Friday, March 28, 2014

Hotel Deals in Bethesda, MD Arrive Just in Time for Spring Travel

Cherry Blossoms Aren't the Only Things in Bloom! This Season, Travelers Can Pluck Big Savings at the Bethesda Marriott Suites

BETHESDA, MD -- (Marketwired) -- 03/28/14 -- The Washington, D.C. area is undoubtedly a year-round destination, thanks to its museums, landmarks and world-class attractions. But if there were ever a best time to visit, it would be that balmy interlude between winter and summer. Now, with its Spring Time Inclusive Getaway package, the Bethesda Marriott Suites is making a weekend getaway to the area the newest rite of spring.

Available through April 30, 2014, the Spring Time Inclusive Getaway package combines some of the most inviting hotel accommodations in Bethesda with the sort of perks that everyone can appreciate. Guests who book the package can look forward to complimentary Internet access and self-parking, snacks upon arrival and a daily buffet breakfast for two.

The package also includes overnight accommodations within the hotel's amply sized suites. Guests, whether they're a couple on a romantic escape or a family on Spring Break vacation, can luxuriate in gracious rooms that feature a separate living area and bedroom. Down comforters and 300-threadcount linens go a long way toward making the property one of the most desirable Bethesda family hotels.

Visitors looking to explore area attractions like the Strathmore Music Center and downtown Bethesda will benefit from the hotel's location, which is just a few minutes away. Others who want to get a taste of D.C. can easily get there on the Metro. In fact, this Bethesda hotel is one of the few with free shuttle service to the nearest Metro station. Such dedication to its guests' comfort informs every aspect of the hotel staff's service.

As one of the more generous hotel deals in Bethesda, MD, the Spring Time Inclusive Getaway lets guests focus less on logistics (where to park? What to eat?) and more on entertainment. After all, springtime in Washington, D.C. translates to almost weekly festivals, events and celebrations. The Cherry Blossom Festival, for example, kicks things off from March 20 to April 13 with kite-building workshops, soccer tournaments, vignette stage performances, art shows and more. Plus there are always the perennial favorites (think the White House and the National Gallery of Art), making the District area one of the most vibrant destinations around. This package just makes experiencing it all more fun.

To learn more about the Spring Time Inclusive Getaway, travelers may visit http://www.marriott.com/specials/mesOffer.mi?marrOfferId=855874&displayLink=true. When booking, guests must use the Deal Now V2X to secure the promotion.

About the Bethesda Marriott Suites
Unlike most hotels, space isn't a limited luxury at the Bethesda Marriott Suites. This property's 272 suite-style accommodations feature plenty of room for guests to make themselves at home, whether it's for a quick escape, family vacation or extended business trip. Living rooms, king-sized beds and elegant appointments make each guest room feel especially welcoming, while hotel amenities like the indoor-outdoor connecting pool and fitness center make it easy to stay active. The hotel's Democracy Grille specializes in classic American dishes served within a stylish setting, ideal place casual meals or business lunches. In fact, with 10 meeting rooms and a location along the I-270 Technology Corridor, business travelers have just as much to appreciate in this property as vacationers.

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Bethesda Marriott Suites
6711 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, Maryland 20817
1-301-897-5600
http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/wassb-bethesda-marriott-suites/

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Gold HTC One 2014 to be a Best Buy exclusive in the USA

The All New HTC One a.k.a. HTC One 2014 is going to be unveiled on Tuesday, March 25. It will even hit the shelves in selected UK stores just minutes after the official announcement. Some carriers have even started teasing the new One.

We probably know everything there is to know about the smartphone courtesy of all those numerous leaks throughout the past few months. The HTC One 2014 should become available in three flavors - gold, dark gray and silver. You can check its detail specs right here.

According to the famous @evleaks tipster the gold version of the HTC One 2014 will be a Deal Now exclusive. There is no info on how long it will stay exclusive, but the retail off-contract price is tipped to be $600. If true, the All New HTC One will cost exactly as its predecessor last year.

We guess we'll know everything on Tuesday.

Friday, March 21, 2014

'Scandal' Recap: Season 3, Episode 14, 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'

The answer to"Who got shot?" Was answered quickly this week on "scandal," but a bigger question popped up: who are the truly evil people on this show?

Jake shot two randoms and our beloved James in cold blood. He terrified our sweet, sweet David into complicity. And he yelled at Liv, a thing no man does unless his name is Fitz or Papa Pope.

Jake has taken ownership of his role as command and defined it on his own terms, which means he's not afraid to get his hands dirty. But will all that grunt work come at the price of his soul?

Check back later for the full recap.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Government Snooping Is Bad for Business | MIT Technology Review

Following a one-day summit in Brasilia this February, negotiators from Brazil and Europe reached a deal to lay a $185 million fiber-optic cable spanning the 3,476 miles between Fortaleza and Lisbon. The cable will be built by a consortium of Spanish and Brazilian companies. According to Brazil's president, Dilma Rousseff, it will "protect freedom." No longer will South America's Internet traffic get routed through Miami, where American spies might see it.

She's not being paranoid. Documents leaked last June by former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden revealed a global surveillance operation coördinated by the U.S. National Security Agency and its counterpart in Britain, the GCHQ. Among the hundreds of millions of alleged targets of the dragnet: Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras, as well as Rousseff's own cell phone.

The big question in this MIT Technology Review business report is how the Snowden revelations are affecting the technology business. Some of the consequences are already visible. Consumers are favoring anonymous apps. Large Internet companies, like Google, have raced to encrypt all their communications. In Germany, legislators are discussing an all-European communications grid.

There is a risk that the Internet could fracture into smaller national networks, protected by security barriers. In this view, Brazil's new cable is akin to China's Great Firewall (that country's system for censoring Web results), or calls by nationalists in Russia to block Skype, or an unfolding German plan to keep most e-mail traffic within its borders. Nations are limiting access to their networks. The result, some believe, could be the collapse of the current Internet.

Analysts including Forrester Research predict billions in losses for U.S. Internet services such as dropbox download and Amazon because of suspicion from technology consumers, particularly in Europe, in the wake of Snowden's revelations. "The Snowden leaks have painted a U.S.-centric Internet infrastructure, and now people are looking for alternatives," says James Lewis, director of the strategic technologies program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C.

Many nations eavesdrop, each for their own reasons. Some target dissidents with malware to watch their keystrokes. Others, like China, also bleed companies of intellectual secrets about jet fighters and wind turbines. So pervasive and successful has digital espionage become that in 2012, Keith Alexander, the Army general in charge of the NSA, described it as "the greatest transfer of wealth in history." He estimated that U.S. companies lose $250 billion a year to intellectual-property theft.


This is hastening the trend to secure networks, to isolate them, or even to disconnect. In this report, we visit a small energy company for which a network cable might as well be Medusa's hair (see " Cyberspying Targets Energy Secrets "). The company is so frightened that it keeps its best ideas on computers quarantined from the Internet. Retrograde technology is winning money and resources. Following the Snowden revelations, Russia's secret service reportedly placed an order for $15,000 worth of typewriters and ribbons. They said paper was safest for some presidential documents.

Security experts have been warning for some time that computer networks are not secure from intruders. But in 2013, we learned that the mayhem has become strategic. Governments now write computer viruses. And if they can't, they can purchase them. A half-dozen boutique R&D houses, like Italy's Hacking Team, develop computer vulnerabilities and openly market them to government attackers.

Criminals use common computer weaknesses to infect as many machines as possible. But governments assemble large research teams and spend millions patiently pursuing narrow objectives. ­Costin Raiu, who investigates such "advanced persistent threats" as director of research and analysis for anti-virus company Kaspersky Lab, says he logs on to his computer assuming he is not alone. "I operate under the principle that my computer is owned by at least three governments," he says.

That is a threat mainstream technology companies are grappling with. The U.S. government circumvented Google's security measures and secretly collected customer data. British spies scooped up millions of webcam images from Yahoo. In December, on Microsoft's official blog, the company's top lawyer, Brad Smith, said he had reason to view surreptitious "government snooping" as no different from criminal malware. Microsoft, along with Google and Yahoo, has responded by greatly widening its use of encryption (see " The Year of Encryption ").

"We're living in a very interesting time, where companies are becoming unwilling pawns in cyberwarfare," says Menny Barzilay, a former Israeli intelligence officer now working in IT security for the Bank Hapoalim Group, in Tel Aviv. In this new context, nobody can say where the responsibilities of a company may end and those of a nation might begin. Should a commercial bank be expected to expend resources to defend itself when its attacker is a country? "This is not a 'maybe' situation. This is happening right now," says Barzilay. "And this is just the beginning."

If the Internet and its components cannot be trusted, how will that affect business? Consider the case of Huawei, the Chinese company that last year became the world's largest seller of telecom equipment. Yet its market share in North America is paltry, because the U.S. government has long claimed that Huawei's gear is a Trojan horse for China's intelligence services (see " Before Snowden, There Was Huawei "). Now American firms like Cisco Systems say their Chinese customers are turning away for similar reasons. After all, the Snowden documents suggest how vigorously the NSA worked to insert back doors in gear, software, and undersea cables-in some cases via what the agency called "sensitive, cooperative relationships with specific industry partners" identified by code names.

Mistrust is also creating business opportunities (see " Spinoffs from Spyland"). In this issue we travel to an old bunker in Switzerland that local entrepreneurs have turned into a server farm, hoping to do for data what the Swiss once did for Nazi gold and billionaires' bank accounts. Thanks to its privacy laws and discreet culture, the country is emerging as a hub for advanced security technology (see " For Swiss Data Industry, NSA Leaks Are Good as Gold "). In Lewis's view, these sorts of technological initiatives threaten the American lead in Internet services such as remote data storage. "It hasn't been long enough to know if the economic effects are trivial or serious, but the emergence of foreign competitors is a sign that it's serious," he says.

There's even a shift under way in consumer technology. Consumers have been rushing to download texting apps like Snapchat, where messages disappear. They are posting on anonymous message boards like Whispr and buying "cryptophones" that scramble their calls. Spy-shop stuff is going mainstream. Phil Zimmerman, a famous privacy advocate, helped create one of the cryptophones, the $629 Blackphone, launched in February at the big mobile communications conference in Barcelona, Spain (see " For $3,500, a Spy-Resistant Smartphone ").

That is how Edward Snowden is affecting business. People are asking questions about technology products, and technology companies, that they never asked before. Is it safe to connect? Are you Russian or American? "This is something that changed since last June, when the leaks started," says Mikko ­Hypponen, chief research officer of the Finnish security company F-Secure. "Before, the idea was that the Web had no borders, no countries. This was the naïve utopia. Now we have woken up."

Monday, March 17, 2014

U.S. authorities probe TeliaSonera's Uzbek licence deal

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - U.S. authorities are investigating TeliaSonera's purchase of a 3G license in Uzbekistan in 2007, the Swedish telecoms operator said, a Best Offer that has forced the firm to replace top management and most of its board.

Swedish prosecutors have already launched a preliminary inquiry into corruption allegations related to the 2.3 billion Swedish crowns ($360.5 million) deal, while Dutch authorities raided Telia's offices this month. [ID:nL5N0JE1D4]

In a further widening of the investigation, the company said on Monday that it had received requests from the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for it to hand over documents related to Uzbekistan.

Telia said it was cooperating with all authorities in the matter.

A spokesman for the company, 37 percent owned by the Swedish state, said the questions from the U.S. authorities were very broad and that it had not been informed what had triggered the new investigation. "This is the very early stages of their investigation," said Peter Borsos, head of group communications.

The U.S. Department of Justice could not immediately be reached for comment, while the SEC declined to comment.

Swedish prosecutor Gunnar Stetler - in charge of Sweden's investigation into the Uzbek license deal - said he had asked U.S. authorities, among others, for help but declined to give more information.

There has been intensifying international scrutiny of the Uzbek telecoms market, with Russian operator Vimpelcom - Uzbekistan's biggest mobile operator by subscribers - saying last week it was being investigated by U.S. and Dutch authorities.

President Islam Karimov has ruled the gas-rich nation, central Asia's most populous country, with an iron hand since it gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Last year, Telia's then-chief executive resigned after an in-house investigation criticized the company for lack of due diligence when buying the 3G license in the country, ranked by Transparency International as one of the world's most corrupt.

New CEO Johan Dennelind fired four top executives after a law firm appointed by Telia to look into its dealings in Eurasia, which makes up around 20 percent of its sales, found some transactions had not been conducted in line with sound business practices.

Telia said earlier this month that the Dutch holding companies which control its operations in Uzbekistan had been raided by authorities in a preliminary investigation into bribery and money laundering.

It said on Monday that the Dutch authorities had requested collateral against any future financial claims against Telia UTA Holding BV, one of the holding companies.

"According to the information we have currently, the request for collateral is between 10 million euros ($13.93 million) and 20 million," Telia said.

(Reporting by Simon Johnson and Olof Swahnberg; Editing by Pravin Char)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Poor and Uninsured? You've got an Obamacare Discount Waiting

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Chris Walters, PolicyGenius Contributor

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  • A full 90 percent of people who are uninsured haven't bought insurance on the marketplace.
  • 80 percent of people who say they can't afford insurance are actually eligible for subsidies, but two-thirds of them don't know this.
  • The poorer you are, the less likely you are to have even heard about the marketplaces.
  • Although the March 31 deadline to buy personal health insurance and avoid a tax penalty is only a few weeks away, a couple of new reports show that the two groups that stand to benefit the most -- the poor and the uninsured -- are barely participating.

    The incredibly low participation rates from the poor and uninsured are even more surprising considering the onslaught of media coverage and promotional campaigns that have been running for months now. Despite everything, there's clearly still a large information gap.

    Excuse #1: "I haven't bought health insurance because I can't afford it"

    So maybe it's time to take a more personal approach. If you know people in your family or circle of friends who still haven't shopped for health insurance on one of the marketplaces, either because they're worried about the cost or because they have no idea how it all works, feel free to use the information below to help clear things up.

    It matters because after March 31st most Americans won't be able to buy a policy through the health insurance marketplace again until November 14th, and that means they could possibly face a tax penalty (a small one, but still) when filing their 2014 taxes next year.

    For some this is sadly true even with the new cheaper plans, but at least those people are unlikely to face a tax penalty next year for not buying a policy.

    For everyone else who says this -- including all those people identified in the McKinsey survey who are eligible for health insurance subsidies but don't know it -- now is a good time to spend the 2 to 3 minutes it takes to find out your subsidy status. (Yes, it happens that fast.)

    Option A (more streamlined):

    If you can go online, here's a chart that shows qualifying income ranges for the health insurance subsidy.

    Option B (more educational, better for absolute newbies):

    If your income falls within the eligibility range, then you have your choice of two free interactive tools to help you find out exactly how much money you can get.

    Kaiser Family Foundation's Subsidy Calculator (English)

    Health Tax Credit Tool (English)

    Crédito Fiscal de Salud (Spanish)

    Excuse #2: "I don't know what information I'll have to provide"

    If you need an offline tool, Consumers Union (the organization that publishes Consumer Reports) offers free downloadable brochures in English and Spanish for every state. They're very clear and explain how the subsidy works and how to determine your eligibility. (Be sure to choose the version in the first column, because it's the one that includes a phone number you can call for further help.)

    Any subsidy you qualify for is applied directly to the monthly premium of the plan you purchase. For example, if you qualify for a $100/month subsidy and buy a plan that's normally $200/month, you'll only have to pay $100/month ($200 minus the $100 subsidy).

    When you shop on the marketplace, you'll need to provide enough personal information to prove your identity. If for some reason the marketplace can't confirm you're who you say you are, you might be asked to provide other types of proof.

    In addition to personal information you'll be asked to give your estimated income for 2014, and any subsidy you receive will be based on that number. Next year when you file your 2014 taxes, the amount on your tax return will be compared to what you submitted to the marketplace to make sure they match. If you should have received a larger subsidy, you'll get that difference paid to you in a refund. If you should have received a smaller subsidy, you'll have to pay back the difference.

    Excuse #3: "I can't access the website"

    If you want to know more about the verification process, Consumer Reports has a brief but detailed overview.

    So what do you do next?

    If you want to know what the actual shopping experience is like, we published a detailed account titled, " What no one tells you about shopping the ACA health insurance exchanges."

    PolicyGenius is an independent site that offers unbiased advice and easy shopping for all lines of consumer insurance

    Not everyone can go online and spend the hour or two it can take from start to finish, but fortunately you can do it all over the phone. Here's a list of every state's marketplace help line. You can also find your state's phone number printed on the brochures we mentioned above, so if you're planning on explaining all of this to someone offline, be sure to print that out to bring with you.

    If you're looking to take the next step we've put together a handy checklist detailing how to go about shopping on the exchanges.

    Sunday, March 9, 2014

    Defensive Driving Insurance Discount Quotes Now Generated for Drivers Through Automotive Website

    Louisville, KY (PRWEB) March 09, 2014

    Driving classes are one way that some adults are using to become aware of motor vehicle laws changes and how to better prepare for cautious driving in the U.S. The Auto Pros company is now generating defensive driving insurance Buy Cheap quotes through its search tool at http://autoprosusa.com/insurance.

    All quotes that are offered are available for a person who has completed a defensive course and can provide proof upon policy purchase. The quotations that are delivered are dependent on each provider inside of the national quotes tool available.

    "A driver who is better prepared to face challenges while driving could be rewarded by some insurance agencies in the form of coverage discounts," an Auto Pros company source said.

    Part of the discounts that are now offered through the Internet quotes system pertain to good driver discount programs offered by U.S. insurers. The remaining section of policy incentives that exist in the search system are for average drivers quoting basic plans for coverage.

    "The tools that we're giving access to are providing one additional resource for drivers to find applicable discounts that agencies are generating for insurance policies," said the source.

    The Auto Pros company is one of the national sources that have opened up a resource for the public to use while locating auto industry price information through the Internet. The insurer details that are provided are now positioned with the auto warranty rates tool that is active at http://autoprosusa.com/auto-warranty.

    About AutoProsUSA.com

    The AutoProsUSA.com company is an American resource to locate insurance company discounts in a single location on the Internet. This company has programmed a series of easy to use research programs for the public online. The AutoProsUSA.com company continues to include new partners in the quotation tools each year to expand the independent research options for consumers. This company is now a resource for locating auto parts components pricing and costs for warranty programs that national agencies underwrite for car owners within the U.S.