Reason Morning Links: Social Networking, Socialist Nicaragua, and Psychic News

- Facebook fights floods.

- Maryland radically restricts (but does not fully abolish) the death penalty.

- The Sandinistas want a bailout, too.

- Watching for a change in the recession narrative.

- The British government funds a seance school.

- Viral video stars: Where are they now?

Comments

[Reinmoose]

Re: Fargo Facebook

I'm waiting for 1 volunteer to get seriously injured and some blowhard politician to call for regulation of Facebook or something like that. This is a good thing that will eventually get screwed. Mark my words.

[Vizzini]

Inconceivable. Technology can't replace central authority.

[Nick]

Off topic but since there's no open thread:

Seychelles, the island nation in the Indian Ocean known for it's tourism is 800 million dollars in debt. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Seychelles-Paradise-goes-hftn-14745001.html

I say we get together 800k libertarians (we have that many right?) and each pitch in 1000 bucks to pay off the debt in exchange for control of the country. Libertarian paradise, here we come!

[TofuSushi]

Socialist Progressive Nicaragua

Fixed.

You're welcome.

[Reinmoose]

Nick -
I thought libertarians were all rich white dudes.
Don't we only need like 2 or 3 libertarians to have 800 million dollars?

Seriously though, I'll put in 10K if 80,000 others will.

[robc]

I will match the moose.

[creech]

The two Koch brothers alone have $28 billion, according to FORBES. Let them buy Seychelles and fly us all there (except for Lew and company, of course.)

[Abama]

You really can't rely on volunteers to handle these kinds of crises. The only effective way is to tax the rich, then hire hundreds of thousands of young people. We put the young people in camps around the country, then move them where they are needed in green, hybrid buses.

[Xeones]

Wasn't there a kid from Duke who used Facebook to put together a bunch of volunteers for Katrina? If i recall correctly, they roadtripped down to New Orleans but FEMA wouldn't let them in until the Salvation Army or some other group absorbed them.

[Nick]

In Libertarian Seychelles (which would be like Rainbow Puppy Islands volunteers would be quite necessary for such problems.

[Nick]

Fucking tags.

[Cabeza De Vaca]

Nick,

It's been tried before in Minerva & Vanauta. Both times nearby nations used their armed forces to overthrow the libertarian backed government.

[Nick]

Wow, we're already 21,000 towards our goal in less 20 minutes!

[Episiarch]

I will match the moose.

Same here. Moose, can you meet me in an alley in Rochester with the money? Come alone.

[Nick]

Minerva?

[Reinmoose]

Epi -
What is this?! First of all, what are you doing in Rochester? Second, which of the many alleys? That's like saying "meet in the abandoned building."

I suggest if I'm going to get mugged that we go out to Indian Buffet afterward since there are many of quality in Rochester and I'm not going all the way up there for a good mugging.

[Episiarch]

Mugging? Who said anything about mugging? I was going to rape you.

"See, you don't know what rape is like. For years, I thought it was funny. Oh, yeah, rape. It's so funny. Until you been raped."

[Nick]

Tourism is the big draw already but imagine how much that would increase what with all the drugs, gambling, and prostitution! Talk about ROI!

[Warren]

I want to know where the two Chinese students and the young jedi master are now

[SugarFree]

Nick,

Never underestimate the tourist draw of endless and occasionally rancorous discussions of positive and negative rights. The entire cruise industry is based on it.

[robert]

man, i forgot how funny that cop shooting himself was.

[J sub D]

Psychics given ?4,500 government grant to help relatives contact the dead

Jack Dawkins heard about this and is filling out the application as we type.

[robc]

according to the CIA, the population of the Seychelles is 87k. 80k libertarians would nearly double the population (and halve the birthrate).

[Reinmoose]

Nick -
The tourism campaign could be "Rainbow Puppy Island - if you like Sin City, how about Sin Fucking Island, yo!"

[J sub D]

The two Koch brothers alone have $28 billion, according to FORBES. Let them buy Seychelles and fly us all there (except for Lew and company, of course.)

We'll take the goldbugs and the anarcho-capitalists, BUT WE DON'T WANT THE TRUTHERS!

[robc]

Industries: fishing, tourism, processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages

[robc]

Military expenditures: 2% of GDP

[Cabeza De Vaca]

Nick,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Minerva

[P Brooks]

I'm back. That fucking "Maryland death penalty" link totally locked up my computer.

Fucking video. Fucking FLASH.

And, since I'm pissed off and ready to rant:

Dear reason,

I realize you kids, like, totally get off on your video coolness and stuff, but for fuck's sake, try to remember not everybody has unlimited bandwidth.

your pal

[Jesse Walker]

That's odd. I don't get any video when I click the link. There's some annoying animated ads, but no more so than on many mainstream media sites.

[P Brooks]

Jesse-

I'm not blaming you for somebody else's site locking me up; I'm not running a "mainstream" OS, so I have to expect problems, sometimes. Flash (used to create "annoying animated ads") seems to be uniquely pernicious.

My whining about Video has to do with the fact that large numbers of reason tv pieces really bog down my connection.

Keep up the good work.

[Nick]

OK, so the Minervans or whatever tried to occupy an island they had no legit claim to? How is that similar to us buying the legal right to operate Seychelles with a government of libertarian priniciples? We would make this a legal agreement in exchange for us paying off the country's debt and get international recognition of our government, not just show up with some boats and say "Hey, we've decided to take over guys, dinner at 7!"

It wasn't their libertarianism that failed them.

[Reinmoose]

P Brooks -
Firefox plus an extension like FlashBlock are a genius combination.

If it's available for your OS, anyway...

[P Brooks]

"Flashblock" you say?

Note to self...

[Atanarjuat]

The Seychelles is a pretty fascinating place that is home to the coco-de-mer. Yep, that's actually what the largest seed in the plant kingdom looks like. The male inflorescence is fairly suggestive as well.

[Cabeza De Vaca]

Nick,

Minerva was uninhabited & underwater when the libertarians showed up. They spent a huge amount of money building concrete walls than filling them with sand so they could live there. No one wanted or cared about the atoll until then. Then the Tongan government decided hey there is a new island lets claim it for ourselves.

Do you think that all the people who live in Seychelles would be okay with a bunch of libertarians buying their islands & moving there. You don't think any of them would not have a problem with that? Especially when one of the largest political parties is a socialist party called the Seychelles People's Progressive Front.

[TofuSushi]

Especially when one of the largest political parties is a socialist party called the Seychelles People's Progressive Front.

I am on board with this project now! Count me in for 2,000,000 carbon credits!

[Nick]

CDV, the atoll was discovered in 1852. The barges with sand and the expense to make it comfortably livable did not occur until 1971. The Minervans should have done their due diligence to maintain control of the island they built. Part of having your own country requires it to be recognized by others and defending it. Tonga made a claim to it that was recognized by others. The inhabitants didn't defend it. If I own a vacant lot you can't just squat there and not have to worry about me tossing you out if I so choose.

My Seychelles proposal is based on a debt payment in exchange for rights to operate and live in the country as citizens. Will there be opposition? Perhaps. I never said there wouldn't be. If Seychelles does not take us up on our offer because they are dominated by the socialist party, so be it. They remain in debt and we stay here.

TofuSushi is welcome to make breakfast, but he better pony up his share of the cash to get in, and not expect us to support him when we get there.

[TofuSushi]

TofuSushi is welcome to make breakfast, but he better pony up his share of the cash to get in, and not expect us to support him when we get there.

I already offered millions! Scroll up please.

[T]

I already offered millions! Scroll up please.

If you guys take TofuSushi's carbon credits, I want in for the change I can find in my couch cushions. That's at least worth something.

[VM]

#3.
Melissa Sander, Grape-Stomper

absolutely hilarious.

[Hazel Meade]

This is probably the place to put this.

UnGreen Detergenct Smuggling in Washington State