Fredrik Neij, 28, and Gottfrid Svartholm, 22, may look like they play in a Nordic thrash metal band, but they are actually the two industrialists behind Swedish BitTorrent site The Pirate Bay. And now Svartholm and Neij are on a mission to purchase Sealand, a dilapidated naval platform 12-ish miles off coast of Sussex, England, which, according to the current owner, is an internationally recognized sovereign nation.
The island (ditch images of pina colada-sipping A.V. clubbers in zinc oxide, the place is essentially just a helicopter landing pad) is owned by Paddy Roy Bates, a former Major in the British army. If Bates is willing and able to sell Sealand to Neij and Svartholm, and they move their pirate operation to the island, the spot’s sovereign status would exempt Pirate Bay from copyright laws and allow these dudes to file-share to their hearts’ content.
Though Sealand’s legit status as a sovereign nation is debatable, the renegade Swedes claim to be moving forward with the purchase of the island, and they want you to join them in their quest to make our Battlestar Galactica collection your Battlestar Galactica collection. “With the help of all the kopimists on Internets [we're thinking their English is good but not THAT good,] we want to buy Sealand,” a statement on the group’s site reads. “Donate money and you will become a citizien. We’ve set up a forum to discuss how the country is supposed to function… Register and let us write history together.”
We don’t have the £504,000 needed to buy Sealand, but we’re up for contributing this week’s allowance to an anarchic cause. How about you?
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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC.
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