American Samoa

Caucus-Goers Gather At Bar To Pick 2012 Nominee

Posted 03.13.2012

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) -- What do you get when 50 or so Republicans gather in a restaurant-bar? In American Samoa, you get a presidential cauc...

Why the West Is Losing the Pacific to China, the Arab League, and Just About Everyone Else

Cleo Paskal | Posted 05.25.2011

Cleo Paskal

Nuku'alofa, Kingdom of Tonga. The small South Pacific country of the Kingdom of Tonga has been busy. In a two-week period around the start of Septembe...

American Samoa Bans Plastic Bags

AP | Posted 05.25.2011

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa — American Samoa is going to make it illegal for stores to hand out plastic bags once a new law goes into effect early...

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Double Indumbnity

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Over in Samoa, Jerri, having profited from the use of Candice's disloyalty, now suggested cutting her loose, for being untrustworthy. Excuse me? Show me one Insufferable who is trustworthy.

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains: Shuffle Bored!

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

No matter what those dopey Twilight movies tell you, werewolves make lousy house pets. But someone else was morphing into a monster under last night's full moon as well...

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Banana Wars.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Happy Shakespeare's Birthday everyone. Let's celebrate by talking about Survivor, which is exactly what Shakespeare would have written if only he had had no talent.

Survivor Heroes vs Villains: Mission Implausible.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Parvati didn't flip and Courtney's skeleton went back to her graveyard or haunted castle or wherever it is that living skeletons hang out. Poor JT. Totally betrayed.

Minimum Wage, and Controversy, Reaches Distant U.S. Islands

Michelle Chen | Posted 05.25.2011

Michelle Chen

The 2007 increase in the minimum wage was a modest boost for America's low-wage labor force, but it's making a far bigger splash in the Pacific Ocean, on two remote outposts of the American empire.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Shudder Island

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

There really is no one left to root for playing Survivor. (It's not like Rupert has a chance of winning. Get real.) The only thing left to make one tune it in is to see the inevitable fall of Bulbous Baggins, aka, Russell The Hobbit on Crack.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Robbed!

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Rob described Tyson the Mormon Moron as having been "as dumb as a bag of rocks," although I think this was unnecessarily insulting to bags of rocks.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Hot Dogs and Bananas.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

After returning from Tribal Council, my beautiful James asked Colby "You want a hug?" and the idiot said: "No." Is he insane? First he turned down chocolate, now he's turned down a chocolate hug.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Russell in Failureland.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Jeff opened the big three hour finale and reunion show by reading my recaps aloud over clips, only he cut all the good jokes. Well, Colby remained, and he's still a joke.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: The Tin-Brained Woodman is Rusty.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

It's almost over. Just one little hour tonight, and then the big two-hour finale followed by live reunion show, which will hopefully be the last anyon...

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Wily Wankers and the Chocolate Factory

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Sadly, not every episode of Survivor can be as much fun as last week's dynamite combination of Voldepussy's crying jag and James dripping baby oil.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Never Wear Feathers in Your Hair.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

We opened this week with Voldetool (Ex-Coach Wade for any new readers), going into a ridiculous emotional tailspin because Sandra had dared to point out that he was a lazy, mouth-running, idiot.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Mud-Slinging.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

What? Survivor again? All I care about is how feral Claire turned into Rousseau, becoming Clouseau. Oh well, it's a dirty job, especially this week, b...

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Hi Y'all.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Samoa's war between the Likeables and the Insufferables continues. It may not be getting as much international attention the Olympics, but at least in Samoa, the contestants are stripped down.

Survivor: Heroes vs Villains: Sugar's Lumps

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Survivor is back for its 20th season. This time, they've promised to answer all our questions. And thanks to a judge who believes in good TV, we don't have Richard Hatch to put up with.

Survivor: Samoa: Shambling Towards Bethlehem.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Even more stomach-churning than watching Brett Two-Spears running his fingers through the Shambling One's abundant head fur, was watching Brett hit on Natalie by quoting the Bible at her at length.

Survivor: Samoa: Stormy Weather

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

Shambo on her disappointment: "I feel like I got hit by a train today." So that explains her hair! If you think she looks bad, you should see what's left of that train!

Survivor: Samoa: Macrame.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

As night fell on the remains of Tribe Zsa Zsa, realizing the merge was coming soon, Russell dipped into the Survivor cliche glossary for "When we get over there, dude, game on, the game starts."

VANUATU EARTHQUAKE: Tsunami Alert After 7.8 Quake

AP | RAY LILLEY | Posted 05.25.2011

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Three strong earthquakes rocked the South Pacific near the Vanuatu archipelago Thursday, generating a small tsunami ju...

Survivor: Samoa: The Silence of the Chickens

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

In the last Survivor episode, Shambles' plot to depose the Viper Queen had triumphed, thanks to a flip-vote by John, who avoided a random draw that might send any of them home. This week began Shambles' gleeful return to camp.

US seismologists report 6.0 earthquake near Samoa

AP | Posted 05.25.2011

WASHINGTON — An earthquake with magnitude 6.0 has struck in the Pacific near Samoa, the U.S. Geological Survey reports.

The government seismologists said the quake was at a depth of 6.2 miles and occurred just after 2 p.m. EDT.

Its epicenter was 165 miles northwest of Hihifo, Tonga, and 1,630 miles north northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.

Gerard Fryer, a geophysicist at the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, says there is no threat of a tsunami. He says the quake's magnitude did not exceed the threshold for a tsunami.

The USGS announcement did not mention whether a tsunami was expected. An earthquake and a following tsunami killed more than 180 people on Samoa, American Samoa and nearby islands on Sept. 29. That earthquake was at 8.3 magnitude.

Survivor: Samoa Finale: A Confederacy of Douches.

Tallulah Morehead | Posted 05.25.2011

Tallulah Morehead

You don't go on Survivor to test yourself against better players. You go on to win a million dollars! The point isn't playing against people who can beat you. The point is to obtain a big wad of cash!