Author Topic: The Pirate Bay plans to buy island (Read 5930 times)

Foxy Brown · « **on:** January 15, 2007, 05:26:03 PM »

Swedish file-sharing website The Pirate Bay is planning to buy its own nation in an attempt to circumvent international copyright laws.

The group has set up a campaign to raise money to buy Sealand, a former British naval platform in the North Sea that has been designated a 'micronation', and claims to be outside the jurisdiction of the UK or any other country.

surezal · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2007, 05:43:47 PM »

lol, how are they planning to get that much money ?
I mean, a campaign? I don't think that will be enough..

Fracture · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2007, 05:49:51 PM »

How stoned were they when they had this brainstorm? £504 million seems a little unrealistic.

Anyway, it looked like they were doing okay thumbing their noses at authority from their little boat.

Slack · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2007, 05:52:14 PM »

This is such a nutty coincidence. Some of my friends were considering buying a title from Sealand! (www.sealandgov.com) It'd kinda suck if they became Dukes of Sealand or something, and the Pirate Bay wouldn't recognize their titles.

chera · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2007, 07:11:30 PM »

Sealand is run by a bunch of crooks. HavenCo, the company that ran Sealand's original data haven, was "nationalized" by that so-called "Duke." To read the true history of Sealand/HavenCo, take a look at this presentation made by one of the founders:

http://www.metacolo.com/papers/dc11-havenco/dc11-havenco.pdf

NAzu · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2007, 08:03:24 PM »

I would hardly call Sealand a island. It's just a crappy building standing on two concrete blocks and that price what they ask from it is outrageous.

idiotboy · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2007, 09:24:43 PM »

Quote from: NAzu;283821

I would hardly call Sealand a island. It's just a crappy building standing on two concrete blocks and that price what they ask from it is outrageous.

what you get for the money is extraterritoriality: yr beyond the laws of the land, as it were. which is why those crazy guys at TPB are interested.

NAzu · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2007, 09:42:48 PM »

Quote from: idiotboy;283868

what you get for the money is extraterritoriality: yr beyond the laws of the land, as it were. which is why those crazy guys at TPB are interested.

What I have heard the island belongs to England's sea terrritory and therefore it has the same laws as England. And if they were to buy it they would need other countries to acknowledge it as an independent state.

Slack · « **Reply #8 on:** January 15, 2007, 10:58:05 PM »

Well, according to the wiki article, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand
England doesn't actually claim Sealand as being in their territory. Sure, it's within 12 nautical miles of the English coast, but it still isn't claimed.

chera · « **Reply #9 on:** January 15, 2007, 11:20:42 PM »

It's a fraud. Sealand is a small 50-year offshore platform 10 kilos off the British coast; and they're letting it go for half a billion bucks!

For $10 million bucks I've built modern offshore platforms that could resist typhoon-force winds, towed them a couple hundred kilos offshore (beyond territorial and contiguous waters), and permanently anchored them into the seabed with 100 meter-long steel piles. Did plenty of this in the Gulf of Thailand for offshore oil and gas drilling companies.

For a few hundred million bucks, I could do the same, but with a massive platform that could house dozens or hundreds of full-time staff, tow it out into international waters, and into water much much deeper. Heck, for a bit more, I could throw in a few machine guns and a cruise missile or two to defend my status as an "independent state."

Foxy Brown · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2007, 11:45:12 PM »

Assuming these guys do get their own sovereign nation on this or some other island, do they plan on assembling a navy? If not, how long until they meet up with the other kind of pirate?

redbox18 · « **Reply #11 on:** January 17, 2007, 11:03:36 AM »

Quote from: Foxy Brown;283987

Assuming these guys do get their own sovereign nation on this or some other island, do they plan on assembling a navy? If not, how long until they meet up with the other kind of pirate?

I guess they're gonna make piracy legal in their "country". That could work (at least until MPAA/RIAA invaded it)

doomprice22 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 24, 2007, 03:19:52 PM »

In January 2007 Pirate Bay was attempting to purchase Sealand, a man-made off-shore installation named HM Fort Roughs that claims to be an independent state, in order to circumvent international copyright laws. The island was for sale and valued at £504 million

A website has been established to raise money to buy Sealand at buysealand.com

doomprice22 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 24, 2007, 03:22:14 PM »

WTF!!! sealand is the smallest nation!!!

djnvee · « **Reply #14 on:** January 26, 2007, 11:13:33 PM »

Wow All this to stick it to the man. I wonder if they will succeed

bdash · « **Reply #15 on:** January 27, 2007, 05:46:31 PM »

i just checked and they are at only 20.000 USD
definately not the high price sealand is asking for
also it turns out sealand has stopped emailing them so it seems as if the are not willing to negotiate any longer
well it was a good run!

Since1983 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 20, 2007, 10:31:13 PM »

Man this would be great if it happened. Imagine a pirate island lol

ferrar1 · « **Reply #17 on:** May 24, 2007, 03:29:10 PM »

wow these guys sure have great dreams

xtree · « **Reply #18 on:** May 24, 2007, 11:06:15 PM »

haha, well if they succeed, congratulations to them. Pirates will be making their mark on history once again

RionZ · « **Reply #19 on:** May 24, 2007, 11:17:26 PM »

There should be a documentary on this...

Rated "AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH" of course