NO REST FOR THE AWAKE - MINAGAHET CHAMORRO

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

 A very comprehensive article about the history of the United States focusing on the way in which so many have sought to legitimize its existence even though it is clearly based on violence and lies. While for many attached to the US, this history is unimportant or irritating, for Native peoples it is essential, it cannot and should not be forgotten. It is a story of genocide and stolen sovereignty. It is the formation of a great net of lies which others use to trap you and your existence, to keep you small, to keep you away, to try to neutralize your past, present and potential future. The writer is Mark Charles, a Navajo. Link to his blog is also included below. ********************* "The Doctrine of Discovery: A Buried Apology and an Empty Chair" By Mark Charles Reflections From the Hogan 12/22/14  http://wirelesshogan.blogspot.com/2014/12/doctrine-of-discovery.html Picture a chair, an empty chair. There are dozens, even hundreds, of them sitting on the stage

I am really looking forward to Django Unchained coming out on DVD so I can make my World History 2 students watch it. Although I'll be showing it to students in a history class, I wouldn't make them watch it because it is the most accurate film. There are several reasons why you might want to show films in a history class. 1. Gagu' hao: You are just lazy and want the films to help fill in the details for things that you yourself should be covering in your class. 2. Ya-mu documentaries: You love documentaries and you think that they are stuffed full of historical details and facts and present them to students in the most direct way possible. 3. Ayu i mas kannu'on: You don't necessarily show documentaries to students but instead popular films, because that is one of the ways they tend to inadvertently consume ideology about history and form their historical understanding. For me the 3rd choice is why I show films in class. Not to show students perfectly hist

Celebrating the Prince of Peace in the Land of Guns by Michael Moore http://www.michaelmoore.com 12/24/12 After watching the deranged, delusional National Rifle Association press conference on Friday, it was clear that the Mayan prophecy had come true. Except the only world that was ending was the NRA's. Their bullying power to set gun policy in this country is over. The nation is repulsed by the massacre in Connecticut, and the signs are everywhere: a basketball coach at a post-game press conference ; the Republican Joe Scarborough ; a pawn shop owner in Florida ; a gun buy-back program in New Jersey ; a singing contest show on TV , and the conservative gun-owning judge who sentenced Jared Loughner . So here's my little bit of holiday cheer for you: These gun massacres aren't going to end any time soon. I'm sorry to say this. But deep down we both know it's true. That doesn't mean we shouldn't keep pushing forward -- after all, the mom

September 4, 2012 Transcript of San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery: My fellow Democrats, my fellow Texans, my fellow Americans: I stand before you tonight as a young American, a proud American, of a generation born as the Cold War receded, shaped by the tragedy of 9/11, connected by the digital revolution and determined to re-elect the man who will make the 21st century another American century — President Barack Obama. The unlikely journey that brought me here tonight began many miles from this podium. My brother Joaquin and I grew up with my mother Rosie and my grandmother Victoria. My grandmother was an orphan. As a young girl, she had to leave her home in Mexico and move to San Antonio, where some relatives had agreed to take her in. She never made it past the fourth grade. She had to drop out a

“Crazy Talk” Michael Lujan Bevacqua The Marianas Variety July 4, 2012 The same scene happens every couple of months at my grandfather’s shop at the Chamorro village. A military family comes into the check out my grandfather’s handmade tools. They look around and are impressed. I answer their questions and give them some background on my grandfather Tun Jack Lujan’s role in perpetuating the Chamorro culture today as a Master Blacksmith. As they are leaving one of them turns to me and says “I want to thank you for showing this to us and answering our questions, you aren’t as terrible a person as I thought you were.” The first few times this scene took place I was taken aback. How did they know anything about me and what did they know that made them assume I’d be terrible? We’d never met before and how could they possess such strong negative feelings to me already? I’ve come to learn that the reason for this is because of my internet presence, primar

The Grand March for the Peace of Gangjeong received 45 messages of solidarity from around the world (one of them from me). All of them were translated into Korean so that the marchers could see the support and encouragement they were receiving from far off places such as Germany, Palestine, Ireland, India and even East Timor. Some of the messages are pasted below: ********************************** Taro Abe , Nagoya, Japan 皆さんの活動に心から敬意を表します。 「済州島平和の巡礼：カンジョンの平和のための大行進」 の成功をお祈りしています。 阿部太郎（名古屋市・日å本） 여러분의 활동에 진심으로 경의를 나타냅니다. "제주도 평화 순례 : 강정의 평화를위한 대행진 '의 성공을 기원합니다. 아베 타로 (나고야 · 일본) I sincerely express my respect to your struggle. I pray for the success of the 'Jeju Island Peace Pilgrim: Grand March for the Peace of Gangjeong.' Abe  Taro  (Nagoya, Japan) ………………………………………………………………………….. Elliott Adams , Past President, Veterans For Peace, USA  I served in the Republic Of Korea as part of the US Army, I have been to Jeju. The destruction of Gangeong