Multiple investigations into Chinese counterfeit operations have led to the seizure of $3.5 million in counterfeit Cisco routers, switches, interface converters, and wide area network interfaces. The logistics involved 15 separate investigations at nine field offices, and included 39 search warrants. According to the FBI, with the end of investigations, there is still no word in any arrests. World wide the estimated total seizures were $76 million.

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When we think of ants, we imagine a line of military like creatures whose only goal is the transportation of that sugar you spilled earlier to their home. What you may not have noticed, maybe in your rush to get the bug spray, is that if you watched them long enough you would find they have unique personalities. Just like humans you find some are lazy, some hard workers, and others thinking of how to survive.

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Radiation therapy is an established method of treating some forms of cancer, but normal cells do get damaged as well. Scientists studying the tumor cells ability to withstand the immune systems “self destruct” instructions, have applied them to strengthen normal cells.

For cancer cells, radiation means death, but to normal cells it means a false instruction to expire. While the damage to the cell is manageable, the cells trigger a process called apoptosis, a fail safe for seriously damaged cells.

The experimental drug CBLB502 developed by the Roswell Park cancer Institute, was led by Andrei Gudkov in identifying the triggering cell-signaling process NFKB. The synthesized drug when injected in mice (and rhesus monkeys), followed by exposure to lethal levels of radiation, dramatically improved the survival rate.

It happens that the Defense Department is funding the research, as the drug has an advantage against bio weapons. According to Dr. Richard Kolesnick of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center:

This new information on the mechanisms of tissue damage to the GI tract has resulted in a potentially important new drug to prevent this lethal GI syndrome after a radiation accident or potential terrorist attack.

The drawback for everything is in the prolonged effects of long term use. While the short term use of the drug for infrequent and unlikely radiation emergencies is clear, the repeated exposure to radiation (a cancer patient for instance) has to deal with the cumulative effects, something which is beyond any current drugs.

Source doc: washington post

Imagine taking a nanowire, taking a square micron portion on its surface, drill down into it, and etch a racetrack of spin-polarized bits. Essentially those areas of silicon would be 1 micron wide and 10 microns high, 10 times the density of conventional flash memory. As the technology matures, its creator Stuart Parkin, believes it will reach 100 times the density, effectively replacing hard disks.

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 New legislation made it out of the Senate (rider) on Thursday for relieving some of the turmoil the housing collapse created. The downside is no where in the language does it mention relief for the general public. The details of the bill include tax breaks for home builders, a $7,000 tax credit for people buying foreclosed homes, $150 million for counseling, and $4 billion for local governments to spend on said foreclosed properties. This probably goes without saying, but where in that bill do people in risk of foreclosure get relief?

The current endorsers of the bill believe only a portion of the bill will continue into law, therefore the created the overreaching bill. Other proposed legislation includes:

The Ways and Means Committee is originating a bill which will not include the tax breaks for business or credits for purchases of foreclosed homes.

Refinances of adjustable rate loans to government backed fixed rate loans is continuing, but according to government officials and advocacy groups, not nearly enough to help the 100,000 or so in risk.

On another note, all three Presidential candidates agree the current bill does not do enough to help the consumer directly.

Source doc: nytimes

While IOC repeatedly denounces the political protests, it fails to realize the history of the Olympics in marred in political controversy. Governments have stakes in their athletes, and stand to benefit economically and socially. The legislative actions of past host countries have led to serious ethical and civil rights violations.

While the IOC made clear it’s guidelines for how the host country should conduct itself, it turns a blind eye when it comes to enforcement. The condition of unfetter access to the global internet still hasn’t been satisfied, with easily the most obvious terms blocked. The mass displacement of residents for tourists is another sign of the trampled guidelines.

While legislation recently calls for a dialog between China and Tibet, the official response of China was not surprising “Unequivocally No”.

While thankfully the protests in San Francisco were peaceful, the phrase recently coined by the media is surprisingly fitting. Being dubbed the “Torch of Shame” was the Olympic torch as it played a game of hide-and-seek with the public. As if to defeat the purpose of a “public” ceremony, the mayor of San Francisco decided it was best to smuggle the torch through the city as quietly as possible and on to its next destination. The fact that the torch now requires body guards and secret routes speaks volumes of the lack of judgment by the IOC.

Faced with protests, torch bodyguards, forced extinguishments, poor air quality, secret routes, governmental boycotts, incarcerated monks, and the overall disapproval from every human rights group, the IOC will not admit its made an error. While the Olympic Games will pass, the lingering consequences will probably haunt the IOC for decades to come.

Here are two interesting plugins found after upgrading wordpress:

Plugin Central (compatible up to 2.5)

A byproduct of the native automatic updating in Wordpress 2.5, features includes mass plugin update, install from URL, and mass export to another blog.

Ajax Comments-Reply (compatible up to 2.5)

This essentially replaces the Quoter, Threshold, and Ajax Comment plugins. If the author adds threaded (collapsible) comment support and comment rating, this would be a five star plugin.

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It’s not surprising if you’ve heard this already, but Starbuck is testing $1 coffee with free refills. No, the coffee isn’t leftovers, and it’s definitely not a going out of business sale. Starbacks is facing steep competition from fast food franchise giant McDonalds. They will attempt to gain back some of its market share they lost when McDonalds started serving its own brand of premium coffee. Initially Starbucks responded by selling breakfast items in its stores, but it seems are now taking a grass roots approach.

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IP addresses help track users visits to websites and personal settings when available, but they all can be traced back to an identity. For that reason the E.U. privacy regulators want it classified at personal information, such as your date of birth and social security number. Their reasoning is that the IP address in most cases is used by the same person, and by knowing the IP, someone could get their exact identity from their ISP.

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