Slashdot Mirror
Sealand Put Up For Sale
antic writes "The Principality of Sealand is up for sale. The 550 square meter steel platform boasts "uninterrupted sea views", complete privacy and has been mentioned on Slashdot in the past for its offers of hosting outside the jurisdiction of (some) traditional laws."
Then I could hunt the most dangerous game of all...
It was a joke! When you give me that look it was a joke.
You should know that the commute is a bitch.
1. Buy Sealand on credit, you can get a loan anywhere these days.
2. Apply for your own TLD.
3. Open up for a new domain rush, demand ridicilous prices for certain domains
4. Release the loan using the income from domain sales.
5. You own Sealand, you are king.
www.6502asm.com - Code 6502 assembly or.. DIE!!
He should buy it. Not very expensive for him.
-- Rastignac was here.
So it's for sale is it? I seem to recall at the time that their hopes hinged on making it a jurisdiction for legal gambling and other commerce that was heavily regulated in other jurisdictions. So now they want to try their hand at web hosting, do they? Interesting...
It's not actually for sale, the owners are just offering a tenancy. Which makes it not such a sweet deal.
However its hard to see it working out long term, otherwise it would actually be a decent way around the cyberspace annoyances. However the problem boils down to you have to get the bandwidth from somewhere. Most likely the UK due to its proximity. If you ISP is someplace with draconian IP laws then you always have the potential to be cut off.
Power Corrupts,Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely, leaving one person(group)in charge is absolutely corrupt.
Sealand exists because in 1967, Britian's territorial waters extended only 3 miles out from the shore.
Therefore, they could legitimately claim the fort as theirs. If they had tried to do that after 1987... it wouldn't have worked, because the 3-mile limit was changed to 12 miles.
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Sealand could get some rather large offers, due to recent advances in the field of wireless power.
"If you think you have things under control, you're not going fast enough." --Mario Andretti
Eric Cartman unavailable for comment.
nothing
Sealand is a bit of a running joke for the people of Harwich. I would contest their "uninterrupted sea views" as I'm fairly sure that the very brightly coloured (luminous yellow!) Hotel Continental situated on the cliffs of Harwich can be seen from it, hell... they can probably see it from Holland! It's also probably quite fire damaged at the moment having suffered a fire http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/5110244.stm last year, and not having its own fire brigade or hospital services had to make use of the British ones.
there's no land, it's a floating platform off the UK coast. it's as much a nation as my dingy is. it's squatted on by a bunch of inbreds who claim it's there's only because no one could be bothered with the useless floating hunk of junk. i think the brits are secretly hoping a storm will settle it for them. no doubt the current squatters are attempting to offload it an make a profit while they still can.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
Hesh wants sex!
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
As long as the new owners don't change the current statutes on Monkey Knife-fighting, I don't see this as a problem.
I also hope they clear up the inconsistencies in the human-bovine marriage laws.
starvation? it's called fishing
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
Looks like I commented on the previous /. thread on Sealand - the interview with the HavenCo guy.
So they want 8 figures do they? $100 million plus seems like a lot for what is basically a 550 m^2 platform. (A square 77 feet on a side would be approximately this size).
Sounds like it would make a great superhero headquarters.
According to Sealand's official website, the platform sustained heavy damage by fire last summer. From the desperate tone of the account, I gather that Sealand might be very close to uninhabitable by now. That might explain the decision to sell it off, more than the old age of the founder.
-- javaDragon is an instance of JavaDragon.
Get in now while it's cheap - it suffered a large fire last year. "Michael Bates, a member of the family which owns the fort, said damage to living accommodation was extensive".
but sealand is affixed to the sea floor, not floating.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
You are correct. The value in Sealand is being able to create embassies of Sealand. It should be easy to find nations willing to host Sealand embassies: if only to tweak the noses of the "first world".
Sealand in itself is too dependent on the UK government. But really, the "data centre" or other services can easily be provided at the embassy level.
The remaining problem is that this approach is expensive -- the embassy hosting nations require investment in infrastructure. Or Sealand would have to own its own satellite...
Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
Nations are sovereign only because they have enough firepower to keep other nations from claiming them. What does it matter what the laws of Sealand are, if you own it and you have no army? Is the army included, or do you have to put it together yourself?
Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.
He'll be needing to relocate soon: http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/12/1 2/2029215
Oh, yeah, it's not easy to pad these out to 120 characters.
I believe It's empty right now. Sail up there with a paper knife. occupy the terriroty. Kill all zero people who resist. Declare yourself the revolutionary government.
Of course, the declaration of what makes for statehood is a little arbitrary. So rather than go to the effort, I declare myself King of Antarctica.
Does anyone else see the UK government laying out the cash to take back Sealand? It'd be a quiet end to what may have been something of an embarassment to them over the years.
Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
If I had a little more equity, I'd buy it and rename it Petoria..
Interesting?! Comments on human-bovine marriage laws get modded "Interesting"?! This explains so much about Slashdot.
Why don't a group of Slashdotters invade this country and take it for themselves?
1. It would take no more then ten invaders, armed with nothing more than beer and a hamburger.
2. The person living there just wants to go home anyway.
Think of the possibilities!
This would be the perfect layer for Dr. Evil. And it would only cost him... one hundred... million... dollars.
#2: Dr. Evil. While you were in space, we sighted an island off the coast of...
Dr. Evil: Is it an Evil Island?
#2: Yes. Very.
Dr. Evil: Go on.
#2: Off the coast of England. And for a small investment of...
Dr. Evil: Look at mini me, he is exited. Someone get the stick. Come mini me.
#2: uh uhm.
Dr. Evil: Go on.
#2: For a small investment of one hundred million dollars the Island can be ours.
Dr. Evil: I have a plan, and my evil plan is...
Dr. Evil: It can be our secret volcanic layer, where we can host porn! And when Austin Powers signs up. We will have his Credit Card number.
Dr. Evil: Whoooaoaaa, Whooooaaaaaa, HAHAHAHAHA.
Everyone: Whooaaaa, Whoaoaaa, HAHAHAHA.
When government fears the people, there is liberty. When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. - Jefferson
Firstly, if they sold it (instead of just offering tennancy) would they have to call it "New Sealand?" Furthermore, is there a state-sanctioned religion? Do they celebrate festivus? I won't bid unless I get to pin the leader.
Sealand is awesome. It renews my desire to declare myself holy ground to avoid income tax.
bladesjester: the sun do its work
Off the coast of Essex, England, UK? In the North Sea?
I'm guessing you've never been to the east coast of England. It is sunny for approximately half an hour in the afternoon only of the third Wednesday after Pentecost.
A far, far faster method of obtaining fresh water in the North Sea would be to simply open your mouth and tilt your head skywards. It'll fill with fresh rainwater - no desalination required - in about six seconds.
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Sealand_fortres s.jpg
More like "Seaplatform". though it doesn't have that ring to it.
If anyone is interested in it, move along. Not only is it in the middle of nowhere, you face invasion by several post - industrialized nations. You're better off buying an island in the keys. At least then you're lucky to have something called coconuts and White Sandy beaches.
In Soviet Russia, dots slash you!
In terms of active troops per 1,000 citizens, Luxembourg has a higher percentage of active military than China, India, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, or Canada. Any invading country would face a similar ratio of benefit vs. expenditure. I stand by my claim. You can't have a sovereign country without an appropriately sized army to back it up.
Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.
For far less than 65m you can build your own damn platform and anchor it in the channel or north sea.
Mr. Roarke and Tattoo are saving up to start a whole new Fantasy "Island" ;)
Remember when Windows were washed, mice were trapped and UNIX guarded the harem?
....I'd buy it to dump nuclear waste. I doubt it has the strictest waste regulations in the world.
u ghsSealand.html
No, but as it only has room for about 3 barrels you're unlikely to make a great deal of money either.
Here's some pictures of your new "nation" :
http://www.bobleroi.co.uk/ScrapBook/SealandTwo/Ro
And they made it sound like life was rough out there but they were making bucks. At least i got a free perl book out of the conference :)
or maybe just retarded. Come on. That was clearly supposed to be humor or a misguided attempt at insight (in which case the parent is an idiot) but modding him/her a troll is not called for.
With all the money they apparently make, AllOfMp3 should move to Sealand! It would stop all the copyright disputes!!
...the architect's design for the refurbishment is quite nice:
. jpg
http://shatterhand007.com/Formula/FORMULAAtlantis
----------------------------------- My Other Sig Is Hilarious -----------------------------------
Say hi to the principality of GoldenPalace.com.
I suspect that most of those countries have agreements with nations that do have militaries, but that's an interesting rebuttal. Especially in the case of Vatican City, which may only be protected from foreign invasion by the threat of international Catholic outrage.
Step into a huge movement. Don't Tread In Me.
who cares about your lyrics site anyway!
Sounds like a great place to live and rape and use Reason ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reason_(weapon_system ) )
lick the cancle button (at least thats what our Chinese QA says)
The UK really doesn't care that much about it.
That place looks like a prison I think I'll hold out for something better
RIAA and MPAA should be buying it. How long before .SL creeps along and guys like us start profiting?
I call dibs on goatse.SL!
Free childcare classifieds: www.carebrite.com
One of my teachers in high school taught us about Sealand because his son was one of the co-founders. Didn't think I'd see it come up on slashdot. Funny story about the country: after it was founded, many of the world's nations extended their borders into sea from (I think about) 5 miles to 10 miles. Sealand viewed this as an aggressive action by the UK since Sealand was now entirely within UK borders and was considered by the British to be UK soil. Sealands response was to extend their borders to 10 miles as well and claim the respective British coastal areas as Sealand soil.
I don't think anyone should be having a discussion like this about Sealand without referencing The Mouse that Roared .
Paris is covered in smoke from the burning cars.
Blasted "youths"
I think that the Piratbyrån should purchase it. I'd donate to the cause. ~j
~j
Well, the Principality Army could stay on site to prevent a coup. What? There is no army? Well then, the citizens can form a militia... You say there are no citizens either? So what does "Prince" Michael rule over?
This notion that an abandoned radar platform has somehow achieved sovereign nation status just because its squatters say it is has always been a bad joke. They've only gotten away with it because nobody gives a shit. They claim to have a legal decision, but what they really have is a court case the the UK crown won't appeal out of bureaucratic inertia. The very first time they'd done something to really piss people off, a platoon of Scotland Yard bobbies would have landed, sent the "Prince" back to his sheep, and that would have been the end of it.
They are sovereign until they either give it up; or someone blows them away. They had a tiff with the british navy back when; and are still there; what more is sovereignty?
Never know, you may have neighbors who consider themselves sovereign... Best be polite about staying off their yard, or you might learn the lesson the hard way.
If Sealand is a principality, who is the prince? (Can I be the prince? Please? Please?)
Is there any oil in that part of the North sea? A 12 mile territorial limit encompasses a lot of land.
It's really very strange, because they are not normally sea-birds, but I can quite distinctly hear the call of a cuckoo even though I'm 12,000 miles from Sealand! Very odd indeed!
Taking it might be fun but ten minutes later you'd realise you'd paid some dodgy Essex fisherman a huge chunk of money to leave you marooned on a stinky rusting lump of steel ten miles off the British Coast in the North Sea. Not the exotic Caribbean, but a grey old sea full of industrial waste, oil tankers and seagulls that want to poop on you and your new found hulk ^H^H^H empire . Throw in pretty poor weather and lack of basic amenities and the sinking feeling that the dodgy fisherman is going to ask double to take you back to Blighty once you've spent a miserable night huddling in the burnt out remains of the portacabin or whatever's left on the old gunnery platform. There's a reason that these platforms had a high suicide rate amongst troops stationed on them in the Second World War...
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I'm ready to leave Mom's basement, but I don't want to be too close to other people yet.....
Wikipedia: ABCNews Online: Wikipedia: ABCNews Online:
Someone needs to be fired.
There are lives at stake here!
This would be the ultimate in secure server space. Think about it: -Tax Exempt Status -Free from gambling regulations -You could form your own military, which would give you alot more breathing room in defending secure servers. (Hint: You could use artillery to defend from outside intruders) -No firearm regulations (read: all the toys you could dream of, consequence free) -It is nearly impossible for anyone to invade you or physically compromise secure servers. -Data storage free from regulation -Radio operations free from regulation .....And the top seven reasons why you should buy your own country:
7. You make your tax payment check payable to yourself.
6. You could print as much money as you want.
5. You ARE the law.
4. You ARE the Head Honcho / Big Cheese / Big Kahuna / The Man .
3. The DMCA is nothing more than fuel.
2. The RIAA can't touch you.
1. You can fish without a license. .....On the downside, it could be a potential SPAM haven. .....On the upside of the downside, you know exactly where the SPAM haven is, so you could bomb the hell out of it.
Knowing Google's lust for data collection, the Soviet Union is still alive and well inside the psyche of Sergey Brin....
If they were to, say, dredge and fill in a nice breakwater and some land, like they are doing in the Middle East(saw it on a TV show - forget which country) - they could make a small, real island. With a platform on it. Then nobody could say they aren't their own country ;)
But that would take a few billion dollars. Technically, anyone could do this and make their own country, btw. But who has a few billion lying around in spare change?
that is truly free that is easily inhabitable? Uninhabitable? Would a libertarian have to go into deep space to be truely happy?
HavenCo does just that. I wonder what the impending sale, sorry, transfer will do to their business, but the numbers that the Spanish estate agent is supposed to ask according to Wikipedia are insane.
I can't even see Saudi oil dollars go for that other than as some private airfield near the UK.
Don't forget, this platform is incapable of sustaining itself so isolating it isn't hard unless they started thinking about wave and wind power generation (but that still doesn't cater for the humans on board). It means everything has to be transported in.
Then again, if you've got the cash to pay for it I guess the upkeep won't be that much to worry about..
Insert
Seems perfectly within the limits of the GFDL to me.
That's sort of the point of Wikipedia...anyone can use its content. Besides which, the article's author did change the wording; I'm not even sure I'd call it "plagiarism." It looks more like the sort of thing that would happen after someone read the WP page and then sat down and wrote their own article a few minutes later.
"Ladies and gentlemen, my killbot features Lotus Notes and a machine gun. It is the finest available."
Lack of amenities? There's internet and (off the top of my head) it's 2ms from the centre of London. What more would you need?
Let the rush for worthless domain names by speculators begin!
As stated on the pirate bay forum, most people think buying (or conquering) a small island in the name of techie geeks would be a much better idea.