NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

An interesting discussion on the possibilities of a "third" option when thinking about decolonization in the Pacific. In Guam, I have written about the risks or dangers of "fourth kinds" or "fourth options," but I still found this article to be enlightening.  In Guam, I refer to the fourth kind as potential political status traps. Decolonization in the most general sense is about achieving a genuine level of self-governance. There are, as we can see in the world today, a wide variety of arrangements whereby a colonizer or administering power can call a place self-governing, while still maintaining colonial control.  For example, when looking at the United States, Puerto Rico is a "commonwealth" and isn't supposed to be a colony or non-self-governing territory anymore. But if you compare the status of Guam and Puerto Rico, their level of self-governance, they are almost in the exact same position, with only a fancy title separating th

Independent Guåhan will discuss the need for stronger historic preservation laws at May General Assembly Independent Guåhan (IG) invites the public to attend their May General Assembly (GA) on Thursday, May 31, from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at the Main Pavilion of the Chamorro Village in Hagåtña. The educational discussion for the evening will focus on how an independent Guåhan can create stronger policies around the preservation of historic sites and cultural properties. Guåhan has a unique and rich cultural heritage that manifests in the island’s food, historic locations, artifacts, buildings, landscape, and oral history. On an island that is becoming increasingly modernized and militarized, having strong laws for historic preservation is essential in protecting the unique identity of this island, that which makes Guåhan Guåhan. While many think that improvement must come at the cost of preservation, in reality, strong policies that promote and protect the island’s cultural resourc

After the Cold War ended, conservative philosopher/political theorist Francis Fukuyama penned an argument about "the End of History." His basic thoughts boiled down to the idea that with the United States victorious in the Cold War, and with Communism and Marxist thought and governments disappearing, the dialectics of history were over. The United States would never have another worthy antagonist, who could challenge it, and that liberal democratic capitalistic ideas would become the norm and nothing viable could ever appear again beyond it. There are many ways that we can see some truth to this argument. Very few people would ever openly argue nowadays that democracy isn’t the best possible for of political government. Capitalism appears to be the happy norm, after all, who could openly argue against the making of money and spreading of wealth? Whereas technology seems to constantly shifting and changing, making previously unthinkable things feel very