As you may know, the .nu<\/i> in this site’s address [before 2011 Mar 28]<\/i> refers to Niue: one of a number of tiny states – most of them in the Pacific Ocean – that bring in the odd shilling by renting out name-space. (When I wanted a domain, Niue happened to be cheapest.)<\/p>\n
Now it appears<\/a> that its link to reality may become even more tenuous.<\/p>\n \nNiue’s status as a nation is under question after the cyclone that hit the tiny Pacific nation, causing more than $50 million damage.<\/p>\n In the aftermath of the storm, some island leaders are calling for a return to New Zealand governance, and expect the population to fall from about 1200 native Niueans to an unsustainable 500 people.<\/p>\n Such a drop would likely render the nation unviable. Niue currently receives $8m in aid a year from New Zealand . . . .\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n One wonders how often that “nation” became “unviable” during its first thousand years of habitation; and in what sense a “nation” so dependent on foreign charity is considered “viable”, whatever its size.<\/p>\n 2011:<\/strong> The link is dead; the story has been copied here and there, e.g. Sophont blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As you may know, the .nu in this site’s address [before 2011 Mar 28] refers to Niue: one of a number of tiny states – most of them in the Pacific Ocean – that bring in the odd shilling by … Continue reading