NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

"I mas baba na estao ti na chenglong (chatsaga') hao gi baba na guinife. I mas baba na estao, i estao ni' ti sina un eskapayi, nai chenglong hao gi i guinifen i otro." Tahdong na finayi no?

Gore Vidal, June 4, 2004 "I remember years ago, Time magazine, in one of its numerous attacks on me, on my first book of essays, which was heaven knows when, 30, 40 years ago, I refer to the American empire and things that we were doing that were not very good across the world, and I referred to the empire. And Time magazine dismissed me. It was an awful review. He's the sort of person that says that the United States has an empire. Well, we’ve got Guam, that's true. That's all we have got. I pointed out that we had troops and so on in over 1,000 other places around the world. That seems imperial to me, but there we are." http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=04/06/04/1353259 I plan on writing about this in an article I'm working on. Even amongst the "left" as its called, Guam isn't even a blip on the radar. Its still invisible in a sense, and not worth citing as an example of anything worth fighting for or needing to be fixed.

Gi i ma'pos na mes umayute' ham yan i nobia-hu. Desde 1998 humami, ya gof makkat este na dinespatta. Lao debi di bai sungon este, ya tutuhun fanespiha otro (nuebu). Yanggen gaiinteres hao nu umasodda' maolek na lahi kalang Guahu, email ha' yu', pat fanaligao yu' gi PFG, gi este na link. www.peoplefromguam.com/user.asp?id=979

I'm working on an article for a new Zine called "Salty" out of UC Riverside, I'm trying to piece together the place for indigenous rights in a so-called democracy. Where is the place for people who self-identify or are identified as indigenous within a supposedly "liberal" democratic collective? Their claim in that community is probably not based on residence or socialization only, but instead on a history which complicates the histories or fictions of the national community, why can there be no place for these people? Why is it that their claims get swallowed up by this ideal of everyone being equal or equally treated which can probably never even come close to being true? I welcome any suggestions or comments about this issue. mlbasquiat@hotmail.com

Bush or Kerry? Posted by Noam Chomsky at 11:15 AM We should not be caught up in the massive propaganda campaign to focus attention, laser-like, on quadrennial personalized extravaganzas as if that constitutes democratic politics. As I wrote in my one comment about this, a web post at Znet many months ago in response to repeated inquiries, we can’t ignore the extravaganzas, any more than we can ignore a hurricane, but it shouldn’t take much of our time and energy, and we should continue to work on far more important matters, creating the basis for a live, functioning democratic culture in which whoever happens to hold office will be compelled to respond to popular concerns and demands—and, some day, we may get to the stage where issues are permitted into the electoral arena and there are real choices of candidates. I have precisely emphasized [that] we should “not focus only on the individuals but on the underlying power interests that they represent,” and should be constant...

From the Nation Magazine ( http://www.thenation.com ) 16. The Bush Administration has assigned five times as many agents to investigate Cuban embargo violations as it has to track Osama bin Laden's and Saddam Hussein's money.Source: sfgate.com 19. Vice President Cheney told voters that unless they elect George Bush in November, "we'll get hit again" by terrorists.Source: Washington Post 24. The Bush Administration granted the 9/11 Commission $3 million to investigate the September 11 attacks and $50 million to the commission that investigated the Columbia space shuttle crash.Source: commondreams.org 36. Top Bush Administration officials accepted $127,600 in jewelry and other presents from the Saudi royal family in 2003, including diamond-and-sapphire jewelry valued at $95,500 for First Lady Laura Bush.Source: Seattle Times 40. The Bush Administration turned a $236 billion surplus into a $422 billion deficit.Sources: Fortune , dfw.com 52. The...

Hu diseha mohon na manmaomaolek ha' todus hamyo ni' manggaige giya Guahan. Hu taitai inipusi hamyo ni' i pakyo', lao sina' guaha madestrosa. Ai kalang mas sesso na mamatto i pakyo pa'go. Hafa kumekeilek-na i mindo? Tengga an taiguini (i eriya-ta) ma faisen, "kao guaha baban bida-ta, pat bidada-ta?" Hekkua' lai, lao an sigi ha' mamta i mamamaillan na pakyo siha, debi di ta espiha kao guaha?

Three Chamorros have died in Iraq so far, and while to anyone belonging in an ethnicity or race who's numbers reach the high hundreds of thousands or even millions this may not seem like much. But if you are to contrast this number with the fact that there are only about 200,000 Chamorros in this world, then to lose three in a senseless, useless war is a loss that I can't fully comprehend. Christopher Rivera Wesley died December 8 of last year. Michael Aguon Vega died March 20 of this year, and last week I learned that Jonathan Pangelinan Santos died on the 15th of October. Their lives, their deaths and the ways they are remembered publicly give us incredible insight into so many things which plague our culture, and threaten the very survival of the Chamorros as a distinct people. I feel compelled to write about this, even though what I will write might not make sense, or might not comfort anyone, or might just confuse people. Yet when confronted with...

Ai lana, mampos lalalu put este. Atan i numero, sigi ha' tumakhilo', mas ki 1,100 pa'go, yan tres gi ayu ni' Chamorro, yan siete gi todu ginnen Micronesia. Lao atan i respuesta ginnen i Chamorro put este na ginaddon. Kao manlalalu nu Uncle Sam put este? Kao mamlalalu nu Si Bush put este? Ahe', mantriste hunggan, ya siempre u fanggasaonaihon, lao kao para u ma kula i chinetton-ta (I US yan Guahan) put este? Pine'lo-ku ahe', yan na'ma'ase ayu. Kuantos na Chamorro debi di u fanmatai para ta tutuhun dumiskukuti na debi di ta tulaika i estao-ta pulitikat?

"Why bother to remember a past that cannot be made into a present." Un pidasun finayi, ni' nina'inspire yu' kada na ha'ani, gi todu i che'cho-hu yan chine'gue-ku.

"Life and Death are both marrionettes wandering the same table. Cut their strings and they are easily ignored." Hassuyi fan na'ya put este na idea. Kao sina ta gof komprende este gi i chi-na hinasson modern? Hinasso-ku ahe'. Guaha bula ni' i hinasson yan tiningo' modern, ni' ti ma hulat kumula pat umeksplika.

Just wanted to share with everyone the abstract for a paper I plan to write for a conference next year. Gof malago yu' kumula i estao i militat gi i ketturan Chamorro yan gi i hinasson Chamorro. Sa' hafa bula na Chamorro sigi ha' manaonao gi i setbisu? Ti sina put i kemissary ha', sa' atan siha, sesso manggofpatriotic lokkue, yan ma gof guaiya Amerika. Sa' hafa? Ti unu ineppe (repuesta), lao hu diseseha na maolek ha' yan nahong ha' an sigi ha' ta famaisen. "The Sacrifice of Army Specialist Christopher Rivera Wesley" Chamorros on Guam as Homo Sacer Soldiers." On December 8, 2003, Christopher Rivera Wesley a Chamorro from Guam was killed in Iraq. Four months later another Chamorro, Michael Aguon Vega also died. Despite the unequal status of Guam in relation to the United States, media reports and local discourse surrounding both deaths made little to no mention of Guam’s colonial status. When family members in Guam commented on the soldi...

According to Naomi Klein's latest article "Reparations in Reverse," Iraq has been paying reparations to the first world since 1990, for the destruction of Kuwait. While some of the money has gone to citizens in Kuwait who were hurt or whose property was damaged in the invasion, the majority of the money has gone to Western Corporations. Here's a few lucky corporations and how much their received: Halliburton ($18-million), Bechtel ($7-million), Mobil ($2.3-million), Shell ($1.6-million), Nestle ($2.6-million), Pepsi ($3.8-million), Philip Morris ($1.3-million), Sheraton ($11-million), Kentucky Fried Chicken ($321-thousand) and Toys R Us ($189,449). These payments are not attached to any destruction of their properties in Kuwait, but rather "loss of profits" as a result of the invasion. And despite the current chaos in Iraq, the reparations to the West are still being paid. $1.8 billion since Saddam was toppled last April. As if this wasn't bad e...

I'm planning on writing an article and giving a presentation on what the lives of these two soldiers and how their deaths in Iraq were discussed in order to better understand the Chamorro position today in relation to the United States and the military. I feel that in the way discourse was created around their deaths, and how no one made any public mention about the colonial status of Guam, or situated their service in the colonial history of Guam, we can see clearly how Chamorros join the military in order to become Americans, to achieve a sense of equality with the America that they are colonially cultured with. If anyone knew either of these two men and wants to tell me about them as people, or make comments about their deaths please comment here or you can email me at mlbasquiat@hotmail.com . Si Yu'us Ma'ase.

I just finished watching the last of the three presidential debates, and it still disturbs me as to why anyone thinks Bush is capable of anything other than memorizing cheesy lines and then delivering them badly. Both Kerry and Edwards have done a far better job in actually answering questions or answering criticisms. Bush and Cheney however, just divert attention. In the VP debate, nearly every lance Cheney threw, Edwards responded (sadly sometimes in convoluted ways, but nonetheless he dealt with them). However when Edwards would throw one of his own, Cheney would merely respond with some vague criticism having to do with records or leadership. Tonight Bush was particularly unable to answer questions. At least three times he answered questions about other topics with his spiel on education. On the topics which his record is dismal (other than terrorism) he can't even discuss them without resorting to bland generalities. Also he was unable to respond to any charges. Bush dis...

If the new film about John Kerry, "Up River" is playing in your area I highly recommend you watch it. I'm not saying this out of any love for John Kerry. Although I'll probably vote for him, his current political stands don't appeal to me, as there are too many uncomfortable similarities between him and Emperor Bush. However, the film "Up River" is not about the John Kerry we see today. It is instead about a John Kerry that existed more than thirty years ago. The film isn't really about John Kerry in my opinion, but he is the soul through which the events of that era, Vietnam and the subsequent protests against it are viewed. Through his actions and his statements, as well as the discussions created using Kerry as the context, we see the war in a visceral and almost painful new light, but also see the veterans who protested it in a very human and almost sobering way. For me the true value of the movie lies in its exploration of how these men we...

posted on the FANAHGUE'YAN board, without attribution. Ti guahu tumuge' 1) The Human Costs Keep Increasing On September 7 the death toll of US soldiers reached 1,000. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has acknowledged that the insurgency is likely to turn even more violent. While the American death toll made headlines across the United States, the mounting number of Iraqi deaths, at least ten times greater, gets scant attention. The US military refuses to monitor or even estimate the number of Iraqi civilian casualties. As Gen. Tommy Franks described the Pentagon's approach earlier in Afghanistan, "We don't do body counts." 2) Iraqis Aren't Better Off While the removal of the dictator Saddam was a welcome development for many Iraqis, the streets of Baghdad and other cities remain dangerous war zones. Clean water, electricity and even gasoline in this oil-rich country are all in even shorter supply than during the dark years of economic sanctions. Wom...

Ai lana... I came up with a logo and slogan for the slang phrase Oba Skoba. I knew that there already was a line out there for it, but I didn't think that anyone had come up with a t-shirt with "it ain't oba til its skoba" on it. Ai dimalas, sa' humalom yu' gi http://www.guamgifts.com , ya hafa guihi esta? Un franelan palao'an ni' gailogo ni' sumangan "it ain't oba til its skoba." Ai adai, pine'lo-ku na nuebu i fina'tinas-hu, lao ahe'. Sinembatgo, ya-hu ayu na sinangan.

Humanao yu' nigap-na para i Puenggen Minagof na finanu'i. Bula guihi na hu gosa, yan put ayu malulok yu', lao bula lokkue ni' muna'desganao yu'. Nai hu atan i manachaamko'-hu na Chamorro siha pa'go, taya' interes-niha mismo nu dandan Chamorro. Ya nai hu sangan este "dandan Chamorro" ti hu kekekolat un kosas pat un moda, bula na klasin dandan sina dandan Chamorro, ya achokka' mandiferentes i espiritu, i minengmong Chamorro. Yanggen un atan i meggaina na mandanderu siha pa'go, kalang ma chuchule' i fotman Ingles (Reggae, Pop, Rock) ya ma hehemmot pat ma fongfongfong halom i modan Chamorro. Humuyongna na I'Ingles ha' i kanta, lao mapula' gi otro na fino'. Yanggen malago hit mama'tinas dandan Chamorro, ni' mismo Chamorro, yan rumepresensenta i kottura-ta, i hinasso-ta siha, yan i estao-ta gi hilo' tano, debi di ta chule' ayu na fotman sanhiyong yan tulaika gui'. Mungga pula' ha', tulaika y...

Another fantastic song from Mr. J.D. Crutch. about a man who is singing of his love for a woman who was once in love with him. Now she is with another and the bells of the chapel are ringing for their marriage, but the singer wishes they were ringing for him instead. Ai sesso gof fotte i kanta-na Si Mr. Crutch. Ma na'laolao i kerason-hu, sa' nao'ao yan annok i siniente-na gi i besa-na i kakanta. Madandan I Kampana By J.D. Crutch Manhatsa yu sadi’gani gi katsada Mamahan yu aniyun umasagua Para bai pega neni gi kalulot-mu Lao un diroga neni i kontrata-ta Madandan i kampana gi kapiya Kalan mohon para hita neni na dos Maisa yan tristi-u gi asun-hu Sa’ esta hao guinaiyaku mapos Madandan i kampana gi kapiya Ma besti man gatbo na flores Umitde i pinikkat-mu hulo’ gi attat Lao guahu gi un banda tumatanges Madandan i kampana gi kapiya Kalan mohon para hita neni na dos Maisa yan tristi-u gi asun-hu Sa’ esta hao guinaiyaku mapos Madandan i kampana g...

One good analysis of the current shape of global powers of control and subjugation is by Michael Hardt and Tony Negri titled Empire. I really think anyone wanting to understand the emergence of organizations such as the World Bank or the World Trade Organization and why they possess so much power, or why theories such as just war are returning to regular discussions, should read this book for some insight. Empire, by Antonio Negri and Michael Hardt, you can find it on Amazon.com and Barnes and Nobles.com.

Kao un hongge este na dos? Pumalakse todu tiempo. Lao atan Si Cheney, mas atdet iyo-na, sa' kada Si Edwards ha tacha gui', sumuhayi Si Cheney, tumayok yan sumuhayi. Si Cheney chumaka' i record bobota Si Kerry. Ineppe-na Si Edwards, parehu iyo-mu, ya bula lokkue ni' baba hun gi i record bobota-mu. Lao hafa repuesta-na Si Cheney nu i tinacha-na Si Edwards? Sumuhayi, ilek-na baba ha', hokkok ha' i record-na Si Kerry. Hokkok ha'. Ai na'ma'ase, ga'na-ku Si Ralph Nader yan Peter Camejo kinu este siha na mampolitikat. Manaklalu todu, sa' ekungok Si Kerry yan Si Bush, "bai hu puno' i terrorists siha. Bai hu peska, kahat yan puno' todu siha antes di sina ma hatme hit." Ai na'ma'ase, sa' atan Iraq pa'go, sigun i mediku siha gi i espitat Iraqi, pinat maninnosensia ni' manmamatai. Esta annok na ya-na Si Bush este na gera, sa' Guiya tumutuhun i dinimalas. Lao ya-na Si Kerry lokkue na ta konsigi mo'na gi ...

In Vietnam, Guam had one of the highest casualty rates in the United States and its colonies. Today we find Guam and Micronesia as having the highest rate, according to the PDN 1 death for every 74,000, which is nearly four times higher than the rest of the country. The PDN story on this shocking, but expected fact. The article which could be useful and instructive is instead a whitewash of the basic issues involved, in that the people who are dying in Iraq from these areas share similar colonial and neo-colonial legacies, and the article doesn't even approach them. Chamorros still dying without equality, the Micronesian islands supposedly independent, but thousands of young people are pulled into the US military. As usual, big picture questions aren't the PDN's specialty, its only when it comes to issues of military strategic needs and the philosophy of private power and privatization that suddenly the big picture of anything is worth discussing. Check out the Oct...

An article posted on our message board, I just sent out the latest zine this evening, lao I forgot to include this in it, I'll make sure it goes in the next one though. Despensa che'lu, usuni fan, sa' i passion-mu gof likidu yan hassan gi i manachaamko'-mu siha. CHAMORUS HAVE FIRST CHOICE Written By: Brandon Cruz *Kaluko671* Age:16 Resident of Dededo, Guahan The answer about having the Self-Determination Plebiscite this year should be considered. As a native and a descendant of the first inhabitants of this island "I Taotao Tano," I urgly reccomend that the vote takes place this year. Our people have been waiting for decades to vote on Independance, Free Association, Commonwealth, or Statehood. Our people have gone depressed, hopeless, and half of them have given up because of the U.S. denying our rights to choose our Self-Determination. When will our people have the right? It should be now. Many of the countries that have taken over us, have po...

Another beautiful song from J.D. Crutch. This one titled, "langhet i asagua-hu," in which the singer describes how much he loves his wife, comparing her to heaven. It is a beautiful song, which loses some of its power when its translated into English, which is why I'm only putting it in Chamorro. For those who can't speak it or read it, sorry. Guiya Yu’ na la’la’la’ Tai langli guinaiyaña Guiya pulan yan atdao I palaoan ni hu guaiya Langet i palaoan-hu Langet i asaguahu Ha beste yu siha minaolek Yan guaha mas para guahu Gigon manana ya hu li’e gue Hu hasso langet yan I magahit Guiya solo linala’hu Langet-hu I asaguahu Langet i palaoan-hu Langet i asaguahu Ya guaho ha’ malagoña Taya’ lokkue mas ki guiya Langet i guinaiya ña Langet i pinacha ña Ya mentras ha’ humahami Langet ai sadi’gani Gigon manana ya hu li’e gue Hu hasso langet yan I magahit Guiya solo linala’hu Langet-hu I asaguahu Langet i palaoan-hu Langet i asaguahu Ya guah...

In preparation for the Chamorro concert coming up next week, just thought I'd post lyrics this week. Chamorro songs are so beautiful. If you're not Chamorro then you might not think so, but for those of us who are Chamorro and who can understand Chamorro, then there is nothing quite like listening to a truly powerful and emotional song in the Chamorro language. JD Crutch was the perfect example of how powerful and inspiring Chamorro songs could be. He inspired a generation of not just Chamorros but non-Chamorros on Guam as well. I am always surprised how many non-Chamorros on Guam know his songs such as "apu magi" or "bente unu yu' gi presu." Here are the lyrics to one of his most touching songs, "asagua-hu." Which is a man singing about how much he loves his wife, and how hard she works, and she one day she's gone and the husband tells God to take good care of her. Kayos yan amko i dos kanaiña I checho'na meggai taya diskansa...

Who won the debate? From what I've read John Kerry. Although personally I don't support what he has become, I am glad that he was able to bitchslap the Android who would be president a couple times tonight. The mainstream media is doing their best to ensure that the debate is interpretted as a draw, I guess the idea of Bush as a moron and the false echo effect of John Kerry flip flopping cancel each other out, leaving the poor media so confused and befuddled as to who is more presidential looking or Manichean enough to sound bite and spit out each evening. Here is the best article I've found so far about the debates, clearly covering blow by blow how Kerry won, beating Bush into several corners, and making him look less like a idiot president and more like the class moron, who gets some revengeful satisfaction by making faces while other people talk. Atan fan. http://www.antiwar.com/justin/?articleid=3687

FYI FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2004 Mike Bergman CB04-175 Public Information Office (301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax) (301) 457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov > Economic Census Retail Trade, Tourism Pace Guam's Economy The retail trade sector of Guam's economy recorded the most sales and receipts for goods and services ($1.3 billion) of all industries covered in the 2002 Economic Census, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today. The report, 2002 Economic Census of Island Areas: Guam [PDF], said tourism-related industries also comprised a large portion of Guam's economy: accommodation and food-service businesses employed the most people (11,199), had the largest annual payroll ($169 million) and collected $630 million in receipts. Other highlights: ? Overall, 2,926 Guamanian businesses were covered in the c...