>OK, now I get a shot - what is CNMI and where is it? Word "Saipan" does ring some bells, but not sufficiently loud for my ears :). Don't tell me it's been in the newspapers all over the world - my country (not USA, Yugoslavia) was rather isolated for a decade, they may have landed on Jupiter and I'm not sure I'd have heard.

I'll try to answer this, and Jill can make any necessary corrections when her time zone wakes up.

CNMI is the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, in the North Pacific. It was part of the U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific before that territory was split into four pieces, some of which chose (at least nominal) independence. Since CNMI is called a "Commonwealth" I suppose it has the same status as Puerto Rico: no federal income tax, no vote for president, represented in Congress by a delegate who can vote in committee but not on the house floor.

Saipan is the main population center. If you've heard of it, the two most likely reasons are 1) a major WWII battle was fought there (I think) and 2) recent news stories about labor and immigration law loopholes that apply to the CNMI which are used by ruthless businessmen to exploit immigrants from Asia in sweatshops and brothels.

I'll have to look at a map when I get home, but I think that they call it "northern" Marianas because the southern part of that island group is another U.S. territory, maybe Guam.

Americans pay very little attention to our pacific territories, and most of us barely know they exist.