The Really Creepy People Behind the Libertarian-Inspired Billionaire Sea Castles

[Octafish]

You can't touch this.



The superrich have a plan, should the mopes ever wake up:

The Really Creepy People Behind the Libertarian-Inspired Billionaire Sea Castles

By Mark Ames, AlterNet
Posted on June 2, 2010, Printed on June 2, 2010

What happens when Americans plunder America and leave it broken, destitute and seething mad? Where do these fabulously wealthy Americans go with their loot, if America isn't a safe, secure, or even desirable place to spend their riches? What if they lose faith in their gated communities, because those plush gated communities are surrounded by millions of pissed-off Americans stripped of their entitlements, and who now want in?

SNIP...

The floating castle is a longtime dream of libertarian oligarchs -- a place where they can live their lives in peace free from the teeming masses of starving losers and indebted parasites and their tax demands. Since they’ve grown so rich off of America, they have enough spare change to fund projects like the Seasteading Institute, run by Milton Friedman's grandson, Patri Friedman, and financed by the bizarre right-wing PayPal founder, Peter Thiel. It couldn't have come a moment sooner for Milton Friedman's grandson, who was best known until recently for running a grotesque advice blog for married swingers, PUA4LTR (Pick Up Advice For Long-Term Relationships). Actually, Patri Friedman ran that pick-up advice blog with his wife--the two of them are apparent big-time cyber-swingers, apparently--posting blog entries saying things like "Why Should Husbands Become PUAs? Because otherwise, your wife will talk like those wives on the blog My Husband Is Annoying."

Both Thiel and Milton Friedman's grandson see democracy as the enemy--last year, Thiel wrote "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible" at about the same time that Milton Friedman's grandson proclaimed, "Democracy is not the answer." Both published their anti-democracy proclamations in the same billionaire-Koch-family-funded outlet, Cato Unbound, one of the oldest billionaire-fed libertarian welfare dispensaries. Friedman's answer for Thiel's democracy problem is to build offshore libertarian pod-fortresses where the libertarian way rules. It's probably better for everyone if Milton Friedman's grandson and Peter Thiel leave us forever for their libertarian ocean lair--Thiel believes that America went down the tubes ever since it gave women the right to vote, and he was outed as the sponsor of accused felon James O'Keefe's smear videos that brought ACORN to ruin.

While Thiel and Friedman are busy cooking up their libertarian dystopia, the Frontier Group investment firm -- an offshoot of the Carlyle Group -- has already entered the realization phase with the Utopia floating castle. Frontier Group, was founded by some of the same big names from the notorious Carlyle Group--the private equity firm that brought together right-wing oligarchs like George H. W. Bush and other top American officials with their billionaire pals in Saudi Arabia like the Bin Laden family, who together raked in enormous profits thanks to the War on Terror that their kids Dubya and Osama launched.

While neither Bush nor the Bin Ladens are principals in the Frontier Group, its founding director, Frank Carlucci, is a name they know well, and you should too. Carlucci ran the Carlyle Group as its chairman from 1989 through 2005, right around the time that the wars started going undeniably bad, and floating castles started to look like a viable plan. But Carlucci's past is much weirder and scarier than most of us care to know: whether it's his strangely timed appearances in some of the ugliest assassinations and coups in modern history, or serving as Carter's number two man in the CIA, and Ronald Reagan's Secretary of Defense, if Frank Carlucci (nicknamed "Creepy Carlucci" and "Spooky Frank") is the founding director of a firm that's building floating castles, it's a bad sign for those of us left behind.

CONTINUED...

http://www.alternet.org/story/147058/

Good night and good luck!

[XemaSab]

1. You're going to need serfs in one of those

n/t

[Fumesucker]

2. Serf's up! n/t

[Octafish]

6. They'll consider themselves ''fortunate.''

Poor brainwashed fools.

High life on the high seas

Probably too expensive to add lifeboats for the salty drones. There certainly will be none for those in steerage because there won't be steerage.

[BR_Parkway]

17. I was thinking more along the lines of Navy gunners - it's still legal to shoot

at pirates, right?

[Nederland]

116. One word:

Robots.

Seriously. It's just a matter of time. The rest of us just better hope they don't build cylons that wake up one morning and slaughter all of us...

[Capitalocracy]

128. People are cheaper than robots.

They'll have slaves on board and give them furniture names like in Soylent Green. Come here, Chair. Make me a sandwich, Table.

It's made out of people!

[mikelgb]

3. I have a similar dream

less luxury of course

I just want to get an old decommissioned vessel and anchor it international waters grow a garden and fish with an ultimate goal of having others join me and tie our vessels together and form our own floating island commune

laugh all you want

[Octafish]

7. I'd like to join you.

DUer opihimoimoi, too. He's designed "Floating Cities" to enable all to live andn work in paradise.

[KamaAina]

67. Indeed. I remember sharing my own designs with him on his lanai.

Mine were built around, of all things, used oil rigs!

[Octafish]

112. Captain Opihimoimoi

The Captain sets a course.

[pscot]

119. We had paradise

We're turning it into hell on earth.

[Bigmack]

20. A boat is not a benign thing...

neither is salt water. Work is constant on a boat if you want to be able to stay above water. Dry docks and painting at least. A million systems to keep running. Enormous skill set to run everything, too. Not Utopia...

I have a friend who jokes that he's so mad at his two sons that when he dies, he's going to leave each of them a boat!

[lob1]

101. Hold on there, buster. If you're sayin' the movie Waterworld couldn't

really happen, you'd better watch yourself. You're not making friends with that kinda talk.

[quakerboy]

108. Not to mention the difficulties of tying two large moving objects together

without allowing them to hit and crunch each other.

It is a neat idea, however. Perhaps someday the floating trash island will acrue enough styrofoam and decomposing material to become solid enough to be habitable for some sort of eco commune. Wouldn't that just be ironic.

[Mojorabbit]

115. My dream was to live

on a sailboat when we retire.

[sharp_stick]

4. Rapture of BioShock fame

is about to come true, maybe without the Splicers and Plasmid Upgrades but the people that have to clean the toilets will not stand these pricks for long. I wonder what these assholes would think when their servants decide they aren't getting paid enough and spike their cocktails with Draino?

[Octafish]

8. JFK tried to warn them.

"If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich."

Greedy Oil Perverts shoulda learned to share. The rich Kennedy's learned at an early age. They wanted everyone to enjoy a good life. That is an enlightened perspective.

[femrap]

36. I was thinking the same thing! nt

[Frank Cannon]

51. That was my first thought, as well.

Along with the Batman: The Animated Series episode that appears to have inspired it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4WfG_JvVL4

[Occulus]

53. Yup. And it will fail just as miserably.

Here's what they'll envision:



And the end result will be:



Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

Since Bioshock is the best deconstruction of Libertarianism/Randian Objectivism I've ever seen (and a fantastic game besides), I just have to quote its opening statement:

"I am Andrew Ryan, and I'm here to ask you a question:

Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?

No, says the man in Washington; it belongs to the poor.
No, says the man in the Vatican; it belongs to God.
No, says the man in Moscow; it belongs to everyone.

I rejected those answers. Instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible.
I chose... Rapture.

A city where the artist will not fear the censor, where the scientist will not be bound by petty reality, where the great will not be constrained by the small. And, with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well..."

[sharp_stick]

66. I loved that game

I only wish it was a little longer. I bought a new Video Card just so I could play it on high settings.

[Occulus]

92. You are definitely not alone.

Bioshock was truly cinematic. Its telling of the backstory through scattered audio diaries and lightly-scripted events was nothing short of genius (the leadin to the fight with Dr. Steinman was my favorite boss fight setup ever). But the story was close to ideal, and the way it was told was brilliant.

Bioshock 2 is not nearly as good, and that's all I'll say about it. I finished it today, and was underwhelmed across the board.

[eridani]

96. The scientists will be hurting for decent lab techs, though n/t

[YOY]

118. I think we need to point out to the non-gamers "Andrew Ryan" = Ayn Rand.

Such a world and such a portrayal of the ultra-libertarian mindset gone mad.

This game is proof to Roger Ebert that video games can indeed be a form of art. Love Ebert but he really is wrong and needs to try before judgement.

[formercia]

61. Hey, Dude, what's those little blue crystals?

:rofl:

[quakerboy]

109. Im guessing

"ouch" or "oh god"

[Starry Messenger]

5. Free Market swingers...

Just when I thought this country couldn't get any weirder...


I think the floating castles are just a middle phase. Orbiting enclaves will probably be the next step. Why stay here on the planet?

[Octafish]

10. Jefferson Starship

The freedom loving hippies planned on hijacking the starship.

Unfortunately, the ships never got built and planet earth's about run out of time.

[Beam Me Up]

19. Right on the money as always, Octafish. n/t

[RKP5637]

63. Yep, it's weird and just keeps getting weirder and weirder in this country, and

some of this country just keeps getting more and more ignorant. I have no idea where we'll be in 10 years or so, but my hunch is it will not be good, and I used to be an eternal optimist. I'm not a pessimist yet, just a realist. Damn hard not to be...

[donco6]

9. It's like a fucking James Bond film.

What? Are the fortresses built in the shape of Dr Evil?

[Octafish]

11. Carlyle Group is betting on it.

BFEE is something not even Ian Fleming dared dream -- an organization capable of hijacking the Government of the United States.

BFEE Pal Berlusconi Built 007 Villain's Tunnel (like Moon & Hitler)

Tunnel...Castle...Jungle Redoubt...Sea Based Island Shaped like Skull and Bones.

I see an epic installment for the franchise.

[donco6]

16. Mind-boggling.

Did you read The Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson? Tells of such a future - oligarchies behind fortress walls, common people aligned with gangs, scrabbling to survive. Seems we're headed that way.

[Octafish]

48. Thank you for the heads-up on Neil Stephenson's work...

I will get a copy ASAP.

It will be a needed change of pace from the stuff currently filling my head: A Texas scientists got applause when he stated he hoped a virus would wipe out 90-percent of humanity...

Dealing with Doctor Doom

[girl gone mad]

83. Don't knock it.

That virus might just be the only hope for life on earth at this point.

[RKP5637]

58. We're getting there, just like the medieval times is around the corner IMO. Another

Bush-like could do it... Another Katrina or two, more oil spills, another unfortunate 911, more gangsters in gov. and corps and toss in a major earthquake or two, and the RW christian theocracy some want... There is nothing the NEW US is not capable of... greed still rules, it's just been swept under the carpet a bit.

[ironrooster]

74. except the "common" people will have educations and technical ability

it won't be like in Brazilian slums. iow, there would be a contingent of 'formerly prosperous' people who
will quickly become the leaders of the "rabble"

-there is no place to hide on earth
-no place so remote. not a plane - not a train
-and certainly not on a boat

[teknomanzer]

102. You got it...

What these fools don't know is that they NEED us and we DON'T need them. They only reason they are rich is because they have collected all the markers... the real wealth is out there in the fields and forests, in the mines, in the production of goods and services all of which can be seized and developed by the people actually running things under their pathetic management. Most of the uber-wealthy are technically inept and totally incapable without their sycophantic servants. Once the majority grows tired of their shit they are completely fucked. And the day is coming... there will be another financial collapse and they will see how overplayed their hand was.

[RaleighNCDUer]

136. You mean like Sol Roth in Soylent Green?

He is more emblematic of the 'formerly prosperous' with education and technical ability than any rise-to-the-top leader of the rabble. I can easily see that being me, in another 20 years, living in a too-small apartment, pedaling my stationary bike to keep the lights on so I can read the books that nobody pays attention to anymore.

Or maybe that forlorn priest in the same movie, trying desperately to hold together some semblance of charity in an uncharitable world and overwhelmed by the task.

Anybody who tries to become an alternative leader will quickly find himself dead at the hands of the real leaders.

[formercia]

21. I bet the monthly maintenance fees will be a drag.

Those guys have been watching too many old James Bond movies.

I wonder how much one of those North Korean Carrier-killer torpedoes would cost.

[Octafish]

22. You read my mind.

If you gotta ask about the condo association fees, it's not for you.

May the outdoor movie screen run "Titanic" night after night after night until the torpedo shows.

[eleny]

24. Yup, it would only be a matter of time, lol!

The Bushies, en masse, singing to the tune of 'glub, glub, glub'.

[chrisa]

52. They will be infiltrated by submarines!

Dive! Bond is coming! :)

[donco6]

54. Mini subs! Shaped like sharks! With laser-beam eyes!

:rofl:

[liberation]

79. or at least ill tempered bass...

[eridani]

97. Cue "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine" n/t

[TwilightGardener]

12. They're going to isolate themselves on the ocean? Hmmm, makes you wonder

what fate has in store for the rest of us left on the mainland. Nothing good, presumably.

[Octafish]

13. Hit the road, Jack.

The Road



The Australia of Mad Max II - The Road Warrior will look good by comparison.

[eleny]

14. I wonder how they plan on protecting themselves from assault?

[TwilightGardener]

15. I'm pretty sure their MIC connections will ensure they're safe.

[eleny]

18. Sounds like they have some built in vulnerabilities

[RKP5637]

62. Yep, and will be a first priority... too rich to fail! n/t

[liberation]

80. They are lunatics who really think they are too rich to sink...

[RKP5637]

81. Oops, I first read this and thought you had said "too rich to stink..." well,

that too. These people are such damn egotistical SOB's.

[Octafish]

25. What TwilightGardener said.

The Carlyle Group specializes in financing the military industrial complex.

What Did Eisenhower Mean When He Warned of a Military Industrial Complex? Take a Look at the Carlyle Group.

Me? I wouldn't ask the Navy to sink these tax dodging cowards and slackers. Perhaps a just society would quarantine the ship and let the inhabitants "enjoy" each others' company for the rest of their natural days. That way, the current Mrs. X could drive the future Mrs. X crazy.

Edit: Didn't mean to name anybody, Donald.

[eleny]

35. They'd need a navy to protect them

I see this as a very short lived scheme. Those poobahs will need way too much infrastructure, lol. But it's going to make a great novel some day.

[femrap]

43. Since the

Misters (Donald) are already crazily evil, right? Or do you just want the women to suffer...isn't being around The Donalds enough?

I'd prefer the men to kill each other...but they'd probably first resort to cannabalism and eat the women....they're tender meat...no testosterone. Why do you think beef cattle are castrated?

BTW, the women aren't the arms dealers and I doubt are allowed to ask any questions about the biz. They're just eye candy...and there to bear a son, of course.

[Ratty]

41. And what juicy targets they would make

Floating castles rich with treasures, free of government military protection.

[amborin]

56. beat me to it!

pirates out there; will they plea for gov't aid?

[rhett o rick]

105. How will they protect themselves from each other. The big problem with greed is that it never ends.

They will kill each other.

[izzybeans]

23. Just a bunch of idiots who think that Atlas really can shrug. They are lost in a fictional

world created by a psychopath. Let them run off to their isolated pods, we'll be just fine. They however will realize how stupid they are and how fortunate they were to be born with silver spoons fed to them by our country, because all that public infrastructure that sustains them will be gone. Imagine if Pirates boarded their flotilla or if it caught on fire. That would be a wonderful sight to see.

[Octafish]

27. Perhaps a movie.

You've given me a great idea: "The Towering Sinking Inferno of Fools."



"Hello, Hollywood?"

Here's what they were planning: Paraguay? Why Not!

[izzybeans]

30. I like it.

Sort of a modern send up of all the would-be Robinson Crusoes of the world. The absurdity of this is a springboard into an endless array of comedy.

[loudsue]

99. You are forgetting that Eric Prince is one of these trillionaires as is his f-i-l, Rich DeVos

The head of blackwater and the head of amway. They can keep the ship protected AND clean as a whistle.

Seriously, mercenary armies will be well paid to protect them. Former navy seals, green berets, seabees, etc.

[pscot]

121. And who will protect them

from their protectors?

[Echo In Light]

26. Thanks for the perspective

K/R

[Octafish]

29. Rather than running off, maybe they'll change their minds and use some of their loot...

...for good. Maybe. Not likely, though.



Offshore.

[Echo In Light]

33. Ha..great pic

[Octafish]

44. Operation COFFEECUP

Pruneface was a hired gun:

How Reagan Worked to Stop Universal Health Coverage in 1961

[MilesColtrane]

28. Life imitating Art imitating Life?

http://gameinformer.com/cfs-filesystemfile.ashx/__key/CommunityServer.Components.UserFiles/00.00.44.49.67.Attached+Files/0116.bioshock_5F00_city_5F00_rapture.jpg

[Octafish]

32. Thanks for the heads-up.

One of these days, I'm going to have to get into this gaming thing.

Know your BFEE: Spawn of Wall Street and the Third Reich

[fascisthunter]

60. great game

[liberation]

75. LOL, I was thinking exactly that...

I actually think this may be a good thing. Let the sociopaths build their own floating island in the middle of nowhere, finally the rest of us functional people will not have to bear their burden anymore.

I can think the awesomeness that will ensue the minute these "gifted" better than us people have to do any manual labor since the serfs (aka less worthy under humans) will most likely not be allowed in their boat of perfection. Can you imagine Paris Hilton having to do anything not involving her vagina? Or Ben Stein's look of confusion when repeating "Bueller, Bueller..." a few times in a row does not magically conjure money like it does on dry land?

[HughBeaumont]

31. Welllll, there could be ANOTHER plan . . .

. . . and that is, one that requires you superrich to:

+ Stop treating your employees like diseased livestock and start paying them a living wage comparable to modern inflation and production.

+ Stop placing roadblock after roadblock on Universal Health Care.

+ Start realizing that treating your workers better means better results for you. Workers who lose sleep because they're constantly, CONSTANTLY worrying about job loss or that one instance of bad luck that sends them straight to financial ruin aren't going to be productive.

+ Be taxed higher. MUCH higher. Trust me, you won't miss a DIME.

+ Stop blowing up the earth just because you CAN.

+ Stop discouraging free enterprise and entreprenuership and start educating potential small businesspeople.

+ Stop the race to the bottom.

+ Stop putting up roadblock after roadblock after roadblock when it comes to ending our dependency on fossil fuels.

+ End your visions of empire.

+ Trash unbridled corporatism. It DOES NOT WORK. Long term and more equal are far better.

+ Stop moving so far to the right that a hood and sheet is the next step.

+ Stop treating life, business and culture as a zero-sum competition where there has to be winners and losers. It doesn't have to be that way.

Maybe THEN, you wouldn't have to WORRY about mobs of unwashed masses tearing down your walls. Ever think about THAT?

"But, But, But, But . . . see, I agree that what I do to all of you looks BAD. But see it from my perspective: if I don't WIN to the point that I have a seven-thousand-million-fold advantage over the rest of you . . . and if, at the same time you dont LOSE to the point where you aren't going to be able to recover in a few years . . . . man, the world's just going to fall clean off of it's axis. And we simply cannot have THAT, can we? . . . . What???!?!??"

:eyes: :eyes:

Nope. I guess we can't.

[Octafish]

38. That sounds so...so...so, eh, DEMOCRATIC.

Thank you. Absolutely spot-on, HughBeaumont. Ever word.

The greedheads are too cheap to do what's in their own best interest. They believe it's easier to spend money on hiring goons and guards than it is to invest in a just society.

One in four Americans is employed to guard the wealth

Remember in "The Good Shepherd" how DeNiro's character -- based on OSS founder Bill Donovan -- warned the spymaster about the head of the organization being "undemocratic"? That was supposed to represent the Dulles side of things.

Heads-Up, Obama!

For those unaware of Mr. Dulles' impact on our present situation:

A fact curiously missing from American history and any mention of the Warren Commission

Really appreciate your thoughts on the matter, HughBeaumont. Your explanation of the "Why it matters" may shake some brains out of Corporate McPravda's infococoon.

[femrap]

34. WOW....

what a great read. Too bad about Pang...:sarcasm:

I bet there will be a hurricane with that seacastle's name on it.

Since Thiel started PayPal, I don't think I'll use it again unless I absolutely have to.

And Patri Friedman....was a misogynist! Giving women the vote ended the U.S. :puke:

No wonder our nation is such a f*cking mess with people like this running it. Truly scary.

Thanks for posting.

[Octafish]

113. Change that makes life better is Progress.

These people would rather hoard their gold for the sake of having more. Because this is a plutonomy, as Visa would say, or police state, as I would say, their reaction destroys the economy. Because they also are idiots, their inaction destroys the planet.

And they cheer human extinction.

[femrap]

123. That picture hurt my eyes! nt

[agent46]

37. Sitting Ducks

Dependent on extremely vulnerable supply lines. They can run but they can't hide. L.Ron Hubbard would be proud though.

And Yes! - Exactly like N. Stephensons' Diamond Age.

[Ratty]

39. Ah, so that's how libertarians will deal with global warming

They'll just float on top of the rising seas.

Libertarians have a philosophical problem with the concept of global warming. Since government intervention is the only solution they usually choose to deny it exists. As evidence mounts this has become increasingly troublesome to many of them. Now they have a way out of their dilemma!

[Catshrink]

40. We're returning to feudalism

[RKP5637]

69. Yep. Bush and his cohorts pushed forward a caste system and the ignorant

teabaggers are more than willing to replicate the same with some newly found leader... somehow the idiotic teabaggers think they are part of the wealthy elite.

[bobthedrummer]

42. Ron Paul and most Libertarians are totally creepy k&r n/t

[Octafish]

114. No wonder Spiro Agnew wanted Uncle Sam to finance his pal's private submarine business.

Was right about some other things, too:

“The American people should be made aware of the trend toward monopolization of the great public information vehicles and the concentration of more and more power over public opinion in fewer and fewer hands.” -- Spiro T. Agnew

[FarCenter]

45. Cloud City

Bespin is featured in The Empire Strikes Back, in which the floating city Cloud City hovers suspended by an anti-gravity pod. Bespin is a major source of tibanna gas, which is refined for production and transport in Cloud City and used in hyperdrive coolant for starships, as well as in the production of blasters. It is home to several million individuals, including humans and Ugnaughts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud_City

[donco6]

55. Oh I thought you meant this one:

Stratos was the tranquil capital city of planet Ardana. It was the galaxy's finest example of sustained anti-gravity levitation and magnificent anti-gravity engineering in general.

Stratos was built by leaders that gave their word that all inhabitants would live there. Centuries later, in the 23rd century, Stratos remained home to the Ardanan elite, and remained off-limits to all surface dwellers, known as Troglytes, with the exception of a few known as retainers. Nevertheless, Stratos was known throughout the Federation for its art and culture. The extreme luxury of the city was an example of what could be afforded on a planet with the only known source of zenite.

James T. Kirk had visited Stratos once, sometime prior to 2269, but never had an opportunity to explore the city until an emergency mission to Ardana that year to acquire a quantity of zenite was delayed allowing him time to visit. (TOS: "The Cloud Minders")

[shrike]

46. One word. Pirates.

Think of what the so-called ragtag hordes have done to some of the strongest armies in the world, and you'll see what I mean.

[TwilightGardener]

47. They'll have some Blackwater-style security forces, I'm sure.

[shrike]

77. Well, Britain had the Royal Navy, too

I'm not saying they won't have good security forces, but bad guys can get creative.

Though in this instance the lines would probably be blurred . . .

[Lyric]

49. ROFL!!! Stupid rich people.

There is nowhere on Earth OR in space that they can hide from justice if and when we decide to dish it out. Nowhere.

[undeterred]

50. "teeming masses of starving losers and indebted parasites and their tax demands"

That's America for ya.

[liberation]

78. Replace starving for fat cats... and you just can't make up the level of projection going on there..

[rrneck]

57. Exile in luxury is still exile. Fuck 'em. nt

[Matariki]

59. Two words: Someli Pirates

[RKP5637]

68. Yeah, my exact thoughts too... n/t

[wordpix]

133. sign me up

:)

[starroute]

64. What strikes me is how boring it would be

I mean -- basically living on a cruise ship, with the same bunch of people you've known forever, and nothing but movies and miniature golf for recreation? That sounds a lot like an old age home, only with better cooking.

I could kind of see it working if they only used it as an official address, so they could give up their citizenship of any country that might try to go after them for taxes or other responsibilities. But that still leaves the problem of being lynched/arrested for war crimes any time they set foot back on Planet Earth.

And if most of them didn't actually live there, it would mean having one aircraft carrier-sized floating resort with only a handful of residents at any given time rattling around in the nearly empty corridors. Plus whatever Blackwater goons they brought in to fight off the pirates, of course. And some hookers to keep the goons entertained so they wouldn't start raping the chamber maids.

For that matter, would they let the goons in the swimming pool and the miniature golf course? Probably not. So add in a steady supply of drugs in addition to the hookers to keep the goons sedated enough to keep to their own quarters and play video games when they aren't patrolling the decks.

Altogether, it sounds like five different kinds of recipes for disaster -- or for the rats to start eating each other.

[kenfrequed]

65. Piracy never sounded so good.

Cutlases, crossbones, and torpedos.

[LongTomH]

70. Speaking of torpedos....................

I believe the Iranian navy and the Chinese have diesel-electric submarines that are nearly undetectable.

Dare we hope?:eyes:

[Statistical]

82. What makes you think the "communist" leaders of China won't have an apt on that boat? n/t

[Touchdown]

88. What makes you think their replacements will care?

;)

[kenfrequed]

122. Why would I hope for that?

If it was Iran or China it would all be some stupid justification for war again.

Maybe mother nature will take care of it or maybe these peoples domestic assets should be seized.

[Time for change]

71. I guess that things like this are just one more reason that people like that don't give a damn about

global warming.

[nichomachus]

72. I think this is a fantastic idea

Basically, they are building themselves a prison and putting themselves in it. A posh prison, but a prison nonetheless.

Prison really isn't about the grim surroundings -- although they're bad in most prisons -- it's about the loss of freedom. If these people are afraid to be on dry land because of fear of assault or worse, then they will be unable to leave their floating "paradise." After a while, everything that seems so posh in the beginning will be ordinary -- and therefore drab.

So, this is really just a floating prison.

[ironrooster]

73. Hmmm, if the shit hits the fan and if I were those folks -

I would try to avoid congregating in any one spot - for example "a boat".

[leveymg]

76. Who needs boats, when they already have the Cayman Islands and Monaco?

I feel sorry for Frank Carlucci and his ilk. Someone must have already staked out Paradise before Frank did his first wet op in Kinshasa - but, that only gets you a place in line at the door to The Club. The deal is you eat what you kill - the full Partnerships are all long filled, and the Executive Board Members tend to live long lives.

[girl gone mad]

84. Hey ladies..

just imagine being stuck in the middle of the ocean, no land in sight, with all this:



Plus he likes to swing, and he'll probably read passages from Atlas Shrugged over a glass of pinot to get you in the mood.

Dreams come true!

[Mojeoux]

85. They will protect the castle with big giant heads!

Then the big heads will come to police the underclasses.

[Cleita]

86. They still have to dock for fuel, unless they plan on shanghaiing some

rowers and pirating cruise ships for supplies.

:rofl: I'm feeling silly. That shot of the living room and galley area is bigger than my house.

[Art_from_Ark]

104. Dock for fuel?

I wouldn't be surprised if they're counting on Tony's Big Phuckup to give them an endless supply of crude oil in the ocean

[Cleita]

106. A fancy dancy yacht like that isn't going to run on crude unless

they are towing a refinery behind them.

[Dawson Leery]

87. Libertarians are creepy.

Most people have a negative connotation of libertarianism because libertarians believe in a unregulated free for all.

[MisterP]

89. Bioshock meets with Douglas Adams's flying, raiding eternal party nt

[FailureToCommunicate]

90. "We're going to need a bigger boat"

[FailureToCommunicate]

91. I hope they get becalmed in a sargasso sea of oil (slick) and spend their final days

trying to filter out the benzene stench thru faltering air conditioners...

(JK JK sheesh)

[cascadiance]

93. These corporate sea pirates are already outsourcing jobs off SoCal (SeaCode)...

They have a ship sitting right off the coast of Southern California in waters beyond the regulatory scope of H-1B Visas or green cards to house "cheap labor" to take away more American jobs. So its not surprising that the rich are moving off shore for a lot of things. Maybe God will send a big tidal wave or storm to sink some of these ships...

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/may/02/business/fi-golden2





http://www.sea-code.com/

[quakerboy]

110. WTF

Is this for real? Their reasoning is self contradictory.

They list the cost of having to fly CEO's overseas as the economic downside of outsourcing. But they contract to fly these employees back home 2x per year. a few CEO's flying is more expensive than 600 workers?

[petronius]

130. It never happened, even if the planners really intended it to

Related trivia, however: back in the 1930s there were gambling ships anchored 3 miles offshore from LA, since CA law banned gambling and federal law did not...

[Lydia Leftcoast]

94. Some of them are already building gated communities in places like Honduras. where the

army will keep the starving peasants away (except the ones they want to hire as servants for $50 a month).

For a while, they were flocking to beach resorts in Venezuela, and I have to wonder if they're part of the media pressure against the Chavez government.

[Odin2005]

95. PUKE

:puke:

[LarryNM]

98. Blockade their slave built Prisons - Of Course

they'll have blackwater-like trash to protect them and their comings and goings, but they will take some hits. Best hope is that these devoid-of-morality types would soon turn on themselves and began devouring each other, if human history is any guide.

[Tsiyu]

100. Cartoon characters

the lot of them...

little boys who identified with the villains in all their comic books due to underlying sociopathic personalities

they've violently destroyed human communities, eco-systems, economies, progress...


so they could float around homeless in a dead ocean?



just proves money cannot cure stupid

[AnnieBW]

103. But how will they get their servants on board?

Helicopters, I suppose. Because you KNOW that those richie-riches aren't gonna clean their own bathrooms. But they won't want the slaves to actually LIVE with them!

[Cleita]

107. Sure they will. The slaves get a hammock in the hold. n/t

[glitch]

111. Utterly perfect: floating castles would be incredibly easy to blockade.

Please let them isolate themselve like this. Win win for everyone. The sooner these parasites abandon our democracies the better.

We can get on with living, think about it! Without the Death Cult sucking the life blood out of us.

All efforts of the parasite class to isolate themselves should be enthusiastically encouraged. Efforts to isolate themselves offshore (ex-pat!) would be worth subsidizing.

edit: Tony Hayward can put his floating castle in the Gulf of Mexico. (it is interesting these people anticipate no continent anywhere on this planet wanting them, ever -- perhaps they do have some remnant of human self-awareness)

[Q3JR4]

117. So what are they going to do

when us serfs use the remains of the U.S. nuclear arsenal to blow the floating islands off the face of the earth?

Just saying...

Q3JR4.

[Ho Tai]

120. We All Live In A Yellow Submarine

and we roam the seas, torpedoing Billionaire Sea Castles. It's a great life!

[bluestateboomer]

124. They have to eat.

Where does their food come from? Will they have floating farms? Will they fish the polluted seas? They have to dock somewhere to resupply.

[wordpix]

132. let them eat the oil-soaked fish they created. Maybe they'll adapt

[sulphurdunn]

125. Beware. Captain Nemo Lives!

:fistbump:

[entanglement]

126. Dear Libertarian creeps,

We hope to pay you our respects when you sail past the Horn of Africa in your beautiful floating castle.

Signed
-The Somali Pirates

:evilgrin:

[D23MIURG23]

127. These people are delusional.

It'll be a 'libertarian eutopia' until the first hurricane they have to whether drowns everyone.

[Crowman1979]

129. Well if Libertarians want to follow their no regulation ways seriously...

...-They will allow asbestos in the insulation.
-The ship will be run by coal.
-They will use slave labor.
-The poorly paid ship security will overlook the bombs on board since searching bags would be an invasion of privacy.
-They won't follow any safety codes whatsoever, therefore rendering the ship not seaworthy.

But what do I know, I'm just a Communist according to any Teabagger out there. :D

[wordpix]

131. they will bury themselves in a sea of oil, fouling their own nests

[ooglymoogly]

134. If the picture you are showing is supposed to be the inside of a sumptuous yacht,it is truly wanting...

And shows the workings of a very dull mind. It looks like the inside of a double wide or a lounge in a nursing home. If money can't buy style and grace and beauty, hand in hand with an ability to help others, it is good for nothing but the power to inflict the dictates of ones dull and creepy wits on others. The wonder of having money should be, not only to live well, but allowing one the joy of being able to help others and to effect grand schemes to help others. The Kennedy's and the Roosevelts, add infinitum; These giants, will their like never be seen again? Or will we allow thugs of the lowest order to keep on keeping them down. Are we to let our world slip away from us over the comic books, in novel form, of Ayn Rand and the commingled, equally commic and simpleton views of lightweights like Milton Friedman and his spawn. We are legion, surly we can muster some defense to tear down these tawdry houses of cards, mc'castles and mc'yachts of the dullest egos and mundanest of minds. Gandhi figured it out; How to confront dictatorial power and bring it to its knees. When the monied lose the principal that with money comes great responsibility, and those to whom much is given, much is expected; Then money must be removed from their greedy grasp.

[azhermit]

135. The Really Creepy People Behind the Libertarian-Inspired Billionaire Sea Castles Posted by Octafish

Great! A floating cesspool of crap all in one place.

[Dawson Leery]

137. Libertarians are creepy.

It needed to stated once again!

[GTurck]

138. Some thoughts...

come to mind. First there will have to be a crew to support all of these "escapees" from reality. Second they still have to depend on reaching ports to re-supply themselves.
They may think they are building a libertarian, billionaire paradise but their dream rests on the waviest (pun intended) of premises. Torpodoes might be fun again.:evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: