Of course, there are other instances of the word Palau online that don't relate to the country, so I will work some of that into my posts too. But for today, I'll keep it more streamlined.
I'll start with some blog mentions of Palau's participation in the Olympics opening ceremony. Thankfully I got to see the Palauan delegation in the procession, even if it was on a split-screen as CBC interviewed Canadian athletes at the same time. A few bloggers saw Palau as well and did some research to learn more about it.
Mary Cartledgehayes googled and found Palau on the Destination Micronesia website and wondered why more Americans don't know Palau was a U.S. territory. I'm not surprised.
Mike's Column scanned a map to find Palau and offered some support (contingent on U.S. underachievement): "if [U.S. athletes] don't do well, there's always Vanuatu, Palau and Nauru to cheer for."
Both blogs mentioned Vanuatu as another place they'd never heard of. If I wasn't a Pacific Islander, I probably wouldn't have heard of it either.
Intersportswire reveals a bias against Middle Eastern countries and island nations in an article about "hideous" flags of the Olympics. Palau's flag apparently sends out this message: "Come to Palau. We're all sun, beaches and water." Is that a bad thing? The author concludes with this cutting criticism: "Nice, I guess."
Ah, this is my kind of article about Palau: "Palau is such a beautiful island for vacation! Everyone should go visit themselves!!" Not much left to say, though I am confused about how to visit myself.
Surprisingly, the Toronto Star has the best coverage of Team Palau that I've seen outside of Palauan news sources. Writer Jim Byers notes that sprinter Jesse Tamangrow will be trying to break a personal record, and he even mentions each of the Palauan athletes' disciplines. Nice work Jim! Just know that there is at least one reader in Canada who appreciates it.
Here's an interesting bit of Palauan politics: President Tommy Remengesau Jr., who can't run for re-election due to the two-term limit, is instead running for Senate. After the constant battles Tommy had with the Senate during his administration, he must be dying for the chance to subvert all the next president's initiatives.
Should current senator Alfonso Diaz hold on to his seat, there will be some stimulating discussion in the Senate between the two as equals, rather than President and press conference emcee.
Meanwhile, Tommy's press conferences continue to entertain. In his most recent press-con, the President grilled independent counsel Lewis Harley on his progress in investigating the collapse of Pacific Savings Bank while also managing to argue with presidential candidate Joshua Koshiba. I think reporter David Miho summed it up well, saying the press conference "served as Palau's version of reality television." Better than The Hills? Doubt it.
More from the intricate world of Palauan politics, this time with a familial twist: Vice President Camsek Chin, who is running for president, has asked Tommy for his endorsement.
The problem? The president's sister is married to the son of another presidential candidate, Surangel Whipps, and his chief of staff, Billy Kuartei, is now Whipps' running mate (on what I like to call the "God Ticket"—Kuartei rebuffed advances from Chin and Johnson Toribiong and accepted Whipps' offer after "soul-searching, consultations with his family, and prayer").
That's why I'm lucky to be only half Palauan—I have just one side of the family in which to negotiate this kind of treacherous terrain. Good luck with that decision, Mr. President.
Which is more challenging for Palauans: competing in the Olympics, or navigating the swamps of family and politics? At least the Olympics only comes once every four years.
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