Veteran SpaceBeagle readers will know that I am NOT a fan of the United Nations (UN) having issued my plan to reform the UN back in 2005 which included, among other things, moving the UN headquarters from New York City to Strasbourg, France (to use the European Parliament's secondary building -- my plan assumes the UN would donate this very under-utilized building to the UN as a gesture of good will and solidarity for all things multi-lateral ) and selling its memorabilia, furniture, etc. on eBay to help cover the moving expenses.
Perhaps there is a worthy purpose for the UN afterall? Given the UN's nature as a "private club for sovereign nations" let me encourage them to invite micro-states such as the Aland Islands:
EARLY HISTORY OF THE ALAND ISLANDS
http://www.politicalresources.net/aland.htm
The war of 1808-09 resulted in Sweden being forced to relinquish Finland and the Aland Islands to Russia, whereby Swedish-speaking Aland became part of the Grand Duchy of Finland. When Finland gained its independence, the Alanders began to hope for reunion with Sweden.
Today the Aland Islands are a "dependency of Finland" although its inhabitants, which are majority-Swedish are semi-sovereign (except for foreign affairs issues) since they have their own parliament. These 26,000 islanders caught my attention since I live in the capital of the European Union (EU), BrusselBelgiumium part-time. In late 2005 the European Commission forced Finland to exercise its sovereignty over the Aland Islands by forcing the Alandic Parliament to comply with current EU laws such as:
- Banning the hunting of wolves
- Prohibiting the sale of smokeless tobacco -- known in Sweden as "snus"
This oppressibehaviorour by the EU has encouraged the Alanders to threaten to leave the EU. For more details on this you can review -- http://euobserver.com/9/20846. As more Swedish friends tell me the Aland Islands' economy is very limited consisting of "snus and alcohol sales for the ferry/boat passengers from Sweden and Finland........." so what is the EU plan, decimate the local economy in the Aland Islands to push these 26,000 islanders onto the Finnish welfare system?
Granted I may be rather cynical since I work within the EU public policy process where I hear and read about the EU's Stalinist plan known as the "Lisbon Agenda" that is designed to help EU countries "overtake the US economy as the most dynamic, knowledge-based economy in the world................" It did not work in the Soviet Union and it is not working in the EU. Why not simply allow the Alanders to live and profit from people exercising their freedom to choose?
There is no need for an EU policy directive on these related issues -- the Aland Islands should simply vote to leave Finland and the EU behind then seek full membership in the UN as a sovereign nation.
I would gladly lobby the US Congress on a pro bono basis for the Aland Islands to support their application for full membership in -- NATO, WTO, and even NAFTA to help counter any loss of trade they have from leaving the EU.
We need more islands of freedom in the sea of government,
Todd
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