July 21st marks the anniversary of the US military’s capture of Guam during WWII. After 70 years, the US Territory of Guam still has not had a vote of self-determination – yet the island’s biggest holiday is the ultra-patriotic “Guam Liberation Day,” an irony explored by prominent Guam political leaders Hope Cristobal and Carlos Taitano in […]
As Build-up Cools Down, Self-Determination Heats Up
I can barely keep up with the news coming out of Guam lately: Dispatch Japan‘s article “Dead Plan Walking” and KUAM’s report that “Talks Indicate Delays for Buildup” point to the inevitable demise of the ill-conceived military buildup on Guam. In the (repurposed) words of General MacArthur, “old military land-grabs don’t die, they just fade […]
The Mermaid, the Trickster and the Admiral
The Guam PDN recently published an article about USN Rear Admiral Bushong’s recent talk at the Guam Rotary Club. The Admiral noted the recent increase in anti-militarist sentiment on the island, and exhorted the nice folks of Guam to ‘tone down the rhetoric a bit’. After all, he said, military personnel on Guam take their […]
Chalmers Johnson, 1931-2010
It is with great sadness that I report the recent passing of Chalmers Johnson: academic, author, and passionate critic of American empire. Despite his prolific workload (and, I now realize, failing health), I was lucky enough to have Professor Johnson generously agree to watch and review The Insular Empire earlier this year. The Insular Empire […]
“The history they didn’t teach us in school”
The Huffington Post “Guam: Self-Determination or More U.S. Troops?” by Robert Naiman Usually, when someone refers to a place as a “U.S. colony,” they are making an analogy, suggesting that U.S. influence somewhere is so strong, and the indigenous residents of the place have so little effective say over key decisions, that it’s as if […]