everything that did not matter."
Twitter's struggle to attract new users raises questions about the company's ability to make its product simple and appealing to a mass audience. Twitter's user growth stands in stark contrast to other popular Facebook-owned apps such as WhatsApp and Messenger, which both have more than 1 billion monthly active users and Instagram, which has 600 million monthly users. By comparison, Facebook saw year-over-year monthly user growth of 17% in the fourth quarter, despite having about six times as many users.
A November survey by RBC Capital Markets of about 3,000 U.S. Internet users aged 13 to seniors found that Twitter was the third most-used social media platform, behind Facebook and Instagram. When the survey participants were asked which platform they would use if they could only access one, 67% chose Facebook and only 6% selected Twitter.
Twitter has made a series of product updates over the past year, which Dorsey emphasized has cause daily active user growth to accelerate for the past three quarters. This week, the company rolled out a handful of tools to curb harassment and abuse, such as a feature that makes it harder for people who have been suspended from Twitter to create new accounts.
On Thursday, Dorsey emphasized his intent to make the site more inviting to new users, saying he was confidence the company can make the service "much simpler for everyone within this year." To this end, Twitter recently launched a new "Explore" tab for viewing trending topics, debuted new business chat tools such as automated welcome messages and quick replies and changed its search results to organize tweets by relevance instead of reverse chronological order.
"The case that's fundamental to Twitter is to be able to show what's happening immediately," Dorsey said on Thursday's call, noting that the company has been focusing on applying machine learning and artificial intelligence broadly across Twitter to surface more tailored, relevant content to users.
Despite its user growth and monetization challenges, Twitter is one of the best-known social media tools and its cultural thwart appears to be rising (President Donald Trump's tweets generate intense public attention.) About 44% of Americans hear about Twitter content from other media channels every day, and the user base creates more than 500 million tweets every day.
"The President's use of Twitter has broadened the knowledge of the platform and how it can be used," Noto said on Thursday's conference call.
Dorsey continues to champion live video as key to the platform's future. Periscope, Twitter's live-video streaming app, has become further integrated into the main Twitter app, and the company said it took a bold but successful risk in prioritizing live streaming programming deals.
Last year, Twitter announced live-video deals spanning sports, politics and business news. The company struck partnerships with the Pac-12 Network, CBS (for U.S. political party conventions) and Bloomberg media, in addition to the National Football League deal. Twitter hasn't shared the financial outcome of its live-streaming deals, however Noto said the NFL deal, which reached 3.5 million viewers, exceeded the company's expectations for revenue and profitability.
The deals could help Twitter take a larger piece of advertisers' video budgets and attract new users in the long term. Facebook has been pushing aggressively into live video, and video remains a key format for Snap Inc., which has 158 million daily users and recently rolled out video-capturing sunglasses.
Twitter's strategy has likely been compromised in part by the instability of the company's management team. Dorsey is also CEO of payments company Square, and some investors have questioned his ability to run two public companies. And during the fourth quarter, the company lost its CTO Adam Messinger, COO Adam Bain and VP of product Josh McFarland, which RBC Capital Markets analyst Mark Mahaney called a "very negative trend," one which followed significant executive churn in 2016.
This year, Twitter's share of the total worldwide digital ad market is expected to shrink slightly to 1.1%. By contrast, Google and Facebook are expected to capture 31.7% and 14.7%, respectively, according to eMarketer.
The stock closed at $18.72 on Wednesday. As of Wednesday's close, the stock was up 15% this year, compared with a 2.5% rise in the S&P 500.