Two Cans & String

{ "thread_id": "11749", "posts": [ { "id": "1204250", "time": "1647536184", "html": "Recently we hear a lot about the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics. They are mostly recognised as belonging to Ukraine, but in 2014 they revolted against Ukraine's revolt, issuing their own passports and functioning as their own countries. There are <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_states_with_limited_recognition#States_that_are_neither_UN_members_nor_UN_observers\">a dozen </a>such unofficial countries around the world, not all getting headlines. These are not micronations like <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand\">Sealand</a> or <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Molossia\">Molossia</a>, they have real territory and citizens. Palestine is the most widely recognised, clocking in at a whopping 138 UN members, followed by Kosovo at 97, Western Sahara at 47, Taiwan at 13, South Ossetia and Abkhazia at 5. Which of these does your country recognise? <br /><ul><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abkhazia\">Abkhazia</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Artsakh\">Artsakh</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donetsk_People%27s_Republic\">Donetsk</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo\">Kosovo</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luhansk_People%27s_Republic\">Luhansk</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cyprus\">Northern Cyprus</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Palestine\">Palestine</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland\">Somaliland</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Ossetia\">South Ossetia</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan\"> Taiwan</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transnistria\">Transnistria</a></li><li> <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahrawi_Arab_Democratic_Republic\">Western Sahara</a></li></ul>", "user": "millpond" }, { "id": "1204251", "time": "1647537147", "html": "Does Sealand count?", "user": "ackyyackyattack" }, { "id": "1204262", "time": "1647539233", "html": "Where does Tibet fall?", "user": "antimonypentafluoride" }, { "id": "1204271", "time": "1647539843", "html": "Atlantis.", "user": "corporalcroissandwich" }, { "id": "1204288", "time": "1647542355", "html": "<div style=\"margin:20px; background-image:url(/images/light.png);\"><div style=\"border:1px solid #888; padding:5px;\"><a href=\"/users/ackyyackyattack\">ackyyackyattack</a> said:</div><div style=\"border:1px solid #888; padding:20px;\">Does Sealand count?</div></div>Sealand is a micronation. I don't think anyone actually lives there full-time anymore. Even the Prince of Sealand lives in the UK, the country he says Sealand is separate from. Although in <a href=\"https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20150414-i-rule-my-own-ocean-micronation\">this 2015 interview</a> he describes the population as "normally about two people". Sealand was arguably recognised by Germany in 1978 when a German citizen was held hostage there, and the UK didn't intervene because it was outside its territorial waters. But it is recognised as being in UK territorial waters since 1987. De facto control of Sealand has never really been tested since then, AFAIK.<div style=\"margin:20px; background-image:url(/images/light.png);\"><div style=\"border:1px solid #888; padding:5px;\"><a href=\"/users/antimonypentafluoride\">antimony pentafluoride</a> said:</div><div style=\"border:1px solid #888; padding:20px;\">Where does Tibet fall?</div></div>Tibet is an <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomous_regions_of_China\">autonomous region of China</a>. The countries I listed all rule themselves with <span style=\"font-style:italic;\">de facto</span> independence, it's just that some or most countries won't recognise and talk to them, usually because they side with other countries they're in territorial disputes with, or they have territorial disputes of their own and they don't want to be hypocritical. For example, <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine%E2%80%93United_States_relations\">the US won't recognise Palestine</a> because, in a nutshell, it's on Israel's side. <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain%27s_reaction_to_the_2008_Kosovo_declaration_of_independence\">Spain won't recognise Kosovo</a> because it's got parts of its own country that want to split and <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Catalan_independence_referendum\">it won't let them</a>, so it can't very well support it elsewhere.", "user": "millpond" }, { "id": "1204483", "time": "1647612720", "html": "Northern Cyprus is recognized only by the Republic of T\u00fcrkiye.", "user": "wlicky" }, { "id": "1204664", "time": "1647662348", "html": "That stands to reason, since <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_invasion_of_Cyprus\">Turkey created Northern Cyprus</a>.", "user": "millpond" } ], "users": { "millpond": { "name": "Millpond", "key": "millpond", "url": "/users/millpond", "avatar": "/uploads/drawn/31430.png", "rankClass": "civilian", "rankText": "", "posts": "763" }, "ackyyackyattack": { "name": "ackyyackyattack", "key": "ackyyackyattack", "url": "/users/ackyyackyattack", "avatar": "/uploads/drawn/40044.png", "rankClass": "civilian", "rankText": "", "posts": "12013" }, "antimonypentafluoride": { "name": "antimony pentafluoride", "key": "antimonypentafluoride", "url": "/users/antimonypentafluoride", "avatar": "/uploads/drawn/39440.png", "rankClass": "civilian", "rankText": "", "posts": "4641" }, "corporalcroissandwich": { "name": "Corporal Croissandwich", "key": "corporalcroissandwich", "url": "/users/corporalcroissandwich", "avatar": "/uploads/drawn/30324.png", "rankClass": "civilian", "rankText": "", "posts": "677" }, "wlicky": { "name": "W_Licky", "key": "wlicky", "url": "/users/wlicky", "avatar": "/uploads/drawn/39559.png", "rankClass": "civilian", "rankText": "", "posts": "8824" } }, "page_num": 1, "locked": 0, "total_pages": 1 }

Follow TCaS on Twitter. The fate of the world depends on it.