NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Here is a statement originally issued on January 7, 2014, signed by 29 international scholars, peace advocates and artists . Below the statement are the list of the 103 signatories as of January 28, 2014, and the press release issued on that day with the contact information of the three organizers of the petition.  The signatories include filmmakers Oliver Stone and Michael Moore, linguist Noam Chomsky, and Nobel Peace laureate Mairead Maguire. Please join them by signing this petition and help bring justice to Okinawa PHOTO:Filmmaker Oliver Stone visits elders at Henoko sit-in tent, August 2013 (Photo by Ryukyu Shimpo 琉球新報社提供) 日本語での署名は こちら STATEMENT   We oppose construction of a new US military base within Okinawa, and support the people of Okinawa in their struggle for peace, dignity, human rights and protection of the environment We the undersigned oppose the deal made at the end of 2013 between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Governor of Okinaw...

Pete Seeger, the American folk singer known for songs such as "If I Had a Hammer," "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" and popularizing the protest song "We Shall Overcome" died recently. Below is an article from the Huffington Post about his legacy. Directly below is a song that he wrote and dedicated to the victims of the A-bomb attack at Hiroshima. We come and stand at every door But none can hear my silent tread I knock and yet remain unseen For I am dead, for I am dead. I’m only seven, although I died In Hiroshima long ago. I’m seven now, as I was then. When children die, they do not grow. My hair was scorched by swirling flame; My eyes grew dim, my eyes grew blind. Death came and turned my bones to dust, And that was scattered by the wind. I need no fruit, I need no rice. I need no sweets, not even bread; I ask for nothing for myself, For I am dead, for I am dead. All that I ask is that for peace You fight today, you fight today....

The groups Our Islands Are Sacred and Hinasso organized a wonderful event today in order to celebrate the Chamorro new year. Although Guam today uses the 12 month calendar, the Ancient Chamorro calendar was based on 13 months because of the 13 moons of the year. This period of the year is Tumaiguini, the first month of the year meaning "to become like this." The event is Lukao Fuha or a procession to Fouha Rock in Fouha Bay. Fouha Bay was a very sacred place in Ancient times for Chamorros. It was so sacred that the Spanish accounts even recognize its religious significance. This is important because the priests were committed to doing away with most of the religion of Ancient Chamorros and finding ways to subvert it and make it become subordinate to the new Catholic faith. But Fouha Bay in Umatac was noted for being a place where Chamorros from villages around the entire island would travel to hold a ceremony or gathering to honor Fu'una and Puntan, who according to t...

Bill Maher on Masturbation and National Security The comedian has just launched the twelfth season of  Real Time  and is about to hit the road for a tour of stand-up dates in red states. Scott Stossel Jan 24 2014, 7:00 AM ET 1 in Share Phil McCarten/Reuters As his HBO show Real Time begins its twelfth season with higher ratings than ever—4.1 million viewers, high for a premium-cable talk show—the iconoclastic comedian and political commentator Bill Maher spoke to The Atlantic about why he likes doing comedy shows in red states, how his show is different from Jon Stewart's, why the God of the Old Testament is "the most psychopathic character in fiction," and why he believes most opposition to President Obama is racist. Let me start by asking the question you're probably most sick of answering, so we can get it out of the way. The infamous episode of your ABC show Politically Incorrect , on September...

Living by the Light of the Moon by Lacee Martinez GUAM PDN 1/24/14 Beyond illuminating the night sky, the moon synchronizes the life cycles of the flora and fauna of the islands and ocean. Guam's ancient seafaring people also relied on moon phases to guide their lives, says John Calvo, a local fishing advocate. "Modern Chamorro traditions and cultural values have evolved from these practices that encourage living in respect and harmony with the island environment," he says. Celebrate the continuing connection between life and the moon on Sunday at the 6th annual Gupot Fanha'aniyan Pulan CHamoru, or the Chamorro Lunar Calendar Festival. The Guam Fishermen's Cooperative Association, with support of various agencies and groups, will hold a celebration at the cooperative's grounds beside the Chamorro Village and Greg D. Perez Marina in Hagåtña on Sunday. Expect a day packed with cultural activities, local crafts, fruits and vegetab...

Vicente Garrido Blaz passed away recently. Although he spent most of his life outside of Guam he was for the past few decades a major force in Chamorro history and the telling of the Chamorro story. For so many the history of Chamorros has been intimately linked with the US military, first as Guam was their colony, later a battleground and now as a strategic military location. Chamorros were used to being objects, fodder, extras in the background in that story. Someone like Ben Blaz changed the way that story was told because it helped to form the Chamorro as a potential subject, someone who had reached a certain pinnacle within that infrastructure that always dictated the meaning of Guam. Now this is still tokenism. This does not mean that Chamorros achieved an ability to see themselves in a decolonized way, but within a colonized framework Blaz through his service as a soldier and his service in Congress was empowering. This is one that that people often miss when the...

Don't forget that this Sunday at the Fishermen's Coop there will be the Gupot Fanha'aniyan Pulan Chamorro or Chamorro Lunar Calendar Festival. There will be arts, crafts and food. Here's an interview with John Calvo who helps organize it each year.

One poem that had a big impact on my while I was in graduate school and cobbling together the first generations of the critical consciousness that I sport today was "Thieves" by Anne Perez Hattori. I took several courses with Anne when I was an undergrad and graduate student at UOG. She was by far the best professor I had, and the one who was most direct in terms of cutting through layers of colonial bullshit and ignorance when dealing with Guam and Chamorro history. When Anne speaks publicly, whether in an interview or on a panel she always has a way of taking something academic and shifting it to be something that a non-academic can engage with and feel that they should engage with. That is the key to someone who wants their work to have an impact beyond just academia. It is not about creating something that people will just understand, but about creating something that people will feel they need to respond to. This is only true if you accept the Marxist axiom about the n...

This is the of Cetti Bay from the river. Cetti Bay and Sella Bay are both spots in Southern Guam that are favorites for people with boats and hikers to visit. People known them as beautiful secluded places. In truth their history goes much deeper than that. Sella in particular was notorious in the 1970s as a site of protest against US militarization. The US Navy had wanted to build an ammuniation wharf there. Chamorro rights activists, Senators and environmentalists came out to protest this and were able in delaying the process so much the Navy eventually gave up. Before there was Pagat or even Pott's Junction, there was Sella Bay. But even beyond this, if we look at these two villages in ancient times, we can see a tragic lesson they embody. In ancient times these bays were actually villages. Cetti was known as Atte and Sella was known as Sidya. They were on different sides of the Chamorro Spanish Wars. Sidya sided with the Spanish, while Atte sided with rebel Chamorros. A...

Sesso mangguife yu' put North Korea. Ti parehu este na klasin guinife yan i guinife-hu siha put i otro tano' taiguhi iya Okinawa yan iya Pagan. Para ayu na tano' siha yan ayu na guinife siha, hu guiguife siha put i ginefpago yan taimanu na debi di ta prutehi ayu na lugat kontra fina'militat. Gi i guinife-hu siha hu keketachuyi pat ayuda i taotao guihi gi un mimo ni chumilong yan iyo-ku pat iyo-ta guini giya Guahan. Lao sahnge i guinife-hu put North Korea. Gi i guinife-hu siha kalang puma'ya'ya gi hilo' i tano'. Hu ripapara todu gi oriya-hu, lao ti hu gogof komprende hafa hu li'e'e'. Tano' estrana este. Na'aburidu este na tano', ya gi guinife-hu siha ti hu hulat muna'klaru hafa este na lugat. Sumasaga' yu' giya Guahan. Fihu hiningok-hu put North Korea, lao sesso nina'manman yu' ni taimanu to gof chumilong i tiningo'-hu put Guiya yan i hiningok-hu put Guiya. Kada simana, kalang kada diha hu hungok...