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Guam: The America that Americans forget

nytimes.com

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Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#191

Post by bluGill »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #120
fnordpiglet wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These suggestions are cognitive load on the person making the trip. Most people break out in sweats thinking about organizing a trip to begin with, booking something with any complexity or risk is unbearable to them. My parents are both like this.

I had a partner like that. Would freak out if I started driving without our destination already in the GPS. I think at least half of travel should be an adventure. Adventures are uncomfortable - but they make the best stories. Nobody has ever said, "Man, remember that time we went on that perfectly planned trip where nothing out of the ordinary happened? How exciting!"

Sure I remember the adventure in Denver that one time, but we barely made it to the funeral the trip was about, and we missed a lot of time with family.

If you just want to travel randomly, then no plan is fine. However we laid out plans can ensure you get to the must sees that are farther from home. Also many close to home things have wierd hours They are open so if you don't plan you won't see them that trip.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#193

Post by nl »

zoky wrote: post #156
TulliusCicero wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wish we'd get rid of this rule entirely. Just seems like naked protectionism, no? If a non-US carrier abides by local regulations, I don't see an issue with letting them run domestic flights.

Given that many foreign airlines are at least in part government owned, this could be problematic. Do we really want Air China to come in and drastically undercut US based carriers in order to drive them out of business?

Sure? If the Chinese government (or more realistically Qatar or UAE etc) wants to subsidize US business and tourism by making it cheaper to fly within the US it seems like a good thing for the US.

As we've seen, anytime an airline raises prices it is pretty easy for another carrier (or even a brand new carrier) to come in and replace them. So it isn't like a hypothetical foreign government owned carrier could somehow make long term sustained profits.

Let them spend their money on that if they are that dumb!

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#194

Post by rascul »

prmoustache wrote: post #162
deaddodo wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what way? The territories are as much a part of the US as the states are. They simply have a different status than the states do. I assume you're making some point/remark regarding their status and the political mindfield surrounding it, but that doesn't change their subnational/sovereign situation.

I am making that point regarding USA != America. America is a continent, not a country and Guam is not part of it despite being part of the USA. It would be like saying that Bora-Bora or New Caledonia were in Europe. Well no, they are part of France and the European Union, but not Europe. The America/USA ambiguation is very annoying to hear or even considered rude/insulting for most america inhabitants outside of the…

> America is a continent

Two, actually.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#195

Post by JumpCrisscross »

nl wrote: post #193
zoky wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Given that many foreign airlines are at least in part government owned, this could be problematic. Do we really want Air China to come in and drastically undercut US based carriers in order to drive them out of business?

Sure? If the Chinese government (or more realistically Qatar or UAE etc) wants to subsidize US business and tourism by making it cheaper to fly within the US it seems like a good thing for the US. As we've seen, anytime an airline raises prices it is pretty easy for another carrier (or even a brand new carrier) to come in and replace them. So it isn't like a hypothetical foreign government owned carrier could somehow…

We don’t want to be in a situation where Beijing can turn off American flights because someone said mean things about Xi.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#196

Post by mcculley »

zirgs wrote: post #183
actionfromafar wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not sure what the joke is. Sweden had an atomic bomb program which was dropped in the 1970s after assurances from the US to extend its “nuclear umbrella” to protect Sweden.

So if the USSR were to attack Sweden then what would the USA do exactly?

Do you mean Russia or USSR? It is unclear if you are asking about a hypothetical event in the past or a hypothetical event in the future after ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#197

Post by pmarreck »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #115
r24y wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Flight costs are a pain, and the flight durations are nothing to sneeze at either. I live out in Guam (my wife is stationed here with the Navy) and the two most common ways to get back to the mainland are via Tokyo (Narita) and Honolulu. I would definitely encourage visiting if you have the means! I find there are two types of people here: those who feel limited by the island and its infrastructure (no Target, no Sta…

I thought about retiring in Guam someday since Medicare would actually work there. But I can’t imagine it is much nicer than Bali or some parts of Thailand I’m also thinking about (if my health is good 20 years later), and it’s definitely more expensive than.

Bali is incredibly hot and humid

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#198

Post by ericmay »

sreejithr wrote: post #53
ericmay wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But if this is normal, why is it so hard to accept what Russia is doing to Ukraine? Because before significant aid could even reach Ukraine, the Ukrainians stopped Russia - ergo they didn’t “defeat the natives” and instead are being defeated. So your comparison here doesn’t really make sense. It also doesn’t make sense because we Russia is actively attacking Ukraine today .

I don’t understand. By your logic, if Russia had defeated Ukraine, then it would’ve been fair and normal? Islanders had their land taken from them and still don’t have it (just like natives). How is this different from Russia taking Ukraine’s land?

Well that was your logic. I was pointing out that:

> How is this different from Russia taking Ukraine’s land?

Hasn’t happened yet (in the context of the 2022 invasion - aware of previous annexation). And bigger, more powerful countries like the United States are helping Ukraine stop Russia from doing so.

But since this is ongoing we can say “hey that’s wrong!” And do something about it. Not much we can do (though there is some) about events hundreds of years old.

So it’s normal because it has occurred through your history, and also possible for us to stop today, hence we are. If you want to really dig into the whole might makes right thing (and at the nation state level it does) then the US is the mightiest and is stopping Russia from taking from Ukraine.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#199

Post by kmeisthax »

throwawaaarrgh wrote: post #39
messe wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The issue then is if you have checked luggage.

So get your luggage? Deboarding, going through immigration, getting luggage, and going through customs takes no more than 45 minutes at Narita. Give yourself a 2 hour layover to be safe. Or pack like Rick Steves and just bring a backpack with the essentials.

They don't let you check bags right before the plane takes off - AFAIK it's either 30 minutes or an hour before depending on what airline and airport[0] you change at. So a 2 hour layover "to be safe" would at best give you a grand total of 15 minutes to get all the way back to departures, recheck your bags, go through security, the immigration checkpoint, get to your new gate, etc.

If there's any delay, you miss your next flight, and the airline will not rebook you because your layover's a self-connection, not an actually ticketed thing. So your Guam trip just became a Japan trip.

3 hours would actually have some safety margin in it for short delays. Personally I don't get how people manage really short connections, and I hear plenty of people getting screwed over because of them.

Also, I'm not entirely sure how this works with immigration. The visitor form for Japan asks you about your hotel you plan to stay at - which you won't have since you aren't intending this to become a Japan trip. I have no clue if the immigration officer actually checks that field or if it's purely just for keeping records on tourists.

[0] I heard an hour at LAX. This is the same airport that universally refuses to store luggage overnight - a fact that even people in the airport industry don't seem to understand - so perhaps this is just a rule specific to that tire fire of an airport.

Re: Guam: The America that Americans forget

#200

Post by superturkey650 »

FrustratedMonky wrote: post #188
Aerbil313 wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> those who feel limited by the island and its infrastructure (no Target, no Starbucks, etc.) I hate those people. I live in a city of 1.5 million (there's everything here), and it's a constant background radiation talking point for a significant number of my highschool friends: how unfortunate they are that they don't live in the nearby city of 15 million. IME this constant moping has everything to do with the amoun…

It is an interesting idea to explore: Why do humans predominantly want to live in bigger and bigger groups. Sure, there are a few people that want to live out in the country, but cities are big because people want to be there. Humans like groups.

Bigger groups of people allow for better economies of scale and allow for a wider variety of businesses and interests to be catered to.
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