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(IsraelNN.com) The United States responded with lukewarm praise Wednesday night to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's announcement of a "painful but necessary" decision to freeze all new construction in Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria in a last-ditch attempt to revive final status talks with the Palestinian Authority. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton responded within moments of Netanyahu's announcement, issuing a statement of approval for the decision. Middle East envoy George Mitchell added minutes later at a news briefing in Washington D.C. that "it falls short of a full settlement freeze," but still is "more than any other Israeli government...

CAMP TAJI – The shift of U.S. forces out of Iraqi cities has created a new set of tasks for troops in the Iraqi countryside, and a newly-formed group is concentrating on infrastructure projects here. Combining the talents of the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment's leadership with members of the embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team North and the 1479th Civil Affairs Company to form a Project Working Group, the goal is to highlight projects that benefit the local populace. During a meeting held at the Tarmiyah Center, Oct. 13, district engineers from Tarmiyah, Abayachi, and Mushada met with members of the...

FORT DRUM, N.Y., Oct. 8, 2009 – With five of the 10th Mountain Division’s six brigade-size elements deployed, returning from deployments or en route to new deployments, their new commander said he’s focused on ensuring their wellness and resiliency and that of their families. Army Maj. Gen. James L. Terry, the new 10th Mountain Division commander, said one of his main focuses is on the wellness and resiliency of soldiers and their families. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Tiffany Evans   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Maj. Gen. James L. Terry called looking out for their well-being one...

Developers of a new Jewish neighborhood on privately-owned land in eastern Jerusalem plan to lay the cornerstone for the project Wednesday afternoon, ignoring U.S. President Barack Obama’s opposition to Jewish “settlers" in the area. Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau plans to be on hand for the ceremony which marks the development of 105 luxury units in Nof Tzion.

This past Saturday, an entire apartment building in Shanghai collapsed. To be fair, the building was under construction and thus unoccupied, but it's still a minor miracle that there was only one fatality. Sounds like there was a problem with some nearby flood prevention walls at the Dianpu River, but there's no hard evidence as to why this huge building simply fell over. Anyway, here are some sweet pictures of the architectural carnage.

Robert and Kay Lynn lay in bed shortly after closing on their new home in the Blue Oaks subdivision in Rancho Murieta, Calif., abutting an 18-hole golf course. They were listening to the “pop, pop, pop” of what they thought were acorns falling onto the roof. The Lynns soon realized those were not acorns dropping on the roof. “Little did we know it was the house cracking,” says Mrs. Lynn, 67 years old. Mr. Lynn, 68, says they bought the property in 2002 for $357,000 as a weekend home and an investment. The stucco house was moving and shifting, with...

At around 5:30am on June 27, an unoccupied building still under construction at Lianhuanan Road in the Minxing district of Shanghai city toppled over. One worker was killed. According to information, a 70 meter section of the flood prevention wall in nearby Dianpu River and that may have something to do with this building collapse.

The Commerce Department said housing starts fell 12.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 458,000 units, the lowest on records dating back to January 1959, from March's upwardly revised 525,000 units. Compared to the same period last year, housing starts tumbled 54.2 percent.

(IsraelNN.com) The city of Jerusalem responded on Thursday with a biting, detailed statement to what it called the "disinformation campaign" that was conducted during this week's visit to the capital by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton on Wednesday slammed Israel's demolition of buildings in the northern and eastern neighborhoods of the city. "Clearly this kind of activity is unhelpful and not in keeping with the obligations entered into under the 'Roadmap,'" she said. "It is an issue that we intend to raise with the government of Israel and the government at the municipal level in Jerusalem," she told...

Soldiers from the 41st Brigade, 10th Division Iraqi Army Division assemble a pyramid displaying an Iraqi flag at their initial training graduation at the Besmaya Range Complex, Dec. 31, 2008. Photo by Pfc. Terence Ewings, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. COB ADDER — Approximately 2,100 Iraqi Army Soldiers graduated their initial training at the Besmaya Range Complex Dec. 31, increasing the might of the Iraqi Security Forces. As he visually reviewed the graduating troops of the 41st Brigade, 10th Iraqi Army Division, Gen Habeeb Talib Abbas, commander of the 10th Iraqi Army Division stood and saluted the newest members.Habeeb displayed...

America has failed to invest in its infrastructure for the past 50 years, and the bill is coming due. The situation is reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire, which grew strong because of its advanced aqueduct system, but which fell into decline when that feat of engineering tumbled into disrepair. We're in danger of repeating that history, but it's not too late to fix the problem if we take decisive action now. That's why Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and I formed Building America's Future earlier this year. Long before any of us realized we...

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Parliament says that part of the roof of its Strasbourg chamber has collapsed.

KABUL, Afghanistan, Aug. 6, 2008 – Wherever U.S. forces are deployed across Afghanistan -- whether conducting combat operations alongside coalition forces in the east and south or security and stability operations in the west and north -- they do so from forward operating bases. U.S. soldiers and Marines, along with Afghan National Army soldiers, detonate explosives near an enemy fighting position during combat operations near the Naghlu Reservoir in Afghanistan’s Kapisa province. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Shawn Graham, Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Capt. Richard Roberts’ team of...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2008 – The U.S. military is building scores of new medical clinics across Iraq as part of an American-Iraqi partnership to improve health care services for the Iraqi people, U.S. and Iraqi officials said yesterday. During a Baghdad news conference, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey J. Dorko, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Gulf Region Division, said myriad initiatives are under way to enhance and promote health care in Iraq. The Gulf Region Division plays a role in renovating and constructing medical facilities across Iraq so its citizens can have safe, functional places to seek care,...

”I feel blessed to be working on this important project,” said Ryan Hartwig, construction representative with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Basrah Children’s Hospital Office “Each time we go, we see more progress. I can look at the place now and actually visualize patients using this facility,” he continued. “It’s just very satisfying being part of this effort that will no doubt save or change the lives of so many Iraqi children.” Several key partners are involved in the project including Project Hope (a nongovernment organization), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Iraqi Ministry of Health, explained...

BAGHDAD — Within hours of being in country, the Soldiers of the 46th Engineer Combat Battalion picked up their tools and went to work on various projects around the city of Baghdad. The 46th Eng. Bn. is assigned to the 926th Engineer Brigade serving with Multi-National Division - Baghdad. It was just the first week of June when the engineers left their homes at two different posts - Fort Polk, Louisiana and Fort Rucker, Alabama - and boarded planes for Kuwait. At Camp Buehring, Kuwait, the battalion linked up with the 955 Engineer Company, a Missouri-based Army Reserve Company. Together...

Kajima's floor-by-floor slow demolition is one of those rare things in life that leaves you truly speechless, mouth wide-open, and pinching yourself to be sure this is real while you mutter "what the frak." After all, seeing the video of a 20-floor building submerging into the asphalt as if it was liquid is something that belongs to a sci-fi movie. The stunning process—called daruma-otoshi—is not only almost surrealistic but it helps to reduce the environmental impact. Seriously, I can watch this for hours: YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwf9LoS9Xt8 How do they do it? First they replace the support pillars at ground level...

BAGHDAD — Time had little effect on the strands of razor-sharp concertina wire that spanned hundreds of meters and split Ali’s farmland except to dull its original purpose - security. Located on the outer wall of Camp Slayer on the Victory Base Complex in Baghdad, the fence was originally constructed sometime during the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom more than five years ago. But until early June, it served no purpose but to divide. In the small community of Radwaniyah, west of Baghdad International airport, an Iraqi farmer simply wanted to be able to access his fields without the seemingly...

UNITED NATIONS - The woman who died after falling from the U.N.'s Secretariat Building was a 44-year-old employee of the World Health Organization's International Computing Center, a U.N. spokeswoman said Monday. U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe identified the woman who fell from the 19th floor Sunday as Maria Gabriela Di Biase. Police and U.N. security officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the woman had jumped from a window after showing up to work early in the morning. Okabe said there was no suspicion of foul play. The police...

San Francisco is on track to having the country's most stringent environmentally friendly building standards after Mayor Gavin Newsom introduced a measure Wednesday that would drastically alter the city's building codes. If the Board of Supervisors approves the legislation, new residential and commercial buildings in the city would be required to meet tough environmental guidelines, making San Francisco "the greenest large city in the United States of America," Newsom said. "I will sign it, fast track it," the mayor said Wednesday. "As far as I'm concerned, if you want to do business in San Francisco ... these are going to...

Scouts, left to right, of Troop C, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, Sgt. Jonathan Toth of Clinton, Miss.; Pfc. Zach Foege who hails from Watertown, Wisc., and Pvt. Joseph Solis of Dallas get to know an Iraqi boy during a foot patrol in the Baghdad Gardens neighborhood near Taji, Oct. 6. Photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Cupp, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. TAJI — Soldiers from Troop C, 1st Squadron, 7th “Garryowen� Cavalry Regiment, who work out of a nearby Coalition outpost, are continuing to reach out in operations to build relationships and trust with the...

CORONADO, Calif. -- The U.S. Navy will spend as much as $600,000 to modify the appearance of a barracks complex in Coronado that resembles a swastika from the air. Navy officials said the spending for changes to the four L-shaped buildings were approved after satellite images from Google Earth revealed the swastika-like shape.

As the clocks ticks toward the deadline to avert a shutdown of state services, our chief investigative reporter Steve Wilson has been looking into a sweetheart deal that will cost Michigan millions. It’s the story of a new state police headquarters that the state will lease from a friend and supporter of the Governor for nearly three times what it would cost to build…even though many say a new building isn’t even necessary now. But not even the brass or workers at State Police headquarters in Lansing ever asked for a new building, never said it was cramped, or falling...

BAGHDAD — When the 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment first started patrolling Qadisiyah a few months ago, they immediately noticed something wasn't right in one neighborhood. Although not uncommon, the Soldiers were not immediately accepted into the Jaysh Al Mahdi-controlled neighborhood of Shi'a residents. Through persistence, the area has begun to flourish thanks to hard work by the artillerymen from the 2nd “Black Jack” Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Now that the foundations of trust have been created by the troops, the time to start giving back to the more impoverished people was upon them. In an operation...

20 Rumored Killed in N.Korea Building Collapse Rumor has it that a seven-story apartment building in Hyesan, Yanggang Province in North Korea collapsed last Thursday, killing about 20 and seriously injuring dozens of others. South Korea’s National Intelligence Service said Monday it is checking the information. According to well-informed source, soldiers and residents arrived to the rescue of victims right after the collapse, collecting about 20 dead bodies and transporting dozens of other seriously injured people to hospitals. But fatalities are reportedly growing due to the lack of rescue equipment. Some 42 families, including those of senior party members and...

Having succeeded in filling homes around the world with affordable Swedish design, furniture giant Ikea has taken the logical next step: making the homes themselves. Ikea has built more than 3,500 apartments and houses across the Nordic region and is now planning its first UK developments. In the late 1990s Ikea teamed up with Swedish construction company Skanska to develop BoKlok (which means Live Smart in Swedish). The concept aims to provide stylish but inexpensive new homes for low and middle income families, and is said to be popular with Ingvar Kamprad, Ikea’s notoriously thrifty billionaire founder. BoKlok’s marketing manager...

MOSCOW - Russia began construction of its first floating nuclear power plant Sunday, and plans to build at least six more despite long-standing environmental concerns that they are vulnerable to accidents at sea, Russian news agencies reported. Russia justifies the program as a way of bringing power to some of the country's most remote areas, also saying some of the plants could be sold to other nations. The head of Russia's atomic energy agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, said the plants will be safe. "This plant is much safer than atomic energy stations on the ground," the RIA-Novosti news agency quoted him...

Famous Buildings Become Branding Tools The entire five-story Ferrari showroom in Chungdam-dong, Seoul is wrapped in glass, its interior structure, and its expensive cars, on full display. Illuminated by powerful white lights, the building is an extraordinary sight at night. The facade of Galleria Department Store in Apgujung-dong radiates with high-tech glass discs mounted on the building's concrete surface. Equipped with special LED-lights, the discs generate a mother-of-pearl effect during the day and a continuously changing pattern of colors in the evening. Galleria Department Store in Apgujung-dong, Seoul These are examples of a trend called "Building Marketing" that employs...

Engineer Andre Filiatrault expects a major earthquake in Buffalo on Tuesday morning — a temblor as powerful as the 1994 Northridge earthquake that caused $40 billion in damage ... ...Filiatrault and his colleagues at the State University of New York at Buffalo plan to subject an entire house to a magnitude-6.7 earthquake Tuesday for a systematic assessment of how a typical wooden suburban home holds up ... Built to California construction code, the 40-ton building is the largest wooden structure ever tested in a simulated earthquake, the engineers said. ... The sudden swaying and vibrations will simulate the intensities...

BAGHDAD — It’s a slow road and a difficult task: standing up an army, basically from scratch, especially when the soldiers were under the rule of one dictator for so long. For the 1st Iraqi Army Division, the future heavily relies on U.S. Marine Military Transition Teams who live and work side-by-side with them, setting a positive and professional example. Since early 2005, the transition teams have worked to rebuild the Iraqi Security Forces from the ground up as a modern, effective fighting force. Sourced mostly by the Army and Marine Corps, 11 to 15-person teams train stateside and in...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24, 2006 – Building a nation is tough business, and people tend to lose their frames of reference about the process, a Pentagon spokesman said here today. People forget that the Iraqi government has been in place for only four months, Bryan Whitman said. “For us right now, four months seems like a long time,” he told reporters. “Four months in the history of a nation is the blink of an eye.” The Iraqi government is continuing to move forward even as insurgent and sectarian violence mars the landscape. “There is slow and steady progress being made on...

BAGHDAD — Despite getting knocked down by back-to-back bomb blasts, he still reported for duty that morning. And when he arrived, his fellow workers at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers got him to the hospital to have his facial cuts, black eye and contusions treated. Engineer Abdul-Kareem says he was in a taxi on the way to a project site in downtown Baghdad two months ago when an Improvised Explosive Device detonated, killing a bystander and wounding several others. He was exiting the cab to provide first aid when a vehicle drove into the crowd and triggered a second...

NEW YORK (Oct. 11) - A small plane crashed into an Upper East Side high-rise Wednesday, killing two people, raining debris on the sidewalks below and rattling New Yorkers' nerves exactly one month after the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. The two deaths were confirmed by New York police. There was no word yet on injuries linked to the crash on an overcast October afternoon. Christine Monaco, a New York spokeswoman for the FBI, said there was no indication of terrorism. FAA spokesman Jim Peters said all three New York City-area airports were operating normally. Large crowds...

If America agrees with President George W. Bush that failure in Iraq is not an option, then the adviser mission there will clearly be a long-term one. The new Iraqi Army (IA) will need years to become equal to the challenge posed by a persistent insurgent and terrorist threat, and U.S. support is essential to this growth. Having spent a year assigned to the multi-National security Transition command-Iraq (MNSTC-I) equipping and training a new Iraqi armored brigade, I offer some recommendations to future advisers as they take on the job of working with the IA to build a professional and...

9/29/2006 - DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- Earlier this year, base firefighter Gerard Reheiser created a painting on a tile to commemorate 9/11. Mr. Reheiser entered the tile in a contest sponsored by Tiles for America at a store in Woodstock, Ga., that not only won the contest, but also is now part of a permanent display at Ground Zero in New York City. "I did not have any expectations to win," said the Air Force Reserve Command employee. "I have a deep sense of remorse for the people who have died for this country, both military and...

CORAM, N.Y. - A car hit a dirt hill at high speed and flew 200 feet into the second story of an apartment building on Tuesday, killing the driver, police said. Two people in separate apartments at the time of the 9 a.m. crash escaped injury, and there were no injuries on the street. Investigators did not know what led the driver, Vincent Pontillo Jr., to speed down a dead-end street. His 2004 Honda Accord, which was launched from a 4-foot dirt hill, penetrated the building up to its rear bumper, police spokesman Officer William Fairchild said. An autopsy was...

MOSUL — Low crawling through dust and dirt at the newly established Battle Academy on Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq, is one way to get 19 Iraqi Army Soldiers and 4 Iraqi policemen to focus on basic infantry survival skills. U. S. Army Soldiers from Company B, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash, are training weekly rotations from the IA and the IP’s basic individual and buddy movements for survival and recovery under fire. ”The purpose of us being here today is to train the Iraqi Security Forces and Iraqi police on how to perform individual movement...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 – As the Iraqi army gains in numbers and capability, so too does the country’s air force, which aims to grow to 2,500 airmen by the year’s end, the commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team said. Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog cited impressive improvement over the past six months, noting that the Iraqi air force continues to grow and improve its ability support the counterinsurgency mission. The Iraqi air force’s counterinsurgency mission consists primarily of aerial observation and surveillance and air transportation. Officials believe it is critical for Iraq’s long-term ability to...

Researchers work to shrink technology that harnesses sun's energy to both heat and coolEvery day, the sun bathes the planet in energy--free of charge--yet few systems can take advantage of that source for both heating and cooling. Now, researchers are making progress on a thin-film technology that adheres both solar cells and heat pumps onto surfaces, ultimately turning walls, windows, and maybe even soda bottles into climate control systems. On July 12, 2006, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) researcher Steven Van Dessel and his colleagues will announce their most recent progress--including a computer model to help them simulate the climate within...

UIJONGBU, South Korea (Army News Service, July 6, 2006) – Two Camp Red Cloud Soldiers saved an elderly woman and her handicapped daughter when a sandwich shop caught fire just outside the camp's front gate July 1. Pvt. Reid Erickson and Pvt. Russell McCanless Jr. of Headquarters and Headquarters Support Company, Special Troops Battalion, were first on the scene when New York Sub sandwich shop caught fire. “We walked out of 7 Club to see whether or not I could do handstand pushups, and when I was doing them I noticed something behind us,” Erickson said. Standing and turning around,...

HIT, Iraq, June 4, 2006 – Bringing the Iraqi army to the lead in the country's beleaguered Anbar province is a tough assignment. But Marines assigned to the military transition team at Firm Base 4 here have taken it on. Vehicles return from a patrol in Hit, Iraq. Army troops work with Iraqi soldiers to maintain order in the Euphrates River city in Anbar province. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Along with soldiers of Battalion Task Force 1-36, they are working to train Iraqi soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Division. Anbar...

Iran insisted Friday that the West will not deprive it of nuclear technology and must drop conditions on negotiations, defying pressure to accept a package of incentives to stop its nuclear activities. Iranian officials did not respond directly to the offer agreed to Thursday by the permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany that calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. Details have yet to be formally presented to Tehran. But Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said Europe should "leave out excuse-seeking and illogical conditions and come back to negotiation and cooperation." "Iran is ready for any unconditional, just...

THOMPSON FALLS, Mont. - Paul Chambers' quarry at the base of the Cabinet Mountains is a hard-rock bazaar. Choose your look: Smooth slabs? Stackable stones? How about some football-size rock ornaments? In the hands of designers, the rock will become garden tables, waterfall spillways, rustic fireplaces or exterior facades. Chambers and his customers see those and more in the stone his crew extracts and moves to the outdoor showroom. He is in a growth industry. State records in Montana show the startup of 100 small quarries in the last seven years. Robust construction in parts of the West and a...

Building near WTC entombs toxins, remainsBy AMY WESTFELDT, Associated Press Writer 7 minutes ago AP Photo: In this Sept. 30, 2001, file photo NEW YORK - While debates rage about why more buildings have not gone up at the World Trade Center site, there is one, shrouded in a web of black netting and full of trade center dust, that can't seem to come down. The vacant 41-story former Deutsche Bank AG building looms above ground zero, contaminated with toxic waste and still holding tiny body parts more than four years after the trade center collapsed onto it on Sept....

I was wondering whether any "Freepers" were heading down to Tupelo, Mississippi to help out with "8 Days of Hope". Specifically, is there anyone going from the New England area as I'd like to touch base with them to travel with. Just checking all my "connections".

Posted: Friday, 28 April 2006 7:03AM Fla. Man Arrested in Empire State Building Stunt NEW YORK (1010 WINS) --  A man who tried to parachute from the Empire State Building after passing through security wearing a rubber mask and a foam fat suit was arrested in a struggle on the 86th-floor observation deck and handcuffed to a railing, authorities said. "He was fighting with us to get off,'' recalled building official Timothy Donahue, who said he grabbed the man's leg. "He wanted to jump off in the worst way.'' The man, J. Ray Corliss IV, a Discovery Channel host who is slim...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (April 25, 2006) – Iraqi Security Forces this week again demonstrated an increased role in the security of this country as they continue to assume more responsibility, build capabilities and foster trust within Iraqi communities. During a transfer of authority ceremony April 24 at Forward Operating Base Hotel, the Iraqi Army’s 1st Brigade, 8th Division, assumed security responsibility for nearly 11,583-square-mile area of the An Najaf Province. Col. Saadi Saleh Muhsin of 1st Brigade and Col. Majeed Muhammed Hannoon of 2nd Brigade each assumed responsibility for a battalion sized area of operations as witnessed by Najaf Governor Assad...

DIKHIL, Djibouti, April 20, 2006 – In three months, children in this region of Djibouti will be able to further their education, thanks to Seabees and soldiers from Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa. Navy Secretary Donald Winter speaks with Seabees from Gulfport, Miss. at a project in Dikhil, Djibouti, April 20. The Seabees are building a dormitory for junior high students in the village. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The Seabees are building a dormitory for junior high school students in the region. The dormitory will house about 150 boys and girls....

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2006 – Iraqis are beginning to build a "democracy from the rubble" of Saddam Hussein's regime, but enemies still hope to stop the process, President Bush said here today. Bush spoke at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. He said members of Saddam's regime, Iraqi insurgents and foreign terrorists "dream of turning Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban - a safe haven from which to plot and plan new attacks against America and our allies." The enemies of a free and democratic Iraq want to ignite a civil war, he...

SCHAGEN, Netherlands (AP) – Some people think he's crazy. His wife's not exactly thrilled either. But like the biblical Noah, Dutchman Johan Huibers is steadfast in his mission: he's building an enormous working replica of Noah's Ark as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible