Demolished! The Great Geocities Rescue...

Geocities, Yahoo!'s "$4bn dotcom relic" has stopped accepting new hosting accounts and will be closed later this year. For the micronational community, this means that a number of micronational sites, some quite old and of historical interest, will need to find new homes sometime soon.

Fortunately the erstwhile Apollo Foundation has just launched a campaign to gather information on sites that will need to be relocated, with the intention of archiving many of them itself. It is hoped that, for some sites, other parties will also be interested in offering ongoing hosting arrangements.

An initial list of micronational sites currently hosted on Geocities has been published by Imperium Incognita, while the issue has also been publicised on the widely-visited micronational forums aof Microhub, Micronations.EU and Shireroth.

State of the Nation: Natopia in April

Shireroth's DiploCorps report that Natopia is having trouble retaining all of those recent new citizens.

In other news, the Natopians are downsizing their government, developing the imperial space programme and Bovic religion, and sensibly excluding themselves from recwars.

State of the Nation: Novatainia in March

Shireroth's DiploCorps reports that Novatainia's businesses are doing deals to trade in natural resources, and that the nation itself may be constructing a space fleet.

In other news, Novatainia also has a List of Failed Inventions and a Flying Duchy of Glanurchy, which clearly is an invention that hasn't failed. Yet.

State of the Nation: Ashkenatza in February and March

Shireroth's DiploCorps has reported that the Shireroth may acquiesce to Ashkenatza's ambitious territorial water claims in exchange for maintaining extensive access rights.

In other news, Ashkenatza's Defence Minister has assumed responsibility for runnig the government as its Nohsi has mysteriously disappeared.

Cyberia Lives

In which we learn that sometimes infamous Cyberia returns and even "eternal reprobate" Jacobus is amazed by the appearance of a mysterious hip-flask salesman from within a rock.

Seers and prophecies not withstanding, we can exclusively reveal that Sir Jacobus the Wise KCOMI, General Malcontent, Traditional King of the Mala'anje, and Bane of Micronationry, has taken the plunge and refounded the Federal Republic of Cyberia.

As undeniable evidence that time cures just about everything, public opinion has been overwhelmingly in favour of this world-shattering event.

As is usually traditional, the new/old leader of Cyberia plans to start a constitutional convention and "see what happens". What is not usually traditional are people publically fortifying themselves with aspirins or appearing out of rocks (but then salesmen will tell you anything).

The State of Micronational News

In which we point out that "once in a blue moon" is not just a pithy slogan, and make the news rather environmentally-friendly.

Someone Has Complained.

Someone has objected to that fact that, until today, we haven't published anything for over a month. We'd like to point out that our slogan was deliberately worded to reflect the high probability of that happening. We'd also like to point out that until a few months ago, we hadn't published anything for over a year-and-a-half. so not doing so for about a month is not really a big deal for us.

Naturally, we know of no other micronational news service that has allowed for this. Therefore, as Mr Cairney has so eloquently demonstrated, they have no excuses. So there.

In all fairness, when MNN was first set up some years ago, it did encourage lots of people to do their own blogging as a change from relying on a very small number of people to do all the journalism that had hitherto been the case, thus helping to spread that arduous burden. Even in these quiet times, there is still an average of one story per day, from thirty-odd feeds, which seems a not unreasonable level of reporting. Quality versus quantity, and all that.

Mr Cairney has pleaded that more people should be writing articles and so putting something back into the community. On our part, consider it done.

Even if it is recycled news.

State of the Nation: Natopia in February

Shireroth's DiploCorps report that Natopia's imperial wedding finally went ahead, followed by the ubiquitous honeymoon.

In other news Natopia expanded in two areas, most noticeably by inheriting Holzborg in controversial circumstances.

State of the Nation: Novatainia in February

Shireroth's DiploCorps report that Novatainia has established a Tourism Board and dismissed its Joker.

In other news, Novatainia now also has a Flying Islands Pact, a Red List and a convention for those who like recwars.

State of the Nation: Stomark in Februrary

Shireroth's DiploCorps reports that, in the Viking Empire of Stormark, swearing-in ceremonies have begun, where those of lesser nobility swear their allegiances to the Emperor and his empire.

In other news, voting has started on an Act with an unpronouncable name that does bureacratic things to the legal system.

Micronational Books: Introducing the Nations & Politics Store

If you're desperate for some micronational books or DVDs, or are even after books about politics or nations in general, then you'll be pleased to know that a new mail-order store has opened, called the Nations & Politics Store.

It's hosted at Amazon UK and was created by the erstwhile Micronations.Net, which blogged earlier:

It has books and DVDs about micronations, nations and politics that we’ve chosen in the hope that you might be interested in.

There are both some familiar and not-so-familiar titles, should there should be something for everyone.

Cornify Your Micronation

Some say they have been waiting for it for ages, and that it is going to single-handedly pull us out of recession.

Some say that the internet is done and that we can all go home and congratulate ourselves, and that it is simply genius.

All we know is that you can now use it decorate your micronation with sparkly unicorns and rainbows, and it's called Cornify.

An Apology... to Everyone Who Takes Offence

We feel that the following sentiments should be disseminated to everyone without reservation (courtesy of Diamond Geezer).

I'd like to apologise, in advance, for something I haven't said yet. I don't know what that something will be, nor precisely when I'll say it, but I apologise unreservedly anyway. My remark will be inappropriate, improper and ill thought-through. On reflection, once this outrage has been brought to my attention, I will publicly regret my verbal outburst. There can be no excuse for my upcoming offensive remark. It will be deemed totally unacceptable. I apologise.

I won't think my comment is offensive, of course. It'll be the sort of comment that slips easily from my lips. I'll think nothing of it, except perhaps that it's witty or clever or appropriate. I may not even notice I've said it. In particular, I won't be trying to be offensive. It won't be a deliberate attempt to be aggressive. I won't be thinking "blimey, I really hate the object of my unknowing insult". I'll not be deliberately vindictively hurtful. But it's not important what I think. What's important is how others react.

You probably won't think my comment is offensive either. You're a rational human being, and you can spot the difference between a light-hearted comment and naked spite. But somebody, somewhere, will take offence. Somebody will think my comment is aimed at them. Somebody will find my words deeply damaging. Their thin skin will be punctured, and I will become the object of their scorn and fury. That's all it takes these days, one pointed finger.

If somebody thinks my comment is offensive then it is, QED. I am therefore guilty, I am therefore to blame. Quick, start up a whispering campaign against me. Whip up a storm, beat your breasts, complain. I will be at fault, and the mob must have my blood. Others can then be as offensive as they like about me, because I was allegedly offensive first. Let rational thought be cast aside. Gasp, point, throw stones. Go on, I'll deserve it.

And please feel free to repeat my offensive comment so that even more people can be offended. Others won't realise quite how awful I am unless you tell them. Broadcast my words, spread them around, emphasise their horror... but only so that you can add your disgust at the end. Don't stop until the entire country knows how offensive I've been, and has had proper opportunity to be offended themselves. Magnify the blame, why don't you, until everyone hates me more than I ever hated one of them.

But why should I apologise, completely and unreservedly, for this offensive insult I haven't yet made? It won't have been heartfelt, nor even intentional, it'll just have been completely misinterpreted by shallow self-important killjoys. So maybe I should get my deliberate attack in first. I really, truly, deeply take offence at the self-righteous lynch-mob mentality which permeates our society today. I detest the blame culture that's enveloping our nation and its once tolerant attitudes. I loathe judgmental media crusades and savage newspaper vendettas. I am outraged by bitter citizens and smug sanctimonious bandwagon-jumpers. I despair at those who tut their way through life, one moan at a time, and drag the rest of us down into a vicious cycle of petty pointless repugnance. It's all your fault, you know, not mine. Go on, you apologise first.