Saipan

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Saipan (IPA: Template:IPA in English) is the largest island and site of the capital of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, (a chain of 14 tropical islands in the western Pacific Ocean) with a total area of 120 km² (46.5 sq mi). The 2000 estimated population was 62,392.

Image:SaipanTinianAquijan.PNG

Located at Template:Coor dm, about 200 km (120 mi) north of Guam, Saipan is about 20 km (12.5 mi) long and 9 km (5.5 mi) wide. The western side of the island has beaches and a coral reef, while the eastern shore is composed primarily of rugged rocky cliffs. Its highest point is the extinct volcano Mount Tapochau at 474 m (1,554 ft). Despite an annual rainfall of 80-100", Commonwealth Utilities Corporation, the local government-run water utility company on Saipan, is unable to deliver 24-hour-a-day potable water to its customers. As a result, several of the large hotels use desalination plants to produce fresh water for their customers. Most homes and small businesses have cisterns to store rainwater, unlike Guam which has limestone aquifers.

Spain originally claimed Saipan as part of its claim to the Marianas. Around 1815, many Carolineans from atolls near Chuuk (formerly Truk) settled in Saipan. Saipan was under German rule from 1899 to 1914, when the Japanese took over the island. The Japanese developed both fishing and sugar industries, and in the 1930s garrisoned Saipan heavily, with nearly 30,000 troops on the island by 1941.

Image:Saipan-WW2.jpg During World War II, the U.S. Marines landed on June 15, 1944, on the beaches of the southwestern side of the island, and spent more than three weeks in hard fighting to secure it in the battle of Saipan. This engagement was dramatized in John Woo's 2002 film "Windtalkers." Garapan is the largest village and the center of the tourism industry on the island.

Despite its status as a U.S. Commonwealth, Saipan is exempt from some federal laws, including key labor and immigration laws. As a result, a number of garment factories with wages around half of the U.S. minimum wage have been set up on the island to supply the U.S. market. Goods manufactured in U.S. Commonwealths, including Saipan, may be labeled "Made in the USA".

In January 1999, a coalition of U.S.-based pressure groups and labor unions began a class action lawsuit on behalf of around 30,000 garment-industry workers who they claimed had been mistreated in such factories, being submitted to what was, in effect, indentured servitude. In April 2003, a settlement worth $20 million was reached with 27 garment manufacturers and 27 leading retailers, including The Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, and Polo Ralph Lauren. The firm of Levi Strauss & Co. refused to settle, however; in January 2004, the case against the company was dismissed. In 2005-2006, the issue of immigration and labor practices in Saipan (particularly with Tan Holdings Corporation) was brought up during the American political scandals of Congressman Tom DeLay and lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

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Football

In the Republic of Ireland, 'Saipan' is used as a by-word for the infamous bust-up before the 2002 FIFA World Cup between Mick McCarthy, manager of the Irish soccer team, and Roy Keane, the captain. The falling-out was centred around poor training facilities in Saipan, and Roy Keane was sent home before the tournament as a result, causing a national outcry in Ireland and sparking a debate which raged for months afterwards. This is still referred to as 'The Saipan Incident' or simply 'Saipan'.

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