Free Republic

President Biden’s approval rating increased slightly over the past two months, according to a new poll, but the latest numbers illustrate frustrations the American public still have with Democrats on a number of issues. The poll, conducted by The Washington Post and ABC News, found that 42 percent of respondents approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president — up 5 percentage points from February’s 37 percent, which marked his low point in Post-ABC News surveys.

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq, July 13, 2009 – The landscape of this base is changing rapidly. Some buildings already have been built to improve the operational capability of Multinational Division South, with others planned for the near future. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Ratliff, from the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron, helps build a new hall for the Red Bull Band at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, in June 2009. The squadron plans to start construction on a post chapel soon. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Frank Vaughn   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The progress evident throughout...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 24, 2007 – Efforts to improve Iraq’s electrical power grid continue to make good progress, a senior U.S. military engineering officer reported from Baghdad today. For example, all four thermal turbine electricity generators in Baghdad’s Doura district are now up and running, Army Brig. Gen. Michael J. Walsh told Internet reporters and “bloggers” during a conference call from Iraq. “You’ll see smoke coming out of all four of them, so we’re pretty pumped about that,” Walsh said of the Doura power plant’s chimneys. Four more turbine generators in Mussaib are slated to come on line in the next...

BAGHDAD — The Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman and the commanding general of the Ground Combat Element, Multi-National Force-West, held a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center Wednesday. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the MNF-I spokesman, and U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. C. Mark Gurganus, commanding general of GCE, MNF-W, discussed progress in operations and security in western Iraq. “We want to help the Iraqi people develop a secure, stable and self-governing nation they can be proud of,” said Caldwell. “We are here to help the Iraqis build institutions, which will offer their children a better life...

TIKRIT — Iraqi provincial, security and oil officials organized an unprecedented one-day delivery of nearly 5 million liters of petroleum products to Ninewa Province Monday. After months of unsuccessful or inadequate fuel deliveries from the Bayji Oil Refinery, 135 fuel tankers carrying approximately 36,000 liters of benzene, diesel or kerosene products each were convoyed, under Iraqi Army escort, from the refinery to multiple fuel distribution centers in Mosul, Iraq. “Planned, organized, coordinated, secured and led by Iraqis from start to finish, this fuel delivery operation demonstrates how positive Iraqi leadership can overcome the influences of corruption and crime, which has...

WASHINGTON - Three months after a power shifting election, a majority of Americans still disapprove of Congress — a sign of public impatience with the new Democratic majority even among party loyalists. Still, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll conducted this week shows that Congress' public image has improved slowly but steadily since the November elections when Iraq, corruption and partisan fighting drove congressional approval ratings below those of President Bush. According to the poll, 65 percent of those surveyed disapprove of the way the president is handling his job, slightly up from his disapproval ratings last month. As for Congress, 58...

Weeks after suffering a brain hemorrhage, Sen. Tim Johnson is improving but still needs a ventilator at night to help him breathe, his doctor said Wednesday The doctor said Johnson no longer needs a ventilator full-time. "His breathing has steadily improved and now he only requires ventilator assistance at night," said Deshmukh, the neurosurgeon treating the senator. ...His long-term prognosis is unclear. Deshmukh said his recovery is expected to take several months. The senator "continues to be responsive to both his family and physicians _ following commands, squeezing his wife's hand, and understanding speech," Deshmukh said. ...Johnson has not spoken...

Brig. Gen. Jaleel (left), commander, 1st Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, and Col. Michael Shields, commander, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, answer questions from Iraqi and Western media Aug. 23 during a combined press conference held at Camp Liberty. Department of Defense photo by Army Spc. Karl Johnson. BAGHDAD  -- During a press conference Aug. 23, Iraqi and Coalition leaders discussed a recent combined operation in Baghdad’s Shulla, Nur and Ghazaliyah neighborhoods that resulted in a sharp decrease in levels of violence in the area and paved the way for improved essential services.Brig. Gen. Jaleel, commander, 1st Brigade, 6th...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, April 14, 2006 – As coalition leaders continue their efforts to bring stability to Afghanistan and prevent the re-emergence of terrorism, they often turn to the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which lets them quickly improve Afghans' lives with low-cost, high-impact projects. Workers build a new aqueduct system in Afghanistan's Khost province with funds from the Commander's Emergency Response Program. The program lets coalition leaders rapidly allocate resources to address local needs. Photo by Staff Sgt. Robert R. Ramon, USA  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Such projects include rehabilitating roads and bridges, building and...

U.S. soldiers assigned to the 589th Brigade Support Battalion prepare to deliver concrete barriers to traffic control points throughout Baghdad using palletized load system trucks. The barriers will help enhance security for the Iraqi police and Iraqi army personnel manning the traffic control points. U.S. Army photo courtesy of the Brigade Support Battalion Operation Money Worth Improves Baghdad Checkpoints The operation gave soldiers an opportunity to participate in improving the security situation in Baghdad and to form closer relationships with their Iraqi partners. By U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jerry MalecFires Brigade, 4th Infantry Division BAGHDAD, April 3, 2006...

HIT, Iraq (Jan. 3, 2006) -- While many across the globe celebrated the first day of the New Year with traditional family and friend gatherings, the engineers of MEU Service Support Group 22 had a different way to start 2006; improving the roadways of Hit, Iraq. Working in the pitch black of a moonless night, the engineers of MSSG-22, the combat service support element of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), are doing their part to develop the area, filling seemingly endless lines of potholes that are scattered along main routes in and around the town. “It can...

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (NNS) -- The Naval School of Explosive Ordnance Disposal has intensified the training for experienced explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians with the addition of the Advanced Improvised Explosive Device Disposal (AIEDD) Training Facility. The new $7 million facility concluded its pilot course Nov. 23, and the first full class will begin Jan. 6. The facility is a joint course run by the Navy on Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. It is designed to train and evaluate the ability of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team leaders, personnel of other key federal agencies and...

ABOARD USS SAN JANCINTO (NNS) -- USS San Jacinto (CG 56) Sailors improved the navigational safety of the Northern Persian Gulf when they mounted two seven-inch, solar-powered strobe lights on a sunken oil tanker and its marker buoy Nov. 20. The tanker, believed to have sunk during the early 1990s in the first Gulf War, created a significant navigation hazard for small boats and coalition vessels conducting maritime security operations (MSO) in the North Persian Gulf, near the Iraqi Al Basra oil terminal (ABOT). Chief Damage Controlman Frank Ferrantelli, a native of Staten Island, N.Y., and Hull Repair Technician 1st...

Dragon Eye Protects Troops, Improves Recon The easily-transportable unmanned aerial vehicle gives troops up-to-date reconnaissance over a wide area of terrain. By U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Robert M. Storm JALALABAD, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2005 — U.S. Marines and sailors from 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, use the Dragon Eye to minimize friendly casualties and maximize surveillance during missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. The Dragon Eye is the smallest functioning unmanned aerial vehicle. "The Dragon Eye is a good tool if used properly. It's excellent for short range reconnaissance and can easily...

The construction work also benefitted the local economy, with 80 to 140 Iraqis working at the site each week. By U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region Division BAGHDAD, Iraq, Oct. 21, 2005 — A new $4.9 million electrical substation will provide approximately 20,000 Iraqis in the southwestern portion of Babil an increase in power reliability. The substation, completed in early October, replaces an existing facility. Local Iraqis performed the labor that included design and construction of a 33/11 kilovolt switch-gear building, a guard house and installation of two transformers and new switch gear equipment. The local Iraqi economy benefited...

U.S. Army Lt. Col. Lowell Larson (left), a special projects officer for the Combined Joint Task Force 76 surgeon cell, talks about microscopy methods with Mohammad Ayub, a lab technician at the Sharan, Afghanistan hospital, Sept. 22, 2005. Larson is training Afghan lab technicians how to use the "Lab-in-a-Suitcase" kit that was donated to the hospital. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Laura E. Griffin 'Lab in a Suitcase' Improves Afghan Hospital U.S. Army Lt. Col. Lowell Larson, a lab technician in his civilian job, trains the Afghan technicians in how to use the equipment. By U.S. Army Spc. Laura...

TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif., Sept. 13, 2005 – For more than 140 years, the Armed Services YMCA continues to increase quality of life for service members and their families by offering support to communities and families. For director Anita Neu-Fultz and her staff at the Combat Center ASYMCA, that goal is paramount and unwavering as they volunteer to help others year-round. "Many people do not even know the Armed Service YMCA even exists," said Neu-Fultz. "They hear YMCA, and they think of sports programs and hotels and gyms and pools. But not many realize what we actually do here. We are...

The new year is expected to usher in a flurry of job hopping as employees frustrated by years of incremental raises and scarce advancement opportunities begin shopping for new employers...

LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists have discovered a new way to improve the effectiveness of drugs used to treat prostate cancer. Researchers at the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine in Oxford found that blocking the action of a gene called IGF1R makes prostate cancer cells more sensitive to radiotherapy and certain chemotherapy treatments. "This is the first study to show that silencing the IGF1R gene can improve the effectiveness treatments for prostate cancer," Dr Val Macaulay, who headed the research team, said on Friday. Prostate is one of the most common cancers in men. Each year 543,000 new cases are...

NEW YORK - A rash of job cuts — more than 10,000 layoffs just this week from a handful of companies — has created some gloom on the jobs front. But Friday's release of jobs data for September was expected to show a steady unemployment rate and creation between about 50,000 to 250,000 new jobs, though uncertainties such as the effects of last month's hurricanes kept the estimates all over the map, said Wachovia Corp. economist Mark Vitner. It's an unusually wide range, because there are so many complicating factors this month," he said. "It's all over the board." Vitner...