Picture taken by the Mars Rover

"From the low six figures to the tens of millions, you can purchase your own private island and start from scratch. After you've got the island's facilities (electricity, safe drinking water, etc.) squared away, you're ready to build your nation. But remember, your island will still be under the jurisdiction of the country it belongs to and subject to its laws. One man, Las Vegas millionaire Michael Olivier, learned that the hard way.

In the 1970s, Olivier built a South Pacific island. He named it the Republic of Minerva and claimed it sovereign from its proprietary, the Kingdom of Tonga. The King of Tonga was none too pleased. He sent a group of soldiers to squash Oliver's pursuit. They took down the "Republic's" flag and claimed the island Tongan, while a four-piece band played the Tongan national anthem."

From Yahoo: I want to establish my own country. Is there any unclaimed land?

BBC: "A £7m sex theme park, which has no rides, is to open in London's West End later this year. Visitors to Amora - The Academy of Sex and Relationships at the Trocadero in Piccadilly, will pass through seven zones including Pleasure and Orgasm."

"Currently under construction in Dubai, Hydropolis is the world's first luxury underwater hotel. It will include three elements: the land station, where guests will be welcomed, the connecting tunnel, which will transport people by train to the main area of the hotel, and the 220 suites within the submarine leisure complex. It is one of the largest contemporary construction projects in the world, covering an area of 260 hectares, about the size of London's Hyde Park."

Here is an interesting idea. They invited me through MySpace. I'm thinking about it...

Irgendwie auch eine alte Gags & Gore-Idee plus Internetz.

Bono Probability Positioning System - Finding Bono in Dublin

TotalSurveillance - The Game

"Right-wing violence is on the rise in Germany and some say parts of the country are "no-go" areas for foreigners. Und SPIEGEL ONLINE spoke with European parliamentarian Daniel Cohn-Bendit about how Germany can combat racism and the xenophobia problem across Europe."

"Finns are so uncomfortable with themselves, says Alexander Stubb, a Finnish member of the European Parliament, that when they meet someone for the first time, they stare at their own feet. Then, after 10 years of friendship, they stare at the other person's feet."

Helsinki Journal: Finland Squirms as Its Latest Export Steps Into Spotlight

Lordi Online

Check out 26-04-1986.com!

Via anewyorkthing.com.

"All-things-plastic interiors will be replaced with comfy chairs and an iPod-like look, but Ronald McDonald and the golden arches get to stick around."

Evil! Probably one of those "no-go"-areas we keep hearing about...

Girl Blog from Iraq... let's talk war, politics and occupation.

"FBI Investigated 3,501 People Without Warrants (AP) -- The FBI secretly sought information last year on 3,501 U.S. citizens and legal residents from their banks and credit card, telephone and Internet companies without a court's approval, the Justice Department said Friday." CNN

"Universal Studio's Flight 93 movie online forum has been completely infiltrated by people opposing the official government 9/11 fable and its moderators are having to delete entire threads in real time deeming them, "inappropriate." A visit to the forum confirms that the entire website has been turned into a battle ground for countering the government apologist propaganda being regurgitated in an impetuous lunge to give credibility to a tale about as reality-based as Humpty Dumpty." Shoutwire

Oh, Stephen Colbert (Comedy Central) managed to speak for 15 minutes at the White House Correspondents' dinner. Phantastic! He's beating up the press and the president at the same time! Download the video at crooksandliars.com.

Guerillas on the internet and celebrities, well...

"Mexico’s Congress approved a bill Friday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin for personal use — a measure sure to raise questions in Washington about Mexico’s commitment to the war on drugs."

Story at MSNBC

Watch people imitating that famous Beatles pose

Great, great photos of good old Gotham!

Via del.icio.us

"Often small things provide the most disturbing evidence for world-changing events, as when naturalists observe the quiet disappearance of some little known species. The CIA's firing of senior officer Mary O. McCarthy is a political event of just this nature.

Ordinarily, the firing of some middling CIA officer is not an event to interest many other than John Le Carre fans and those who linger over cappuccino at the CIA's Langely cafeteria. (...) But Ms. McCarthy's case is different, and it is of interest to the world. She is responsible, reportedly by her own admission during a furious round of polygraph tests, for information supplied to The Washington Post concerning the CIA's vast secret prison system."

More on Shoutwire

Spiegel: Iraq Gets Its First German Restaurant

Quote: Despite the kidnapping of two German engineers in Iraq in January and continuous sectarian violence in the country, Völker maintains that the north is safe and that the German government's strict warning against travelling to Iraq is "totally exaggerated". "(The Berlin district of) Kreuzberg is far more dangerous than the Kurdish regions in the north," Völker dubiously alleges.

Hey, Kreuzberg is probably the most peaceful place on earth, asshole!

Iraq

Go to news.3yen.com.

GUANTANAMO FOREVER!!!

"Negroponte told TIME that three dozen or so of the worst al-Qaeda terrorists held in secret CIA prisons are likely to remain in captivity as long as the "war on terror continues." He added, "These people are being held. And they're bad actors. And as long as this situation continues, this war on terror continues, I'm not sure I can tell you what the ultimate disposition of those detainees will be." Negroponte's comments appear to be the first open acknowledgement of the secret U.S. detention system and the fact that captives such as Khalid Shaikh Mohammad — involved in Sept. 11 or other major attacks on U.S. interests around the world — may be held indefinitely." Time

"A British man accused of being behind the largest ever hack of US government computer networks could end up at Guantanamo Bay, his lawyer has claimed." BBC

"Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost knows the US military can't return the three years that he spent locked inside a cage-like cell at Guantanamo Bay. But it could at least return his poetry." Boston Globe

Times: Swastika vigilantes kill foreign students to keep their city 'clean'

"Hey hey! 8 years after the sad closing of our beloved record shop in September 1997 we are very pleased to announce the RE-OPENING of COOL & CRAZY!! LPs, 7" singles, CDs, books, zines, etc. Specializing in WILD shit of the 50s & 60s (and recent practitioners of r&r wildness).

Julius-Leber-Str 20, Souterrain, 22765 Hamburg Store hours: Monday to Friday 12 pm to 7 pm RING THE BELL LOUD & OFTEN!!!

More at Crypt Records

Perfect! This guy has taste!

"The lights have been out for six months now, and no one seems to know when, if ever, they will be turned back on. In greater New Orleans about 125,000 homes remain damaged and unoccupied, a vast ghost city that rots in darkness while les bon temps return to a guilty strip of unflooded and mostly affluent neighborhoods near the river. Such a large portion of the black population is gone that some radio stations are now switching their formats from funk and rap to soft rock."

Read the excellent article by Mike Davis, author of "City of Quartz, "Dead Cities", "Other Tales") in The Nation

"More than 60,000 urgently needed Bibles arrived to allay suffering throughout the famine-stricken nation of Niger Friday, in one of the largest humanitarian-relief operations ever attempted by a Christian ministry. 'Come rejoice, and feast upon the word of Our Lord, Jesus Christ,' said Christina Clarkson, executive director of the Living Light Ministries of Lubbock, TX. 'Those who were hungry, hunger no more, for the Word brings life.'"

The Onion: Poverty-Stricken Africans Receive Desperately Needed Bibles

Cynical or just stupid? How about dropping some Happy Meals instead?

The main difference between Europe and the US

Americans should eat more salad and try this at Pizza Hut!

"Virtual China is an exploration of virtual experiences and environments in and about China. It is also the focus of the 2006 Asia Focus research program at the Institute for the Future, a small nonprofit technology forecasting group in Palo Alto, California."

Damned, no little green men down there...!

Via del.icio.us

Great photo-essay in "Foreign Policy Magazine"

Why does the Navy Base Coronado in California look like a fucking swastika?

-> Find it on google earth: a: 32 40'34.09" N, 117 09'27.96 W)

Via Popefucker