guam news: not guilty verdicts in uranao case. when kuam asked gerry yingling for a comment, all the he said was "merry christmas." (you know what, mr.yingling, it's stupid, smug, flippant comments like that along with the tens of thousands of tax-payers' dollars you spent in luxury suites and strip clubs that really makes me unsympathetic to whatever woes you think you've suffered.)

the pdn reports that philippine president cory aquino is likely to visit guam. have you ever seen this woman in person? she's short. she's like a little doll. my dog comes up to her waist. she's really short.

there's a nice editorial in the pdn about what liberation day is about. the more stories i hear about the atrocities that occurred here on the island and to its people (many who are still alive), the more i feel that a great injustice is being served to its citizens. guam has been american land since 1898, it has one of the highest armed forces enlistment rates per capita, and yet as citizens of this country who have been tortured, raped, starved, and forced into internment on american soil, they have not received any monetary reparations for their suffering, or for the military taking their land in the name of national defense. (i know some reparations should really be asked for from the japanese government, but the treaty of san francisco put the kibosh on that.) they, although u.s. citizens, are still not allowed to vote in national elections nor are they recognized by most americans as being american. i know that particular shortcoming has more to do with the ignorance of others, but when the most ignorant (in terms of guam at the very least) man of the land is the chief of state, it's a real fucking downer.

ab asia pacific also reports about guam asking for an apology from the japanese government. good luck, there, nenes.

*wow*, i'm getting all nationalistic and shit. i think it's because i can't forget the story of one survivor was forced by japanese troops to watch her mother being raped, and when her father tried to stop help his wife, they executed him, then proceeded to beat her teenaged brother unconscious. i can't help but think about the terror and pain that those who survived the march to manenggon valley. i know my mom and dad's families suffered in the philippines during the war, but they never talk about it, i don't know if i have the courage to ask them what happened and what they remember. my mom told me how their family managed fairly well because they had a farm and they could subsist on what they grew, but she also talked about how other families would come to them with their jewelry and family heirlooms to trade for something to eat. my uncle was forced into the bata'an death march. he survived, but other relatives will tell you that he was never the same after that. how could anyone?

in other sort of non-news, it's nice to see so many younger people on island being courteous and friendly to the dozens of veterans visiting the island for the festivities. i was in denny's the other day, and a visiting couple walked in. the busboys all stopped to say hello, and surprisingly (to me anyway), the couple knew several people in the restaurant, who had introduced themselves earlier in their visit around the island. an elderly chamorro lady came to shake the vet's hand, she saw his photo in the newspaper, and remembered him from all those years ago.

happy liberation day.