Free Republic

DURHAM, N.C. — President Barack Obama promoted job creation in politically important North Carolina Monday, trying to assure Americans he's focused on their No. 1 concern — and his greatest political weakness — as his potential GOP presidential opponents prepared to target his economic policies in their first major debate. [snip] "I am optimistic about our future," the president said, even while acknowledging that "we can't be complacent." Obama announced details of a program to train 10,000 new American engineers every year, saying private companies will join the government to promote education in science, technology, engineering and math. They'll offer...

Well, having recruited a couple engineers I now need help in getting permission to go and help out, plus if anyone knows of any inexpensive inns in Japan, it would be a great help.

BEIJING – The 121-story Shanghai Tower is more than China's next record-setting building: It's an economic lifeline for the elite club of skyscraper builders. Financial gloom has derailed plans for new towers in Chicago, Moscow, Dubai and other cities. But in China, work on the 2,074-foot (632-meter) Shanghai Tower, due to be completed in 2014, and dozens of other tall buildings is rushing ahead, powered by a buoyant economy and providing a steady stream of work to architects and engineers. The U.S. high-rise market is "pretty much dead," said Dan Winey, a managing director for Gensler, the Shanghai Tower's San...

Finally! Another Cat Video! Cat Yodeling Tutorial with an introduction to Cat Polka. Cat Yodeling will soon take over the universe and you don't want to get left behind! "Aspect Ratio" sequence near the start is a spoof of a video called "Free Hugs." Ending music is "Can Can" by Offenbach.

BAGHDAD – Thirty-three Regional Guard Brigade Soldiers graduated from the Iraq Army Engineer School at Camp Taji Sept. 15. As part of an introduction to the Iraqi Army, the Peshmerga officers and enlisted soldiers became familiar with current tactics, techniques and procedures being used by Iraqi Army engineers. The 30-day course covered the most high-profile aspects of combat engineering, including route clearance and mine identification and detection. Students learned and conducted practical exercises on mounted and dismounted route clearance, mine-detecting robots and the capabilities of the Badger, an Iraqi Light Armored Vehicle. “Our knowledge of engineering has grown tremendously through...

An interesting paradox in the technology world is that there is both a shortage and a surplus of engineers in the United States. Talk to those working at any Silicon Valley company, and they will tell you how hard it is to find qualified talent. But listen to the heart-wrenching stories of unemployed engineers, and you will realize that there are tens of thousands who can’t get jobs. What gives? The harsh reality is that in the tech world, companies prefer to hire young, inexperienced, engineers.And engineering is an “up or out” profession: you either move up the ladder or...

WASHINGTON, June 17, 2010 – Engineers with NATO Training Mission Afghanistan and Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan are working with their Afghan partners to build infrastructure to support the growth of the Afghan national security forces, a senior officer involved in that effort said yesterday. During a “DoD Live” bloggers roundtable, Army Col. Mike Wehr, director of the Combined Joint Engineer Office for the training commands, said Afghanistan cannot sustain itself without the proper infrastructure in facilities and governance. Wehr’s office ensures adequate facilities are available, develops engineer leadership at the ministerial level and builds sustainable capacity and capability to...

The U.S. Coast Guard has complained that there is not enough plastic tubing in the United States to construct the booms needed to contain the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. And neither BP, the Coast Guard, nor any other part of the U.S. government seems to understand how to effectively clean up the fouled Gulf. A technology that could effectively and actively remove oil from the surface of the ocean in all weather conditions would be a huge advance for the efforts going on in the Gulf right now. In fact, such a technology was designed and tested in the...

5/17/2010 - ALI BASE, Iraq (AFNS) -- Members of the 200th Rapid Engineering Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer Squadron have arrived here to draw down the 557th Expeditionary RED HORSE Squadron from Iraq. As they complete the last construction and engineering projects and pack up their equipment and materials in the yard, they are part of the last RED HORSE rotation operating under Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2010. Several civil engineers currently at Ali Base were part of the original 2005 rotation charged with constructing the infrastructure necessary to conduct and sustain operations throughout Iraq, including Ali Base. In...

3/22/2010 - JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq (AFNS) -- As U.S. officials prepare to draw down troops in Iraq, efforts are being made to ensure the effect on the country's infrastructure is minimal. Joint Base Balad's civil engagement program maximizes the base's resources and abilities and helps more than 800,000 Iraqis in the Salah ad Din Province. The program is a joint effort between the U.S. Department of State, the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing and the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment based at JB Balad. "The program provides a communication channel between the three entities, which have different missions to support...

New college graduates may be entering the worst job market in decades, but there are still some majors that pay off—and all of them are in the applied sciences. A new report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers finds that eight of the top 10 best-paid majors are in engineering, with petroleum engineering topping off the list at $86,220. "Petroleum engineering has been at the top for the last three years," said Edwin Koc, director of strategic and foundation research at NACE. "The oil industry for the last couple of years has been a bit more active and...

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden said Tuesday that President Barack Obama has asked him to “find ways to reach out to dominantly Muslim countries” as the White House pushes the space agency to become a tool of international diplomacy. “In addition to the nations that most of you usually hear about when you think about the International Space Station, we now have expanded our efforts to reach out to non-traditional partners,” said Bolden, speaking to a lecture hall of young engineering students.

Intelligence agencies tasked with profiling the terrorist mind, and figuring out where future extremists might be found, have begun focusing on a surprising target: science students. As it turns out, many recruits in extremist groups such as Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizbullah, and Hamas have backgrounds in medicine, engineering, and other hard sciences. In one study by Oxford sociologists -Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog, who will be publishing a book on the subject next year, out of 178 terrorists with higher education, almost half studied math or science. And the phenomenon is not limited to Islamists--strong links to science...

BAGHDAD –American 317th Engineer Company and 17th Iraqi Army Division engineers worked together here recently to complete a road leading into Joint Security Station Deason, providing each the opportunity to train with and get to know their counterparts. Upon arrival to JSS Deason early this month, the American Soldiers met their partners from the 17th IA, Soldiers they would be working with throughout the duration of the project. "Some of our Soldiers had never met Iraqi Soldiers,” said Sgt. Steve Balamut, the Assistant Project Manager for this mission. “The Iraqis were eager to learn what we had to say and...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE SHARANA, Afghanistan, Feb. 16, 2010 – As Army 1st Lt. Phil Kirk pulled the walkie-talkie from his hip, disappointment was obvious on his face and in his voice. “Did you hear that?” Kirk asked, shaking his head. “Sounds like medevac is ‘red.’ We’re not going anywhere.” The lieutenant was referencing radio traffic from the tactical operations center informing him that his newly formed route clearance patrol’s first mission would be delayed for several hours because helicopters were unable to fly, presumably due to poor weather. The unit, nicknamed the “Black Jacks,” was pieced together last month with...

BAGHDAD, Jan. 14, 2010 – Soldiers from 317th Engineer Company and 808th Engineer Company are providing electricity to the future living spaces of U.S. forces as they prepare to hand off their current housing to the Iraqi army. Army Spc. Brandon Burgess makes sure all connections are secure while Army Pfc. Sean Carroll observes the process at Contingency Operating Station Carver, Iraq, Jan. 8, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. April Mota  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The move will happen as soon as soldiers from 1434th Engineer Company complete the new joint operations center at Contingency Operating...

FALLUJAH, Iraq, Jan. 13, 2010 – More than 22 miles of roadway here and in surrounding communities are now fully lighted with 1,200 solar powered street lights, thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District. Solar-powered street lights recently installed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers illuminate what was once a dark and dangerous neighborhood in Fallujah, Iraq. U.S. Army photo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The third and final phase of the project was completed recently by project engineers at Al-Anbar Resident Office, based in Ramadi. “The administration of this project is an...

NEAR FORWARD OPERATING BASE SALERNO, Afghanistan, Jan. 4, 2010 – While there may be no place in Afghanistan that is completely safe for U.S. and coalition forces, some regions certainly are much more dangerous than others. In those risky locales, the 1141st Engineer Company’s sappers -- combat engineers – who are part of the Missouri Army National Guard’s 203rd Engineer Battalion, are keeping Afghan roads clear of improvised explosive devices. The vast majority of vehicular traffic – military and otherwise – seeks to avoid contact with IEDs, but it is the job of these Missouri Guardsmen to hunt them like...

BAGHDAD, Dec. 11, 2009 – In preparation for the upcoming Iraqi national elections, the Gulf Region District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is serving as the managing partner for the construction of 15 “expedient police stations” in northern Iraq. Army Col. Dan Anninos, center, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Region District, inspects the progress of an expedient police station in Mosul, Iraq, with project engineer Navy Lt. Cmdr. Frank Carroll, left, Larry Petrosino, the district’s deputy of program management. U.S. Army photo by Scott Harris  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The police station...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 4, 2009 – As 30,000 additional troops move into what admittedly will be “pretty austere conditions” in Afghanistan, the Army Corps of Engineers is working in partnership with unit-level engineers and contractors to provide basic creature comforts -- while focusing heavily on longer-term projects considered critical to their ultimate success there. U.S. Army Col. Kevin Wilson, commander of Afghanistan Engineer District – South, right, chats with U.S. Air Force Maj. Bryan Opperman, officer in charge of the Qalat resident office, at the construction site of a new Afghan National Police station. U.S. Army photo by Patricia Ryan   (Click...