B-1 Pilots Turn Their Bombsights to the Pacific

B-1 Pilots Turn Their Bombsights to the Pacific As the Pentagon turns more of its attention toward the Pacific Rim in an attempt to keep up with China, here's what the new realignment of forces means for pilots of America's largest (and least known) bomber force. One of the hottest topics in the defense and diplomatic worlds is the Obama administration's "rebalancing" of U.S. interests toward Asia. The new focus is a slate of military and geopolitical strategies meant as a hedge against China, and to a lesser extent its client, North Korea. But what does it mean for the...

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Pacific Education Group: Radicalism for Kids, on the Taxpayers' Dime

Glenn Singleton’s Pacific Education Group (PEG), which bases its school programs on “Systemic Racism” on Derrick Bell’s radical Critical Race Theory, has caused controversy in school districts across the country—at taxpayer expense. In addition to disputes within the Evanston Township High School district in Evanston, IL -- reported today by Breitbart.com -- PEG has been the focus of debate in school districts from St. Paul, MN to Macon, GA. Yesterday, local media in Macon reported that parents had begun protesting the use of PEG by the school district. As Phillip Ramati noted at macon.com: In his Macon Miracle school improvement...

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Native American Oral traditions tell of tsunami's destruction hundreds of years ago

At 9PM on January 26, 1700 one of the world's largest earthquakes occurred along the west coast of North America. The undersea Cascadia thrust fault ruptured along a 680 mile length, from mid Vancouver Island to northern California in a great earthquake, producing tremendous shaking and a huge tsunami that swept across the Pacific. The Cascadia fault is the boundary between two of the Earth's tectonic plates: the smaller offshore Juan de Fuca plate that is sliding under the much larger North American plate. The earthquake also left unmistakable signatures in the geological record as the outer coastal regions subsided...

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Did Easter Islanders Mix It Up With South Americans?

The scattered islands of the vast Pacific Ocean were settled by seafarers who set out from the eastern coasts and islands of Asia and traveled thousands of kilometers by boat. Meanwhile pre-Columbian South America was populated by people who crossed a now-vanished land bridge far to the north. Did these two groups ever meet in the New World? There's a good chance of that, according to a new study, which finds evidence that Easter Islanders may have reached South America and mixed with the Native Americans already there. University of Oslo immunologist Erik Thorsby first began analyzing the people of...

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John Huntsman on restructuring the US military

A president's most solemn duty is to protect America and her people -- a responsibility that, in a time of evolving security threats and unsustainable debt, will only grow harder for the next administration. In the aftermath of the failure of the super committee, we are facing cuts in defense. Yet there has still been little discussion about overall defense spending priorities and how we must transform our defense infrastructure for the 21st century. Some of my opponents suggest maintaining the status quo, thus avoiding the tough decisions. Others advocate retrenchment and isolationism through draconian across-the-board cuts, which brings greater

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Countering China, Obama Asserts US A Pacific Power

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Signaling a determination to counter a rising China, President Barack Obama vowed Thursday to expand U.S. influence in the Asia-Pacific region and "project power and deter threats to peace" in that part of the world even as he reduces defense spending and winds down two wars.

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White House defends Obama's Pacific journey(it's about U.S. Jobs, peeps!)

WASHINGTON — The White House Wednesday defended President Barack Obama's decision to make a week-long Pacific trip next week, saying he was out to leverage jobs from a dynamic region to ease economic pain at home. Obama's image-makers face a tough task in selling his journey, which begins Friday, as Washington media fixates on domestic concerns including a deficit row with Republicans and the quickening 2012 election. By hosting an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii, and visiting Australia and the East Asia summit in Bali, Obama will pursue trade and employment and stand up for US values and security...

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