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Scientists Unveil Plans For First Space Nation 'Asgardia,' Open Citizenship Applications (theguardian.com)
Scientists and legal experts have unveiled plans for the "first nation state in space." The state is called "Asgardia" after one of the mythical worlds inhabited by the Norse gods, and it will eventually become a member of the United Nations -- complete with its own flag and anthem. The Guardian reports: According to the project website, Asgardia "will offer an independent platform free from the constraint of a land-based country's laws. It will become a place it in orbit which is truly 'no man's land.'" Initially, it would seem, this new nation will consist of a single satellite, scheduled to be launched next year, with its citizens residing firmly on terra firma. Speaking to the Guardian through an interpreter, the project lead Igor Ashurbeyli, said: "Physically the citizens of that nation state will be on Earth; they will be living on different countries on Earth, so they will be a citizen of their own country and at the same time they will be citizens of Asgardia." "When the number of those applications goes above 100,000 we can officially apply to the UN for the status of state," he added. According to the project website, "Any human living on Earth can become a citizen of Asgardia," with the site featuring a simple registration form. At the time of writing more than 1000 individuals had already signed up. At present, the Outer Space Treaty that underpins international space law states that responsibility and liability for objects sent into space lies with the nation that launched them. But the project team claims that Asgardia will set a new precedent, shifting responsibility to the new "space nation" itself. "The existing state agencies represent interests of their own countries and there are not so many countries in the world that have those space agencies," said Ashurbeyli. "The ultimate aim is to create a legal platform to ensure protection of planet Earth and to provide access to space technologies for those who do not have that access at the moment."
I can't help but read that at ass-guardian...as in CYA?
Although this is highly impractical, as you can't fit 100,000 people in a space station nor do they have money for such a thing, the idea of a country based solely on personal membership as opposed to land borders is an intriguing one...
"Set a man a fire, he'll be warm for the rest of the night. Set a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
The perfect tax haven. Soon, all of Apple's profits will be recorded as happening in Asgardia at a 0% tax rate.
This space intentionally left blank
The Assgaurdian people have not ratified that terran treaty. They are not bound to it's restrictions.
When the summary says 'scientists', I mentally see air-quotes around that word.
Apropos line from an early season of the Simpsons, spoken by Stephen Hawking:
"You could have had a Utopia; instead you have a Fruitopia."
#DeleteChrome
Make Asgardia great again!
So what do we do about Neptune then? It certainly hasn't cleared its orbital path of Pluto.
If you look at the orbits of Neptune and Pluto in 3D, they never really cross.
In fact due to 3:2 resonance between them, the closest they ever get to each other is 18AU, about the distance of Earth with Uranus.
https://www.quora.com/Will-Nep...
So yet, Neptunes orbit is considered cleared.
Note that small bodies in rensonace and in Lagrange points are considered excluded from the planetary "clearing" requirement, since they are not in the way of the planet's orbit.
All citizens will use Dvorak keyboards, the metric system, drive on right hand side of the road, nonsmoking, use vi text editor, do not use system d
that would have me as a member. - Groucho Marx
It's all fun and games until they institute a tax collection policy, with the recognition of the UN behind them as a sovereign nation with the right to enforce it...
The idea is about being immune to laws.
As I wrote above, quite pathetic.
No there isn't. -- @realDonaldTrump
Ireland is not a tax haven. They pretended to be in order to garner Apple's attention. Ireland violated EU rules and now has to pay (indirectly, via Apple) the real price.
Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
>> Build what?
Most people don't read the fine article but it appears you didn't even read the article post.
Here let me help you by quoting from the article summary: "Initially, it would seem, this new nation will consist of a single satellite, scheduled to be launched next year, with its citizens residing firmly on terra firma."
I sometimes wonder what the general public thinks "scientists" are really like. Do they have a mental image of people standing around a lab in white coats, complete with chemistry paraphernalia and a whiteboard with complex equations on it?
const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
Don't tell people who disagree with a bad decision that they need to "Give it up!". Reposting my issues with the definition from earlier:
First, the IAU definition:
1. Nomenclature: An "adjective-noun" should always be a subset of "noun". A "dwarf planet" should be no less seen as a type of planet than a "dwarf star" is seen as a type of star by the IAU.
2. Erroneous foundation: Current research agrees that most planets did not clear their own neighborhoods, and even that their neighborhoods may not always have been where they are. Jupiter, and Saturn to a lesser extent, have cleared most neighborhoods. Mars has 1/300th the Stern-Levison parameter as Neptune, and Neptune has multiple bodies a couple percent of Mars's mass (possibly even larger, we've only detected an estimated 1% of large KBOs) in its "neighborhood". Mars's neighborhood would in no way would be clear if Jupiter did not exist - even Earth's might not be. Should we demote the terrestrial planets as well?
Note that the Stern-Levison parameter does not go against this, as it's built around the ability of a planet to scatter a mass distribution similar to our current asteroid belt, not large protoplanets.
3. Comparative inconsistency: Earth is far more like Ceres and Pluto than it is like Jupiter, yet these very dissimilar groups - gas giants and terrestrial planets - are lumped together as "planets" while dwarfs are excluded.
4. Poor choice of dividing line: While defining objects inherently requires drawing lines between groups, the chosen line has been poorly selected. Achieving a rough hydrostatic equilibrium is a very meaningful dividing line - it means differentiation, mineralization processes, alteration of primordial materials, and so forth. It's also often associated with internal heat and, increasingly as we're realizing, a common association with subsurface fluids. In short, a body in a category of "not having achieved hydrostatic equilibrium" describes a body which one would study to learn about the origins of our solar system, while a body in a category of "having achieved hydrostatic equilibrium" describes a body one would study, for example, to learn more about tectonics, geochemistry, (potentially) biology, etc. By contrast, a dividing line of "clearing its neighborhood" - which doesn't even meet standard #2 - says little about the body itself.
5. Mutability: What an object is declared at can be altered without any of the properties of the object changing simply by its "neighborhood" changing in any of countless ways.
6. Situational inconsistency: An exact copy of Earth (what the vast majority of people
The internet is not a series of tubes. It's more like a net. Or a network of computers. Or an internet.
It says no such thing. Furthermore, it says:
So even if they weren't recognized as a state and just as an "international organization", responsibility for compliance would be borne only by the organization itself and "State Parties to the Treaty participating in such organization" (aka, none). States have no obligation to force non-member states or international organizations to comply, unless they're members of that organization.
Concerning E.11 (the part banning the claiming of space resources), states only bear responsibility for themselves and "... non-governmental entities under their jurisdiction". Again, no bearing responsibility for third parties. There's a section for international intergovernmental organizations (E.16), which states that they have to declare acceptance of the treaty for it to apply to them. There is no section on international non-governmental organizations.
Lastly:
Aka, even those who've signed can leave at any point, without penalty (except losing access to the benefits of treaty membership, and encouraging others to follow suit)
The internet is not a series of tubes. It's more like a net. Or a network of computers. Or an internet.
Where will the $50 trillion dollars necessary to build it come from?
See, there's actually a difference between saying you're going to do something and actually doing it.
This is nothing new. I've worked with a lot of PhDs.
And you don't read articles either.
Most, if not all, are completely bonkers socially and totally out of touch with reality. They spend so much time in the 'academia' fantasy land hyper-focused on their specialty, that even "stuper-doofus" names like dumb Ass-gardia sounds good to them. What a laugh riot.
Um, interesting. You don't read the article, and fixate on a jeramiad. I've worked mostly with Ph.D's (note spelling) my entire career, and you know what? The pretty much fit a cross section of all people, with the exception of there aren't many stupid ones, and they rend away from activities that stupid people engage in.
And there are a few doofuses, just like regular folk.
The real irony is they indulge in infantilization of those around them, or anyone who disagrees with them, so as not to have to actually deal with their loony tendencies. Assgardia is a (heavily smoked) pipe dream.
Yarbles! A large part of my work with these folk was analysis of their ideas. They were universally grateful when I pointed out fatal flaws.
The only caveat I'd note was that my work tended toward the scientific end of the spectrum, but still worked with a lot of disciiplines. Any assholes got dropped pretty quickly. And asshole distribution isn't any higher among Ph.D's than among the general public.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Show some respect to this lonely warrior.
His hill is high, the air is thin, the stars are bright and do not waver, but burn steadily into his unblinking eyes as if they were hard, bright points of righteousness. He cannot sense Yggdrasil from there; yet he soldiers on.
When he shouts Ásgarðr, the surface dwellers... they hear nothing. Muspelheim awaits those who step away from the true path of pronunciation.
You have been warned. You insensitive clod.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
So this is how elysium got started.
Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Reminds me of the whole Sealand thing. Regardless of the novelty of space, the bottom line is unless other nations recognize you as a nation, you're not a nation. Heck there are plenty of contemporary examples of actual physical land areas for various political reasons call themselves independent or a nation, which arn't recognized by anyone. Then there are those that are by some nations but not by others, some for decades! So I don't hold out a lot of hope for the land of Thor...
'Asgardia'? No, they should name it 'Freeside', with the biggest investor taking up residence in a villa within the station called 'Straylight'.