Grand Duchy of Westarctica

Founded: 2001
Status: Current
Location: Antarctica
Population: 0

The Grand Duchy of Westarctica is an area of desolate land in western Antarctica that was unclaimed until an American declared the area his own micronation, a declaration of status not recognized by established countries, in 2001. The territory consists of Marie Byrd Land with a few additional claims and has no year round residents, although research stations have been located in the region. Westarctica was founded on a supposed loophole in the Antarctic Treaty. The claim of micronation status has been used as a basis to mint and sell coins to collectors.

Meet The Muntstones - Christchurch Earthquake

Initial Response to the Declaration of Independence [1776]

The Court of King George III
London, England

July 10, 1776

Mr. Thomas Jefferson
c/o The Continental Congress
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dear Mr. Jefferson:

We have read your "Declaration of Independence" with great interest. Certainly, it represents a considerable undertaking, and many of your statements do merit serious consideration. Unfortunately, the Declaration as a whole fails to meet recently adopted specifications for proposals to the Crown, so we must return the document to you for further refinement. The questions which follow might assist you in your process of revision:

1. In your opening paragraph you use the phrase "the Laws of Nature and Nature's God." What are these laws? In what way are they the criteria on which you base your central arguments? Please document with citations from the recent literature.
2. In the same paragraph you refer to the "opinions of mankind." Whose polling data are you using? Without specific evidence, it seems to us the "opinions of mankind" are a matter of opinion.
3. You hold certain truths to be "self-evident." Could you please elaborate. If they are as evident as you claim then it should not be difficult for you to locate the appropriate supporting statistics.
4. "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" seem to be the goals of your proposal. These are not measurable goals. If you were to say that "among these is the ability to sustain an average life expectancy in six of the 13 colonies of at last 55 years, and to enable newspapers in the colonies to print news without outside interference, and to raise the average income of the colonists by 10 percent in the next 10 years," these could be measurable goals. Please clarify.
5. You state that "Whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new Government..." Have you weighed this assertion against all the alternatives? What are the trade-off considerations?
6. Your description of the existing situation is quite extensive. Such a long list of grievances should precede the statement of goals, not follow it. Your problem statement needs improvement.
7. Your strategy for achieving your goal is not developed at all. You state that the colonies "ought to be Free and Independent States," and that they are "Absolved from All Allegiance to the British Crown." Who or what must change to achieve this objective? In what way must they change? What specific steps will you take to overcome the resistance? How long will it take? We have found that a little foresight in these areas helps to prevent careless errors later on. How cost-effective are your strategies?
8. Who among the list of signatories will be responsible for implementing your strategy? Who conceived it? Who provided the theoretical research? Who will constitute the advisory committee? Please submit an organization chart and vitas of the principal investigators.
9. You must include an evaluation design. We have been requiring this since Queen Anne's War.
10. What impact will your problem have? Your failure to include any assessment of this inspires little confidence in the long-range prospects of your undertaking.
11. Please submit a PERT diagram, an activity chart, itemized budget, and manpower utilization matrix.

We hope that these comments prove useful in revising your "Declaration of Independence." We welcome the submission of your revised proposal. Our due date for unsolicited proposals is July 31, 1776. Ten copies with original signatures will be required.

Sincerely,

Management Analyst to the British Crown

Americans for Prosperity-North Carolina Fights Annexation

Christchurch. Can we fix it?

Construction is underway in Rikuzentakata Japan....

...one of the towns worst hit by Japan's earthquake and tsunami.

Christchurch: 'Stay calm' is advice for parents with upset kids

By Simon Collins

If you need to cry, cry in the shower."
That is the advice to Christchurch parents after the latest spate of earthquakes.
Psychologists and counsellors are bracing for another influx of traumatised families, and say the best thing parents can do is stay calm.
Read more here

This Act needs to be amended, repealed or just ignored.

Abolition of Provinces Act 1875 (39 Victoriae 1875 No 21)
Read the act here

Read more about Vermont here

Back from the dead:

Astonishing pictures show how Japan is recovering just three months after tsunami

By EMILY ALLEN

See pictures here

Concord Hymn (1837) by Ralph Waldo Emerson

By the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard round the world.

The foe long since in silence slept;
Alike the conqueror silent sleeps;
And Time the ruined bridge has swept
Down the dark stream which seaward creeps.

On this green bank, by this soft stream,
We set to-day a votive stone;
That memory may their deed redeem,
When, like our sires, our sons are gone.

Spirit, that made those heroes dare
To die, and leave their children free,
Bid Time and Nature gently spare
The shaft we raise to them and thee.

Living too simply!!!!!

The Mauritius miracle......

The US ought to learn a thing or two from Mauritius, 
where all citizens enjoy high standards of healthcare and education

• 
• • Joseph Stiglitz
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 March 2011 18.30 GMT
  • Article history

The US military base on Diego Garcia, one of Mauritius’s offshore islands, from which inhabitants were expelled. Photograph: Usaf/AFP

Suppose someone were to describe a small country that provided free education through university for all of its citizens, transport for school children and free healthcare – including heart surgery – for all. You might suspect that such a country is either phenomenally rich or on the fast track to fiscal crisis.

After all, rich countries in Europe have increasingly found they cannot pay for university education, and are asking young people and their families to bear the costs. For its part, the US has never attempted to give free college for all, and it took a bitter battle just to ensure that America's poor get access to healthcare – a guarantee that the Republican party is now working hard to repeal, claiming the country cannot afford it.
Read more here 
More about Mauritius

Whenever government becomes destructive of these ends (life, liberty, pursuit of happiness), it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new government.  
Declaration of Independence of the American Colonies, 1776