Washington, D.C. - Despite the strong leadership of senators like Chris Dodd and Russ Feingold, the Senate failed today to block provisions of a pending surveillance bill that would grant immunity to phone companies that assisted the government in illegal electronic surveillance.

After the Senate passes the FAA, it will need to negotiate with the House over differences between the FAA and the RESTORE Act, the House's own surveillance bill passed in November.

US forces break down urban-warfare barriers with training and ...

From 19th century firefighters' hand tools to 21st century explosives, the realities of current combat environments mandate a plethora of ways to enter urban structures.

Moreover, the urban threats associated with those environments are also prompting a review of some doctrinal issues. This article will focus on the range of technologies and systems available for entry operations while addressing doctrinal changes where appropriate.

One early exigency of 21st century combat operations has been the rapid evolution of breaching techniques against simple urban obstacles like locked or barricaded doors. Supplementing the basic "combat boot door entry", formal breaching techniques generally fall into three broad categories: mechanical breaching, which uses manual tools; ballistic breaching, which uses weapons like shotguns or specially designed munitions; and explosive breaching, which employs demolitions to achieve desired entry effects.

From today, feel free to download another 25 million songs - legally

Nor is a lack of compatibility with the iPod player expected to put fans off. Apple is unlikely to allow tracks downloaded from its rival to be compatible with iPods, but, while the iPod is the most popular music player, it has not succeeded in dominating the market: sales of the iPod account for 50 million out of 130 million total digital player sales. Qtrax has also spoken of an "iPod solution", to be announced in April.

The Qtrax team, which spent five years working on the system, promised a "game-changing" intervention in the declining recorded music market when the service was presented at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes.

End of recruiting process lifted weight from Corral

While there was much joy in L.A., there was disappointment in Berkeley, Calif., and in South Bend, Ind. Cal and Notre Dame were Corral’s other finalists. Corral said she got choked up when she called those coaches. Both were gracious and wished Corral the best of luck.

But the Trojans were not done with the communication.

Can you hear me now? Analog cellular networks shutting down next week

This weekend may finally be the perfect time to drag Grandma into your local mobile phone shop to update that brick she keeps in her purse along with the Circus Peanuts. Come Monday, the FCC is allowing cellular providers to shut down their analog networks, and most of the major players are planning to do just that. Owners of devices ranging from cell phones to home alarm systems and even in-car assistance services may be in for a rude surprise.

InfoWorld reports that both AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless, the only two major providers with nationwide AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) analog networks, will be shutting their networks down on Monday. Even most small, rural providers appear ready to pull the plug on the deprecated technology in favor of all-digital networks.

Harmonic Sees Q4 Sales of $88.4 million, up 17%

Harmonic Inc. reported Q4 2007 net sales of $88.4 million, up 17% from $75.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2006. For the full year 2007, net sales were $312.2 million, up 26% from $247.7 million in 2006. The Company saw revenue growth in both domestic and international markets, with international sales representing 43% and 44% of revenue for the fourth quarter and for the full year of 2007, respectively.

GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of 2007 was $13.3 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, up from $5.0 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, for the same period of 2006. For the full year 2007, GAAP net income was $30.1 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, up from $1.0 million, or $0.01 per diluted share in 2006.

Harmonic said the strong revenue growth reflects sales to an expanding range of cable, satellite, telco and other customers that are deploying a growing array of new video products and solutions.

Sunday, January 27:

Moti Nissani: Reflections on the Presidential Races of Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul (14 comments) That such an unabashed advocate of predatory capitalism as Dr. Ron Paul can successfully appeal to humanitarians speaks volumes for the sad, dysfunctional, state of American democracy and of the ideological chaos that afflicts the progressive camp.