First shower in a tub, originally uploaded by rinklefree.

1 day after he lost the ambilical cord.

Cisco Announces $10 Million Investment to Support

Job Creation and Economic Development in the Palestinian Territories

Commitment Aims to Encourage Investment in Palestinian Economy and Population

Ramallah, West Bank, 30 Jan. 2008:
Cisco today announced an investment of $10 million to seed a
sustainable model of job-creation and economic development in the
Palestinian Territories. The three-year investment, made
in cooperation with the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud
Abbas, represents Cisco’s continued commitment toward building stronger and healthier global communities through strategic social investments.

“Education
and the Internet are the great equalizers and vital to a sustainable,
productive economy that increases the standard of living for all,”
commented Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chambers. “It’s a
core part of our culture to give back, but it’s also a core strategy of
what drives our success in the regions of the world where we do
business. We make all our business decisions
with 3-5 years in mind and given our strong business momentum in the
region, it’s only appropriate to make this investment into its economy
and its people.”

“One of our key priorities is to build a market economy in close cooperation with the private sector. We
commend Cisco for its commitment to helping us accomplish this goal,
and look forward to working together toward enhancing the social,
economic and education opportunities for the people of Palestine. This contribution, we hope, will help prosperity and peace in the region,” said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Key
aspects of the commitment include a multi-million dollar venture
capital investment targeted at high-potential small businesses
throughout the region, as well as the development of training
programmes for critical information communications technology (ICT)
skills. In the future, Cisco’s intention is to engage in
a multi-stakeholder collaboration to encourage further inward
investment into the Palestinian economy from local, regional and global
organizations.

Chambers
added, “As we execute against this commitment over the coming years,
our hope is also to create a catalyst of active engagement and a call
to action for others across the public and private sector to contribute
toward a diverse and sustainable economic model for the region.”

For more information on Cisco’s global development and corporate social responsibility initiatives, please visit http://www.cisco.com/web/about/citizenship.

About Cisco Systems
Cisco,
(NASDAQ: CSCO), is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms
how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about
Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com. Cisco equipment in the Middle East is supplied by Cisco Systems International BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cisco Systems, Inc.

Daddy’s Cumfortable Chest, originally uploaded by rinklefree.

Best stress relief ever!