Spitbank Fort is one of those spots you read about in an Alexander Dumas novel. It's a gritty, grey, Victorian-era fortress with a dark past and nothing but miles of water on all sides. And it's the perfect place for a romantic weekend the next time you're on the coast of England.
Source: http://gizmodo.com/spend-your-next-holiday-at-a-victorian-fort-in-the-midd-981320569
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? Arkansas Republican Rep. Tom Cotton plans to announce his bid next week to challenge two-term incumbent Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor in next year's elections, according to a person familiar with the congressman's plans.
The person who spoke to The Associated Press on Wednesday was not authorized to speak publicly about the planned announcement and spoke on a condition of anonymity. But the freshman congressman has scheduled an event Tuesday with supporters in his hometown of Dardanelle.
Cotton's entry will set up a heated and expensive fight for a U.S. Senate seat that Republicans believe is prime for a pickup in 2014, with groups on the right and left already waging a television ad fight in Arkansas. It also creates a domino effect, with several Republicans now eyeing Cotton's seat in the U. S. House.
Cotton was elected to the U.S. House in 2012, to the open seat formerly held by Democrat Mike Ross. Ross is now running for Arkansas governor.
Cotton, 36, is a former management consultant who served in the Army in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was elected to the 4th District in November, after racking up endorsements during his primary bid from national Republican leaders including U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona and conservative groups such as the Club for Growth.
The Club for Growth in February launched the first television ad against Pryor, seen by many as a signal that the group would back Cotton's potential candidacy. Other conservative groups said they're prepared to back Cotton's bid.
"Representative Cotton is a conservative leader and rock star candidate. Arkansas is now one of the very top pickup opportunities for Republicans this cycle and we are excited to get engaged in the race on behalf of Rep. Tom Cotton," said Steven J. Law, president and CEO of American Crossroads, a GOP group tied to Republican strategist Karl Rove.
Pryor is viewed by many Republicans as the most vulnerable Senate incumbent next year, especially after recent GOP gains in Arkansas. Republicans in November took over the state Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction and swept all four of the state's U.S. House seats.
Republicans are trying to unseat Pryor and three other Democratic incumbents who represent states that Republican Mitt Romney won in last year's presidential race: Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana.
Democrats need to defend 21 seats, including seven in largely rural states that Obama lost in 2012.
Republicans need to pick up six seats to regain Senate control.
On Wednesday, Pryor's campaign wasted no time in hitting back, accusing Cotton of alienating constituents on issues ranging from farming to Social Security.
"Instead of putting Arkansas first, he has put his own political career ahead of the people of Arkansas and sided with Washington insiders and special interests," Pryor's campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, said in a statement. "When the people of our state review Tom Cotton's record, they won't like what they see."
Pryor reported in July that he ended the second quarter with nearly $4 million in the bank for his re-election bid. Cotton has $1 million on hand.
Groups on the right and left have already been airing ads throughout the state targeting Pryor. A gun control group founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has aired spots criticizing the Democratic lawmaker for voting against expanded background checks. Pryor used his first TV spot to defend his vote against the criticism.
Since taking office in January, Cotton has enjoyed a high profile with multiple appearances on national programs such as Meet the Press. Cotton in July wrote a column for the Wall Street Journal opposing Senate immigration legislation.
He's also been targeted by Democrats who viewed him as a likely challenger to Pryor. Two Democratic political action committees, Patriot Majority USA and Senate Majority PAC, launched a $270,000 television ad buy in June attacking Cotton for allegedly seeking the national spotlight at the expense of his district.
Cotton has faced criticism from Democrats for initially opposing the farm bill over objections to the food stamp program. Cotton later voted for a version of the farm bill that did not include funding for food stamps.
Cotton's also come under fire for a recent proposal that would have extended sanctions on Iranian human rights violators to their families ? an idea that has been criticized as eliminating due process. Cotton, who withdrew the proposal, has defended the idea and said it would only apply to sanctions on Iranians, not any American citizens.
Cotton's appeal to conservative activists stems from his resume as a Harvard-educated veteran who's known for his rhetorical flourishes.
When he joined with House Republicans to vote for the federal health overhaul's repeal, he compared the unsuccessful effort to defeat the law to an ancient Roman senator's ongoing call to destroy Carthage. When Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez died in March, Cotton responded with "Sic semper tyrannis," or Latin for "thus always to tyrants." John Wilkes Booth uttered the same after assassinating President Lincoln.
Cotton's candidacy will likely have a domino effect on other races in Arkansas. House Majority Leader Bruce Westerman plans to seek the Republican nomination for Cotton's seat and will formally launch his campaign in August, a person who had spoken to the lawmaker told the AP. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because Cotton had not yet formally launched his Senate campaign.
Lt. Gov. Mark Darr has said he'd likely run for Cotton's seat if the congressman ran for Senate. Beth Anne Rankin, who was the party's nominee for the seat in 2010 and lost the primary to Cotton last year, said Wednesday she'd consider running again if Cotton challenges Pryor.
Janis Percefull, a community college teacher, is the only Democrat running for the 4th District seat. State Rep. Jeff Wardlaw said Wednesday he's considering running for the Democratic nomination.
___
Follow Andrew DeMillo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ademillo
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/apnewsbreak-ark-cotton-run-us-senate-151231829.html
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All Critics (98) | Top Critics (35) | Fresh (93) | Rotten (5)
Everyone has a different story. I found myself holding my breath listening to them talk. The story twists like a thriller.
Stories We Tell is not just very moving; it is an exploration of truth and fiction that will stay with you long after repeated viewings.
Part of the movie's pleasure is how comfortable the "storytellers" are with their director; you get a sense of a complicated but tight-knit family, going along with Sarah's project because they love her.
Never sentimental, never cold and never completely sure of anything, Polley comes across as a woman caught in wonder.
After you see it, you'll be practically exploding with questions - and with awe.
Fascinating personal documentary.
Slowly but surely Polley pieces together her own family's history to create a kind of cinematic narrative - complete with a twist straight from a soap opera.
An unconventional but wonderfully assembled exploration of how -- and why -- we tell stories, all wrapped in a closely guarded family secret.
Polley is savvy, using her talent as a director -- as a storyteller -- to give it universal appeal even though it's a very specific account.
Perhaps the most organic, transformative meeting of form and function I've seen this year.
Stories We Tell is cinema cutting to the profound truth of why we use narrative to make sense of the world.
For the most part, Polley's thoughts and feelings are pretty much absent, but the film makes some nice observations about memory and how it affects - yup - the stories we tell.
The movie isn't really about the Polley family: It's about memory, and loss, and forgiveness, and, through it all, hope. It'll knock you over.
What emerges is a fascinating and illuminating story, one that runs the gamut from intense joy to deep sadness and features a couple of surprising twists that take proceedings off in strange and unusual directions.
An honest and authentic documentary that powerfully explores the filmmaker's own family.
Polley's portrait of modern family life is a playfully profound discussion of narrative forms - the way in which we each construct our own reality through stories, part truth, part invention.
A decent piece of work, but too fussy for its own good.
Polley approaches every character with compassion, intent upon blessing them, and serving the audience with useful questions about how we seek the truth.
Polley is working in the tradition of Orson Welles, but her trickery can be exasperating; it also neutralises many of the emotional revelations.
With Away From Her and Take This Waltz, actress-turned-filmmaker Polley has proved herself as an unusually gifted director, but this inventive, moving documentary reveals even more artistic ambition.
What saves it is our realisation that it isn't just a documentary.
A bittersweet and compelling autobiographical family portrait.
Kane-like in its mirrored complexity, flashing in its mischievous irony, the story is a shiny maze which Polley enters knowing exactly where and what her Minotaur is - the secret of her paternal parentage - while spinning for us a thread to follow.
Polley ... smilingly tells us that a story like hers can never truly be tied down, even as she screws every last piece into place.
Polley's cine-tribute is a gripping and absorbing meditation on the unknowability of other lives.
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MOSCOW |
MOSCOW (Reuters) - G20 policymakers have soft-pedalled on goals to cut government debt in favour of a focus on growth and how to exit central bank stimulus with a minimum of turmoil, Russia's finance minister said on Saturday.
The final communique from Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers addresses fiscal consolidation less strongly than had been expected, with discussion focusing chiefly on spillover effects from the withdrawal of monetary stimulus by developed countries, Russia's Anton Siluanov told Reuters.
"(G20) colleagues have not made the decision to take responsibility to lower the deficits and debts by 2016," Siluanov said on the fringes of the G20 meeting in Moscow. "Some people thought that first you need to ensure economic growth.
"You can of course, expect growth, but it may not come anytime soon and debt will keep piling up," Siluanov said, adding that fiscal consolidation should remain a priority.
"The communique addresses (consolidation) more softly, nonetheless we will raise this issue at the leadership level (in September)."
The G20 did not discuss at length Friday's move by China to start interest rate reforms, but Siluanov and other countries will monitor how the reforms are being implemented.
Beijing removed a floor on the rates banks can charge clients for loans, which should reduce the cost of borrowing for companies and households.
The U.S. and the European Central Bank said during the meeting that their policy of low interest rates will continue, Siluanov said: "The question is about the quantitative easing programme, for how long this process will continue."
SPILLOVER EFFECTS
The spillover effects on developing countries from the withdrawal of quantitative easing policies by developed nations, and the United States in particular, dominated the weekend's discussion.
"There were no arguments but there was discussion," Siluanov said. "Emerging countries are very concerned about the predictability of (those policies), how it will all continue.
"We have agreed that coordination is needed, exchange of information is needed."
The G20 also discussed long-delayed reforms to the International Monetary Fund quota system. The governance reform is languishing as the United States, the IMF's largest shareholder has not given a green light to it.
The Obama administration wants Congress to shift $63 billion from an IMF crisis fund to the IMF's general accounts in order to maintain U.S. power at the international lender and make good on an international commitment made in 2010.
Congressional approval of the IMF funding changes is necessary to complete reforms at the lender that the international community has already agreed including reform of voting shares, known as quotas, to boost the power of emerging economies.
"There is a feeling that the process has stalled," Siluanov said. (Additional reporting by Maya Dyakina. Editing by Mike Peacock)
Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/INbusinessNews/~3/MQyXE4y00-Q/story01.htm
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LONDON and HONG KONG - Grosvenor and The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited (HSH) have announced today that they have agreed terms to enter into, upon completion of HSH's purchase of a 50% interest in 1-5 Grosvenor Place, SW1 in London, United Kingdom, a 50:50 joint venture partnership that seeks to redevelop the site.
The newly formed partnership will aspire to redevelop the 1.5 acre site opposite the gardens of Buckingham Palace and overlooking Hyde Park into a mixed use scheme incorporating HSH's first hotel in the UK -- The Peninsula London.
Mr. Clement K.M. Kwok, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HSH, commented: "London is one of the world's most important financial centres and a key international gateway city for business tourism. This project is consistent with our Group's long term strategy, representing our desire to further expand in Europe."
Mr. Peter Vernon, Chief Executive Officer of Grosvenor Britain and Ireland, said: "We're incredibly excited to be working in partnership with Asia's longest standing hotel operator whose expertise will be invaluable to delivering an exceptional scheme in such a prominent location in central London."
The partnership will be formed following HSH's acquisition of Derwent London's 50% leasehold interest in the site for GBP132.5 million (approximately HK$1,564 million, exclusive of value added tax and other applicable taxes).
HSH and Grosvenor will work together to design and submit a planning application to develop the site following an extensive consultation phase with the local community.
Source: http://www.eturbonews.com/36308/grosvenor-and-hongkong-and-shanghai-hotels-deliver-central-londo
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FRIDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) ? The skin disease eczema may be an important factor in the development of food allergies in infants, a new British study suggests.
The breakdown in the skin barrier that occurs in eczema could play a key role in triggering food sensitivity in babies, the researchers from King?s College London and the University of Dundee said.
?This is a very exciting study, providing further evidence that an impaired skin barrier and eczema could play a key role in triggering food sensitivity in babies, which could ultimately lead to the development of food allergies,? Dr. Carsten Flohr, of King?s College London, said in a college news release.
The researchers said the discovery suggests that food allergies may develop via immune cells in the skin rather than in the gut and that the findings indicate that eczema may be a potential target for preventing food allergies in children.
A link between eczema and food allergies has been known for some time, but this study ? published July 18 in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology ? adds to growing evidence of the skin barrier?s role in the process, according to the researchers.
The study included more than 600 infants who were 3 months old and exclusively breast-fed from birth. They were tested for eczema and checked to see if they were sensitized to the six most common allergenic foods.
Egg white was the most common allergen, followed by cow?s milk and peanuts. The more severe the eczema, the stronger the link to food sensitivity, independent of genetic factors.
It?s believed that the breakdown of the skin barrier in infants with eczema leaves active immune cells found in skin exposed to environmental allergens ? in this case food proteins ? which then triggers an allergic immune response, the researchers explained.
They also noted that food sensitivity does not always lead to food allergy and they?re conducting a follow-up of the infants in this study.
?This work takes what we thought we knew about eczema and food allergy and flips it on its head. We thought that food allergies are triggered from the inside out, but our work shows that in some children it could be from the outside in, via the skin,? Flohr explained. ?The skin barrier plays a crucial role in protecting us from allergens in our environment, and we can see here that when that barrier is compromised, especially in eczema, it seems to leave the skin?s immune cells exposed to these allergens.?
This finding opens up the possibility that by repairing the skin barrier and preventing eczema, it might be possible to reduce the risk of food allergies, Flohr added.
More information
The American Academy of Dermatology has more about eczema.
Source: http://news.health.com/2013/07/19/researchers-focus-on-eczema-food-allergy-link/
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Lets you share photos, albums, videos, and text messages with other members of your designated family. In addition to being an app, you also get the domain of [yourfamilyname].origami.com, where you get all the functionality of the app versions. Both the mobile app and the website have the same, familiar timeline-style feed. It will even send you a daily newsletter (if you so choose) with all of your family's latest happenings.
Not only are parents or grandparents joining social media sites often a point of contention, but there are some images, videos, and memories in general that you want to make sure stay within your family. And it doesn't really feel like adding an extra burden onto your social media plate, because for the most part (especially if you're the type of family that would use this app), you're already sharing these things anyway. Origami just simplifies it. However, the service is $5 a month, and with all the free?even if less convenient?options out there, it's probably not worth it for people who don't regularly keep up with their family online. But if you've got a family that loves and/or needs to use the internet to stay connected, this is a wonderfully private, easy way to do it.
Origami, Download this app for: iOS, Android; $5/month (free for first 30 days)
The Best: Confidence that everything is only being seen by family
The Worst: Subscription-only
Source: http://gizmodo.com/origami-for-ios-and-android-a-better-way-to-share-with-830613222
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