Free Republic

Iraqis work for an Iraqi non-tactical vehicle oil station on Joint Base Balad. The car maintenance agreement between the Iraqi company and the American government is the first of its kind to work inside a military base. Photo by Pfc. Amanda Tucker, 3rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary). JOINT BASE BALAD — Shaykh Shehab Ahmed Saleh Altmime has been running a non-tactical vehicle business here since August 2008, employing local nationals while providing a service to military members on base."As reward of my work and my sincerity ... [a] contract was signed between the Iraqi non-tactical vehicle oil station and Joint Base...

Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources said bridge repair would cost $4 million and take two years. Hawaii residents complete for free.A bridge was damaged on the island of Kauai by flooding. The Hawaii state Department of Land and Natural Resources told residents it would cost $4 million and take two years to come up this the money. The residents completed the repair with donated materials and labor in only eight days. This is a great example of government bureaucracy vs. private sector initiative.

Link only - Mall Repair Funds Cut From Stimulus Package

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States has "a lot of damage to repair" to its standing around the world after eight years of President George W. Bush, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Tuesday. "The (new) approach to the world is one that we know is in the interests of our country going forward, and I have had that reinforced time and again with the all phone calls that I've been making," Clinton told reporters. "There is a great exhalation of breath going on around the world as people express their appreciation for the new direction that is being...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US space agency NASA said it had indefinitely delayed a February shuttle mission to repair the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope, which was back in business after a four-week break to fix transmission problems. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration also announced the next shuttle launch for November 14, when an Endeavour mission will deliver more equipment to the International Space Station. The Hubble's instruments were suspended automatically on September 27 due to a technical problem with Side-A of its Science Data Formatter, a unit that stores and transmits data back to Earth. NASA's Hubble team switched the...

The U.S. Army said Friday it will immediately repair barracks at eight facilities in the wake of inspection at bases worldwide. The inspections were done the last week of April and covered nearly 150,000 barracks rooms. They found that 45 repairs needed priority attention, including new heating and cooling equipment, repainting, mold removal and other work. Army Secretary Pete Geren has said that $248 million in emergency funds has been appropriated to fix problems found during the inspections. The Army on Friday identified eight installations that will get priority attention: Fort Polk, La.; Fort Gordon, Ga.; Fort Bragg, N.C.; Fort...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, April 25, 2008 – After months of fighting, coalition forces in Arab Jabour, Iraq, have rid the area of al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists and have turned their attention to rebuilding the community. Army Capt. James Anthony, commander of Company C, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, watches as children play at the Al-Alemia school in Arab Jabour, Iraq. Anthony and his company helped to rebuild the school. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Those efforts have opened numerous schools, water pumps and health clinics in Arab Jabour. The Islah School, Alula School and...

FOB HAMMER — Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, working with the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE) representative, surveyed several damaged high-tension power line towers near al Durai’ya, March 17. The day prior, Lt. Col. Jack Marr, from Minneapolis, commander of 1-15th Inf. Regt., met with Iraqi Army leadership, the MoE, and Sheik Majid, the local Sons of Iraq (SoI) leader, to discuss repair of the towers. After surveying the site, the MoE agreed the government of Iraq would fund labor for the repairs and security for the laborers would be provided by SoI in the area. “Sheik Majid...

I know what's wrong, I have the parts in hand to fix it, but I don't have the knowledge.

My set's on the blink, was hoping some of my Freeper brethren who might be in the TV/electronics repair biz could help.

WASHINGTON - Attorney General Alberto Gonzales says he's staying at the Justice Department to try to repair its broken image, telling Congress in a statement released Monday he's troubled that politics may have played a part in hiring career federal prosecutors. Senators already skeptical of Gonzales' ability to lead the department were preparing to hammer him about the firings of eight U.S. attorneys and conflicts between his earlier statements and the testimony of a former aide. The attorney general's comments were included in 26 pages of prepared testimony released on the eve of his scheduled appearance before the Senate Judiciary...

The panel vent on my van's A/C has stopped working, it's hot down here in the South, and I wanted to see if any of my mechanically-adept Freeper brethren could give me some guidance here.

HOUSTON - Atlantis astronauts may use a sewing kit normally reserved for spacesuits to repair a peeled-back thermal blanket near the spacecraft's tail, NASA managers said Tuesday. The shuttle astronauts' 11-day mission was extended Monday by two days to allow time to fix the thermal blanket, which peeled during launch last week. No final decision has been made on when the repair, which covers a 4-by-6-inch area over an engine pod, will be made, or what repair technique will be used. Engineers have looked at using duct tape or other adhesives to secure the blanket, but are leaning toward a...

Soldiers Repair Bombed Out Bridge on Highway 1 Troops responded to attack in less than 36 hours. By Maj. Randall Baucom 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division Public Affairs Officer Multi-National Division, Baghdad CAMP TAJI, Iraq, May 21, 2007 — Coalition Forces worked quickly to repair a bridge, damaged by insurgents, on a major Iraqi highway May 15. The southbound bridge on Highway 1, which spans the Grand Canal, was attacked by a suicide car bomber May 13. Soldiers from the 502nd Engineer Company, 565th Engineer Battalion, responded to the attack in less than 36 hours, linking up...

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq, April 6, 2007 — While U.S. presence continues to increase throughout Baghdad neighborhoods, one unit has taken on the added responsibility of repairing and securing part of Baghdad’s road system. "The missions are difficult and a lot of planning is required, but the increased mobility and safety is worth it." U.S. Army 1st Lt. Maya Lowell Capt. Matthew Davis and his soldiers from Headquarters Company, 9th Engineer Battalion, spend their days conducting the tasks of repairing the task force’s fleet of vehicles, or providing fuel and logistical support at various locations around Baghdad. The “headhunter” company sets...

'SeaBees' Repair Runway at Logistics 'Hub' Navy and Marine engineers focus on repairing vital runway By Lance Cpl. Ben Eberle 1st Marine Logistics Group CAMP TAQADDUM, Iraq, Dec. 11, 2006 -- Camp Taqaddum is considered the logistics "hub" of Iraq due to its existing infrastructure and proximity to major supply routes, but the base's single runway has presented somewhat of a logistical challenge. Navy construction workers, or "SeaBees," and Marine combat engineers have responded by repairing 10 miles of concrete on Camp Taqaddum's flight line. They plan to have both base runways operational by Feb. 1, 2007. "It's the...

Lance Cpl. Christopher T. Hart, 22, a combat engineer with 1st Platoon, Alpha Engineer Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 1, Combat Logistics Regiment 1, 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) and a native of Mt. Pleasant, S.C., stirs a bucket of wet concrete before repairing a hole in the road while engaging in a route repair mission in Al Anbar Province. AL ASAD - They left the base toting a trailer stocked with cement, shovels, jackhammers and other road repair essentials destined to fix a problem faced by Coalition Forces and Iraqi civilians - big holes in the road. Combat engineers with...

Iraqis Disregard Threats to Repair Damaged Roads Local contractors disregarded terrorist threats to repair roads and allow Iraqis to travel uninhibited. U.S. Army Cpl. Michael Molinaro FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq. Sept. 6, 2006 -- “Iraqis helping Iraqis” was the theme in the Rasheed district Aug. 25-28 as locals helped patch together a road that had been blown apart by terrorists. Local contractors disregarded terrorist threats and ventured out to repair the roads and allow Iraqis to travel uninhibited. “The workers did a great job and worked very hard for two days to complete this monumental task,” said Staff...

Recently, the DVD-ROM/CD-R drive on my laptop broke. The mechanism that ejects the tray broke, and now, the tray doesn't shut properly. I tried calling Best Buy's repair service, but they told me that they do not do on-site laptop repair. As I researched the topic on the Internet, I noticed that I couldn't find any repair company that did on-site repair. (I live in Fairfax Country, Virginia). Is this a general policy of most computer repair companies?

Spc. Stacy Harms, mechanic and tow truck driver-operator, 3rd Special Troops Battalion motor pool, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division and a Deerfield, Kan., native, unloads a damaged M1114 Humvee he retrieved from outside Forward Operating Base Speicher. U.S. Army photo by Waine D. Haley ‘Go To’ Guys Repair Vehicles Two 101st Airborne Division mechanics have earned the respect of their peers through hard work and dedication. By Sgt. Waine D. Haley 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment TIKRIT, Iraq, July 6, 2006 -- Many units have a “go-to guy,” the cream-of-the-crop, the guy who can get it done,...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq (May 31, 2006) -- The sound of a cement mixer breaks up the darkness on a lone Iraqi road near the city of Fallujah. Marines are working in what is known as "black out" condition - no light other than the moon and the occasional glimmer of a flashlight. It's 6 a.m. on May 24, and the lazing Iraqi sun will soon be rising. This is the time many Americans get up for work, but for the combat engineers of Charlie Company, they've already put in an eight-hour day. The Marines of Charlie Company, commonly referred to...

SACRAMENTO – The settlement of a landmark lawsuit two years ago created a $200 million state fund for emergency repairs in low-performing schools throughout California, but little of the money has been spent. Leaky roofs, broken toilets and other problems requiring urgent repair were cited in the suit. Only $247,000 has been spent from the fund – far less than the $30 million paid to attorneys in the suit. Some lawmakers think the fund, which is scheduled to grow by $200 million a year and reach $800 million by 2008, is not being used because school districts with tight budgets...

AL ASAD, Iraq (Mar 5, 2006) -- Issues Marines face on a daily basis, which can lessen their quality of life and hinder their mission, include downed power generators, lights not turning on, mud bogs created by standing water and gear or personnel needing transportation. The Forerunners can turn to five talented, multi-tasking Marines with the logistics section of Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 16, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, to solve these and other miscellaneous problems and tasks as they spring up. "We are responsible for the maintenance of five barracks, six hangars, the base ordnance building...

Troops' Repair Skills Critical to Mission, Lives Bravo Company soldiers are masters of all trades as they repair equipment rangingfrom air conditioning units to night vision goggles to weapons to vehicles. By U.S. Army Spc. Jon H. Arguello KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Nov. 2, 2005 — Few units in the United States Army are as diverse in their skill set as support battalions. The 173rd Support Battalion (Airborne), 173rd Brigade (Airborne) is no exception, especially Bravo Company. The company's best description would be general or miscellaneous support, but don't get the wrong impression. Bravo Company soldiers don't have a lot...

LAFAYETTE, La. (Army News Service, Sept. 26, 2005) – Thousands of Soldiers are providing food and water to stranded residents along the Texas-Louisiana border following flooding from Hurricane Rita. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers worked throughout the weekend to repair a breach in the Industrial Canal. About 400 huge sandbags and tons of rock, placed primarily with military helicopters, have stopped the inflow of water into the lower 9th Ward, officials reported. They said pumping operations have already begun to remove the floodwaters from the area. Less than 12 hours after Hurricane Rita struck the southwest...

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (NNS) -- Seabees from Construction Battalion Maintenance Unit (CBMU) 202 based in Little Creek, Va., are clearing debris and performing repairs in local areas here affected by Hurricane Katrina. Water moccasins, metal rods, giant wood beams and mounds of debris were some of the challenges faced by CBMU 202 when they arrived on board Naval Station (NS) Pascagoula to help clear and repair damage caused by the hurricane. The Seabees involved in the Pascagoula operation include members of CBMU-202 from Little Creek, Va. and members of the CBMU-202 Detachment from Kings Bay, Ga. One of the priority projects...

SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday joined Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, and other federal lawmakers in urging Congress to help California repair its aging system of levees. Schwarzenegger, who is expected to announce today his bid for a full term as governor, wants an additional $90 million for levee repairs from a federal government that has a history of failing to show California the money. The hope is to prevent a New Orleans-like disaster in the streets of Stockton and Sacramento. "Many parts of our Central Valley have significantly lower levels of flood protection than similar areas in the...

Did yo hear the interview with the engineer whp has been working on the Levees for a long time, discussing why the Levees busted, what it would cost to fix them and how.. And hear him say, that no amount of repair or "u[grading of the present New Orlkeans Levee system, will ever be able to protect the city from a force 5 or 4 class Hurricane? Basically said that the whole levee system would have to be redesigned and built anew to be able to properly protect the city from a future reoccurance, and his optimistic estimate with all...

SIERRA VISTA - Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Cooperative crews are planning to head to the Gulf Coast today to help make repairs to power lines in the Hurricane Katrina disaster area. The effort is in response to a plea from utilities in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, where the hurricane caused an estimated $25 billion in damage - destroying homes and businesses, flooding the city of New Orleans and leaving more than a million people without power. On Tuesday, Jack Blair, chief marketing officer for the cooperative, said 17 employees from Willcox, Benson and Sierra Vista were tentatively scheduled to go...

SPACE CENTER, Houston (AP) - With a gentle tug of his gloved right hand, Discovery astronaut Stephen Robinson removed two worrisome pieces of filler material from the shuttle's belly Wednesday in an unprecedented space repair job that drew a big sigh of relief from NASA. But he may have to go out again to fix yet another trouble spot. Robinson was barely back inside the shuttle and out of his spacesuit when Mission Control informed the crew there was a chance that a fourth spacewalk might be needed Friday to deal with a torn thermal blanket below a cockpit window....

SPACE CENTER, Houston - A spacewalking astronaut gently pulled two potentially dangerous strips of protruding filler from Discovery's tile belly with his gloved hand Wednesday, successfully completing an unprecedented emergency repair. Astronaut Stephen Robinson said both pieces came out easily during the spacewalk, which lasted six hours. He did not have to use a makeshift hacksaw put together in orbit that he brought along just in case. "That came out very easily, probably even less force," Robinson said of the second piece. "I don't see any more gap filler. ... I'm doing my own inspection here. It is a very...

SPACE CENTER, Houston - Employing the kind of NASA ingenuity seen during Apollo 13, an astronaut prepped for an emergency repair job on Discovery's exterior Wednesday with forceps, scissors and a hacksaw fashioned out of a blade and a little duct tape. Stephen Robinson's mission was to remove two short pieces of filler material that were sticking out of the shuttle's belly. NASA feared the material could lead to a repeat of the 2003 Columbia tragedy during Discovery's re-entry next week. Astronauts have never ventured beneath an orbiting shuttle before, and have never attempted repairs to the fragile thermal skin...

A woman is accused of brandishing a loaded gun at a repairman who couldn't fix her TV. --- NEW PORT RICHEY - The Best Buy repairman had come several times to fix the woman's television. But still on Friday he could not get it to work. So, officials say, the woman pulled out a .38-caliber handgun loaded with hollow-point rounds and told him: "You're not leaving until the TV is fixed." Marlene Anne Bagnall, 44, of 1523 Davenport Drive was later arrested on charges of aggravated assault and false imprisonment. Bagnall's husband told a sheriff's deputy she was diagnosed with...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4480813.stm Last Updated: Monday, 25 April, 2005, 13:54 GMT 14:54 UK   Doubt overshadows Hubble's 15th   A billowing tower of cold gas and dust in the Eagle Nebula. (Image: Nasa, Esa and the Hubble Heritage Team) The tower in the Eagle Nebula may be a giant incubator for newborn stars Hubble is the best mission in Nasa's fleet Steven Beckwith, STScI Astronomers are this week celebrating the 15th year in space for the Hubble space telescope - perhaps the most successful astronomy mission ever.But the celebrations are overshadowed by uncertainty over the future of the orbiting observatory. Nasa's 2006...

The US Air Force has launched a micro-satellite that could lead to an autonomous robotic mechanic that fixes satellites in orbit. The launch is the first of two such technology-demonstration satellites to lift off this week. The 138-kilogram XSS-11 - which stands for Experimental Spacecraft Systems 11 - blasted off at 0635 PDT (1435 GMT) on Monday from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US, aboard a Minotaur rocket. “Nobody’s ever done anything like this in space,” says Vernon Baker, XSS-11 programme manager at the Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, US. He says developing an...

FAA licensed 5 arrested at TIMCO 3-24-05 By Taft Wireback, Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- Five of those arrested on immigration charges at TIMCO two weeks ago had high-level repair licenses from the Federal Aviation Administration, which is investigating how they qualified for licensing tests, the agency said Wednesday. FAA administrators are looking into documents used by the five in seeking the right to test for Airframe and Powerplant certification, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. The A&P license allows mechanics to work on the more complex parts of a plane. "To our knowledge, they all passed the written,...

27 immigrants arrested at PTI 3-9-05 By Taft Wireback Staff Writer News & Record GREENSBORO -- Federal agents arrested 27 people Tuesday on immigration charges at Piedmont Triad International Airport, where they worked as airplane mechanics and repair workers at TIMCO, an aviation maintenance company. The arrests of immigrants from eight countries were part of Operation Tarmac, a nationwide effort to keep undocumented workers out of the supposedly secure parts of airports where a terrorist strike could be carried out. Authorities said there is no reason to believe at this time that any of those arrested at PTI were involved...

The ME generation refuses to acknowledge that there is a looming problem with the Social Security system. Are you tired of all the Social Security discussions that have been flooding the air and print waves the past two weeks? Having a hard time understanding the plethora of opinions -- some good, some bad -- being thrown at you from all directions by people who seem to know what they are talking about, but are spewing venom the likes of which you haven’t seen since either the last presidential debate or the most recent episode of The Apprentice? Well, get used...

WASHINGTON – The job certainly has its upside. The director of the Central Intelligence Agency knows the world's biggest secrets; visits kings, princes, and presidents - usually during the dark of night in mysterious places; travels with a contingent of heavily armed guards; and oh, yes, meets nearly every day with the president. But power and intrigue aside, it may be difficult to fill the spacious seventh-floor office with sweeping views of wooded northern Virginia left vacant by George Tenet this week. For one thing, there is the overwhelming challenge of overhauling a $40 billion, broken intelligence community. The lapses...

Code: ZE04062506 Date: 2004-06-25 Family Attracts Youth, but Not Their Commitment, Says Pope Sees Problem as a Cultural Crisis VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2004 (ZENIT.org).- Youth are attracted to family life but often don't want to commit themselves to it, says John Paul II. For this reason, it is necessary to offer a cultural response, the Pope told a symposium of Europeans who have been meeting in Rome on the theme "The Family in Europe." The symposium is taking place within the context of the International Year of the Family. "In the first millennium," the Holy Father said today,...

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...

A new worm takes a different twist by trying to repair systems infected by Blaster and patch the vulnerability it exploits, antivirus vendors said Monday. The worm, called Nachi or MSBlast.D, tries to delete Blaster from some infected systems and install patches, according to Trend Micro. Last week's Blaster worm, also called MSBlast and Lovsan, infected hundreds of thousands of systems by exploiting a Remote Procedure Call (RPC) flaw in Microsoft Windows. Nachi exploits the same flaw but can delete the MSBlast.exe file left by Blaster on machines running Windows 2000 and Windows XP and download Microsoft patches to fix...

<p>NOW that the war in Iraq is winding down, we face what is perhaps an even greater challenge: How do we win the peace? Indeed, winning the peace may be one of the greatest tests of American leadership in the post-World War II world.</p>

Astronomy Picture of the Day Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2002 March 14 SM3B: Mission to Hubble Credit: STS109 Crew, NASA Explanation: Now complete, Servicing Mission 3B (SM3B) was really the fourth trip to the Hubble Space Telescope, as the originally planned mission 3 was split into two parts. Falling around planet Earth, about 320 nautical miles above the surface, the 13.2 meter long Great Observatory is pictured here in Space Shuttle Columbia's payload bay on March 5. Spacesuited...