West Necessity

Westarctica

Frank Jacobs | Big Think | 16th February 2024

The world’s largest unclaimed territory is a segment of Antarctica twice the size of Texas. Or it was until 2001, when a man named Travis says he found a loophole in the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. Nations cannot stake claims here, but there is no such prohibition on individuals. Which is how the biggest-ever “micronation”, Westartica, came into being, ruled by “Grand Duke Travis I” (1,300 words)

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Necessity Or Compulsion?

Eliane Glaser | LRB Blog | 15th February 2024

Confessions of a technology refusenik, who declines to own a smartphone because of her own “susceptibility to addiction”. “I use a watch, an alarm clock, a camera and a CD player. I listen to a portable analogue radio with headphones. I have a paper appointments diary and a pocket notebook with a pen. My daily newspaper lands on the mat. On holiday, I rely on guidebooks” (900 words)