Free Republic

CAMP TAJI, Iraq, Aug. 28, 2008 – Iraqi army maintenance soldiers were honored for their recent achievements and progress during a ceremony at the Taji Level III Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance Facility Aug. 26. Staff Gen. Nasier Abadi, the Iraqi Army deputy chief of staff, stops and talks with one of the Taji Level III Wheeled Vehicle Maintenance Facility soldier as he walked the line of nearly 130 wheeled vehicles and 20 track vehicles that were recently repaired here. Nasier was genuinely proud of the progress made and was the guest of honor at the ceremony on Aug 26, 2008....

He says he is — seriously devoted to building and maintaining highways. But he is just as devoted to fencing state government into fiscal straits that make these goals impossible without privatizing highways through tolls. Perry last week said that going full-bore with toll roads is the only way for Texas to build new highways. That’s not so. The history of Texas tells us it’s not. Toll roads have their function without question. But so do bonds. So does a gasoline tax that has not kept pace with inflation. So does a reexamination of how Texas funds highways in general...

Each day, I make the dreaded drive down Interstate 35 to go to work in Fort Worth. Each day, I slug through the snarl and sludge of ceaseless traffic, which intensifies my growing desire to commit hari-kari, or at least incites a vehement curse of the highway gods. Certainly, we in Texas need more lanes, more roads, more rails, more something to deal with the ever-expanding urban population and growing international commerce. Yet how do we solve our transportation needs without carving up the countryside like some congratulatory cake? Or should the construction of a superhighway-rail-utility corridor even concern us?...

BELTON - There appears to be no easy way to address the challenges that inflation has brought to the Texas Department of Transportation. “We’ve seen 60 percent inflation over the last five years for transportation projects,” said Chris Lippincott, a TxDOT spokesman. To look to the federal government for assistance would appear foolhardy at this point as the Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to become insolvent by 2009. The fund was created in 1956 to ensure a dependable source of financing for U.S. interstates and highways. “The Federal Highway Trust Fund is expected to go into the red very...

Lufkin Mayor Jack Gorden has been selected by the Texas Transportation Committee to serve on a citizens' advisory committee for putting together information regarding the proposed Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. According to Texas Department of Transportation officials, advisory committee members represent a cross-section of community and business leaders, landowners, local transportation experts and others. "Our goal is to enhance the public dialogue and meaningfully involve more Texans in transportation decisions," said Texas Transportation Commission Chair Hope Andrade. "These committees will have an important seat at the table as we work together to shape the future of transportation for our state." Gorden...

South Texas is not only going to get its first interstate - it is also going to get a second and a third. State transportation officials knew one of three southern highways - U.S. Highway 281 in Hidalgo County, U.S. Highway 77 in Cameron County or U.S. Highway 59 in Webb County - would eventually become part of an interstate stretching from the Texas-Mexico border to Texarkana, in the northeast part of the state. Only Webb County is currently served by an interstate. The state's Trans-Texas Corridor plan calls for an Interstate 69 extension linking South Texas to points north,...

AUSTIN - When it comes to road improvement and maintenance, by most accounts, the South Plains and Panhandle are fortunate. Despite a $1.1 billion accounting error, the Texas Department of Transportation recently reported no projects in the region have been canceled or delayed while cities like Dallas, Houston and Laredo had at least a half dozen highway projects delayed. But the $1.1 billion-error, which occurred because TxDOT inadvertently counted some bond money twice and consequently allocated more funding than it had, is just the latest problem plaguing the beleaguered agency. For months, TxDOT executive director Amadeo Saenz and other transportation...

Sometimes the truth just has a way of coming to light. A public information officer with the Texas Department of Transportation this week wrote a column in the Herald-Press describing the financial woes facing TxDOT and how because of those problems the state’s transportation department doesn’t have the money to deal with many of the state’s transportation issues. Apparently, several of the state’s senators do not feel that is the case at all. David Dewhurst called out the state’s interim chairwoman of the Texas Transportation Commission, Hope Andrade, on this very issue, according to a story from the Associated Press....

Not one of the 11 East Texans who approached the podium at Wednesday's hearing on Interstate 69 voiced support for the planned highway. "This is highway robbery, and we should not pursue this project," said David Simpson, a Longview resident and fifth-generation Texan. "This process has bypassed the Constitution. It has bypassed the U.S. Congress, and I'm opposed to it because of the unconstitutional way that it has been pushed through." The public hearing, held at Maude Cobb Convention and Activity Center, was a chance for residents to comment and ask questions about Interstate 69/Trans-Texas Corridor. The corridor would extend...

U. S. Defends Self by: Jeremy Hempel, February 05, 2008 The national defense budget is split up into two accounts; the base defense budget for the year, at $507 billion, and the special war-time budget at $141.8 billion. The U. S. Senate Committee on Armed Services moved $12 billion dollars from the war-time budget to the base budget in order to supply for ongoing programs. Some intriguing big- ticket items: • “Adding approximately $300 million to the budget request to provide increased space situational awareness capabilities to address concerns raised as a result of the recent Chinese kinetic anti-satellite weapons...

Some Texans are afraid of losing their land to the Trans-Texas Corridor while others loathe the thought of a quarter-mile-wide swath of toll roads and railway lines transforming the countryside into a superhighway. People continue to turn out in droves at public meetings concerning the controversial Trans-Texas Corridor proposal, specifically the portion known as the TTC-69 proposed from Brownsville to Texarkana. A meeting Monday, Jan. 28, at the fairgrounds in Austin County was no exception, drawing more than 1,000 people. Opposition to the proposed corridor has come from people in all walks of life, said Chris Steinbach, chief of staff...

From the Texas Contractor Austin Bureau January 7, 2008 Texas Contractor Interview with Amadeo Saenz on TxDOT construction and maintenance spending in 2008 and beyond. Amadeo Saenz, P.E., a transportation engineer with 29 years' state experience, took over as the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) at the end of September — and began working to find ways to allow the agency to meet the state's highway needs despite increasing demand,rising costs and decreasing resources. Saenz, 51, was named to Texas' top transportation position by the Texas Transportation Commission in late September to replace Michael Behrens, who...

Sperm donor pays maintenance to lesbians By Graham Tibbetts Last Updated: 8:42pm GMT 03/12/2007 A sperm donor who helped a lesbian couple have two children is now being forced to pay thousands of pounds for their upbringing, he said. Andy Bathie, 37, agreed to assist Sharon and Terri Arnold - who were united in a religious blessing ceremony - after they assured him he would have no involvement in raising the boy and girl. Andy Bathie: Legal challenge But after the couple split up he was tracked down by the Child Support Agency and forced to make regular maintenance payments....

WASHINGTON, Nov. 27, 2007 – Establishing proper maintenance procedures and operations processes is as important as providing power plants, hospitals and other infrastructure in Iraq, a senior U.S. military engineer said today. The United States has contributed almost $14 billion toward Iraq’s rebuilding effort, including nearly 4,000 projects designed to help improve the country’s infrastructure and central services, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey J. Dorko, commanding general for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division, told reporters at a Baghdad news conference. Yet, improving the state of Iraq’s infrastructure isn’t only about providing “brick and mortar” items like roads, bridges,...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (March 22, 2006) -- Marines are making knuckle-busting, wrench-turners out of Iraqi soldiers. Marine from 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment working with Regimental Combat Team 5, are teaching Iraqis the in’s and out’s of humvee maintenance. Mechanics from the battalion’s Headquarters and Support Company are training Iraqi Army soldiers on maintenance and operations for humvees. The Iraqi soldiers received their new humvees less than a week ago. “We are teaching the Iraqis the basics,” said Sgt. Laurice Kelly, a 36-year-old motor transport operations chief from Copperscove, Texas. “We are teaching basic maintenance and functions of the humvee.”...

AL ASAD, Iraq (March 13, 2006) -- Imagine every time your vehicle travels 3,000 miles, a group of highly skilled experts dismantle it, check all the fluids and parts for wear and tear, then quickly reassemble it. Not a very common occurrence for today's drivers, unless you are a pilot and your vehicle happens to be an F/A-18 Hornet with Marine All Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 533, Marine Aircraft Group 16 (Reinforced), 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing. Eight highly skilled Marines with the Hawks' phase maintenance section are responsible for performing a complete maintenance check of the Hornets every time they...

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Matthew Foley works to repair a damaged engine cover on a B-52 Stratofortress, Jan. 31, 2006. The B-52s return to Andersen Air Force Base, Guam from a forward operating location after flying 300 hours. U.S Air Force photo by Bennie J. Davis III B-52 Maintenance Team Vital Part of Mission Success U.S. Air Force maintenance personnel inspect the B-52s after 300 hours flying time, a tricky task when managing a fleet of aircraft 50 years old. By U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Scott King 40th Air Expeditionary Group Public Affairs OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM, Feb....

AL QAIM, Iraq (Nov. 22, 2005) -- When faced with challenges, Marines are renowned for their ability to adapt and overcome. Staff Sgt. David A. Beaty, Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 369’s day crew maintenance controller in Al Qaim, has overcome countless maintenance and logistical challenges for more than two months. While tackling these challenges, he has kept the Marines’ morale high and continuously ensured the squadron’s AH-1 Cobras and UH-1 Hueys are in the air supporting the Marines on the ground. “I love being out here,” said Beaty, a Picket County, Tenn., native. “It’s a smaller detachment, our unit...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (Oct. 6, 2005) -- The CH-46 D/E Sea Knight helicopter is one of the Marine Corps’ most valuable assets, providing expedient transportation of critical cargo loads as well as providing troop transportation. Because of the valuables these high-powered machines carry, as well as their importance in military efforts such as the Global War on Terrorism, inspections must be conducted continuously to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew. The Marines who conduct these inspections are called non-destructive inspections technicians. Their job is to perform non-destructive testing of various metals in aircraft structures and...

"the seventh time that the front wheels on an Airbus A-320 have gotten locked in the wrong position.. ..JetBlue's long-term maintenance of its aircraft. When the planes are inspected for damage and then reassembled, the work takes place either in Canada or El Salvador... JetBlue doesn't fly outside the United States.. Salvadoran mechanics make $300 to $1,000 a month..Roughly one-third of the Salvadoran mechanics have passed the exam that qualifies them for the Federal Aviation Administration's license, while in the United States, such licenses are required for all mechanics employed directly by the airlines."

State cites lack of separate fund Secretary of State William F. Galvin has accused the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston of violating state law by failing to maintain a separate fund for upkeep of its cemeteries and diverting money from cemetery care to other church purposes. Galvin's securities division delivered a 33-page complaint yesterday to the Catholic Cemetery Association Inc., an entity the archdiocese uses to operate its cemeteries, accusing it of failing to ensure the perpetual care of its 22 Catholic graveyards. Galvin accuses the church of betraying its parishioners, who are told when they buy a plot that 10...

/begin my translation N. Korean Underground Tunnels, Impregnable Fortresses against Nuclear Attack Eludes U.S. spy satellites by painting radar-absorbing materials(on the entrance)Enough food to last for 3 years -- even equipped with oxygen generators  We set up the new section called 'N. Korean File' to provide you with vivid picture of N. Korean society. (Articles in) this section would be based on internal documents from N. Korea or testimony from N. Korean defectors. As its first article, we investigate underground tunnels in N. Korea, based on content from monthly magazine 'N. Korea.' It is first revealed in S. Korea that N. Korea kept U.S. spy satellites from tracking...

I'm sure that you have all been told: "Don't oil your pistol/revolver because it will jam or lock up." WRONG ANSWER! Ten or twenty years ago that might have been partially true. The lubricants that were available then were completely different than the modern ones available today. I have disassembled thousands of firearms over the last thirty some odd years and have also probably tried just about every "Snake Oil" that's been available during that time. It has been my observation that the oils that were available during the years prior to the 1970's and 80's contained paraffins that turned...

Is it important to clean your guns? Why? How clean is clean? I have asked, and been asked these questions for decades. I am not a gunsmith, but I do have a general knowledge of what makes a gun tick - and what makes it stop ticking. When I wore the uniform of the United States Military, I was taught that my weapon (we never called them guns; there was a punishment for that slip of the tongue) was my best friend. Take care of it, and it will take care of you. I cleaned all mine right by the...

On the way into work at 6:20am, I was listening to local radio station, WBSA's (www.wsba910.com) Dennis Edwards, interview of Paul L. Williams, author of his new book, "Osama's Revenge: The Next 9-11", who said there are already 20-40 tactical (10 kiloton) nukes in the US, in major cities. He also said that in October 2001, George Tenet testified that he'd sent President Bush a memo detailing some of the information and the serial numbers of two (2) of the nukes. Anyone else hear this? Really ruined my day, if true. I'm in the York-Lancaster, PA area, and have seen...

<p>For years, the Virginia Department of Transportation's maintenance program has been driving blind, without hard information to support its budgets and work plans.</p> <p>To remedy that lack, VDOT has developed its own computerized system to figure out what the huge state highway system's real maintenance needs are and how to handle them.</p>

SEATTLE -- KIRO Team 7 Investigators discover cracks, corrosion and weakened metal hidden inside a growing number of Boeing passenger jets. The problems lie along structural seams called lap joints. A fuselage is designed with overlapping sheets of metal riveted together. We uncovered at least 28 different warnings regarding flaws or defects. In 2002, a China Airlines jet plummeted into the water, killing 225 passengers. MORE ON THIS STORY Flight Standards Information Bulletin for Airworthiness (HTML VERSION) Flight Standards Information Bulletin for Airworthiness (Microsoft Word Version) Fourteen years earlier, an Aloha Airlines 737 opened up like a sardine can, killing...

URBAN PAVEMENT CONDITIONS HAVE WORSENED; LOS ANGELES, SAN JOSE, SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND, SAN DIEGO, NEW ORLEANS, BOSTON, SACRAMENTO, RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO, TULSA AND PHILADELPHIA LEAD THE NATION IN POOR ROAD CONDITIONS SPENDING FOR ROAD IMPROVEMENTS IS DOWN 18 PERCENT OVER PAST TWO YEARS; NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH GROUP SAYS GREATER INVESTMENT NEEDED TO ENSURE SMOOTHER RIDES AND LONGER-LASTING ROADS INCREASED FUNDING UNDER PENDING FEDERAL SURFACE TRANSPORTATION LEGISLATION CRITICAL TO BUILDING BETTER ROADS WASHINGTON, D.C., April 28, 2004 - One out of four of the nation's major metropolitan roads - interstates, freeways and other critical local routes - have pavements in poor condition, resulting...

MR. ZAKHEIM: Well, good afternoon, everybody. I don't know whether you may have more slides in your packets than I'll be showing up here. But in any event, I would like your indulgence, so that I can go through them all and then take questions afterwards. And I'll try to do that quickly and hopefully clearly. So, moving to the first slide; as you can see, this year we have a budget of something over $400 billion, which is approximately 26 billion (dollars) more than we had last year. You'll see that we have $6 billion worth of rescissions, and...

DoD News Briefing, Wednesday, 28 Jan 2004 - 8:58 am

First, a bit of background. I have a friend whose NG transportation unit was activated in February and through the usual Army SNAFU's didn't get depoyed to Iraq until late April. Needless to say that within the first couple of weeks his unit started coming under fire. On one accasion when they were ordered to dismount and return fire, over half of the unit's M-16's jammed after a couple of shots. Figuring that I needed to do someting to help them out, I did a bit of research and came up with a product called Militec Synthetic Metal Conditioner. I...

FORT CARSON, Colo. -- Pfc. Jessica Lynch is the celebrity soldier of the Iraq war. Pfc. Patrick Miller, a member of the same company captured with her in a ferocious firefight, remains one of its unsung heroes. Lynch, Miller and others in their convoy mistakenly drove into the vipers' nest of Nasiriyah in southern Iraq, early on a March morning and were encircled by Iraqi fighters. In the ensuing swirl of chaos and shouting, wrong turns and unrelenting fire, Lynch's Humvee crashed, and she lay unconscious among her dead and dying comrades. It was Miller, a 23-year-old Army welder from...

An aspiring missionary doctor, who was voted by medical school classmates as the epitome of a good physician, was killed Saturday at Christus St. Joseph Hospital when an elevator malfunctioned, decapitating him, authorities said. Hitoshi Nikaidoh, 35, of Dallas, a surgical resident at the hospital at 1919 La Branch, was stepping onto a second-floor elevator in the main building around 9:30 a.m. when the doors closed, pinning his shoulders, said Harold Jordan, an investigator with the Harris County Medical Examiner's Office. The elevator car then moved upward, severing the doctor's head, Jordan said. "It is an unexpected and tragic loss,"...

<p>In the "City of Bridges," more than half of them are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, a research group has reported.</p> <p>The Road Information Program, called TRIP, a construction industry-supported group based in Washington, D.C., reported that 29 percent of Pittsburgh area bridges were deficient and another 29 percent were obsolete. The group held news conferences in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia yesterday to call attention to a situation it estimates would cost $7 billion to correct statewide.</p>