Privatising the Moon.
Dodging around in my bookmarks I found this:
"In an out-of-the-world tribute to the ‘King of Pop´ the Lunar Republic Society named the moon crater after Jackson’s name, Contactmusic reported.
The crater, previously named Posidonius J, is located in the Moon’s Lake of Dreams and is close to a 1,200-acre parcel, which was purchased by the pop star".
Pretty good as PR stunts go, but what of the Lunar Republic Society? It hangs out here, and in physical terms, on Fifth Avenue NYC. It sells bits of lunar real estate, from $18.95-$37.50 an acre.
The FAQs are priceless:
Is my purchase of lunar property legal?
The Lunar Registry operates under the statutes of the Lunar Settlement Initiative, an international program through which a limited quantity of land claims are offered to private entities in order to finance the exploration, settlement and development of the Moon and its resources. The Lunar Registry is the authorized sales agent of the Lunar Republic Society, one of the leading advocates of privatized property ownership on the Moon. The Lunar Republic Society is a registered international business company (IBC) which is legally authorized to operate in more than 200 nations around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Russia, Japan and every nation in Europe. For more information on the Lunar Settlement Initiative.
I like this bit tho':
I saw a man on television who filed a claim of ownership of the Moon with the U.S., the U.S.S.R. and the United Nations in 1980, and that there are loopholes in the U.N. space treaties that made it legal. How can you sell the Moon if he already owns it?
He doesn't own the Moon, and we don't claim to own it, either. You can't just write a letter to a government and claim ownership of any body of land anywhere in the Universe. International law doesn't work that way. Rather than making up silly stories, giving ourselves wacky nicknames or trying to find loopholes in the law, we work with international organizations and space law experts to be sure that our property owners will be entitled to legally possess their land. Remember: the only recognized historic precedent in international law for property ownership is actual occupation of that property, not writing a letter to someone who doesn't own it in the first place.
I will resist the temptation to quote great chunks of Locke / Nozick on mixing one's labour in order to claim title.
Labels: privatisation
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on Wednesday, July 08, 2009 at 3:11 pm.
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"The Lunar Registry operates under the statutes of the Lunar Settlement Initiative, an international program through which a limited quantity of land claims are offered to private entities in order to finance the exploration, settlement and development of the Moon and its resources. The Lunar Registry is the authorized sales agent of the Lunar Republic Society, one of the leading advocates of privatized property ownership on the Moon. The Lunar Republic Society is a registered international business company (IBC) which is legally authorized to operate in more than 200 nations around the world, including the United States, Canada, China, Russia, Japan and every nation in Europe. For more information on the Lunar Settlement Initiative."
Does that win a prize for 'Greatest Number of Words Used to Say 'No'..'?
I thought it was something to do with the Homesteader Act?
J - Brevity is, indeed, not its strong point..
BE - sounds about right.
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