The New York Times calls it a Rebel Outpost on the Fringes of Cyberspace. It’s going to be interesting to see how this shakes out. A group of libertarians has struck a financial deal with Roy Bates (a British businessman and former army major who has maintained that the abandoned antiaircraft bunker in international waters six miles off the coast of England of which he took possession in 1968 is the independent Principality of Sealand, and that he and his wife are its regents) to allow them to establish a “data haven” there for “a diverse

clientele that may wish to operate beyond the reach of large

nations for reasons of privacy or financial necessity. They

expect their customers to include people who wish to keep

their e-mail safe from government subpoenas as well as

other businesses seeking to avoid regulation, like

international electronic commerce, banking and gambling.” In other Sealand news, purported representatives of the principality “tried to

acquire arms worth at least $50 million from Russia, Spanish

authorities said Friday.” The investigation also revealed that Bates has commissioned a tailor to design battle uniforms for Sealand, “reserving one with the rank of Colonel for himself”, and that a vigorous trade in driver’s licenses, university degrees and passports from Sealand goes on. When investigated, those pursuing these activities have claimed diplomatic immunity for their actions.

How U.S. Left Sierra Leone Tangled in a Curious Web. 1998: Clinton goes to Africa, promising an African Renaissance and greater U.S. involvement in the continent. 1999: U.S. brokers peace accord empowering rebels. 2000: U.S. invisible in the faltering peacekeeping effort. “When the Rev. Jesse Jackson, President Clinton’s special

envoy for democracy in Africa, came to West Africa to help

defuse the crisis, he was forced to cancel a stop in Sierra

Leone because he was not welcome.

Mr. Jackson was given the role of special envoy to Africa

after helping to keep the black vote solidly behind Mr.

Clinton in 1996. He is a vocal proponent of intervening in

Africa’s conflicts.

In May last year, Mr. Jackson criticized the administration for

protecting Kosovo Albanians but leaving Africans to defend

themselves so that Sierra Leone’s war was “fought in the

dark” for seven years.” [New York Times]

Matan Has Two Mommies, and Israel Is Talking. ‘A classic Israeli idiom, which means to proclaim that there’s

no one like mom, says, “There is only one mother.” And the

government felt that the catch phrase should be taken

literally: it was biologically impossible, the government

insisted, for anyone to have more than one.’ [New York Times]

Nymphet at the Net: skin-deep still counts. [New York Times]

Living in the Shadow of Chernobyl’s Reactors. A current status report from the site of the 1986 disaster. There’s continuing thyroid cancer downwind; the concrete “sarcophagus” is on shifting ground, admitting rainwater to corrode pipes and girders and increase the risk of collapse; President Kuchma has promised to close the remaining operating reactor at Chernobyl but international wrangling about the costs of decommissioning it and replacing its electricity generating capacity has stalled implementation; the “forbidden zone” turns into a post-industrial resurgent wilderness tempting poachers in search of burgeoning deer populations; and — this is just nuts — employees of the plant wearing surgical masks stir up the radioactive soil with hoes to till the earth to plant flowers. Someone with post-apocalyptic credentials — Lewis Shiner, Jack Womack or Samuel Delaney come to mind off the top of my head — should write a novel set there.

Hate Sites Bad Recruiting Tools. Several hate-watchers say that, contrary to public concerns, the aggressive and expanding web-presence of right-wing hate groups has not paid off in terms of recruitment. Moreover, increased public scrutiny may be harmful to them. [Wired]

“This isn’t just a

decent film or a good film. If everything comes together right, this could stand as a beloved film, something that not only honors the memory of Dr. Seuss, but actually adds to the luster of his name.” [via Robot Wisdom]

Another new tick-borne disease, HGE, human granulocytic erlichiosis. First recognized in 1994, around 1,000 cases have been reported. 2-3% fatality rate reported when prompt diagnosis and care are not received, according to the CDC.

Archaeologists’ playtime: Ancient Cities Reported Found Under Sea Off Egypt, and Lost City Discovered in Peruvian Jungle.

Canada Funds Clinical Trials of ‘Invisible Condom’. This probably deals with the male concerns about the notorious loss of sensation caused by conventional condoms, but of course it appears to be inconvenient to use and the burden falls on the woman (in heterosexual sex).

Look at it this way. This is one of those things that is perfectly obvious once you think about it but took a long time for anyone to recognize. Engineers at Fuji have realized that the world has more horizontal and vertical lines than oblique ones, probably because both natural and manmade things organize themselves in relation to the pull of gravity. That means that the linear gaps in a conventional horizontal array of photodiodes in a digital camera will result in more loss of detail than an innovative, different arrangement of the diodes they are now introducing. [New Scientist]

Raising a stink. The methane produced from decaying vegetation in stagnant water makes hydroelectric power schemes worse greenhouse-gas offenders than large coal-fired power plants, says the World Commission on

Dams, a group of scientists, engineers and environmentalists supported by the World Bank, the world’s biggest funder

of large dams.