ACOZO.COM: February 2014

Fast and easy to use iPad POS. Use in store or on the go. Try it free.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Ukraine accuses Russia of staging 'armed invasion'
2/28/2014 8:47:29 AM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Ukraine's interior minister accuses Russia of staging an "armed invasion" in the Crimea
Ousted Ukraine leader Viktor Yanukovych set to give news conference Friday in Russia
Armed men stand guard outside main airport in Ukraine's southern Crimea region
"We are checking to make sure that no radicals come to Crimea from Kiev," one man says

Have you witnessed the protests in Ukraine? Share your experiences, but please stay safe.

Simferopol, Ukraine (CNN) -- Armed men in green camouflage uniforms stood guard outside the main airport in Ukraine's southern region of Crimea on Friday, but reports conflicted on whether they had taken control of the facility.

Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov accused Russian forces of staging an "armed invasion" in the Black Sea peninsula, claiming they had blocked one military air base and entered an airport overnight.

Avakov, writing on his Facebook page, said Russia's actions in Crimea were "an armed invasion and occupation," and "a direct military provocation on sovereign Ukrainian territory."

But it's still not clear who the armed men are.

"We are checking to make sure that no radicals come to Crimea from Kiev, from the Ukraine," said one man, who didn't give his name.

"We don't want radicals, we don't want fascism, we don't want problems."

Since President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted Saturday, Ukraine has been showing a deepening schism.

Those in the west generally support the country's interim government and its tilt toward the European Union.

And many in the east prefer things as they were -- a Ukraine where its larger neighbor, Russia, casts a long shadow.

And nowhere is that feeling more intense than in Crimea, a Black Sea peninsula with an ethnic Russian majority. It's the last big bastion of opposition to the new political leadership. And there are fears that tensions in the autonomous region might escalate into a bid for separation by its Russian majority.

Voting out the premier

On Thursday, dozens of armed men seized government administration buildings in Simferopol, the Crimean capital. They planted Russia's flag atop the parliament building.

Then, in a vote of no-confidence, pro-Russian members of the Crimean parliament dismissed the government of Premier Anatolii Mohyliov, who was perceived as pro-Kiev.

The lawmakers also scheduled a referendum on greater autonomy for the region within Ukrainian territory.

The date of the referendum? May 25 -- the day Ukraine is scheduled to hold its presidential elections.

Crimea was handed to Ukraine by the Soviet Union in 1954. Just over half its population is ethnic Russian, while about a quarter are Ukrainians and a little more than 10% are Crimean Tatars, a predominantly Muslim group oppressed under former Soviet leader Josef Stalin.

Conflicting reports

Next came the contradictory reports Friday -- both in Russian media -- about the developments at Simferopol airport.

Some news sites said the airport had been seized by pro-Russian gunmen. RIA Novosti, an official Russian news agency, said it spoke to airport staffers who refuted the assertion.

Yanukovych's whereabouts

Amidst the dizzying developments, Kiev has gone about its business of governing.

On Thursday, lawmakers approved opposition leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk as Prime Minister. He made clear that he believes the country's future rests in closer ties to Europe, not Russia.

Immediately, Yanukovych condemned the interim government as illegitimate.

Yanukovych, who has not been seen since his ouster, is in Russia where authorities have accepted his request for security, according to RIA Novosti, which attributed the information to anonymous government sources.

He is expected to give a news conference Friday in the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, near the border with Ukraine.

CNN's Ingrid Formanek reported from Simferopol and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London. CNN's Saeed Ahmed and Alla Eshchenko contributed to this report.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

North Korea launches short-range missiles to sea

Curious about the benefits of meditation?

In just a few minutes daily, this course will teach you how to relax and relieve stress. Even with a full schedule, you will want to make time for this!

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

North Korea launches short-range missiles to sea
2/28/2014 3:18:38 AM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: South Korean Defense Ministry calls the move a military provocation
North Korea launched four Scud missiles into East Sea, the South says
Launch may be an effort to show off North Korean capabilities, observer says
South Korea and the United States are conducting joint military exercises

(CNN) -- North Korea launched four Scud missiles into the sea off its eastern coast Thursday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

The missiles were fired in the direction of Russia and fell into the sea, according to the Pentagon, which described the launch as a very low-level matter.

The missiles were fired just days after the start of annual joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States that North Korea opposes. The joint military exercises routinely spark tension between North Korea, South Korea and the United States.

For example, last year's exercises triggered weeks of heightened tensions between the nations and North Korean threats of nuclear war.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries have not been specific about where they are conducting their drills.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said that the North had fired the Scuds in a northeasterly direction and that they probably fell into North Korean waters of the East Sea, which is also known as the Sea of Japan.

It was the first time North Korea had fired Scud missiles, which have a range that covers the whole of the Korean Peninsula, since 2009, South Korea said.

"We consider it to be threatening and a military provocation," said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Ming-seok, although he acknowledged the firings may have been a test launch or part of military drills.

Foreign policy experts say the North Korean missile firings may not herald a repeat of last year's saber rattling from Pyongyang, which included threats of preemptive nuclear strikes against the United States and South Korea and the declaration that the armistice that stopped the Korean War in 1953 is null and void.

North Korea tested a multistage rocket with possible intercontinental potential in December 2012, and carried out a third nuclear test in February 2013. It was then stung by fierce international criticism and sanctions.

It reacted angrily when 2013's joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. involved stealth bombers simulating bombing attacks.

The conditions of Thursday's missile launch are different.

North Korea's missile capabilities

"It may be little more than regular military testing," said Michael O'Hanlon, a defense and foreign policy expert at the Brookings Institution. "I'm not persuaded it's a big deal or even a medium big deal, though."

The launch may also be an attempt by North Korea to remind the world and its own people that it has muscle, too.

Most observers say North Korea is still years away from having the technology to deliver a nuclear warhead on a missile, but it does have plenty of conventional military firepower, including medium-range ballistic missiles that can carry high explosives for hundreds of miles.

"North Korea's missile launch is merely part of their ongoing efforts to demonstrate to the world, and more importantly to their own people, what they are capable of. It is more showmanship than meaningful geopolitics," David Rothkopf, editor of Foreign Policy magazine, said Thursday. "It is not a surprise, and we should expect more of the same so long as this regime is in place."

Earlier this week, South Korea said a North Korean patrol boat strayed over the maritime border between the two countries several times. It eventually returned to the North's side of the border after warnings from South Korea.

Such infringements happen periodically, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

North Korea shows off South Korean man it's holding on spy charges

CNN's Paula Hancocks, Greg Botelho, Tim Schwarz and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Africa most homophobic continent?

Thousands of Free eBooks

BookBub brings you free & bargain national bestselling eBooks in the genres of your choice! Sign up now & join 1.5 million happy readers.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Africa most homophobic continent?
2/28/2014 5:17:37 PM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

This week Uganda passed a bill that could mean life in prison for "aggravated homosexuality"
Marc Epprecht says the vehemence of some of the homophobia in Africa is striking
But he says Africa is a continent and its countries differ in their attitudes to homosexuality
The West has played a role in creating homophobia in Africa, Epprecht says

Editor's note: Marc Epprecht is a historian and professor of Global Development Studies, Queen's University, Canada. He is the author of several books on sexuality and gender in Africa. The views expressed in this commentary are solely his.

(CNN) -- New laws in Nigeria and Uganda, plus reports throughout the continent of extortion, murder, so-called "curative rape" and abuse of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and intersex) -- and their allies -- are deeply concerning to many people, in and outside of Africa.

While Africa is not alone in this apparent trend, the vehemence of some of the homophobia, and the way it is being linked to pan-African struggles against Western imperialism, is striking.

Marc Epprecht

Not surprisingly, many people now view Africa as the most homophobic continent in the world. It is commendable that so many want to help in the fight against state-backed repression of sexual rights.

Before rushing in, however, let's keep four things in mind.

First, Africa is not a country. It is 54, 10 of which have signed the 2008 United Nations declaration recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights, including two which had originally opposed it but switched sides in 2011 (Rwanda and Sierra Leone).

Consenting male adult homosexual acts are legal in 14 African countries, while female-female sexuality is largely ignored outside a handful. In 2004, Cape Verde joined South Africa in decriminalizing sodomy while Botswana and Mozambique have made discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexuality unlawful.

The country of South Africa has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world for protecting human rights and was a co-sponsor of the United Nations' 2011 initiative to develop global strategies to end violence and discrimination against sexual minorities.

One can be skeptical about international human rights statements and the reliability of the police and courts, especially for the poor majority. But important symbolic victories have been won in recent years across Africa, and in some cases policy reforms have been substantive.

While not highly publicized, for example, many states now provide some health education, anti-retroviral medicine and other services to men who have sex with men (condoms in prison and the like).

There has been an explosion of culturally sensitive scholarship by an emerging generation of African researchers that undermines homophobic claims.

Gay-friendly art, literature, theatre, and films have also flourished. One of Kenya's best-known authors, Binyavanga Wainaina, publicly acknowledged he was gay just this year, joining a growing list of political, religious, and cultural figures in Africa who have spoken out forcefully against homophobia.

Second: homophobia in Africa is real and dangerous, but appearances can be deceiving. Many of the factors contributing to the recent homophobic turn in African politics have their roots outside of Africa.

Homophobes today often cite "family values" as a traditional reason Africans hate homosexuality, and it is true that there was a strong culture of extended families to help folks survive in often harsh environments. Yet the African philosophy of "uBuntu" meant keeping families together even when members strayed from the heterosexual, married, and fertile ideal.

This meant tolerance accommodation with sexual difference as long as discretion was maintained. Enforced celibacy or abstinence, adultery, impotence, erotic preference for the same sex ... all these things were known and understood as part of the diversity of the world to which humans, ancestors and the yet-born could adapt.

Islam as traditionally practiced in Africa was also relatively accommodating to the fact that individuals sometimes strayed from the ideal moral behavior. The family could be maintained through all of that by using discretion and appropriate rituals, prayers, sacrifice and/or compensation.

Colonialism, Christianity and capitalism messed much of this up. The British in particular were almost systematic in their introduction of laws that criminalized male-male sex acts. European missionaries denounced them with the threat of eternal hell-fire. Families were meanwhile broken apart to serve the labor needs of the colonialists. Africans were taught that they had no history and no culture of value, indeed, maybe they were not even quite human.

Political independence unfortunately did not solve this ideological hangover. On the contrary, since the 1980s especially, bad governance and economic turmoil have left much of the population of Africa frustrated. We in the West should not forget our role in creating the present shambles in so many African countries, whether through assassinations, bribery, or more subtle economic thumbscrews.

The "Washington consensus" around neo-liberal structural adjustment was particularly devastating to families and social safety nets. In this context (rich getting richer, poor poorer), there is a widespread hunger for scapegoats and for simplistic solutions.

Third, mainstream faiths have not been very good at addressing Africans' need for spiritual meaning after so many decades of economic and political malaise. The American Christian Right has by contrast been very active, and well-funded, in stepping in to fill that void. There is compelling evidence that American evangelicals have been instrumental in promoting Africans who will spread the homophobic message, including ghost writing speeches and advising on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda.

Let us not forget that homophobia is not yet dead and buried in the West before we jump on our high horses.
Marc Epprecht

A similar "homophobia international" may be happening in Muslim-majority countries where the Islamic Right is gaining ground over traditional Sufi beliefs. In a place like Nigeria, where sectarian violence is a looming threat to the stability of the nation, homophobia is one of the few points of agreement for canny politicians to calm the sectarian waters. In a place like Uganda, which some see acting as a mercenary for American geopolitical schemes in the region, denouncing the West's so-called social imperialism is an easy way to cover complicity in a resurgent real imperialism on the continent.

Finally, let us not forget that homophobia is not yet dead and buried in the West before we jump on our high horses. Maybe we can help our friends in Africa and ourselves by supporting African LGBTI in their efforts to strike at the Western roots of "African homophobia."

A federal court case in Massachusetts bears watching, in which Uganda activists are suing an American Pastor" who is charged with persecuting homosexuals.

Their triumph in that case will surely be a bigger blow for the global cause of human rights than cutting off aid or imposing other sanctions on African people.

Read more: Uganda's president signs anti-gay bill into law

Read more: How American evangelicals may be responsible for Uganda's anti-gay law

Read more: Did Pastor promote homophobia in Uganda?

Read more: Ugandan President: Being gay not a right

Read more: Ugandan tabloid prints list of 'homosexuals'

The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of Marc Epprecht.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Blast kills dozen at Doha restaurant

Dog-Lovers' Tees.

Unleash yourself and shop our special collection of tees and accessories for you and your pooch.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Blast kills dozen at Doha restaurant
2/28/2014 2:36:06 AM

Firemen work at the site of an explosion in Doha, Qatar on February 27, 2014.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: Gas cylinder that exploded was on top of restaurant
Death toll rises to 12 in gas cylinder explosion, civil defense director says
Blast caused partial collapse of restaurant, damage to other buildings
The cause of the explosion is under investigation

(CNN) -- Twelve people died when a large gas cylinder exploded Thursday on the roof of a restaurant in Doha, Qatar, the emirate's civil defense director said in a televised news conference.

The blast injured 31 others and caused the partial collapse of Istanbul Restaurant, civil defense director Hamad Othman N. Al-Duhaimi said.

The collapse injured customers, employees and some people walking past the restaurant, Al-Duhaimi said. It also damaged nearby buildings and cars near the restaurant, which is close to the city's popular Landmark Mall.

The force of the blast spread 165 feet (50 meters), Qatar's Interior Ministry said on Twitter.

It's not known at this time what caused the gas cylinder to explode. Authorities were investigating, the ministry said.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Abusive gesture costs soccer star

Want to speak effortlessly in any situation?

Actress Alexa Fisher will teach you tips that will set you on the road to success.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Abusive gesture costs soccer star
2/28/2014 10:54:13 AM

Nicolas Anelka has been handed a five-game ban by the English Football Association.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

EPL player handed five-game ban and fined for gesture by English FA
Anelka denied charges that gesture he made was "abusive, indecent or insulting"
FA Regulatory Commission "did not find Nicolas Anelka is an anti-Semite"
"Quenelle" popularized by controversial French comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala

(CNN) -- French soccer star Nicolas Anelka has been given a five-match ban and fined £80,000 ($130,000) by the English Football Association (FA) for making a "quenelle" gesture in a game last year.

The West Bromwich Albion striker was charged by the FA on January 21 after making the gesture in an English Premier League match against West Ham United on December 28.

The "quenelle" which involves pointing a straightened arm downwards while touching the shoulder of that arm with the other hand, is believed by some to be a Nazi salute in reverse and has been linked with anti-Semitism in Anelka's homeland.

An Independent Regulatory Commission was asked to consider if the gesture was "abusive and/or indecent and/or insulting and/or improper," and "included a reference to ethnic origin and/or race and/or religion or belief."

Both charges were proved, said the commission, but it added it did not believe Anelka to be a racist.

"We did not find that Nicolas Anelka is an anti-Semite or that he intended to express or promote anti-Semitism by his use of the quenelle," the Regulatory Commission said in a statement.

In addition to the ban and fine, Anelka has been ordered to undertake a "compulsory education course," the FA said.

The 34-year-old, who denied the charges and asked for a personal hearing, commented on Twitter after the match that the gesture was "a dedication" to the French comedian Dieudonne M'Bala M'Bala before adding: "I am neither racist nor anti-Semitic."

This gesture was just a special dedication to my comedian friend Dieudonné
— nicolas anelka (@anelkaofficiel) December 28, 2013

Known as Dieudonne, he has popularized the "quenelle" gesture in France and faces investigation by the Paris prosecutor's office for his controversial stand-up routine.

During a performance, he said of a prominent Jewish journalist: "Me, you see, when I hear Patrick Cohen speak, I think to myself: 'Gas chambers ... too bad (they no longer exist)."

Anelka has seven days to appeal the decision.

The Independent Regulatory Commission stated it will reveal how it arrived at its decision "in due course."

Read more: Anti-Semitism row shines light on fractured French society

Read more: West Brom lose sponsors over Anelka row

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Breast-feeding benefits overstated?

Start taking a college level music theory class today.

This beginner class is now accessible to aspiring musicians of all ages. Learn all of the basic concepts in an easy to follow manner.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Breast-feeding benefits overstated?
2/28/2014 1:40:35 PM

A new study suggests the benefits of breast-feeding may not be as significant as previously thought.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Researchers looked at siblings where one child was breast-fed
The differences between the two were not statistically significant, study says
Multiple studies have shown breast-feeding is good for babies' development

(TIME.com) -- A study out that questions the stated benefits of breast-feeding is sure to reignite the debate over whether breast is best.

The new research, published this week in the journal Social Science & Medicine, looked at longitudinal data from three separate populations: 8,237 children, 7,319 siblings and 1,773 sibling pairs where at least one child was breast-fed and at least one child was not.

Researchers measured 11 outcomes previously shown to be impacted by breast-feeding: body mass index (BMI); obesity; asthma; hyperactivity; parental attachment; behavior compliance; and achievement in vocabulary, reading recognition, math ability, intelligence and scholastic competence.

When they looked at data across all families, breast-feeding had better outcomes than bottle-feeding in factors like BMI, hyperactivity, math skills, reading recognition, vocabulary word identification, digit recollection, scholastic competence and obesity.

However, when the researchers looked just at the siblings who were fed differently, the benefits were not statistically significant. The exception was that breast-fed children were at higher risk for asthma, though it was unclear if those reports were self-generated or actual diagnoses.

TIME.com: Breast-feeding and other early influencers on children's IQ

It's well known that moms with higher levels of education, greater income and more flexible daily schedules are more likely to breast-feed their kids. And previous research has shown clear racial and socioeconomic disparities between breast-feeding and non-breast-feeding families.

By looking within families, as opposed to across them, the study "(takes) into account all of those characteristics -- both measured and unmeasured -- that differ by family, such as parental education, household income and race/ethnicity," Cynthia Colen, lead author and assistant professor of sociology at the Ohio State University, said in a statement.

Colen suggests that the takeaway is to focus on other factors affecting a child's long-term outlook, like child care, maternity leave, school quality, housing and employment.

A few other studies have also been skeptical of some of the benefit claims of breast-feeding, like weight maintenance. But this recent revelation is unlikely to change any recommendations, and breast-feeding is still highly endorsed by pediatric groups.

Multiple studies say breast-feeding is good for the development of the baby, and that it's health protective for mothers as well.

The CDC says it's "committed to increasing breastfeeding rates throughout the United States and to promoting and supporting optimal breastfeeding practices toward the ultimate goal of improving the public's health."

TIME.com: More breast-feeding could save billions and prevent thousands of breast cancer cases

This story was initially published on TIME.com.

Sibling study shows little difference between breast- and bottle-feeding

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Risks for older dads; rewards too

Economist GMAT Tutor.

The results you want. The flexibility you need. Claim your 7-day free trial today.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Risks for older dads; rewards too
2/28/2014 4:03:01 PM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Phil Lerman: New study says kids from older dads more likely to have mental difficulties
Lerman's an older dad and has his challenges, such as being mistaken for son's grandfather
Despite the risks and challenges, Lerman says he couldn't imagine not having his son
Lerman: Older dads benefit kids with mental challenges; they are lucky to have each other

Editor's note: Philip Lerman is the author of "Dadditude: How a Real Man Became a Real Dad."

(CNN) -- You know, it's not like older fathers don't have enough to deal with.

We have to keep that smile on our faces when the school's reading adviser mistakes us for our son's grandfather.

We have to pretend not to notice how much more hair all the other dads have, how much younger their wives are and how much more well-equipped they are to coach the soccer team. That's because when they were kids, they actually played soccer, while we grew up with more '60s-like pursuits, such as baseball, stickball and smoking dope.

We have to listen to people saying we're too old to keep up with our own kids, and we have to deal with the fact that they're absolutely correct.

Philip Lerman

But on top of all that, every two years or so, we have to deal with another study saying that we're much more likely to produce children who have Asperger's syndrome, attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder and every other mental illness this side of mogo on the go go. (And we have to deal with the fact that all of the fathers of our kids' friends are way too young to catch W.C. Fields references such as "mogo on the gogo.")

Study: Children of older dads at higher risk of psychiatric disorders

A report published this week in JAMA Psychiatry confirmed this trend. It is a huge study of data about 2.6 million Swedish-born children and reveals that a guy like me, who became a father at 45 (I was 46, actually), would be three or four times more likely to have a child with autism spectrum disorder.

But look.

When Max was born, they told me that because of my age, he was much more likely to have autism than, say, the child of a guy who hadn't had his first prostate exam yet. They ran me through all the other things that could go wrong, which gave me great pause. It's terrible, of course, to think that we older fathers are putting our children's health at risk.

Until you think about the alternative -- not having them at all. Then it gets tricky, doesn't it

Max has so far managed to survive my dotage and reach the sixth grade. I'm writing quickly because I like to be done with work at 3:30, when he gets home from school, so we can play a little catch or pingpong or even kick around a soccer ball before he starts on his homework. The thought that I might have listened to the scolds who chastised me for daring to think about having a child in my advanced years -- the thought that this boy might not have come into my life -- is utterly beyond my comprehension.

I shudder to even think of Max never having been born -- and because I am a neurotic old Jew, I have to spit on the ground three times for even having written the words, like God will do whatever terrible things to us that we think or say, but then we spit three times he says, "Oh, well, that's much better then." Where did we come up with this stuff?

As it turns out, Max does suffer from some anxiety disorder issues. Did he inherit them from me? Were they caused by my creaky old decrepit sperm, as the studies suggest, or the cultural heritage that had him born to a father so neurotic that he made his son wear a football helmet to go on the swings? Or is it just one of those things?

I have no idea. But I do know this: He is lucky to have me for a dad.

He is lucky not despite my age but because of it. Because I am old enough to be done with the workplace striving that used to keep me in the office until way past what would have been his bedtime, had he existed then. Because I'm content to work from home, for a much lower salary, so that I can be here to have that catch. To play that game of pingpong. And to counsel him and console him and help him come up with strategies when the anxiety gets to be too great.

And yes, because I have worked all my life and am financially secure enough to get him the help that he needs -- to have him in a school that has responded incredibly well to his disorder. To find the best therapist in the world.

And most importantly, he is lucky because I am old enough to give my son what I could never have given him when I was younger: patience.

Older dads are more patient, I think, because we know we will probably never go through all this again. We know that these precious moments -- the bottles that gave way to sippy cups, the swings that gave way to skateboards, the Wiggles that gave way to Daft Punk -- these moments are golden gifts from God, and we understand that in a way that we never could have, in our salad days.

And so we cherish them, and we savor them, and we believe that spending that time down on the floor when they are little, and in the backyard while they are growing, and at the table talking when they need us to be at the table talking, makes all the difference in the world. All the difference in their world, and in our own.

Hey JAMA -- go study that for a change.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook.com/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Phil Lerman.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

19B reasons for Ukraine opportunities

Ever want to impress your boss or that special someone?

Learn the basics of wine tasting from glassware to history to tasting techniques in this online course. This is a course you're sure to enjoy!

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

19B reasons for Ukraine opportunities
2/28/2014 2:07:10 PM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Alec Ross notes that price paid to Ukraine-born Jan Koum equals Ukraine's past due bills
He says there's long tradition of entrepreneurial success for Ukraine emigres to U.S.
New regime in Ukraine could create an environment of opportunity, he says
Ross: U.S. should recognize how vital immigrant entrepreneurs are to its future

Editor's note: Alec Ross is a senior fellow at Columbia University's School of International & Public Affairs. During the first Obama term, he served as senior adviser for Innovation to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Follow him on Twitter: @AlecJRoss

(CNN) -- The distance between the Maidan in downtown Kiev, Ukraine, and the WhatsApp headquarters in downtown Mountain View, California, is 6,139 miles. This quite long distance, however, is bridged by another figure: the number 19.

On February 19, after months of protests in Kiev's center spiraled out of control, a de facto state of emergency took effect in Ukraine, eventually leading to the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych. In Silicon Valley, February 19 marked a turning point for WhatsApp founder Jan Koum, who signed a $19 billion deal to sell his company to Facebook. For Ukraine, that same $19 billion would be the answer to its short-term bond debt and gas bills.

Alec Ross

Though a mere coincidence, the fact that one country's economic lifeline could be equal in cost to the purchase of a mobile messaging app in another exemplifies that the real distance between the Maidan and Mountain View is not geographic.

Before Jan Koum was a billionaire and long before he was a Silicon Valley technology executive, he was Ukrainian. Koum, born in a village outside of Kiev, emigrated from a politically unstable Ukraine as a teenager.

At the turn of the 20th century, my very own Kiev-born great-grandfather made a similar choice. Disillusioned with authoritarianism, he became an anarchist at a time when anarchism was not a meme for punk rockers and skateboarders, but an actual political movement. He eventually made his way to Chicago, where he started a small business.

There are others like my grandfather and Koum in Ukraine.

I've seen first-hand the potential and technological savvy of the Ukrainian people. I was blown away by Enable Talk -- a project from four Ukrainian student developers who created gloves that translate sign language into speech. Enable Talk took home the first prize at the Microsoft Imagine Cup competition in 2012, and Time magazine named it one of the best inventions of the year.

'We were trapped': Eyewitness to the massacre in Kiev

According to the Central and Eastern European Outsourcing Association, Ukraine is the No. 1 outsourcing destination in the region for information-technology services. Tech companies in Silicon Valley, London and Berlin are teeming with Ukrainian engineers -- Ukraine's hackers-for-hire are some of the best in the world.

But such burgeoning innovators, held back by dysfunctional governance in their country, have not been able to enjoy the kind of success that WhatsApp is realizing today.

At the very moment Koum and Mark Zuckerberg were finalizing their deal, female entrepreneurs in Ukraine were preparing for an event called Startup Weekend Kyiv, meant to take place in the capital last weekend. The group's website now reads: "Due to political turmoil this event has been postponed." Mired in corruption, kleptocracy and authoritarianism, Ukraine has not nurtured the Koums of its future.

A long history of scientific and technological excellence shows that Ukraine-born talent usually realizes its full potential after leaving Ukraine's political environment behind. Nearly 100 years ago, Kiev-born Igor Sikorsky immigrated to the United States following the Bolshevik Revolution. He founded the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, where he built the first successful helicopter. Seventy years later, Max Levchin's family, also hailing from Kiev, sought political asylum in Chicago. In 1998, Levchin founded a company we all know well -- PayPal.

In Ukraine, the hope is that the days of fleeing political turmoil are coming to an end and that the possibility of new leadership will be a move toward a more functional democracy, less corruption, and more realized potential. But whatever early promise there is in Kiev can quickly be lost if unrest in Crimea spreads. There will be a new wave of emigration out of the Crimea region if it becomes the staging ground of a proxy conflict between Russia and the West.

Whatever happens, for Americans, Koum's Ukrainian roots should also serve as a reminder that we live in a nation of immigrants, that a continual wave of immigration is what fuels our economy.

When Koum and his mother immigrated to Mountain View in 1992, they subsisted on food stamps and welfare. Koum barely graduated from high school and dropped out of college. He taught himself computer networking from used book store manuals and created WhatsApp in 2009. In 20 years, Koum went from food stamps to billionaire, epitomizing the American dream, yet he is exactly the type of immigrant that opponents of immigration reform say they do not want in America.

As our nation continues to tackle the important issue of immigration reform, we need to remember that successful companies are not always founded by the immigrants with a master's degree in hand. Symbolically, Koum signed his $19 billion deal last week at the site where he once stood in line to collect food stamps.

Like WhatsApp, 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.

In March 2013, Koum tweeted about his adoptive homeland: "WhatsApp Messenger: Made in USA. Land of the free and the home of the brave." Ukraine's new leaders would do well to recognize that it can be home to multibillion-dollar breakouts if it creates a functional environment for its innovators. America would do well to remember that it needs to welcome more families like the Koums if it is going to remain the global center of innovation.

Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Join us on Facebook/CNNOpinion.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Alec Ross.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

North Korea launches missiles to sea

Subscribe to Bloomberg Businessweek

Get Bloomberg Businessweek for 84% off what others pay on the newsstand - that's like getting 38 complimentary issues! Sign up today.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

North Korea launches missiles to sea
2/28/2014 5:12:13 AM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

NEW: South Korean Defense Ministry calls the move a military provocation
North Korea launched four Scud missiles into East Sea, the South says
Launch may be an effort to show off North Korean capabilities, observer says
South Korea and the United States are conducting joint military exercises

(CNN) -- North Korea launched four Scud missiles into the sea off its eastern coast Thursday, the South Korean Defense Ministry said.

The missiles were fired in the direction of Russia and fell into the sea, according to the Pentagon, which described the launch as a very low-level matter.

For example, last year's exercises triggered weeks of heightened tensions between the nations and North Korean threats of nuclear war.

The South Korean and U.S. militaries have not been specific about where they are conducting their drills.

It was the first time North Korea had fired Scud missiles, which have a range that covers the whole of the Korean Peninsula, since 2009, South Korea said.

It reacted angrily when 2013's joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S. involved stealth bombers simulating bombing attacks.

The conditions of Thursday's missile launch are different.

North Korea's missile capabilities

The launch may also be an attempt by North Korea to remind the world and its own people that it has muscle, too.

Such infringements happen periodically, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry.

North Korea shows off South Korean man it's holding on spy charges

CNN's Paula Hancocks, Greg Botelho, Tim Schwarz and Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Concordia captain returns to ship

Thousands of Free eBooks

BookBub brings you free & bargain national bestselling eBooks in the genres of your choice! Sign up now & join 1.5 million happy readers.

From our sponsors

CNN.com - Top Stories

CNN.com delivers up-to-the-minute news and information on the latest top stories, weather, entertainment, politics and more.

Concordia captain returns to ship
2/27/2014 6:39:45 PM

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Captain boards cruise liner two years after it crashed off Italian coast
Francesco Schettino went aboard vessel with expert team investigating accident
Schettino faces manslaughter charges after 32 people died in the 2012 shipwreck
The wreckage of the cruise liner is now stabilized after a complex salvage

Rome (CNN) -- The captain of the Costa Concordia went back on board Thursday for the first time since the cruise liner crashed into the rocks off Italy's Giglio island, killing 32 people.

As part of his trial, Francesco Schettino, who faces multiple charges including manslaughter and abandoning ship, went aboard the vessel with an expert team appointed by the court and was present as a defendant. He denies any wrongdoing in the accident.

Wearing sunglasses, Schettino toured the ship for four hours. Speaking to journalists afterward, he said he could not comment on the survey aboard the wreck.

"I have taken responsibilities for my actions and am undergoing a trial," he said.

Schettino's lawyers had asked the court to allow him to accompany the experts as they examined the ship's emergency generators. They are also looking to see if anything other than human error could have contributed to the accident.

Witnesses said Schettino jumped into a lifeboat to flee the ship, even though hundreds of passengers were still on board. In his trial, the captain said he fell into a lifeboat when the ship listed sharply.

He also blamed a malfunction of the ship's watertight doors for making the situation worse by letting in water after the rocks tore into the vessel's hull. His attorneys also say the ship would not have crashed had the helmsman turned it in the direction that Schettino told him to 13 seconds before impact.

Complex recovery

The wreckage of the cruise liner, now stabilized after a complex salvage operation last year, sits propped up on underwater platforms just outside the port of Giglio, off the Tuscan coast.

It was carrying 4,200 people when it hit a reef January 13, 2012.

Journalists and photographers swarmed Schettino as he arrived for a briefing on the island ahead of the tour of the ship.

The raising of the Costa Concordia last September was one of the most complex shipwreck recoveries ever undertaken. In a lengthy process involving massive pulleys, cables and steel tanks, a salvage crew managed to roll the 114,00-ton vessel off the rocks.

In an interview on Italian television last year, Schettino said he had felt pain over the victims' deaths every day since the disaster.

Testimony: Hundreds still on board as captain left Costa Concordia

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at feedmyinbox.com

If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions

Friday, February 28, 2014