NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

Guam will elect a new non-voting delegate this year and there will also be a change in Adelup, where a new Governor will take over. This means there could be a significant shift in terms of federal-territorial relations for Guam. I don't mean much will change from the federal side, but from Guam, this moment could mean the development of a new approach or utilizing new tools for engaging the federal government on Guam issues. Depending on how you look at the past decade or so there has been some accommodation and some antagonism. From Congresswoman Bordallo, there was quite a meeting of minds over military buildup issues and the US Department of Defense, but that came at the cost of her representing the interests of the people of Guam. Bordallo was well-liked by many of her colleagues and well liked by the US military, but in my opinion, had long become detached from changing attitudes on Guam. When the protests and organizing around Prutehi Litekyan emerged last year, Bordallo w

Independent Guåhan to host United Nations Report Back Event, Provide Updates on Recent Historic Trip For Immediate Release, October 23, 2017 — Independent Guåhan is hosting a Report Back on October 26 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. at the University of Guam School of Business and Public Administration Room 131. At the forum, a group of delegates, who recently traveled to the United Nations in New York, will provide updates on their testimonies and meetings concerning Guam’s decolonization. Independent Guåhan organized a group of twelve members and volunteers, who petitioned the UN Special Political and Decolonization Committee (4th Committee) at their annual meeting to discuss the situation in Guam. This trip was especially historic, because the Commission on Decolonization also sent a strong delegation — Governor Eddie Baza Calvo, Vice Speaker Therese Terlaje, Senator Telena Nelson and Dr. LisaLinda Natividad all testified before the 4th Committee. Senator Fernando

Guam gets its 15 mins of national or international media fame refreshed every few years, sometimes because of a typhoon or earthquake. Sometimes because of snake epidemics. Over the past few years, North Korea has had alot to do with Guam getting a little extra attention. Usually these periods are frustrating to analyze in media terms because Guam, even if it is mentioned as the focus of a story, still remains at the periphery of it. But this most recent North Korea scare led to a series of well-written and insightful articles that didn't shy away from Guam's colonial status, but engaged with it. Here below is probably my favorite piece to come out from all the drama. ************************* "Guam: A colonized island nation where 160,000 American lives are not only at risk but often forgotten" by Gene Park Washington Post August 11, 2017 “Total Americans affected: 3,831.” Fox News ran a video explainer  this week on the affect of North Korea’s missiles o

The past few days have been quite hectic due to the threat to Guam by North Korea and President Trump's shocking response. I am trying to catch up on my posts on this blog, and so we'll see if I'll be able this month. Here are a few articles on the initial threat from North Korea to Guam.  ******************* North Korea Claims It’s Planning to Fire Missiles Near Guam 8/10/17 SEOUL/GUAM (Reuters) - North Korea said on Thursday it was completing plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles over Japan to land near the U.S. Pacific island territory of Guam in an unusually detailed threat that further heightened tensions with the United States. North Korea’s army will complete the plans in mid-August, when they will be ready for leader Kim Jong Un’s order, state-run KCNA news agency reported, citing General Kim Rak Gyom, commander of the Strategic Force of the Korean People’s Army. The plans called for the missiles to land in the sea

I have been wracking my brain for the past few hours and also "tearing apart" at least digitally my computer looking for the source for a quote that I had included in my notes and now need to use in an article I'm completing for The Journal of Okinawan Studies. As of now I have yet to find it unfortunately and I'm hoping that this quote didn't come from a news article that I had photocopied years ago but had yet to scan or transcribe. If that is the case, I may never find the citation for it. Part of the joy, but also the frustration of searches like this, is the random surprises and nostalgia bombs that end up crossing your path. While searching through more than a decade of research, I came across so many bits and pieces of things, some of which ended up being keystones in my academic cosmology, others I had completely forgotten. One thing I came across that I wanted to share was these three articles below. They all come from August 2007, at a time when th

As Guam is making international headlines once again, it is imperative that we use this moment in order to try to change the minute media frame that is used to give Guam meaning in moments like this. Guam is more than a military base and more than an island with a snake crisis. It is a contemporary colony in need of assistance in decolonizing and encouraging the United States to fulfill its obligation as a UN member to help make decolonization a reality. My last two columns for The Pacific Daily News focused on a letter that Governor Calvo, as the head of the Guam Commission on Decolonization sent recently to the Committee of 24 at the United Nations. The letter provided some small details on the situation in Guam, in particular impediments that have been put in place by the United States and its courts. But more than anything it represented a request for the UN to send a visiting mission to Guam to help bring attention to our quest for decolonization. It remains to be seen if th