NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

  Prior to World War II, Sumay was the second largest village of Guam and because of its location near Apra Harbor, was very economically important as a hub for the island in terms of communications and trade. Because of this status, the families with ties there had a great deal of pride in their village identity and community.   The Trans-Pacific Cable Company, which laid the first telegraph wire across the Pacific, set up its station in the village in 1903. Sumay was also the landing site for the China Clipper from Pan American Airways, which built a hotel there in 1935.    Most of the first bombs that fell on Guam in the Japanese attack on the island on December 8th, 1941 were dropped on Sumay because of its strategic importance. The US Marine Barracks and tanks from Standard Oil were both hit. Within days after the Japanese invasion, all residents were evicted.    The bombardment and subsequent re-invasion of the island by US forces in July 1944 almost ...

I wrote in my Marianas Variety column today about the importance of attending the recent public comment meetings on the military buildup because of the way it can provide a more textured understanding of the issue and why people might support it or protest it. Media reports will generally simplify things so that there are two or at most three sides to an issue, and it is no different with the military buildup. This is not only problematic because of the reduction in ways of seeing an issue, but also the representatives of different stances are reduced to caricatures. You are not introduced to the contradictions, the investments, the slips of the tongue, the rambling, the things that might help you understand more clearly that person's position. For those that need some updates on the military buildup debate, I've pasted some articles here for you to read and get informed. ****************** Last DSEIS meeting held Wednesday, 21 May 2014 03:00am BY JASMINE STOLE | V...