Paypal co-founder to build a city on the sea

realestate.yahoo.com ^ | May 12, 2012 | Mike Wehner

[posterchild]

Imagine living on a serene, man-made floating city where you can live and work with other like-minded individuals from all over the globe, without direct influence from any government entity. If Paypal co-founder Peter Thiel has his way, that wild idea may be just a few years away. The wealthy venture capitalist is putting his money behind Blueseed, a company that promises to create an offshore luxury barge where young entrepreneurs can work, live, and socialize, all without the constraints of a modern city — or pesky immigration laws.

The Blueseed vessel will be more of a floating city than an actual ship, and will come complete with work and living spaces, outdoor areas, and sports and leisure activities. The idea is that startups and solo entrepreneurs will leave their terrestrial lives almost completely, and call the Blueseed ship their primary home.

[posterchild]

It reminds me of a teenager who moves out of his parents house only to rent an apartment next door. Why not find a place further afield with more interesting shore leave?

[cuban leaf]

—without direct influence from any government entity.—

Or the protection it affords.

[ThomasThomas]

[moovova]

Or the protection it affords.

Exactly. Wait until the Somali pirates hear about this.

[Red Badger]

Arthur C. Clarke's story The Lion of Comarre had such a city, it was called Scientia and was populated by scientists from all over the solar system............

[Chickensoup]

So would they have to be outside the 200 mile limit? Would they have to be flagged to any particular country?

[Flavious_Maximus]

Peter Thiel is a hardcore homosexual. He wants to make this barge his homosexual paradise, to do what ever homosexuals love to do without any constraints whatsoever.

[Dilbert San Diego]

And you have to wonder, what will the social/political climate there be?

Will they be liberal on homosexual marriage? Will marriage of any kind be recognized at all?

Will they be liberal on the environmental issues, and have restrictive laws about recycling? Will they use only green energy sources? Who will pay for whatever power source is to be used?

What about issues such as gambling? Will there be casinos and other vice, allowed to operate with no restrictions? Will they be libertarian about everything?

Who will pay for the upkeep of the place? Will there be any sort of taxes or “contributions” required of those who live there or do business there?

What about issues such as freedom of speech/freedom of religion? With no governmental structure, will everyone be able to literally do whatever they want in these areas?

What will be done about the criminal element, which will at some point take root there? With no governmental structure, will there be no police force of any kind?

Just a few questions that come to mind about how this place will operate.

[RoosterRedux]

This idea will last until the first big storm hits! And then those sissies and geeks will run for the mainland.

[Robe]

Or the protection it affords.

Exactly. Wait until the Somali pirates hear about this.

Forget the pirates wait till OWS finds bout about no immigration laws!!

[wally_bert]

Hope the planners budget out for a sufficiently equipped merenary force for air and sea defense.

[struggle]

[cuban leaf]

Just one suitcase nuke...

[ctdonath2]

The “floating artificial nation” is a recurring theme. http://oceania.org/ was a notable libertarian version for a while.

These preposterous megaprojects (which BTW delight me) seem to exist as a means to a nifty modestly profitable business. Propose spending enough money on something huge, and money will roll in to fund studies and produce reports and present proposals for several years - a tidy salary for those involved, putting food on the table & roofs over heads. Other comparable projects are/were the span bridge over the Strait of Gibraltar, the billion-dollar indoor ski resort near Atlanta, the space elevator, and various private space tourism projects. Of course, that such projects do on rare occasion come to fruition keeps the money coming. They’re fun to follow (I think far more entertaining than lottery tickets).

[cuban leaf]

So, Alaska Airlines isn’t enough for him?

https://www.alaskaair.com/content/gay-travel.aspx
https://www.alaskaair.com/content/gay-travel/gay-events.aspx

[headstamp 2]

Wow a commune that floats on the water. Never heard of such a thing.

[Resettozero]

Yes, this utopian fantasy is bound to be much more lasting than building it on the sand.

[Baynative]

Think about it Jerry, it's gotta work!

[Resettozero]

/s

[Buckeye McFrog]

I predict that the various gubbermints of the planet will be about as tolerant of this as they were towards Pirate Radio stations broadcasting at sea.