I just saw this on TV recently. Perhaps it's been discussed. I didn't know where this should be posted. but I thought the Bad Astronomer would know what's up with this if anyone does.

The place is called the www.lunarembassy.com and they claim a loophole in the Space Treaty of 1967 allows individuals and corporation to own space estate, even though it forbids governments from doing so.

Is this legit?

Jpax

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"Oh no no no I'm a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone." -- Sir Elton John

J Pax

It is not true.

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Hwæt! We Gardena in geardagum,
þeodcyninga, þrym gefrunon,
hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon.

correct! know why? because I own it all...it's me after all. :wink:

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None to speak of

That's a misnomer... :wink:

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

So many idiots. So little time.

*runs*

Well since there's a crater on the dark side of the moon (ducks while BABBers yell "FAR SIDE YOU MORON") is named after me, I'll take that one.

(For purposes of anonymity, I won't reveal which crater)

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Imagination is more important than knowledge - Albert Einstein

I voted no because if I own property there someone, somehow, is gonna find a way to tax me on it. :roll:

I didn't think much of it, but wondered how many had heard it. I think the same guy claimed the other planets and their moons as well and even calls himself a galactic government. I fail to see how you can own it if you don't stand on it. Otherwise I might claim the entire universe... being on earth I do stand on part of it, so my claim is staked.

Now I only have to wait 7 years to see if God, challenges me on this.

JPax

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"Oh no no no I'm a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone." -- Sir Elton John

J Pax

Yup; it's been discussed in this thread, this one, and this one.

As a gentle reminder, use the search engine on the board. It'll save you time! 8)

It could be dangerous to claim ownership of other planets. The local governments there might expect you to pay property tax, and the penalty for tax evasion might be death.

That could be a good scam. If someone claims an extrasolar planet I could claim to be employed by the Galactic Federation as a tax collector and sue him for several billion years worth of back taxes. Even better, I could send tax bills to his customers. Since they were gullible enough to buy property on those planets they might also be willing to pay a small property tax.

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Life is like a box of chocolates. All of your choices are bad for you.

Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land was used in a patent lawsuit over waterbeds. Apparently he had described the contraption in the book, people liked it and made them and sold them. However someone realized no patent had been issued, he tried to get one to block competition. However he lost because the design was already in the public domain. Or something like that (Heinlein Expanded Universe pg516).

Now, This book also talks about lunar and martian property rights and the ideas of sovereingty in space. Maybe it could be used in evidence against Lunar Embassy.

Also, if we want to talk precedent, the Bible says that the earth is is the dominion of man, by exclusion that can mean that the moon is not our dominion.

Also, the literature I have seen for the Lunar Embassy calls it the Earth's Moon. However, scientists and most literate people will readily recognize the fact that the moon does not orbit the earth and therefore can be argued that is not owned by it. The Moon orbits a common point between the earth and the moon. Moreover, the Earth-Moon system should be considered a binary and that should mean equality rather than ownership (if science and politicions decide to describe it as such).

As an aside, why don't we challenge Lunar Embassy et al to a water-ballon fight and call it the First Interstellar War (Wet Firecracker War?)

Is there any working group actually drafting space law? I wanna get involved. I wanna see mankind in space in earnest, but I don't want to see the lunar face turned into a giant billboard like in that automobile commercial. There must be some middle ground.

JPax

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"Oh no no no I'm a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone." -- Sir Elton John

J Pax

Heh. The poll here is a bit misleading. See, I'd love to own a piece of the moon. I'd live on it too. I would NOT buy it from this jerk.

Sorry about that. I was just asking if people wanted to own land on the moon in general. We could discuss purchasing with the lunar land grab type companies, or we could look into more realistic and pragmatic approaches to lunar property.

BTW I had an idea. in Heinlein's Moon is a Harsh Mistress he wrote the moon was originally a penal colony. Maybe it still should be. If these lunar land grab companies are determined to be frauds, then perhaps their progenitors could be sentenced to exile on the moon. How's that for irony?

JPax

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"Oh no no no I'm a rocket man Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone." -- Sir Elton John

J Pax

Oh yes, sorry, that was me.

I'm always making outrageous claims like that.

I invented the question mark.

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"...bartenders and shiny stuff and dreams are made of stooped necromancers he seems like a banana wrist having strayed too close to the constellations on their shaved skulls. The rain of frogs ended and a rain of blood comes down. "

But isn't it there for all mankind?

Dang! A two year(+) old thread ressurection!

I'm midly concerned about undead threads shambling there way to the top of the lists and eating the brains of other threads...

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Carl Matherly

Offical Battlestar Galactica Apologist

Named Time Magazine's 2006 "Person of the Year"

It's a moot point untill we have the ability to colonize it.

No you didnt I did

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Alcohol... the creator and solution to all problems - Homer Simpson

No dark side?? But I buy whole dark side of moon yesterday!!

But you don't use punctuation.

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"