X “unfit” for banking because of complicity in Saudi spying, lawyers argue

submitted by Musky from arstechnica.com

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[–]filbs111 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (4 children)

Just build your own bank. Oh you're actually going to do that? Then the state won't grant you a license, and it moves on to just build your own state. Perhaps the powers that be won't like that either. Then there is Mars.

[–]binaryblob 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Is it even possible to build your own state in international waters for example?

AFAIK, states use lethal force to eliminate competition.

[–]filbs111 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Seasteading is interesting.

It's probably a bit like building your own bank. You can do it until it looks like it will work. Then problems will be created to stop you doing it.

[–]makesyoudownvote 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I'm technically a citizen of The Principality of Sealand. I joined in the early 2000s.

[–]binaryblob 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

That's cool to mention on a party, but unless they are actually growing the physical infrastructure (with a plan to secure advanced weaponry) and you actually being there, it seems more like one of those virtual nations.

The core feature of something like Sealand should be security from other states. What I find odd, is that countries like Luxembourg aren't invaded, because the cost of invading them is lower than the reward (the land). Do you understand why that doesn't happen? An answer like "there are treaties" is vacuous, because it's in the best interest of literally all its neighbors to invade a weak enemy.

Costa Rica is another example, because they are completely dependent on the US for military support. Why wouldn't the US just take their land?

If there is some other way to get meaningful security, then Sealand could become a lot more practical.