IIRC 3, or 9, or perhaps 22. Probably 87 or 184 are closest I'd say.

That said the closest to our hearts is probably number 257: "When the messenger comes to appropriate your profits, kill the messenger."

I wonder, are there any non-Looter states at this point?

One advantage to being an island nation is the ability to easily combine air and naval into a single force, throwing in space command as well. As the initial priority would be high powered defense I would prioritize as follows:

1. Carriers - two to start. One to stand guard and the other to launch counter-offensives.
2. Submarines - if possible a half a dozen would be a good start. Four to go with the counter-offensive group (COG) and the other two to stay with the shoreline defense group (SDG). The larger the island the larger the SDG needs to be for full coverage.
3. Shoreline defenses - some well placed and defensible AA and AS missile batteries and gun emplacements. Also, while it may seem James Bond-ish, some torpedo launchers would aid in stopping landing craft.
4. Ground launched SDG fighter aircraft

For maximum efficiency all aircraft should be capable of carrier and land basing. The emphasis would need to be on interceptors and anti-ship jets (ie. torpedoes, missiles, and maybe bombs). Ideally as much as we could we would want to avoid sending humans out at range because we would likely be outmanned. That would likely mean some pretty extensive drone use - both in the air and at sea.

This last bit is, I think, where our best advantage would be. All naval powers are predicated on projection of force - which is reasonable for the size of the respective nations. However, our first and highest priority is local defense. As such we could design and employ highly specialized technology. Submersible drones are not something I see talked about publicly. However, an island nation with an armada of relatively tiny drones (compared to nuclear subs) would be able to employ something we've not seen at sea in many a generation (if ever): swarm tactics. In my estimation all current naval war vessels are rather susceptible to swarm tactics from under the waves. Primarily because it has never been an issue.

Just because it is cool, sit back, close your eyes and take a moment to envision a submarine version of an aircraft carrier. Except instead of launching aircraft, it controls and launches a multitude of undersea attack craft. If that is difficult, watch some Babylon 5 where they deploy their defensive one-man fighters. ;)

It is also possible they may be quite susceptible to swarms of small air drones, but that is less likely and a bit easier to counter. Depending on the drone you could use undersea drone carriers for this too.

The size of the drones would lend themselves well to "stealth" technologies. Cloaking something small is nearly always less expensive and simpler to accomplish than large things.

Combine submersible drone swarms with a well, and purposeful, built sensor net and you could be a greater threat to an armada than any air force simply by exploiting their existing weakness. As a side benefit pirates would not stand a chance.

We could also "go back" to something from the past (which is actually still constitutional in the U.S.: privateers. I'm sure there would be some who would be up for that. Especially if they were to hire themselves out as naval escorts for shipping fleets for income when we are not under attack or imminent threat of it (though if it were me I'd have a clause in my escort charter which gave me contractual escape to come back and defend the homeland if needed).

That's what armed services are for, as Rand points out in her "Nature of Government" essay.

I certainly accept your broad point: fortify the shore, by any means you can invent. Just don't let your fence become a bottleneck. Remember Pearl Harbor.

Undoubtedly it would be such a looter state. The indigenous population who are sick of the looters' rule can come work for us.

There must be a rule in the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition that applies here, something like JP Morgan's, "The best time to buy is when there is blood in the streets."

Scojohnson found that in Spain there are several entire villages up for sale. http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts...

Now if we can get an ironclad agreement from such a debtor nation ...

LOL! ;)

Follow Elizabeth Warren's lead, claim you're Native American heritage. You'll then get your free land, victim status if you want it (sarc/irony), and build your tribe, the JohnGalt Nation.
(Having been born in the USA, aren't we all native Americans?)

This really depends on how big a property we are talking about. If we are willing to live in a resort hotel or condo complex until individual homes can be built, my net worth should increase enough upon my father's passing that I could probably fund a nanonation myself. I really don't want to be Midas Mulligan, but I may soon have the means to do just enough to get us started. I also have a couple of friends who could be Mr. and Mrs. Mulligan. It is more than a pipe dream. I would not have put as much effort into this as I have, if I didn't think that I could make it possible.

Very well thought through. I especially like the neutral location data center idea. It is OK to keep this topic on this thread, but it may merit its own thread. Given how reasonably concerned many in this forum about their privacy, I wonder how comfortable some Gulchers would be about doing this for the rest of the world. Is it possible that a neutral location data center might be Google's goal in starting its own private island micronation? We might have competition! Moreover, this solution provides a relatively low startup cost and uses other people's money to pay for our national defense. Brilliant!

It's still true if you define "the people" as the looters.

To me, the question is not whether you can get the land, but do you have the funds necessary to set up a nation? I realize that immigrants would need to have enough funds and/or skills to be independent but initially purchasing the land and setting up availability of access would cost a considerable sum. It would be a shame if Atlantis was only a pipe dream.

Having thought about this in the past, the best example I came up with for a strategy is that of Switzerland. The Swiss use a two prong strategy. The most obvious is that they have a large and capable military with every male of age trained and in the reserves. I forget the exact numbers, but they can roll out an army in the millions with in 24 hours, fully equipped.

Obviously this will not stop a determined stronger opponent. That's where the second prong of the rests. The Swiss banking system rests. By holding vast sums of money from countries all over the globe, the Swiss make all these countries "allies." If a nation were to be aggressive against the Swiss, they have the money from the other countries of the world "hostage". Each of the other countries is now has an incentive to back Switzerland.

So the question may be what service/commodity can Atlantis offer to the world to gain a similar protection? Two items come to mind. One might be a true gold backed currency. Implemented not only as a physical currency, but also as a digital currency, like bitcoin, except every digital coin is backed by gold. With the master tracking of what digital coins are valid kept on servers within the Atlantis, every holder of the currency is now dependent on Atlantis.

The second item would be digital storage/processing. By supplying a neutral location Data Center which is not encumbered by the regulations and government interference like other nations, many multi-national corporations might decide to use Atlantis Data Center services. This would require an investment in data connectivity (ie fiber cables to provide multiple links to the global internet infrastructure), but would provide another guarantee against outside interference.

The basis of this strategy is to make in in the best interest of the world to protect Atlantis's independence.

Yes, you can find New Utopia on Wikipedia. It is claimed by both Grand Cayman and Honduras, as being within their economic zones. This is what necessitates the contract purchase.

I know the author. The davinci institute is in boulder co. Thomas Frey is a very interesting guy, however I do joy think he is an o.

Such a concept was near reality with New Utopia. It was set out on a below water atoll in the Gulf of Mexico and had all the makings of a great place to live and create. The master mind of the project passed on a couple of years ago, but the location is still there and it was claimed by the organization as a Free Country. The details may still be up on the web.

I agree, RealBill. Our billion $ R and D program would have a high priority for an alternative with controllable collateral damage and minimal unintended consequences.

The navy doesn't have to be that big if we sink enough ships nearby to create an artificial reef. This was the strategy employed during the Battle of Ft. McHenry in Baltimore in the Battle of 1812.

Actually an effective Air Force would trump any navy unless the navy was backed with air power, but I do understand your point. I agree that buying from a strong military power would be a mistake especially if the military power had a history of creating excuses to use its military power to steal from other peoples. I can't think of any military power that has not used its power in this way. The stalemate of the Cold War was an interesting period where the power of the USSR countered the power of the US and kept US politicians (and their corporate sponsors), and the USSR "evil empire" from using the military in this way in the middle east in particular. Unfortunately the absence of the USSR gave the neocons puppeteers the opportunity to destroy all the American goodwill (and propaganda) built up from WW1 onward. For that alone they should be prosecuted as traitors and hung by the neck until dead.

The current existence of Switzerland was only achieved after generations of bloody struggle. Any new micro-nation should not expect to avoid the same. If we have to make that fight, we stand a better chance here.

Make sure you buy from a country not having a navy that could take it back whenever they felt like it.

Robert J. Ringer ("Winning Through Intimidation") identified three sources of power:

Real power comes from your legal or, if need be, physical strengths in comparison to those of a potential adversary.

Abstract power comes from the image you project to the world.

Performance power comes from what you can do for a potential ally.

Here I address a real power concern. It does no good to buy from the United States. Obama (or Mrs. Clinton) is likely to send the Navy in to repossess Atlantis if you buy from this country. You can buy from a country not having a navy, and then build your own navy double-quick. And watch out for the navies of known piratical nation-states in the region.

Now that we are in a nuclear age, unlike WW2, countries might be a little more recalcitrant about taking small islands.

True enough. I have enough experience in the nuclear business to safely store the isotopes once obtained. Your suggestion would definitely satisfy freedomforall's porcupine criterion.

Stay tuned, fosterj717. Financially I could start a nano-Gulch, but that may soon change.