NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

When I talk about the United States, I often times end up having to qualify even the simple usage of the term because of Guam's political status. Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. That means that it is both "a part of the United States" and also exists "apart from the United States." Its status, like those of other US colonies, has sometimes been referred to as "foreign in a domestic sense." Because of this status, when the United States as a nation, a country, a political entity is invoked in any forum, whether it be on the floors of Congress, the creation of a flag, the writing of a comedy bit or movie, Guam may or may not be included. Take for instance when the movie Pixels, directed by Chris Columbus and staring Adam Sandler was being created. The issue of Guam's inclusion and exclusion into the United States played a role in the fact that it was included as a location in the film. I wrote about th

What is "foreign policy?" Does it simply refer to the relationships between nations? The policy frameworks through which some are treated as allies and others as enemies? Does it deal with the level of respect or trust that other nations are afforded? Foreign Policy is one of those elements that the media and the educated classes act like is critically important in terms of electing leaders. It is something that those more serious segments of society use to argue for the electability of certain candidates, such as Sarah Palin, Donald Trump or even George W. Bush. The sectors feel compelled to remind the American people as a whole about the seriousness of picking someone who does not only look within to serving the nation, but can also be relied upon to engage with the rest of the world. After all, no matter how large your country thinks it it, even if it is massive in terms of economy, population or land mass, the rest of the world remains. A country's for

A very good overview of the global network of US bases in the world and also the movements against them. It was written in 2008 but still has lots of relevant information for readers today. As I've been teaching my course, articles such as this have been very helpful in giving my students a very brief by thorough overview of US military plans and strategies in terms of their bases. ************** "Resisting the Empire" by Joseph Gerson Foreign Policy in Focus March 19, 2008 Ecuador’s decision not to renew the U.S. lease for the forward operating base at Manta (see Yankees Head Home ) is the culmination of just one of many long-term and recently initiated community-based and national struggles to remove these military installations that are often sources of crime and demeaning human rights violations. A growing alliance among anti-bases movements in countries around the world, including the United States, is preventing the creation of new foreign military

Deception and Diplomacy: The US, Japan, and Okinawa  For the student of contemporary Japan, these are sad times…because of the growing sense that Japan lacks a truly responsible democratic government to address these issues, and because its people deserve better. By Gavan McCormack ,   June 7, 2011 .  Originally published in The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus . Share   The following text makes extensive use of the treasure trove of documents on the US-Japan-Okinawa relationship released by Wikileaks and published in The Asahi Shimbun and Ryukyu Shimpo in May 2001, setting them in the frame of four decades of chicanery. It also discusses the so-called “mitsuyaku” or secret diplomacy between the two countries that has gradually come to light in the past two years without any help from Wiki, the “confession” of former Prime Minister Hatoyama, the strange case of the “Maher affair, and the shock waves of recent shifts in thinking about the Okinawa pr