NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Bolivia: 'For a lasting solution to the climate crisis we must destroy capitalism" EurActiv.fr by Cécile Barbière translated by Samuel White 14 Oct 2015 - 08:22 Bolivia's national contribution to the COP 21 describes capitalism as "a system of death" that has to be destroyed to protect humanity and Mother Earth. EurActiv France reports . The Bolivian government's slightly late national contribution to the COP 21 contains many radical proposals for safeguarding the future health of the planet, accompanied by the argument that capitalism is responsible for "consumerism, warmongering and [...] the destruction of Mother Earth". Some 122 countries have now shared their national contributions to the international climate conference in Paris, where countries will attempt to reach an agreement that will limit the global temperature rise to +2°C above pre-industrial ti

There are so many interesting things when traveling to different parts of the world. Environments and landscapes change. Languages and cultures change. The sense of time can feel different. The referents that we use to pin down meaning, to create social and cognitive maps shift. It can be disorientating in a very fundamental sense. You rely on certain things to give a sense of stability. Certain things to be understood by those around you. When those shift it can be bewildering.  One thing that I've found most interesting from the two UN regional seminars that I've attended, both in Latin America, is the way the pantheon of historical referents shifts. In a Guam context, there are certain figures that can be safely and comfortably referred to and provide a stable sense of communal meaning. Magellan, Yokoi, Hurao, Kepuha, San Vitores, the Archbishop, various Governors, maybe some MMA fighter or a Chamorro musician. People may debate their legacy, their social value or pulsi

Colonialism isn't supposed to exist anymore, which is why it is intriguing every time I hear someone use it and its imagery in order to make their point today. People who are trapped in relationships call them colonial. People who feel exploited name it colonial. People who feel oppressed refer to it as colonial. I have even heard it used in positive senses, as in moving into a place and changing the way it operates, for the better, as being colonial.  The colonial mention of the day comes from a group of Latin American leaders from countries who have long resisted United States hegemony in the region. The United States is trying to play is very su'anu with regards to the Edward Snowden scandal. They want to pretend like its nothing, like he's lint you just brush off your shoulder. It is no big deal. But at the same time they are applying very real pressure throughout the world in order to punish him and take away his options. The issue is not Snowden himself of cour

A 2007 letter from Bolivian President Evo Morales to the member representatives of the United Nations on the issue of the environment. Sister and brother Presidents and Heads of States of the United Nations: The world is suffering from a fever due to climate change, and the disease is the capitalist development model. Whilst over 10,000 years the variation in carbon dioxide (CO2) levels on the planet was approximately 10%, during the last 200 years of industrial development, carbon emissions have increased by 30%. Since 1860, Europe and North America have contributed 70% of the emissions of CO2. 2005 was the hottest year in the last one thousand years on this planet. Different investigations have demonstrated that out of the 40,170 living species that have been studied, 16,119 are in danger of extinction. One out of eight birds could disappear forever. One out of four mammals is under threat. One out of every three reptiles could cease to exist. Eight out of ten crustaceans and thre

Published on Monday, June 16, 2008 by The Guardian/UK 42 Days? Try 18 Months This European targeting of illegal immigrants is hypocritical, draconian and undiplomatic by Evo Morales Until the end of the second world war Europe was a continent of emigrants. Millions left for the Americas: some to colonise, others to escape hunger, financial crises, persecution, ethnic cleansing, war or totalitarian governments. European citizens arrived in Latin and North America en masse, without visas or conditions imposed on them by the authorities. They were simply welcomed, and continue to be in Latin America. They came to exploit the natural wealth and to transfer it to Europe, with a high cost for the native population. Yet the people, property and rights of the migrants were always respected. Contrast the European “return directive”, to be voted on in the European parliament this week. It imposes harsh terms for detention and deportation of undocumented immigrants, regardless of the time the

********************* Published on Monday, October 1, 2007 by CommonDreams.org Bolivia’s Evo Morales Wins Hearts and Minds in US by Deborah James and Medea Benjamin While Iranian President Ahmedinejad stole the headlines during the United Nations meeting last week in New York, Bolivia’s President Evo Morales - a humble coca farmer, former llama herder and union organizer - stole the hearts of the American people. At public events and media appearances, Bolivia’s first-ever indigenous president reached out to the American people to dialogue directly on issues of democracy, environmental sustainability, and social and economic justice. Morales appeared at a public event packed with representatives of New York’s Latino, labor, and other communities, speaking for 90 minutes - without notes - about how he came to power, and about his government’s efforts to de-colonize the nation, the poorest in South America. At first, he said, community organizations did not want to enter the cesspo