NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Yanggen sina bumota hao giya Guahan, mungga maleffa na agupa' botasion espesiat! If you are registered to vote on Guam, don't forget to vote tomorrow! Agupa i taotao Guahan para u ma ayek hayi u tinahgue Si Matt Rector gi i Leyeslaturan Guahan. Tomorrow the people of Guam, will chose who will take the seat of Matt Rector in the Guam Legislature. Ga'o-ku na gaigaige ha' Si Rector guihi, lao taya' guaha. I would prefer if Rector was still in the Legislature, but its okay. Gi entre i manmalalago pa'go unu pat dos na maolek na gayu lokkue'. Amongst the current candidates there are one or two who are great candidates. Ya para i estudiante-ku siha, hasso nai na sina manrisibi hao "extra credit" yanggen un prueba yu' na mambota hao.

The other day I was at yet another meeting of a group of concerned people of Guam, who were looking to collaborate in some way to respond to or counter the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed military buildup of Guam. We were discussing how we could best get out critical information about certain sites which will be drastically affected and possibly even cut off from public access with the proposed construction the military is planning. Certain areas which are favorites of hikers, most importantly the area around Liyang Pågat , or Pågat Caves, which is also the site of some incredible, above-ground Ancient Chamorro artifacts, could be cut off from the island in order to make way for a live-fire training range for Marines. Mount Lamlam, which is not only the highest point on the island, but the site of an annual hike for those carrying crosses to the peak in honor of Catholic Easter, could be restricted as well to make way for jungle training in nearby areas. During t

Although I've spoken about it to some people, I haven't formally weighed in yet on the current Senator Matt Rector scandal (as opposed to all the others the media has attributed to him this year). I'm working on writing up my response to it, but with teaching, parenting and helping take care of my grandfather who was recently released from the hospital, I might not get to it for a few days. Nonetheless I am dying to respond, because the issues at stake in this scandal are not so much about Matt Rector himself, but about the politics and worldview he is pushing for and the reforming of Guam's economy that he is working to bring to Guam, that Guam should take seriously. Finally in reference to the title and the post I've pasted below, this is also an issue about alternative media, something Guam is desperately in need of. But I did want to say a few things though while I'm at my computer and my blogger account is open. If you scan over the news coverage of Senat

After months of waiting, the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the much talked about, less known about, military buildup of Guam is almost here. Certain GovGuam and Federal officials are already peeks at it, or are being given presentations on it. I haven't heard much about it from the Governor's Office and very little from the Feds whom I know have received parts of it. But, today after a Joint Guam Program Office briefing of the Guam Legislature, its apparent that there will be plenty to worry or complain about. The KUAM News article I'm pasting below discusses the water issue, and the possibility of the United States military digging their own wells into Guam's aquafier. This is a very serious issues, but one which hasn't received much attention, especially since the problems that GovGuam had with the Navy's control over water at Fena have quieted down. A commentor on the Guam Pacific Daily News website, recently said something which was gof dongkal

The media on Guam seems obsessed with the conflict of interest represented by Matt Rector being both a Senator in the Legislature and the President of the Guam Federation of Teachers . I don't see anything inherently wrong with this inquiry, it is something which can be questioned and should be looked at, but I think its almost hysterical how narrow or selective the idea of "conflict of interest" is in this case, (and the way it is usually conceived of). In any community, the ideological glue that holds it together will always mark the interests of some as being a conflict or something which will taint the governance of said community, whereas a myriad of other equally or more dangerous interests will go unnoticed, or worse yet, be seen as essential or positive. So in this case, the idea that a Senator is the President of a labor union on Guam becomes the ultimate sin, whereas the fact that various businessmen on island have repeatedly obstructed legislation or passed l

I don't know much about Twitter yet. I've heard about it, and I hear jokes about it all the time, and I know that Matt Rector uses it, but other than that, taya' nai hu usa. A recent story on Cricinfo.com , where I get pretty much all my cricket related information however caught my eye and made me for the first time consider getting a Twitter account and follow the random thoughts of people who are bored in meetings, sitting in the bathroom, organizing protests, or just starved for attention. One of the openers for the Australian cricket Test team lost his spot in the XI for this year's Ashes , after some poor starts. The loss of his spot was made known to the rest of the world via Twitter. Put fin hu komprende sa' hafa meggai ya-niha este. Anggen hinassosso-mu na taiga'chong hao, pat hinassosso-mu na taibali i hinallom-mu siha, estague taimanu sina un na'huyong, ya na'mahungok pat na'mataitai i chinathinasso, i minagof gi lina'la'-mu!