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 […]
Zinn Education Project: Now Featuring The Insular Empire
The Insular Empire recently received the huge honor of being included in the Zinn Education Project‘s list of Teaching Materials. The ZEP project promotes and supports the use of Howard Zinn’s best-selling book A People’s History of the United States and other materials for teaching a people’s history in middle and high school classrooms across […]
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 […]
Wikileaking on Guam
Lately, Guam has been appearing in the annals of Wikileaks – Julian Assange’s non-profit whistleblowing information website. Evidently, the US has been using Guam not only as the ‘tip of the spear,’ but also as a diplomatic tool. Today, the Mainichi Daily News reported on the latest revelation: evidently the US Assistant Secretary of Defense […]
Calvo: “Let’s end five centuries of colonialism”
Things on Guam are hopping. Guam’s Governor Eddie Baza Calvo has begun the process of appointing members to the island’s recently reinvigorated Commission on Decolonization (first established by Hope Cristobal during her tenure in the Guam Senate). Calvo’s first appointment? None other than Dr. Lisa Natividad, advisor to The Insular Empire and champion of Guam’s […]
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 […]
“Old-Style Colonialism” at the United Nations
Viewers of The Insular Empire will recall Hope Cristobal’s repeated visits to the United Nations, trying to get support for Guam’s Chamorro people and their right to self-determinaion. Hope continued her decades-long crusade last month, traveling to the United Nations’ Pacific Regional Seminar on Decolonisation in New Caledonia. “For 21st century Guam, it is déjà […]