NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

The image is from Suicide Cliff in Tinian, where a collection of memorials for those who died in World War II can be found.  The text below is the English translation of a poem written by Rinko Sagara, a 14 year old student from Urasoe in Okinawa. She recited it earlier this year at an event meant to remember the victims of the Battle of Okinawa in World War II. It's title is "Ikiru."  ******************** I am living. Standing on the earth transmitting the mantle's heat, My body embraced by a pleasant, humid wind, With the scent of grass in my nostrils, My ears tuned to the distant sound of the surf. I am now living How beautiful this island where I now live is. The sparking blue sea, The shining waves releasing spray as they hit the rocks, The bleating of goats, The babbling of brooks, Small paths leading through the fields, Mountains bursting with green colors, The gentle tunes of the sanshin (three-stringed traditional instrumen

I gave several talks while in Okinawa recently. Below is the text for one of them. I was asked to address the topic of Japan's sovereignty. There were several possible ways to address this question. First and foremost, is Japan even a truly sovereign country? With so many US bases there can they ever truly be sovereign? In the case of Okinawa, is it truly sovereign Japanese territory with so many American forces there? Whose interests are truly dominant? What happens if the interests of the US and Japan diverge? Furthermore there is the question of what type of government a sovereign Japan should have? Should it continue to subordinate to the United States? Should it assert its own interests? For example if the US is pushing for war and Japan wants peace, how well can Japan assert its own sovereign interests when the US can still use its bases as it sees fit? I decided to address the question of Japanese sovereignty with a focus on Okinawa. Is Okinawa just like any other part o

Meggai dimasiao na spoilers gi este na post!!! Last year I read The Hunger Games trilogy and I greatly enjoyed the books and was ultimately irritated at them. I am never someone to say that time was wasted with reading or watching something that is terrible. I am proud to say that I have only ever walked out of one movie and that wasn't my choice. It was The Tuxedo starring Jackie Chan and it was because the people I was watching it with were appalled at how stupid it was and wanted to leave. I pouted since I hate walking out of movies, but ultimately I was riding with them and had to leave. I am notorious for being able to find some value in almost any ridiculous thing. Terrible movies hold interesting political and critical insights. Terrible books hold a similar empowering analytical social value. I remember a friend asking me if Tron: Legacy was a good movie. I said with a smile, yes it was, I would definitely recommend it. My friend and his girlfriend ended up watching i

Published on Thursday, March 22, 2012 by Common Dreams War Crimes and the Mythology of 'Bad Apples' by Robert C. Koehler So it turns out that mass-murder suspect Robert Bales once used a bad word in a Facebook conversation. This is one of the more bizarre details of his life that has come breathlessly to light in the media, along with his big smile, arrest record and disastrous financial dealings. The word was “hadji” (misspelled “hagi”), which is the racial slur of choice among U.S. troops to denigrate Iraqis; and stories where I have read about his use of it fixate on it judgmentally, as though to suggest it might explain something: the tiny flaw that reveals a propensity for massacring children. Something had to be wrong with him, right? As always, the mainstream media’s unquestioning assumption is that the atrocity is the work of an individual nut . . . a flawed patriot, a bad apple. O

It is always an interesting experience when Israel does something horrific to Palestinians. My usual imagined political allies in the American landscape ends up being on the opposite side of this issue. I follow liberal-Democratic American politics, the way someone enthusiastically supports a powerful sports team as opposed to an underdog, because they secretly fear that their side will never win. So I'm not someone who disengages from those things, or who only wants to be involved in an issue if its sufficiently radical enough or subversive enough. This side of the American political discourse is interesting to feel a part of, to watch, observe and engage in, but whenever something happens over Israel, I am reminded that it is not truly my home. That while I may cheer for that side in the finals, my heart is always actually with some smaller team, which less people support or understand how anyone could support. It was truly fascinating to watch, after months of the Israeli gover