Palau to Take in 17 Muslim Chinese -- currently being held at Guantanamo.

Palau, officially the Republic of Palau (Palauan: Beluu er a Belau), is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Tokyo. Having emerged from United Nations trusteeship(administered by the United States) in 1994, it is one of the world's youngest and smallest nations. In English, the name is currently sometimes spelled phonetically in accordance with the native pronunciation Belau. It was formerly also spelled Pelew.Palau enjoys a tropical climate all year round with an annual mean temperature of 82 °F(27 °C). Rainfall can occur throughout the year, averaging a total of 150 inches (3,800 mm). The average humidity over the course of the year is 82%, and although rain falls more frequently between July and October, there is still much sunshine. Typhoons are rare, as Palau is outside the main typhoon zone.The population of Palau is approximately 21,000, of whom 70% are native Palauans, who are of mixed Melanesian, Micronesian, and Malayandescent. Filipinos form the second largest ethnic group. Other Asians in South East Asia account for the minority groups.

The obscure Pacific nation of Palau, one of the world's youngest and tiniest countries, has agreed to take in the 17 Uighurs -- Muslim Chinese -- currently being held at Guantanamo.

President Johnson Toribiong announced in a statement to the Associated Press that Palau "agreed to accommodate the United States of America's request to temporarily resettle in Palau up to 17 ethnic Uighur detainees." He said their resettlement in Palau would be "subject to periodic review."

The announcement followed a visit to Palau by Ambassador Daniel Fried, the Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs at the Department of State who has been tasked with placing the remaining 240 detainees at Guantanamo.

The US government has pledged $200 million in aid to Palau, but a White House official denied that money, for development assistance, had anything to do with the Uighurs going to Palau.

Just a few days ago, the Obama administration asserted before the Supreme Court that the Uighurs have no right to come to America despite a district judge's orders last Fall that they immediately be brought to the U.S. and released.

Toribiong said Palau, located 500 miles east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles south of Tokyo, with a population of around 21,000, is "honored and proud" to resettle the detainees.

"Palau's accommodation to accept the temporary resettlement of these detainees is a humanitarian gesture intended to help them be freed of any further unnecessary incarceration and to restart their lives in as normal a fashion as possible," Toribiong said. The country consists of eight main islands and more than 250 islets.

Asked about the president's statement, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said, "As you know, we’re working closely with our friends and allies regarding the resettlement and repatriation of Guantanamo detainees. As a matter of policy, we’re not going to comment on our bilateral discussions with individual countries. It’s really up to the – our partners to characterize the level of their involvement."

Formerly part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau gained its independence on October 1, 1994. The U.S. is responsible for Palau's defense. The country is mostly Christian.

Three quarters of the population are Christians (mainly Roman Catholics and Protestants), while Modekngei (a combination of Christianity, traditional Palauan religion and fortune telling) and the ancient Palauan religion are commonly observed. According to the 2005 census^[12]49.4% of the population are Roman Catholics, 21.3% Protestants, 8.7% Modekngei and 5.3% Seventh-day Adventists.

The official languages of Palau are Palauan and English, except for two states (Sonsorol and Hatohobei) where the local language, along with Palauan, is official. Japanese is also spoken widely amongst older Palauans, and, indeed, retains official status in the State of Angaur. Tagalogis not official in Palau, but it is the fourth largest spoken language.

America - Ventura Highway lyrics

Chewin' on a piece of grass walkin' down the road 
tell me, how long you gonna stay here Joe? 
Some people say this town don't look good in snow 
You don't care, I know. 


Ventura Highway, in the sunshine 
Where the days are longer 
The nights are stronger than moonshine 
You're gonna go I know 


Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair 
and the day surround your daylight there 
Seasons cryin' no despair 
Alligator lizards in the air 


Wishin' on a fallin' star 
Watchin' for the early train 
Sorry boy, but I've been hit by purple rain 
Aw, come on Joe, you can always change your name 
Thanks alot son, just the same 


Ventura Highway, in the sunshine 
Where the days are longer 
The nights are stronger than moonshine! 
you're gonna go, I know 


Cause the free wind is blowin' through your hair 
and the days surround your daylight there 
seasons cryin' no despair 
Alligator lizards in the air 
in the air 

A good news for Security agencies : Detecting sulphur in just one hair could help nab a terrorist

In a new study, scientists have come up with a method that could be used to nab terrorists, by detecting how proportions of isotopes in a chemical like sulphur vary throughout the length of a single hair.
The mid-term objective is to be able to use these methods to track the geographical movements of people, including international crime suspects and victims.
In order to carry out this study, the scientists focused on the most abundant sulphur isotopes in hair keratin - sulphur-32 (32S), which accounts for about 95 percent, and sulphur-34 (34S), which makes up around 4 percent.
This proportion can change slightly in response to people's diets and if they travel from one country to another, and the technique is able to detect these small variations.
The scientists use a laser that makes contact with the selected fraction of the hair, generating an aerosol, which later ionizes within plasma, with the spectrometer providing the exact proportions of the sulphur isotopes.
"The advantage of this method compared with others is the high resolution resulting from use of the laser," said Rebeca Santamaria-Fernandez of LGC, lead author of the study.
This advance has enabled the scientists to confirm that the sulphur variations in hair can be linked to peoples' geographical movements.
The researchers collected hair samples of more than 4cm in length donated by three volunteers.
Two were permanent residents in the United Kingdom, while the third - dubbed "the traveler" - had spent the past six months in Croatia, Austria, the United Kingdom and Australia.
"We are what we eat, and the small variations in the 34S/32S relationship reflect changes to our diet, which can in turn be related to movements from one country to another," said Justo Giner, another of the study's authors.
The results of the experiment revealed that the traveller's hair showed significant variations in the sulphur isotopes, while changes in the hairs of the two people living in the United Kingdom were minimal, and similar in both samples.
The scientists are confident they will be able to create databases that will one day make it possible to link the relationship between a specific isotope in hair keratin and a country or region, which would be of great help to the police in tracking down international criminals.