Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/01/30/caribbean-island-anguilla-makes-millions-from-ai-boom-thanks-to-ai-domain-business.html
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That was a great read until the very last paragraph.
Fast forward a couple of years. A referendum on the island backed calls for a return to its former status as a British colony. Britain obliged. But the politically correct UN committee on decolonisation flexed its puny muscles. So Anguilla became instead “an internally self-governing overseas possession of the United Kingdom”. And there matters rest to this day. That’s showbiz
Also, how can the same journalist work at the Daily Mail and the Guardian in their career?
Maybe as a sports writer for the Heil?
I think it went off the rails well before then.
Shamefully, many hundreds of anti-Castro rebels were abandoned by America
And the link to the American backed invasion of Cuba is also strained because the facts really just don’t line up.
Instead of a badly planned invasion being repulsed by the locals, 300 paratroopers were sent to the island without incident, and the political situation was resolved with a referendum where the locals got what they were campaigning for.
EDIT- And looking into the publication, I’m not surprised to see that the people behind it are linked to the Telegraph, the Spectator, and a magazine run by the Institute for Economic Affairs
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Anguilla sounds like a relatively stable bet, but for domain owners, there can be problems in using a national TLD that happens to have some desirable significance, like ‘.ai’ or ‘.tv’. I read a post recently by the owner of ‘queer.af’, who has been forced to give up the domain now that control of the ‘.af’ TLD has reverted to the new rulers of Afghanistan, namely the Taliban.
I wonder which will be the next to go? I’ve seen a certain number of ‘.so’ (Somalia) domains used by non-Somali businesses, but I could see something similar happening there at some point in the future.
Mind you, the operators of some of the ‘classic’ TLDs, such as ‘.net’, ‘.org’ and the slightly newer ‘.info’ seem to be busily hiking up the prices year by year, so for individuals and small businesses it may not make much difference whether they get kicked out or priced out.
Up to a point. One of his reasons for moving to Anguilla was low taxes. In 1998 he renounced his US citizenship because of laws restricting export of cryptographic technology – and bought Mozambique citizenship for $5,000, justifying it on the grounds that obtaining British Overseas Territory citizenship would take too long.
This is worth a read if you want to read more on the topic
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I’ve been following his blog, etc…off and on since the 1990s and he’s basically a good guy. I’m not a classic Libertarian like him, but he doesn’t have any of the odious characteristics of the modern day MAGA variety like rascism and such. The man just voted with his feet and found a country more to his liking.
He’s pleased that the Anguillan government has been able to reduce taxes by fleecing AI techbros instead. What happens when the AI bubble bursts and Anguilla can no longer make millions from .ai domain names?
And it’s just part of the general budget—the government can use it however they want. But I’ve noticed that they’ve paid down some of their debt, which is pretty unusual. They’ve eliminated property taxes on residential buildings. So we’re doing well, I would say.
anguilla ! ! stepping stone to antigua !
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