51st State of the USA

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10:17 PM PDT on Friday, July 1, 2011

By JEFF HORSEMAN and DUANE W. GANG
The Press-EnterpriseNew cities take hits as Jurupa Valley incorporates

Published: 7/2/2011 11:06 AM

What city would become the capital of the new state of South California?

How would the state pay for its operations?

Or what about a water supply for the 13 million South California residents?

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, who proposed that at least 13 counties secede from California, said Friday he doesn't have those answers yet.

His first task is to gauge interest from other local elected officials and residents.

Read more here

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

Support German independence from Brazil!

Tucson Wants to Secede from Extremist Arizona

 
51st state to be called Baja Arizona
TUCSON, AZ – Some southern Arizonans are joining forces to push for the creation of a 51st state carved out of Pima County. The new state would be called Baja Arizona.
“I think once you take a step back and think about it, it starts to make more and more sense,” said co-founder of “Start Our State”, Peter Hormel.
Organizers acknowledge there are big hurdles in creating Baja Arizona. They must first get on the ballot, then get approval from the Legislature or from state voters to allow the break off.
A new state constitution would have to be drafted and approved, plus they’d have to get the OK from Congress and the president.

Start Our State co-chairman Paul Eckerstrom tells the Arizona Daily Star at a minimum the drive to create a 51st state sends a message that Pima County doesn’t go along with priorities being outlined in Phoenix.
Hormel tells ABC15 the group thought something had to be done.
“I and some other people finally got so frustrated with what’s happening in Phoenix that we felt obligated to do something about it,” he said.
Start Our State already has a Facebook page showing what Baja Arizona would look like.
Meantime some, like Republican Pima County State Rep. Vic Williams, have taken a more light-hearted approach to the movement. In a sarcastic tone he told ABC15 he would like all the Democrats in his area to make their own state.
“If somehow we can get them to secede and become their own state I would certainly take it seriously,” said Williams.

Locals' guide to Christiania in Copenhagen

Founded: 1971
Status: Current
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Population: ~850

Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania is a self-proclaimed autonomous neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 85 acres in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. From an official point of view, Christiania is regarded as a large commune, but its relation to the authorities has a unique status in being regulated by a special law, the Christiania Law of 1989 which transfers parts of the supervision of the area from the municipality of Copenhagen to the state.

Costa Rica - Economy

Tour the micronation of Molossia

Catalans stage mock secession vote in Spain

Cashed up Bogans proof fence (CUB)

Fighting Tyranny - Hutt River Province inside Western Australia

Western Australian Secession

How Liechtenstein Achieved the Highest Per Capita GDP

Watch video here

Kinney, Minnesota

Kinney, Minnesota
—  City  —
Location of Kinney, Minnesota
Coordinates: 47°30′52″N 92°43′54″W
Country	United States
State	Minnesota
County	St. Louis
Area
- Total	4.8 sq mi (12.6 km2)
- Land	4.6 sq mi (11.8 km2)
- Water	0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2)
Elevation	1,542 ft (470 m)
Population (2010)[1]
- Total	169
- Density	43.6/sq mi (16.8/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
FIPS code	27-33416[2]
GNIS feature ID	0661645[3]

The town of Kinney, Minnesota faced a failing water system that required $186,000 to fix. After struggling through paperwork for federal and state grants, they got so frustrated that they figured it would be easier to secede.

This is just the order form to get the application for the proper forms to fill out.

The town sent a letter to the US Secretary of State announcing they were seceding and declaring war on the United States, as foreign aid required less paperwork. The letter requested a quick resolution to the war, as the town council members had jobs to do.

While they never broke away, and it was largely tongue-in-cheek, they did get the “foreign aid” they wanted from the government and various individuals, including a new police car, pizza sausage mix and just under $200,000 in grant money. They continue to sell “passports” to stupid tourists to this day.

Read more here

9 Outrageous U.S. Secession Attempts

Facelift: Super Nanny State

Aussies vs New Zealand

Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket

Martha’s Vineyard & Nantucket secede when proportional representation takes away voting privilege.

Both islands, which are playgrounds of the rich in the summer, considered joining other states or seceding from America altogether when their small populations no longer warranted having separate state representation. One man, one vote may work for the little people, but when the average CEO makes 500 times his average employee, they felt that this should be represented in the state legislature as well.

Rrea

TALKIN' ABOUT A REVOLUTION

Thinking small

National Secessionist Forces

The National Secessionist Forces (NSF) was formed in 2031 as the Northwest Secessionist Forces. A year prior to the formation of the NSF, a major earthquake sunk most of Southern California into the ocean. With the United States government focusing on the disaster on the ex-West Coast, the needs of the other parts of the country went unmet. In 2031, Utah announced its intention to secede from the United States, declaring its independence and annexing what was left of Arizona and Nevada. Inspired by Utah's example, fringe groups in Texas declared independence as well. Shortly afterwards, various paramilitary groups in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming united with Utah and Texas to form the NSF. All of these attempts to secede failed, though martial law continues to exist in some portions of these states. The NSF went underground.

read more here

Alaskan Independence Party seeks vote of secession

 

The Alaskan Independence Party was formed to promote Alaska’s secession from the union, which they claim should have been an option in 1958. Founder Joe Vogler said “I’m an Alaskan, not an American. I’ve got no use for America or her damned institutions.” Despite hating American institutions it’s affiliated with the Constitution Party and members included Sarah Palin’s husband Todd. Palin addressed the group via video message.

In 2006, Alaskan Independence Party members collect the 100 signatures needed to place the issue on the ballot, but were barred by the courts on grounds secession was unconstitutional. Wait, only 100 signatures are needed to put something on the ballot? Hell, let’s vote that all ducks must wear pants in Alaska.

Sealand

Sealand

Status: ambiguous
Form of government: constitutional monarchy
Founded: 2 September 1967
Area: 0.06 sq. km.
Population: 27
Sex ratio: 4.4 males/female
Per capita GDP, if you take their word for it: $22,200 US

In 1967, Paddy Roy Bates was just another run-of-the-mill Army major-cum-fisherman-cum-pirate radio operator, minding his own business and blithely disregarding British broadcasting law. But the British - sticklers for things like laws (especially British ones) - were none too keen on Bates’ activites, and they convicted him on a charge of radio piracy. Now, it’s common knowledge that getting tried and convicted in a court of law leaves a man with two clear options: 1) go to jail; or 2) abscond to an abandoned WWII-era naval defense platform in international waters, claim you’ve founded a new nation and declare yourself royal prince. It takes a certain sort of person to determine that, of these two options, the latter is clearly superior. And Bates was that sort of person.
Read more here

The Wizard's take on the Christchurch quake

 

The Christchurch Wizard dishes out some sensible advice to his fellow Cantabrians - including not to listen to Ken Ring and his 'crackpot lunatic' theories.

Watch video here

County rebuilds after quake

Zhangjiaping village in Yingxiu town, Sichuan province, hosts a free meal on Saturday for several hundred villagers who move back before the Spring Festival. [Photo/China News Service]

BEICHUAN, Sichuan - Three years after a deadly earthquake struck Sichuan province, once-devastated quake zones are regaining their vitality and residents are finding ways to continue their lives.

The catastrophic quake that occurred on May 12, 2008 destroyed the entire downtown area of Beichuan county. Rather than clear the ruins away, officials decided to reopen the site as a park. Chen Shimin, a 50-year-old Beichuan resident who used to sell pancakes with her husband outside the gate of Beichuan High School, recently became a staff member there.

But that job opportunity only arose after a long period of unemployment. Saddened by the death of her husband, who was killed during the earthquake, Chen didn't look for work for two years.

Read more here

Official Home Site of the Principality of Hutt River, Homepage!

The Home Site

Principality of Hutt River.
www.principality-hutt-river.org/gov

The Principality of Hutt River is situated 595 km north of Perth, Western Australia and is about 75 square km in area, consisting of some 18,500 acres of land.

Hutt River is an Independent Sovereign State having seceded from Australia on the Twenty First Day of April 1970 and is of comparable size to Hong Kong (not the New Territories).

The Principality consists of undulating farmland well covered in places with a wealth of shrubs and glorious wildflowers.

Read the local news here