IP: Sealand is Independent, says U.k. Pension Dept. (WIRED)

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

> From: "Rob Raisch" <info () raisch com>
> To: "Dave Farber" <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
> So Much for That Plan:
>
> Speaking of data havens, remember that tiny platform off the coast of
> England where a band of cypherpunks have been busy starting HavenCo?
>
> Part of the allure of HavenCo is that it is based on Sealand, an ostensibly
> independent nation. But that concept rests on a shaky legal foundation: a
> 1968 court decision that said Sealand was outside of Britain's territorial
> waters.
>
> Well, turns out that the British authorities have changed their minds. This
> week immigration officials at Heathrow barred a HavenCo engineer from
> entering the country, the Daily Telegraph reported.
>
> That move doesn't necessarily threaten HavenCo, insists CEO Sean Hastings.
>
> "Several departments of the British government continue to maintain that
> Sealand is independent from the UK," Hastings said in an email message to
> Wired News. "Prince Roy's pension based on his decorated World War Two
> service to the British military is paid to him only while he resides in the
> UK. He is not eligible for payment during the times when he is in residence
> in Sealand based on the pension department's decision that it is not part of
> England."
>
> http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,37573,00.html?tw=wn20000715
>
> --
> Rob Raisch - lead analyst @ www.raisch.com
> Muscular Business Intelligence