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A species of snake that had been "lost" for almost 80 years has been re-discovered on a remote Mexican island. According to a study published in the PLOS ONE scientific journal, the Clarion nightsnake was found again on one of the Revillagigedo Islands, more than 400 miles (650 kilometers) off Mexico's Pacific coast. The original, and until recently the only, spotting of the species was made by American naturalist William Beebe in a 1936 visit to Clarion, one of the four Revillagigedo Islands. He returned with one snake preserved in a glass jar.

The White House announced that Vice President Joe Biden would spend the weekend vacationing in the U.S. Virgin Islands. It's his second vacation there in three months. His White House schedule reads: DAILY GUIDANCE FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT Friday, March 7 – Sunday, March 9 The Vice President and Dr. Jill Biden will visit the U.S. Virgin Islands. There are no public events scheduled. And as Geoff Earle of the New York Post reported on December 27, the vice president spent New Year's on the U.S. Virgin Islands.

STANLEY, Falkland Islands – An overwhelming 99.8 percent of Falkland Islands voters have backed keeping their government just the way it is: a British Overseas Territory. Of the 1,517 valid votes cast, only 3 islanders voted "no" to the question: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?" One vote was somehow lost, officials said Monday. The referendum was aimed at showing the world that the residents' self-determination must be considered in any discussion about the future of the remote South Atlantic islands that are claimed by both...

Residents of the Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly to remain a British Overseas Territory, an official said late Monday. The question put to voters was: "Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?" More than 99% of voters said yes, according to Darren Christie, public relations manager for the Falklands Islands government. Just three people voted no. Turnout was 92%. "Speaks for itself, I think," Christie said about the vote. Monday marked the final day of a two-day referendum on the disputed Falkland Islands, which Argentinians call Las Malvinas....

Chinese Warships Prepared To Fire On The Japanese Navy Twice Robert JohnsonFebruary 5, 2013, 6:06 AMThe Type 053H3 frigate is armed with a HQ-7 eight unit SAM launcher and Type 79A twin barrel 100 mm gun Last week a Chinese warship pointed its missile guidance system at a Japanese destroyer in an unmistakable show of aggression, the Japanese Ministry of Defense announced today. The brief report out of Tokyo cites a January 30 event where a type 053 Chinese frigate locked its "sixth fire control radar" onto a Japanese helicopter equipped vessel out of Yokosuka. Japan has two helicopter carriers,...

Japan Lets Its New Defense Budget Do The Talking Over Island Dispute Robert JohnsonFebruary 2, 2013, 5:11 AMJapan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) escort ship "Kurama" leads other vessels during a fleet review in water off Sagami Bay, south of Tokyo Japan's prime minister announced his country will vigorously defend itself against all Chinese threats following a series of confrontations over the disputed Senkaku/Diaoyu island chain. Purchased by Japan, the islands' ownership is hotly contested by China, which for several months has sent ships, reconnaissance planes, and fighter jets to the area to face off against Japanese forces. It has become...

CNN) -- Idiotic TV shows and all the latest apps bumming you out on the 21st century? Ready for some "me time" on the world's remotest islands? Forget golden sands and swaying palms -- the reality of solitude is different as these terrifyingly distant landfalls demonstrate. ... Bear Island 400 miles off Europe's north coast Bjornoya, better known as Bear Island, is the southernmost island in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, 400 miles north of mainland Europe -- but only on paper, given that it's almost 150 miles south of the Norwegian island chain with which it's lumped. It's been...

Japan Threatens To Fire On Chinese Fighters — China Says 'There Will Be No Second Shot' Robert JohnsonJanuary 21, 2013, 2:35 PMWhen Chinese and Japanese fighters met for the first time over disputed islands in the East China Sea earlier this month, Japan promptly declared its right to fire tracers at China's jets. Though met with outrage by China at the time, Japan continues promoting the live firing which Chinese military academics are calling the "first shot." “Every country has procedures for how to deal with a violation of its territory that continues after multiple cautionary measures,” Japanese Defense Minister...

China Warns Citizens To 'Prepare For The Worst' As It Sends Fighters To East China Sea Robert JohnsonJan. 11, 2013, 8:49 AMSino Defence The J-10 After repeatedly flying surveillance aircraft into disputed airspace with Japan, and Tokyo scrambling F-15s in response, China's now sending fighters of its own on "routine flights" into the East China Sea. China Daily: A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday that Chinese military planes were on"routine flights" in relevant airspace over the East China Sea. Spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a press briefing in response to media reports that Japan sent fighter jets to...

China Sends Fighter Jets To Meet Japan's F-15s In The East China Sea Robert JohnsonJan. 11, 2013, 8:49 AMSino Defence After repeatedly flying surveillance aircraft into disputed airspace with Japan, and Tokyo scrambling F-15s in response, China's now sending fighters of its own on "routine flights" into the East China Sea. China Daily: A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Friday that Chinese military planes were on"routine flights" in relevant airspace over the East China Sea. Spokesman Hong Lei made the remarks at a press briefing in response to media reports that Japan sent fighter jets to head off a number of...

Four Chinese Surveillance Ships Push Their Luck With Japanese Patience Agence France PresseJanuary 7, 2013 Four Chinese government ships entered territorial waters around Japan-controlled islands at the centre of a dispute on Monday, the Japanese coastguard said. The four marine surveillance ships were seen moving within 12 nautical miles of the islands, known as the Senkakus in Japan and the Diaoyus in China, just before midday, the coastguard said in a statement. It was the first time since December 31 -- and the 21st time since Japan nationalised the islands in September -- that any state-owned Chinese ship has been...

Anti-Japanese demonstrations spread to more than 20 cities in China Sunday, as Tokyo dismissed China's opposition to Japanese activists landing on disputed islands in East China Sea. Chinese demonstrators waved national flags and chanted angry slogans as they protested the arrest of Chinese activists who landed last week in the islands known as Senkaku in Japan and as Diaoyu in China. In some cities, protesters vandalized Japanese made vehicles and clashed with police who tried to restrain them. Earlier Sunday, a group of 10 Japanese activists, including local lawmakers, swam ashore and unfurled Japanese flags on one of the disputed...

This is a add-on to a FR thread with some new photos. Great to see how some homeownwers were able to cope, with one major failure (last photo).

Colton Harris-Moore - the 19-year-old from Washington state known as the “Barefoot Bandit” - stole planes, boats and thousands of dollars and was on the run from authorities for more than two years. ~snip~ Colton eventually left Washington State and the FBI became involved when he was on the run in Oregon, Idaho and Wyoming. It turned into an international manhunt when Colton crossed Canadian borders, and even managed to fly a stolen plane all the way to the Bahamas. After stealing four planes, luxury cars, power boats, thousands of dollars, while being barefoot the entire time, his signature lifestyle...

I usually post this to the Science forum, but I brainlocked and didn't. So I'm reposting the link to the thread in the Science forum. Geology Picture of the Week, August 6, 2010: Four from the Faroes At least I didn't forget to ping the ping list.

See my note below the pictures (first comment). Every one of these can be clicked for larger.

July 23, 2010 Offering to Aid Talks, U.S. Challenges China on Disputed Islands By MARK LANDLER HANOI, Vietnam — Opening a new source of potential friction with China, the Obama administration said Friday that it would step into a tangled dispute between China and its smaller Asian neighbors over a string of strategically significant islands in the South China Sea. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at an Asian regional security meeting in Vietnam, stressed that the United States remained neutral on which regional countries had stronger territorial claims to the islands. But she said that the United States...

Portrait of the Outer Aleutians from space: Go here for links to larger resolution images: Outer Aleutian Islands Here are the names of some of the islands you can see in this image (from west to east): Kiska, Little Sitkin, Amchitka (long and narrow) Semisopochnoi (round), Gareloi, Tanaga, Kanaga, Adak, Great Sitkin, Atka (volcano on eastern end is Korovin) Obviously they're volcanic, so here are a couple of images of Gareloi. From the Space Station: From the surface:

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...

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.