NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

After writing so much about Okinawa over the years, as its fate has been tied to Guam's through the long proposed transfer of troops from there to here, I am finally going there. There will be a conference taking place there later this month where peace and a nuclear free future for the Asia-Pacific region will be discussed. I, along with other activists from Guam will be going there and speaking on what is happening locally, to inform people from South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and even the Marshall Islands and Palau as to our own struggles with the US military. I have lots of grading to do, but I'm not doing it right now because I have to prepare my speech for the conference. Here's a great article on Okinawa and its base issues that I came across on the site Close the Base . ************** Governor Nakaima: Washington & Tokyo “should stop doing deals and return the bases promptly” Yoshio Shimoji: “Futenma: Tip of the Iceberg in Okinawa’s Agony” October

Every few months I remind people to visit No Base Stories of Korea , and get updated on the latest in the South Korean people's struggles against militarization, both from their own government and from the United States as well. This post is yet another reminder to go over there and check the blog, which is run by artist and activist Sung Hee Choi. I recently finished an article where I discussed some of my experiences while I was in South Korea last year on a solidarity research trip. Some of the places which Sung Hee regularly provides updates about are areas that I visited, where I got to learn in detail about the struggles that took place or are taking place against militarism. As I wrote in my article, one of the things which made this trip important was the fact that it wasn't your usual "solidarity trip" where everything is neat and tidy and ready to be wedged into an assume matrix of solidarity formation. There is a formula to how we form solidarity, a simp

FOR MORE INFO ON EVENT, HEAD TO Latin American Solidarity Coalition . ***************************** Call: Day of Action to Confront US Militarism in the Americas October 11, 2010 Our organizations urge you to join us in a National Day of Action to Confront US Militarism in the Americas on Monday, October 11, 2010. October 11 is the day the United States “celebrates” the beginning of the European invasion of the Americas and when indigenous peoples mark as the 518th year of resistance to invasion and colonialism. We represent Latin America solidarity and peace groups. We are initiating and urge others to undertake the formation of local and regional coalitions – across movements for indigenous rights, immigrant justice, fair trade, peace, human rights, labor rights, gender justice, drug policy reform and other urgent goals – to confront the growing militarism of our culture and budget, the increasing propensity to commit national resources to wars of aggression, and the milita

Tomorrow my Guam History classes will be conducting their political status forums. For this exercise, which is their last big group project, I divide them into three groups, one for each of the potential future political statues of Guam, and they have to debate which is the best for Guam. I'll write more about this project later, but it is usually the most fun part of my entire semester, since its high energy, usually gof na'chalek, and I'm always happy when students find small and large ways to surprise me with their arguments. One of the highlights of tomorrow will be when some producers who work for the show Dan Rather Reports will be filming one of my classes when they are debating political status, and then interviewing me afterwards about Guam's history. They are on island doing a story about the infamous military buildup which is always looming in a menacing ambigous form on Guam's horizon. They spent a week last month following Congresswoman Bordallo around

President Barack Obama is scheduled to come to Guam next week, although its still uncertain what his visit will entail. Its clear that he will speak to soldiers and local leaders, but will that mean he'll leave the base to hold a public meeting with the community? Hekkua'. I'm waiting for an article by Blaine Harden from the Washington Post to be published this week, and hope that it will have an impact on the Obama administration and what they decide is politically necessary or important in Guam. Harden was on Guam last week researching his piece on the buildup, and when I met him was impressed with his concern and his level of engagement on the issues. The local press obviously doesn't have much impact on policy in Washington D.C., but a single in-depth piece from a national paper, floating amidst a sea of general ignorance (about Guam or the buildup), might have a very real impact. As we await Obama's official schedule, I thought I would share a letter sent to

Minagahet Zine "CHULE' TATTE GUAHAN" Volume 7 Issue 1 September 27, 2009 h ttp://www.geocities.com/minagahet minagahet@lists.riseup.net Hafa Adai, yan welcome to i mina'kuarenta na Minagahet . Gof apmam desde humuyong un issue Minagahet. Desde i ma’pos na December. Ai adai, kalang ti hongge’on este. The absence of Minagahet for the past nine or ten months should not be interpreted as implying that nothing much has happened in Guam recently. So many things have been happening lately, and a few things which were supposed to happen, haven’t yet. There is definitely a change on the horizon, and as always, it will depend upon the activists and the people as to whether those changes benefit the few with the most, or the majority. In this issue of Minagahet, you will find links to several dozen articles dealing with the military buildup, the relationship between the Government of Guam and the US Federal Government, how the current political climate in Japan