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Geek Culture / Sealand

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Tom J
19
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Joined: 4th Aug 2005
Location: Essex, England
Posted: 14th Jun 2007 21:04 Edited at: 14th Jun 2007 21:07
Only just now have I learnt of a micronation of the coast of east England, it is called Sealand and it is a platform with a small building on it. Anyone other Brits heard of this place?

Picture of sealand - you can see the sealand flag on the left of the platform:


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/Sealandafterfire2.JPG

Wikipedia article - just to prove it's not rubbish:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand

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John Y
Synergy Editor Developer
22
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Joined: 4th Sep 2002
Location: UK
Posted: 14th Jun 2007 21:06
Didn't some torrent site try and buy it because they thought it had it's own government (i.e. them), when in fact it is still British.

Tom J
19
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Joined: 4th Aug 2005
Location: Essex, England
Posted: 14th Jun 2007 21:36 Edited at: 14th Jun 2007 21:38
Wikipedia knows all

Quote: "In 2006 the bit torrent website Piratebay.org started taking donations from users in hopes of saving enough money to purchase the Principality of Sealand. The website promised citizenship to anyone who made a donation to the cause. The plan did not last more than a few months."


I also found the 'national anthem'

Quote: "
We offer no apology for Sealand ideology
We will provide technology unbound by censorship
Both financial cryptography and good, wholesome pornography
Thanks to unique geography, we'll give the Feds the slip

We'll store and move your database with satellites far out in space
With micro-waves and fiber-optic links under the sea
Our data-routing collocation computers will be secure and
we are sure because we have declared our sovereignty

Sealand, hoy, let's raise a glass to Roy
We're cyber-geeks from HavenCo, we'll regulate ourselves, you know
Sealand cares about the sanctity of your affairs
Your secret's safe with us and soon we'll all be millionaires

We will accept no clientele involved in ventures criminal
Our standards will be minimal but standards more or less
You will not pay a royalty on intellectual property
Those kinds of things will all be free when you deal with us

Sealand, ho, we'll change the world, you know
We're techno-geeks and cyber-hacks, we'll help you to avoid the tax
Sealand, hey, we're not going away
We're slightly altruistic but, of course, you'll have to pay

Sealand, yep, we'll give the Feds the slip
We are idealistic and unbound by cen--sor--shiiiiiiiiiiiiip
"


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Gil Galvanti
19
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Joined: 22nd Dec 2004
Location: Texas, United States
Posted: 14th Jun 2007 22:52 Edited at: 14th Jun 2007 22:55
I read about this in the Guiness Book of World Records or Ripley's Believe it or Not, can't remember which. Kind of funny, some crazy guy built himself a little platform off the coast of Britain, called it his country, and him and his wife are the only inhabitants I think. I think that Britain claims it's technically theirs, because it's in what's considered their water, or something like that.

EDIT: Well I got some of the info right after reading the article. They didn't build it themselves and a few more people live there.


Shadow heart
17
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Joined: 2nd Dec 2006
Location: US
Posted: 15th Jun 2007 03:20
o my gosh that anthem....lol i can'tbelieve this bu i guess so.

to the ones thats trapped inside of you, this is it!!
Vampiric
18
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Joined: 30th Oct 2006
Location:
Posted: 15th Jun 2007 19:29
they would have to build it international waters for it to be truly another country. Then another country could just bomb it and nobody would really care.

Computer says n00bed
Dazzag
22
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Joined: 26th Aug 2002
Location: Cyprus
Posted: 15th Jun 2007 19:50
Same thing as those old pirate radio channels surely? ie. bit old hat really.

Cheers

I am 99% probably lying in bed right now... so don't blame me for crappy typing
Current fave quote : "She was like a candle in the wind.... unreliable...."
dark coder
22
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Joined: 6th Oct 2002
Location: Japan
Posted: 15th Jun 2007 20:12
Quote: "they would have to build it international waters for it to be truly another country."


If you read the wiki article it states that they did build it in international waters, well they didn't build it. But recently the border has extended and they are no longer outside of it.

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