Obama: Leaner U.S. military will maintain superiority

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WASHINGTON?-?

President Barack Obama, rolling out a new defense strategy to shrink the country's armed forces at a time of tight budgets at home, pledged on Thursday to maintain the United States as the world's dominant military power.

"Our military will be leaner but the world must know - the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats," Obama told a news briefing at the Pentagon.

Emphasizing the American presence in the Asia-Pacific region, where there is growing U.S. rivalry with an increasingly assertive China, Obama cautioned the military would remain vigilant in the Middle East.

U.S. troops last month completed their withdrawal from Iraq, which was invaded in 2003 to topple dictator Saddam Hussein, and are winding down their presence in Afghanistan.

Obama, focused on boosting economic growth and curbing stubbornly high U.S. unemployment as he fights for reelection in November, said that ending those two wars was an opportunity to rebalance national spending priorities after a decade of conflict.

Noting the defense budget had witnessed "extraordinary" growth after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, Obama said that pace of spending would slow but continue to grow.

"I firmly believe, and I think the American people understand, that we can keep our military strong - and our nation secure - with a defense budget that continues to be larger than roughly the next 10 countries combined," he said.

Obama has already earmarked defense budget cuts of $489 billion over 10 years. The defense budget faces an additional $600 billion in cuts after Congress failed to agree to broad deficit reduction after an August 2011 debt ceiling deal.

The president's budget proposal for 2013 will be published in early February.

"Some will no doubt say the spending reductions are too big; others will say they're too small," Obama said. "After a decade of war, and as we rebuild the sources of our strength - at home and abroad - it's time to restore that balance."

Source: http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/01/05/obama-leaner-us-military-will-maintain-superiority

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Tax filing deadline: IRS moves it to April 17

Tax filing Americans get a two-day reprieve because of quirks in the calendar. A Washington, D.C., holiday extends tax filing season to April 17.

Does the mere mention of April 15 send chills up your spine? Not to worry ? the Internal Revenue Service has postponed this year's federal tax filing deadline until two days later.

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The IRS said Wednesday that taxpayers will have until April 17 to?file?their 2011 returns, thanks to two quirks of the calendar.

April 15 falls on a Sunday this year, and the following day is Emancipation Day, which is observed in the District of Columbia. By federal law, District of Columbia holidays affect?tax?deadlines the same way federal holidays do, giving taxpayers an extra day.

People requesting an extension will have until Oct. 15 to?file.

The IRS says it is expecting more than 144 million individual?tax?returns to be?filed?this year.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/jOpWfHD6hn0/Tax-filing-deadline-IRS-moves-it-to-April-17

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University of Oklahoma Close to Finalizing "Sooner Network"

"Ball Tribe is a community for sports fans and bloggers to discover, share, and vote on the best sports news of the day from anywhere on the web. Meet other sports fans and bloggers, help eachother out through voting and linking to eachothers submissions, and work together to ensure that only the best of the best gets promoted to the Ball Tribe front page daily."

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Source: http://www.balltribe.com/NCAA/university-of-oklahoma-close-to-finalizing-sooner-network/

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Former Bachelorettes Share Their Goals For 2012 ? And Looking Hot Is High On The List!

When Ali Fedotowsky, Ashley Hebert and Trista Sutter reunited in LA on December 30 to show off their amazing bikini bodies, the confidence emanating from these stunning Bachelorettes was truly inspiring. Dancing to Sir Mix-A-Lot?s ?Baby Got Back,? the ladies giggled and bonded throughout the shoot. ?I love Ashley!? Trista tells In Touch. ?She?s super-fun, and I want to squeeze her!?

Though they all look incredible, the girls talked about how staying in shape isn?t always easy, especially when you?re shaping up for a fall wedding, bouncing back from a breakup or losing baby weight. At first, Ali said she felt like a ?giant? next to Ashley and Trista. ?But curvy is beautiful, too,? she says. ?I love that about myself.? Ali, Trista and Ashley share the big life changes they went through in 2011, their secret insecurities ? and the diet and exercise tips that will help make 2012 their best year ever.

For Ali, Trista and Ashley's health plans and exercise tips, pick up this week's issue of In Touch, on stands now.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/InTouchWeekly/~3/Ehm-uDNtvXA/former_bachelorettes_share_the.php

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Toshiba's 55-inch 4K glasses-free 3DTV ships in the US early next year, can we borrow $10k?

It's not a big surprise after launching in Germany and Japan, but Toshiba PR has confirmed to us and CNET that the company's 3,840x2,160 resolution autostereoscopic 3DTV will make its US debut in the first quarter of next year, matching the "end of fiscal year" prediction we'd heard previously. There's no details on pricetag or model #, but given its $10,000~ sticker price overseas, we'd starking shaking out those couch cushions now. The LCD maintains its QuadHD resolution when displaying 2D content, however switching into 3D mode drops the resolution to 720p. Other than removing the need for viewers to wear glasses to see the effect, it also uses face tracking to fine tune the experience for up to nine people. We'll have more info once it's officially unveiled in a few days, until then feel free to drool over the prototype it showed off last year.

Toshiba's 55-inch 4K glasses-free 3DTV ships in the US early next year, can we borrow $10k? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/vAGfAArtMCU/

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First Ford Focus Electric rolls off the production line into Google's open arms

The future of transportation is here, folks. We've spent some time with the Ford Focus Electric and have seen all the bits that make it go, but we didn't know who'd be the first to receive one. Turns out Google got an early Christmas present, and received its Focus Electric, the first production unit, just before the holidays. That means that the gang at Big G is already enjoying the 84mph top speed and fast charging secret sauce that lets the Ford fully charge on a 240-volt outlet in just over three hours -- or roughly half the time it takes a Leaf to top off its batteries. Wonder whether the EV from Dearborn is destined to join Google's Street View fleet, its cadre of self-driving cars, or replace some of those multi-colored company bikes strewn about Mountain View?

Continue reading First Ford Focus Electric rolls off the production line into Google's open arms

First Ford Focus Electric rolls off the production line into Google's open arms originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/03/first-ford-focus-electric-rolls-off-the-production-line-into-goo/

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Debt Commission Leaders Bowles, Simpson to Speak at Duke Jan. 18

Durham, NC - Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson, co-chairs of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, will speak in Page Auditorium at Duke University on Wednesday, Jan. 18.

The event, "Decision Time: Bowles, Simpson and the Federal Budget," is part of the Sanford School's Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture series, which brings notable leaders to speak on Duke's campus.

The 5:30 p.m. event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and available through the Duke Box Office online, tickets.duke.edu, or by calling (919) 684-4444.

Bowles, former White House chief of staff and president of the UNC system, and Simpson, former U.S. senator from Wyoming, will discuss ideas for reining in the federal budget and restoring confidence.

Philip Bennett, a Duke public policy professor and managing editor of the PBS show "Frontline," will moderate the discussion.

President Obama created the budget commission in February 2010 to identify policies to improve the nation's fiscal situation, and to achieve fiscal sustainability over the long run. The commission was to propose recommendations to balance the budget by 2015 and to address the growth of entitlement spending and the gap between projected revenues and expenditures of the federal government.

The bipartisan commission included members from both parties from the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Its recommendations failed to gain sufficient support and have not been implemented. Other federal fiscal reform attempts also have failed, most recently the "super committee."

The event is part of the Sanford School's series, "Gridlock: Can our System Address America's Biggest Problems?"

Source: http://today.duke.edu/2012/01/bowles

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