Talk:Guam

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Contents

[edit] Eurocentric view of Guamanian history

i copied some info about Chamorro history from the "history of guam" article but i know nothing about Guam, so my editing decisions were based only on stylistic concerns... i have no idea if i left out important factual info... someone with a bit of knowledge should address this section to make sure Guam is presented on its own terms... Marionleenor (talk) 06:22, 1 May 2008 (UTC)


why has the information on pre-1521 history mentioned below by Ohilist been removed? surely something noteworthy happened on Guam before the Europeans arrived... surely the Chamorro people were doing something interesting before colonization...

-Marionleenor (talk) 06:04, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Tone of the article

It is mportant to keep an hostorical perpsective. If the first people to inhabit Guam arrived 6,000 years ago it does not make sense to say that it has a "long" history of colonial occupation when that only began in the 17th Century.

Peter Browne

[edit] New History of Guam Article Update

Read "Post-WWII Guam" section and decided to expand it a little and add some analysis of Guam today and Guam History in general. Also created "Further Reading" section and added two important (and thorough) histories of Guam. Anyone who has pictures to add to Guam History article, please do so (especially for post-WWII period). Olihist

Can we perhaps trim some of the "Guam in Entertainment section?" It really adds nothing to the piece, contributes nothing to an understanding of Guam, and seems to be a resting place for any time the word "Guam" is mentioned in a movie or book. Saint Mahone 23:25, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
It reflects the perception of how Guam is seen by the rest of the world. Most people's view of Guam is in turn colored by what they see or read about in entertainment. It should stay. --Darth Borehd 18:49, 2 April 2006 (UTC)
The "Entertainment" section should be modified because of a lack of relevance to actual entertainment pieces that are about Guam/Marianas Islands. Sanjat312

[edit] History of Guam Article Update

I've just added several paragraphs on pre-1521 Guam history, emphasizing Ancient Chamorro society and the latte stone. If anyone finds a usable latte stone pic, please paste it onto the article page (it could use some photos). And please feel free to expand or edit my brief summary. Olihist


[edit] US Mainland $$$

This place needs a Devil's Advocate... so I guess that will be me...

Guam is HEAVILY reliant on Federal grants from the US. I added in Economy, an entry reflecting this. If we're going to increase the entries of how Guam is "unfairly" a US territory, we need to make counterpoints to how fragile Guam's economy is, and how much of it is made buoyant by Federal aid. As proof: see how Guam Hotel Taxation was not enough to offset the Fiscal 2005 Budget. Who's gonna cover the cost? The US mainland of course. Guam gets over 1 billion dollars from the US government each year. Micronesia gets less than that in a 5 year period. If Guam is to get more "autonomy" from the US, it must understand it will get less "aid" from the US. Such a move would be detrimental.

In Politics of Guam, added how the US mainland views Guam's desires for statehood/commonwealth status. The entry seemed baised, as it made the Federal Government seem like it had no reason to deny such movements.
In Economics, added proof of Guam deficits and increasing Federal grant reliance. Did you know that the income tax of military personel in Guam goes to GovGuam and not the U.S. Treasury?I certainly didn't know that. Equality? Not for the military. I am planning a complete revamp of the Corruption article with the addition of such sources, but will most likely expand it to encompass more than just the political spectrum.
Any source for this? AFAIK, they have to declare Guam as their residence -- which is neither automatic, nor mandatory -- and in doing so, they essentially end up paying only Federal tax instead of Federal & State since there's no State tax for Guam. If they claim another state as their residence, as military personnell are permitted to do, then federal taxes would go to the Fed and state taxes (if any) would go to the state.--Albatross83 00:33, 7 July 2006 (UTC)


No, it's true ... military personnel stationed on Guam pay federal taxes, but it is sent back to the government of Guam by the federal government in what is known as "Section 30" funds (named after the section of the law that mandates this transfer). I don't have any definitive sources, but you can check these out:
http://www.house.gov/bordallo/Press_Releases/2004/0929040.html (second paragraph)
http://www.guampdn.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060331/NEWS01/603310312/1002 (near the end)
Freeguam 06:22, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nitpick on an Entry

This is a nitpick just for mild discussion...

In whatever form it takes, most people on Guam favor a modified version of the current territorial status, involving both greater autonomy from the federal government (similar to the autonomy of individual states), and also greater rights and freedoms as Americans. Perceived indifference by the U.S. Congress regarding a change-of-status petition submitted by Guam has led many to feel that the territory is being unjustly deprived of the benefits of a richer and more equitable union with the U.S.

How do native Guam residents have "less" rights than Americans? They are American citizens thanks to the Organic Act, and have all the protections that go with it. Also, as Guam is a US Territory that does not provide Federal tax to the US, exactly how can it recieve "benefits of a richer and more equitable union"? Guam recieves millions from Washington D.C. each year, without a requirement to pay it back. A counterpoint should be entered if it remains as so. Some mainlanders argue that Guam is getting a "free meal ticket" for not paying Federal taxes - a growing trend thanks to a growing deficit in the US (although that bucket of worms has nothing to do with Guam really). In their minds, if Guam wants greater autonomy, Guam should request less Federal funding.

the quoted phrase seems to be statment of the attitudes of "most" of the people of Guam - not really an assertion that the belief or attitude is necessarily well-founded - a counterpoint or elaboration of the point would involve a discussion of the beliefs and attitudes of the people of Guam towards the U.S. - that said, a section on the relationship between Guam and the U.S. might be a Good Thing - e.g. the first statement under History "Guam's history of colonialism is the longest among the Pacific islands." presupposes that Guam is currently a colony of the US. Syslib 12:29, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Actually, Guam *is* currently a colony of the United States. It is officially called an "unincorporated territory" by the U.S. federal government (and in the Organic Act of 1950) and a "non-self-governing territory" by the United Nations. If you look up the "colony" in Wikipedia itself, you will find striking similarities between the characteristics of Guam and that of a modern-day colony--similar because it is one. As the entry suggests, another meaning would be "overseas possession," which Guam very much is to the United States. However, it can be said that those countries who have these possessions prefer not to use the term "colony" due to the negative connotations attached to it today.

Guam is NOT a colony. A "colony" does not have a choice in its status to the "parent" nation. Guam has the option of total sovereignty, but chooses to be a US Territory. The same goes with others such as Puerto Rico. If the citizens of Guam voted to be separated from the United States, they would be allowed separation. As historic and political documents state, only incorporated States do not have the option of leaving the Union – something Puerto Rico has considered as a reason it does not wish to be the 51st state. Guam receives a great deal more from being US Territory, than it would be independent, and thus is the reason why it is. There is a movement in Congress that desires to terminate all territory status to such US areas, which in their arguments, "saves" millions and would expedite Puerto Rico into statehood. Sad as it is to say: Guam has a lot more to lose if the US mainland terminates ties with it. Hawaii favors moving all military assests to itself, and the Navy would wet itself if they could "persuade" Japan into taking nuclear powered vessels (something that has become more likely as China and NK get more agressive).
We really do need more about the politicl status of Guam in this article, because it has always confused me. If Guam isn't a colony, when did it cease being one? Was it when the UN said the people of Guam should have a chance to vote on their status, or when we started electing our own territorial government? Is self-determination really possible right now? Could Guam sever ties with the US if the people wanted it?

Guam has had the chance for selecting its future for years. It's just that voters and the government haven't been aggressive about it. Case in point: In late 2002 (September or October), GovGuam was supposed to arrange an island wide vote to determine if Guam was to seek statehood (which would have been denied by the US Congress), remain a territory, or become independent. There was a MAJOR corruption scandal involved (imagine that) and the entire thing fell apart. For the record, over fifteen thousand people were eligible to vote on this (because of the regional voting system and whatnot... Electoral College and all that) - only FIFTEEN registered. This was under Gutierrez's administration. Since then, nothing serious has really been done to change how things are. So again, Guam is not a colony. It can be independent. People just have to do something about it. Puerto Rico also could become independent, as well as the Virgin Islands. Only STATES cannot leave the Union. Crazies in Hawaii and Texas, claiming their going to be independent, are the ones who can’t realize it without starting a Second Civil War.

IMHO, if Guam did cut ties to the US, it would be suicide. The GDP of Guam is not enough to match government expenses. That's why Guam gets 1.5 BILLION dollars from the US - to pay off the negative bill. Also, the US military owns the water plant and a lot of the local infrastructure. If forced to leave, they'd take it with them to wherever they'd go next (Saipan probably). With that kind of domino effect, it would total the tourist trade: especially the lack of funds to maintain infrastructure.

I think it would be fair to say that although Guam does recieve funds from the United States, it has coastal territory of which is being and has been controlled by the United States. If the United States Navy were to pay to lease what is currently being used--approximately a third, if not half, of Guam's coast--then not only would the government relieve itself from the debt procured by the government, but it will provide the students with more books to one day help decolonize Guam. If you want to talk politics, let me ask you these questions? What county, if possible, has more military bases than does Guam being the size that is? Also, what county in America sends more troops into battle for the United States? Also, whose troops continue to die for the United States without their children being granted the right to vote for the government who is responsible for the death of their parent? Answer these questions and I think you would understand that until their is some sort of ignorance filter on wikipedia, there will still be people like you posting things about Guam--a place you may have lived for a small portion of your life or perhaps have just read about in a book. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.130.148.156 (talk) 19:15, 17 September 2007 (UTC)

What is this about Guam not being a colony? I would like to know where the anonymous contributor came up with this definiton of a colony: A "colony" does not have a choice in its status to the "parent" nation. If this definition is right, then I suppose that India, Niger, Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Jamaica, Malaysia, Chad, Suriname and Trinidad were never colonies either since they were all able to choose independence, correct?
Also if (according to this article) residents of Guam were only granted US citizenship in 1950, then what were they from 1898 to 1950? Guamian citizens? US nationals (but not citizens)? That sounds pretty colonial, so even if you don't want to call Guam a colony now (and today it is no more a colony than the Channel Islands or Cayman Islands) then it was most certainly a colony from 1898 to 1950.
I was posting in response to the person who said, "Guam *is* currently a colony..." I never said anywhere Guam was never a colony. I said it was not a colony as in present tense. I would never deny that the US had (and in some cases, still practices) imperial and colonial policies. The nations you listed, at the time of their "colony status" could not leave without sparking a war or causing all sort of polical hell (like India technically did). Guam CAN leave the US without sparking a war through a vote - and had the chance several times. Honestly however, Guam needs the mainland far more than the mainland needs Guam. Now I understand that Guam is an important part of the US military for containing China and whatnot, but Saipan has requested and been willing to host a larger US presence, so alternatives are available to the mainland. Guam ditching the mainland does NOT help the island, so seperation is not really a smart option. Just lookup statistics of the "free" Federal grants provided to the island. Long story short: Guam is not a colony. It is not a state either. It is a territory with voting US citizenship (granted non-voting in some aspects, simply because it is (A) not a state, and (B) does not pay Federal taxes). Guam being part of the US helps the island, and the mainland having Guam helps the US.

Colony or not a colony? That is a silly semantic game. Why play it? Does colony = bad and territory = good? Guam is what Guam is and thorwing around deliberately ambiguous terms like they are judgements is completely irrelevant to the reality of the situation. DHB

It's a matter of political and historical context. It's like comparing forced slavery with willing servitude. There’s a tremendous difference between a medieval serf and Victorian maid. Yes, its all “just words” to some, but for those of us who study the specifics of history and its context, these “little words” can mean a huge difference. People use them as political weapons – especially in a situation like this. I hate that. Individuals will use the term “colony” without understanding the depth of its meaning. They merely quote something out of a dictionary or the UN Charter without grasping political definition or ramifications. Just as how a lawyer can free a murderer by twisting a loophole in the Law, a politician (or people who act like one) can transform a comparatively innocuous event or international treaties into social disasters. In a field like this, "just words" can define everything. To see it as a "word game" is dangerous, least we become complacent and accept it as the truth, rather than a twisting of fact.

Several points: 1) Guam has never been given a choice by the U.S. The votes that you mention were supposed to be non-binding, with no commitment by the U.S. to allow Guam to have the choice that it selects. It was only supposed to be a first step. 2) When Guam petitioned the U.S. for commonwealth status in the 1980s, the U.S. executive branch stalled and finally came out against the status change, so it doesn't look as if the U.S. is willing to grant a change from status quo unless Guam becomes violent or something. 3) Whether Guam "needs" the U.S. because of economic or military reasons is irrelevant to whether or not it is a colony. 4) Guam does not currently have the right govern itself, and has never been given this right, by Spain, Japan or the U.S. The U.S. has only given Guam the option of limited home rule (the Organic Act of 1950), but any changes to that act must be made by the U.S. Congress, not the people of Guam, and the U.S. Congress is not elected by the people of Guam. Therefore Guam is not self-governing, and is a colony, and has never been offered a choice by the U.S. The vote you mention was not offered by the U.S., but was initiated by certain people on Guam as an attempt to decolonize. 5) "Colony" is indeed a politically charged word, but it is an accurate word, and it is only seen with a negative connotation because most people view colonization as a bad thing these days. However, how you view colonization does not affect whether or not Guam is a colony. Call it a territory or colony. They are the same.Freeguam 06:39, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

According to the Territorial Clause of the U.S. Constitution, Guam is the possession of the United States as ceded to the US after the Spanish American War. All matters regarding the status of the Guam, Puerto Rico, and The Virgin Islands are subject to approval by the United States Congress, as evidenced by the Organic Act of 1950 which Congress passed to certify a government for Guam. Guam is a colony, as is Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. They cannot vote for independence or for statehood unless Congress approves an enabling act to allow such a vote in any of its territorial possessions. This is how it is, these are the facts as written into law by Congress and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in the Insular cases of the early twentieth century. All referendums are meaningless unless Congress acts upon them and they will not because possessions do not have voting representation in Congress. For those that do not believe that this is true please read a book, any history book by a real historian, and it will all become clear. In addition, the people living in the possessions of the United States are not endowed with equal rights. The Bill of Rights as it is in effect in all U.S. possessions is "conditional" to the wishes of Congress, and at anytime Congress may unilaterally revoke any or all protections included in the Bill of Rights. Congress may NOT do this in any State of the Union, this is one salient difference.Mad05963 04:14, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Corruption in Guam

Removal of the topic in question does not fairly allow readers to assess Guam politics. It is a fact that Guam is mired in tremendous political corruption - and although it is horrible to say, on a near weekly basis there are new investigations of past politicians' activities. Although corruption is present in all forms of government, Wikipedia articles of other countries also have entries and/or seperate articles of this. Guam is no different. This is an information site: not a travel sales pitch.

Information on Guam's corruption needs to be included, but when it has it's own topic heading it implies that it is one of the island's most defining features. We don't even have subheadings on Guam's demographics, culture or wildlife. Does our island's corruption overshadow all that? I don't think the topic should be removed, but perhaps it should be subtopic under "Politics of Guam". A separate article outlining the history of Guam's corruption in more detail would be great.Onionhound 07:23, 18 October 2005 (UTC)
An excellent idea! It would allow readers to learn more if they so desire, and also avoid leaving an initial blemish on casual visitors. Created a new article on the subject, and entered a link in the "See also" section.

Well, if there's going to be something of this ilk, there should also be a counter. Perhaps a detailed account of the racist colonial policies of the United States on Guam? Corruption on Guam is not limited to the local government, the private sector also has their hand in it. Indeed, one can say that politicians on Guam are only taking a page from their stateside counterparts, who are corrupt on a whole different level. However, that is neither here nor there, is it?

Wow, that extension article was grossly biased. I think that should be termed an editorial rather than an article.

I wouldn't say it's harsh... just brutally direct. A counterpoint within the article would be an excellent addition, but making the counter argument something about "racist colonial policies of the United States on Guam" wouldn't seem right. For one thing, its like a spite response trying to justify a wrong with another wrong. The US does not tolerate racism or colonialism any more, and is all about changing its sins of the past. The counterpoint should be how Guam is handling economic and political corruption without aid from the US mainland... although to be honest, there isn't much in that (the only thing I think GuamGov has done, was the high school fraud). IIRC, the US miltary still owns the water treatment facility and some parts of the power infrastructure, so corruption control in those areas have been directed at the Federal level. Also, the connection of political/economic corruption between Guam and the mainland US is small. Most - if not all - of the 2004 and 2005 cases are domestic of nature, using Federal funds. Japan is a MUCH larger source of the frauds. One involving a housing and banking ripoff was in the newspaper last week (OCT 11th). I can double check the case records at the court house, but I'll need several days to get clearance (standard OP).
On a side note, US Federal corruption has its entry in the US article of Wikipedia.
Maybe the article on corruption could be expanded to include how injustices in the Spanish and American colonial systems helped lead to the problems today. It would need to be a very long article if it is going to cover the entire history of corruption in Guam. "Racist colonial policies" that have hindered Guam's development might fit better in the history or economy articles. Someone should add information about the fight for Chamorro rights against unjust US colonial policies under the Naval government. The History of Guam article leaves this and many other topics out.Onionhound 10:30, 20 October 2005 (UTC)
Aye. Agreed. Also, while there is corruption, not everyone is corrupt. Heck... the only reason why most corruption is discovered, is because someone reported it. I'll look into "toning down" the harsh text in that article. Posting the source of where the corruption information is from, so that others can make their own opinions of them, should be made as well (i.e. court orders, case information, etc). It should also have an entry of how corruption has been less severe and less active than previous decades. Things are getting better, not worst. And that's what matters. Right?

[edit] Wondering how to edit this Entry?

The WikiProject U.S. states standards might help.

The legal status needs clarification since the link to "unincorporated" doesn´t say very much.

A map of where Guam is globally would be nice if anyone can find one. This should work and it's from the CIA World Factbook so it's public domain. Could someone resize and add it.

For "National Anthem" and "National Motto", I went ahead and placed the correct information for the island. However, with the word "National", I think it's a little unclear if we're referring to the USA or just the island.

I don't particulary consider Japanese to be an official language at all. It's akin to saying Spanish is an official language of the US; it's heard, and some (and when I mean some, I would say it's only 1 out of every 500 people) non-native speakers can speak it, but it's not taught in schools and it's not like street signs and newspapers have Japanese translations. I would say that Filipino is much more widely spoken. --Mariana 09:18, 5 Nov 2004 (UTC)

There should be more extensive discussion on Guam's self-determination movements: Independence, Statehood, and Free Association. The first two were explicitily mentioned in the article, but I wouldnt necessarily characterize Free Association as a "modified version of the status quo." There should also be a more extensive discussion of Guam's socio-political and economic relationships with the U.S. military.

[edit] PHOTO

someone should post a photo of what a Guam resident looks like.

That's really like saying someone should post a photo of what an "American" looks like. 23:26, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Heres what an american looks like. http://www.hotornot.com/r/?eid=EQHMKYR&key=ASW

USA is an immigrant country
Uh, that's my point. Guam is just as diverse as the "USA", whatever that means. And you seemingly contradict yourself when you put up a picture of GWB as an example of an American. And don't vandalise my Talk page. Mariana 13:46, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

Guam citizens are American citizens. Saying the US is an immigrant country makes it sound as if you're not even Americans. Think before you speak and insult others... or do you not think Guam is part of America?

If you want to see what a Guam resident looks like, you can see what a Filipino, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Micronesian, Caucasian, or Indian (from India) look like. As far as Chamorros goes, well we're roughly a "blending" of Malaysian, Spanish, and Filipino. That last part probably doesn't help much, but hey, I tried.

Seems some serious biased text in regards to tourism.

I agree. I'd change the text there, but I don't know enough about Guam to do it. Funnyhat 07:55, 19 Apr 2005 (UTC)
I wouldn't say it's completely untrue, but someone should fix the part about Tumon Bay. Mariana 23:26, 4 Jun 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Where to find a flag?

I'm looking for a flag of Guam please contact me at : crackwindobe voila.fr

I'm not going to email an anon, but in case you come back here, or in case anyone else is interested, a quick websearch indicates that you can get Guam flags online at http://www.flags.com/Country-Flags/c8759_210/index.html?letter=g#Guam. Don't know if that's gonna help much in France...they're kind of expensive from these people, but they're available at least from them. Tomer TALK 18:16, August 14, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Bit of Organizing

I removed this sentence:

Guam saw catastrophic damage in 1997 after Super Typhoon Paka slammed into the island at nearly Category 5 intensity on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

& added a mention of a more recent typhoon under a new section on weather. If you feel that it should be returned to the page - feel free (not that you need my permission) Syslib 22:38, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Guam population includes military personnel?

Hey there, I was wondering if anyone knew whether or not the figure of 163,941 given as Guam's population includes US military personnel resident on the island? I believe that they are considered a different class of inhabitant (in terms of how they pay their taxes) so I was wondering if they were or were not included in that figure. --Jfruh 17:59, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Yes the military is counted as part of the population of Guam.

[edit] Sister cities

Sister cities of what? The entire island of Guam? Or its capital? Elderberry 07:47, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

I've read where Guam has a sister city in Japan and maybe one in Korea. Now, the military bases on island "adopt" a particular village in the name of PR or whatever and volunteers from the base help with projects in that village.Jlujan69 05:21, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

"Sister city" when it comes to Guam usually refers to the entire island, as the capital city of Hagatna has only a few hundred residents. Guam has several of these relationships, including an agreement with the city of Kashiwa, Japan (signed in 1991). The adopted villages by the military bases is a separate arrangement, and is usually known by a different name.Freeguam 18:52, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Guam in entertainment

Like all Wikipedia sections that relate a topic to U.S. popular culture, the "Guam in entertainment" section is of no value. It degrades the Wikipedia article.Lestrade 14:25, 26 June 2006 (UTC)Lestrade

Agreed.--Albatross83 00:23, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Agreed. It should be removed. Onionhound 03:55, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Subject order

The order of subjects listed in the contents did not follow the format used for most countries and states in wikipedia. It is more aligned now. It could use demographics and culture sections maybe. Also, scouting, the list of radio stateions, the list of schools, and ecology should probably have their own articles with summaries or links on the Guam page.Onionhound 01:23, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Apatosaurus

We need a citation for the statement that the Apatosaurus is Guam's official dinosaur. Also, establishing it as the official dinosaur in Guam is not a major event in the island's history. It should be placed elsewhere in the article. I am deleting the statement for now until this is worked out.Onionhound 17:02, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

Someone put the apatosaurus reference back in. Inexplicably. I've deleted it. If you are going to add this sentence back in, please explain why it is important in Guam history. Which it isn't.Freeguam 08:01, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transportation and Communications

There's a lot of information in this section. A lot of it could be moved to the invidual articles on transportaion and communication.Onionhound 17:21, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

I agree and have moved the information to appropriate pages.Freeguam 22:03, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] corrections made

In the Transportation and Communication section, I made some corrections because some of the information was highly opinionated, inaccurate, or outdated.Jlujan69 22:43, 15 August 2006 (UTC)

I also organized the subjects a little in that section as well.Jlujan69 02:23, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't quite understand this part: "A flight to Japan or Korea takes 10-12 hours with another 3-4 hour flight to reach Guam" What takes 10-12 hours? There are direct flights to Japan, I know (3 hours from Nagoya.) Aren't the flights to China and Korea direct? --Timepilot 00:40, 12 September 2006 (UTC)

I've cleared up this section. It should be easier to understand now. Freeguam 22:04, 20 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Time Dilation

There is an extraordinary temporal effect associated with this island. I spent a decade of my life there one year.Lestrade 03:03, 10 September 2006 (UTC)Lestrade

[edit] Ecological Issues

Leave comments on disputed neutrality so it can be fixed or fix the bias yourself if you think it should be done. Several statements in this section that I find questionable are: 1. The brown tree snake section without references that fails to mention other factors in the decline of Guam's bird population. 2. Use of the word "Arson" 3. Passively blaming hotels for problems in Tumon bay. Perhaps these should be changed 67.169.128.235 23:32, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

I've tried to help fix these areas mentioned. I don't think this section merits a neutrality tag, however. If there are problems, just try to fix it. Regarding your issues:
1. If there are other factors in the decline of the bird population that should be mentioned, please add that in.
2. The word "arson" is taken from official Guam fire reports. It is not a subjective term, but one meant to mean fires intentionally started by humans, which in this case is entirely accurate as many fires are believed to have been started by hunters. I've provided a link.
3. Regarding blaming the hotel for Tumon Bay problems ... this is a legitimate complaint. I think the hotels are definitely at least partially responsible, especially when you factor in their larger output of sewer than the village previously had, but there are no sources listed here. I've found some documents that can be used, but the paragraph will have to be rewritten.
I will try to work on this section a bit more, and then if no one objects, will remove the neutrality tag.Freeguam 02:41, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
I don't believe the neutrality tag is needed, but then again I wrote most of the ecology section. The Tumon ecology section does need rewriting. The Tumon article also needs work.Onionhound 20:05, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fanihi

I understand that fanihi (the Marianas flying fox) is a traditional Chamorros dish, cooked and eaten whole, but the animal is endangered (through a combination of hunting for food and the snakes). Is this correct? Should it be mentioned somewhere, either here or in Chamorros? -- ALoan (Talk) 23:15, 13 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Icon / flag / template for Guam?

Is there a Icon / flag / template for Guam that works like these examples: Flag of Palau Palau or Flag of the Maldives Maldives?

GeoFan49 20:46, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes. {{GUM}} = Flag of Guam Guam Jimp 07:32, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Proposed WikiProject

There is now a proposed WikiProject dealing with the area of Micronesia at Wikipedia:WikiProject Council/Proposals#Micronesia. Any interested parties should add their names there, so we can see if there is enough interest in this project to try to officially start it. Thank you. Badbilltucker 21:22, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Culture of Guåhån

The culture section was slightly repetitive and confusing to those unfamiliar with Guam's culture. I tried to make it slightly clearer. Information on Guam's contemporary culture including religion, fiestas, food, and music should be added. 71.198.167.192 06:00, 29 December 2006 (UTC)

In the article introduction, spellings for places should be consistent with the rest of the articles about Guam and should be official spellings. It doesn't matter that the "t" in Hagåtña is more similar to a glottal stop when some people say it. The familiar version approved by the legislature should be used. Guåhån is a completely acceptable way to spell the island's name, but is unfamiliar to anyone who isn't from the island. We should do our best to keep everything in Wikipedia understandable to those who don't have inimate experience with the topic they are reading about.Onionhound 02:22, 30 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Flag of Guam

I went to Flag of Guam and found two flags. The article says "The flag of Guam was adopted on February 9, 1948." and goes on to describe the one with the red border. So, what's this other flag? The image page it's on is called "Image:Flag of Guam 1934.gif" so I assumed that it was the 1934-1948 flag. I added a caption saying so but is this correct? If not, what is this borderless version? Jimp 07:41, 7 February 2007 (UTC)

The current flag and seal have been the same since 1917. It seems like the borderless version is a mistake. http://www.fotw.net/flags/gu.html has a talk page about it. Haikon 13:40, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How many troops?

Could someone add how many milatary personel are on the island.

[edit] Place names

 Please help improve this article or section by expanding it.
Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (July 2007)

The EPA refers to "Piti and Tanguisson Counties" as air quality non-attainment areas.[1] This article does not mention counties in Guam. Do they exist? Are they co-extensive with municipalities? I can't find any mention of Tanguisson, but there is an article on the village of Piti, Guam. -- Beland 23:49, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

Oh, here they describe these areas as those within 3.5 km of the Piti and Tanguisson power plants. On other web sites, I do find references to "Tanguisson Beach" and "Tanguisson Point" (apparently a small hill), which would be useful to explain in the encyclopedia. -- Beland 23:56, 1 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Chamorro Scouting

Can someone render "Be Prepared", the Scout Motto, into Chamorro? Thanks! Chris 15:02, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Military Land vs Island Size

All old literatures say Guam is 1/3 military land. Well, Andersen AFB shook off quite a bit of land over the years and the Agana NAS got turned over to GovGuam, so I tend to think 1/4 is more reasonable. Can somebody find the exact square mileage?HkCaGu (talk) 18:30, 23 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fibre optic communications hub

I've heard Guam is a hub for trans-Pacific submarine fibre cables. Does anyone with knowledge/references about this want to add it to the communications section? -- Chuq (talk) 01:21, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Guam Customs

The section on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guam#Transportation_and_communications mentions no customs from into Guam. Would there also be no customs for US citizens traveling from Guam to the US Mainland or Hawaii? - 68.228.36.165 (talk) 01:01, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

It says Guam is fully autonomous in terms of customs, so if you enter Guam (wherever you're coming from), you get inspected. The Hawaii (and potential Mainland) flight's passengers skips immigration and go right to customs. In a regular US airport, USCBP carries both immigration and customs function, but for Guam, it's only immigration.

And if you go from Guam to Hawaii, you're subject to a full US CBP customs inspection, although exemptions amount would be different. HkCaGu (talk) 03:28, 14 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism Watch

I've reverted 2 vandals after their "work" was left untouched for more than 12 hours. Please, any registered user who reads this, add "Guam" to your watchlist! This article doesn't get edited too often, and the proportion of bad faith edits is on the rise! HkCaGu (talk) 07:07, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Photo requests

Please follow the instructions at Category:Wikipedia requested photographs in Guam to request photo within Guam. GregManninLB (talk) 18:39, 26 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] electoral significance

should the significance of the vote today be mentioned in the article? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.25.86.34 (talk) 20:10, 3 May 2008 (UTC)

It could very well be a one-time thing. Both parties had never given the decision to the general voters until it matters this year as the Guam Democrats had done. HkCaGu (talk) 00:16, 5 May 2008 (UTC)