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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Virtual Nations Meet in Helsinki for First Summit Ever |
| 2003-08-30 |
| Ok, Rantburgers.....have at it. I can?t wait to see what snarky comments you post on this! ;) If you?ve never heard of Transnational Republic, the Kingdoms of Elgaland and Vargaland, Ladonia, or the State of Sabotage, the first Summit of Micronations and Modelstates in Helsinki will be a chance to brush up on the world of virtual countries. These entities exist only on the Internet or in the theoretical and philosophical worlds, explained Mirva Pulkkinen, an organiser of the summit. "They have the right to be heard too, and this is their chance to reach the public," she said. High on the agenda will be the relevance of virtual nations to our own societies, the organizers said. "We are very interested in the phenomenon of micro nations, there are hundreds of them, and we wanted to look closer at the topic," Tellervo Kalleinen, on of the persons behind the event, told AFP. But the three-day summit is meant mostly to parody and question the way humans organise their lives, Pulkkinen stressed. While its opening took place on Friday at Helsinki's famous conference center Finlandia House — home to many important international meetings — the rest of the summit happens on a small island just off the Finnish capital. The summit is part of the art festival Amorph, which takes place in Helsinki every other year. "It?s a political art performance, the whole weekend. We are not criticising, but commenting on the current society," Pulkkinen pointed out. During the event, participating nations will set up embassies in Helsinki and carry out deliberations with each other, all under the watchful eyes of artists and intellectuals, who will "excavate the questions relevant to the phenomenon of micro-nations", the festival's program announced. "As this is the first such meeting ever, there is no set agenda, and we will seek to find some common ground among the states," Tellervo said. She did not rule out some fiery debates however, as many of the founders of these states see them as art projects, while others take themselves more seriously, with their own flags, national anthems, money and passports. On Saturday and Sunday the micro states embassies will be open to the public, Tellervo noted, adding that the delegations will accept applications for both citizenship and political asylum while they are open. Wonder if any of them are going to apply for an EU development grant while they are at it? |
| Posted by:Baba Yaga |
| #8 Frank G - Oh they'll all want their own kingdoms of course. Then they'll ally themselves to fulfill the Conspiracy of Steve™. Sooner or later, we've got to start taking this threat seriously. It's pretty obvious that the Al Steve cells are replicating, even now, while you innocently prepare yourself for idle activities such as watching the Chargers get plastered. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-30 7:17:24 PM |
| #7 Can't wait to see the coups, putches, overthrows, and recalls for the Kingdom of Steve....question is, which of you guys gets the crown first |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-8-30 4:12:04 PM |
| #6 Hail Freedonia! -- Groucho Marx Sounds like a job for the Surrealist Party... |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-8-30 3:47:21 PM |
| #5 Patriot is right. While I'm not so sure Rantburg had a big impact, the exchanging of ideas has become a regular occurence. Half a century ago, it would take weeks, if not months, to reach the other side of the world. And Telephones went only as far as the wires. Now Does anyone see what I'm getting at? |
| Posted by: Charles 2003-8-30 1:43:28 PM |
| #4 While a lot of this is pure fantasy, there IS something growing on the Internet, and it's not a fungus. It's the same kind of revolutionary spirit that sparked the Declaration of Independence and our current Constitution. It's called the free and equal exchange of ideas. It's the discussions taking place between people from any country in the world with people from any other country in the world - at least, those that allow unrestricted Internet connections. The prissy French can be slapped down by the Montana cowboy, while the irreverent Greek can be bludgeoned with facts by the former East German commieslave. This is the true promise of the Internet - the free exchange of ideas, opinion, rant and psychosis between people without intervening government-imposed walls or filters. THIS, more than anything else, will eventually lead to first, Internet "communities", later Internet "political/social/economic" groups, followed by Internet "nations", and eventually to a world community - not one based on economics, politics, or culture, but one consisting of free indidivuals working together for the common good. It will probably never include everyone - there are still going to be bas$$$$$ out there - but there will be enough of us to shape what the rest do, and to restrain the excesses of those who wouldn't recognize a clue delivered by a fleet of B-52's. I'm happy to be a part of it, and especially proud of Rantburg for its leadership role in helping develop that new world. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-8-30 11:23:00 AM |
| #3 Oops, I left out the irreverent and creative Rantburgers! Sorry, tu3031, didn't mean to slight! ;-> |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-30 10:37:34 AM |
| #2 Think North Korea will send them all flower baskets and Kim Il Sung books on the Juche idea? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-8-30 10:10:04 AM |
| #1 And, in its own way, what is Rantburg, if not an internet community cum virtual nation? We have our firebrands and curmudgeons and ideologues and http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivist_philosophy and, thus, feels like home. Fred's editorial piece today is a perfect example - I would give $50 to have written it myself (That's the deal, right Fred? $100? Wha? Inflation? There's no inflation anymore, whaddya mean doubling the price, geez...) because I wouldn't change a word. Home. And if we can get him a big fucking EU grant, well why the hell not? It's not like they're going to do anything constructive with it anyway. Fucking bunch of Zeropeans. Fools and their money! Ha! The Absolutely Free Virtual Republic of Rantburg. Melike. |
| Posted by: .com 2003-8-30 8:18:59 AM |