Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/171147
2B Daily News – Friday, September 13, 2013 FEATURES Grandma being taken advantage of be with the kids for Dear Annie: such a long day. My granddaughter, Can the in-laws "Mary," is babysit two days a employed full time, week? What about has two daughters, taking the kids for a ages 10 and 5, and couple of hours a is pregnant with her day to give Cindy a third child, even break? It is up to though a divorce daughter has been in the Annie's your whether she wants works for at least a to continue caring year. The problem is by Kathy Mitchell for the grandchilthat Mary expects and Marcy Sugar dren, but she should look into possible her mother, my daughter, "Cindy," to pro- compromises in case there vide daycare, often for 12 is a better solution than all or hours a day. Cindy is in her nothing. Dear Annie: I'm only 60s and finds that her stamina is winding down. Not 12, but I love reading your only that, but her loving care column. Here's my probhas been unappreciated, and lem: My younger sisters and she has been treated with I don't get along. Even disrespect and even con- when I try to be nice to them, they're always being tempt. Without affordable day- mean. We are each two care, Mary would have to years apart, but I feel weak quit her job and go back on and pathetic around them. welfare. She is putting a real Sometimes they side with guilt trip and extreme pres- each other and bully me. sure on Cindy, and so are Every kind thing I do for her husband and soon-to-be them is unappreciated, and they make me so angry, I former in-laws. I feel that my daughter is fight back. A lot of the time being taken advantage of, it becomes physical. I don't want to have a and I think she is becoming increasingly depressed. Just bad relationship with them, how obligated is she to con- but I fear things will never tinue babysitting under change. — The Hated Older these circumstances? — Sister Dear Sister: We think Concerned Great-Grandma your siblings are too immain Seattle Dear Seattle: Both ture to understand the value Cindy and Mary are in a dif- of having a big sister who ficult position. Since Mary wants a closer relationship. is unlikely to make the Part of the reason they effort, Cindy could look into behave this way is to get a available subsidized daycare rise out of you and control or even after-school pro- your attention. Try to walk grams so she doesn't need to away from those engage- Mailbox ments. Talk to your parents about mediating some of these fights. You also could discuss the problem with your school counselor. Remember, sisterhood is for the long haul. You may have to wait until your siblings are older before you can have the relationship you are hoping for, but if you are patient, it will happen. Dear Annie: This is a response to the letter from "Feeling Sorry in Vermont," who was concerned about the teenage children who cannot read or write in cursive. Here's an update for her: Cursive writing is no longer being taught in most schools in my state. The teachers in our community who teach writing are upset and angry about this. It means these children will not have a signature. Major documents that include "print and sign" will soon simply say "print and print." — Champs Mom Dear Champs: A lot of people are upset that cursive writing seems to be going the way of the dinosaur. We find cursive useful. But a lot of skills have gone by the wayside over the years. Remember all those guys who could flip open a car hood and repair the engine? Try doing that now. Handwriting is being replaced by keyboards, which will soon enough be replaced by dictation software. One's "signature" is likely to be a thumbprint or a retinal scan. Time marches on. Top 10 list of foods with salt such as people with high DEAR DOCTOR K: I'm tryblood pressure or diabetes — ing to cut back on salt in my a target of 1,500 milligrams a diet. Can you help me get startday is better. ed? As you cut down on salt in Where does most of the salt your diet, the first logical step in my diet come from? is to limit or avoid the foods DEAR READER: You may on the "top 10" list. be surprised to hear that, for Next, be mindful when you most Americans, just 10 types Dr. K shop for groceries or eat in of food deliver almost half of by Anthony L. restaurants. our daily sodium. Here's the Komaroff, M.D. The most sodium-heavy list: foods we eat tend to be — breads and rolls processed foods. — cold cuts/cured meats So minimize canned or prepared — pizza foods, as well as foods that are salted, — poultry smoked or cured, such as cold cuts, — soups — hamburgers and other sandwich- bacon and cheese. You can always check the Nutrition Facts label on es packaged food in supermarkets to see — cheese how much salt is in a prepared food. — pasta mixed dishes Be careful that you determine what — meat mixed dishes — chips, pretzels and other savory the Nutrition Facts label considers a "serving." A can may say there are snacks (For children ages 2 to 5, hot dogs 500 milligrams of sodium in a "serving," leading you to think that means and sausages come in at No. 3.) At first glance, it seems odd that 500 milligrams in the whole can. But breads and rolls top the list. After all, most of the time, the can will contain they aren't nearly as salty as chips or several servings. This may seem like obvious advice, but I'm surprised by cheese. But since we eat breads and rolls how many of my patients don't look at more often, the modest amounts of the definition of "serving" that's on the label. sodium they contain add up. Replace processed foods with The body needs some sodium to function, but too much sodium can foods made from scratch. Eat more increase blood pressure and make the vegetables and fruits. Replace salt with herbs, spices and kidneys work harder. High blood pressure is a leading cause of stroke, heart flavorings. When you eat out, if possiattack, heart failure, kidney disease ble, ask that your food be made without salt. and more. At chain restaurants, menus that Americans take in an average of 3,266 milligrams of sodium a day, or list nutrition information can help you choose wisely. about 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. That's well above the healthy target Dr. Komaroff is a physician and of 2,300 milligrams a day, or 1 teaprofessor at Harvard Medical School. spoon. send questions, go to And some authorities say that the To AskDoctorK.com, or write: Ask target of 2,300 milligrams a day is too high. For people at risk for heart dis- Doctor K, 10 Shattuck St., Second ease, kidney disease and stroke — Floor, Boston, MA 02115. WORLD BRIEFING Talking tough, Kerry rejects Syria's offer on weapons Assad: Syria to submit data on its chemical weapons GENEVA (AP) — Striking a tough tone, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry opened swiftly convened talks with Russia on Syria's chemical weapons Thursday by bluntly rejecting a Syrian pledge to begin a ''standard process'' by turning over information rather than weapons — and nothing immediately. That won't do, Kerry declared at an opening news conference, a stone-faced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at his side. ''The words of the Syrian regime in our judgment are simply not enough.'' ''This is not a game,'' Kerry said of the latest developments in a series that has rapidly gone from deadly chemical attacks to threats of retaliatory U.S. air strikes to Syrian agreement with a Russian plan to turn over the weapons and, finally, to the crucial matter of working out the difficult details. ''We believe there is nothing standard about this process at this moment because of the way the regime has behaved,'' Kerry declared. And he kept alive the threat of U.S. military action, saying the turnover of weapons must be complete, verifiable and timely — ''and finally, there ought to consequences if it doesn't take place.'' Adding to the drama, Russian President Vladimir Putin weighed in from afar, raising eyebrows with an opinion piece in The New York Times that chided Americans for seeing themselves as ''exceptional.'' That was an apparent reference to a comment President Barack Obama made in his Syria speech Tuesday night, explaining why he felt the U.S. needed to take action. Congress has shown little inclination to authorize military action, and a vote on that has been put off. BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad publicly agreed Thursday to a Russian plan to secure and destroy his chemical weapons, but said the proposal would work only if the U.S. halts threats of military action. Assad also said his government will start submitting data on its chemical weapons stockpile a month after signing the convention banning such weapons, while the U.N. said Thursday that it received a letter from Syria stating its intention to join. The treaty states that a nation becomes a party 30 days after such a letter is submitted. But American officials, meeting with their Russian counterparts in Geneva, insisted on a speedier Syrian accounting of their stockpiles. Assad's remarks to Russia's state Rossiya 24 news channel were his first since the Russian plan was announced Monday as a way to avert a potential U.S. military strike in response to the Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack that killed hundreds near Damascus. He said that Syria is relinquishing control over its chemical weapons because of Russia. Twitter files for an initial public offering of stock NEW YORK (AP) — Twitter is going public. The short messaging service aptly tweeted on Thursday it has filed confidential documents for an initial public offering of stock. But the documents are sealed, as Twitter is taking advantage of federal legislation passed last year that allows companies with less than $1 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year to avoid submitting public IPO documents. San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. posted on its official Twitter account Thursday afternoon that it has ''confidentially submitted an S-1 to the SEC for a planned IPO.'' The confidentiality will likely help Twitter avoid the public hoopla that surrounded the initial public offerings of other high-profile social networking companies, including Facebook Inc., which went public in May 2012. Twitter's IPO has been long expected. The company has been ramping up its advertising products and working to boost ad revenue in preparation. Most Wanted American jihadi killed in Somalia MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — An American who became one of Somalia's most visible Islamic rebels and was on the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist list with a $5 million bounty on his head was killed Thursday by rivals in the al-Qaida-linked extremist group al-Shabab, militants said. The killing of Omar Hammami, an Alabama native known for his rap-filled propaganda videos, may discourage other would-be jihadis from the U.S. and elsewhere from traveling to Somalia, terrorism experts said. Hammami, whose nom de guerre was Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, or ''the American,'' was killed in an ambush in southern Somalia following months on the run after falling out with al-Shabab's top leader, the militants said. Reports of Hammami's death have cropped up every few months in Somalia, only for him to resurface. But J.M. Berger, a U.S. terrorism expert who closely follows the inner workings of al-Shabab, said he thinks the current reports are accurate. The rebels did not immediately present proof of Hammami's death. Heavy rains send water crashing down in Colorado LYONS, Colo. (AP) — Heavy rains sent walls of water crashing down mountainsides Thursday in Colorado, cutting off remote towns, forcing the state's largest university to close and leaving at least three people dead across a rugged landscape that included areas blackened by recent wildfires. A storm system has been dropping rain on the region for much of the week. Up to 8 inches fell in an area spanning from the Wyoming border south to the foothills west of Denver. Flooding extended all along the Front Range mountains, including the cities of Colorado Springs, Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, Aurora and Boulder. Numerous roads were washed out or made impassable by floods. Parts of several interstate highways in the Denver area were closed for a time. Floodwaters poured into homes, and at least a few buildings collapsed in the torrent. The Over 25 years of experience STOVE JUNCTION BBQ PELLETS The North State's premier supplier of stoves All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened Members Welcome 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check $ starting at 95 $ 25 + 8 certificate 25 (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. Now in Stock! Popular customer request Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com