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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...

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

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.

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...

Six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Japan prepared to deal one more decisive blow to the U.S. Naval forces in the Pacific. The aim was to destroy U.S. aircraft carriers and occupy the strategically important Midway Atoll, a tiny island nearly halfway between Asia and North America that was home to a U.S. Naval air station. American codebreakers deciphered the Japanese plans, allowing the U.S. Navy to plan an ambush. On June 3, 1942, the Battle of Midway commenced.

US seeks transparency on China's first aircraft carrier IANS | Aug 11, 2011, 06.20AM IST WASHINGTON: The US is worried by the lack of transparency about China's first aircraft carrier, which made its maiden voyage on Wednesday, the US state department has stated. "We want to see more transparency. We would welcome any kind of explanation that China would like to give for needing this kind of equipment," said US state department Victoria Nuland. "This is part of our larger concern that China is not as transparent as other countries. It's not as transparent as the United States about its...

Complete title: Tsunami warning is in effect for coastal Alaska after 7.4-magnitude earthquake hits in the Pacific Ocean ### ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 7.4 earthquake has been recorded in the Pacific Ocean off Alaska's remote Aleutian Islands. The Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says a tsunami warning has been posted for certain coastal areas of Alaska. That warning covers an area from 80 miles (128 kilometers) northeast of Dutch Harbor to about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Adak.

Tokyo (CNN) -- Workers at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant are onto "Plan C" in their bid to stop highly radioactive water from gushing directly into the Pacific Ocean through a cracked concrete shaft, a Japanese nuclear official said Monday. Neither of the first two attempts to fill up the 20-centimeter (8-inch) crack outside the No. 2 reactor's turbine building -- on Saturday by pouring in concrete, and then Sunday by using a chemical compound mixed with sawdust and newspaper -- has been successful. "We were assuming and hoping (that water) would stay in the containment vessel as...

China challenges US predominance in Asia-Pacific (AP) – 3 hours ago WASHINGTON (AP) — When China launched threatening war games off Taiwan 15 years ago on the eve of an election on the self-governing island, the U.S. deployed two aircraft carriers, and China quickly backed down. Things don't seem so one-sided any more. China's military has been on a spending spree at a time that the debt-ridden U.S. government is looking to cut defense costs. On Friday, China announced a 12.7 percent hike for this year, the latest in a string of double-digit increases. That trend has triggered worries in...

.'Boost military' to take on China: adviser EXCLUSIVE Greg Sheridan, Foreign editor From: The Australian February 05, 2011 AUSTRALIA will need nuclear-powered attack submarines among a range of highly potent weapons systems, and must revolutionise its strategic culture to answer the security dangers posed by China's massive military build-up, according to one of the federal government's chief military advisers. Ross Babbage, who served on the government's advisory panel for the 2009 Defence white paper, believes Australia should acquire a fleet of 12 nuclear-powered attack submarines. He also favours developing a conventionally armed cruise and ballistic missile capability to be carried...

U.S. Air Force F-22A Raptor stealth fighter jets fly together over the Western Pacific Ocean. Via http://ChamorroBible.org/gpw/gpw-20060917.htm (medium, large, huge) The Photographer Master Sgt. Kevin J. Gruenwald, United States Air Force  

A special report on China's place in the world The fourth modernisation China is becoming a military force to reckon with in the western Pacific. How should America respond? Dec 2nd 2010 | from PRINT EDITION THIRTY-FIVE years ago Deng Xiaoping accused the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of “bloating, laxity, conceit, extravagance and inertia”. Even so, three years later, when he set about modernising China, he put the PLA last in the queue, behind farming, industry and science. And when the commander of the navy in 1982 laid out his plans for China to become a world sea power, he...

An East-West Center program, “Legacies of the Pacific War,” which EWC co-sponsored in July with the USS Arizona Memorial Museum Association and the National Park Service World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, has been the subject of some critical attention because of one complaint that the program was anti-veteran. [snip] The program in question was a workshop for college instructors which examined multiple perspectives on the impact of World War II in the Pacific. The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) funded the workshop, which was attended by college professors from nine nations. One of the participants...

Personal wealth in Asia Pacific has grown at a much faster rate compared to the global average. Wealth in the region grew between 100 and 400 per cent in the last 10 years, compared to the average global rate of 42 per cent, according to the first Global Wealth Report by Credit Suisse released on Friday. The Credit Suisse report aims to provide insight for investors going into different markets, using a methodology which calculates total wealth by looking at fixed assets and bankable assets, including properties, equities and cash. Asia Pacific markets have been bullish since recovering from the...

<p>STANFORD, California (CNN) -- In an event known as a "silent earthquake," a 72-square-mile chunk of the south slope of Hawaii's Kilauea Volcano slipped 3.5 inches toward the sea several months ago, leading one scientist to warn of a possible disaster for Pacific Rim nations.</p>

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON – Nothing projects U.S. global air and sea power more vividly than supercarriers. Bristling with fighter jets that can reach deep into even landlocked trouble zones, America's virtually invincible carrier fleet has long enforced its dominance of the high seas. China may soon put an end to that. U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China — an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced...

<p>An undersea 6.9-magnitude earthquake hit the southern Philippines on Saturday morning but it was too deep to cause any damage, officials said.</p> <p>No tsunami alert was issued, said the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, based in Hawaii.</p> <p>The quake hit the Moro Gulf off Mindanao Island at 7:15 a.m. (2315 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It said the quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 but the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology later reported a 6.9 magnitude.</p>

Color footage of carrier action in the Pacific. Thie is my daddy's generation in action, just a bunch of kids then. One of my uncles was flying off a carriers, he flew Corsairs.

If you check in regularly with the Drudge Report, you probably remember the mysterious light spiral over Norway last year, and the multitude of explanations offered for it (I think we were finally told that it was a Russian missile experiment gone awry). Now there's a new light spiral in Australia, that isn't getting so much attention - and there aren't any Russian missile tests anywhere near there. So what gives? A quick visit to the website of Share International, a creepy, occultist, messianic New Age group headed by Benjamin Creme, says these light spirals in the sky are a...

NASA says new images from its Jason-2 oceanography satellite shows the tropical Pacific has switched from El Nino warm conditions to La Nina cool conditions. "The central equatorial Pacific Ocean could stay colder than normal into summer and beyond," said oceanographer and climatologist Bill Patzert at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "That's because sea level is already about 4 inches below normal, creating a significant deficit of the heat stored in the upper ocean. The next few months will reveal if the current cooling trend will eventually evolve into a long-lasting La Nina situation." Patzert said a La...

SAIPAN, Northern Marianas – A volcanic eruption near the Pacific's Northern Mariana Islands shot clouds of ash and vapor nearly eight miles into the sky, federal scientists said. The eruption occurred early Saturday and appeared to come from an underwater volcano off Sarigan, a sparsely inhabited island about 100 miles north of the U.S. commonwealth's main island of Saipan. The Northern Marianas are about 3,800 miles southwest of Hawaii. USGS volcanologist Game McGimsey said Sunday that scientists are still trying to pinpoint the source but evidence is pointing to an underwater mountain. "People on the island (Sarigan) heard a loud...

Hugh Pickens writes "Science Daily Headlines reports on research by Oregon State University marine geologist Chris Goldfinger showing that earthquakes of magnitude 8.2 (or higher) have occurred 41 times during the past 10,000 years in the Pacific Northwest. By extrapolation, there is a 37% chance of another major earthquake in the area in the next 50 years that could exceed the power of recent seismic events in Chile and Haiti. If a magnitude-9 quake does strike the Cascadia Subduction Zone, extending from northern Vancouver Island to northern California, the ground could shake for several minutes, highways could be torn to...

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.2 rattled the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu early Friday, briefly triggering a tsunami watch for the region, officials said. There were no immediate reports of damage. The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck just after 4 a.m. local time and was centered 300 miles (485 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Port Vila, at a depth of 22 miles (36 kilometers). The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii issued a tsunami warning for Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and New Caledonia, but canceled the alert about an hour later. The center's duty geophysicist...

VANCOUVER - At least two Canadian fighter jets escorted a Cathay Pacific passenger jet to a safe landing in Vancouver International Airport on Saturday due to a potential unspecified security threat, a North American Aerospace Defense Command spokesperson said. Local media reports said the plane, which reportedly originated in Hong Kong, was towed to a secure part of the tarmac with passengers still on board.

ADELAIDE, Australia — A powerful earthquake struck off the Solomon Islands on Sunday, but a monitoring agency said a tsunami was not expected. The U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.1-magnitude quake hit southwest of the island chain's Kira Kira island in the South Pacific. The temblor's epicenter was about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of the capital, Honiara. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says a destructive wave is not expected. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.

The commander of U.S. military forces in the Pacific said Thursday that the buildup of Chinese armed forces is continuing "unabated" and Beijing's goal appears to be power projection beyond Asia. "China's rapid and comprehensive transformation of its armed forces is affecting regional military balances and holds implications beyond the Asia-Pacific region," said Adm. Robert F. Willard, the Pacific Command leader. "Of particular concern is that elements of China's military modernization appear designed to challenge our freedom of action in the region." The comments in testimony to the House Armed Services Committee are likely to fuel an ongoing debate inside...

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fierce and escalating battle over health care reform Friday forced President Barack Obama to delay his departure on a trip to Indonesia and Australia by three days until Sunday, March 21. Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs made the announcement on his Twitter feed, a day after saying the trip would not be delayed, reflecting the fast-shifting debate on an issue that has put the president's political credibility on the line. Gibbs also said that Obama's wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha would no longer join him on a poignant journey to the president's haunts in Indonesia...

To prepare for the filming of HBO's epic, $200-million World War II miniseries "The Pacific," screenwriter Bruce C. McKenna accompanied a locations crew to a tiny coral island near Guam known as Peleliu. A ridge there is laced with hundreds of caves -- undisturbed for more than half a century -- where Japanese troops hid out from U.S. Marines during one of the war's deadliest conflicts. "There are still skeletons in the caves, and we saw them," McKenna remembers with amazement. "At the first cave we found, we walked in and there was the rib cage of a dead Japanese...

TOKYO — A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hit off Japan's southern coast early Saturday, shaking Okinawa and nearby islands, where a tsunami warning was issued, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. The quake occurred off the coast of the island of Okinawa at a depth of 6.2 miles at 5:31 a.m. Saturday, the agency said.

Breaking now

50 miles off Okinawa. Tsunami warning up.

KOROR (Palau Horizon) – PRESIDENT Johnson Toribiong is starting a green revolution. Toribiong told reporters that among the government’s project this year is on expanding the farming areas in Babeldaob. He said the plan is to plant fruit-bearing trees at the entire Babeldaob. Among the trees that will be planted in the Babeldaob area are coconuts, summer trees and mangoes. The president said that through green revolution , food production locally will increase at the same time will mean employment for locals. The leader wants to develop the agricultural industry by developing wide varieties of crops that could be used...

A NORTH Dorset explorer has discovered evidence of an ancient water route connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Col John Blashford-Snell made the breakthrough on his recent trip to the Central American country of Nicaragua. It is believed the route, which encompasses rivers, a lake and flood plains, would be more ancient than the Panama Canal. The research focused on the strip of west-coast land separating Lake Nicaragua from the Pacific. A local fisherman told how he managed to cross the strip on a temporary lake created during wet season floods. “It seems likely that even if early cartographers did...

China, S.Korea Flex Naval Muscle as U.S. Wanes China and South Korea are expanding their submarine fleets as the U.S. Navy shrinks its own. The conservative Heritage Foundation in a report last Tuesday said that by 2025 the number of U.S. submarines in the Pacific Ocean will fall from 30 to 27 while China will have 78 submarines and South Korea 26. Mackenzie Eaglen and Jon Rodeback, who prepared the report titled "Submarine Arms Race in the Pacific" among a flurry of such papers issuing from the think tank, said the military strength of the U.S. and Russia is waning...

The Chief Marxist in the White House undoubtedly took notes on the teary eyed dramatics put on by the Australian Barrister/ Global Warming Thug. Tuvalu envoy makes tearful appeal; calls for strong agreement Betwa Sharma/PTI / Copenhagen December 12, 2009, 17:39 IST The chief climate change negotiator of the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu today made an emotional appeal for a strong agreement that would legally bind all countries to commitments to control carbon emissions. Ian Fry Australian Barrister/Attorney Representing Tuvalu in the Global Warming Caused by Man Hoax Speaking in the main hall of the Bella Centre where...

U.S. puts off meetings on broader ties / PM's inaction on Futenma issue blamed The Yomiuri Shimbun The U.S. government, reacting to Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's procrastination over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture, has informed Tokyo it will postpone key bilateral consultations aimed at "deepening the Japan-U.S. alliance," government sources said Tuesday. The previously agreed consultations were suggested by Hatoyama in summit talks with U.S. President Barack Obama when he visited Tokyo last month. Expectations on the part of the Japanese government were to see the consultations start before the end of...

One of the oldest archaeological sites not on a heritage list, this Pacific state, like Easter Island, is an engineering marvel We zigzag slowly in our skiff around the shallow coral heads surrounding Pohnpei. The island, a little smaller than New York City, is part of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is nestled in a vast tapestry of coral reefs. Beyond the breakers, the Pacific stretches 5,578 miles to California. A stingray dashes in front of us, flying underwater like a butterfly alongside our bow. Our destination is Nan Madol, near the southern side of the island, the only...

(11-13) 17:44 PST SAN FRANCISCO -- Friday the 13th was the luckiest day of the year for two British adventurers who passed under the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday morning after rowing a 23-foot-long boat more than 5,000 miles across the Pacific from Japan. The voyage took 189 days - more than six months - on a boat made of Kevlar and propelled only by muscle power. The two men were stalked by whales, tossed by storms, ran low on food and sometimes despaired. They did not sight land until Thursday, when the dim silhouette of Point Reyes appeared on...

As it turns out, there is a GOP gubernatorial nominee in 2009 who thinks Gov. Palin is an asset. Not in Virginia, not New Jersey - but let's not forget that the Northern Mariana Islands are also electing a Governor this year. And guess who's picture is front and center on the website of GOP nominee Heinz Sablan Hofschneider? I'll give you a hint, it's not Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Tim Pawlenty, or Newt Gingrich. I might also add that two of the last three governors in the Northern Marianas were Republicans (and the current Governor is an ex-Republican who...

Trailer for "The Pacific", the HBO series on the war in the Pacific during WWII

HURRICANE JIMENA DISCUSSION NUMBER 15 NWS TPC/NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL EP132009 200 AM PDT TUE SEP 01 2009 THE SMALL EYE OF JIMENA BECAME LESS DISTINCT IN SATELLITE IMAGERY AROUND 0500 UTC...HOWEVER SINCE THAT TIME IT HAS WARMED AND IS EMBEDDED WITHIN VERY COLD CLOUD TOPS AND A RATHER SYMMETRIC CDO. THE LATEST DVORAK CI-NUMBERS REMAIN 6.5 FROM TAFB AND 6.0 FROM SAB...AND OBJECTIVE ADT ESTIMATES ALSO CONTINUE TO HOVER AROUND T6.5. BASED ON THE SATELLITE APPEARANCE AND UNCHANGED SATELLITE ESTIMATES...THE INITIAL INTENSITY WILL REMAIN 135 KT FOR THIS ADVISORY. AN AIR FORCE HURRICANE HUNTER AIRCRAFT IS SCHEDULED TO...

The threat of a devastating tsunami hitting the U.S. West Coast might be higher than previously thought, scientists say, based on a new study of earthquake faults off the coast of Alaska. Tsunamis are often triggered by earthquakes, as was the case with the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, which was sparked by the 9.3-magnitude Sumatra-Andaman subduction quake in the same ocean. The tsunami killed nearly a quarter of a million people. The new research suggests that future tsunamis could reach a scale far beyond that suffered in a 1964 tsunami generated by the great 9.2-magnitude Alaskan earthquake — "the most...

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors. He is Staff Sgt. Jimmie Doyle, U.S. Army Air Forces, of Lamesa, Texas. He will be buried April 25 in Lamesa. Representatives from the Army’s Mortuary Affairs Office met with Doyle’s next-of-kin in his hometown to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the Secretary of the Army. On September 1,...

The world's largest natural gas company, Russia's Gazprom, has after years of attempts finally gotten a foothold in the U.S., the world's biggest gas market. A supply agreement, part of a multipart contract reached with Royal Dutch Shell, was announced late Wednesday. The contract, signed in Moscow by Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller and his Shell counterpart Jeroen Van der Veer, guarantees the two companies will deliver 1 million tons of Russian liquefied natural gas annually until 2028. Under the arrangement, Gazprom gets access to a Shell terminal in Baja California, Mexico, that will turn Russian liquefied gas into gas that...

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg and from the creators of “Band of Brothers”, The Pacific is a a 10-part HBO mini-series which tells the intertwined stories of three Marines, Robert Leckie (played by James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and John Basilone (Jon Seda), during America’s battle with the Japanese in the Pacific during World War II. Produced on a budget of more $150 million, and shot on location in Australia, the series follows (from an early press release) “The extraordinary experiences of these men and their fellow Marines take them from the first clash with the Japanese in...

201st Mexican Fighter Squadron Flag of Mexico The "Escuadron Aereo de Pelea 201" (201st Mexican Fighter Squadron) of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Expedicionaria Mexicana) has the honor of being the only military unit that has fought outside of Mexican Republic. This Squadron fought in the liberation of the Philippines while assigned to the 58th Fighter Group, under the command of Major Ed Roddy, a fighter ace with 8 kills to his credit while assigned to the 348th Fighter Group under Col. Neal Kearby, 5th Fighter Command, 5th Air Force; (six of its pilots had trained in dive-bombing...

New research into language evolution suggests most Pacific populations originated in Taiwan around 5,200 years ago. Scientists at The University of Auckland have used sophisticated computer analyses on vocabulary from 400 Austronesian languages to uncover how the Pacific was settled. “The Austronesian language family is one of the largest in the world, with 1200 languages spread across the Pacific,” says Professor Russell Gray of the Department of Psychology. “The settlement of the Pacific is one of the most remarkable prehistoric human population expansions. By studying the basic vocabulary from these languages, such as words for animals, simple verbs, colours and...

Size is reduced from what activists sought, but they plan to lobby Obama> The marine areas — totaling 195,280 square miles — are: * In the northern Pacific, waters at the northern end of the Northern Mariana Islands, including the Mariana Trench, the deepest part of Earth's oceans at 36,000 feet. * In American Samoa, the Rose Atoll — the world’s smallest coral atoll and one of the most remote. * In the central Pacific, coral reefs, pinnacles, sea mounts, islands and surrounding waters of Johnston Atoll, Howland, Baker and Jarvis Islands, Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island. These...

LIMA, Peru (AFP) – Asia-Pacific leaders wrapped up a summit Sunday voicing confidence the world would overcome the financial crisis within 18 months by jumpstarting global trade talks and resisting protectionism. The meeting in Peru marked the farewell to international summits for US President George W. Bush, who held final meetings with other top world leaders including a cool exchange with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The leaders of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum vowed in a final declaration to "act quickly and decisively" to combat "one of the most serious economic challenges we have ever faced." In an unusual...

The storm is forecast to be a TROPICAL DEPRESSION when it reaches the El Paso, Texas area on Sunday Morning/Afternoon. It is expected to dissipate into a low pressure center in that area... Just some wind for the El Paso area. Fox News reports the storm is a Category 3 Hurricane as it is set to strike the Baja Peninsula, and Mexican mainland. Also of interest is (Fox News story): Fox News: Hurricane Norbert Strengthens to Category 3 Storm LA PAZ, Mexico — As Norbert bore down on Mexico's southern Baja California peninsula, it gathered strength overnight and was classified...