NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Victoria Leon Guerrero, Leevin Camacho and myself will be speaking at a teach-in at the University of Guam this Thursday on the importance of protecting the historic Pagat region here on Guam, which if the Department of Defense gets is way, will have five live-fire training ranges built on the bluff above it. The teach-in is being organized by UOG's F.I.T.E. Club a student organization which stands for Free Inquiry Towards Enlightenment. The poster for the meeting is below. Yanggen sina hao gi este mamaila na Thursday, put fabot fatto. 5:30 pm, Room 306 in the HSS Building at UOG. ************************

Guam is a colony. Anyone who says otherwise simply doesn't want to confront the truth. One of the mistakes that people often conveniently make when discussing the veracity of Guam's contemporary colonial status is making the assumption that in order to call something colonial, it must be the worst and most horrible thing in the world. Make no mistake, Guam is a colony and it is an unjust and immoral fact, but it is not the worst place in the world because of it. But interestingly enough so many people attempt to argue that Guam isn't a colony, just because it it's political status today isn't that bad. They argue that because it's better than before or because it's not as bad as forms of colonialism from time's past, you can't call it a colony. Part of the problem with this is the simplicity through which people are arguing for something. Simplicity and plain-spokenness is one of the easiest ways to appear to be speaking the truth or speaking of ...

(featured in picture: fearsome hikers Jon Glaser, Nate Denight and Ken Kuper, manabak siha gi i saddok Cetti) Earlier today we finished our last hike of We Are Guahan's second batch of Heritage Hikes. I lead and organized with Leevin Camacho our first round last November, which was a huge success with around 150 attending our three hikes. This time around we got 130 for hikes at Tumon Bay, Pagat and Cetti and Sella Bays. Gof yafai yu' pa'go. I hike-mami ginnen Cetti asta Sella gof makkat pa'go. Manmamokkat ham noskuantos na miyas gi un okso', un saddok yan i kanton tasi. Tinaka' sais oras gi todu. Daggau yu' didide', maka'guas yu' meggai gi i kannai-hu, yan machefchef i tomo' addeng-hu. Gigon na matto yu' gi i gima'-hu lumalango yu' gi i katre, ya mumaigo' yu' tres oras. Achokka' mamumuti yu' pa'go, gof magof hu put i chine'guen-mami gi este na hikes, ya esta listo yu' para bei in fanche'gue i...

Since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan two weeks ago, Guam has been worried about the possibility of nuclear radiation getting into Guam from either the water or from cargo from Japan. People are even concerned about swimming in the water in Tumon or on the western side of the island out of fear that the water might be contaminated. Although almost everyone seems to say that Guam will most likely not be affected by the reactor problems in Fukushima, the issue is still an important once because it strikes at the core of whether or not nuclear energy can be considered a "safe" or "clean" technology. The fact that Japan developed nuclear power has always been somewhat controversial, because of how how radiation and nuclear weapons were used against them in World War II. But Japanese governments for decades have always been very clear that nuclear power was safe and clean and that there was nothing to worry about. That rhetoric has been sorely tested in the past tw...

From Close the Base : More than a week after the country’s worst natural disaster in a hundred years, the Japanese government has not been able to resolve a long-predicted nuclear catastrophe. Millions of people are living without running water or power in temperatures that fall below freezing at night. Half a million homes are without power in northern Japan and 2.5 million have no access to water. Food is critically short and bottled water is running low in many cities. Gasoline is scarce and homes are running out of kerosene to power heaters. Yet, Tokyo is still using monetary and military construction labor resources to forcibly build a U.S. mega-base at Henoko, an environmentally sensitive coastal area in northern Okinawa, despite the prefecture’s unanimous democratic opposition. The base’s ostensible purpose to protect Japan from an attack from North Korea. However the long-feared nuclear attack on Japan has already come—accidentally, but predictably from within. The resulti...

(This image comes from Guam Zombie , click the link to see more). For the past week everyone, their grandmother, second cousin and achakma' have been asking me to weigh in on the debate over Chamorro vs. Guamanian. I ended up writing a very quick column for the Marianas Variety about the issue. I spent some time in one of my classes discussing it and ended up emailing back and forth with many people who feel angry and confused about the issue. Part of the anger and confusion was from Chamorros who feel like they are being erased in the rhetoric of the new administration on Guam which loves using the term Guamanian to refer to everyone on Guam, including Chamorros, basically saying that they are a group just like any others on Guam. The other anger and confusion was from young Chamorros and non-Chamorros who like using the term Guamanian and don't like being told that it is wrong to use it. For them, the term doesn't erase Chamorros, but is just something meant to refer ...

From the first time I saw the preview for the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. The World I knew that I would like it. All the random jokes, the tone, the look of it, seemed built for someone of my generation. It was an interesting blend of geekiness and coolness, meant to be appeal to nerds, pseudo-nerds, hipsters and other assorted sorts of subcultural wallflowers. I found myself the first time I watched it, constantly poring through the dialogue, the sounds, the music, the background, the t-shirt art, for all the friendly fan service that I knew was coming. Over the past few days I have ended up watching Scott Pilgrim vs. The World several more times. My daughter Sumahi loves the movie and wants to watch it not just everyday, but a couple times each day. She doesn't watch it intensely, but wants it playing in the background and at certain moments she'll turn her attention that way and check it out. Sometimes commenting on what she sees, sometimes cheering a character on. She likes Sc...

When I traveled to Japan last year for the 2010 World Conference Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs it was at the invitation of the organization Gensuikyo, who were the lead in organizing the entire multiday and multicity event. They did an excellent job about organizing what must have been a logistical nightmare, but have had plenty of experience since they have been putting together these events for more than 30 years. I received an email from Gensuikyo earlier today, thanking people from around the world (in particular in the anti-nuclear community) for their emails and offers of support in the past week. I thought I'd share it below: ***************** Dear friends, Thank you very much for your warm messages and support to us. Your messages are of great encouragement to us and all victims of the disaster. We have translated your messages into Japanese and passed them on to the victims and all Japanese people. The damage caused by earthquakes and subsequent tsunami is ...

I traveled to South Korea last year on a research and solidarity trip and I hope to travel back there in the next year or so. Here are four of the silly and serious reasons why I would like to visit there again: 1. When I was in South Korea, I saw many similarities in history and struggle with Guam. South Korea, like Guam is a flashpoint for US military aspirations in the Asia-Pacific region. It plays a key role in how the US is intending to contain Asia, most importantly China, and so as someone who is interested in peace and not war in this part of the world, I feel it is important to learn more about the other sites of US militarization. 2. I had known about South Korea being a central front in the war for spreading the glories of esports prior to traveling there, but while I was there I took on a new appreciation for it. While sitting in my hostel room in Seoul, and surfing through the few channels that I could watch and understand what was happening, one of them regularly f...