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One question I still haven't seen answered. Are these new zones prohibited from running a drug based export economy? Perhaps knowledge that the US wont' allow

by aero142 14y ago

One question I still haven't seen answered. Are these new zones prohibited from running a drug based export economy? Perhaps knowledge that the US wont' allow it to exist that way will prevent them from doing so.

saalweachter 14y ago
This is one thing I don't get -- I don't know why people think they can escape the US government by going to the middle of the ocean, let alone Honduras. You might be able to avoid taxation, if you renounce your US citizenship, or a handful of little laws like personal drug use if you hermit up, but I don't see what's stopping the US government from just doing whatever the hell they feel like if you piss them off by exporting things they don't want exported or even running a data haven. Seal Team Six wasn't authorized by anyone but the US government, but that doesn't make Osama bin Laden any less dead.
- Nrsolis 14y ago
  Word. Any nations ability to operate independently is a function of their conflict with other nations in the same sphere of influence. International law is largely a joke of a construct since the only way to hold a nation accountable if they violate some "law" is via sanctions or military action. Even then, a nation doesn't have to bother itself with seeking approval for its actions against another if none of the others cares enough to make a stink about it. Right now the US is straight-up executing people in foreign lands via drones. They sent a team of foreign soldiers to Pakistan and conducted a raid deep within their territory. What did Pakistan do? What did the international community do? Nothing.
  - stcredzero 14y ago
    > Nothing overt. Probably more accurate with this qualification.
    - wamatt 14y ago
      > Possibly more accurate with this qualification. Accuracy? Close to 9000.
  - smacktoward 14y ago
    In fairness, it's hard to weep over this particular violation of sovereignty. The US gave Pakistan ten years to round up bin Laden using their own internal police and military systems, and it became abundantly clear over that time that Pakistan had no interest in doing so. If you're going to shelter the world's most wanted criminal within your borders, and refuse any chance of bringing him to justice, you probably shouldn't be too surprised if justice ends up coming to him instead.
    - Nrsolis 14y ago
      Hey, I'm not complaining. I think it needed to be done. But my point still stands: if the sea-steaders thought they could escape into some "international law" zone, then they were sadly mistaken. It's more like a "we dont really care...until we do" zone. IIRC Greenpeace found this out when commandos (French) boarded their ship.
nirvana 14y ago
They are prohibited because every person who is serious about doing this knows that this would be a stupid idea. Plus, there's no reason to create a charter city just to try and export drugs--- you have competition from people all over the world who are doing it without being a very public charter city, and you have no competitive advantage. The competitive advantage of a charter city is only worthwhile to legitimate businesses.

by aero142 14y ago

saalweachter 14y ago

This is one thing I don't get -- I don't know why people think they can escape the US government by going to the middle of the ocean, let alone Honduras. You might be able to avoid taxation, if you renounce your US citizenship, or a handful of little laws like personal drug use if you hermit up, but I don't see what's stopping the US government from just doing whatever the hell they feel like if you piss them off by exporting things they don't want exported or even running a data haven. Seal Team Six wasn't authorized by anyone but the US government, but that doesn't make Osama bin Laden any less dead.

Nrsolis 14y ago
Word. Any nations ability to operate independently is a function of their conflict with other nations in the same sphere of influence. International law is largely a joke of a construct since the only way to hold a nation accountable if they violate some "law" is via sanctions or military action. Even then, a nation doesn't have to bother itself with seeking approval for its actions against another if none of the others cares enough to make a stink about it. Right now the US is straight-up executing people in foreign lands via drones. They sent a team of foreign soldiers to Pakistan and conducted a raid deep within their territory. What did Pakistan do? What did the international community do? Nothing.
- stcredzero 14y ago
  > Nothing overt. Probably more accurate with this qualification.
  - wamatt 14y ago
    > Possibly more accurate with this qualification. Accuracy? Close to 9000.
- smacktoward 14y ago
  In fairness, it's hard to weep over this particular violation of sovereignty. The US gave Pakistan ten years to round up bin Laden using their own internal police and military systems, and it became abundantly clear over that time that Pakistan had no interest in doing so. If you're going to shelter the world's most wanted criminal within your borders, and refuse any chance of bringing him to justice, you probably shouldn't be too surprised if justice ends up coming to him instead.
  - Nrsolis 14y ago
    Hey, I'm not complaining. I think it needed to be done. But my point still stands: if the sea-steaders thought they could escape into some "international law" zone, then they were sadly mistaken. It's more like a "we dont really care...until we do" zone. IIRC Greenpeace found this out when commandos (French) boarded their ship.

nirvana 14y ago

They are prohibited because every person who is serious about doing this knows that this would be a stupid idea. Plus, there's no reason to create a charter city just to try and export drugs--- you have competition from people all over the world who are doing it without being a very public charter city, and you have no competitive advantage. The competitive advantage of a charter city is only worthwhile to legitimate businesses.