Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Earthling Property Right

Final frontier for lawyers -- property rights in space.
Bizarre though it sounds, the case of Nemitz vs. United States is just one of the odder sideshows in an emerging circus known as "space law." Space is new legal terrain, just as the air was in the early days of aviation and as the seas were in the dawn of ocean voyaging.

For space buffs, the stickiest legal issue is property rights in space, the question of whether a private person can lay claim to property where there is no constituted government. And it involves not only land, but also the airless void of space.

Entrepreneurship is the driving force.
Of course there is a poll. Early returns are not looking so good.
Q: Do earthlings have a right to claim property rights in outer space?
Yes, we should be allowed to claim anything that is not owned. 13%
No, space should remain the province of all beings. 58%
Only if we can send all the lawyers there. 28%
Total votes: 537
If we rephrase it to "Do San Franciscans have a right to claim property in Marin County" would a majority then vote 'yes'?

Vote early, vote often.
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