1.
Atoll
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An atoll, sometimes called a coral atoll, is a ring-shaped coral reef including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands/cays on the rim, the coral of the atoll often sits atop the rim of an extinct seamount or volcano which has eroded or subsided partially beneath the water. The lagoon forms over the crater or caldera while the higher rim remains above water or at shallow depths that permit the coral to grow. For the atoll to persist, continued erosion or subsidence must be at a slow enough to permit reef growth upwards and outwards to replace the lost height. The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu, meaning an administrative subdivision, the distribution of atolls around the globe is instructive, most of the worlds atolls are in the Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean has no large groups of atolls, other than eight atolls east of Nicaragua that belong to the Colombian department of San Andres and Providencia in the Caribbean. Reef-building corals will thrive only in tropical and subtropical waters of oceans and seas. The northernmost atoll of the world is Kure Atoll at 28°24 N, the southernmost atolls of the world are Elizabeth Reef at 29°58 S, and nearby Middleton Reef at 29°29 S, in the Tasman Sea, both of which are part of the Coral Sea Islands Territory. The next southerly atoll is Ducie Island in the Pitcairn Islands Group, at this latitude coral reefs would not develop without the warming waters of the Gulf Stream. However, Bermuda is termed a pseudo-atoll because its general form, while there is no atoll directly on the equator, the closest atoll to the Equator is Aranuka of Kiribati, with its southern tip just 12 km north of the equator. In most cases, the area of an atoll is very small in comparison to the total area. Atoll islands are low lying, with their elevations less than 5 meters, measured by total area, Lifou is the largest raised coral atoll of the world, followed by Rennell Island. More sources however list as the largest atoll in the world in terms of land area Kiritimati, the remains of an ancient atoll as a hill in a limestone area is called a reef knoll. The second largest atoll by dry land area is Aldabra with 155 km², the largest atoll in terms of island numbers is Huvadhu Atoll in the south of the Maldives with 255 islands. In 1842, Charles Darwin explained the creation of coral atolls in the southern Pacific Ocean based upon observations made during a voyage aboard the HMS Beagle from 1831 to 1836. In time, subsidence carries the old volcano below the ocean surface, at this point, the island has become an atoll. Atolls are the product of the growth of marine organisms. Volcanic islands located beyond the water temperature requirements of hermatypic organisms become seamounts as they subside and are eroded away at the surface
2.
Fiji
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Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealands North Island. Fiji is an archipelago of more than 330 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital, Suva on Viti Levu, serves as Fijis principal cruise port, about three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levus coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi or Lautoka. Viti Levus interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain, Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry. The countrys currency is the Fijian dollar, Fijis local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development. The majority of Fijis islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago, today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later by Melanesians, Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm, a republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups détat. In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power, later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. After years of delays, an election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimaramas FijiFirst party won with 59. 2% of the vote, Fijis main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name Fiji is derived, though the common English pronunciation is based on that of their island neighbours in Tonga. Its emergence can be described as follows, Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known. Feejee, the Anglicised spelling of the Tongan pronunciation, was used in accounts and other writings until the late 19th century, by missionaries and other travellers visiting Fiji. Pottery art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500 to 1000 BC, the first settlements in Fiji were started by voyaging traders and settlers from the west about 5000 years ago
3.
Tonga
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Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian sovereign state and archipelago comprising 169 islands of which 36 are inhabited. The total surface area is about 750 square kilometres scattered over 700,000 square kilometres of the southern Pacific Ocean and it has a population of 103,000 people of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu. Tonga stretches across approximately 800 kilometres in a north-south line and it is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna to the northwest, Samoa to the northeast, Niue to the east, Kermadec to the southwest, and New Caledonia and Vanuatu to the farther west. Tonga became known in the West as the Friendly Islands because of the reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit in 1773. He arrived at the time of the festival, the yearly donation of the First Fruits to the Tuʻi Tonga. According to the writer William Mariner, the wanted to kill Cook during the gathering. From 1900 to 1970, Tonga had British protected state status, the country never relinquished its sovereignty to any foreign power. In many Polynesian languages including Tongan, the word tonga means south, the name of Tonga is cognate to the Hawaiian region of Kona. In Malay, the name of Tonga is also cognate to the word Tenggara, an Austronesian-speaking group linked to the archaeological construct known as the Lapita cultural complex reached and inhabited Tonga around 1500–1000 BCE. Scholars have much debated the exact dates of the settlement of Tonga. Not much is known before European contact because of the lack of a writing system, in the 15th century and again in the 17th, civil war erupted. The Tongan people first encountered Europeans in 1616 when the Dutch vessel Eendracht, captained by Willem Schouten, later came other Dutch explorers, including Jacob Le Maire, and in 1643 Abel Tasman. In 1845, the young warrior, strategist, and orator Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a kingdom. He held the title of Tuʻi Kanokupolu, but had been baptised by Methodist missionaries with the name Siaosi in 1831. Tonga became a state under a Treaty of Friendship with Britain on 18 May 1900. The treaty posted no higher permanent representative on Tonga than a British Consul, under the protection of Britain, Tonga maintained its sovereignty, and remained the only Pacific nation to retain its monarchical government. The Tongan monarchy follows a succession of hereditary rulers from one family. The 1918 flu pandemic, brought to Tonga by a ship from New Zealand, killed 1,800 Tongans, the Treaty of Friendship and Tongas protection status ended in 1970 under arrangements established by Queen Salote Tupou III prior to her death in 1965
4.
Lau Islands
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The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited, the Lau Group covers a land area of 188 square miles, and had a population of 10,683 at the most recent census in 2007. While most of the northern Lau Group are high islands of volcanic origin, administratively the islands belong to Lau Province. The British explorer James Cook reached Vatoa in 1774, by the time of the discovery of the Ono Group in 1820, the Lau archipelago was the most mapped area of Fiji. Political unity came late to the Lau Islands, historically, they comprised three territories, the Northern Lau Islands, the Southern Lau Islands, and the Moala Islands. Around 1855, the renegade Tongan prince Enele Maafu conquered the region, calling himself the Tui Lau, or King of Lau, he promulgated a constitution and encouraged the establishment of Christian missions. The first missionaries had arrived at Lakeba in 1830, but had been expelled, the Tui Nayau, who had been the nominal overlord of the Lau Islands, became subject to Maafu. The title Tui Lau was left vacant from his uncle, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, in 1958 as referenced in Mara, the Northern Lau Islands, which extended as far south as Tuvuca, were under the overlordship of Taveuni and paid tribute to the Tui Cakau. In 1855, however, Maafu gained sovereignty over Northern Lau, establishing Lomaloma, on Vanua Balavu, the Southern Lau Islands extended from Ono-i-Lau, in the far south, to as far north as Cicia. They were the chiefdom of the Tui Nayau, but with Maafus conquest in the 1850s. The Moala Islands had closer affiliation with Bau Island and Lomaiviti than with Lau and they have remained administratively a part of the Lau Province ever since. Since they lie between Melanesian Fiji and Polynesian Tonga, the Lau Islands are a point of the two cultural spheres. Lauan villages remain very traditional, and the inhabitants are renowned for their wood carving. Lakeba especially was a meeting place between Tongans and Fijians. The south-east trade winds allowed sailors to travel from Tonga to Fiji, the Lau Island culture became more Fijian rather than Polynesian beginning around 500 BC. However, Tongan influence can still be found in names, language, food, unlike the square-shaped ends characterizing most houses elsewhere in Fiji, Lauan houses tend to be rounded, following the Tongan practice. In early July 2014, Tongas Lands Minister, Lord Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi, at the time that news of the proposal first broke, it had not yet been discussed with the Lau Provincial Council. Many Lauans have Tongan ancestors and some Tongans have Lauan ancestors, Tongas Lands Minister is named after Enele Maafu, historically, the Minerva Reefs have been part of the fishing grounds belonging to the people of Ono-i-Lau, an island in the Lau Group
5.
Henry Mangles Denham
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Vice Admiral Sir Henry Mangles Denham, CMG was a Royal Navy officer who went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. Denham entered the navy at the age of 12 and specialised in hydrographic work and he was promoted to lieutenant in 1822. From October 1827, he was lieutenant-commander in HMS Linnet, surveying the coast of France, from September 1828 to March 1835, he surveyed the Bristol Channel, and the ports of Liverpool and Milford. On 28 February 1839 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society, from 15 January 1842 he was commander in HMS Lucifer, commanded by Frederick William Beechey, surveying the coast of Ireland. On 30 July 1845, he was commander of HMS Avon. On 18 February 1852 Denham was made captain of HMS Herald, as captain of HMS Herald, he carried out major survey work around Australia, New Caledonia and other parts of the Southwest Pacific in the period 1852 to 1861. The voyage of HMS Herald earned him a place in the history of maritime surveying. Some of the Heralds charts are still in use, at the time of Denhams voyages, the south-west Pacific was a mission field, a site of commercial activity, and a colonial outpost. The natural history specimens gathered by naturalists William Grant Milne and John MacGillivray on the expedition resulted in significant additions to botanical and ornithological collections, the voyage began in England on 21 February 1852, arriving in Australia on 18 February 1853. The ship then began its survey by visiting Lord Howe Island, the Isle of Pines and Aneityum, New Zealand and Raoul Island, Fiji, after a second visit to Fiji, the Herald was involved with the resettlement of the Pitcairn Islanders to Norfolk Island. A third visit was undertaken to Fiji, followed by the survey of Port Jackson, New South Wales, Bass Strait, King George Sound. After three visits to the Coral Sea, the Herald began the first leg of its voyage, Sydney to Surabaya, departing Surabaya on 21 November 1860. From 10 May 1864 to 21 November 1866, Denham served as Commander-in-Chief, in 1866, he was knighted for his hydrographical services and was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. He retired with the rank of Vice Admiral in 1871, the town of Denham, Western Australia named is after him, as is the New Caledonian endemic tree Meryta denhamii. Denham island, British Columbia was named after him by a fellow Royal Navy surveyor, in 1826, he married Isabella, daughter of Rev. Joseph Cole, of Carmarthen. A son Fleetwood James Denham served under his father on Herald and he was buried near the beach at the head of Denham Bay. John MacGillivray William Grant Milne European and American voyages of scientific exploration David, the voyage of HMS Herald to Australia and the South-west Pacific 1852-1861 under the command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham. The Vegetation of the Kermadec Islands, transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 42,1909, p.121
6.
HMS Herald (1822)
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HMS Herald was an Atholl-class 28-gun sixth-rate corvette of the Royal Navy. She was launched in 1821 as HMS Termagant, commissioned in 1824 as Herald, after serving as a chapel ship from 1861, she was sold for breaking in 1862. Termagant was launched at the East India Company dockyard at Cochin, lieutenant Robert Wallace Dunlop commissioned on 30 July 1822 to sail her to the United Kingdom. She arrived at Portsmouth on 7 July 1823, in July Captain Lord Henry Frederick Thynne took command, though he had nominally been appointed about a year earlier, on 30 July 1822. She was renamed Herald on 15 May 1824, and commissioned on 16 July 1824, at this time she was rated a yacht. Commander Henry John Leeke recommissioned her on 31 May 1824 and he sailed her to St Petersburg, the West Indies, back to England from Havana, then to Quebec, and finally to Malta. Captain Sir Augustus William James Clifford recommissioned Herald on 27 May 1826 to carry the Duke of Devonshire on an embassy to Russia, commanderHenry Eden replaced Clifford in November 1826, only to hand over command to Commander Edward William Curry Astley in April 1827. On 7 April 1829 Commander George Berkeley Maxwell replaced Astley, Maxwell sailed Herald to St Petersburg, Cartagena, Quebec, and home. Herald was paid off in 1830 and she then underwent fitting for sea between April and July 1830. On 20 November 1830 Captain Robert Godon took command at Portsmouth and he paid her off in January 1831. She then underwent fitting for sea again between November 1837 and August 1838, Captain John Nias recommissioned Herald on 24 May 1838 for the East Indies and China. During the period 1841–42 she was involved in actions off Canton in the commanded by Sir William Parker in the First Anglo-Chinese War. Herald was paid off at Chatham in 1842, Herald was converted at Sheerness to a survey ship between July 1844 and June 1845. At that time her armament was reduced to eight guns, Henry Kellett recommissioned Herald 8 February 1845 for surveying in the Pacific. Together with HMS Pandora she conducted a survey of the coast of British Columbia after the Oregon boundary dispute with the United States, Herald was assigned in 1848 to join the search for Sir John Franklin who had been exploring the Northwest Passage. During this voyage Herald sailed through the Bering Strait across the Chukchi Sea and discovered Herald Island and she was then paid of in 1848. From 1852 to 1861, under the command of Captain Henry Mangles Denham, Herald carried out a survey of the Australian coast and Fiji Islands, the naturalists on the voyage were John MacGillivray, William Milne and Denis Macdonald as Assistant Surgeon-zoologist. However following disagreements with the captain, John MacGillivray disembarked at Sydney in January 1854 and she was the first sailing ship to enter the Fitzroy Dock, Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour
7.
Libertarianism
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Libertarianism is a collection of political philosophies that uphold liberty as a core principle. Libertarians seek to maximize freedom and autonomy, emphasizing freedom of choice, voluntary association, individual judgment. Libertarians share a skepticism of authority and state power, however, they diverge on the scope of their opposition to existing political and economic systems. Various schools of libertarian thought offer a range of views regarding the functions of state and private power. Some libertarians advocate laissez-faire capitalism and strong private property rights, such as in land, infrastructure, an additional line of division is between minarchists and anarchists. While minarchists think that a centralized government is necessary, anarchists and anarcho-capitalists propose to completely eliminate the state. The first recorded use of the term libertarian was in 1789, the word was again used in a political sense in 1802, in a short piece critiquing a poem by the author of Gebir, and has since been used with this meaning. Déjacque also used the term for his anarchist publication Le Libertaire, Journal du Mouvement Social, in the mid-1890s, Sébastien Faure began publishing a new Le Libertaire while Frances Third Republic enacted the lois scélérates, which banned anarchist publications in France. Libertarianism has frequently used as a synonym for anarchism since this time. Although the word continues to be widely used to refer to socialists internationally. Libertarianism in the United States has been described as conservative on issues and liberal on personal freedom. There is contention about whether right, left, and socialist libertarianism represent distinct ideologies as opposed to variations on a theme, all libertarians begin with a conception of personal autonomy from which they argue in favor of civil liberties and a reduction or elimination of the state. Right-libertarianism developed in the United States in the century and is the most popular conception of libertarianism in that region. It is commonly referred to as a continuation or radicalization of classical liberalism, right-libertarians value the social institutions that enforce conditions of capitalism, while rejecting institutions that function in opposition to these institutions. These may be the byproducts of conservatism, one or more of its historically specific, but they are not its animating purpose. Such a view might seem miles away from the defense of the free market, with its celebration of the atomistic. When the libertarian looks out upon society, he does not see isolated individuals, he sees private, often hierarchical, groups, where a father governs his family and an owner his employees. Left-libertarianism encompasses those libertarian beliefs that claim the Earths natural resources belong to everyone in a manner, either unowned or owned collectively
8.
New York City
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The City of New York, often called New York City or simply New York, is the most populous city in the United States. With an estimated 2015 population of 8,550,405 distributed over an area of about 302.6 square miles. Located at the tip of the state of New York. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has described as the cultural and financial capital of the world. Situated on one of the worlds largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, the five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, The Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product of nearly US$1.39 trillion, in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion. NYCs MSA and CSA GDP are higher than all but 11 and 12 countries, New York City traces its origin to its 1624 founding in Lower Manhattan as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664 and were renamed New York after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his brother, New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the countrys largest city since 1790, the Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a symbol of the United States and its democracy. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world, the names of many of the citys bridges, tapered skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Manhattans real estate market is among the most expensive in the world, Manhattans Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 472 stations in operation. Over 120 colleges and universities are located in New York City, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, during the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, movement of the ice sheet would contribute to the separation of what are now Long Island and Staten Island. The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown and he claimed the area for France and named it Nouvelle Angoulême. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August and he proceeded to sail up what the Dutch would name the North River, named first by Hudson as the Mauritius after Maurice, Prince of Orange
9.
London
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London /ˈlʌndən/ is the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south east of the island of Great Britain and it was founded by the Romans, who named it Londinium. Londons ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its 1. 12-square-mile medieval boundaries. London is a global city in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism. It is crowned as the worlds largest financial centre and has the fifth- or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, London is a world cultural capital. It is the worlds most-visited city as measured by international arrivals and has the worlds largest city airport system measured by passenger traffic, London is the worlds leading investment destination, hosting more international retailers and ultra high-net-worth individuals than any other city. Londons universities form the largest concentration of education institutes in Europe. In 2012, London became the first city to have hosted the modern Summer Olympic Games three times, London has a diverse range of people and cultures, and more than 300 languages are spoken in the region. Its estimated mid-2015 municipal population was 8,673,713, the largest of any city in the European Union, Londons urban area is the second most populous in the EU, after Paris, with 9,787,426 inhabitants at the 2011 census. The citys metropolitan area is the most populous in the EU with 13,879,757 inhabitants, the city-region therefore has a similar land area and population to that of the New York metropolitan area. London was the worlds most populous city from around 1831 to 1925, Other famous landmarks include Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, Piccadilly Circus, St Pauls Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Trafalgar Square, and The Shard. The London Underground is the oldest underground railway network in the world, the etymology of London is uncertain. It is an ancient name, found in sources from the 2nd century and it is recorded c.121 as Londinium, which points to Romano-British origin, and hand-written Roman tablets recovered in the city originating from AD 65/70-80 include the word Londinio. The earliest attempted explanation, now disregarded, is attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae and this had it that the name originated from a supposed King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. From 1898, it was accepted that the name was of Celtic origin and meant place belonging to a man called *Londinos. The ultimate difficulty lies in reconciling the Latin form Londinium with the modern Welsh Llundain, which should demand a form *lōndinion, from earlier *loundiniom. The possibility cannot be ruled out that the Welsh name was borrowed back in from English at a later date, and thus cannot be used as a basis from which to reconstruct the original name. Until 1889, the name London officially applied only to the City of London, two recent discoveries indicate probable very early settlements near the Thames in the London area
10.
Pacific Islands Forum
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The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum, in 1999, the name was changed, Pacific Islands Forum is more inclusive of the Forums Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries, including Australia. It is an observer at the United Nations. Its decisions are implemented by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, which out of the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation. As well as its role in harmonising regional positions on political and policy issues. The Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General is the permanent Chairman of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific and they are significant aid donors and big markets for exports from the other countries. Such regional efforts are mandated by the Biketawa Declaration, which was adopted at the 31st Summit of Pacific Islands Forum Leaders, held at Kiribati in October 2000. In September 2011, the U. S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, while in September 2016 the French territories of French Polynesia and New Caledonia were granted full membership. Afterwards this meeting was held annually in member countries and areas in turn, in 1999, the 30th South Pacific Forum decided to transform into Pacific Islands Forum, with more extensive and formal way of discussion and organization. Immediately after the annual meeting at head of government level. In August 2008, the Forum threatened to suspend Fiji if the latter did not commit to holding an election by March 2009. Consequently, on May 2, Fiji was suspended indefinitely from participation in the Forum with immediate effect and he described Fiji as “a regime which displays such a total disregard for basic human rights, democracy and freedom” which he believed contravened membership of the Pacific Islands Forum. Talagi emphasised, however, that Fiji had not been expelled, the 2009 suspension of Fiji marked the first time that a country had been suspended from the Pacific Islands Forum in the history of the then 38-year-old organization. Following the Fijian general election of 17 September 2014, the Forum lifted the suspension of Fiji on 22 October 2014, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is appointed to a three-year term by the leaders of the member states. The Secretary General reports directly to the leaders and the Forum Officials Committee. The Secretary General also automatically serves as the permanent chairman of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat was established initially as a trade bureau in 1972 and later became the South Pacific Bureau for Economic Co-operation. The name South Pacific Forum Secretariat was approved by governments in 1988. The Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement aims to establish an area between 14 of the Pacific Islands Forum countries
11.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
12.
Reason (magazine)
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Reason is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune, Reason was founded in 1968 by Lanny Friedlander as a more-or-less monthly mimeographed publication. In 1970 it was purchased by Robert W. Poole, Jr. Manuel S. Klausner, and Tibor R. Machan, who set it on a more regular publishing schedule. As the monthly print magazine of free minds and free markets, it covers politics, culture, and ideas with a mix of news, analysis, commentary, during the 1970s and 80s, the magazines contributors included Milton Friedman, Murray Rothbard, Thomas Szasz and Thomas Sowell. In 1978, Poole, Klausner, and Machan created the associated Reason Foundation, marty Zupan joined Reason in 1975, and served through the 1980s as managing editor and editor-in-chief, leaving in 1989. Virginia Postrel was editor-in-chief of the magazine from July 1989 to January 2000 and she founded the magazines website in 1995. Nick Gillespie became editor-in-chief in 2000, erik Spiekermann, the designer of the Meta typeface, headed a redesign of Reason in 2001, aiming for a look that is cleaner, more modern, making use of the Meta typeface throughout. In June 2004, subscribers to Reason magazine received an issue that had their name. The concept was to demonstrate the power of public databases, as well as the customized printing capabilities of Xeikons printer, according to then editor-in-chief Nick Gillespie. The move was seen by David Carr of The New York Times as the ultimate in customized publishing, in 2008, Reasons web site was named a Webby Award Honoree in the magazine category. That same year, Matt Welch became magazines editor-in-chief, with Gillespie becoming editor-in-chief of reason. tv, in 2011, Gillespie and Welch published The Declaration of Independents, How Libertarian Politics Can Fix Whats Wrong with America. Katherine Mangu-Ward became the magazines editor-in-chief in June 2016, with Welch moving to an editor-at-large position. Other Reason editors include Jacob Sullum, Jesse Walker, Brian Doherty, Peter Suderman, and Damon Root, contributors include Ronald Bailey, Greg Beato, Cathy Young, Hit & Run is Reasons group blog. It is maintained and written by the staff of the magazine, Reason editors referred to this co-opting of the former website as the Suck-ification of Reason. In 2005, Hit & Run was named as one of the best political blogs by Playboy, Reason TV is a website affiliated with Reason magazine that produces short-form documentaries and video editorials. The site produced a series of videos called The Drew Carey Project hosted by comedian Drew Carey, Reason. tv teamed with Carey again in 2009 to produce Reason Saves Cleveland, in which Carey suggested free market solutions to his hometowns problems. Since 2010, comedian Remy Munasifi has partnered with Reason TV to produce parody videos, the Declaration of Independents The Independents Official website Reason TVs channel on YouTube Wired founder helps Reason
13.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
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The Convention, concluded in 1982, replaced four 1958 treaties. UNCLOS came into force in 1994, a year after Guyana became the 60th nation to ratify the treaty, as of June 2016,167 countries and the European Union have joined in the Convention. It is uncertain as to what extent the Convention codifies customary international law, there is, however, a role played by organizations such as the International Maritime Organization, the International Whaling Commission, and the International Seabed Authority. All waters beyond national boundaries were considered international waters, free to all nations, in the early 20th century, some nations expressed their desire to extend national claims, to include mineral resources, to protect fish stocks, and to provide the means to enforce pollution controls. Other nations were quick to follow suit, between 1946 and 1950, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador extended their rights to a distance of 200 nautical miles to cover their Humboldt Current fishing grounds. Other nations extended their territorial seas to 12 nautical miles, by 1967, only 25 nations still used the old 3-mile limit, while 66 nations had set a 12-nautical-mile territorial limit and eight had set a 200-nautical-mile limit. As of 28 May 2008, only two countries use the 3-mile limit, Jordan and Palau. That limit is used in certain Australian islands, an area of Belize, some Japanese straits, certain areas of Papua New Guinea. In 1956, the United Nations held its first Conference on the Law of the Sea at Geneva, in 1960, the United Nations held the second Conference on the Law of the Sea, however, the six-week Geneva conference did not result in any new agreements. Generally speaking, developing nations and third world countries participated only as clients, allies, or dependents of the United States or the Soviet Union, with no significant voice of their own. The issue of varying claims of territorial waters was raised in the UN in 1967 by Arvid Pardo of Malta, in an attempt to reduce the possibility of groups of nation-states dominating the negotiations, the conference used a consensus process rather than majority vote. With more than 160 nations participating, the conference lasted until 1982, the resulting convention came into force on 16 November 1994, one year after the 60th state, Guyana, ratified the treaty. The convention introduced a number of provisions, the convention set the limit of various areas, measured from a carefully defined baseline. The areas are as follows, Internal waters Covers all water, the coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource. Foreign vessels have no right of passage within internal waters, territorial waters Out to 12 nautical miles from the baseline, the coastal state is free to set laws, regulate use, and use any resource. Fishing, polluting, weapons practice, and spying are not innocent, Nations can also temporarily suspend innocent passage in specific areas of their territorial seas, if doing so is essential for the protection of its security. Archipelagic waters The convention set the definition of Archipelagic States in Part IV, a baseline is drawn between the outermost points of the outermost islands, subject to these points being sufficiently close to one another. All waters inside this baseline are designated Archipelagic Waters, the state has sovereignty over these waters, but subject to existing rights including traditional fishing rights of immediately adjacent states
14.
International Seabed Authority
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It is an organization established by the Law of the Sea Convention. Following at least ten preparatory meetings over the years, the Authority held its first inaugural meeting in its host country, Jamaica, on 16 November 1994, the day the Convention came into force. The articles governing the Authority have been noting the political and economic changes, including market-oriented approaches. The Authority obtained its status to the United Nations in October 1996. Currently, the Authority has 167 members and the European Union, two principal organs establish the policies and govern the work of the Authority, the Assembly, in which all members are represented, and a 36-member Council elected by the Assembly. The Authority holds one annual session, usually of two weeks duration, the Convention also established a body called the Enterprise which is to serve as the Authority’s own mining operator, but no concrete steps have been taken to bring this into being. The Authority has a budget of $5.8 million a year and he succeeded Satya Nandan of Fiji, the first Secretary-General of the Authority, who left after three consecutive four-year terms since 1996. In 2006, a German entity was added to the list, all but one of the current areas of exploration are in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, in the Equatorial North Pacific Ocean south and southeast of Hawaii. The remaining area, being explored by India, is in the Central Indian Basin of the Indian Ocean, each area is limited to 150,000 square kilometres, of which half is to be relinquished to the Authority after eight years. Each contractor is required to report once a year on its activities in its assigned area, so far, none of them has indicated any serious move to begin commercial exploitation. In 2008, the Authority received two new applications for authorization to explore for polymetallic nodules, coming for the first time private firms in developing island nations of the Pacific. Sponsored by their governments, they were submitted by Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. A 15-year exploration contract was granted by the Authority to Nauru Ocean Resources Inc. on 22 July 2011, the Authoritys main legislative accomplishment to date has been the adoption, in the year 2000, of regulations governing exploration for polymetallic nodules. These resources, also called manganese nodules, contain varying amounts of manganese, cobalt, copper and they occur as potato-sized lumps scattered about on the surface of the ocean floor, mainly in the central Pacific Ocean but with some deposits in the Indian Ocean. The sulphides are found around volcanic hot springs, especially in the western Pacific Ocean, while the crusts occur on oceanic ridges, the Council decided in 2006 to prepare separate sets of regulations for sulphides and for crusts, with priority given to sulphides. It devoted most of its sessions in 2007 and 2008 to this task, meanwhile, the Legal and Technical Commission reported progress on ferromanganese crusts. It disseminates the results of these meetings through publications, until recently, the consensus has been that economic mining of the ocean depths might be decades away. Moreover, the United States, with some of the most advanced technology in the world, has not yet ratified the Law of the Sea Convention and is thus not a member of the Authority
15.
His Majesty's Armed Forces (Tonga)
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His Majestys Armed Forces is the military of Tonga. It is composed of three components and two support elements. The mission of HMAF is to, Defend the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Tonga, the HMAF is partially supported by defense cooperation agreements with Australia, United States, China, India and New Zealand. In recent years, members of HMAF have supported Coalition of the Willing in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the in Afghanistan, and his Majestys Armed Forces are organized in a unified command system. It consists of three forces, the Regular Force, the Territorial Force, and the Active Reserve Force, Tongan Maritime Force performs patrol missions, occasionally dealing with border violations. Notably at the Minerva Reef and Tonga’s restricted fishing zones, the Royal Tongan Marine Infantry is organized as a single Battalion size group with a HQ and 3 Light Infantry Companies. The Tonga Royal Guards is a company size unit that is responsible for the security of His Majesty, the Air Wing was established in 1996 and operates one Beechcraft G. 18S aircraft in the maritime patrol and search and rescue roles, and an American Champion Citabria light trainer. Tonga participated in World War I, as part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, in addition, New Zealand and US troops were stationed on Tongatapu, which became a staging point for shipping. At the end of World War II, the TDS was disbanded, former Prime Minister Prince Lavaka Ata Ulukalala joined the naval arm of the Tonga Defense Service in 1982 and became Lieutenant-Commander of the defense force in 1987. From 1990 to 1995 he commanded the PPB VOEA Pangai and his time in charge included peacekeeping operations in Bougainville, in 2002, TDS soldiers were deployed as part of a multi-national regional peacekeeping force in the Solomon Islands. In July 2004, a 45-member contingent of the TDS served in the Solomon Islands, a third contingent was sent in July 2005. This contingent consisted of 33 TDS troops, and was expected to remain four months, in March 2003 Military to Military talks began between Tonga and the United States about Tonga providing troops for the Multinational force in Iraq. Support arrangements were finalized in May 2004,45 Royal Tongan Marines led by the Chief of Defense of the Tonga Defense Services, Colonel Tauaika Utaatu, departed Tonga on 13 June 2004. From July 2004, the Royal Tonga Marines were augmenting the 1st Marine Expeditionary Forces in the Al Anbar Province of Iraq, the Royal Marines supported the 1st Marine Divisions security and stabilization mission at Camp Blue Diamond. Tonga first served with the 1st MEF on the Solomon Island during World War II, the Royal Tongan Marines returned from Iraq in December 2004. In 2006, TDS soldiers, in cooperation with police, were deployed to deal with the Nukualofa riots. In December 2008, the Tonga Defence Services ended their mission in the Iraq War, in 2010, Tongan troops began training with the RAF Regiment, in preparation for operations in Afghanistan, the first troops deployed to Afghanistan during February 2011. Tongas military size is approximately 450 troops, half of which were sent to fight in the War in Afghanistan. Serving in Camp Bastion, during the September 2012 Camp Bastion raid Tonga troops were in perimeter guard towers without any night vision devices
16.
Republic of Fiji Military Forces
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The Republic of Fiji Military Forces is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, however, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all. The Ground Force is organised into six infantry and one engineer battalions, there was formerly one Zulu company of counter-revolutionary specialists, which was deactivated in late 2000 due to a mutiny by some of its members. Peacekeepers income represents an important source of income for Fiji, the 3rd Battalion is stationed in the capital, Suva, and the remaining three are spread throughout the islands. Commander-in-Chief – The President of the Republic is ex officio Commander-in-Chief of the Military Forces, Commander RFMF – The Commander RFMF is of one-star rank. He is assisted by the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Staff and it was formed in 1975, following the governments ratification of the United Nations Law of the Sea convention. The Navy is responsible for maritime needs in border control, such as watching over Fijis exclusive economic zone and organising task and it currently operates 9 patrol boats. Military aid is received from Australia, the Peoples Republic of China, and the United Kingdom. 3 Pacific class patrol boat (Australia, displacement 162 t, length 31,5 m, width 8,1 m, draught 1,8 m, power 2 x 1,050 kW, maximal speed 20 knots, crew 17-man, equipment machine guns 1 x 12,7 mm. These boat replace discharged Redwing-class minesweepers FNS Kula, Kikau and Kiro, yehonatan Shimʻon Frenḳel writes that the Air Wing was formed after the 1987 coup, when the French provided two helicopters as part of its military aid package. Frenkel goes on to say that the air wing was disbanded after both helicopters crashed and after subsequent revelations of huge debts incurred as a result of the aircraft. The two helicopters were,1 transport helicopter Eurocopter AS 365N2 Dauphin 2 – matriculation marker DQ-FGD – in service from 1989 to 1994,1 transport helicopter Aerospatiale AS 355F-2 Twin Squirrel – matriculation marker DQ-FGH – in service from 1991 to 1997. Helicopter AS-365 N2 Dauphin crashed off the coast of the island in July 1994. The Air Wing did not have its own roundel or ensign, rank designation based on the British tradition. Rear Admiral Brigadier General Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Commander Commodore Captain Major Sergeant Fijis Military has a history of political intervention, in 1987, soldiers were responsible for two military coups, and in 2000, the Military organised a countercoup to quash George Speights civilian coup. Among other objections, the Military claims that its integrity and discipline would be undermined if soldiers who mutinied in the 2000 upheaval were to be pardoned. On 4 August 2005, Opposition Leader Mahendra Chaudhry called for more Indo-Fijians and this would help guarantee political stability, he considered. He also spoke against government plans to downsize the military, ironically the rate of promotion of indigenous Fijian officers had been very rapid after the 1987 coup, and subsequent expansion of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces
17.
Minister for Foreign Affairs (Fiji)
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The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Fijis Cabinet Minister responsible for international relations and diplomacy and oversees its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. Like other ministers, the Foreign Minister is formally appointed by the President on the nomination of the Prime Minister, the position may be held independently, or in conjunction with other ministerial responsibilities. From time to time, the Prime Minister has simultaneously served as Foreign Minister, along with all ministers, the Foreign Minister is constitutionally required to be a member of the Parliament. As a British colony, Fiji had no Foreign Minister, the United Kingdom managed its external relations, the table below lists the individuals who have held the Foreign Affairs portfolio since Fiji became independent on 10 October 1970. Foreign relations of Fiji Rulers. org – Foreign ministers E–K
18.
Inoke Kubuabola
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Ratu Inoke Kubuabola is a Fijian politician and Cabinet Minister. He is currently the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kubuabola worked as an assistant manager for the New Zealand Insurance Company in Auckland and Suva. From 1975 to 1987 he was secretary of the South Pacific Bible Society, a Fijian nationalist, he was involved in the planning of the 1987 Fijian coups détat. Following the coup he was appointed Minister for Information in the Military Government, Kubuabola was elected to Parliament in the 1992 election as a candidate for the Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei and reappointed to Cabinet as Minister for Youth, Employment Opportunities and Sports. He was re-elected at the 1994 election and was appointed Minister for Regional Development, in 1996 he was appointed Minister of Works, Infrastructure and Transport. Following the Fiji coup of 2000 Kubuabola was appointed Minister for Information and he held this office till September 2001, when he lost his seat in the 2001 election. That year he resigned the Chairmanship of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council. Kubuabola served as Fijis High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea from 2002 to 2005, in late 2005, he attempted to handle the problem of Fijian security guards, whom some accused of being mercenaries, operating illegally on the island of Bougainville. On 4 May 2006 Kubuabola was posted to Tokyo as Fijis Ambassador to Japan and Korea and he remained in this position until July 2009 when he was named Minister for Foreign Affairs by the Interim Government. Kubuabola ran as a candidate for FijiFirst in the 2014 election, and was elected with 5,414 votes
19.
New Zealand
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New Zealand /njuːˈziːlənd/ is an island nation in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses—the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu—and around 600 smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long period of isolation, New Zealand developed a distinct biodiversity of animal, fungal, the countrys varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealands capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland, sometime between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that later were named New Zealand and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Dutch explorer Abel Tasman became the first European to sight New Zealand, in 1840, representatives of Britain and Māori chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, which declared British sovereignty over the islands. In 1841, New Zealand became a colony within the British Empire, today, the majority of New Zealands population of 4.7 million is of European descent, the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealands culture is derived from Māori and early British settlers. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, New Zealand is a developed country and ranks highly in international comparisons of national performance, such as health, education, economic freedom and quality of life. Since the 1980s, New Zealand has transformed from an agrarian, Queen Elizabeth II is the countrys head of state and is represented by a governor-general. In addition, New Zealand is organised into 11 regional councils and 67 territorial authorities for local government purposes, the Realm of New Zealand also includes Tokelau, the Cook Islands and Niue, and the Ross Dependency, which is New Zealands territorial claim in Antarctica. New Zealand is a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, ANZUS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Pacific Islands Forum, and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman sighted New Zealand in 1642 and called it Staten Landt, in 1645, Dutch cartographers renamed the land Nova Zeelandia after the Dutch province of Zeeland. British explorer James Cook subsequently anglicised the name to New Zealand, Aotearoa is the current Māori name for New Zealand. It is unknown whether Māori had a name for the country before the arrival of Europeans. Māori had several names for the two main islands, including Te Ika-a-Māui for the North Island and Te Waipounamu or Te Waka o Aoraki for the South Island. Early European maps labelled the islands North, Middle and South, in 1830, maps began to use North and South to distinguish the two largest islands and by 1907, this was the accepted norm. The New Zealand Geographic Board discovered in 2009 that the names of the North Island and South Island had never been formalised and this set the names as North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui, and South Island or Te Waipounamu
20.
Infinity symbol
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The infinity symbol ∞ is a mathematical symbol representing the concept of infinity. The shape of a figure eight has a long pedigree, for instance, it appears in the cross of Saint Boniface. However, John Wallis is credited with introducing the infinity symbol with its meaning in 1655. Leonhard Euler used a variant of the symbol in order to denote absolutus infinitus. Euler freely performed various operations on infinity, such as taking its logarithm and this symbol is not used anymore, and does not exist in Unicode. In mathematics, the infinity symbol is used often to represent a potential infinity, rather than to represent an actually infinite quantity such as the ordinal numbers. The poem after which Pale Fire is entitled explicitly refers to the miracle of the lemniscate, the well known shape and meaning of the infinity symbol have made it a common typographic element of graphic design. For instance, the Métis flag, used by the Canadian Métis people in the early 19th century, is based around this symbol. In modern commerce, corporate logos featuring this symbol have been used by, among others, Room for PlayStation Portable, Microsoft Visual Studio, Fujitsu, the symbol is encoded in Unicode at U+221E ∞ infinity and in LaTeX as \infty, ∞. The acid-free paper symbol mentioned above is encoded separately as U+267E ♾ PERMANENT PAPER SIGN
21.
Cabinet Magazine
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Cabinet is a quarterly, Brooklyn, NY-based, non-profit art & culture magazine established in 2000. Cabinet also operates an event and exhibition space in Brooklyn, Cabinet issues are divided into three sections. Each issue begins with four of Cabinets recurring columns, some columns appear more frequently than others, The Clean Room is David Serlins column on science and technology. Colors, which appears in issue, presents a writer or artists response to a specific color assigned by the editors. Ingestion, a column originated by Allen S. Weiss, explores food within a framework informed by aesthetics, history, leftovers examines the cultural significance of detritus. Thing invites writers in various fields to take a shot at identifying a single found object not recognizable to the Cabinet editors, inventory is an occasional column that features and sometimes examines a list, catalogue, or register. Black Pyramid is Peter Lamborn Wilsons column on the poetics of esoterica, object Lesson, a column by Celeste Olalquiaga, reads culture against the grain to identify striking illustrations of historical process or principle. A Minor History of, a column by Joshua Foer, examines an overlooked cultural phenomenon using a timeline, the Main section features miscellaneous essays, interviews, and artist projects. The third section features essays, interviews, and artist projects related to a specific theme, a theme-based CD is included in issues 1,3,5,7,9,11, and 13. Though Cabinet is commonly called Cabinet magazine and is distributed to newsstands as a magazine, each issue is printed in two editions, one with a magazine barcode on the front cover and the other with a book barcode on the back cover. In addition to publishing the quarterly, Cabinet also publishes books, curates art-related exhibitions, in October 2008, Cabinet opened a public venue in Brooklyn, where it operates an exhibition area, reading lounge and a 64-seat screening room and lecture space. The Book of Stamps, a book of 15 artist-designed stamps by Walead Beshty, Melissa Brown, Melissa Dubbin & Aaron S. The Book of Stamps Ilf & Petrovs American Road Trip, The 1935 Travelogue of Two Soviet Writers, by Yevgeni Petrov and Ilya Ilf, edited by Erika Wolf, translated by Anne O. In 2003, Cabinet co-produced The Paper Sculpture Show, a exhibition of 29 paper sculptures. The sculptures themselves are collected as tear-out, do-it-yourself projects in The Paper Sculpture Book, in 2006, Cabinet presented Iron Artist, a live artist-versus-artist competition modeled after Iron Chef, at P. S. 1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens, NY, philosopher Slavoj Žižek has written, Cabinet is my kind of magazine, ferociously intelligent, ridiculously funny, absurdly innovative, rapaciously curious. Cabinets mission is to life back into non-academic intellectual life. Compared to it, every other magazine is a walking zombie
22.
RNZ International
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This article is about the international version. For the domestic version, see Radio New Zealand National, RNZ International or Radio New Zealand International, sometimes abbreviated to RNZI, is a division of Radio New Zealand and the official international broadcasting station of New Zealand. It broadcasts a variety of news, current affairs and sports programmes in English, the stations mission statement requires it to promote and reflect New Zealand in the Pacific, and better relations between New Zealand and Pacific countries. As the only radio station in New Zealand, RNZ International broadcasts to several island nations. It has studios in Radio New Zealand House, Wellington and a transmitter at Rangitaiki in the middle of the North Island and its broadcasts cover from East Timor in the west across to French Polynesia in the east, covering all South Pacific countries in between. The station targets Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa, the signal can also be heard in Europe and North America. RNZ International was launched in 1948 as Radio New Zealand, a subsidiary of what was then the New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation and it utilised two 7.5 kW transmitters at Titahi Bay which had been left behind by the US military during World War II. It briefly closed before reopening in 1976, under the policy of the third Labour government. From 1987, the Government faced growing pressure to have an active foreign policy towards the Pacific region. It upgraded the station, installed a new 100 kW transmitter, the station adopted new digital technology and launched a website in 2000. SIBC general manager Patterson Mae was accused of undermining the principles of press freedom, in 1998 and again in 2000 RNZI won a Commonwealth Broadcasting Associations Rolls-Royce Award for Excellence. At a function of the Association for International Broadcasting in London, November 2007, the association praised the station for what it said was an ability and clarity of vision - and for the delivery of something it said was valued by audiences throughout the region. RNZI also won the award for Most Innovative Partnership, as of 2015, RNZI has 13 staff. These include manager Linden Clark, technical manager Adrian Sainsbury, news editor Walter Zweifel, myra Oh, Colette Jansen, Damon Taylor, Dominic Godfrey and Jeremy Veal serve as technical producers and continuity announcers. Aside from Radio Australia, RNZI is the only international state-owned public broadcaster covering the Pacific region and its news service focuses on South Pacific countries, and includes news bulletins in eight languages. Vinnie Wylie heads the stations coverage, and freelancers are often used for on-the-ground reporting. The stations news service focuses on news that relates to New Zealand and it predominantly cites Government and opposition leaders and the spokespeople of non-government organisations and government departments. RNZI regularly covers the Papua conflict and interviews exiled Koteka tribal leader Benny Wenda on his visits to New Zealand and it has reported on Vanuatus Parliamentary debate on the conflict, Indonesian estimates of the death toll and West Papua National Liberation Army claims of militant arrests
23.
1 News
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1 News is the news division of New Zealand television network TVNZ. The service is broadcast live from TVNZ Centre in Auckland, the flagship news bulletin is the nightly 6 pm news hour, but 1 News also has midday and late night news bulletins, as well as current affairs shows such as Breakfast and Seven Sharp. The 6 pm programme is New Zealands most-watched news programme, as of July 2008, it has a market share of 44%. The head of TVNZ News and Current Affairs is John Gillespie,1 News was awarded Best News in the Qantas Media Awards from 2008 through 2011 and won Best Breaking News in the New Zealand Film and Television Awards 2012. Television news in New Zealand started in 1960 with the introduction of television and these bulletins were broadcast from New Zealands four main cities operating independently of each other due to technical constraints. The Wahine Disaster in April 1968 highlighted the need for a news network. In October 1969 the country-wide TV network was completed, the first network news broadcast was live on 3 November 1969 at 7,35 pm, read by Dougal Stevenson. This bulletin was possible due to microwave links being established between the four centres, the programme was called NZBC Network News. Initially, it was read by Philip Sherry, Dougal Stevenson or Bill Toft on a rotating roster, angela DAudney was the first female newsreader in New Zealand, from 1973. The Network News featured many other newsreaders until the NZBC was dissolved in 1975, the programme was then renamed simply News. The main bulletin was revamped in 1987 and it was renamed Network News with Judy Bailey and Neil Billington initially co-presenting. Richard Long and Tony Ciprian alternately presented and produced sports news, later that year Long took over from Billington as Network News news co-anchor, the beginning of a partnership that would continue for much of the next fifteen years. Ciprian moved to the new commercial channel TV3, the stations first sports news producer and he was with 3 News for almost 20 years. From the 1970s, four regional programmes were broadcast – one in each of the four main regions, Top Half, Today Tonight, The Mainland Touch. Initially, these ran for 20 minutes during the main news programme at 7 pm. In 1988, the Network News was moved to 6 pm, on 11 April 1989 TVNZ launched a new nightly current affairs show, Holmes, which was presented by Paul Holmes. Holmes began screening at 6,30 pm and regional news shows were moved to 5,45 pm before the Network News bulletin before being axed at the end of 1990. 1989 saw the introduction of the first One News foreign correspondents – Liam Jeory in London, the 6,30 pm bulletin was reduced back to 30 minutes on weekdays
24.
Fiji Times
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The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, the newspaper claims to be The First Newspaper Published In The World Every Day. The Fiji Times is owned by Mahendra Motibhai Patel, who purchased it from Rupert Murdochs News Corp in 2010, the Company Secretary is Umesh Prasad. The former publisher Evan Hannah was forcibly removed from Fiji in 2008 as he was accused by the government of meddling in Fijian politics. An online edition is published, featuring news, sport. The Rabuka administration censored the Fiji Times for a following the first military coup of 14 May 1987. In protest, the published an edition with large blank spaces. The Fiji Times announced on 5 December 2006, in the wake of the overthrow of the government by the military. Military officers had visited the premises that evening to prohibit the publication of any propaganda in support of the government of Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. The online edition would be continuing publication as normal, however, just before midday on 6 December, the military granted permission for the Times to resume publication without censorship. Nonetheless, from December 2006 to April 2009, the Times was able to publish articles critical of the interim government. The latter voiced its displeasure, but did not impose censorship, following the 2009 Fijian constitutional crisis, however, all Fijis media were censored, including the Fiji Times. Censors are present in the papers newsrooms, and he says they challenge the censors by putting every possible news item before them. The website of the Fiji Times has also been censored since April 2009, the Fiji Labour Party was once highly critical of the Fiji Times, accusing it of political bias. In July 2008, the party published a report alleging that the Fiji Times had collaborated with others in an effort to unseat the 1999/2000 Labour-led government. Usher, Brief History of The Fiji Times, Paper read to the Fiji Society on October 15,1962
25.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
26.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
27.
Micronation
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Several micronations have issued coins, flags, postage stamps, passports, medals, and other items. These items are rarely accepted outside of their own community but may be sold as novelties to help raise money or collected by enthusiasts, the earliest known micronations date from the beginning of the 19th century. The differences between such Internet micronations, other kinds of social networking groups, and role-playing games are difficult to define. The term micronation to describe those entities dates at least to the 1970s, the term micropatrology is sometimes used to describe the study of both micronations and microstates by micronationalists, some of whom refer to sovereign nation-states as macronations. The term micronation literally means small nation and it is a neologism originating in the mid-1970s to describe the many thousands of small unrecognised state-like entities that have mostly arisen since that time. The term has also come to be used retrospectively to refer to earlier unrecognized entities. Amongst supporters of micronations the term macronation is in use to refer to any internationally recognised sovereign nation-state. Not all micronations are small, some can be rather large, Micronations generally have a number of common features, although these may vary widely. They may have a similar to established sovereign states, including territorial claims, government institutions, official symbols and citizens. Micronations may also issue formal instruments such as stamps, coins, banknotes and passports. The Montevideo Convention was one attempt to create a definition distinguishing between states and non-states. Some micronations meet this definition, while some do not, nine main types of micronations are prevalent, Social, economic, or political simulations. Exercises in personal entertainment or self-aggrandisement, vehicles for the promotion of an agenda. These micronations tend to have a serious intent, and often involve significant numbers of people interested in recreating the past or simulating political or social processes. Nova Roma, a group claiming a membership of several thousand that has minted its own coins, maintains its own wiki. Embassy of Heaven, a Christian church that can be considered a micronation, Grand Duchy of Flandrensis, a Belgian micronation with claims over some territories of Antarctica. The micronation is also a simulation and cultural organization. In 2012, the micronation was composed of 114 citizens from 21 different nationalities, holy Empire of Reunion, a Brazilian micronation founded in 1997 as an online constitutional monarchy simulation
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Aerican Empire
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The Aerican Empire is a micronation founded in May 1987, which has no sovereign territory of its own and has never been recognized by any other sovereign state as existing. The name is cultured from the term American Empire, in 2000 The New York Times described its website as one of the more imaginative micronation sites. As with most micronations, the number of members has fluctuated wildly with time, in May 2009, it was reported to exceed 400 people. Their flag is similar to the flag of Canada, with a yellow smiley face instead of the red maple leaf in the white square. The Aerican Empire was founded on 8 May 1987 by Montreal psychiatrist Eric Lis and a core group of friends. Lis, who founded the Aerican Empire as a child, obtained his M. D. C. M. from McGill University and has published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience. For the first ten years the Empire was almost wholly fictional, claiming sovereignty over a vast galaxy of planets, in 1997, the Empire created a website. In 2000, the first growth spurt in the Empires population was triggered by an article in The New York Times, in the months following this, the Empires membership rose to over five hundred people. This number slowly fell over the years as members left. The Empires mission statement is, The Empire exists to facilitate the evolution of a society wherein the Empire itself is no longer necessary and it claims to be organized as a parliamentary democracy, with various elected bodies and offices, under the oversight of an Emperor. The Aerican Empire first issued coinage in November 2009, and a coin was minted to celebrate Aericas 25th anniversary in 2012. It does not have printed passports, but has a downloadable novelty passport, the first issued passport was exhibited in the Palais de Tokyo 2007 Micronational art exhibition. Aerica issued stamps for the first time in 2015, annually, the Empire holds story-writing contests, role-playing and wargaming days, and such events as the Dog-Biscuit Appreciation Day Scavenger Hunt. It also developed a religion called Silinism, the worship of the Great Penguin, originally intended as a joke, possibly the single most widespread cultural activity within the Empire is gaming, particularly role-playing games and wargaming. The Aerican Empires official gaming club is associated with seven universities worldwide and has sponsored/funded/supported an annual gaming day on December 29 since 2003, AEGIS has funded the creation of several Aerican Empire-themed Warhammer 40K armies which have competed nationally in tournaments. While Internet-based activities in the Empire are more well-documented and facilitate interaction between members in different countries, a focus has always been local physical events. Members gather for meetings in Montreal, Springvale, New York and other centers. List of micronations The Aerican Empire
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Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina
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The Sovereign State of Aeterna Lucina was an Australian micronation that existed between the late 1970s until the death of its founder in the 1990s. He also claimed to have awarded over 850 other honours, including Professorships, Doctorates of Philosophy and Divinity. Aeterna Lucina was founded in 1978, and initially occupied a property owned by Neuman near Byron Bay, according to a 1989 television report the Curl Curl residence - known as Vitama - was considered to be the micronations capital. The state was finally relocated to a location in rural Victoria of 16km²
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Akhzivland
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For the ancient site and national park see Achziv. For the former Palestinian village at this site see Az-Zeeb, Akhzivland is a micronation between Nahariya and the Lebanese border on the Israeli west coast. The state was founded by Eli Avivi in 1972, the micronation is promoted by the Israel Ministry of Tourism even though its legal status remains ambiguous. The micronation is located near the ruins of Achziv, an ancient settlement on the Mediterranean coast in the Western Galilee, about 5 kilometers north of Nahariya. A national park, field school, and the ruins of the Palestinian village of Az-Zeeb, the current site of Akhzivland is situated near the ancient port city of Achziv. Based on archeological findings and the burial sites located in the region. In the Book of Joshua, Achziv is mentioned as one of the nine cities of Judah, a thriving city was also located on the site during the time of the Mishnah. During the Crusader period, the city was given as a gift to a knight, during the Mamluk period, it was conquered by the Mamluk general Baibars, who established a fishing village at the site called Az-Zeeb. Its residents fled Az-Zeeb during Operation Ben-Ami in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, in 1961, the Israeli government granted the French resort company Club Med a fifty-year lease over part of the areas coastline. In 1952, Iranian-born sailor and Palmach veteran Eli Avivi moved into buildings in the villages, according to former residents of Az Zeeb, Avivi was hired by a family of fishermen, and later moved into the familys house in 1955. In 1970, the Israeli government sent bulldozers to demolish the home in which Avivi had been living, in protest, Eli founded Akhzivland in 1971, setting up a hostel and a museum inside the former home of the mukhtar of Az-Zeeb. The micronation became a tourist site, attracting artists, writers, the micronation elected Avivi to be President, established a flag and national anthem, and even issued passports. For a certain time, visitors’ passports received a special stamp, following the founding of Akhzivland, Avivi was arrested and detained, but was released 10 days later after a judge ruled that the charge of Creation of a Country Without Permission did not exist. After Avivi sued the Israeli government, a court ruled to lease the area to Avivi for 99 years, Akhzivland now contains a guest house, beachfront campground, and a museum of eccentricities, and is open to the public. On the Jewish states micro-state, an Israeli couple rules a beach for 65 years, Jewish News Service, jns. org, March 2,2017
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Save Aramoana Campaign
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The Save Aramoana Campaign was formed in 1974 to oppose a proposed aluminium smelter at Aramoana in New Zealand. In the late 1970s Aramoana was proposed as the site of an aluminium smelter by a consortium of New Zealand-based Fletcher-Challenge, Australias CSR Limited. An aluminium smelter was already operating at Tiwai Point when the smelter at Aramoana was proposed, from its inception, the Otago Harbour Board had vested in it for harbour purposes, land on the Northern side of the Otago Harbour entrance. After the Comalco Aluminium Smelter was opened at Bluffs Tiwai Point in 1971 and it was not well founded, and was withdrawn in the face of modest opposition. This had the effect of placing the project sub judice. The Government, keen to use the smelter to justify the Clyde Dam as part of its Think Big programme, passed the National Development Act. Waikouaiti, now combined with Taieri to become Silverpeaks, brought out its own district scheme with much more legally sound provisions for land use, specifically a smelter. Those provisions were fought by the campaigns planner at the council level, 733/82, upheld by that court in decision C51/83 J. Todd and the Careys Bay Assn. All reference to industrial development at Aramoana is to be deleted, with original art work donated by leading New Zealand artists for the purpose, and these raised nearly $NZ500,000 in 1982 terms. The campaign was well funded. Several New Zealand artists were involved in the campaign in other ways, most notably Ralph Hotere, the tide had turned against Think Big, and the smelter was left to sink without trace. Pechiney had left, Alusuisse went off to look for a more congenial site in Zaire, and Aramoana saw the village made freehold, the smelter plan called for the destruction of the villages of Aramoana and Te Ngaru, and also threatened a local wildlife reserve. The campaign attracted the attention of such as Ralph Hotere. However, the campaign waged by Aramoana and its supporters eventually forced a government backdown and this development combined with declining aluminium prices on world commodity markets, eventually led to the withdrawal of Alusuisse from the consortium in October,1981. The proposal is still remembered as a divisive issue, environment of New Zealand List of micronations Micronations portal
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Empire of Atlantium
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The Empire of Atlantium is a micronation and secular, pluralist progressive lobby group based in New South Wales, Australia. The books entry on Atlantium notes its espousal of progressive, liberal policies and characterizes it as a secular humanist utopia, among the causes Atlantium supports are the right to unrestricted international freedom of movement, the right to abortion, the right to assisted suicide and decimal calendar reform. It has almost 3,000 citizens, most of whom signed up online from over 100 countries and have never been to Atlantium, Atlantium was established in 1981 by three Sydney teenagers – George Francis Cruickshank, Geoffrey John Duggan and Claire Marie Coulter. Geoffrey Duggan was elected as prime minister, in 1999 Cruickshank purchased an apartment in the inner Sydney suburb of Potts Point, and soon after revived Atlantium, launching a website, which was instrumental in attracting new members. The 61 square metres apartment, known as the Imperium Proper, Concordia became the third capital of Atlantium on 12 January 2008, when the rural 0.76 square kilometres Province of Aurora, approximately 350 kilometres southwest of Sydney, was created. The Atlantium website describes Aurora as Atlantiums global administrative capital, ceremonial focal point, the Province of Aurora covers 0.76 square kilometres and has a fenced 4.5 kilometres long perimeter. It is divided into four divisions, known as the District of Hickey, the District of Duggan, Concordia Capital District. The latter is the current residence of Cruickshank, Concordia is the intended location of facilities to house Atlantiums legislature, government offices, museum, throne hall and commemorative monuments. It is the location of a residential and administrative building, several service structures. Aurora is also the site of an historic gold-processing facility built, the Atlantium website uses several different self-descriptions, including self-declared state, aspirant microstate and global sovereign state. No established nation has recognised Atlantiums sovereignty claims, and it has no diplomatic relations. Atlantium has appointed unaccredited diplomatic representatives called Imperial Legates in the United States, Pakistan, Poland, Brazil, India, Italy, Iran, Singapore, Serbia and Switzerland. The group has awarded Imperial Honours to various recipients, generally in recognition of political activism or for service to local communities, stamps, coins and banknotes are sold by Atlantium, which uses a decimal currency system of 100 imperial centi to the imperial solidus. Atlantiums website claims that the profits from sales are used for the Empires ongoing operations as well as charitable causes. The earliest documented media report referring to Atlantium is a 1984 philatelic magazine article about its cinderella stamp releases, there are currently 12 issues of Atlantian stamps. Atlantium mints coins, though the levels of Atlantian economic activity remain low, the first coin was the 20th anniversary 10 solidi coin, which has a likeness of George Cruickshank as the obverse and the imperial eagle as the reverse. In 2011, a 30 solidi coin was issued to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Atlantium, the coin has the likeness of George Cruickshank on the obverse and the wedge-tailed eagle on the reverse and was struck in cupronickel and plated with 9 carat gold. Banknotes of Atlantium are denominated in imperial solidi and are divided into a 2006 series
33.
Austenasia
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The Empire of Austenasia is a micronation and self-declared sovereign state based in the United Kingdom. It operates under constitutional monarchy and comprises eighteen properties that have declared themselves independent under the leadership of a house in south London, Austenasia is recognized by Vikesland, among others. Austenasia was founded on 20 September 2008 by Jonathan Austen, a student, and his father Terry Austen, after sending a declaration of independence for their house in Carshalton to their local Member of Parliament, Tom Brake, Terry was named Emperor and Jonathan was named Prime Minister. Jonathan met with Tom Brake MP in May 2011, who contacted Foreign Secretary William Hague to enquire about the criteria by which the UK recognises new states on Jonathans behalf. The micronation has been featured in local and international publications. The Empire of Austenasia is a monarchy in which the monarch holds great power. According to the website, their consent is necessary for any law to be passed. Each town has a Town Council composed of its population, the prime minister is elected through general elections. Austenasia claims several properties around the world, variously classified as cities, towns, wrythe, the micronations capital city, consists of a suburban house in the London Borough of Sutton. Several other British houses are also claimed, and other territorial claims include a farm in Brazil, part of a university campus in Australia, the micronation also has claims in the USA, Canada, India and Algeria. List of micronations Micronations portal Official website Austenasia on MicroWiki
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Dominion of British West Florida
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The Dominion of British West Florida is a separatist micronation founded in 2005 on an eccentric interpretation of actual historic events and based in the Gulf coast region of the United States. It claims the territory of the 18th-century colony of West Florida, which has since been subsumed into the US states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Dominion claims to be striving for Dominion Status as a Commonwealth Realm, on a par with Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and The Bahamas. The organization is neither acknowledged by any government nor any authority over its claimed territory. The micronation was founded in November 2005 in order to reassert Britains rights over the region, by an individual identified on the website only as Robert VII. The website asserts that Duke Robert inherited the Peerage of the Dominion in 1969, the micronation has issued cinderella stamps and has minted several base metal coins, produced by Jorge Vidal and issued in denominations based on pre-decimal pounds. This interpretation of events is not supported by any mainstream historian. Republic of West Florida List of micronations Official Website Official Blog British West Florida article at Encyclopedia of Alabama
35.
Province of Bumbunga
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The Province of Bumbunga was an Australian secessionist micronation located on a farm at Bumbunga near Snowtown and Lochiel, South Australia, from 1976 until approximately 2000. Its founder and only ruler was a British monkey trainer, uranium prospector, Brackstone, an ardent British monarchist, became alarmed by what he saw as a drift away from the Australian system of constitutional monarchy toward outright republicanism. Brackstone then set about attracting tourism by planting thousands of plants in the pattern of a huge scale model of Great Britain. He intended to conduct weddings on his property, during which soil from the appropriate British county would be sprinkled on the ground, in 1980 Bumbunga began issuing Cinderella stamps portraying members of the British royal family. Later issues addressed anti-nuclear sentiments and other causes while retaining the royal theme. Though worthless as postage, they became popular with philatelists and oddity collectors, fifteen series of 5000 copies each were eventually produced. In 1987 changes to Australian investment laws that reduced the attraction of philatelic investments led Brackstone to abandon his commercial operations, in 1999 Brackstone was arrested and charged with possession of illegal firearms. His assertion of diplomatic immunity due to his status as Bumbungas sovereign was unsuccessful, and he was eventually deported and repatriated to the UK
36.
Nation of Celestial Space
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The Nation of Celestial Space was a micronation created by Evergreen Park, Illinois, resident James Thomas Mangan. Celestia comprised the entirety of space, which Mangan laid claim to on behalf of humanity to ensure that no one country might establish a political hegemony there. As Founder and First Representative, he registered this acquisition with the Recorder of Deeds, despite these efforts, the Nation of Celestial Space is thought to have become defunct with the death of its founder. Its only surviving legacy is the series of stamps and silver and gold coins, some of the coins minted by Celestia included a silver 1 Joule of 4.15 grams and a gold 1 Celeston of 2.20 grams. Their scarcity ensures that they sell for hundreds of dollars apiece on the rare occasions they come to market. James Thomas Mangans descendants include his son, James C. Mangan, his daughter Ruth Mangan Stump, Princess of the Nation of Celestial Space, and three grandsons, Glen Stump, Duke of Selenia, Dean Stump, Duke of Mars, the Declaration by the Nation of Celestial Space was issued by Celestia on December 21,1948. It proclaims to establish the nation to secure for sympathetic people, wherever they may live, the document goes on to explain the nature of Celestias claim. How to Start Your Own Country, 2nd ed. Port Townsend, WA, Breakout Productions,1984
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Freetown Christiania
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It was temporarily closed by residents in April 2011 while discussions continued with the Danish government about its future, but then re-opened to the public. Christiania has been a source of controversy since its creation in a military area in 1971. Its cannabis trade was tolerated by authorities until 2004, in the years following 2004, measures for normalizing the legal status of the community led to conflicts, police raids and negotiations. The area of Christiania consists of the military barracks of Bådsmandsstræde. The ramparts and the borough of Christianshavn were established in 1617 by King Christian IV by reclaiming the low beaches, after the siege of Copenhagen during wars with Sweden, the ramparts were reinforced during 1682 to 1692 under Christian V to form a complete defence ring. The western ramparts of Copenhagen were demolished during the 19th century and they are today considered among the finest surviving 17th century defence works in the world. The barracks of Bådsmandsstræde housed the Royal Artillery Regiment, the Army Materiel Command and ammunition laboratories, less used after World War II, the barracks were abandoned between 1967 and 1971. The adjacent area to the north, Holmen, was Denmarks main naval base until the 1990s and it is an area in development, home to the new Copenhagen Opera House and schools. An area further north is used by the navy. The outermost defence line, Enveloppen, has been renamed Dyssen in Christiania language and it is connected to central Christiania by a bridge across the main moat or can be reached by the path beginning at Christmas Møllers Plads. Four gunpowder storehouses line the redans and they were built 1779-80 to replace a storage in central Copenhagen, at Østerport, which exploded infamously in 1770, killing 50 people. The buildings are renamed Aircondition, Autogena, Fakirskolen and Kosmiske Blomst and have, although protected, the last Danish execution site, active from 1946 to 1950, can still be seen on the Second Redan close to the building called Aircondition. The wooden execution shed is gone, but the concrete foundation, in total,29 World War II criminals were executed on the site. The last was Ib Birkedal, a high-level Danish Gestapo collaborator, in 2007, the National Heritage Agency proposed protection status for some of the ancient military buildings, now in Christiania. Some of the buildings have been altered somewhat after Christianias takeover. After the military moved out, the area was guarded by a few watchmen. On 4 September 1971, inhabitants of the surrounding neighborhood broke down the fence to take parts of the unused area as a playground for their children. Although the takeover was not necessarily organized in the beginning, some claim this happened as a protest against the Danish government, at the time there was a lack of affordable housing in Copenhagen
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Conch Republic
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The Conch Republic is a micronation declared as a tongue-in-cheek secession of the city of Key West, Florida, from the United States on April 23,1982. It has been maintained as a booster for the city since. While the protests sparked the creation of the Conch Republic have been described by some as tongue-in-cheek. The original protest event was motivated by a U. S, border Patrol roadblock and checkpoint that greatly inconvenienced residents and tourists. The Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day every April 23 as part of a festival of activities involving numerous businesses in Key West. The official stringed instrument of The Conch Republic is the Conchalele, the Rock Lives On Millionaire Gallery, on Duval Street in Key West, recently had one on display. Bob MacPhail, a Speech Professor at Florida SouthWestern State College in Fort Myers, david Herzog and Chuck Fox of the Island Time Band entertain with it touring throughout the Florida Keys and the Mid West. Vehicles were stopped and searched for narcotics and illegal immigrants, the Key West City Council complained repeatedly about the inconvenience for travelers to and from Key West, claiming that it hurt the Keys important tourism industry. When the City Councils complaints went unanswered by the U. S, in the eyes of the Council, since the U. S. federal government had set up the equivalent of a border station as if they were a foreign nation, they might as well become one. As many of the citizens were referred to as Conchs. Conch Republic officials were invited to the Summit of the Americas in Miami in 1994, the faux secession and the events surrounding it generated great publicity for the Keys plight — the roadblock and inspection station were removed soon afterward. It also resulted in the creation of a new avenue of tourism for the Keys, on September 20,1995, it was reported that the 478th Civil Affairs Battalion of the United States Army Reserve was to conduct a training exercise simulating an invasion of a foreign island. They were to land on Key West and conduct affairs as if the islanders were foreign, however, no one from the 478th notified Conch officials of the exercise. The action was dubbed a full invasion by the Conch Republic. When officials attempted to enter the monument, they were cited, when the citation was contested in court the following year, the resultant case, The United States of America v. Peter Anderson, was quickly dropped. In yet another protest on January 13,2006, Peter Anderson purported to annex the abandoned span of Seven Mile Bridge, the move was in response to a recent event regarding Cuban refugees. On the previous January 4, fifteen Cuban refugees reached the bridge, border Patrol because the U. S. government had declared the bridge a wet feet location under the wet feet, dry feet policy. Anderson, seizing upon the U. S. s apparent disavowal of the abandoned span and he expressed hope to use the bridge for affordable, ecologically friendly housing
