Friday, January 31, 2014

Scientists Unlock Riddle Behind Planet Orbiting Two Stars

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2/01/2014 @ 12:39AM |4,400 views

Scientists Unlock Riddle Behind Planet Orbiting Two Stars

Over the past few years, astronomers have discovered several planets that are circumbinary. That is, they are planets that actually orbit two stars. Just like Tatooine in the Star Wars movies. One of those planets discovered is Kepler-34b, which was discovered in 2012.
One puzzle about Kepler-34b, and other planets like it, is that they challenge theories that astronomers have adopted as to how planets form in the first place. That’s because for the planet to have evolved where it is seems next to impossible based on our current understanding of the forces involved in the creation of early systems.
But according to research recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, a team of researchers may have found the solution to the problem, using a set of complex computer models.  Their answer? Kepler-34b didn’t form in the same spot it is now.
“We find that super-catastrophic erosion events are the dominant mechanism up to and including the orbital radius of Kepler-34(AB)b, making in situ growth unlikely,” they wrote in the paper. In other words, the gravitational forces would have caused lots of debris to constantly hit and erode any planet that tried to form in that orbit.
Instead, the astronomers suggest, it’s more likely that the planet was actually formed over 120 million miles away, and slowly migrated into its current orbit. What’s more, this same process likely happened in other (thought not all) known circumbinary solar systems as well.
“Circumbinary planets have captured the imagination of many science-fiction writers and film-makers – our research shows just how remarkable such planets are,” said lead author Stefan Lines in a statement. ” Understanding more about where they form will assist future exoplanet discovery missions in the hunt for earth-like planets in binary star systems.”
It’ll be fascinating to see how this research helps to guide future research in observing how planets, both in our solar system and out of it, evolved to become the way they are now.
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Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in 'Man of Steel 2'

Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in 'Man of Steel 2'

IBNLive - ‎8 minutes ago‎
New Delhi: If reports are anything to go by then 'The Social Network' actor Jesse Eisenberg is going to be featured in the role of Lex Luthor in the sequel of 'Man of Steel'.
Jesse Eisenberg cast as Lex Luthor for Superman-Batman film
Jesse Eisenberg cast as Lex Luthor, Jeremy Irons to play Alfred in director Zack ...
Jesse Eisenberg cast in Batman-Superman movie
Jesse Eisenberg

Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in 'Man of Steel 2'

00
New Delhi: If reports are anything to go by then 'The Social Network' actor Jesse Eisenberg is going to be featured in the role of Lex Luthor in the sequel of 'Man of Steel'.
If this happens then it's certainly going to be a brave decision on part of Zack Snyder, the director of 'Man of Steel 2', as the actors who have played the character of Lex Luthor in the past were older than Eisenberg.
Gene Hackman played the iconic character in initial Superman films, while Kevin Spacey Played Lex Luthor in 'Superman Returns'.
Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in 'Man of Steel 2'

It has been said that Jeremy Irons will play Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred in the film.

It has also been said that Jeremy Irons will play Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred in the film, which is scheduled to be released on May 6, 2016.
 end quote from:

Jesse Eisenberg to play Lex Luthor in 'Man of Steel 2'

Syrian Talks Disrupted by Congress's Approval of Aid to Rebels

Syrian Talks Disrupted by Congress's Approval of Aid to Rebels

New York Times - ‎Jan 28, 2014‎
GENEVA - New fireworks erupted at talks between the Syrian government and the opposition here on Tuesday, as the government sharply criticized a recent decision by the United States Congress to approve continued support for the Syrian rebels, and the ...
Syria talks end first round, government not committed to return
Syria Geneva talks take positive step - opposition

Syrian Talks Disrupted by Congress’s Approval of Aid to Rebels

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World Food Program officials say fighting in Homs has prevented humanitarian aid from reaching blockaded areas there. Yazan Homsy/Reuters
GENEVA — New fireworks erupted at talks between the Syrian government and the opposition here on Tuesday, as the government sharply criticized a recent decision by the United States Congress to approve continued support for the Syrian rebels, and the United Nations’ top mediator decided not to continue talks in the afternoon.
The opposition delegation presented a detailed plan for the future of Syria, said Oubai Shahbandar, an adviser to the delegation. But after what Mr. Shahbandar called an “outburst” from the government’s lead negotiator, Bashar al-Jaafari, no further discussion was held on forming a transitional government, the central issue in the talks under the protocols of the first Geneva conference, in 2012.
Syria’s information minister, Omran al-Zoubi, played down the clash in the morning meeting, saying in an interview that the two sides had spent “10 minutes laughing” after Mr. Jaafari, the Syrian ambassador to the United Nations, joked that Al Jazeera, the Qatari-owned pan-Arab news channel that the government despises for its sympathetic stance on the insurgency, was “founded by Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.”

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Mr. Zoubi said the American aid to the rebels, now with explicit congressional approval, contradicted the United States’ role as a sponsor of the peace talks. Russia, the other sponsor, has supported the Syrian government with arms sales, but Syrian officials say that falls under legal bilateral relations and is not equivalent to the American funding.
“Russia is working with the Americans to find a political solution, and suddenly they find a solution which contradicts the initiative,” he said, referring to the American financing of the rebels. “Do they want to destroy Geneva?” He accused the United States of supporting terrorists.
The State Department rejected that claim. “Any notion that we support terrorists is ludicrous,” Edgar Vasquez, a department spokesman in Geneva, said in a statement. Referring to the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, he added: “The Assad regime is a magnet for terrorists. The regime’s brutality is the source of the violent extremism in Syria today. We support the moderate political and military opposition who are fighting for the freedom and dignity of all the Syrian people.”
Members of Congress last year raised a variety of concerns about a C.I.A. program to arm and train Syrian rebels in Jordan, accusing the Obama administration of wading deeper into the Syrian war without a clear strategy, and expressing worries that the arms could end up in the hands of Islamic militants.
The White House was able to overcome these objections, and lawmakers ended up approving money for the mission in classified defense appropriations legislation, as Reuters reported on Monday.
But the exchanges in Geneva again illustrated how little common ground there is. The United Nations mediator for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon: “These are not easy negotiations. They were not easy before, they will not be easy in the coming few days, but I’m glad that nobody is willing to leave.”
The two sides have been unable to even begin discussing the issue of political transition. The government submitted a new document as an opening statement for the basis of talks that did not refer to a transition of power, and the opposition rejected it.
Nor was there progress on what Mr. Brahimi and others had hoped would be the easiest win for the talks, a humanitarian pause in the fighting in the western Syrian city of Homs to allow aid to reach blockaded areas there.
The United Nations has trucks loaded with food for up to 2,500 people ready at a warehouse outside Homs but has not yet received authorization to proceed, a World Food Program spokeswoman told reporters on Tuesday.
In four days of stuttering peace talks in Geneva, Mr. Brahimi has pressed Syria’s government and opposition to allow aid agencies to enter blockaded areas of Homs and let civilians leave as a confidence-building step, but with little success.
Tuesday’s afternoon session was canceled over what opposition delegates described as differences over the goal of the talks, and to give the government time to make a proposal for the future of the country.
“There is deep resistance by the regime to move the discussions onto the question of a transitional government,” an opposition negotiator, Ahmed Jakal, told Reuters. Murhaf Jouejati, a member of the opposition Syrian National Coalition’s negotiating team, told The Associated Press that the opposition was giving the government the chance “to come out with their own vision for a future Syria” within the context of the agreement reached at the first Geneva conference.
On the question of humanitarian assistance, the Syrian government says it is generally ready to provide aid under an existing plan worked out with international agencies, and blames threats from insurgents for any obstruction. But the opposition coalition, its Western backers and some United Nations agencies say that when it comes to specific permission, particularly for convoys to enter areas under insurgent control, the government often denies access.
“The humanitarian discussions haven’t produced much, unfortunately,” Mr. Brahimi told reporters at the end of Monday’s discussions, citing “all sorts of problems,” including the presence of snipers.
The World Food Program spokeswoman, Elisabeth Byrs, said the United Nations was preparing to send in a convoy once it received the go-ahead; the agency has been unable to get supplies into the Old City of Homs for over a year.
United Nations agencies say they do not know how many people remain in the Old City, but in addition to the month’s worth of supplies for 2,500 people, the World Food Program also has specialized nutrition for children presumed to be suffering from acute malnutrition and stunted growth.
The agency distributed food to 687,000 people at 50 other locations in Homs Province last month, Ms. Byrs said, but in many towns it has been able to enter only every three to six months. The United Nations is increasingly concerned about the fate of 775,000 people elsewhere in the country, including in the city of Deir al-Zour in the east, which it has been unable to reach for some months, Ms. Byrs added.
United States officials in Geneva said earlier that talks were continuing among the United Nations, Russia, the Syrian government and the opposition on the issues of humanitarian aid to “besieged communities,” prisoner releases and exchanges, and localized cease-fires — all seen by international negotiators as potential confidence-building measures.
Western diplomats have said that if progress is not made soon, they may take the impasse to the Security Council, where they believe Russia is less likely now to use its veto than in the past because it is concerned about its image on the eve of hosting the Winter Olympics.
Hwaida Saad contributed reporting from Geneva, and Mark Mazzetti from Washington.

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Syrian Talks Disrupted by Congress's Approval of Aid to Rebels

Indonesian Militants Join Fight in Syria

Indonesian Militants Join Fight in Syria

New York Times - ‎18 hours ago‎
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesians have joined the thousands of foreign fighters who have traveled to Syria to help extremist groups trying to create an Islamic state there, according to a new report, a finding that analysts said Friday could help ...
Indonesian militants fighting in Syria
50 Indonesian Militants Join Syria War - by Jason Ditz

Indonesian Militants Join Foreigners Fighting in Syria

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesians have joined the thousands of foreign fighters who have traveled to Syria to help extremist groups trying to create an Islamic state there, according to a new report, a finding that analysts said Friday could help revive a weakened jihadi movement in Indonesia and set off more attacks on minority Shiites in the Southeast Asian country.
The report by the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, based in Jakarta, said that the Syrian conflict, approaching its third anniversary in March, had “captured the imagination of Indonesian extremists in a way no foreign war has before.”
“The enthusiasm for Syria is directly linked to predictions in Islamic eschatology that the final battle at the end of time will take place in Sham, the region sometimes called Greater Syria or the Levant, encompassing Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel,” the report said, adding that atrocities committed by government forces against Sunni Muslims have been given strong play in the Indonesian news media and on radical websites.

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Sidney Jones, the institute’s director, said the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, based on information from the Syrian government, estimated that at least 50 Indonesians had traveled to Syria via Turkey to take up arms since 2012. While she emphasized that the figure was “a guesstimate,” the report warned that the numbers could increase.
As many as 11,000 foreign fighters have poured into Syria by way of the Middle East and North Africa. The fighters include radicalized young Muslims with Western passports from Europe, North America and Australia.
Ms. Jones said Indonesian fighters could easily fly on commercial airlines to Turkey, where Ahrar al-Sham, one of the Islamic groups fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad, helped them cross the border into Syria. Some Indonesian extremists have also been linking up with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a hard-line group linked to Al Qaeda, she said.
“There are two main concerns for Indonesia,” Ms. Jones said. “One is the return of foreign fighters and what that could mean to providing leadership to the very weak and incompetent jihadi movement here.”
“Second, the process of raising funds for Syria could strengthen the resource base of groups in Indonesia, such as Jemaah Islamiyah,” she said, referring to the Southeast Asian terrorist network linked to Al Qaeda that carried out the Bali bombings in 2002, and whose members and splinter cells carried out other terrorist attacks in Indonesia from 2000 to 2009. She said Jemaah Islamiyah had used its network to recruit and send Indonesian fighters to Syria.
Indonesian extremists are known to have trained and fought in Afghanistan in the 1980s and ’90s, in the southern Philippines and possibly in Bosnia. The involvement of Indonesian fighters in Syria became more prominent after an extremist from the Borneo Island of Indonesia named Riza Fardi was killed there last year, according to the report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict.
His death was announced on Nov. 28 on the Twitter account of Suquor al-Izz Brigade, an armed group with which Mr. Riza was fighting, the report said. It added that Mr. Riza graduated from Al Mukmin Islamic boarding school, in the Central Java Province of Indonesia, an institution that has produced multiple terrorists and whose founder, the radical cleric Abu Bakar Bashir, is in prison on a terrorism conviction.
The report said that Indonesian Islamic organizations had made multiple humanitarian missions to Syria since the conflict began, “bringing in cash and medical assistance to the Islamist resistance in a way apparently designed to open channels for more direct participation in the fighting.”
Noor Huda Ismail, the founder of the Institute for International Peace Building, which helps assimilate former Indonesian terrorists back into society, noted that six people suspected of being terrorists who were killed after an all-night standoff beginning on Dec. 31 in a town outside Jakarta were planning to travel to Turkey and had already bought airline tickets.
“At the microlevel, most of the Indonesians who travel to Syria — whether they fight or were involved in humanitarian actions — they will tell their story when they return and inspire others to follow in their footsteps,” he said. “Individuals who travel there manage to provide a new narrative about jihad, which will be widely translated. This new narrative is the most important thing — a narrative about enlarging the conflict.”
Mr. Noor said the Syrian civil war was viewed by many Muslims as a conflict between Sunnis and the Shiite-backed government of Mr. Assad. He said the participation of Indonesian fighters would have ramifications back in Indonesia, which is the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation and has a small minority of Shiites who in recent years have faced harassment and physical attacks.
“The Indonesian Shiite groups are worried about these movements,” Mr. Noor said. “It creates ramifications where you see tensions between the Sunni and Shiite communities in Indonesia.”
Ms. Jones, of the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict, said another major concern was that Jemaah Islamiyah, which had fallen off the radar after ceasing terrorist attacks on Western targets in Indonesia in 2007 because of, among other things, an internal backlash over the fact that the majority of its victims were Indonesian Muslims, was increasing its prestige by helping to send fighters to Syria.
The revival of Jemaah Islamiyah as a jihadi organization could have significant consequences in the long term, she said.
end quote from:

Indonesian Militants Join Fight in Syria

January Ends With Another Decline on Wall Street

Concerns about the global economy and company earnings in the United States, as well as turmoil in emerging markets, led major indexes to their worst month in two years.
 

January Ends With Another Decline on Wall Street

Investors were hit from all sides in January.
Concerns about the global economy and company earnings in the United States, as well as turmoil in emerging markets, led major indexes to their worst month in two years.
However, many remain hopeful that the problems in January will not spill over into the rest of 2014. They even see the month’s downturn as healthy, given the market’s torrid 30 percent rise last year.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 5.3 percent in January, the worst start to a year since 2009. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index fell 3.6 percent in January, and the Nasdaq composite fell 2 percent.
Many investors expected 2014 to be more muddled and volatile, looking for additional pullbacks and possibly a drop of at least 10 percent in one of the market indexes, known as a correction.
“People did look at these stock market valuations at the beginning of the year with a degree of nervousness,” said David Kelly, chief market strategist at J. P. Morgan Funds. “A correction would probably be healthy for the market.”
Even so, many investors were surprised by January’s turbulence. With one exception, the Dow had triple-digit moves every trading day in January.
Investors point to the December jobs report, released on Jan. 10, as a starting point for the recent troubles. The government said then that employers created only 74,000 jobs in December, the worst month for job creation since 2011 and far below expectations. Up until that point, weeks of data showed that the economic recovery was accelerating.
“It set a negative tone for the market,” Mr. Kelly said.
Other economic reports also painted a picture of growth possibly flattening out instead of accelerating. Added to these worries were mixed signals from companies in the United States. Half of the members of the S.&P. 500 have reported, and while fourth-quarter corporate earnings are up a respectable 7.9 percent from a year earlier, companies have been cutting their full-year outlooks and reporting weaker sales, according to the data provider FactSet.
Then there are concerns about overseas markets. In China, the world’s second-largest economy, a recent report showed that manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in January. Then came the currency troubles in smaller emerging markets, particularly Argentina, South Africa and Turkey.
On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 149.76 points, or 0.94 percent, to 15,698.85. The S.&P. 500 dropped 11.60 points, or 0.65 percent, to 1,782.59, and the Nasdaq lost 19.25 points, or 0.47 percent, to 4,103.88.
In bond trading, the price of the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 14/32 to 100 29/32, and its yield fell to 2.65 percent from 2.69 percent late Thursday.
Investors should not panic yet, money managers say. More opportunities for good news abound, including next week’s jobs report for January, and another 93 members of the S.&P. 500 are scheduled to report earnings.
“A 5 percent decline in equities is not an earth-shattering event by any measure, particularly after last year,” said Krishna Memani, chief investment officer at Oppenheimer Funds. “It’s still way too early to give up on equities.”
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January Ends With Another Decline on Wall Street

The last big drought in California

I remember the last big drought in California which was in the mid 1970s. Then there were many brown lawns and shubs from not being watered across the state. Shasta Dam was mostly empty to the point where it was hard to water ski anymore but I think I remember houseboats still some there. The motto was "yellow mellow brown down" in regard to flushing toilets. We put 5 gallon buckets under the sink and carried them to the open toilet backs to pour the kitchen grey water into to flush them. No plants were allowed to be watered most of the time. Bottled water was the rule to drink because the remaining water wasn't usually safe to drink (or at least it tasted terrible from too many chemicals as well.

Since then people have learned that low water levels in dams often also means now more likelihood of

Cryptosporidium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptosporidium
Wikipedia
Cryptosporidium is a genus of apicomplexan protozoans that can cause gastrointestinal illness with diarrhea in humans. Cryptosporidium is the organism most ...
 
during the summer and fall months many places which can kill people with compromised immune systems like those with HIV or worse even drinking tap water like that once or twice. This is true all over the country in cities even with enough rainfall year around.  And Clorine and Fluoridation does not kill Cryptosporidium because it is immune to both now here in the U.S. and likely other places as well.
 
So, bottled water is the safest thing to drink even though reverse osmosis systems likely would be good for cooking still.
 
Yes. Brown lawns most places likely will become the norm this year along with brown shrubs and no flowers for most homes in the state as well as no vegetables grown likely much at all except for people who might still have wells that the state doesn't cap during these times.
 
A newsman was saying today that even if it rained every other day until May the state would still be in trouble in regard to water this year.

California Drought

Tonight I was listening to the news about how 25 million customers in California are going to have their water curtailed or just shut off soon. A man was also saying how no state in the United States has EVER had a drought as serious as this one ever.

I think this is because there are 38.04 million people in California and they are now going to either drastically curtail or end water to 25 million customers in the state because of the present water emergency. So, I think we might be (unless we get a whole lot of rain soon) moving into Biblical Drought status in California something like out of Egypt in the Bible or something like that. However, there weren't trains and trucks that could haul water then like their are now. I wonder if Santa Barbara is taking it's Sea water conversion systems out of mothballs about now?

The Stock Market?

Two of my grown children and I had dinner with an old friend who is an investor. He was pretty upset with the stock market even though he had positioned himself after something like this happening last year about this time. So, he said that only half of his stocks were affected by this downturn this year. So, it wasn't as bad for him this year. I said, "It's the 10% adjustment right?". He said, "No. not exactly. What is happening in Argentina and in Turkey are more affecting the market." I said, "What about China?" He said, "That was already factored in. The shot out of the blue is Argentina and the reaction in Turkey as a results reverberating around the world now."

That was news to me. I hadn't heard about the Argentina-Turkey reactions yet. My son said he had read about this happening in Argentina in the last year. I was wondering why Google News and Yahoo hadn't been writing more about this and wondered why CNN hadn't been reporting about this too?

So, this is the latest news from someone I know who studies the stock market at least 5 days a week and sometimes more as his business.

The problem of Argentina and Turkey likely is going to affect both Middle Eastern Nations and the problem in Argentina likely will have the most affect on South American and Central American countries the most. However, since the U.S. is on the border of Mexico and Central and South America it will affect the U.S. and Canada to some degree too.

I mentioned to my grown kids and my friend how the default on loans to South America and Mexico had caused the default of the Savings and Loans here in the U.S. and many people lost everything in the 1980s and some killed themselves especially if they were over 50 and couldn't replace their savings nest eggs because they were too old here in the U.S.

That's why there are no Savings and Loans here in the U.S. now. There are only Credit Unions and banks with FDIC insured savings up to $250,000 per account.

I'm not the 5 day or more a week investor that my friend is. But, I'm hoping the bottom for this market is around 15,000 or so, so it can slowly go up to 16,000 and 17,000 and beyond again.

The Economy must be coming back in California: 31 million dollar property sold in Big Sur

 I was surprised when a friend called me about this. It is a pretty big deal that something this big sold as an "oceanfront getaway". If high end sales for homes are being made if you are selling your home somewhere in California or other western states this might be good news for you.

Carmel Pine Cone, January 31, 2014 (front) - The Carmel Pine Cone

pineconearchive.fileburstcdn.com/140131PCfp.pdf
14 hours ago - $31,394,000 — one of the largest sale prices for residen- tial real estate in Monterey .... BIG SUR OCEANFRONT GETAWAY SELLS FOR $31M.
By CHRIS COUNTS
A
HOME with stunning views of the Big Sur coast,
along with more than 90 acres of rugged land divided
among two parcels, sold last week for a staggering
$31,394,000 — one of the largest sale prices for residen-
tial real estate in Monterey County history.
The seller was David F. Brubaker, and the buyer took
title via a company called Ankle Crisper LLC. Calls to
Brubaker and Ralph Arnheim, a Palo Alto businessman
who is either the actual buyer or his representative, were
not returned.
One of the properties is the site of the distinctive
Staude House, which was named for its first occupants,
pharmaceutical businessman Tony Staude and his wife,
Marguerite, who achieved fame as the designers and
financiers of the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona,
Ariz. Tony Staude died in 2006.
Designed by the late architect George Brook-Kothlow
of Carmel Valley, the Staudes’ Big Sur house was con-
structed in the late 1960s with reclaimed redwood bridge
timbers.
The house was small, just two bedrooms and two
baths, with a total living area of 2,234 square feet, accord-
ing to county records, but was built in a breathtaking loca-
tion on the edge of the Big Sur coast. Its distinctive circu-
lar shape is clearly visible in aerial photographs.
A separate structure on the southern part of the prop-
erty comprises just 435 square feet, according to county.
end quote from:

Carmel Pine Cone, January 31, 2014 (front) - The Carmel Pine Cone

 

If you want to read more please click on above PDF site.

Man washes up in Marshall Islands 'after 16 months adrift'

Man washes up in Marshall Islands 'after 16 months adrift'

AFP


An emaciated man whose boat washed up on a remote Pacific atoll this week claims he survived 16 months adrift on the Pacific
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Majuro (Marshall Islands) (AFP) - An emaciated man whose boat washed up on a remote Pacific atoll this week claims he survived 16 months adrift on the Pacific, floating more than 12,500 kilometres (8,000 miles) from Mexico, a researcher said Friday.
The man, with long hair and beard, was discovered Thursday when his 24-foot fibreglass boat with propellerless engines floated onto the reef at Ebon Atoll and he was spotted by two locals.
"His condition isn't good, but he's getting better," Ola Fjeldstad, a Norwegian anthropology student doing research on Ebon, the southern most outpost of the Marshalls, told AFP by telephone.
Fjeldstad said the man, dressed only in a pair of ragged underpants, claims he left Mexico for El Salvador in September 2012 with a companion who died at sea several months ago.
Details of his survival are sketchy, Fjeldstad added, as the man only speaks Spanish, but he said his name was Jose Ivan.
"The boat is really scratched up and looks like it has been in the water for a long time," said the researcher from Ebon.
Ivan indicated to Fjeldstad that he survived by eating turtles, birds and fish and drinking turtle blood when there was no rain.
No fishing gear was on the boat and Ivan suggested he caught turtles and birds with his bare hands. There was a turtle on the boat when it landed at Ebon.
Stories of survival in the vast Pacific are not uncommon.
In 2006, three Mexicans made international headlines when they were discovered drifting, also in a small fibreglass boat near the Marshall Islands, in the middle of the ocean in their stricken boat, nine months after setting out on a shark-fishing expedition.
They survived on a diet of rainwater, raw fish and seabirds, with their hope kept alive by reading the bible.
And in 1992, two fishermen from Kiribati were at sea for 177 days before coming ashore in Samoa.
According to Fjeldstad, the Marshall Islanders who found Ivan took him to the main island on the atoll, which is so remote there is only one phone line at the local council house and no Internet, to meet Mayor Ione de Brum, who put in a call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Majuro.
Officials at the Foreign Ministry said Friday they were waiting to get more details and for the man to be brought to Majuro.
The government airline's only plane that can land at Ebon is currently down for maintenance and is not expected to return to service until Tuesday at the earliest, with officials considering sending a boat to pick up the castaway.
"He's staying at the local council house and a family is feeding him," said Fjeldstad, who added that the man had a basic health check and was found to have low blood pressure.
But he did not appear to have any life-threatening illness and was able to walk with the aid of men on the island.
"We've been giving him a lot of water, and he's gaining strength," said the Norwegian.
The Marshall Islands, in the northern Pacific, are home to barely 60,000 people spread over 24 atolls, with most of them standing at an average of just two metres above sea level.
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end quote from:
http://news.yahoo.com/man-washes-marshall-islands-39-16-months-adrift-072025025.html