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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Know When to Hold 'Em: Making Family Time Work for Teens ...

When my children were little, it was easy to create connected family time. I called it incubation, when we?d shut out the rest of the world and go off on our own, just the kids and my husband and me. We?d make a plan, pack up some snacks, load everyone in the car or strollers, and head out to some near or far-off state park or nature area, where we could run, play, climb and be as loud as a family of six people is sometimes wont to be.

It was up to us parents when and where and for how long we?d go, all the kids just falling into place. None of them questioning our motives or the places we went or whether they should come along or not. It was just what we did.

As they got a little older, family outings required a little more intention and a bit more planning, so we?d put it on the calendar to assure that it wouldn?t lose its rightly place in our family?s increasingly busy schedule. At least one day each weekend, we?d have a chunk of time blocked off for the necessary family time. While it definitely took more planning, and while the kids now weighed in about where we?d go and for how long, it still happened on as regular a basis as we, the parents, desired. My need for building family connection through time away from the friends and the fray was met.

Now, with two teens in the house and a 10-year-old who sometimes thinks she shares that status, my ideas for where and when to find family time have been taken out of my hands. When did I lose that power that was mine for so many years? Without me even realizing it was something that could one day be taken away, BAM, it was gone.

A few months ago, the aforementioned family time written clearly on the calendar, I gave verbal reminders about our outing. The protests began in earnest. ?I?m so tired.? ?I need to read.? ?I?m skateboarding with a friend. Now that we?re in different schools, this is the only time we see each other.?

I protested the protest with cries of my own: ?This is our time.? ?It?s how we always do it.? Which really, when translated meant, this is my time, and this is how I?ve always dictated it be done.

A bit of back and forth ensued, which shall remain, for the sake of the participants, somewhat confidential but which wasn?t exactly as diplomatic as I might have hoped. And finally, I relented: ?All right, see your friends. Do what you need to do.?

For a short spell, I did ponder playing the authority card. The one that says, ?I?m the mom and I decide.? But that?s the one that usually gets tossed back in my lap with a reminder that this isn?t 1950s parenting. And rather than drag two reluctant teens and a preteen into the woods with us, and ruin it for all of us, my husband and I took our 6-year-old for a hike. Just the three of us. And we had a really good time.

That evening, we all returned home at the preordained hour for a 30-minute sit-down dinner, which in the moment seemed pretty darn huge. Not a whole day whenever I deem it so, but 30 minutes, around the table, everybody present, everyone checking in with the highs and lows of the day.

It?s not exactly what I want every week, but it?s what I?ll take. I?ll insist on bigger family time when it really, really matters, but for the most part, this will suffice. I hope that by not forcing the hand, it?ll deepen. And it will last longer. Like our whole life long. Since I?ll be parenting teens for the next 13 years or so, I guess I?m glad I figured it out now.

Source: http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/know-when-to-hold-em-making-family-time-work-for-teens/

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Suspect tied to African, Yemen militants pleads guilty to U.S. charges

By Mark Hosenball

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Somali man who was a high-level liaison between al Qaeda affiliates in Somalia and Yemen and later became a U.S. government informant and witness has pleaded guilty to multiple U.S. terrorism-related charges, the Justice Department said on Monday.

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan unsealed a guilty plea by Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame to nine U.S. criminal charges. They alleged he once commanded hundreds of fighters for the Somalia-based militant group Al-Shabaab.

Law enforcement and legal sources said Warsame is one of the most important militants connected to Somali-based al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab and Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) to be captured by U.S. forces and to agree to become a U.S. informant.

Information provided to U.S. authorities by Warsame has resulted in the capture or arrest of other suspected al Qaeda militants from East Africa, lawyers familiar with recent prosecutions brought by U.S. authorities said.

In one of those cases, former al Shabaab members detained in the African state of Djibouti last year were brought to New York for trial in U.S. courts without any known extradition proceedings in Djibouti, the lawyers said.

Critics of U.S. counter-terrorism policy alleged that the case was an example of how the administration of President Barack Obama has continued to engage in "rendition," a procedure under which suspected militants are moved from country to country without normal legal procedures.

While it has foresworn some controversial counter-terrorism practices used by the administration of President George W. Bush, including the use of physically coercive interrogation tactics and secret CIA prisons, the Obama administration announced it would not completely abandon the use of rendition.

According to one official document unsealed on Monday with Warsame's guilty plea, U.S. authorities seized a laptop and two other electronic devices when he was arrested two years ago. The memories of these devices, prosecutors said, contained "dozens of pages of handwritten notes by Warsame as he learned how to build bombs; letters back and forth between the senior leaders of AQAP and al Shabaab, and correspondence in which Warsame describes why he was sent to Yemen by al Shabaab."

In the same document, prosecutors said that information provided to the United States by Warsame was corroborated by at least four other witnesses who interacted extensively with him in Africa, three of whom are presently cooperating witnesses in a Shabaab-related case in Minnesota, which has a substantial Somali-American community.

REDUCED SENTENCE?

Prosecutors said that Warsame's guilty plea was made in secret on December 21, 2011. But the records were sealed as a result of what the government described as a "cooperation agreement" between Warsame and U.S. authorities.

Although the maximum sentence Warsame could receive for his guilty plea is life in prison, customarily prosecutors agree to request a reduction in sentence for suspects who cooperate extensively with investigators.

A law enforcement official said the case had been unsealed because investigators felt that keeping it secret would no longer potentially compromise ongoing investigations. It was unclear when Warsame will be sentenced.

A Justice Department official said that Warsame had begun cooperating with U.S. authorities after he was captured by U.S. military forces in April 2011. For the next two months, the official said, he was questioned "for intelligence purposes."

A law enforcement official said these interrogations were conducted while Warsame was held aboard a U.S. military ship sailing off the coast of Africa.

Subsequently, the Justice Department said in a press release, Warsame was read his Miranda rights. But after waiving those rights, he continued to cooperate with U.S. investigators, the department said.

A Justice Department official said that U.S. authorities continue to make "active use" of information provided by Warsame and that his cooperation "has been and continues to be enormously valuable." Warsame remains in custody in the United States.

Prosecutors alleged in unsealed documents that, in addition to leading and training Shabaab fighters, Warsame also served as a liaison between the Somalia-based group and AQAP, which U.S. authorities consider to be perhaps Al Qaeda's most dangerous affiliate.

The documents say that after waiving his rights on around seven separate occasions, Warsame "confessed to agents" that he had fought alongside and commanded "hundreds of al Shabaab fighters in battle in Somalia."

In late 2009, the documents say, al Shabaab leaders sent Warsame to meet and train with AQAP in Yemen. There, U.S. authorities allege, he received "military, explosives and weapons training from AQAP, assisted in the exchange of communications between senior members of al Shabaab and AQAP," and allegedly facilitated al Shabaab weapons purchases from AQAP.

Among the charges to which Warsame pleaded guilty were providing material support to both Al Shabaab and AQAP, as well as conspiring to teach and demonstrate the making of explosives and possessing firearms and explosives including machine guns, the Justice Department said.

(Editing by Warren Strobel and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspect-tied-african-yemen-militants-pleads-guilty-u-180913911.html

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Decoding the genetic history of the Texas longhorn

Mar. 25, 2013 ? Longhorn cattle have a hybrid global ancestry, according to a study by University of Texas at Austin researchers published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study of the genome of the Longhorn and related breeds tells a fascinating global history of human and cattle migration. It traces back through Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the New World, the Moorish invasion of Spain and the ancient domestication of the aurochs in the Middle East and India.

"It's a real Texas story, an American story," said Emily Jane McTavish, a doctoral student in the lab of biology professor David Hillis. "For a long time people thought these New World cattle were domesticated from a pure European lineage. But it turns out they have a more complex, more hybrid, more global ancestry, and there's evidence that this genetic diversity is partially responsible for their greater resilience to harsh climatic conditions."

To reconstruct the genetic history of Texas Longhorns, McTavish, Hillis and colleagues from the University of Missouri-Columbia analyzed almost 50,000 genetic markers from 58 cattle breeds. The most comprehensive such analysis to date, it was funded in part by the Cattlemen's Texas Longhorn Conservancy, which helped the scientists get access to samples used by ranchers.

Among the findings was that the Texas Longhorn breed are direct descendants of the first cattle in the New World. The ancestral cattle were brought over by Columbus in 1493 to the island of Hispaniola. They traveled the rest of the way to the continent in 1521 on the ships of later Spanish colonists.

Over the next two centuries the Spanish moved the cattle north, arriving in the area that would become Texas near the end of the 17^th century. The cattle escaped or were turned loose on the open range, where they remained mostly wild for the next two centuries

"It was known on some level that Longhorns are descendants from cattle brought over by early Spanish settlers," said Hillis, the Alfred W. Roark Centennial Professor in the College of Natural Sciences, "but they look so different from the cattle you see in Spain and Portugal today. So there was speculation that there had been interbreeding with later imports from Europe. But their genetic signature is co mpletely consistent with being direct descendants of the cattle Columbus brought over."

The study reveals that being a "pure" descendant of cattle from the Iberian peninsula indicates a more complicated ancestry than was understood. Approximately 85 percent of the Longhorn genome is "taurine," descended from the ancient domestication of the wild aurochs that occurred in the Middle East 8,000-10,000 years ago. As a result, Longhorns look similar to purer taurine breeds such as Holstein, Hereford and Angus, which came to Europe from the Middle East.

The other 15 percent of the genome is "indicine," from the other ancient domestication of the aurochs, in India. These indicine cattle, which often have a characteristic hump at the back of the neck, spread into Africa and from there up to the Iberian peninsula

"It's consistent with the Moorish invasions from the 8th to the 13th centuries," said Hillis. "The Moors brought cattle with them, and brought these African genes, and of course the European cattle were there as well. All those influences come together in the cattle of the Iberian peninsula, which were used to stock the Canary Islands, which is where Columbus stopped and picked up cattle on his second voyage and brought them to the New World."

Once in the New World, most of the cattle eventually went feral. Under the pressures of natural selection they were able to re-evolve ancient survival traits that had been artificially bred out of their European ancestors. Selection for longer horns allowed them to defend against wild predators. They became leaner and more able to survive heat and drought.

"The Longhorns that were in the area when Anglo settlers arrived almost looked more like the ancestral aurochsen than like modern cattle breeds," said McTavish. "Living wild on the range, they had to become very self sufficient. Having that genetic reservoir from those wild ancestors made it possible for a lot of those traits to be selected for once again."

McTavish said it's possible the indicine heritage in particular helped, because the climate in India and Africa tended to be hotter and drier than in Europe.

The Longhorns remained wild on the range, or very loosely managed, until after the Civil War, when Texans rounded up the wild herds and began supplying beef to the rest of the country. Since then the fortunes of the Longhorns have waxed and waned depending on how their unique genetic profile intersects with the changing needs of American consumers.

"The Longhorns almost went extinct starting in the late 19^thcentury," said Hillis. "A lot of the value of cattle at that time had to do with the fat they had, because the primary lighting source people had was candles, made of tallow, and Texas Longhorns have very low fat content. Ranchers began fencing off the range and importing breeds from Europe that had higher fat content. That's when Americans began developing their taste for fatty beef, so then the other cattle became valuable in that respect as well. The only reason the Longhorns didn't go extinct was because half a dozen or so ranchers kept herds going even though they knew that these other breeds were more valuable in some sense. They appreciated that the Longhorns were hardier, more self-sufficient."

Hillis, who raises Longhorns of his own out at the Double Helix Ranch, said that the winds of history now seem to be blowing in the Longhorns' direction. They can survive in hotter, drier climates, which will become increasingly important as the world warms. They provide lean and grass-fed beef, which is seen as healthier by many consumers. And their genes may prove valuable to ranchers, who can use the increasingly sophisticated genetic information to selectively breed the Longhorns' toughness into other breeds of cattle.

"It's another chapter in the story of a breed that is part of the history of Texas," he said.

History video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=G7-BlxmKuFM

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Texas at Austin. The original article was written by Daniel Oppenheimer.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

Journal Reference:

Emily Jane McTavish, Jared E. Decker, Robert D. Schnabel, Jeremy F. Taylor, and David M. Hillis. New World cattle show ancestry from multiple independent domestication events. PNAS, March 25, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1303367110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/9vvxqejlDLA/130325160514.htm

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Monday, March 25, 2013

Registered Nurses Association gives awards to 2 St. Michael's nursing leaders

Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
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Contact: Leslie Shepherd
shepherdl@smh.ca
416-864-6094
St. Michael's Hospital

Awards to be presented at RNAO event in April

TORONTO, March 25, 2013--The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario has recognized two St. Michael's nursing leaders for outstanding leadership. Ella Ferris, executive vice-president, programs, and chief nursing and health disciplines executive, received the Leadership Award in Nursing Administration. Heather Campbell, Director, nursing practice and education, received the President's Award for Leadership in Clinical Practice.

"Ella and Heather are leaders in their field," said St. Michael's President Dr. Robert Howard. "They're outstanding assets to our hospital. The fact that St. Michael's came away with not just one, but two of these awards speaks volumes to the professionalism, dedication and excellence of our entire team."

Since joining St. Michael's as a staff nurse in 1972, Ferris has championed nurse-led clinical research, playing a key role in establishing the first nursing research chair at the hospital's Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute. Ferris also established St. Michael's as an RNAO Best Practice Spotlight Organization, undertaking an unprecedented 17 best practice guidelines to improve patient care.

In less than two years at St. Michael's, Campbell has led the Nursing Practice and Education portfolio through considerable change. Some of her major initiatives have included collaborating with York University to pilot a nurse educator certificate program, and implementing new transfer of accountability guidelines to improve quality patient care. Known as a collaborative leader with an open-door policy, Campbell has been instrumental in ensuring that St.

Michael's nurse practitioners are practising to their full scope.

Ferris and Campbell will receive their awards at the RNAO annual general meeting in Toronto next month.

###

About St. Michael's Hospital

St Michael's Hospital provides compassionate care to all who enter its doors. The hospital also provides outstanding medical education to future health care professionals in more than 23 academic disciplines. Critical care and trauma, heart disease, neurosurgery, diabetes, cancer care, care of the homeless and global health is among the Hospital's recognized areas of expertise. Through the Keenan Research Centre and the Li Ka Shing International Healthcare Education Center, which make up the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute, research and education at St. Michael's Hospital are recognized and make an impact around the world. Founded in 1892, the hospital is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto.

For more information, contact:

Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
Communications and Public Affairs Department
St. Michael's Hospital
416-864-6094
shepherdl@smh.ca
Inspired Care. Inspiring Science.

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Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Registered Nurses Association gives awards to 2 St. Michael's nursing leaders

Public release date: 25-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail |

Share ]

Contact: Leslie Shepherd
shepherdl@smh.ca
416-864-6094
St. Michael's Hospital

Awards to be presented at RNAO event in April

Michael's nurse practitioners are practising to their full scope.

Ferris and Campbell will receive their awards at the RNAO annual general meeting in Toronto next month.

###

About St. Michael's Hospital

For more information, contact:

Leslie Shepherd
Manager, Media Strategy
Communications and Public Affairs Department
St. Michael's Hospital
416-864-6094
shepherdl@smh.ca
Inspired Care. Inspiring Science.

[ | E-mail |

Share ]

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/smh-rna032513.php

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T-Mobile Uncarrier, no contract pricing is live. $50/month for talk/text and 500MB of data + $20 for unlimited. [T-Mobile] More »

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CrunchWeek: The Dongle Debacle, Game Of Thrones Comes To SF, And Who Wants A Smartwatch?

Happy Sunday! I hope you'll agree with me when I say TGICW (Thank goodness it's CrunchWeek) -- that very special time each week when a few of us writers gather around the TechCrunch TV cameras to shoot the breeze about the biggest and most interesting stories from the past seven days.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ryLcC7HQ6RY/

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