Real Life Rapture Doesnt Need 'Loser Building Codes!'

[HalfTangible]

Aside from being right out of the pages of Brink, libertarian uptopian fantasy, bioshock, and others, billionaires can do whatever they so choose with their money. If its creating new floating countries, go for it.

10 bucks says when a boatload of criminals show up and gut them and their property, they'll call the mainland security services for assistance.

I'm pretty sure billionaires are paranoid enough to hire security services even for artificial islands.

 

[The Virgo]

Actually, I would personally like my own island country. I would call it "The Monarchical Island of Virgonia" and it would be illegal for anyone who wasn't born between August 23rd and September 22nd to live there.

I'm born between September 22nd and August 23rd... Is that good enough?

Then why does your profile say December 7th, hmm?

 

[Kuilui]

So who wants to start taking bets on how this will end. Either A. A Bioshock rapture esq scenario. Or B. A Brink scenario where a large portion of the world is gone and everyone's running there.

 

[orangeban]

Oh billionare libertarians, you so crazy. Also, if they are effectively there own country, then surely their money means jackshit?

Also, the guy investing in it sounds like a jack-ass. Loser building codes? I've heard many words describing them, but never loser.

 

[Nabirius]

I hope they have also done away with the "Loser laws of Physics"

 

[DazBurger]

Actually, I would personally like my own island country. I would call it "The Monarchical Island of Virgonia" and it would be illegal for anyone who wasn't born between August 23rd and September 22nd to live there.

I'm born between September 22nd and August 23rd... Is that good enough?

Then why does your profile say December 7th, hmm?

Because its true.
And that lies between September and August.

 

[Alphakirby]

Ummmm...
My mind are coming up with all these different scenarios that could happen with such an island. Curse you, years of gaming! You are messing with my mind!

It will be System Shock all over again,and one hacker will be sent to save the islands...oh and there will be cyborg dinosaurs riding monster trucks there too,and the computer is underwater,and the AI is Hitler.

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Okay, it's not like micronations haven't existed like this before. Just look at Sealand [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand]. Difference here being that it's being backed by someone with serious money. I doubt it's going to becoming anything like Brink or Bioshock though. Either it'll fail shortly after being due to it just being too unstable or it'll flail around for a while and be an interesting example of human society.

Edit: I also love how everyone is misreading 'looser' as 'loser'.

 

[ShotgunZombie]

I say we wait till an internal power struggle erupts on the islands and wipes out the populace. Then we move in to steal all their scientific breakthroughs and proceed to wreak havoc on the mainlands with an army of brainwashed Big Daddies and the ability to shoot hornets from our wrists. If anyone's interested I'll be taking applications for would be marauders now.

 

[Grospoliner]

The man is an idiot. He actually suggests that people skip college. News flash! Any one who is going to be designing your death trap is going to be college educated. Your run of the mill architect (also college educated) isn't going to be able to tell you what forces are going to be acting on the structure he designs let alone let you know how that structure will behave when said forces act on it.

Outside of that yeah this is totally doable.

 

[Kopikatsu]

Dude, I wish I had my own country.

There would be no currency. Everything is free~. But you are expected to work long enough to offset the resources you expend. And if you don't, your ass gets deported. >:c

The man is an idiot. He actually suggests that people skip college. News flash! Any one who is going to be designing your death trap is going to be college educated. Your run of the mill architect (also college educated) isn't going to be able to tell you what forces are going to be acting on the structure he designs let alone let you know how that structure will behave when said forces act on it.

Outside of that yeah this is totally doable.

My grandfather never went to college and ended up a multi-millionaire.

So yeah. College is for people without ideas or good business sense. 'Cause with either of those, college is a non-issue.

 

[Metalix Knightmare]

This is awesome. Now I only got to find my old pirate ship and get a couple mates together and have some fun.

Can I come with? I can provide a good pirate accent!

 

[NightHawk21]

This is awesome. Now I only got to find my old pirate ship and get a couple mates together and have some fun.

Can I come with? I can provide a good pirate accent!

Certainly, just bring Rum. Lots o' Rum.

 

[The Virgo]

Actually, I would personally like my own island country. I would call it "The Monarchical Island of Virgonia" and it would be illegal for anyone who wasn't born between August 23rd and September 22nd to live there.

I'm born between September 22nd and August 23rd... Is that good enough?

Then why does your profile say December 7th, hmm?

Because its true.
And that lies between September and August.

Nope.

Only from August to September, not the other way around.

 

[orangeban]

Dude, I wish I had my own country.

There would be no currency. Everything is free~. But you are expected to work long enough to offset the resources you expend. And if you don't, your ass gets deported. >:c

The man is an idiot. He actually suggests that people skip college. News flash! Any one who is going to be designing your death trap is going to be college educated. Your run of the mill architect (also college educated) isn't going to be able to tell you what forces are going to be acting on the structure he designs let alone let you know how that structure will behave when said forces act on it.

Outside of that yeah this is totally doable.

My grandfather never went to college and ended up a multi-millionaire.

So yeah. College is for people without ideas or good business sense. 'Cause with either of those, college is a non-issue.

But you do need to go to university to be an architect, you need serious academic learning to be one, what with all the physics and maths. Not saying non-university people can't be successful,but archictects need higher education.

 

[Flishiz]

A major problem with this that I can see is the temptation to be literally an offshore platform that would hold accounts or incorporations beyond local laws, mitigating taxes. Such an action could result in sanctions, or at least, a terrible result for intellectual property. This among many things would mean that these "libertarian" states would require governments of their own, and before long, they would be just like the rest of us.

 

[Drizzitdude]

the point isn't to create a society completely free of laws. But rather to start from scratch. I have honestly though of an idea similar to this myself. Having my own artificial island country where I can start a government the way I choose.

 

[Samwai]

The article said 'looser building codes,' in case anyone else was about to make a grammatical fool of him-or-herself today.

If I were done with my PhD in nuclear engineering by then and were confident that such a structure is stable, I would definitely join. National allegiances aren't worth anything above the worth of voluntary human kindness, and I'd sooner trust a pump-action shotgun in my hands than a police force to keep me safe from the one or two percent of people who'd be dumb enough to try something against an armed populace.

 

[Korolev]

Eh - as long as he doesn't trick people into thinking that the island is run by a government, then it's fine. As long as he's up-front that this island is his island and that he'll run it the way he pleases, then sure, let em. However - as a citizen of Germany, he still falls under German law. It's a myth that no laws exist in international waters - UN human rights apply to all members of all member nations. Unless he gives up citizenship or pledges to never contact or step foot on mainland again, he's still subject to some laws, especially concerning other people. Sure he can build as many shoddily constructed buildings on his own personal island - but if any of those buildings kills anyone he's still subject to a court of law. Somalian pirates are often arrested, despite there technically being no government in Somalia (usually they are let go because of a lack of evidence (pirates just ditch their weapons in the sea and claim to be fishermen), but some of them have been prosecuted in the US and in Russia. Russia in particular deals with Somalian pirates very harshly - sometimes they "let them go" in the middle of the pacific ocean without a paddle or any food).

As for how this guy's private libertarian paradise will turn out - eh.... less-than-good. You can't really have a place without laws - he'll have to hire security and private security firms aren't always the best police force (boy is THAT an understatement). Building codes aren't "government oppression" anyway - they are just sane, sensible codes for building safe structures. I don't know why anyone would oppose building codes. It's not a libertarian matter - rickety, unsafe buildings are a SOCIETAL hazard. If a shoddy house collapses on another person's house, it's the fault of the owner of the shoddy building. Bad buildings hurt not just the owner, but any children who happen to live in that building, and other building in the vicinity and are just.... bad ideas.

There's a reason why EVERY developed nation has building codes. They make sense. Haiti didn't have building codes - look at what happened during the 2010 earthquake. Japan, on the other hand, had INCREDIBLY strict building codes - and while those building codes didn't (and couldn't) stop the tsunami, I'm proud to say that those skyscrapers didn't fall over in Tokyo, despite the Earthquake being above 9.0. That's an AMAZING accomplishment of Japanese engineering and building policy.

 

[Pyode]

Hell i'd volunteer to do security for it.

Imagine the giggles you could get watching people flail about trying to create a society with no law or regulations.

You don't understand.

It will have laws and regulations, it's just starting from a clean slate.

Personally I hope they are able to go through with it. I beleive in libertarian values in theory, but if this works out I'll get to see if they actually work in practice.