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Deloitte prepares companies in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for implications of VAT implementation has been saved
Press releases
Deloitte prepares companies in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain for implications of VAT implementation
Deloitte hosts VAT academies in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
15 May, 2017 – The Saudi Tax Authority has published Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on its website announcing it will introduce VAT as of 1 January 2018. The Bahrain Ministry of Finance earlier this year confirmed that Bahrain has also signed the GCC VAT Treaty.
To help equip businesses and keep clients abreast of all Value Added Tax (VAT) developments in the GCC following the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recent publishing of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) VAT Treaty, Deloitte is hosting a VAT academy in KSA and Bahrain in May 2017.
"The key question for businesses right now is how long will it take my business to get ready? If businesses have not already started, now is the time for them to start preparing and analyzing in detail what the implications of VAT implementation are," explains Nauman Ahmed, Partner and Middle East Tax leader at Deloitte.
The VAT Academy in KSA will be held on the 21st of May in Jeddah and 22nd of May in Riyadh. The VAT Academy for Bahrain, which will cover the Eastern province of Saudi Arabia, will be held on the 23rd of May.
"The Deloitte VAT Academy is designed for legal, tax and finance experts who want to have a better understanding from experts on the VAT legal framework. The course is aimed at analyzing the VAT framework and look further at the detailed consequences of the framework for a KSA and Bahraini business in its domestic dealings, and its business within the GCC and the wider world," explains Justin Whitehouse, Middle East Indirect Tax leader at Deloitte.
To register for the VAT academy, please click this page.
Press contact
Nadine El Hassan
Middle East Public Relations
Deloitte & Touche (M.E.)
Tel: +961 (0) 1 748444
Fax: +961 (0) 1 748999
About Deloitte:
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a more detailed description of DTTL and its member firms.
Deloitte provides audit, consulting, financial advisory, risk management, tax and related services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries and territories, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte's more than 220,000 professionals are committed to making an impact that matters.
About Deloitte & Touche (M.E.):
Deloitte & Touche (M.E.) is a member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) and is a leading professional services firm established in the Middle East region with uninterrupted presence since 1926.
Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting, and financial advisory services through 26 offices in 15 countries with more than 3,300 partners, directors and staff. It is a Tier 1 Tax advisor in the GCC region since 2010 (according to the International Tax Review World Tax Rankings). It has also received numerous awards in the last few years which include best employer in the Middle East, best consulting firm, the Middle East Training & Development Excellence Award by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), as well as the best CSR integrated organization.


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This Man's 'Healthcare Internet' Has Ignited A Huge Controversy On Wall Street (ATHN)
Athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush is enthusiastic.
Watch his recent talk at Google, or his TEDMED talk from last year, or any of his many appearances on CNBC, and you immediately notice that he isn't like most public CEOs.
His hands and body are up and down and back and forth, his speech is peppered with asides and off-color comments.
Bush is the kind of CEO that says his company's stock is worth $1,000 a share before backing off that comment and admitting that, well, who knows what its really worth?
Bush has huge goals for Athenahealth, saying the company's ambitions are nothing short of building the healthcare internet. Bush even wrote a book about it: "Where Does It Hurt? An Entrepreneur's Guide to Fixing Health Care."
Wall Street has been on his side for the last few years, but recently some have started to wonder what the deal is with Athenahealth.
So have we.
What Athenahealth Does
Athenahealth is headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, and was cofounded by Bush and Todd Park in 1997. The company began as a women's health company that offered an alternative, holistic approach to maternity care.
Today, Athenahealth markets itself as a software-enabled service company.
In 2013, the company's revenue totaled $595 million, and at $130 per share Athenahealth's market cap is just below $5 billion.
The company's software helps medical practices manage care, process billing, and communicate with patients.
Steve Rubis, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus, told Business Insider that, basically, Athenahealth helps doctors get paid.
Athenahealth is primarily used by doctors in ambulatory settings or in small doctors' offices where patients are treated as outpatients.
The idea is that care providers sign up to use Athena's network, and Athena gets a cut when they use the network to, say, get reimbursed from an insurer or communicate directly with patients. A physician using Athenahealth's services will collect a patient's copay, bill an insurer, and get reimbursed for services all using the apps, instead of mailing these forms out for processing and waiting for reimbursements to be mailed back.
"Revenue cycle management," is what Rubis called this process in a conversation with Business Insider.
Competition And Ambition
Epic and Cerner are two giants in the healthcare-software space that provide IT infrastructure for healthcare providers and hospitals using enterprise software. Almost everything Bush says about Athenahealth is an effort to position it as the anti-enterprise.
But Athenahealth's ambitions are very real. In atalk at MIT last year, Bush said, "What we think we're doing is building the healthcare internet."
In interviews and speeches Bush has talked about how the current healthcare system "isn't an expression of our humanity."
Bush says that if Americans are going to spend 18% of every dollar they earn on healthcare, they ought to be able to decide how they spend those dollars. The system today, Bush argues, prevents this from happening.
And it's this system that presents problems for Athenahealth's ambitions.
Athenahealth's Vision
Athenahealth is after a complete reinvention of how healthcare is dispensed, received, and selected.
Bush speaks a lot about his experience driving an ambulance in New Orleans, and how treatment options seemed too limited, as patients often just needed treatment that could, but wasn't allowed to be, dispensed outside of a hospital.
Bush and his team driving the ambulance also got paid for driving a patient to the hospital, not for treating them even if they could. The incentives, Bush argues, were not in line with what seemed to be the goal: helping people.
The problem with Athenahealth's ambitions, however, is that the entire healthcare system works within a number of accepted practices that are hard — if not seemingly impossible — to change.
Currently, when you go to the doctor any proposed treatment is assigned a procedure code that is sent to an insurer and either accepted or declined. There arethousands of procedure codes.
Athenahealth wants to streamline an industry that is averse to streamlining. In his talk at Google, Bush says the success of the Massachusetts healthcare system over the last twenty years ultimately created institutions that are, "the personification of the problem."
In Massachusetts, Bush says, there is too much healthcare that is too expensive, and now with an outsize workforce, too politically influential.
Bush says this is a problem not only for healthcare in the U.S., but for how Athenahealth can become the company Bush thinks it can be — a lean, flexible, cloud-based healthcare services company.
Stock History
Athenahealth debuted on the Nasdaq on Sept. 20, 2007, just about one year before the financial crisis sent the markets tumbling. For most of its first three years as a public company, Athenahealth traded in the $20-to-$30 range.
When the calendar turned to 2012, things really started to get interesting for the stock.
By the end of 2012, Athenahealth had seen shares trade from about $50 to more than $90, eventually starting 2013 at about $75. By the end of 2013, those shares would be worth $130.
This chart shows Athenahealth stock from the beginning of 2012 through 2013.
Early this year, the stock was bid up to $195 before violently selling off amid weakness in shares of internet-based companies, with the stock's decline eventually punctuated by hedge fund manager David Einhorn's short presentation, or bet that the price of the company's shares would fall, at the Sohn Investment Conference in early May.
Here's Athenahealth's year-to-date performance, and you can see the sharp rise through February and subsequent tumble to its early May lows.
Goals Not Guidance
In his short presentation on Athenahealth, Einhorn said it "is an excellent company with an excellent product, run by a well-meaning and honest, though occasionally promotional, CEO."
Einhorn added that the world may be better off if Athenahealth succeeds, and said, "I am in no way rooting for it to fail."
But looking at the company from a purely financial and performance-based perspective, the justification for nearly $200 stock did not make sense.
Einhorn highlighted the following slide from a 2012 Athenahealth presentation.
At the top it says "our goal" is 30% annual revenue growth. And this is an aim that the company often repeats.
But it's a goal, not guidance, or a projection from management about what they expect their financial performance to be in upcoming periods.
Einhorn subsequently points out that Athena's revenue and earnings goals, as well as its margins, have disappointed.
"I'm not giving guidance of 30%," Bush told CNBC's Jim Cramer last month. "It's worth a shot every year and some years we've grown more than 30% and some years less."
In his talk at Google, Bush said that the next generation of companies aren't going to grow "like a Google," but will grow faster than companies did in the past. A 30% growth trajectory, it them would seem, is almost a necessity for a company looking to entrench itself in an industry as staunch as healthcare.
Wall Street's Bull Case
Last month, Steve Rubis at Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Athenahealth with a "buy" rating at a $155 price target.
Rubis wrote that, "Given the company's underpenetrated addressable market in terms of revenue and physicians, we believe the company is poised to drive growth for the next several years."
Rubis notes that in the physician, hospital, and patient communication markets, the company has penetration of about 5.7%, 2%, and 3.6%.
In his TEDMED talk given last year, Bush cites the success of Whole Foods cofounder and co-CEO John Mackey, who has a great company and a great brand ... and has 2% market share in the grocery space.
Bush's central argument: If you build the best product, customers will find you.
In his research note, Rubis writes that, "Over the long term, we believe the company's primary focus lies in developing the digital backbone of healthcare information exchange."
Rubis told Business Insider that Athenahealth sees enterprise services offered by companies like Epic and Cerner as commodities. It's Athenahealth's apps services that the company hopes will be layered over that.
Wall Street's Bear Case
According to data from Bloomberg, of 27 Wall Street analysts covering Athenahealth, only two have a "sell" or equivalent rating.
One of those is Bret Jones, an analyst at Oppenheimer who maintains an "underperform" rating on shares.
Like Einhorn, Jones still likes Athena's business model generally, writing that he views its business model as superior to traditional BPOs, or business process outsourcing firms.
Jones writes, "We believe Athena's margins are structurally disadvantaged relative to pure SaaS companies and Street growth expectations are simply too high."
A good company with a good business, but a valuation that is overheated.
What's Next
Since Einhorn's presentation, shares of the company are roughly unchanged, up about 3%.
But even after a steep decline, Athenahealth shares are still expensive for a company that earned a profit of just $0.07 per share last year.
Athenahealth was among the market's highest flyers in 2013 and into the early part of this year, but after a more than 40% peak-to-trough loss, and a very public short presentation, people have begun to take notice.
After a steep decline in its share price, and a public short presentation by Einhorn, the spotlight will now squarely be on Athenahealth and its charismatic, if sometimes enigmatic, CEO. Stay tuned.
See Also:

subset: commoncrawl


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Does Asteroid Vesta Have a Moon?
July 6, 2011: NASA's Dawn spacecraft is closing in on Vesta, and from now until the ion-powered spacecraft goes into orbit in mid-July, every picture of the giant asteroid will be the best one ever taken. What will researchers do with this unprecedented clarity?
"For starters," says Dawn chief engineer Marc Rayman, "we're going to look for an asteroid moon."
You might think of asteroids as isolated bodies tumbling alone through space, but it's entirely possible for these old "loners" to have companions. Indeed, 19-mile-wide Ida, 90-mile-wide Pulcova, 103-mile-wide Kalliope, and 135-mile-wide Eugenia each have a moon. And 175-mile-wide Sylvia has two moons. Measuring 330 miles across, Vesta is much larger than these other examples, so a "Vesta moon" is entirely possible.
Where do such moons come from?
Rayman suggests one source: "When another large body collides with an asteroid, the resulting debris is sprayed into orbit around the asteroid and can gradually collapse to form a moon."
Another possibility is "gravitational pinball": A moon formed elsewhere in the asteroid belt might, through complicated gravitational interactions with various bodies, end up captured by the gravity of one of them.1
Hubble and ground based telescopes have looked for Vesta moons before, and seen nothing. Dawn is about to be in position for a closer look. This Saturday, July 9th, just one week before Dawn goes into orbit around Vesta, the moon hunt will commence.2 The cameras will begin taking images of the space surrounding the asteroid, looking for suspicious specks.
"If a moon is there, it will appear as a dot that moves around Vesta in successive images as opposed to remaining fixed, like background stars," says Dawn Co-investigator Mark Sykes, who is also director of the Planetary Science Institute. "We'll be able to use short exposures to detect moons as small as 27 meters in diameter. If our longer exposures aren't washed out by the glare of nearby Vesta, we'll be able to detect moons only a few meters in diameter."
While you won't see "find a moon" among the mission's science goals, a moon-sighting would be a nice feather in Dawn's cap. Not that it will need more feathers. The probe is already primed to build global maps and take detailed images of the asteroid's surface, reveal the fine points of its topography, and catalog the minerals and elements present there.3
Besides, Dawn will become a moon itself when it enters orbit around Vesta. And the probe's motions as it circles will provide a lot of information about the rocky relic.
Sykes explains: "We'll use the spacecraft's radio signal to measure its motion around Vesta. This will give us a lot of detailed information about the asteroid's gravitational field. We'll learn about Vesta's mass and interior structure, including its core and potential mascons (lumpy concentrations of mass)."
As you read this, the spacecraft is gently thrusting closer to its target. And with the navigation images alone we're already watching a never-before-seen world grow ever larger and clearer.
"The pictures are beginning to reveal the surface of this battered, alien world," says Rayman. "They're more than enough to tantalize us. We've been in flight for four years, we've been planning the mission for a decade, and people have been looking at Vesta in the night sky for two centuries. Now, finally, we're coming close up to it, and we'll be getting an intimate view of this place."
This is not only the first time a spacecraft has visited this alien world, it's also the first time a spacecraft has visited a massive body we haven't approached previously. In the past, rocket ships have orbited Earth, the moon, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury.
"In each case, flyby missions occurred first, providing a good estimate of the target's gravity along with information on other aspects of its physical environment, including whether any moons are present. This time we're much less certain what we'll find."
At a recent press conference, NASA Planetary Science Deputy Director Jim Adams told reporters that Dawn will "paint a face on a world seen only as a 'fuzzy blob' up to now." What does Rayman think Vesta's face will look like?
"Wrinkled, ancient, wizened, with a tremendous amount of character that bears witness to some fascinating episodes in the solar system's history."
If a new moon is among the episodes, Rayman has a name in mind.
"How about 'Dawn'?"
Author: Dauna Coulter | Editor: Dr. Tony Phillips | Credit: Science@NASA
|More Information
Dawn Journal -- penned by Dawn's chief engineer Marc Rayman
(1) In addition to having moons, asteroids can also be double: Binary asteroids sometimes form when a spinning parent body splits. The body is spun up by a phenomenon called YORP that occurs when the body absorbs photons from the sun and reradiates them as heat: more.
(2) Dawn will perform dedicated observations in search of moons for about 15 hours. However, if no moon is found at Vesta on July 9th, that doesn't mean there isn't one. Rayman says: "If there is a moon, it might show up by coincidence in other observations, but we have no other observations dedicated in this mission to finding a moon. There is just so much to learn about Vesta itself, that that is where we are focusing our time."
(3) From NASA press release: When Vesta captures Dawn into its orbit on July 16, there will be approximately 9,900 miles (16,000 kilometers) between them. When orbit is achieved, they will be approximately 117 million miles (188 million kilometers) away from Earth. During the initial reconnaissance orbit, at approximately 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers), the spacecraft will get a broad overview of Vesta with color pictures and data in different wavelengths of reflected light. The spacecraft will move into a high-altitude mapping orbit, about 420 miles (680 kilometers) above the surface to systematically map the parts of Vesta's surface illuminated by the sun; collect stereo images to see topographic highs and lows; acquire higher-resolution data to map rock types at the surface; and learn more about Vesta's thermal properties. Dawn then will move even closer, to a low-altitude mapping orbit approximately 120 miles (200 kilometers) above the surface. The primary science goals of this orbit are to detect the byproducts of cosmic rays hitting the surface and help scientists determine the many kinds of atoms there, and probe the protoplanet's internal structure. As Dawn spirals away from Vesta, it will pause again at the high-altitude mapping orbit. Because the sun's angle on the surface will have progressed, scientists will be able to see previously hidden terrain while obtaining different views of surface features.
Credits: Dawn's mission to Vesta and Ceres is managed by JPL for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. UCLA is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are part of the mission team. JPL is managed for NASA by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. For more information about Dawn, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/dawn and http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov . You can also follow Dawn on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/NASA_Dawn .


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Continued from Previous Post…
So anyway, I managed to survive my first attempt at emancipation relatively unscathed. I'm sure there was punishment of some kind, since there was always an intricate system of checks and balances in my childhood, especially when Dad was around. Any time you stepped out of line, regardless of the severity of the actual violation or the degree of covert stealth, you were gonna get your ass whipped, at the very least.
But I don't recall the specific retribution for my aborted freedom flight. It had to have been something, but it must not have been very creative or interesting and the memory is long gone. What does stick in my mind, however, was the shocking realization that I did not, in fact, know everything there was to know, such as how to successfully flee the county when you are only six years old.
This was devastating to my previous perception of my place in society, as well as my overall world view of how things worked. I clearly had missed a memo or two somewhere. It was time for me to hit the books and revisit my exit strategy before formalizing my next field operation.
This took a couple of years. Granted, there were other things of great interest that kept me distracted at the time, so I wasn't completely focused on my intention to realign Western civilization. After all, I had to learn how to ride that stupid bike that almost killed me later in life. (Expect additional blog posts.) There was the intriguing discovery that one could give dimes to a man driving a noisy truck and you would be rewarded with fancy popsicles.
And there was the little girl who lived across the street. She was also on a learning curve about the world, developing her budding personality by engaging in activities she found pleasing in some way. One of these hobbies involved her running up and down the sidewalk in front of her house, wearing nothing but panties and a smile.
I found this quite fascinating. She seemed to be having so much fun doing it, laughing and skipping, that I was slightly jealous as well. But not jealous enough to actually join her, or at least I don't think I did. I vaguely recall an underwear incident of my own around the time, but the details are sketchy and I'm not sure if Little Miss Frilly Panties was involved or not. (This is the type of research topic you only surface with your parents after everyone has had a nice shot of tequila, because the whole thing could backfire in a ricochet of shame.)
Anyway, the liberated lass across the street is one of my first memories of a true "free spirit". She was certainly very much ahead of her time. This was years before the act of streaking became something of a national pastime, with people baring all during social gatherings, usually in support of murky but progressive political agendas. I just thought she was really neat. I had no idea if the sudden disposal of her clothing meant she had joined the National Organization for Women, or if she had no intention of giving up her last name when she married.
At some point, I was no longer allowed to play with her anymore, so the assumption is that something untoward took place, something that changed the adult commentary from "Isn't she cute!" to "Do NOT go across the street or I will bust your ass!" Perhaps Frilly just fell into the wrong crowd, maybe some older girls who would skateboard topless and did not intend to shave their armpits when they reached puberty.
I don't know. And then another something transpired which rendered the fate of Frilly, as well as that whole neighborhood (the scene of my first attempt to appear on the back of a milk carton), a moot point.
We moved. Packed everything up in the house and headed from urban Tulsa to beyond-suburban Broken Arrow. Way out in the country where paved roads were considered somewhat uppity. There were certainly no sidewalks for hippies-in-training to cavort upon whilst wearing nothing but a bandana made out of hemp.
And it was at this second house where things transpired to remind me that I apparently dreamed of a life on the road. Me and you and a dog named Boo, travelin and a livin off the land. All that mess. (Funny how I can remember the lyrics to 40-year-old songs yet I have no idea where the key is for the shed in the backyard.)
But just like my first burst of anarchy, wherein something motivated me to run past vicious poodles while clutching a tiny suitcase, I really don't remember what prompted me to flee. I'm sure I had my reasons. Children don't spurn the family nest without some irksome motivator. Why trade a life of relative security and free food for a transient existence living in boxes under a freeway overpass? Something was in my craw, I just don't know what it was.
But I do remember the day of my departure. I was either 8 or 9 at the time. Keep that in mind as you continue with this tawdry tale.
I came home from school, filled to the brim with whatever angst was driving my decisions, fully intent on my mission. My little sister was off doing some boring thing that little sisters do. In fact, she may have even been in daycare, not quite old enough to begin her reign of terror with employees in the public education system.
All I know is that she wasn't there at the moment, which was fine by me. She'd always been a little shifty since she tried to steal my place as next in line for the throne, back when I made my first break on Sixth Street. It didn't matter that she was only three years old at the time. Her tender age did not excuse her actions, and I don't forget things.
Anyway, alone in the house, I marched into my parents' bedroom in search of a pen and paper. (See, right there is probably one of my points of dissatisfaction at the time. I apparently didn't have implements of communication in my own room. Who knows what other madness was going on in that house. Clearly, I was justified in my rebellion.)
So I approached the desk on one wall of my parents' private chambers. It was a very nice desk, solid wood and all that, very tasteful. (Even then I was a budding gay boy who appreciated the finer things in life. It's just in the blood, know what I'm sayin?) I whipped out a sheet of paper, grabbed a ball-point pen, and proceeded to scratch out my Declaration of Intolerance.
Who knows what I scribbled. I'm sure I listed all of my grievances, with annotations and footnotes, and I possibly even attached a full appendix with multiple references to precedent-setting court cases of yore. (Did I mention that I was an absurdly over-achieving child, intently focused on the cryptic bylaws of proper English? Sadly, there's been a lot of alcohol consumption since those heightened days of scholastic glory, and I can no longer identify a dangling participle when I see one. The luster is gone.)
Anyway, at the tail end of my diatribe against the inhumanity of it all, I remember signing my name with extremely-anguished force, cutting through the thin sheet of paper and actually etching my name into the surface of the exquisite desk. Sort of like those romantic knife-carvings you see on trees, where "Bill hearts Debi", but without any devotional love and certainly without any intention of sanctifying a relationship.
But I did pause when I peeled the paper off the desk, and realized that I had somehow managed to create an impromptu memorial to my displeasure with current circumstances. Hmm. Oh well, no need to worry. Despite my measurable gay shame at having desecrated a piece of heirloom furniture that might cause an issue in future probate proceedings, I was headed out on the midnight train to Georgia. Or at least some destination that was not Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, where the oppressive winds did not come sweeping down the bigoted plain.
I then raced back to my own room, gathered up the necessary possessions for my hopefully extended and final trip abroad, threw them in a satchel of some kind, and prepared to Exit Stage Left. I proceeded to the back of the house, choosing to depart via the sliding glass doors onto our patio, waving a final farewell to all that I knew. (No one returned the wave, because there was no one there to see me pursue my dreams, a rather apt symbol of how I felt about my entire life. Sylvia Plath had nothing on me.)
Once outside, I glanced around me for a bit, sighing, somewhat wistful but trying to strengthen my resolve. Where should I go? Would it be the Amazon? A bohemian enclave in Paris? Perhaps the Valhalla destination for little boys who were completely misunderstood for their love of show tunes and ruined finery, the mecca known as San Francisco, where everyone was free and Rice-a-Roni was born. (Even at the age of 8, I knew that I had to travel great distances to be with my people.) But instead of pursuing any of these marvelous pathways, I instead marched about ten paces to the left, then I squatted down and hurled myself into the overly-large doghouse that was the legal residence of the current family pet, a basset hound.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I had made my great escape by not even leaving the actual homestead property, choosing instead to share rent and utilities with a salivating mutt that was dumber than a rock.
It was not one of my finer decision-making moments.
In any case, let's just say that I missed the boat on this one, and there I was, crouched in a canine domicile, already losing sensation in my legs, because doghouses were not designed to accommodate errant children on poorly-planned freedom quests. But I was still fully convinced that my inept actions would somehow inspire my parents to dispense with what I perceived to be heinous acts of utter outrage. Surely, in their anguish, they would toss aside the shackles and promise me complete and total freedom for years to come.
Well. Do you know what it's like to be curled up in a doghouse, waiting for your parents to come home and un-enslave you? It's not pretty. And it's certainly boring. I was most assuredly over it when Dudley, the simple but sweet basset hound, unleashed his fifteenth cascade of slobber directly into my contorted face. To be fair, Dudley just wanted to show his love and appreciation for me stopping by for afternoon tea. Continuing the fairness, I sincerely yearned for a wet-vac to whisk away his liquid affections before I started to grow mold. It was not a pleasant time.
Yet I persevered. My sanity was in question, but then again, that has always been the case.
Eventually, Mom arrived home from work. I heard the car pull in the driveway, and I jerked awake. As Mom exited the car, I could tell that she was talking to my little sister, so she had apparently picked her up from daycare, or wherever it is that they keep younger siblings who covet the title of next-in-line with blatant ambition. I patiently waited, giving Mom time to mosey through the house, become concerned that I wasn't responding to her calls, and then discover my letter of angst and displeasure.
Next thing I knew, Mom and sister were back out in the driveway, piling into the car and heading off for parts unknown. What was this? Where could they be going? Were they already over my departure, off to go shopping for something interesting to put in my vacated but still warm room?
I shoved Dudley the dog to the side, which was a bit of a challenge since we had the same body weight. (Basset hounds are some seriously heavy animals, in case you didn't know.) I cautiously eased myself out of the doghouse, checking in all directions in case there were renegade-child law enforcement officers hanging about, ready to pounce and brand me with some form of scarlet letter.
The coast was clear.
So then I scoured the surrounding neighborhood. As noted, we were out in the country, where the homes had some seriously-large lots. It was still a subdivision, but everybody had at least an acre to claim. Which meant that my sightlines were essentially clear and I could easily track the progress of Mom in her search mobile.
She was going from house to house, inquiring if anyone had seen me.
Oh no. It's one thing to send up a red flag that you're really not happy. It's quite another thing to realize that the sending might be causing somebody else pain. Especially your mother. I was a very bad child for doing something so irresponsible and inconsiderate. No wonder they didn't allow me to have my own pen and paper.
I crawled back into the doghouse. Dudley crawled back in with me. Since he was my only friend at that specific point in time, I asked him if I was doing the right thing. And he just looked at me with the unquestioning love that dogs have. Well, his slobbery expression said, I don't even have indoor plumbing and I'M happy. Why aren't YOU?
And I couldn't answer that. I didn't even know HOW to answer that. I just… wasn't.
A bit later, I heard Mom pull back into the drive. She and little sister clamored out of the car, preparing to do nothing more than head back in the house. Then just before they entered the garage and the subsequent inner door, I heard Mom ask my sister to go check the doghouse.
I bristled. Holy cow. She'd figured it out, even though she didn't even quite realize it. But this is what Mom's do, yes?
My sister, not really impressed with her current assignment, took her slow-ass time wandering toward my hiding place. She eventually got there, with me having nowhere to run, peered in, and then squealed at Mom, hoping that she would win some type of prize.
Mom made a sound that stayed with me for a very long time.
I looked at faithful Dudley, with his confused but devoted face. "I've got to go, boy. I'll bring you a treat. Thanks for the tea."
Then I crawled out of one doghouse and into another.
Originally published in "Memory Remix" on 02/10/10 and "Bonnywood Manor" on 07/02/16. No changes made, as I'm still doing that vacation thing. Trivia: Have any of you faithful readers noticed that all of the Memory Remix stories are named after song titles or lyrics? Yep, they are…
Categories: My Life


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As the winter months pull us in, it's that time of the year again when people ponder purchasing a seasonal affective disorder (SAD) lamp. I sprung for a Philips one a few years ago, and never looked back.
Pure's claiming their Twilight is the first "dawn simulator lamp" combined with a digital radio. Sure beats SAD lamps waking you up with birdsong and other "mother nature" style tones, eh—though the Twilight does have "church bells," "cockerel," "wind chimes," "dawn chorus" and "cicadas" tones, too. There are also tones for the evening too, including "twinkle twinkle," "rock-a-bye baby," and "Brahm's lullaby."
And when you've got people 'round for a party, there are numerous colored light settings, including "party," which sets them all off in a colorful strobe effect.
On sale now in the UK for £130 (the equivalent of $205). [Pure]
London, UK, 24th November 2010: PURE, the world-leading radio maker, presents Twilight, the world's first combined dawn simulator lamp and digital radio and the most energy efficient product of its kind on the market.
PURE Twilight (SRP £129.99) brings together the best in light therapy and the choice and ease-of-use of digital radio to deliver the ultimate bedside experience. Offering dawn simulation, mood lighting, built-in natural sounds and lullabies as well as a reading light and four independent alarms, Twilight creates the ideal ambience for getting a good night's sleep and waking up revitalised and refreshed.
Twilight is the most energy efficient product of its kind on the market thanks to its energy saving LED based light solution, which provides the same light output as a 45W incandescent light bulb for just 5.4W when the lamp is on (Twilight consumes less than 1W in standby).
Waking up with PURE Twilight
Twilight comes with four sophisticated yet simple independent alarm settings, giving the user the choice of waking to a tone, digital radio, FM, or special alarm tones including 'church bell' and 'cockerel'; or natural sounds including 'wind chimes', 'dawn chorus' and 'cicadas'.
All of these alarm sounds can be accompanied by dawn simulation which allows the user to wake up naturally from light on a timer that increases gradually to mimic the rising sun before the user's chosen alarm is activated. Studies have shown that waking up to a dawn simulation is good for health and can combat symptoms associated with SAD (seasonal affective disorder).
Going to sleep with PURE Twilight
Twilight has a whole host of features to aid a good night sleep. Babies and young children can drift off to sleep listening to lullabies such as 'twinkle, twinkle, little star', 'rock-a-bye baby' or 'Brahm's lullaby' and a nightlight can be set to any colour or brightness.
It is also possible to go to sleep listening to a relaxing natural sound and a mood light setting can be selected to accompany the sounds with the light dimming gradually, helping the user to easily drift off to sleep.
Adults can use Twilight as a reading light or simply relax with its numerous mood light settings, a combination of mood lighting and natural sounds, or of course a favourite radio station. Moods include 'Rainbow', which cycles through a spectrum of colours; 'Fire', which flickers between red and orange; 'Ocean', which undulates from blue through cyan to green, giving a relaxing oceanic effect; 'Wheat field', which transitions between gold and green to conjure up the changing of the seasons; and 'Party', which uses flashing colours to create a disco feel.
Turning the light on and off couldn't be easier as Twilight's glass dome is touch-sensitive and acts as an on/off switch for the lamp. Press and hold the lamp and the light dims or brightens gradually.
PURE's Twilight also includes PowerPort, a feature on the majority of PURE's bedside radios, which provides power for USB accessories such as mobile phone chargers, reading lights and bedside fans and solves the problem of having insufficient power points next to the bed. In fact, with combined radio, light and PowerPort, Twilight can replace three power sources with just one. A number of PowerPort USB accessories are available as part of the PURE Choice accessory range.
Other features include digital and FM radio, an auxiliary input for an iPod or MP3 player, large LCD display with autodimming, ultra bright and efficient LED lights with the equivalent brightness of a 45W bulb and touch sensitive controls.
Twilight is also part of the EcoPlus programme, a statement of PURE's ethical philosophy and ongoing commitment to looking after the environment. All PURE products are designed to minimise their environmental impact and manufactured in ethically approved and audited facilities. They have reduced power consumption in operation and standby, use recycled packaging materials, have the smallest possible packaging and use components selected to minimise environmental impact.


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North Korea: During the past week international news services have repeated a South Korean news service report that North Korea has up to 20 million tons of rare earth metal ores in its mountainous interior. This estimate would make North Korean deposits second only to China's and possibly worth $6 trillion, according to press accounts.
All of the recent reports seem to stem from meetings late last year between North and South Korean mining concerns about how best to exploit the rare earth ores. In those meetings, the North delivered to South Korea samples of the ores for evaluation. Since December the North has not responded to South Korean offers to provide their assessment of the quality of the ores.
Meanwhile, Chinese interests have injected themselves to exploit the ores. Last year, Chinese and North Korean authorities agreed on a Chinese proposal to develop rare earth mines in North Korea, but the details were never published.
Comment: The location of the rare earth ore deposits appears to be a state secret. South Korean media reported the North Korean deposits would make it the second largest source of rare earth metals, after China. China wants to control the market that South Korea is trying to penetrate.
This is potentially a game changing development on the peninsula because demand for and the price of rare earth metals continues to skyrocket. They are essential in the manufacture of modern telecommunications equipment.
A thriving rare earth metals industry in the North could make the country more prosperous than it ever has been. There is no confirmation of South Korean estimates of the size of the North Korean deposits, but the Chinese and South Korean competition for exploitation rights and agreements is a strong indication that they are worth the competition.
Weapons exports have been the North's single most important source of hard currency since the death of Kim Il-sung in 1994. North Korean weapons are based on Cold War designs. Even with upgrades and modernization, they are obsolescent and a declining source of revenue. Libya and Syria are among the North's most important clients who will never buy again. Pakistan and Iran remain the top clients.
Extraction and processing of rare earth metals hold the potential for a transformation in North Korean economic fortunes. The North would never need to sell weapons again and could become much more prosperous. However, the industry would need even more energy for processing the ores, for which nuclear-powered electricity plants probably would be essential.
Development of rare earth ore mines also would have a politico-economic impact because North Korea must look initially to China for assistance and expertise. China is the world's leading producer and exporter of rare earth metals. A richer more prosperous North Korea with a steady source of revenue would have much more leverage in negotiations on almost any matter.
Open sources contain little useful, recent information about Chinese intentions to develop North Korea rare earth ore deposits. North Korean mining authorities may be depended on to try to limit Chinese influence or dominance of a domestic Korean industry. That means there will be investment opportunities for South Korean firms and their Western backers.
No news services have provided an estimate when new mines might become operational.
Pakistan: The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Directorate reportedly is planning to hold a meeting with 1,500 imams and the Afghan Taliban in Quetta, Afghan newspaper Arman-e Melli reported 8 August.
Comment: The news services provided no explanation of the purpose of this planned meeting. What is important for Readers to note is the public statement that Pakistani intelligence knows how to contact the Afghan Taliban in Quetta.
In the past 12 years the US has insisted the Pakistanis do more to suppress anti-Afghan insurgents, but never the extradition or assassination of Afghan Mullah Omar's shura in Quetta. The Pakistanis tended to deny they knew where Omar was residing. Musharraf insisted he remained in Afghanistan. Today's announcement indicates Pakistani military intelligence always has known where he resides, with his in-laws on the outskirts of Quetta, most likely.
Eleven years into the fight Pakistani intelligence lets slip in public that it knows where Mullah Omar and his senior followers are. American leaders should be outraged by the pattern of Pakistani intelligence protecting Mullah Omar the same way it protected Osama bin Laden.
Without Omar and the Quetta/Karachi shura, the Taliban fighting groups in Afghanistan would run out of money to pay fighters and pay for ammunition and would devolve into local Pashtun hotheads and malcontents. The Pakistanis apparently have had the ability to stop Omar at any time in the past eleven years.
Syria: Free Syrian Army sources said that their forces killed Vladimir Petrovich Kodjayev, a Russian general, who advised the Syrian defense minister. They also said that they found important Syrian army documents during the same operation.
Comment: If this report is accurate, the Russians are giving the Syrian government more than diplomatic support, including operational advice, no doubt based on Russia's operations in Chechnya.
The opposition claim is probably accurate. Opposition allegations about the Iranian "pilgrims" they captured have proven to be quite accurate. Those pilgrims are ex- or current Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel or Iranian government officials, according to a statement from Tehran today.
When the opposition backs up a claim with captured documents that it offers to the press to review, the claim tends to be not exaggerated.
Egypt: Security. The government of President Mursi sent military reinforcements from the 2nd Field Army to Sinai to back up a military operation already underway to "purge" the peninsula and its mountainous areas, especially Jabal al-Halal area, from "terrorists."
The military operation began on 7 August and killed over 30 "terrorists" according to an official report. Surviving terrorists are being interrogated by competent bodies for more information about the whereabouts of partners, the news services reported.
Politics. President Mursi dismissed his intelligence chief, military police commander, the Republican Guard commander and the North Sinai governor on 8 August because of their poor performance related to the Sinai attack on 6 August.
Comment: The president's swift action shows he is willing to hold senior officials accountable for failures. He also has confirmed that the president has the authority to remove senior military officers, presumably with the concurrence of the Defense Minister, Field Marshal Tantawi. Nonetheless, the precedent is more important than the process at this stage in Mursi's tenure. The power struggle continues but both sides agree on the need for Egypt to be and be seen to be strong in responding to lawlessness.
End of NightWatch ###
NightWatch is brought to readers of Townhall Finance by Kforce Government Solutions, Inc. (KGS), a leader in government problem-solving, Data Confidence® and intelligence. Views and opinions expressed in NightWatch are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent those of KGS, its management, or affiliates.
A Member of AFCEA International


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July 4 in Prescott: Balance of grief, patriotism
PRESCOTT, Ariz. — The notoriously rambunctious annual rodeo contest in Prescott added a solemn new ritual this week: a cowboy leading a riderless horse around the outdoor arena, a fire helmet sitting on its saddle, fire boots resting in the stirrups.
Spectators in this Old West town of 40,000 placed straw hats over hearts and cried quietly during the tribute to the 19 firefighters who were killed Sunday, then went on to drink, laugh and cheer as heartily as the miners and ranchers who patronized the arena in the 1800s.
Emotional whiplash has become a matter of course here as residents try to move on and enjoy the biggest tourism week of the year, while also mourning the men who were the town's pride.
The famous saloons on Whiskey Row continue to hum, the Fourth of July fireworks show is going on as usual, and attendance is holding steady at the weeklong "World's Oldest Rodeo" event, even as memorials proliferate on Prescott's elm-lined streets and relatives fly in for funerals.
"It's not going to do anyone any good just sitting in the house. I think it's more important to spend time with people than anything else," said financial planner Andrew Secundy, who cut loose at the rodeo Monday night and mourned at a twilight vigil Tuesday.
A mile-high city about 90 miles northwest of Phoenix, Prescott remains a modern-day outpost of the pioneer spirit, a place where rootin' tootin' cowboys still have a foothold. It's that spirit that will guide officials as they navigate the days ahead and figure out how to honor the elite Hotshot firefighters who died in a nearby wind-driven wildfire that is still burning, said Prescott Fire Marshal Don Devendorf.
"The people on the range, on ranches, they did whatever they could do. It wasn't money, but it was love, it was caring, it was sweat," Devendorf said as he walked among thousands of mourners who filled the Prescott High School football stadium for Tuesday's vigil. Nineteen balloons - one for each of the fallen - were released into the air.
"People need a reason to celebrate," he said. "They need to know that life is going to get back to normal."
But the town is still hurting. There's a saying here that if someone dies in Prescott, you either know the person or know someone who did. That rings especially true for the Granite Mountain Hotshot fire crew, who were at the apex of Prescott's thriving firefighting community. At least five of those killed graduated from Prescott High School.
Until Sunday, the quaint town was home to two of the Southwest's 18 highly qualified Hotshot crews. That was a point of pride among residents, who trace their links to local firefighters through dense networks of cousins and in-laws.
"There's a lot of people who grow up and want to be firefighters here," said Prescott native Ryan Philips, who worked as a Hotshot for three years.
Numerous state and federal forestry workers call Prescott home, while firefighters from all over the country flock here for training at the annual Arizona Wildfire Academy at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The town abuts 1.25 million acres of national forest in an area that sees its share of wildland blazes.
A week before the Hotshot men were killed, crews fighting another fire turned the Prescott High baseball field into a tent city.
Bursting with Americana, Prescott is a deeply patriotic, religious town where even teenage boys sing "Amazing Grace" in their full voices.
Tourism blossoms in this one-time territorial capital of Arizona during the summer, when suffocating city-slickers flee Phoenix and Tucson for Prescott's relatively verdant embrace. Retirees are also drawn by the milder weather and old-time atmosphere. Relics of the Old West decorate the windows of antique shops and galleries. The picturesque courthouse plaza is lined with Arizona state flags, all at half-staff now.
Friends have been getting together for impromptu memorials at the half-dozen bars along Whiskey Row, where outlaws Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday once got liquored up, according to local legend. A 10-minute walk away, a steady stream of mourners has covered the fence around the Hotshots' headquarters with notes, photos, drawings and flags. Many of the men's trucks are still parked there.
This week, the town is also filled with evacuees from Yarnell, 32 miles southwest of Prescott, where the fire that claimed so many lives also destroyed as many as 200 homes. Their drawn faces mix with those of the bereaved at town meetings and daily memorials, where officials have begun protecting them with a perimeter of caution tape and security guards.
For better or worse, the tragedy happened at the start of the biggest week of the year for Prescott and its tourism industry. The 126th annual World's Oldest Rodeo, which always coincides with the Fourth of July holiday, runs through Sunday. The event dates to territorial times, when Arizona was emerging as a copper and cattle producer.
On Tuesday, the crowd drank Coors, ate funnel cake and cheered when the cowboys stayed on the bulls, and when they fell off. The merriment stood in stark contrast to the opening tribute, during which rodeo stars lined the arena fence and the audience looked on in silence.
"You gotta keep going, but it's in the back of everyone's mind," said local Paulette Millspaugh, who brought her daughter to the show. "If you don't support what goes on in your small town, it disappears."
A carnival, parade, fireworks display and dance that draw thousands here each year will go on, but with sober tributes to the firefighters folded in. Emergency crews from around Arizona will attend Thursday's festivities and fireworks display at Pioneer Park, and the fallen men will be recognized in a speech, Special Events Manager Becky Karcie said.
Fire authorities said they are using extreme caution with their July Fourth pyrotechnics. The Hotshots died in a fire sparked by lightning.
Some of those closest to the firefighters are finding a silver lining in the crush of patriotism and tradition following so closely after the tragedy.
Phillips, the former Hotshot, had planned to attend the rodeo and Independence Day dance with four firefighters he knew from high school.
All died in the Yarnell Hill fire.
Though part of him feels like staying home, Phillips said he's determined to "go out and have some fun, the right way."
"I'm going to go out and celebrate for them," he said with a sad smile. "That's what every one of them would want."


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Why stocks may be even riskier than you think
NEW YORK – Job growth in the United States is slowing. Sales at stores have stopped growing. The economies of India, Brazil and China are cooling. Europe is crippled by government debt and bad bank loans.
But there's not much to worry about — at least if you ask the Wall Street analysts who give advice on which stocks to buy and sell.
This famously cheery group says earnings at the biggest U.S. companies, which appear at a standstill today, will start growing again this summer, then leap 15 percent in the last three months of 2012 from a year earlier.
To investors who believe these stock analysts — and who think that stocks are therefore a bargain — some veteran market watchers have a word of warning, or rather two: You're dreaming.
"Unless something miraculous happens, like all of a sudden Greece is wonderful, I don't see how we get 15 percent," says Christine Short, a senior manager at S&P Capital IQ, a research firm, referring to one of Europe's troubled countries.
Says Brian Lazorishak, portfolio manager at Chase Investment Counsel: "To get there you almost need an acceleration in economic growth. How and where does that come from?"
Don't ask the economists. They've been cutting estimates for economic growth, not raising them. The stock analysts don't appear to have noticed. For months, they've been telling investors to buy stocks because they're cheap.
The figure cited most often is the so-called forward price-earnings ratio, which is a company's stock price divided by the earnings per share expected over the next 12 months. A lower ratio suggests stocks are cheaper.
For companies in the Standard & Poor's 500, the ratio is 12.3 times, compared with a 35-year average of 12.9. That suggests stocks are reasonably priced. But if the earnings forecasts prove too high, stocks could look less appetizing, or even expensive.
It wouldn't be the first time analysts misled investors.
In June 2007, analyst estimates for the next 12 months had the S&P 500 trading at 16 times. By the end of the year, the economy was in recession, and the forecasts turned out too high. Analysts slashed them, but stocks were already dropping.
As it turned out, based on earnings that companies ended up generating, stocks had been trading in June at an expensive 22 times earnings per share.
Analysts are notorious for taking a long time cutting forecasts. In January, they predicted earnings for the April-June period would rise 4 percent from a year earlier, according to S&P Capital IQ. Now, they say earnings will fall 0.5 percent for that period.
The same pattern is playing out for the July-September quarter, too. Analysts think earnings will be up 4 percent, down from their estimate in January of more than 7 percent.
S&P's Short says she's impressed with how closely the analysts are holding to their 15 percent call for last three months of the year.
Part of the reason for the stubborn sunniness may be that analysts take their signals from the companies they cover, and Short says many companies have chosen to be vague about their prospects for later this year.
The few that have gotten specific have found investors in a less than forgiving mood.
On Wednesday, Scotts Miracle-Gro, a maker of lawn and garden products, cut its estimates for the year, and investors pushed its stock down 6.6 percent. On Friday, it was AAR Corp.'s turn to get slammed. The defense contractor said it might not earn as much as expected, and its stock plunged 7 percent.
The backdrop is a quickly darkening economic picture.
Last week, the government reported that shoppers spent less at stores for a second straight month in May, the first back-to-back decline in two years. That followed news that companies cut orders to factories for a second month in row and have pulled back on investment plans.
Earlier in the month, the government said employers added just 69,000 jobs in May, the fewest in a year. Not surprisingly, economists at JPMorgan Chase, BNP Paribas, UBS and other banks have been cutting estimates for U.S. growth this year.
Some of the bullishness by stock analysts rests on companies whose earnings are tied to rising commodity prices. But lately those prices have been moving in the opposite direction, and sharply. Copper, cotton, aluminum, platinum, you name it — all are down this year. The most widely watched of commodities, oil, has dropped 15 percent.
Analysts expect earnings at energy companies like Chevron and Exxon Mobil to increase 17 percent in the last three months of the year versus a drop of nearly 7 percent this quarter.
Earnings of materials companies like Alcoa, an aluminum maker, are somehow expected to rise 40 percent in the last three months. They're expected to drop nearly 11 percent this quarter.
David Kostin, a strategist at Goldman Sachs, thinks earnings for the S&P 500 will barely grow from here, eking out maybe a 3 percent gain for the year, less than half what the typical analyst projects.
Using his figures, the S&P 500 is trading at 13.4 times earnings over the next 12 months, slightly above its 35-year average.
Kostin expects the S&P 500 to end the year at 1,250, down 7 percent from Monday's close.


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Once again I'm about to dip into and scratch the surface of Cryptography. So here's the disclamer: This is not my job. I don't do this for a living. Don't ever make up your own encryption algorithms. Try not to write your own cryptographic code. Don't take anything that I say as the advice of a security expert or legal advice or assume that any code in this post or any linked posts are correct in any way shape or form. If you have a project that requires cryptographic security, I suggest you find someone who has been doing this far longer than I have to write the code for you. Then have several 3rd party security firms review or write your security code. In short, I'm not responsible for your mistakes, or the correctness of the code or writing presented here.
As even more of a taste of just how hard it is, I admit that I thought the last article I wrote covered most of the basics of modern encryption in .NET pretty well. The result? Nope. Missed something big. See, cryptography is hard not because it's hard to say "take a password plus this data and make it so someone can't see the data without the password", but because of all the ways someone could get access to your password, or access your data when its not encrypted, or access your computer when it's unlocked, or crack your password if you pick a bad password to begin with. Take a look at this reddit thread article that nicely rips apart my previous article. In all seriousness, I really appreciate the feedback, especially when it comes to security because it's hard, and the devil is in the details.
I forgot to cover data integrity in my last article. Encryption is not enough. Redditors referred to it as authentication, which is one of the uses of HMAC's, but authenticity is not whats important in the example case I presented for my original article. We are interested in "How to detect that someone or something accidentally or maliciously changed the encrypted data", essentially, we're interested in cryptographic data integrity. In addition to that there were a few other things wrong with the article that the redditors pointed out, such as my salt values being overly large, just picking CBC without covering other chaining methods, not discussing how to remove keys from memory, and referencing Jeff Atwood. The long and the short of it, they're completely right. Getting crypto correct is hard, and good crypto systems are worth millions of dollars. You're probably not getting paid that much to write a little encryption. So use a library thats already been written and provides high level abstractions and don't write crypto code yourself.
Alright. HMAC, what is it? The MAC stands for a Message Authentication Code, the H stands for Hash. Put it all together and you have a Hash-based Message Authentication Code. It's a hashing function thats deliberately designed to resist malicious tampering. The key is preventing malicious tampering. A normal hash function (e.g. MD5 or SHA1) would detect accidental byte tweaks, but somebody maliciously tampering with your data could tinker with it, create a new hash code for the data, replace the old hash code, and you would never be the wiser. For this reason, Message Authentication Codes generally fall into the category of keyed hash algorithms since they use a key or derived key and mix it with a hashing or encryption function to produce a value that an attacker can't reproduce, providing both data integrity, and (if you happen to be in a sender and receiver role where both parties share a key) authentication. There are however, a couple of things to take into account. First, we shouldn't use the same key twice to encrypt and hash the data. The more times the same key is used, especially against a known piece of data, the more likely an attack can be developed and used to figure out our key. Arguably, the final key used for encryption and the final key used for the message authentication should be different, as different as possible. The best way to do this would be to append or change the key such that both the encryption key and authentication key run through the KDF (Key Derivation Function) from different starting points. As an example, consider the following:
// Derive the passkey from a hash of the passwordBytes plus salt with the number of hashing rounds. var deriveKey = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, passwordSalt, 10000); var deriveHMAC = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, hmacSalt, 10000);
// This gives us a derived byte key from our passwordBytes. var aes256Key = deriveKey.GetBytes(32); var hmacKey = deriveHMAC.GetBytes(32);
Because the hash function mixes the password with the salt, and because we have different salts, after only one round the derived keys will already be different on account of the salt value. So we have a derived key. One for the actual encryption, one to prevent tampering and provide data integrity.
On a side note, it's arguably better to authenticate the encrypted output (encrypt then authenticate) rather than authenticate the plaintext, then encrypt, or authenticate and encrypt. Again, I know it's beating a dead horse, but cryptography is hard, and ultimately, the security of a system is going to depend on the security of the entire system, not just the individual parts. So. We have an HMAC key, we have an encryption key, and we know that we want to encrypt, then authenticate the encrypted output. In addition, we want to make sure anything else that could easily be tampered with is also authenticated, such as our Initialization Vector, since any change to it can easily affect our decrypted output. Another small advantage thats almost not worth mentioning is that by authenticating the encrypted output instead of the plain text is that we can detect if anything has changed even before we start decrypting the text. So here's an example. In this case, I chose to use HMACSHA1, there's others on the MSDN but I chose this particular one since it uses the same hash algorithm used internally by the KDF I used in my previous post, Rfc2898DeriveBytes, aka (PKDF2).
var hmac = new HMACSHA1(hmacKey); var ivPlusEncryptedText = iv.Concat(cipherTextBytes).ToArray(); var hmacHash = hmac.ComputeHash(ivPlusEncryptedText);
In this case, we're using our derived hmacKey, and we're computing the hash of both the initialization vector concated with our encrypted ciphertext. That gives us everything we need to have a self validating "package" of data that is secured and can't be tampered without us knowing unless the attacker knows our key or can break AES256 encryption, but at that point this whole discussion is pointless.
With decryption, remember how I said we compute the Encryption and HMAC key separately? If we did that, and if we computed the hmac over the encrypted data, we can perform the validation step on the data before we compute our decryption key. The only reason we would do this is so that if the data is invalid or has been tampered with we don't take the time to also compute the decryption key. Small things, but I wanted to explain why the key computation for the encryption and hmac is kept separate:
var deriveHmac = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, hmacSalt, 10000); var hmacKey= deriveHmac.GetBytes(32); var hmacsha1 = new HMACSHA1(hmacKey); var ivPlusEncryptedText = ivBytes.Concat(encryptedBytes).ToArray(); var hash = hmacsha1.ComputeHash(ivPlusEncryptedText); if (!BytesAreEqual(hash, hmac)) throw new CryptographicException( "Your encrypted data was tampered with!" ); var deriveKey = new Rfc2898DeriveBytes(password, passwordSalt, 10000); var aes256Key = deriveKey.GetBytes(32); using (var transform = new AesManaged()) { using (var ms = new MemoryStream(encryptedBytes)) { using (var cryptoStream = new CryptoStream(ms, transform.CreateDecryptor(aes256Key, ivBytes), CryptoStreamMode.Read)) { var decryptedBytes = new byte[encryptedBytes.Length]; var length = cryptoStream.Read(decryptedBytes, 0, decryptedBytes.Length); var decryptedData = decryptedBytes.Take(length).ToArray(); } } }
So, there you go. Basic explanation about why HMAC's are important, what I missed, some code, and the disclaimer to write security code at your own risk. Full demo code, demo code output, and a bunch of random links after the break.


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Colette (Sidonie Gabrielle Colette)sēdōnē´ gäbrēĕl´ kōlĕt´ [key], 1873–1954, French novelist. Colette achieved popularity with numerous novels, characterized by sensitive observations—particularly of women—and an intimate, semiautobiographical style. Her early series of novels, published in collaboration with her first husband, Willy (pseud. of Henry Gauthier-Villars), include Claudine at School (1900, tr. 1930) and The Innocent Wife (1903, tr. 1934). Among many later novels written on her own are The Vagrant (1910, tr. 1912), Chéri (1920, tr. 1929), The Cat (1933, tr. 1936), and Gigi (1945). Divorced in 1906, Colette worked on the music-hall stage until 1914. Her marriage to Henri de Jouvenel also ended in divorce, but her last years were enriched by the companionship of her third husband, Maurice Goudeket. Colette was the first woman to head the Goncourt Academy and the second to become a grand officer of the French Legion of Honor.
See Earthly Paradise, a collection of autobiographical writings, ed. by R. Phelps (1966); M. Sarde, Colette: Free and Fettered (1980); E. M. Eisinger and M. McCarty, ed., Colette: The Woman, the Writer (1981); G. Dormann, Colette: A Passion for Life (1985); N. W. Jouve, Colette (1987); C. Francis and F. Gontier, Creating Colette (2 vol., 1999–2000); J. Thurman, Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette (1999).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: French Literature: Biographies


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Barguil somehow held on to win a photo finish with Colombian Rigoberto Uran as Poland's Bartosz Huzarski took third on the 146.8km 16th stage from Graus to Sallent de Gallego.
Italian Nibali, meanwhile, struggled mightily on the climb to the finish as he was dropped by American Chris Horner with around 3km to go, losing 22 seconds on the RadioShack rider and seeing his overall lead trimmed to just 28 seconds with five stages remaining.
Movistar's Alejandro Valverde remains in third place overall but he also gained time on Nibali and is now just 1:14 behind the Giro d'Italia winner.
After two brutal stages through the Pyrenees over the weekend, the pack was split for the majority of the day with a large leading group of over 20 riders being held in check by the chasing peloton.
The excitement didn't truly start therefore until around 10km to go when, after a series of failed attempts, Barguil eventually pulled clear at the front and quickly opened up a 30-second gap.
However, unlike his break to victory on Friday, the 21-year-old didn't have enough in the tank to maintain his lead all the way to the finish and was caught by Uran about a kilometer from home.
The Sky rider then seemed certain for a first stage victory in the Tour of Spain but Barguil somehow surged past him in the final sprint to the line to take the win.
"It has been a great tour for me. When I attacked I had very good legs but I saw Uran was coming and I thought it best to wait a little and go for the sprint," Barguil said afterwards.
"To beat such a great rider and win gives me great confidence."
Further back Valverde, the 2009 winner, and Joaquim Rodriguez, who in July finished third on the Tour de France, were attempting to break away from Nibali on the final climb, but unlike in the previous two days the the 2010 champion wasn't able to stay with them as the Spanish duo both gained 28 seconds on the leader.
And Horner was also able to escape the clutches of Nibali in the final stages to put himself very much in contention to win his first Tour of Spain come Madrid on Sunday.
Nibali will at least have a day to recover, though, with Tuesday being a rest day before the 189km ride from Calahorra to Burgos on Wednesday.
|Stage 16 Results
|Full General Classification


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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Wanted: a few good men to cast out devils.
Overwhelmed with requests for exorcists, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are holding a special training workshop in Baltimore this weekend to teach clerics the esoteric rite, the Catholic News Service reported.
The church has signed up 56 bishops and 66 priests for the two-day workshop that began on Friday, seeking to boost the small group of just five or six American exorcists that the church currently has on its books.
"There's this small group of priests who say they get requests from all over the continental U.S.," Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois, was quoted as saying.
"Actually, each diocese should have its own" exorcist, he added.
Paprocki did not say why there was increased demand for exorcisms, which he noted were rarely performed.
While solemnly regarded by the Catholic Church, exorcism is a staple of Hollywood fright films -- most notably the 1973 film "The Exorcist" -- and regarded by many as superstition that lends a chill frisson to festivals like Halloween.
Catholic Church law stipulates that only properly trained priests can perform the rite -- and then only with the permission of their bishops.
Possible signs of demonic possession include scratching, cutting, biting of the skin; profound displays of strength; and a strong or violent reaction to holy water.
Writing by Tim Gaynor, Editing by Jonathan Oatis
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook says some users were briefly unable to access the site because of a technical glitch.
The social networking site with over 1 billion users worldwide says on Monday it made a change to its domain name system setup. The change resulted in some users temporarily not being able to reach the site.
The problem was detected and the site is now fully back.
A DNS acts like a phone book for the Internet, translating a domain name like facebook.com into a number that points to a specific host computer.
Facebook did not say how many users were affected or for how long. Some technology blogs say the problems lasted about 20 minutes.


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I arrived by taxi at the hotel gate. The security guard inquired whether I was checking in. When I said yes, he requested my name and then waved us on. A minute or two later, we arrived at the front door. Two bellmen greeted me: "Welcome to the Ritz Carlton, Mr. Schwartz." It may sound staged, but I'm here to tell you it worked.
I felt special, and welcomed. They had me at hello.
I was in Key Biscayne to give a talk to the 80 Ritz Carlton general managers around the world. Soon after I arrived, I was in the lobby chatting with one of the managers from another Ritz hotel. At some point, half-joking, I mentioned that my only misgiving about the Ritz is that it serves Pepsi products, and I'm a Diet Coke guy.
The next time I returned to my room, there was an ice bucket awaiting me, filled with a half dozen Diet Cokes. When I got into the car to leave for the airport the next afternoon, there was a cold Diet Coke in the drink slot in the back seat.
I've always appreciated Ritz Carlton hotels, and precisely for that sort of touch. This was my first opportunity to learn about how they achieve such a high level of service. The answer, I discovered over my 24 hour visit, confirmed one of my deepest beliefs:
How well you meet the needs of your employees is how well they'll ultimately meet the needs of your customers.
Thousands of companies talk about the importance of customer service. Very few are committed to treating employees with the same level of care. The Ritz Carlton management is,
A few examples of how they do it:
- The spirit of the place is captured in the company motto: "We are ladies and gentleman serving ladies and gentlemen." Yea, I know it's straight out of a Jane Austen novel and sounds stilted in these times. But in a world characterized by so little courtesy and care, it implied civility and respect, whether for a guest, a manager, a bellman, a desk clerk, or a maid.
- Every employee carries around a pocket-size card that includes the company's motto, its credo (beginning with "The Ritz Carlton is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission"), a list of 12 service principles and 3 key steps of service. More interestingly, every employee can name everything on that card.
- The morning lineup, held in all departments in all hotels, is where employees gather for practical updates, but also to hear each day about a particular example of great customer service by some Ritz Carlton employee, and then talk about how it connects to one of their service principles.
- Management seems to genuinely believe that no employee is more important than any other, and, that every one of them is critical to creating a great, seamless experience for guests. It was a young bellman, for example, who was chosen to conduct morning lineup for the general managers — in the form of a skit. This bellman was amazingly self-possessed and impressive. If I had been told he was the manager of the hotel, I would have believed it. That's bench strength.
- Every employee of every Ritz hotel has the right to spend up to $2000 a day per guest to resolve any problem that arises. It's a powerful expression of trust in employees, as well as a gift of empowerment and autonomy. It's also vastly better for guests. How many times have you been told, over the years, "I'll have to go to my manager about that"?
- The employees I met shared a palpable pride in serving a mission that transcends the bottom line. It begins with the passion to provide unparalleled service, but it extends to something incredibly uncommon in our fractious world: a commitment to caring for one another, and truly making each other better.
To the credit of the Marriott Corporation — which bought the Ritz in 1998 — they've left the Ritz executives relatively free to maintain and nurture their unique culture. The Ritz's commitment to service and to its people is expensive. Given the cost-containment pressures created by the recession, a high standard is harder than ever to maintain.
What's undeniable is the bottom-line power of the culture the Ritz has created. The company's turnover rate is a fraction of the average for the industry. Its employee engagement scores are significantly above the best in class benchmarks. Several years ago, the company estimated that each rise of one per cent in employee engagement translated into as much as $10 million in additional annual revenues.
The formula seems simple enough: Truly meet the needs of your employees and they'll be more engaged, they'll better the needs of your clients and customers, and you'll be more profitable. How come more companies don't get that?
Tony Schwartz is president and CEO of The Energy Project. He is the author of the June, 2010 HBR article, "The Productivity Paradox: How Sony Pictures Gets More Out of People by Demanding Less," and coauthor, with Catherine McCarthy, of the 2007 HBR article, "Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time." Tony is also the author of the new book "The Way We're Working Isn't Working: The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance" (Free Press, 2010).


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After several months of speculation, Amazon has just unveiled its own smartphone on stage at an event in Seattle, Washington. As expected, the device features the much rumored a 3D display.
Amazon released a video teasing the "amazing" device earlier this month, showing customers reacting to the 3D display and how it moved with them. It remains to be seen how many people want a phone with a 3D display, however, especially with previous 3D Android devices never catching on.
Amazon's phone has been rumored as far back as 2012, so the company has presumably been hard at work on it for awhile. The WSJ correctly predicted a June launch back in April.
In terms of specs, the Fire Phone is rocking a quad-core 2.2GHz processor, Adreno 330 graphics, and 2GB of RAM. It's also got a 13MP camera on the back. The screen is a 4.7-inch IPS LCD HD panel. For sound, Amazon touts that the Fire Phone has dual stereo speakers with support for virtual Dolby Digital Plus surround sound. The company is also including a pair of earbuds with tangle-free flat cables.
Amazon is also heavily touting the entertainment capabilities of the Fire Phone, preloading it with a plethora of features and apps. The phone supports the Xray second screen functionality allows you to beam content to a Miracast device, like the Fire TV. You'll also, of course, get access to Prime Music and video, in addition to the Kindle library and Newsstand.
The latest line of Kindle Fire tablets introduced Mayday support, which Bezos says is coming to the Fire Phone, as well. It offers free, 24/7 support, 365 days a year.
Amazon has also unveiled a new Firefly service for the Fire Phone that scans barcodes on products and pulls them up on Amazon. It also works like Shazam and can detect music and TV and pull information up on the phone. Bezos says that FireFly will support scanning of hundreds of millions of items, including phone numbers, barcodes, movies, TV shows, emails, URLs, songs, and books. The Fire Phone will even have a dedicated Firefly button on the left side.
Finally, CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the 3D interface that the Fire Phone will have. Unlike previous 3D phones, however, the Fire Phone will follow you around with what Bezos calls Dynamic Perspective. This appears to be a unique head-based tracking system. It allows the phone to construct 3D images at 60 frames per second. The feature relies on multiple front-facing cameras and software. Bezos demoed it by showing how the view of a picture would change as you move around. You can also tilt the device itself to scroll up and down through webpages. A small tilt will let it scroll slowly, a larger one will have it scroll faster. The same capability also works with e-books.
Navigating throughout the interface works in a smilier fashion. You can choose between either a carousel style look, similar to that of the Kindle Fire, or an interface more familiar to Android users. The carousel interface allows you to see the first few emails without launching the mail app and the most recent pictures without launching the photos app. The music app has three columns: navigation on the left, album art and controls in the middle, and lyrics on the right.
While Amazon has yet to announce any availability, the device was half-listed on AT&T's website for $200 on contract for 32GB of storage. The 64GB was listed for $299. It appears to have been taken down now, however. The phones are listed on Amazon.com, too. The 32GB is listed for $649 off contract, while the 64GB is $749. The Amazon search page lists the Fire Phone as being available on July 25. It is an AT&T exclusive, at least for now. You can pre-order it on Amazon's website now. With the purchase of a Fire Phone, you do get a free year of Amazon Prime, which normally runs $99.
Introducing Fire, the First Smartphone Designed by Amazon
- New breakthrough innovations—Dynamic Perspective, Firefly button, and more
- Seamless integration with Amazon's vast ecosystem—over 33 million songs, apps, games, movies,
- TV shows, books, and more
- Only smartphone with Mayday, ASAP, X-Ray, and Second Screen
- Dynamic Perspective SDK and Firefly SDK now available
- Fire is available exclusively on AT&T, the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network
- Limited time, introductory offer—12 months of Prime included
SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 18, 2014– (NASDAQ: AMZN)—Amazon today unveiled Fire, the first smartphone designed by Amazon. Fire is the only smartphone with Dynamic Perspective and Firefly, two new breakthrough technologies that allow you to see and interact with the world through a whole new lens. Dynamic Perspective uses a new sensor system to respond to the way you hold, view, and move Fire, enabling experiences not possible on other smartphones. Firefly quickly recognizes things in the real world—web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, movies, music, and millions of products, and lets you take action in seconds—all with the simple press of the Firefly button. See what people are already saying about Fire at www.amazon.com/Fire-Phone-Customers.
"Fire Phone puts everything you love about Amazon in the palm of your hand—instant access to Amazon's vast content ecosystem and exclusive features like the Mayday button, ASAP, Second Screen, X-Ray, free unlimited photo storage, and more," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO. "The Firefly button lets you identify printed web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, artwork, and over 100 million items, including songs, movies, TV shows, and products—and take action in seconds. We invented a new sensor system called Dynamic Perspective that recognizes where a user's head is relative to the device—we use it to offer customers a more immersive experience, one-handed navigation, and gestures that actually work. And this is only the beginning—the most powerful inventions are the ones that empower others to unleash their creativity—that's why today we are launching the Dynamic Perspective SDK and the Firefly SDK—we can't wait to see how developers surprise us."
Dynamic Perspective—Immersive Smartphone Experience
Dynamic Perspective uses four ultra-low power specialized cameras and four infrared LEDs built into the front face of Fire, a dedicated custom processor, sophisticated real-time computer vision algorithms, and a new high-performing and power-efficient graphics rendering engine. Dynamic Perspective features include:
One-handed gestures: Auto-scroll, tilt, swivel and peek for quicker, easier navigation and a better media and entertainment experience. For example, with auto-scroll, customers can read a long web page or a book without ever having to touch the screen; tilt in Amazon Music shows song lyrics; swivel instantly reveals quick actions; peek in Maps shows layered information like Yelp ratings and reviews.
Immersive apps and games: Dynamic Perspective enables a new class of apps and games that are more immersive, and make it quicker and easier for the user to access information. For example, peek to instantly see close-up front and back views of a dress in the new Amazon Shopping app for Fire. In games like Lili, take on the character's viewpoint and move your head to look around corners, obstacles, and other objects.
Enhanced Carousel: Stay productive with real-time updates and take action right from the home screen—triage email, find recent photos, access most visited websites, return missed calls, view appointments, and more. Developers can customize the contents of their dynamic app and how it responds to user actions. For example, Zillow's app in the carousel shows property information based on the location, so customers can access search results on nearby homes from the carousel without having to launch the Zillow app. USA TODAY shows headlines most relevant to customer's interest—someone who frequents football in the Sports section will see those related headlines appear in the carousel.
Starting today, Amazon is introducing the Dynamic Perspective SDK that enables developers to build new experiences with this groundbreaking technology. Learn more about the SDK at http://developer.amazon.com/firephone.
Firefly Technology–Illuminate Your World
Firefly combines Amazon's deep catalog of physical and digital content with multiple image, text and audio recognition technologies to quickly identify web and email addresses, phone numbers, QR and bar codes, plus over 100 million items, including movies, TV episodes, songs, and products. Simply press and hold the dedicated Firefly button to discover helpful information and take action in seconds.
Printed phone numbers, email, web addresses, QR, and bar codes: Firefly identifies printed text on signs, posters, magazines and business cards—make a call, send an email, save as a contact, or go to the website without typing out long URLs or email addresses.
245,000 movies and TV episodes, and 160 live TV channels: Firefly recognizes movies and TV episodes, and uses IMDb for X-Ray to show actors, plot synopses, and related content—add titles to Watch List or download and start watching immediately.
35 million songs: Firefly recognizes music and uses Amazon Music's rich catalog to show information about the artist—play more songs, add them to your Wish List, or download instantly to your Fire. Developers, such as iHeartRadio and StubHub, used the SDK to build Firefly-enabled apps, so customers can create a new radio station based on the song or find concert tickets for the artist.
70 million products, including household items, books, DVDs, CDs, video games, and more: Access product details, add items to your Wish List, or order on Amazon.com.
The Firefly SDK is available starting today so developers can invent new ways to use this advanced technology. Later this year, Firefly will include artwork recognition, foreign language translation, and wine label recognition powered by Vivino. Learn more about the SDK at http://developer.amazon.com/firephone.
Amazon Exclusive Features and Vast Digital Ecosystem—All Deeply Integrated
Fire seamlessly integrates Amazon's vast digital ecosystem for instant access to over 33 million songs, apps, games, movies, TV shows, books, audiobooks, and magazines, including thousands of exclusives. Plus, Prime members get unlimited streaming of tens of thousands of movies and TV episodes at no additional cost with Prime Instant Video, over 500,000 books to borrow with the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, and the all-new Prime Music—unlimited streaming and download of more than a million songs and hundreds of expert-programmed playlists—all at no additional cost.
Fire deeply integrates Amazon exclusive services:
Mayday is now available over 3G and 4G, in addition to Wi-Fi—simply hit the Mayday button in quick actions and an Amazon expert will appear via live video to co-pilot you through any feature on the device. Amazon experts are able to draw on the screen, talk you through how to do a task, or do it for you—whatever works best. Mayday is available 24×7, 365 days a year, and it's free. Amazon's response time goal for Mayday is 15 seconds or less—since launch, the average response time has been 9.75 seconds.
ASAP (Advanced Streaming and Prediction) predicts which movies and TV episodes you'll want to watch and prepares them for instant playback before you even hit play.
X-Ray helps you get more from books, music, movies, and TV shows. Explore the bones of a book, including characters, ideas and background with a single tap on the screen; bring the power of IMDb right to Fire for trivia on movies and TV shows; plus, with X-Ray for Music, see synchronized lyrics display while you listen to your favorite song.
Second Screen lets you fling TV shows and movies from Fire phone to your Fire TV, PlayStation or any other Miracast-enabled device. Second Screen turns your TV into the primary screen and frees up Fire phone to provide playback controls and a customized display for X-Ray, all without leaving the TV show or movie you're watching.
Free unlimited cloud storage of photos taken with Fire, automatically backed-up wirelessly and available across Amazon devices and Cloud Drive apps so you have access anywhere.
Beautiful Industrial Design & Powerful Hardware
Built using premium materials, including Gorilla Glass 3 for the rear and front, aluminum buttons, stainless steel details and a rubberized polyurethane grip area, Fire is optimized for beauty, hand comfort and powerful performance:
Quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 2.2 GHz processor and 2GB RAM for excellent fluidity and image rendering.
4.7-inch HD display with an ambient light sensor and Dynamic Image Contrast that delivers better outdoor viewing.
Global LTE and connectivity with nine bands of LTE, four bands of GSM, five bands of UMTS for better voice coverage and faster data speeds, 802.11ac support, Wi-Fi channel bonding, NFC, and Bluetooth.
Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus for a virtual surround sound experience.
Advanced imaging system with custom-tuned 13MP rear-facing camera with backside illumination, LED flash, 5-element f/2.0 lens, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), and high dynamic range (HDR) capabilities for beautiful, crisp photos, even in low-light conditions. Fire also includes a 2.1MP front-facing camera. Both front and rear-facing cameras record smooth 1080p HD videos.
Reliable backup and restore leveraging the experience and operational excellence of Amazon Web Services and its cloud technology. Fire customers can automatically back up device settings, notes, bookmarks, messages, and installed applications—no need to manually configure or connect to a computer.
Availability & Exclusive Network Partner
Fire ships on July 25 and is available exclusively on AT&T—the nation's most reliable 4G LTE network. Starting today, customers can pre-order Fire at www.amazon.com/Fire-Phone, www.att.com and in AT&T retail locations nationwide. Fire with 32GB is available for $199 with a two-year contract—that's an extra 16GB of memory for the same price as many other premium smartphones—or zero money down for as little as $27.09 a month from AT&T on Next 18. Fire is also available with 64GB for $299 with a two-year contract or starting at $31.25/month from AT&T on Next 18.
Limited Time, Introductory Offer
Starting today, customers can take advantage of an introductory, limited time offer—buy Fire and get 12 months of Amazon Prime included—FREE Two-Day Shipping on millions of items, unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Prime Instant Video, unlimited, ad-free streaming and downloading of over a million songs and hundreds of playlists, and over 500,000 books to borrow from the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. Existing Prime members get an additional 12 months added to their account.
About Amazon.com
Amazon opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995. The company is guided by three principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire phone, Fire tablets, and Fire TV are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Telephone Operator Loretta connects Andrew to his home in Cleveland, Ohio during the opening reception for Art in Odd Places: Number on Friday, October 11 at Pedro Albizu Campos Plaza on 14th Street.
REMEMBRANCE OF PHONE NUMBERS PAST: a street performance evoking nostalgia from numbers. LuLu LoLo as "Telephone Operator Loretta" attired as a 1940 telephone operator complete with vintage headset will attempt to connect passersby with the earliest telephone number they remember. All callers will be invited to leave a voice message to the past.


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Knock Your Socks Off With Social Security Online Services
Staff Writer
The Patriot Ledger
May 8 is National No Socks Day. It may be a good day to visit Social Security online at www.socialsecurity.gov , because we have some online services that will knock your socks off. National No Socks Day is a day for celebrating the freedom of the foot. We encourage you to walk around your house barefoot all day and to take care of your business online. If you have Social Security business, it'll be as easy as a barefoot walk in the park. What can you do atwww.socialsecurity.gov ? Try these online services on for size. Create an online my Social Security account, and you can use it to do all kinds of Social Security activities. During your working years, you can use my Social Security to view your Social Security Statement to check your earnings record and see estimates of the future retirement, disability and survivor benefits you and your family may receive. If you already get benefits, you can use my Social Security to get a proof of benefits letter, change your address or phone number on our records, start or change your direct deposit information and check your benefit and payment information. Get your feet wet atwww.socialsecurity.gov/myaccount . Replace your lost or stolen Social Security card. Find out how at www.socialsecurity.gov/ssnumber . Apply for retirement benefits with an online application that you can complete and submit in as little as 15 minutes atwww.socialsecurity.gov/applyonline . Once you complete and submit the electronic application, in most cases, that's it—no more papers to sign or documents to provide. Apply for disability benefits with a secure, convenient online application available at www.socialsecurity.gov/applyfordisability. Want to get a leg up on what Social Security can do for you? We have an entire library of free publications in both PDF and audio format at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs . You can read our publications on your computer, tablet or mobile device whenever it's convenient for you. As you're wiggling your toes and barefooting around the house, you may just want to do some fun things online. We've got those, too. For example, read about the most popular baby names of the year, decade or century atwww.socialsecurity.gov/ babynames. You can even plug in your birth year to see where your name stands. Brush up on your Social Security history with videos, articles and games at www.socialsecurity.gov/history . You can do business with us over the Internet on any day—not just National No Socks Day. But if you do, be careful—our online services are likely to knock your socks off any time you visitwww.socialsecurity.gov .