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WASHINGTON, July 10, 2006 – American know-how and dollars are revitalizing a decrepit Iraqi infrastructure that had withered under Saddam Hussein's rule, a senior U.S. military officer said in Baghdad today. The United States has contributed almost $22 billion earmarked for some 3,700 planned infrastructure-renewal projects across Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. William H. McCoy Jr. told reporters in Baghdad. More than 3,400 of those projects have been started, McCoy said, and 2,700 have been completed. This good-news story highlights "some of the positive things that are happening in Iraq," said McCoy, commander of the Gulf Region Division of the U.S....

I always lurk on these computer-help threads because they're so informative and downright useful. But this is my first request. My dear lady friend drives long-haul OTR and wanted me to help her with using a laptop logged on the net and without trailing a 3,000 mile cable.So we got a new lap top (a Dell that comes with a "wireless" card.)The question is: What do we need to do to enable (what kind of) wireless link from a mobile (tractor-trailer or a boat/ship) unit to the internet?

I am going camping next weekend and think it would be cool to start a campfire using a fire bow drill. I have all the parts, but can only seem to get just a bit of smoke at best. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I put pine tar on the string to keep it from slipping.The wood for the fire board is cedar, and the spindle is made of poplar.I watch Survivorman on the Science Channel, and he makes it look so easy, but it is not easy!

A group of U.S. Army soldiers pulls security on a recently trash-, barrier- and debris-choked street, July 5, 2006, during the final stage of cleaning Baghdad’s Karada Peninsula, part of the citywide Operation Baghdad is Beautiful. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Rodney Foliente Operation Seeks to Help Clean Up Baghdad Soldiers, Iraqis take part in a joint operation aimed at helping to restore and improve Baghdad. By U.S. Army Spc. Rodney Foliente 4th Infantry Division BAGHDAD, Iraq, July 5, 2006 -- Multi-National Division – Baghdad soldiers, in coordination with local Iraqi governments, continue their efforts in Operation Baghdad is...

An Iraqi family stands outside their home, damaged by fire from a recent vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack. Iraqi Police along with U.S. Army soldiers assisted several families by supplying them with water, beds, school supplies and shoes. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Anna-Marie Hize Iraqis, Soldiers Provide Help to Bomb Victims Iraqi Police and U.S. Army soldiers chip in to help four families whose homes were damaged by fire from a recent vehicle-borne improvised explosive attack. By U.S. Army Spc. Anna-Marie Hizer 133rd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment KIRKUK, Iraq, July 5, 2006 -- In the United States, when...

Wheelchairs help Iraqi KidsStory and Photo by 138th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment Thanks to the humanitarian effort of contractor Brad Blauser, Iraqi children recieve much needed assitance in the form of pediatric wheel chairs that have been donated by individuals back in the states. MOSUL --Seeing a small Iraqi child smile when you give them a toy will make anyone smile themselves. Give an Iraqi child a wheelchair to change his or her life, will make the anyone choke up with emotion.One special individual started a crusade to help disabled children in Iraq by providing wheelchairs to help make...

We are thinking of getting a Treo 650, to use with T-Mobile. Some questions: - I have seen references, on its product diagram, to SIM cards. The diagram is labeled "GSM only." Therefore, when buying a 650, must we specify that -- we want "GSM version" (?vs. CDMA version?) -- we want the Treo to be unlocked - Does the Treo 650 allow for the viewing and editing of Microsoft Office files, or either but not both, or merely for the ability to download and store? Is it a function of the Treo 650 itself, or Palm OS? Thanks.

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2006 – Two teens' ongoing effort to help deployed servicemembers communicate with their loved ones back home inspired the Orlando-Conway, Fla., chapter of International Moms Club to donate $4,000 to "Cell Phones for Soldiers" June 28. America Supports You members Robbie and Brittany Bergquist (second and third from left), co-founders of Cell Phones For Soldiers, receive a $4,000 check from Moms Club of Orlando-Conway, Fla., June 28. Also pictured are Moms Club representatives (left to right) Sherry Brown, Betty Tehrani, Juliet Anderson, Jacqueline Reece and Tricia Jones. Courtesy photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Moms...

Hey, I need to batch convert quite a lot of .tif graphics for work. I need to rotate them 90 degrees and save them out, either overwriting the old files or putting the new files, same names, in a new directory. The problem is, I know that some graphics programs I have used will balloon the file size by tenfold when this is done for some reason. (WideImage will, Kodak Imaging won't.) Can anyone recommend a graphics program which will allow me to do this?

WASHINGTON, June 23, 2006 – Civil servant Ronald A. Rosenfeld demonstrated his heartfelt commitment to helping wounded troops in dramatic fashion -- he donated $150,000, the equivalent of his annual salary, to the Walter Reed Society. About two years ago, a Catholic monsignor told Rosenfeld and his wife, Patty, that war-wounded servicemembers from Iraq and Afghanistan were receiving outstanding medical treatment at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, but that money was in short supply for certain quality-of-life items. Without hesitation, the Rosenfelds decided to help. "Through such generosity of donors like yourself, the Walter Reed Society has been able...

I am very proud of my fellow volunteers. It was as much a privilege to serve with them as it was to serve in the armed forces. They were Americans at their best, Christians at their most lovely. They were and continue to be Christ made real. At any given time there are 30 to 75 volunteers staged in just one church, ready to lend back and body to the difficult task or restoring these clobbered homes, a story repeated all over the battered coastlines. Unfortunately I must report that I am far less impressed by those benefiting from the...

We are going with a group of ministers who work here in the U.S. to raise funds to build churches and equip ministers in Nairobi, Kenya. Then they go over there for several weeks on a preaching tour. My husband and I would be brining our two sons ages 5 and 7. We would be staying with families of the churches and not in hotels. We would not be going there as "tourists" but to work. Although I am sure we will do a little site seeing as well. I have never traveled anywhere except for a few places in...

SAN FRANCISCO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger plans to headline a fundraiser for gay Republicans in Hollywood next week in what would be his first appearance in front of a gay audience since he took office, according to the event's organizers. The June 29 fundraiser for Log Cabin Republicans comes as Schwarzenegger considers whether to veto a bill that would require chapters from gay history to be added to public school text books in California. The governor already has indicated he opposes the measure. The governor's stock has been down with gay rights groups since he vetoed a gay marriage bill in...

My wife and I have come to suspect that our cable modem (high bandwidth) internet connection is not nearly as fast as our ISP (Road Runner) has claimed. We are looking for software that can monitor and report data transfer speed. My wife said she had heard of such a software but can't remember its name or where to get it. Anyone know about this? Thanks,lafroste

U.S. soldiers from Company D, 1st Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, supervise Iraqi police officers as they plot grid coordinates on a map at the Mussayyib Iraqi police headquarters, June 12, 2006. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Edgar Reyes U.S. Troops Help Iraqi Police Improve Map Skills The block of instruction was used as refresher training to supplement the map reading course taken by the Iraqi police during their initial training at the Iraqi police Academy. By U.S. Army Spc. Edgar Reyes 2nd Brigade Combat Team 4th Infantry Division FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU,...

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq, June 15, 2006 – The Iraqi deputy prime minister called on about 450 Iraqis being freed from the Abu Ghraib detention facility today to work for peace in Iraq, the Middle East and the world. Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Salim al-Zawbai speaks with detainees released from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison June 15. The Iraqi government plan aims at getting "low-risk" detainees back into the workforce and working toward a new Iraq. Photo by Jim Garamone  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Salim al-Zawbai spoke to the men before they were released from the facility. It is...

FOB KALSU, Iraq – Citizens of the Bedrani village in the northern Babil province beat the heat June 7 after receiving hundreds of gallons of water from Iraqi army and Coalition forces. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 8th Iraqi Army Division and 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, initially visited the Bedrani village two days prior to the operation and found the village had a serious water problem. “The village had not seen a CF (Coalition force) or Iraqi security force presence in the area for over a year,” said Staff Sgt. Morris...

MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif. (June 9, 2006) -- When the Persian Gulf War ended, nearly 110,000 Iraqi soldiers who were captured or surrendered were taken to camps in Saudi Arabia. Most were sent back to their country after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein issued amnesty to deserters. However, 13,000 of the soldiers refused to go home, fearing persecution by the regime. An estimated 1,000 of those Iraqi soldiers captured by U.S. forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf War were resettled in cities across the United States. Many of the former soldiers provided valuable services to U.S....

Hello fellow freepers. First, I apologize for the vanity but I need a bit of help. My church just purchased a computer and a projector to use during our worship services. We had man come down and hook everything up, install all the software etc. and everything worked fine. Now we can,t get the projector to project. Everything with the computer, programs and all the connections is fine but for some reason we just can't figure out how to get the projector to turn on. Is there a setting that needs to be changed in the computer in order for...

'Desert fish will help to feed the world' By Max Benitz (Filed: 05/06/2006) Deserts will produce much of the farmed fish and the clean power of the future, a United Nations report says. Aquaculture already thrives in deserts such as the Negev in Israel and Arizona, according to the report published to mark World Environment Day. It says saline water in desert wells and sunlight can be used to mimic tropical seas, making them ideal for farming fish and shrimp. Another benefit is that fish farming uses less water than the production of a vegetable crop. Many fish and algae...