Somali militants hit Kismayu as African troops move in

MOGADISHU (Reuters) - African Union troops and tanks occupied al Shabaab's former stronghold of Kismayu on Tuesday, but the Somali Islamist militants gave notice of their intention to fight back, saying they detonated a bomb in the port city.

The blast points to the al Qaeda-linked rebels' ability to hit back with covert strikes and continues a pattern of attacks in other urban strongholds from where they have retreated under military pressure, including the capital.

A spokesman for al Shabaab's military operations, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, said the bomb was planted inside a district administration office building now housing Somali troops and warned of more attacks.

"This is only an introduction to the forthcoming explosions," he told Reuters. The militants had succeeded in "killing many", Musab said.

The government said the explosion caused no casualties.

Kenyan troops fighting under the AU flag entered Kismayu for the first time on Tuesday after launching an offensive against the port on Friday, forcing the rebels to flee.

They followed hundreds of Somali government troops and allied militia fighters who deployed in the city on Monday.

Al Shabaab's strength is hard to gauge. Mohamud Farah, a spokesman for Somalia's government forces, said between 4,000-5,000 fighters were hiding in the southern Juba regions.

Hundreds of foreign fighters had joined the insurgency at its peak from countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya, Tanzania as well as the United States and Britain, Somalia's last government said.

"Foreign fighters (also) started leaving when they saw their space was shrinking," a Nairobi-based security adviser said, referring to the offensive by African Union and Somali government troops that has steadily won back rebel-held ground over the past 14 months.

After the surrender of Kismayu, defection rates among footsoldiers were also expected to pick up, with the rebel group seen as a losing proposition.

What will be left behind, analysts say, is a hardline core.

Whether al Shabaab is able to wage a prolonged campaign of guerrilla attacks on Kismayu will largely hinge on Mogadishu's success in establishing a regional administration that satisfies competing clan interests in the south.

"If you have marginalised clans, al Shabaab will find allies in them. If all clans are on board it will be hard for al Shabaab to infiltrate Kismayu," the security adviser said.

REGIONAL ECONOMIES AT RISK

Al Shabaab, which formally merged with al Qaeda in February, has been seen as a major threat to stability in east Africa.

The militants warned that although they had withdrawn from Kismayu, the AU offensive had not yet dealt the combat-hardened rebels a knock-out blow and that it would hit back against Kenyan and Ethiopian targets.

"We shall never spare Kenya and Ethiopia even if they withdraw their troops. They are age old enemies of Somalia and we shall fight them be it in their lands or here till the doomsday," al Shabaab spokesman Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage said.

Police in Kenya said on Tuesday the office of the anti-terror police unit in Garissa, near the Somali border, was on fire. It was not clear what started the blaze, but it followed attacks on police on Sunday and Monday in the Kenyan town which were blamed on al Shabaab.

There are likely to be growing fears that the militants will look to carry out more, high profile attacks beyond Somalia's borders, in a bid to re-establish their jihadist credentials.

"It appears that, with the loss of Kismayu, Shabaab's days as a quasi-conventional military force occupying and, to an extent, administering territory within Somalia are over," said J. Peter Pham of U.S. think-tank the Atlantic Council.

However, Pham said, al Shabaab is far from a spent force.

"In fact, freed of the burden of actual governance ... the hardline extremists within Shabaab are now actually freer to evolve into a true terrorist organisation and possibly pose a greater threat not just to Somalia, but to neighbouring countries and possibly beyond," Pham said.

The loss of footholds across southern and central Somalia means the hardline remnants of al Shabaab will not have access to the lucrative rackets that previously financed the group.

Even so, Will Hartley of IHS Jane's said al Shabaab was capable of an attack similar to the suicide bombings in Kampala that killed 79 people watching the World Cup soccer final in 2010.

"Until they actually lost control of that last territory (Kismayu), al Shabaab's energies were very much on Somalia," Hartley said.

"Having faced quite a significant setback which has severely damaged their prestige, they may well look to carry out high profile operations that will look to re-establish their reputation."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/somali-militants-hit-kismayu-african-troops-move-053829279.html

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Our preferences change to reflect the choices we make, even three years later

Public release date: 3-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Anna Mikulak
amikulak@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science

You're in a store, trying to choose between similar shirts, one blue and one green. You don't feel strongly about one over the other, but eventually you decide to buy the green one. You leave the store and a market researcher asks you about your purchase and which shirt you prefer. Chances are that you'd say you prefer the green one, the shirt you actually chose. As it turns out, this choice-induced preference isn't limited to shirts. Whether we're choosing between presidential candidates or household objects, research shows that we come to place more value on the options we chose and less value on the options we rejected.

One way of explaining this effect is through the idea of cognitive dissonance. Making a selection between two options that we feel pretty much the same about creates a sense of dissonance after all, how can we choose if we don't really prefer one option over the other? Re-evaluating the options after we've made our choice may be a way of resolving this dissonance.

This phenomenon has been demonstrated in numerous studies, but the studies have only examined preference change shortly after participants make their decision. Existing research doesn't address whether these changes in preference are actually stable over time.

In a new article published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researcher Tali Sharot of University College London and her colleagues examine whether choice-induced changes in preference are fleeting or long-lasting.

The researchers asked 39 undergraduate participants to rate the desirability of 80 different vacation destinations, rating how happy they think they would be if they were to vacation at that location. They were then presented with pairs of similar vacation destinations and asked to choose which destination they would prefer. The participants rated the destinations again immediately after making their choices and once more three years later.

To test whether a sense of agency over the decision makes a difference for choice-induced changes in preference, the researchers looked at participants' preferences when the participants made the choices themselves and when a computer instructed the participants' choices.

The results suggest that the act of choosing between two similar options can lead to enduring changes in preference. Participants rated vacation destinations as more desirable both immediately after choosing them and again three years later. This change only occurred, however, if they had made the original choice themselves. The researchers observed no change in participants' preferences when the computer instructed their choices.

Sharot and her colleagues argue that fact that this effect is robust and enduring has implications for a diverse array of fields, including economics, marketing, and even interpersonal relationships. As Sharot points out, for example, repeatedly endorsing a particular political party may entrench this preference for a long period of time.

###

For more information about this study, please contact: Tali Sharot at t.sharot@ucl.ac.uk.

The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "Is Choice-Induced Preference Change Long Lasting?" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.

---

[ | 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.

Public release date: 3-Oct-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Anna Mikulak
amikulak@psychologicalscience.org
202-293-9300
Association for Psychological Science

You're in a store, trying to choose between similar shirts, one blue and one green. You don't feel strongly about one over the other, but eventually you decide to buy the green one. You leave the store and a market researcher asks you about your purchase and which shirt you prefer. Chances are that you'd say you prefer the green one, the shirt you actually chose. As it turns out, this choice-induced preference isn't limited to shirts. Whether we're choosing between presidential candidates or household objects, research shows that we come to place more value on the options we chose and less value on the options we rejected.

One way of explaining this effect is through the idea of cognitive dissonance. Making a selection between two options that we feel pretty much the same about creates a sense of dissonance after all, how can we choose if we don't really prefer one option over the other? Re-evaluating the options after we've made our choice may be a way of resolving this dissonance.

This phenomenon has been demonstrated in numerous studies, but the studies have only examined preference change shortly after participants make their decision. Existing research doesn't address whether these changes in preference are actually stable over time.

In a new article published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, researcher Tali Sharot of University College London and her colleagues examine whether choice-induced changes in preference are fleeting or long-lasting.

The researchers asked 39 undergraduate participants to rate the desirability of 80 different vacation destinations, rating how happy they think they would be if they were to vacation at that location. They were then presented with pairs of similar vacation destinations and asked to choose which destination they would prefer. The participants rated the destinations again immediately after making their choices and once more three years later.

To test whether a sense of agency over the decision makes a difference for choice-induced changes in preference, the researchers looked at participants' preferences when the participants made the choices themselves and when a computer instructed the participants' choices.

The results suggest that the act of choosing between two similar options can lead to enduring changes in preference. Participants rated vacation destinations as more desirable both immediately after choosing them and again three years later. This change only occurred, however, if they had made the original choice themselves. The researchers observed no change in participants' preferences when the computer instructed their choices.

Sharot and her colleagues argue that fact that this effect is robust and enduring has implications for a diverse array of fields, including economics, marketing, and even interpersonal relationships. As Sharot points out, for example, repeatedly endorsing a particular political party may entrench this preference for a long period of time.

###

For more information about this study, please contact: Tali Sharot at t.sharot@ucl.ac.uk.

The APS journal Psychological Science is the highest ranked empirical journal in psychology. For a copy of the article "Is Choice-Induced Preference Change Long Lasting?" and access to other Psychological Science research findings, please contact Anna Mikulak at 202-293-9300 or amikulak@psychologicalscience.org.

---

[ | 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/2012-10/afps-opc100312.php

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Deborah Gaines: I Am Woman, Hear Me Whimper - Huffington Post

Like most single mothers, I am self-sufficient. Independence is in my blood: I come from a long line of matriarchal Jewish women who sold chickens or worked in the fields while their husbands sat around and studied. Except I study, too. I write, I do research, and lately I've been thinking about finishing my doctorate.

So why do I suddenly find myself wanting to collapse against the nearest broad chest and sob uncontrollably?

One reason is that a broad chest -- attached to a rather attractive male body -- has recently entered the picture. For the first time since my kids were little, someone is interested in knowing what they can do for me. The sexiest four words in the English language may well be "How can I help?"

The problem is, once I get past the blubbering gratitude that someone is asking, I have no idea how to respond. I've spent my life working to get things under control and, well, they are. Bills are paid (most of the time), the lawn is mowed, and the car doesn't need inspecting. I kind of suck at recycling, but over the years I've come to terms with that.

Still, "under control" isn't the same as blooming, thriving or jumping for joy. I'm pretty sure I can experience those things as well. But first, I need to learn how to accept the support being offered.

The prospect is terrifying. How, after all this time, can I allow myself to be vulnerable? To admit I need help, or even scarier, that I want love? I've spent 52 years building the Great Wall of Deborah. Am I really going to dismantle it for the transient pleasure of resting my head on someone's shoulder?

God, I hope so. I've proven beyond doubt that I can be tough. But tenderness -- that's the final frontier. If I can't get there with a bang, it's time to try a whimper.

?

Follow Deborah Gaines on Twitter: www.twitter.com/deborahgaines

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-gaines/independent-woman_b_1924421.html

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Sheila Quirke: Donna's Cancer Story: The End

This is the final installment of Donna's Cancer Story, which appeared daily in serial format through the month of September to recognize Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Each post covered one month of Donna's thirty-one months of treatment. Read now or start from the beginning here.

There are no photos of Donna today, as there is no Donna today. Donna died on October 19, 2009. She was four years, two months, four weeks and one day old.

The Bubble we had enjoyed permanently popped one afternoon when Donna woke from her nap. When she reached to take my hand, I noticed her left arm was trembling, shaking gently. A couple of days later her head started tilting to the left. A couple days after that her balance changed. Then her walking.

The signs were unmistakable. The terror and doom consumed more and more of my thoughts. The reality of what was happening to Donna was indisputable. She would die and it would be soon. Days? Weeks? No one knew.

Donna continued in preschool during this time. I fretted so as I dropped her off in the morning. I asked her if she would feel more comfortable if I stayed with her, that I could help her if she needed it. "No, Mama. If I need help, I will ask a teacher." Grit and grace in equal, lovely portions. I would wait anxiously for her at the end of the morning when the parents gathered to pick up their kids. Each day, her teacher reported Donna did beautifully, that she had not needed any help. She played outside, climbed the stairs to the library and showed no signs of distress. That was Donna. Strong as an ox, yet delicate as a flower. That was her beauty, her shine.

On a Thursday night, stalling as she did so well ("My Little Stallina" is what her Daddy called her), Donna gave her Dad and I a concert. She stood on a step stool and sang "I'm a Little Teapot," "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Row Row Row Your Boat." She sang each song three times. She was beautiful. And so happy.

The next morning Donna woke and was different: moody, clingy, listless. The next day, after a trip to the zoo and a nap, Donna woke with a headache. The hospice nurse came immediately and started morphine with good effect. Donna asked for macaroni and cheese, "the good kind, Mama," and I ran to Noodles and Co. for her. God bless the stranger who sat next to me as I waited for the order. Donna ate well and promptly threw it all up, but felt great. She had a bath and played, played, played. She was loud and I worried her singing would wake up Mary Tyler Son in the room next door, but I didn't care.

We had another trip to the zoo that week, Donna bundled and her cheeks covered in her Auntie's deep pink lipstick. She rode the carousel and was happy. On the night before my birthday, Donna baked me a cake. She used the heart shaped pans. It was delicious. A couple days after that, Donna spoke her last words. "Mama, Mama, Mama," she called out to me. Her tone was anguished. I held that girl tight and close for the last time.

Dear friends made a pumpkin memorial to Donna on our front lawn during her vigil. There were dozens and dozens of pumpkins with written messages of love and support for us and jack-o-lanterns that lit the night with their warm, comforting glow. Each night someone appeared to light them and after Donna died they took them away for us.

After a few more days of deep sleep, Donna died. She had been receiving morphine to manage her pain and she appeared comfortable. No grimacing, no furrowed brows. On the fourth night of Donna's deep sleep, her Dad and I fell asleep at midnight. At 2 a.m., when the medication alarm went off, Mary Tyler Dad woke and Donna was gone. He gently touched me, my eyes opened to Donna next to me, and it was over.

In the end, Donna knew she would die. Unlike me, she had the courage to bring it up so we could acknowledge it. At the suggestion of a neuropsychologist at Children's Memorial, we bought a book called, Lifetimes: A Beautiful Way to Explain Life and Death to Children by Bryan Mellonie and Robert R. Ingpen. God bless these two men. If I had to look at one more suggested book about burying a cat or a fly-a-way balloon to use as a tool with Donna about her death, I would have hurt someone.

We put the book into circulation, and Donna was fascinated with it. We all were. The illustrations are gorgeous and do not attempt to make death pretty with balloons and rainbows. Death is not pretty. It is real and can be beautiful, but it is not pretty. As with everything, Donna took the book in and understood it more deeply than we could have imagined.

One day, on the drive to her school, Donna asked me from the backseat who we knew that was dead. She told me she would miss me when she died and she worried she would be sad and lonely. Then she told me that bones didn't walk. Bones had become a symbol of death for her because of dinosaurs. She was fascinated with them. She knew that my Mom, her Baba, was now bones. I agreed with her and told her that bones needed muscles and skin to walk. She calmly told me that bones did not talk either. I told her that I didn't think bones needed words. I told her that many folks believed you come together with the people you love after you die. I told her I hoped I would be with Baba after I died. Driving, tears streaming down my face, I could not tell my daughter that I hoped I would see her again after she died. I couldn't do it. Fail.

Five days later, at bedtime reading books, Donna said to me out of the blue, "Why am I worried I'm dying?" She said it twice in a row. "Why am I worried I'm dying?" We talked about her question and quietly, I agreed with her. I told Donna I thought she would die soon, too. Her tone of voice, both of our voices, were calmer than one would think in that kind of conversation. We talked about how sad her dying made us. We talked about heaven and that many, many people believed it was a place of reunion and peace. A few moments later, I asked Donna why she thought she was dying. Did she feel differently? Did she hear someone say those words to her? Donna told me she was hearing things her body was telling her. I was comforted by how relaxed she was in our conversation. She was not overly afraid, but honest and curious and open. I turned out the lights and we snuggled. Donna asked me what my favorite part of the day had been. "Our talk just now," I said. "Me, too," she said.

Fifteen days later, Donna died.

Row, row, row your boats, dear readers, gently down those streams, because merrily, merrily, merrily, folks, our lives are but a dream.

Tomorrow, in response to your tremendous response to Donna's story, I will post some information about how to help further the cause of pediatric cancer, focusing on raising both dollars and awareness. If you've been moved by Donna's story, please stay tuned.

Read All Of Donna's Cancer Story Here

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sheila-quirke/childhood-cancer_b_1927856.html

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World's most rugged tablet is built to be tough, both inside and out ...

Getac has unveiled the technology inside the world?s most compact and robust Android tablet, as the device hits the European markets.

The 7-inch Getac Z710 is the only rugged tablet built with a glove-friendly touchscreen ? thanks to Getac?s proprietary LumiBond? technology. This new technology integrates Gorilla? Glass, a capacitive touch sensor and an LED panel, providing unprecedented touch sensitivity, even with gloves on.

?This unique feature will save time and boost productivity in sectors where users typically wear gloves to provide protection within hazardous working environments,? says Peter Molyneux, President Getac Europe.

The LumiBond engineering also means the Z710 has a better viewing angle and sunlight readability than existing rugged tablets on the market.

?We have built the rugged tablet with the operator in mind,? he explains, ?whether they work in utility, logistics, automotive, or other field service sectors that require communication and data capture functionality, operating in harsh environments.?

Field users will also benefit from communication and connectivity features built into the new device, including Bluetooth, WiFi, and 3G; unlike most devices which only offer data capture, the Z710 also offers voice capture. In addition, the unique navigation processor (SiRFstarIVTM) provides best in class GPS accuracy.

The device includes RF pass through, providing high-speed connectivity to the above communications functions ? ideal for in-vehicle use.

?The RF pass-through provides faster and more reliable data delivery in real time, and with the corresponding in-vehicle docking station, the tablet becomes the ideal on-the-move communications solution.?

Data capture options include HW Barcode and high frequency RFID technology, while Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping is made easy with GPS, E-compass and accelerometer ? providing state-of-the-art positional accuracy.

Mr Molyneux adds that as well as the array of data capture, communication and connectivity capabilities, the device will be the most rugged tablet of its kind; the Z710 is IP65 and MIL-STD-810G rated, and outclasses other rugged tablets by withstanding 6-foot drops and operating in temperatures from -20?Celcius to 50?C.

?The Z710 has the capacity to redefine the way technology is used in the field,? Mr Molyneux says. ?The device is engineered to enhance business performance on-the-go and in tough conditions ? and we know users will be able to rely on the tablet to deliver time and again.?

Getac Z710 Fully Rugged Tablet Product Key Features:

7? touchscreen that you can ?? ?operate with gloves on

Thin, small, and light (it?s only 800g)

Android 2.3

10-hour battery life

Proprietary LumiBond? Gorilla Glass? for ultra-sensitive touch screen

Rugged, with IP65 Certification and MIL-STD-810G Rating

SiRFstarIV? High Sensitivity GPS for enhanced positioning accuracy

WiFi / Bluetooth / 3.5G WWAN with both data and voice capabilities

All-in-one and instant capture 1D/2D Imager barcode reader

High definition 5 MP auto-focus camera for greater efficiency

High frequency RFID reader

Getac

www.getac.co.uk/Z710

Source: http://www.warehousenews.co.uk/2012/10/worlds-most-rugged-tablet-is-built-to-be-tough-both-inside-and-out/

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Slideshow: Stamps look down on our planet

Editor's Note:
This image contains graphic content that some viewers may find disturbing.

Click to view the image,
or use the buttons above to navigate away.

Source: http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/slideshow/technologyandscience/earthscapes-stamps-look-down-on-our-planet-49245149/

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Action Sizzles at 40th Annual Poway Rodeo, With Pros From 9 ...

A pleasant breeze kept a modest crowd comfortable for Saturday afternoon?s lineup at the 40th annual Poway Rodeo. The nighttime finale was expected to be a sellout. Under a brilliant sun, ropers, riders and steer wrestlers from at least nine states and two countries (including Michael Maher of Warwick, Queensland, Australia) entertained kids in cowboy hats and their parents and grandparents. Rodeo clown J.J. Harrison kept the cowboys safe and the crowd amused. But the critters had something to say, including one calf who cleverly slowed out of the gate?allowing a roping pair to shoot past on their mounts.?

Source: http://poway.patch.com/articles/action-sizzles-at-40th-annual-poway-rodeo-with-pros-from-9-states

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